Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: The US 2-year Treasury yield climbed to 4.743%, its highest level since July 2024, as of September 18. The move marks a fresh multi-month high for the short-dated benchmark closely tied to Federal Reserve rate expectations.

TREE NEWS update: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on the 18th that Moscow demands Japan withdraw the US Typhon medium-range missile system deployed on Japanese territory. Zakharova said Russia had sent a protest note to Japan on the 3rd over the deployment. She added that Japan must fully recognize the results of World War II, including the territorial status of the Southern Kuril Islands, and abandon its remilitarization policy.

TREE NEWS update: Changsha police said online screenshots claiming the city will weigh electric bicycles and crack down on models exceeding 25 km/h are false. A traffic management official said the enforcement campaign targets illegal e-bike riding, which accounts for a high share of road accidents, plus widespread helmet, red-light and wrong-way violations. The official said the crackdown will be run as a long-term effort.

TREE NEWS update: The UN Security Council held a third straw poll on September 18 to gauge support for the next secretary-general, chaired by France as the September council president with Bahrain and the Democratic Republic of the Congo as vote counters. The number of candidates remains unchanged at eight since the second straw poll. The informal ballot is non-binding and does not formally select the next UN chief.

TREE NEWS reports: The shutdown of a key Saudi oil pipeline has roiled Europe’s physical crude market, driving North Sea and Mediterranean differentials to record levels. Traders said Johan Sverdrup, one of the grades best suited to replace Middle Eastern crude, was offered at a record $33-35 a barrel premium to dated Brent, versus just 60 cents in the Platts window on Sept. 8. Johan Castberg was quoted above a $30 premium, and CPC Blend at dated Brent plus $9, up from under $1 a week earlier.

TREE NEWS update: Denmark launched the ‘Green Sand’ carbon capture and storage facility in the North Sea on the 18th, injecting carbon dioxide into subsea reservoirs. As the first large-scale CO2 storage project in the European Union, the first phase of Green Sand is expected to store 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

TREE NEWS update: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico respects Canada’s decision to engage with the European Union. She made the remark as Ottawa moves to deepen its ties with Brussels. Sheinbaum did not say whether the move affects Mexico’s own relations with Canada.

TREE NEWS reports: The US two-year Treasury yield rose to 4.743%, its highest level since July 2024, gaining about 8 basis points intraday. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed roughly 7.2 basis points to a session high of 5.0043%. The two-year TIPS yield rose 6.93 basis points to 2.2649%, approaching its July 23 peak of 2.3734%.

TREE NEWS update: UK Chancellor John Healey travels to Ireland on the 18th to meet economic and finance ministers of EU member states, discussing deeper UK-EU economic and security cooperation. Healey will use the meeting to press the EU to include Britain in its ‘Made in EU’ policy, giving UK firms treatment similar to that of member states.

TREE NEWS update: The 14th meeting of the China-Tajikistan Intergovernmental Economic and Trade Cooperation Committee was held in Dushanbe, co-chaired by Ling Ji, Vice Minister of Commerce and Deputy China International Trade Representative, and Tajikistan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Abdurrahmonzoda. The meeting was held in the Tajik capital.

TREE NEWS update: Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on September 18 that it has expanded its list of European nationals barred from entering Russia, in retaliation for the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Moscow adopted on July 23. The ministry announced the countermeasure on its website, without specifying how many people were added or naming those affected.

TREE NEWS update: Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico and the United States have made good progress toward reaching a trade agreement. She gave no further details on the state of the negotiations or a timeline for a deal. The two countries have been in talks over trade terms.

TREE NEWS update: MSCI said it is closely monitoring the situation in Turkey and will communicate with the market before its November assessment. The index provider reiterated that investors want to see more progress from Turkey. No further details were given.

TREE NEWS update: The US Treasury Department has issued Russia-related General License 131J, permitting operations involving oil company LukOil to continue until October 22. The authorization extends the window for transactions tied to the Russian energy firm under the sanctions framework.

TREE NEWS reports: The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index climbed more than 1%, with Fangdd up 8.5%, Alibaba up 4.4% and Pinduoduo up 2.1%. New Oriental, Li Auto, JD.com, NIO and Meituan each rose over 1%, while XPeng, Xiaomi ADR and ASE Semiconductor gained at least 0.5%. Tencent ADR fell 1.6%, Pony.ai dropped 3.2% and WeRide declined 3.5%.

TREE NEWS update: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Vice Chairman Lin Honghong addressed the China-Philippines High-Level Business Dialogue, one of two parallel forums at the 23rd China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Lin said the Philippines is the theme country of this year’s summit and called on both business communities to expand trade and economic cooperation, building on traditional cooperation, focusing on emerging sectors and linking industrial and supply chains. Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Aguilar and Guangxi Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress He Wenhao also spoke, with about 200 business representatives from both countries attending.

TREE NEWS update: The 23rd China-ASEAN Expo signing event was held in Nanning, Guangxi. The event builds on the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and the opening of the Pinglu Canal, focusing on the maritime economy, ASEAN cooperation and artificial intelligence as investment and cooperation platforms.

TREE NEWS reports: The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index for the United States fell 0.1% month over month in August, missing expectations of a 0.1% increase and slowing from a 0.2% gain in July. The reading marks a contraction in the forward-looking gauge of US economic activity.

TREE NEWS update: China’s State Administration for Market Regulation has filed and investigated 29,000 illegal cases since launching a special campaign in May against low-quality, low-price practices, the regulator said. The cases span pricing, competition, quality and certification, with 280 million yuan in fines and confiscations and more than 16 million yuan returned to consumers.

TREE NEWS reports: The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) printed at 3.85% for the September 17 trading day, up from 3.62% the prior day. The effective federal funds rate for the same day was 3.88%, compared with 3.63% a day earlier.