Flash News

TREE NEWS update: China’s market regulator released a draft revision of its antitrust compliance guidelines for companies operating overseas and opened it to public comment. The update adds overseas enforcement agencies’ focus on the digital economy across monopoly agreement, abuse of dominance and merger control chapters, and sets out the latest merger filing thresholds in the EU, US and Germany. It also flags foreign investment security reviews, foreign subsidy reviews and private civil antitrust litigation in major jurisdictions.

TREE NEWS update: A senior Iranian official said an Iranian delegation has arrived in New York with full authority to restart diplomacy with the United States. Details of an agreement to end hostilities can be discussed through mediators in New York, the official said. Iran welcomes the resumption of diplomacy but requires concrete measures from Washington.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude (XBRUSD) fell to $100 a barrel and was last quoted at $99.93, a 2.6% drop over 24 hours. The move puts the international benchmark back at the $100 mark.

TREE NEWS update: Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on September 20 in New York that Israel has not fulfilled the commitments it made under the Gaza ceasefire agreement. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, he said peace is not only about mediation or bringing the two sides to the negotiating table, noting that parties sometimes celebrate reaching a deal that is ultimately never implemented, with Gaza as an example.

TREE NEWS update: Meituan vice president and head of its flash-purchase unit Xiao Kun said at the 2026 Meituan Instant Retail Industry Conference that Meituan Flash Purchase will invest 30 billion yuan in support resources for industry partners over the next three years, covering infrastructure construction, product R&D and merchandise marketing.

TREE NEWS update: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that Tehran must negotiate if doing so serves the country’s national interest. The statement marks a shift in tone from the IRGC, which has long opposed talks with the United States. No further details on the scope or timing of any negotiations were given.

TREE NEWS reports: Bernstein forecasts annual prediction market trading volume will reach $10 trillion by 2035, up from an estimated $41 billion in 2026. Crypto, equity and commodity trading is expected to surpass sports-related trading before 2035, accounting for 49% of total volume, the firm said.

TREE NEWS update: Ukraine’s Armed Forces General Staff said it struck two major Russian oil refineries overnight from September 21 to 22, setting both facilities ablaze. The targets were the refinery in Ufa, Bashkortostan, and the Novokuibyshevsk refinery in Samara Oblast, both described as core Russian refining enterprises. Russian officials said the attacks killed one person and injured four.

TREE NEWS update: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian flew from Tehran to New York on September 22 to attend the high-level week of the 81st UN General Assembly. He is expected to address the General Assembly’s general debate on the morning of September 23 local time, which is the evening of September 23 Beijing time.

TREE NEWS reports: Brent crude fell 1.0% on the day to $95.27 a barrel and WTI dropped 2.0% to $90.47, a short-term slide in international oil prices. US equity futures moved the other way: Dow futures turned positive, up 0.16% intraday, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.03%.

TREE NEWS reports: The US dollar slipped to 157.0 against the Japanese yen, last trading at 156.939, a 0.2% decline over 24 hours. The pair remains near the 157 level.

TREE NEWS reports: SoftBank’s junk bond offering has drawn more than $20 billion in early investor interest, Bloomberg reported. The figure reflects demand at the early stage of the sale, ahead of final pricing. SoftBank has not disclosed the size of the deal.

TREE NEWS update: Guangdong province issued four tranches of local government special bonds totaling 50.584 billion yuan. The 7-year other special bond raised 20.355 billion yuan at 1.5400%, the 10-year land-reserve special bond 5.472 billion yuan at 1.6900%, the 15-year other special bond 15.070 billion yuan at 2.0200%, and the 30-year other special bond 9.687 billion yuan at 2.2300%.

TREE NEWS update: French President Emmanuel Macron wrote to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 18 April urging the EU to immediately ease fuel quality standards to bring down energy prices. Macron called for relaxing European fuel quality rules, raising the biofuel share in diesel, and delaying the EU Methane Regulation by one year.

TREE NEWS reports: The US dollar fell 0.2% against the Japanese yen in short-term trading, touching 157.03. The move marks a modest softening of the greenback versus the yen, with the pair easing from prior levels. No further market detail was immediately available.

TREE NEWS update: Iran said it will open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States lifts its blockade. The strait is a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments, and any reopening would ease supply concerns that have weighed on energy markets. No timetable for a US response was given.

TREE NEWS update: The Global City Talent Stickiness Index Report 2026 was released on September 21 at the 2026 China-Europe Talent Forum in Beijing. New York, London, San Francisco and Paris took the top four spots, with Beijing fifth. The report was published at the forum held in the Chinese capital.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security held a working meeting on social insurance fund supervision in Urumqi, Xinjiang, from September 21 to 22, the ministry said. The meeting reviewed a campaign to consolidate and upgrade fund management, assessed the current situation and set priorities for the next stage. Vice Minister Li Zhong, a member of the ministry’s Party leadership group, attended and delivered a speech.

TREE NEWS reports: Nasdaq futures deepened their intraday drop to 0.4%, signaling pressure on US technology stocks. The move reflects a softer tone in equity futures trading during the session.

TREE NEWS reports: HSBC’s new machine-learning model, DUSTIN (Directional US Treasury Indicator), signals a clear likelihood that US Treasury yields will fall over the next month. Analysts said recent selling at the front end of the curve, in 3-month and 2-year maturities, combined with surprise shifts in economic activity data, is giving DUSTIN more confidence in lower rates. The model puts the probability of the 10-year Treasury yield rising in a month at 28%.