Flash News

TREE NEWS update: French President Emmanuel Macron said on the 24th that France will send troops to protect oil facilities at the Saudi port of Yanbu on the Red Sea coast from attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, aiming to stabilize oil supply and contain price rises. In a joint interview with two French television stations, Macron said France has completed discussions with Saudi Arabia and will deploy soldiers along with radar and defense systems, adjusting air force assets stationed in the Middle East as the situation evolves. He stressed the move is to protect Yanbu’s oil facilities, not to join the conflict.

TREE NEWS reports: Japan’s Nikkei 225 opened 0.3% higher on Thursday, while South Korean stock markets remained closed for a public holiday. Trading in Seoul was suspended for the day, leaving the Tokyo benchmark as the main gauge of regional equity sentiment at the open.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan attended a welcoming banquet hosted by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House on the evening of September 24 local time. Xi delivered remarks at the banquet. The event took place during Xi’s visit to Washington.

TREE NEWS reports: Costco Wholesale Corp. reported quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates, helped by a gain tied to tariff refunds. Excluding some items, earnings per share came in at $6.75 for the quarter ended Aug. 30, ahead of the analyst average compiled by Bloomberg. Tariff refunds added 15 cents to EPS.

TREE NEWS reports: Oracle has issued a force majeure notice on its “Project Jupiter” data center in New Mexico, a move bankers and investors say has chilled the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure financing market. Blue Owl said the notice does not change its commitments to the project. SB Energy, which is developing an Ohio data center campus for OpenAI, has decided to postpone its IPO this week.

TREE NEWS reports: The UK’s GfK consumer confidence index came in at -13 for September, improving from -14 in the previous month and beating expectations of -16. The reading marks a stronger-than-expected recovery in household sentiment.

TREE NEWS reports: Russia’s Defense Ministry said on the 24th that its forces took control of multiple settlements in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia, downed over 200 fixed-wing drones and destroyed one unmanned boat, with Ukrainian losses exceeding 1,200 personnel. Ukraine said that as of 8 a.m. local time on the 24th it had downed or suppressed four Zircon hypersonic missiles, three Iskander-M missiles and 220 drones, after Russia launched missiles and more than 200 drones overnight, mainly at Odesa and Kyiv regions.

TREE NEWS update: A high-level international meeting on implementing the two-state solution was held on the 24th at UN headquarters in New York during the 81st UN General Assembly high-level week. Co-hosted by Saudi Arabia, the EU and Norway, participants discussed the Gaza situation and moving the two-state solution from political commitment to practical implementation. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal said after the meeting that Gaza must not be separated from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, politically or territorially.

TREE NEWS reports: NYMEX natural gas futures dropped 4% in early Asia-Pacific trading on Friday, falling to around $3.156 per million British thermal units. The move marks a sharp decline in the front-month contract during the region’s opening session.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran never sought war and does not want one now, stating he is convinced humans should not kill one another and that dialogue should be used wherever problems can be solved through talks. He said the war was imposed on Iran under Israeli incitement, that Iran does not want the fighting to continue, and that the decision on whether to end the conflict rests with the United States.

TREE NEWS reports: The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage climbed sharply to 7.45% on Thursday. Other trackers including Freddie Mac had reported earlier Thursday that the rate had just crossed 7%, but that reading reflected last week’s average.

TREE NEWS update: Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan will attend a welcome banquet hosted by President Trump and his wife on the evening of September 24 local time. The Chinese president and his wife are scheduled to appear at the event. No further details on the venue or agenda were provided.

TREE NEWS update: UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Britain “will not tolerate hostile activity on British territory.” The warning was delivered directly to Tehran’s top diplomat, marking a formal UK position on Iranian conduct on British soil. No further details of the exchange were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese A-share markets are closed all day on September 23, while Xi Jinping makes a state visit to the United States from September 23 to 25. New York Fed President John Williams and Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speak at a policy seminar at 17:15 Beijing time, and US August durable goods orders are released at 20:30.

TREE NEWS update: Peru’s transport minister, Jose Tangherlini, said Chinese company Jinzhao will begin building a $405 million port in southern Peru in 2027. The first phase is expected to take about two years and involves an initial investment of $200 million. The project is expected to become Peru’s third-largest port after the government reached a land-transfer agreement with Shougang Hierro Peru.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President said the Houthi movement in Yemen is responsible for its own actions. The statement places responsibility for the group’s operations with the Houthis themselves. No further details were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Peru plans to introduce measures aimed at accelerating the implementation of mining investment in the country. The move targets faster execution of mining projects as the government seeks to move investment plans forward. No further details on the specific measures were provided.

TREE NEWS update: US presidential special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian official Kirill Dmitriev, CNN reported. No further details of the meeting were immediately disclosed. The encounter marks continued direct contact between Washington and Moscow.

TREE NEWS update: Peru’s Minister of Energy and Mines, Guillermo Shinno, said on the 24th that mining cooperation has stood out since the Peru-China free trade agreement took effect in 2010. Peru is pushing to further expand investment by Chinese companies in mining and energy, particularly in non-conventional renewable energy.

TREE NEWS reports: In late New York trade on Thursday, September 24, the euro fell 0.05% against the dollar and sterling dropped 0.20%, while the dollar rose 0.32% against the Swiss franc. The Mexican peso led losses among emerging-market currencies, sliding 1.27% against the dollar, with the Brazilian real down 0.39% — a two-day decline of 1.79%. The Australian dollar fell 0.35% and the dollar gained 0.29% against the Canadian dollar.