Flash News

TREE NEWS update: The Bank of England publishes its interest rate decision at 19:00 Beijing time, with ECB officials Moulin, Lane and Rehn also scheduled to speak during the day. Eurozone August final CPI is due at 17:00, followed by US August housing starts and building permits, weekly initial jobless claims at 20:30, and July pending home sales at 22:00.

TREE NEWS update: China’s National Radio and Television Administration said more than 90% of micro-dramas launched in the first eight months of the year were AI-generated, and that set-top box functions will be built into televisions as software. The regulator disclosed the figures as part of its push to reshape home entertainment hardware and content. No timeline for the TV software integration was given.

TREE NEWS reports: CATL has lost $100 billion in market value over four months, yet all 47 analysts covering the Chinese battery maker maintain a “buy” rating. “Many automakers have pushed to de-CATL, but none succeeded,” said Bing Yuan, a fund manager at Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management. Smaller suppliers may serve mass-market models, but flagship and high-end lines will still rely on CATL, Yuan added.

TREE NEWS update: HSBC left its Hong Kong dollar prime lending rate unchanged at 5%, the bank said. The decision keeps the benchmark that underpins Hong Kong mortgage and corporate borrowing costs at its current level. HSBC is one of the largest lenders in the city and its prime rate typically sets the tone for other Hong Kong banks.

TREE NEWS update: Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, issued instructions on developing advanced manufacturing, stating that since the 18th CPC National Congress China’s advanced manufacturing sector has grown steadily, with innovation capacity, competitiveness and overall strength markedly enhanced and solid strides taken toward building a manufacturing powerhouse.

TREE NEWS update: Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said on the evening of the 16th that it summoned India’s acting high commissioner in Islamabad to protest what it called an extremely provocative and unacceptable action by an Indian Navy vessel inside Pakistan’s exclusive economic zone on the 15th. During Pakistan’s biennial naval exercise, the Indian warship acted provocatively at very close range, causing the two ships to make contact, the ministry said, calling it a serious violation of bilateral agreements that could raise regional tensions.

TREE NEWS reports: The World Meteorological Organization said in its State of Global Water Resources report released on the 17th that 2025 was among the driest years for global rivers in 35 years. Terrestrial water storage continued a near-decade-long decline, and the world’s major glacier regions lost ice for a fourth consecutive year. The WMO warned that the global water cycle is becoming more erratic and harder to predict, posing long-term risks to water security.

TREE NEWS reports: Macquarie forecasts the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates by another 50 basis points, split into two 25-basis-point hikes — one in December and one in the first quarter of 2027. The call points to a further tightening path rather than an end to the Fed’s hiking cycle.

TREE NEWS update: Unit 3 of Huaneng Changjiang Nuclear Power Phase II, the first Hualong One reactor in the Hainan Free Trade Port, entered commercial operation on September 17. The project in Changjiang Li Autonomous County, Hainan, plans two 1.2-million-kilowatt units; once both operate, they are expected to save over 6.3 million tonnes of standard coal and cut about 11.68 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Unit 4 completed cold testing on September 7 and is slated for commercial operation in August 2027.

TREE NEWS update: Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said she expects the Bank of Japan to manage monetary policy appropriately to achieve its inflation target. The remark signals continued government confidence in the central bank’s policy steering. Katayama did not indicate any specific policy action or timing.

TREE NEWS update: AstraZeneca will invest nearly RMB 200 million to upgrade the new drug development and supply building at its Wuxi production and supply base, supporting process development and production of its investigational cardiovascular drugs and global supply after commercialization. The roughly 5,800-square-meter project is scheduled to begin operations in the fourth quarter of 2029, with expected annual capacity of 400 million tablets.

TREE NEWS reports: Shanghai’s Composite fell 0.36% and Shenzhen’s Component lost 0.29% at the midday break on September 17, with ChiNext down 0.12% after an early rally faded. Agriculture and CRO names led gains, while precious metals dropped, sending Shandong Gold and Zhongjin Gold down more than 6%. Turnover reached 1.25 trillion yuan in the morning session, with 3,100-plus stocks declining.

TREE NEWS update: Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) has extended its partnership with China’s Bank of Ningbo by 10 years. The renewed agreement continues a cross-border banking relationship between the Singapore lender and the Chinese regional bank. No financial terms were disclosed.

TREE NEWS update: Residents from southern Lebanon held a large rally in Beirut on the evening of the 15th to protest what they describe as systematic destruction carried out by the Israel Defense Forces in southern Lebanon. The gathering was held in the Lebanese capital, drawing people from the country’s south.

TREE NEWS update: China launched the Tianyi-51 and Tianyi-52 satellites at 10:40 on September 17 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center aboard a Kuaizhou-11 Y3 carrier rocket. The satellites entered their planned orbits and the launch mission was declared a complete success.

TREE NEWS update: Anhui province issued eight tranches of special-purpose local government bonds, including 10-year toll-road paper of 222 million yuan at a 1.7900% coupon and 20-year toll-road paper of 1.154 billion yuan at 2.2400%. A 15-year other special bond of 5.901 billion yuan priced at 2.0500% drew a marginal bid-to-cover of 32.32x, while a 7-year land-reserve tranche of 2.44 billion yuan at 1.5800% drew 52.00x. Tenors ranged from 5 to 30 years.

TREE NEWS update: HSBC has scrapped a tuition benefit worth up to $38,000 per child for some of its Hong Kong employees. The bank is removing the education allowance for a portion of its local workforce. No further details on the scope of the cut or the number of employees affected were provided.

TREE NEWS update: Anhui province issued 5-year shantytown renovation special local government bonds totaling 875 million yuan at a coupon of 1.4500%, with a bid-to-cover of 1.86 times against an expected 1.45. The same auction included 7-year bonds of 538 million yuan at 1.5600% and 10-year bonds of 211 million yuan at 1.7900%. A separate 20-year other special local bond of 11.678 billion yuan priced at 2.2300%.

TREE NEWS update: Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said the government will continue to maintain close communication with the US Treasury to preserve order in the foreign exchange market. Kihara declined to comment on specific currency moves and also declined to comment on other countries’ monetary policy. He gave no further details.

TREE NEWS reports: The overnight Shanghai Interbank Offered Rate (SHIBOR) stood at 1.4600%, up 1.80 basis points, the seven-day rate at 1.4500%, also up 1.80 basis points, and the three-month rate at 1.4300%, unchanged. The daily fixing reflects short-term funding costs in China’s interbank market.