Real-time News

On May 18th, French Economy and Finance Minister Jean-Michel Lescourt stated in an interview ahead of the G7 meeting in Paris that the French economy should return to growth in the second quarter and avoid a recession this year. The country unexpectedly stagnated in the first three months of the year, with unemployment rising to a five-year high. Lescourt said, "Clearly, the French economy stagnated in the first quarter, but for statistical reasons, I think it will rebound in the second quarter. My forecast for economic growth this year is 0.9%, while the market consensus is 0.8%, which is far from a recession, so let's have the best hopes." Lescourt noted that France has an advantage over other countries due to its reliance on nuclear power. He also stated that despite the "flaws" in France's social model, increases in welfare and the minimum wage should cushion the impact of the economic slowdown.

Futures News, May 18th: Since last weekend, the price of waste corrugated cardboard has seen sporadic increases. Domestic leading paper mills have appropriately raised their purchase prices by 20-30 yuan/ton, with surrounding paper mills following suit. Overall, the market sentiment is cautious. As of May 18th, the average market price of waste corrugated cardboard is estimated at 1668 yuan/ton, an increase of 5 yuan/ton from the previous trading day, representing a rise of approximately 0.30%. In the short term, heavy rainfall is expected in central and eastern China and North China, which will affect waste paper trading. However, downstream paper mills generally have good demand, which may lead to an increase in waste corrugated cardboard prices.

On May 18th, it was learned from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security that the State Council issued the "Action Plan for Stabilizing Employment, Expanding Capacity, and Improving Quality" today (May 18th), outlining 18 specific measures to promote employment and entrepreneurship among key groups such as college graduates and migrant workers. Regarding tapping employment potential across various channels and fields, the plan specifies: focusing on the consumption sector, building a matrix of renowned Chinese consumer brands, and carrying out employment promotion actions in the service industry; focusing on project construction, accelerating the construction of transportation, water conservancy, and other projects, and increasing the implementation of work-for-relief programs; focusing on the development of new-quality productive forces, implementing the "Artificial Intelligence+" action, accelerating the development of strategic emerging industry clusters, and accelerating the release of employment potential; focusing on people's livelihood services, increasing support for domestic services, elderly care, childcare, and other life service industries, and strengthening human resource services in the health and wellness sector; focusing on coordinated regional development, cultivating distinctive county-level industries, strengthening labor brands, and expanding employment opportunities in the marine economy; and focusing on entrepreneurship driving employment, promoting models such as "scientific and technological achievements," "industrial development + entrepreneurship," "vocational skills + entrepreneurship," and "people's livelihood needs + entrepreneurship."

On May 18th, at the 2026 Tsinghua PBC School of Finance Global Financial Forum, Zhu Min, former Vice Governor of the People's Bank of China and former Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, stated that AI will have some benefits and impacts on improving productivity and quality of life. In response, appropriate policies are needed to guide the use of AI, and stakeholders such as researchers, companies, and businesses need to contribute their perspectives to establish a protective mechanism.

On May 18th, BlueBay Chief Investment Officer Mark Dowding stated that the company remains bullish on inflation-linked bonds. Dowding said the company doesn't have a particularly strong opinion on the market trends and yield curve shapes of German and US Treasuries. In contrast, regarding Japan, the company believes excessive inflation is more likely to be brought under control. Given the very steep yield curve of Japanese government bonds, they are more inclined to favor Japanese bond yields.

Ryanair: Due to the conflict in the Middle East, uncertainty remains regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Europe has ample aviation fuel supplies.

On May 18th, Goldman Sachs analysts stated in a report that U.S. Treasuries have been a poor diversification tool since the end of February. They noted, "The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the conflict with Iran and supply shocks remain major obstacles to the ability of nominal duration to suppress daily portfolio volatility, which could sustain a high risk premium in the near term." However, the analysts believe that the priced-in growth optimism in risk markets and the more pronounced accumulation of inflation risk premiums on the yield curve enhance the value of U.S. Treasuries as a medium-term hedge.

May 18th - According to the latest survey by TrendForce, strong demand for AI chips has led to a tight supply of high-end MLCCs, compressing the supply of consumer MLCCs and prompting some distributors to engage in preventative stockpiling. Suppliers have responded by adjusting prices. Recent negotiations between ODMs and suppliers also show that the average price reduction for overall MLCCs has hit a near three-year low, indicating that the MLCC price cycle has reached a critical point of reversal and upward movement.

The Ukrainian Foreign Minister said he had a constructive and substantive call with the Hungarian Foreign Minister.

On May 18th, Citigroup Wealth's Chief Investment Officer, Kate Moore, stated that while the long-term outlook for equities remains positive, global markets may be entering a period of consolidation after a strong rally. Moore noted that despite ongoing concerns about the Middle East conflict, persistent inflation, and crowded investor positions, the market's resilience in recent months has exceeded investor expectations. "In the past few weeks, the market has been focused on genuinely strong corporate earnings and the upward revisions to spending expectations that companies are talking about when they talk about earnings, which has made everyone very optimistic," Moore said. "Sometimes it feels like the market can only focus on one thing at a time," and "for some, the market rally since the March lows has been uncomfortably strong." She warned that investors may be underestimating the risks facing the second half of the year. "One of them, of course, is related to the ongoing geopolitical and energy crisis in the Middle East," Moore said. "Secondly, there's the spread of inflation, and I don't think enough people are incorporating that factor into their expectations for the fundamentals in the second half of the year."

The yield on Japan's 20-year government bonds rose 8 basis points to 3.720%.

Ukrainian Air Force: Russia launched 524 drones and 22 missiles at Ukraine overnight.

French Finance Minister: We are no longer in a period where public debt is not a concern.

French Finance Minister: The G7 will release oil reserves again in the future if necessary.

French Finance Minister: The European economy is slowing down, but has not yet fallen into recession.

French Finance Minister: The bond market is reminding us not to over-consume public financial resources.

French Finance Minister: I believe the French economy will recover in the second quarter. The French economy is projected to grow by 0.9% this year.

French Finance Minister: The bond market tells us that economic uncertainty is very high.

Citigroup: NIO-SW (09866.HK) has a healthy inventory level; it is expected to outperform Li Auto-W (02015.HK) in the short term.