Real-time News

Belarusian President Lukashenko: Belarus will not be drawn into the conflict in Ukraine.

The local governor said a Ukrainian drone attack on a transportation facility in Russia's Bryansk region killed two people.

On May 21st, during the Q1 2026 earnings call, NIO founder, chairman, and CEO William Li stated that the competition in China's smart electric vehicle market has moved from a period of brand confusion to a period of clarification. In Q1 of this year, NIO's average transaction price was 390,000 yuan, exceeding BMW's by 50,000 yuan and 1.5 times that of Audi. In Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta, and first-tier cities, NIO has already surpassed the market share of traditional luxury brands.

Market news: Intel launches SuperClaw, a hybrid agent-based artificial intelligence solution.

On May 21, regulatory filings revealed that private investment firms owned by the super-rich continued to increase their holdings in chipmakers in the first quarter of 2026. Some family offices also increased their stakes in energy producers, betting on Middle East conflicts driving up oil prices, while others opted to cash out. David Tepper's family office, Appaloosa Management, increased its Micron Technology (MU.O) holding by 11%, making it its second-largest holding as of the end of March. Appaloosa also increased its TSMC (TSM.N) holding by 18% to $448.6 million and established a new $79 million position in SanDisk (SNDK.O). Stanley Druckenmiller's private investment firm, Duquesne Family Office, also disclosed a new SanDisk (SNDK.O) position worth $24 million and a Broadcom (AVGO.O) holding worth $161 million. George Soros's Soros Fund Management increased its Nvidia (NVDA.O) holding by 61% to $187 million. Duquesne locked in some profits by liquidating its holdings in Entegris and ON Semiconductor (ON.O). Appaloosa also reduced its Nvidia holdings by 13%. Amid the Iran war, billionaire family offices have adopted different strategies for energy stocks. Appaloosa more than doubled its holdings in Texas power and generation company Vistra Corp to $304 million, while BlueCrest Capital Management, the private investment firm of billionaire hedge fund manager Michael Pratt, liquidated its $103 million position in the stock.

Market sources say that Stranty will use Qualcomm's system-on-a-chip in its next-generation cars.

Microsoft (MSFT.O) rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading after reports that Anthropic is in talks with Microsoft to use its artificial intelligence chip.

According to The Information: Anthropic and Microsoft are in the early stages of negotiations regarding artificial intelligence chips.

The main contract for low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) rose more than 2.00% intraday, currently trading at 5129.00 yuan/ton.

U.S. State Department: U.S. citizens who have been to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, or South Sudan in the past 21 days must enter the United States through Washington Dulles International Airport.

On May 21, NIO founder, chairman and CEO William Li stated in the Q1 2026 earnings call that with the further expansion of the battery swapping network, users in third-, fourth- and fifth-tier cities are increasingly accepting pure electric products. The company's existing product lineup, including upcoming products, will enable the company to gain momentum in the Chinese passenger vehicle market.

May 21 – The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell last week, indicating some resilience in the labor market and giving the Federal Reserve room to focus on combating rising inflation. Data showed that initial jobless claims fell by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 209,000 in the week ending May 16. While economists expect jobless claims to rise during the summer (due to seasonal factors), the labor market remains stagnant. Financial markets currently expect the Federal Reserve to keep its benchmark overnight interest rate between 3.50% and 3.75% until next year.

On May 21st, according to the latest data from the General Administration of Customs, China's sulfur imports in April 2026 totaled 295,500 tons, a decrease of 42.77% month-on-month and 72.39% year-on-year. From January to April 2026, China's cumulative sulfur imports reached 1,847,100 tons, a decrease of 48.08% compared to the same period last year. On May 21st, commodity information agency Longzhong Information published an article stating that this monthly import volume of less than 300,000 tons marks the second lowest monthly import volume in nearly 20 years, second only to the 236,500 tons in October 2008. The significant decrease in imports in April was due to both the disruption of resource flows from the Middle East and the suppression of purchasing interest by high prices, reflecting the complex trading sentiment and wait-and-see attitude of industry players in the domestic sulfur market.

US officials: Iran's stance on the nuclear issue remains hardline.

Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Taylor: The probability of an economic recession has risen to 30% to 40%.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Prices Get Index for May was 26.3, compared to 33.5 in the previous month.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Shipments Index for May was 4.9, down from 34 in the previous month.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Prices Paid Index for May was 47.9, compared to 59.3 in May.

The Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing New Orders Index for May was -1.7, down from 33 in May.