Flash News

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s security affairs chief said the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen and no negotiations will take place as long as Iran’s conditions remain unmet. The statement rules out talks over the waterway until Tehran’s demands are satisfied, leaving the status of the key oil transit route unresolved.

TREE NEWS reports: Canada’s population grew by about 189,000 in the 12 months to July 1, reaching 41.8 million, Statistics Canada data show. The 0.5% increase is the slowest for the period since 1915-1916. Non-permanent residents fell by nearly 155,000 to 2.8 million, while new immigrant arrivals declined for a fourth straight year. Alberta posted the fastest growth at 1.5%.

TREE NEWS reports: The S&P 500 opened 2.70 points lower, down 0.03%, at 7,761.94. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened 92.28 points lower, down 0.18%, at 51,771.41. The Nasdaq Composite opened 30.76 points lower, down 0.11%, at 27,213.52.

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said a diesel export ban would not work, adding that such a move would push up gasoline and jet fuel prices. Wright’s remarks address the potential market impact of restricting US diesel exports.

TREE NEWS update: Dongfang Electric Group’s self-developed F-class 50 MW heavy-duty gas turbine, the G50, departed through the Khorgos port bound for Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan. It marks the first complete-set export of a domestically developed F-class heavy gas turbine. The unit left China by land port as a full assembly.

TREE NEWS update: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during the United Nations General Assembly. The two top diplomats held the meeting on the sidelines of the annual UN gathering, the first such direct contact between Washington and Moscow at the UNGA. No further details on the agenda or outcome were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Mission to the European Union said on September 22 that it has lodged solemn representations with the EU over the bloc’s annual reports on Hong Kong and Macao, calling them factually baseless and ideologically biased. A mission spokesperson said the reports arbitrarily interfere in the affairs of the two special administrative regions and constitute a crude interference in China’s internal affairs, adding that Beijing is strongly dissatisfied and firmly opposed.

TREE NEWS update: South Africa’s central bank raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%, in line with market expectations. The decision lifts the benchmark rate as the central bank continues its tightening cycle.

TREE NEWS reports: Night-session futures trading opened mixed, with Shanghai tin, alumina, Shanghai silver, coking coal and asphalt each falling nearly 1%. Synthetic rubber led gains, rising more than 3%, while low-sulfur fuel oil, No. 20 rubber and fuel oil climbed over 2% and rubber rose nearly 2%. Styrene, crude oil and liquefied petroleum gas each gained more than 1%.

TREE NEWS update: SoftBank launched a high-yield bond offering of more than $11 billion to fund its expansion in artificial intelligence. The move comes as the company’s SB Energy unit delayed its IPO amid doubts over a $50 billion valuation, with financing for the world’s largest data center said to have hit obstacles.

TREE NEWS update: Ethiopian government forces and Tigray People’s Liberation Front fighters clashed in northern Ethiopia on the morning of the 23rd, an adviser to the Ethiopian prime minister. The adviser gave the date of the outbreak as the 23rd but no casualty figures or location beyond the country’s north were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on the 23rd that preparations must be completed before any meeting between the Russian and US presidents. Peskov said Vladimir Putin is willing to meet Donald Trump and the two discussed meeting again if necessary, but no date has been set. He said a Putin-Trump meeting on Ukraine without prior expert-level preparation would be “a waste of time.”

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Kyrgyz Prime Minister Adylbek Kasymaliev in Hangzhou on the afternoon of September 23. Kasymaliev is in China to attend the fifth Global Digital Trade Expo. No further details of the meeting were disclosed.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin climbed above $86,000 as oil prices slid and ETF inflows picked up, extending a run in crypto majors. Altcoin leaders also set new all-time highs during the move. The gains came as spot bitcoin ETFs continued to attract bids.

TREE NEWS reports: Bank of America said the macroeconomic backdrop remains strong, while warning that third-quarter market performance will not be as strong as the second quarter. The bank has hired 34 to 35 managing directors in its investment banking division this year. No further figures were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: The seventh China Liaoning International Investment and Trade Fair opened on the 23rd in Shenyang. Zhou Qiang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks. He said Liaoning upholds opening up as a basic state policy and is deepening integration into high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor to inject new momentum into Northeast China’s revitalization.

TREE NEWS reports: Syria’s transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa is seriously considering a cross-border operation against Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon, two Arab diplomatic sources said. Damascus accuses the group of running an underground organization inside Syria and smuggling weapons. The sources said even a limited Syrian military operation would completely undermine Lebanon’s security; Lebanon has faced an Israeli ground invasion since October 1, 2024.

TREE NEWS reports: Analysts turned net pessimistic on US corporate earnings for the first time in 23 weeks, ending the longest stretch of upward revisions since September 2021. The shift reflects mounting concern that rising inflation and interest rates will erode corporate profits. Morgan Stanley strategist Michael Wilson warned earlier this week that the S&P 500 could fall as much as 7% if equity valuations keep sliding and higher energy prices force tighter monetary policy.

TREE NEWS update: Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on September 23 that Morocco has pledged to cooperate in preventing a repeat of the mass illegal crossings into the autonomous city of Ceuta seen on July 30 and 31. Albares said he was in contact with Moroccan authorities, who conveyed through their embassy in Spain that both sides would work together again to prevent such events. He added that King Felipe VI’s visit to Morocco will take place in the coming weeks, without giving a date.

TREE NEWS reports: The euro slid to its weakest level in nearly two months against the dollar, falling as much as 0.4% to $1.1409 and heading for a third straight daily decline, after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates. Options market gauges show sentiment turning increasingly bearish, with positions betting on further euro weakness near their highest since mid-August.