Real-time News

Australian Prime Minister Albanese: Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery is still operating at 80% capacity for diesel and jet fuel production following the fire.

1. Ukraine reports attacks on energy infrastructure, causing power outages in multiple areas. 2. TASS reports that Russia claims an oil tanker was attacked in its waters. 3. Ukrainian media reports that in a recent airstrike, a Russian drone dropped anti-Trump leaflets into Ukraine. 4. Ukraine's Minister of Infrastructure reports that Russia has launched over 600 attacks on Ukrainian railway logistics this year, including 65 in April. 5. A Ukrainian drone commander reports that the Ukrainian military attacked Russian oil facilities in Crimea and port infrastructure in Tuapse. 6. A local governor stated that a Russian drone struck a civilian vessel flying the Nauru flag in the Odessa region of Ukraine, but the vessel continued on its original course. 7. The Russian Ministry of Defense reports that in the past 24 hours, the Russian military launched a large-scale attack using land-based, air-based, and sea-based long-range high-precision weapons and attack drones against Ukrainian defense industrial complex facilities used for the production of cruise missiles and medium-to-long-range drones, as well as fuel and energy complex facilities serving the Ukrainian military.

According to SEC filings, Netflix's co-CEOs will receive a total compensation of $53.2 million in 2025.

The statement indicates that the G7 finance ministers discussed the need to maintain pressure on Russia to prevent the Middle East crisis from benefiting its war efforts.

According to SEC filings, Meta will hold its annual online meeting on May 27.

Alcoa (AA.N) reported first-quarter revenue of $3.19 billion, below market expectations of $3.27 billion.

Netflix (NFLX.O) reported first-quarter revenue of $12.25 billion, compared to market expectations of $12.17 billion.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 115.13 points, or 0.24%, to close at 48,578.85 on Thursday, April 16; the S&P 500 rose 18.32 points, or 0.26%, to close at 7,041.27; and the Nasdaq Composite rose 86.69 points, or 0.36%, to close at 24,102.70.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ghalibaf: We will treat this ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel with caution.

On April 17, Ding Xuexiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council, held talks with Turkmen Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Meredov in Ashgabat on April 16 and co-chaired the seventh meeting of the China-Turkmenistan Cooperation Committee. During the meeting, Ding Xuexiang and Meredov signed the "General Agreement on Basic Principles of Cooperation between China and Turkmenistan in the Natural Gas Sector," the "Five-Year Cooperation Plan between the Governments of China and Turkmenistan (2026-2030)," and the "Minutes of the Seventh Meeting of the China-Turkmenistan Cooperation Committee." They also witnessed the signing of cooperation documents in the fields of culture, transportation and logistics, artificial intelligence, science and technology, education, and traditional medicine.

April 17 - According to three sources familiar with the matter, U.S. officials have informed European allies that deliveries of some previously contracted weapons may be delayed as the ongoing conflict with Iran depletes arms stockpiles. Affected countries include the Baltic and Scandinavian nations (typically Norway, Sweden, and Denmark). The sources also indicated that some of the weapons in question were procured by European countries through foreign military sales programs but have not yet been delivered, and delays are now anticipated.

U.S. Health Secretary Kennedy: Trump will nominate a candidate for director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today or tomorrow.

U.S. Steel (XN): The Garytin plant is expected to resume production in early 2027.

U.S. Steel (XN): Announced plans to restart its Garytin plant.

Hang Seng Index futures closed down 0.46% at 26,229 points in overnight trading, a discount of 165 points.

On April 17th, European Central Bank (ECB) Governing Council member Jean-Claude Nagel stated that it would be a mistake to release a clear signal about the future path of interest rates before this month's interest rate decision. He said policymakers currently lack sufficient information to determine whether soaring energy costs will keep inflation high in the long term, and this outcome will determine whether a policy response is needed. "We need to maintain room for choice; it's inappropriate to assert now that interest rates will move in a certain direction, and I'm not prepared to make any commitments prematurely." According to sources, the ECB internally favors keeping interest rates unchanged at this meeting, but given the current rapidly changing environment, a rate hike cannot be ruled out. Nagel stated that the German economy performed reasonably well at the beginning of the year, but momentum has weakened due to the war in Iran, and this year's economic growth is expected to be 0.3 percentage points lower than previously predicted. Nagel also warned investors that sentiment is overly optimistic. "The market is currently relatively optimistic because there is a widespread assumption that lasting peace will be achieved in the Middle East and energy prices will fall," he said. "The central bank's responsibility is to ensure that if this scenario fails to materialize, there will be no spillover effects on financial stability."

Intel (INTC.O) announced on Thursday, April 17th, that it has hired Shawn Han, a veteran of Samsung's foundry business, to bolster its foundry operations. The company stated that Shawn Han has over 10 years of experience in commercial wafer foundry, having worked on chip manufacturing processes since 1996. Under the leadership of CEO Li-Wu Chen, Intel is seeking to revitalize its manufacturing business after years of operational challenges. Intel's foundry division is working to secure major customers for its next-generation 14A process technology.

On April 17th, a memo revealed that the U.S. government is preparing to provide a version of Mythos, an artificial intelligence model developed by Anthropic, to major federal agencies, with enhanced security measures in place, to address concerns that the tool could significantly increase cybersecurity risks. In an email sent Tuesday to cabinet departments, White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Federal Chief Information Officer Barbasilia stated that the OMB is establishing safeguards to enable agencies to begin using this highly restricted AI tool in the future. The email did not specify whether agencies would have access to Mythos, nor did it provide a specific timeline or usage method. It only informed heads of technology and cybersecurity departments that more information was expected "in the coming weeks." Currently, Anthropic has only made Mythos available to a limited number of technology companies and financial institutions, encouraging them to use it to assess their own cybersecurity risks. Due to concerns that hackers could exploit the model's capabilities to steal data or compromise systems, the company has strictly limited its distribution.