Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: US stock index futures held roughly flat and US crude fell below $90 a barrel as markets weighed signs of easing Middle East tensions. Iran reportedly said it would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the US lifted its blockade, but Iranian officials then denied the report. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline showed signs of restarting, with Yanbu port potentially resuming crude exports as soon as this week.

TREE NEWS reports: Crude oil, staple fiber and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) fell more than 2% at the open of China’s night futures session, while low-sulfur fuel oil, bottle chip, plastics, fuel oil and styrene each dropped more than 1%. Shanghai nickel bucked the trend, gaining more than 1%.

TREE NEWS update: Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on the 22nd that Gaza City, the largest city in the Palestinian enclave, would be “emptied” if any further Israeli is abducted. Speaking at an event marking the Yom Kippur War, Katz warned “terrorist organizations and their supporters,” naming Iran and Turkish President Erdogan, that a single kidnapped Israeli soldier or civilian would force the city’s million residents to move south.

TREE NEWS update: Three Turkish airlines were forced to cancel flights between Turkey and Iran from the 21st, following US sanctions on Iran’s aviation industry. The carriers suspended the Turkey–Iran routes as the US measures hit Iranian aviation operations. No further details on the scope or duration of the cancellations were given.

TREE NEWS update: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly launched a carbon emissions metrology review and baseline survey of key emitters covered by the national carbon emissions trading market. The two departments said the exercise provides a clear roadmap for carbon metrology management at those emitters and underpins solid data for fair and impartial trading in the carbon market.

TREE NEWS reports: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said the AI spending boom shows little sign of slowing, with hyperscaler ecosystem investment potentially reaching $1 trillion next year. Spending has more than doubled from about $300 billion last year to roughly $700 billion this year, he said. Dimon added this is adding about 1 percentage point to annual GDP growth and “could slightly push up inflation.”

TREE NEWS update: China’s Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy International Trade Representative Ling Ji met Georgia’s Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Kvlividze to exchange views on key issues in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The meeting was disclosed by China’s Ministry of Commerce.

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s Houthi movement said on the 22nd that a Saudi airstrike a day earlier hit a prison it controls in Al Jawf province in northern Yemen, killing nine detainees. Abdul-Qader al-Murtada, the group’s official for prisoner affairs, said in a social media statement that the strike on the night of the 21st targeted a prison in Hazm, the provincial capital, and that some of those held there were captured in recent fighting. A list of the dead will be published later. There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.

TREE NEWS reports: ADP data show US private-sector employment rose by an average of 20,000 jobs per week over the four weeks ended September 5. The figure measures the average weekly pace of hiring across the period, offering a read on the labor market’s recent momentum.

TREE NEWS update: Chengdu Yuchao Real Estate, a unit of Yutai Real Estate Group, won a residential land parcel in Chengdu’s Shuangliu district for RMB 865 million, a premium of 39.58% over the starting price. The plot was formally transferred in the district’s land auction.

TREE NEWS update: Quanguo Fund Management has appointed Zhao Yi as deputy general manager, effective immediately. Zhao manages two funds — Quanguo Xuyuan Three-Year Holding (6.368 billion yuan) and Quanguo Innovation Growth (537 million yuan) — totaling 6.905 billion yuan, or 54.52% of the firm’s 12.664 billion yuan in assets as of the end of the second quarter.

TREE NEWS reports: The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities, rose 0.97% to 3,432 points. The index is a widely followed gauge of global shipping demand for commodities including iron ore, coal and grain.

TREE NEWS reports: ASML global public affairs executive vice president Frank Heemskerk said the company is currently not selling any chipmaking equipment in Europe, citing a lack of investment and the absence of new chip plants. The EU is revising its Chips Act, which failed to spur investment in new fabs, while other countries are courting ASML with government funding and incentives for domestic semiconductor industries.

TREE NEWS update: Hungary’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 5.50%, matching market expectations. The decision leaves the base rate at its existing level, with no change announced to the policy stance.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee, met with Kazakh First Deputy Prime Minister Roman Narybayev in Beijing on the afternoon of the 22nd. The meeting between the two officials was held in the Chinese capital. No further details of the discussions were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi warned Turkey and Pakistan on the evening of the 21st against intervening in the Houthis’ escalating conflict with Saudi Arabia. The warning was issued as fighting between the two sides continues to intensify.

TREE NEWS update: China Vanke said in a Sept. 22 filing that its A-shares rose more than 20% cumulatively over three straight trading sessions (Sept. 18, 21 and 22), triggering an abnormal trading alert. The developer said recent operations are stable with no major change in its internal or external environment, and that it is pushing ahead with 2026 plans to focus on risk resolution and development through asset revitalization, block asset sales and refinancing or extensions. It flagged no undisclosed material information.

TREE NEWS reports: Argentine President Javier Milei’s trade agreement with the United States is facing threats as demands are made for more favorable terms. The deal’s outlook has come under pressure amid the push for better conditions.

TREE NEWS update: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States will never close the door to diplomacy with Iran, adding that Iran’s economy is being hit hard by sanctions. Rubio also said Washington would stand with Saudi Arabia if circumstances require, and that the main drivers of higher oil prices come from Yemen and Ukraine. He added that attacks on US-linked vessels by Ukraine may not have been intentional, and that the ideal outcome is for neither Russia nor Ukraine to strike energy facilities.

TREE NEWS update: Chinese Premier Li Qiang met WorldSkills International President Uhan and CEO Hoy in Shanghai on September 22, during their visit for the 48th WorldSkills Competition. Li said China will keep strengthening domestic skills work and supporting WorldSkills’ transformation, including in training, research, skills-based poverty reduction and South-South cooperation. He called for joint use of the competition’s outcomes and platforms such as the World Skills Museum.