Flash News

TREE NEWS reports: Canada’s building permits fell 17.3% in July from the previous month, against expectations of a 4.8% decline, Statistics Canada data showed. The drop follows an 18.5% gain in June. The reading covers the value of building permits issued during the month.

TREE NEWS reports: The US export price index rose 0.6% month over month in August, in line with the 0.6% consensus estimate, after a revised 1.3% decline the previous month. The reading marks a rebound in export prices from July’s drop.

TREE NEWS reports: US retail sales excluding automobiles rose 1.4% month-on-month in August, beating expectations of 0.6%, after a prior reading of -0.3%. The figure, released as part of the monthly retail sales report, points to firmer consumer spending than economists had forecast.

TREE NEWS update: US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said 18 million barrels of oil transited the Strait of Hormuz yesterday. The figure was given by the US energy chief in a statement on the key Gulf shipping chokepoint. No further details were provided.

TREE NEWS reports: US August retail sales, along with August import and export price indices, are scheduled for release at 20:30 Beijing time. The data covers the same month across all three series. Figures were not disclosed in advance of the release.

TREE NEWS reports: Certificates of deposit sold online by several of China’s largest state-owned banks now carry rates at or below ordinary time deposits of the same tenor, with some short-term products priced even lower. The shift reflects banks actively repricing deposits as net interest margins stay low and liability management tightens.

TREE NEWS reports: Canada’s housing starts came in at 229,000 units in August, missing the 240,000 forecast and essentially flat versus July’s 229,100. The reading points to a housing market that is holding steady but failing to accelerate despite expectations of a stronger summer pace.

TREE NEWS reports: Bitcoin is trading around $76,000, with analysts arguing that dollar liquidity rather than the Clarity Act will determine the floor from here. The debate over the crypto market structure bill’s impact has been sidelined by the view that Fed-driven liquidity conditions matter more for price direction.

TREE NEWS update: Saudi Arabia has urged the international community to take a firm stance against the Houthis. The call was made public without further detail on specific measures or the venue in which it was issued. No response from other governments was immediately reported.

TREE NEWS update: S&P Global Ratings said it raised its Banking Industry Country Risk Assessment (BICRA) for China to Group 5 from Group 6, a lower-risk category. The agency cited China’s technological progress and substantial financial reserves as strengthening the resilience of the country and its banking system against economic and geopolitical shocks, prompting the revision of its assessment of economic risk facing banks.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has issued the 15th Five-Year Plan for Culture and Tourism Development, targeting deeper progress in building a strong culture and tourism nation by 2030. The plan sets out eight key tasks, including heritage protection, public services, industry development, market supervision, technology-enabled development and regional coordination, and designs 54 key engineering projects to support implementation.

TREE NEWS reports: The Baltic Dry Index, which tracks freight rates for dry bulk commodities including iron ore, coal and grain, fell 0.98% to 3,327 points. The decline marks a pullback in the benchmark gauge of global bulk shipping costs.

TREE NEWS update: Pudong Venture Capital Group and Pudong Sci-Tech Group announced on September 16 an equal merger and restructuring, with Pudong VC Group assuming the assets, liabilities, business, personnel and other rights and obligations of Pudong Sci-Tech Group. The combined entity will focus on full-cycle, full-industry-chain investment in science and technology innovation projects, leveraging state capital’s leading role in tech investment.

TREE NEWS reports: Thailand’s PTTEP said every $3 increase in liquefied natural gas prices could lift the country’s electricity costs by about 5%. The state-linked energy producer tied the sensitivity of Thai power tariffs directly to movements in global LNG prices. No timeframe or specific price level was given.

TREE NEWS update: Yemen’s Houthi movement said it struck an air base at Khamis Mushait and Saudi Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu. The group announced the attacks in a statement, without providing further details on damage or casualties. There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities or Aramco.

TREE NEWS reports: PwC plans to cut bonuses for its Swiss employees by half as the Big Four firm looks to reduce costs amid rising AI use and a challenging economic environment, people familiar with the matter said. The changes were announced at internal meetings held for specific teams in recent weeks. A PwC spokesperson said the firm does not comment on internal or employee matters and could not confirm or deny rumors about bonuses or other decisions.

TREE NEWS reports: JPMorgan Asset Management’s chief investment officer for international fixed income, Iain Stealey, said a Federal Reserve decision to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday would catch markets badly off guard and could trigger a selloff in US Treasuries. Traders are almost certain the Fed will hike, Stealey told Bloomberg Television, adding that the long end of the yield curve “would absolutely not like” a hold.

TREE NEWS update: State Grid Corporation of China released measures to modernize the electricity business environment, pledging to upgrade weak backbone grids in county areas during the 15th Five-Year Plan period and cut average rural household outage time in 2030 by more than 30% versus 2025. The company will also roll out “scan-to-use electricity” service nationwide, letting seasonal, temporary and mobile users such as tea roasting, tobacco curing, irrigation, street stalls and courier logistics connect without filing applications.

TREE NEWS update: State Grid Corporation of China published measures to modernise the electricity business environment, pledging stronger condition monitoring and maintenance of substations and power lines around key chipmaking, precision-machining and biopharma enterprises. The utility will also optimise grid structure and customer connection plans, and provide one-on-one guidance for clients configuring uninterruptible power supplies to improve safe and stable operation.

TREE NEWS update: China’s Ministry of Finance outlined a 2030 target to basically complete a multi-tier agricultural insurance system that matches farmers’ risk-protection needs and modern agriculture, with central and local governments sharing responsibility. The plan aims for overall international advanced standards, delivering efficient subsidies, industry protection, farmer benefits and institutional sustainability, a finance ministry official said in a Q&A.