Real-time News

Market news: Houthi rebels launched missiles at Saudi-backed forces' assembly points in Taiz province, Yemen.

On September 2nd, Ryanair, one of Europe's largest airlines, cut winter capacity on Wednesday to reduce its exposure to unhedged jet fuel prices as high as $140 per barrel. Ryanair is one of the airlines with the most comprehensive jet fuel hedging measures, having already locked in approximately 80% of its jet fuel demand. Despite this, high oil prices still forced the company to reduce capacity, and it expects to save €70 million to €100 million (approximately $81 million to $115 million) as a result. In a statement, Ryanair noted that if jet fuel prices remain high, other airlines will face survival difficulties, and it will lead to a "significant increase" in airfares on short-haul European routes next year. Jeff Currie, a senior advisor at The Carlyle Group, warned investors a few weeks ago to pay attention to the refined oil market, emphasizing that the prices the market focuses on are not the truly key indicator: "Nobody in the world directly consumes crude oil; only refineries consume it. Everyone else consumes gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, and those markets are in a much worse state."

Two Iraqi energy officials said that Iraq's oil exports rose to about 2.34 million barrels per day in August from about 1.35 million barrels per day in July.

Market news: The German cabinet has approved a €10 billion income tax reform.

On September 2nd, it was learned from the National Energy Administration that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, my country will focus on building a high-quality new power grid, striving to construct a new architecture for a main-distribution-microgrid coordinated power grid that enhances the safety and stability of the large power grid, fully leverages the role of the distribution network as a public platform, and promotes flexible and diversified interaction among smart microgrids. Wang Hongzhi, Director of the National Energy Administration, stated that the construction of a new power grid represents a profound transformation involving new architecture, new technologies, and new services, requiring comprehensive planning and systematic implementation. Efforts should be focused on strengthening infrastructure strengths to build a new architecture for a main-distribution-microgrid coordinated power grid that enhances the safety and stability of the large power grid, fully leverages the role of the distribution network as a public platform, and promotes flexible and diversified interaction among smart microgrids. Efforts should also be focused on leveraging innovation to accelerate the research and application of new power grid technologies such as "artificial intelligence+", flexible grid construction, intelligent control, and long-term energy storage, developing new types of productivity. Furthermore, efforts should be focused on strengthening diversified support and guarantees, upgrading new power grid services that are compatible with new business models such as efficient grid connection and consumption of new energy sources, high-quality power supply, and computing-based collaborative systems. Finally, efforts should be focused on upholding the bottom line of safe operation, ensuring the safe and stable operation of the large power grid, strengthening engineering safety and quality management, improving the power grid's disaster prevention and emergency response capabilities, and enhancing its safety resilience.

September 2nd - According to the New Zealand Geological Survey, a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck approximately 40 kilometers northeast of Milford Sound in southwestern New Zealand at around 6:13 PM local time (2:13 PM Beijing time), with a depth of 5 kilometers. Subsequently, at approximately 6:57 PM local time (2:57 PM Beijing time), a 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck approximately 35 kilometers northeast of Milford Sound, with a depth of 5 kilometers.

September 2nd - Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jeten met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Eindhoven, Netherlands, on September 2nd, local time. The two leaders discussed international and regional hotspots such as the situation in Ukraine, the Middle East, economic cooperation, and defense cooperation. They also focused on bilateral relations between the Netherlands and France, as well as the development of the European technology industry. Following the meeting, the two leaders will jointly participate in a roundtable discussion with representatives from technology companies in France and the Netherlands.

On September 2nd, it was reported that on August 28th, multiple departments issued a series of new real estate policies, involving a restructuring of the pre-sale system, personal and corporate credit systems, fund supervision, and land supply rules. Regarding loan term selection, Zhao Xiuchi, Dean of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Real Estate Research Institute of Capital University of Economics and Business and Vice President of the Beijing Real Estate Law Society, stated that extending loan terms is a double-edged sword; choosing a 40-year loan term is not necessarily advantageous. If funds are tight, one can take full advantage of the policies and choose a long-term loan first. Paying off the loan early when income increases and repayment ability is available is also a good option. The new policies lower the financial threshold for homebuyers, which is beneficial for some first-time homebuyers and those seeking to upgrade their housing to enter the market more quickly. For those who do not prefer renting, the housing market is now basically at its bottom, and the policies are at their best; it's time to consider "getting on the property ladder."

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Ukrainian troops lost approximately 1,330 soldiers in operations against Russian forces in the past 24 hours.

Russian Defense Ministry: Black Sea Fleet destroyed a Ukrainian unmanned vessel in the Black Sea.

On September 2nd, Israeli Defense Minister Katz stated that he believes Israel's military operations have significantly weakened Iran. "We eliminated the existential threat from Iran, removed Khamenei, thwarted their strategic capabilities, and set them back decades," he added. He further stated that despite casualties on Israeli soil, Israel has also gained strategically. Katz said, "There were indeed casualties, but in terms of the overall gains and losses, the casualties could have been much more severe. We dismantled their launch capabilities. In the operation against Iran, we achieved tremendous results. Our most dangerous enemy has been severely damaged and is now significantly weaker than us."

On September 2nd, Israeli Defense Minister Katz stated that Israel is currently allowing the United States to lead the strikes against Iran because the US has interests in the Strait of Hormuz and energy security. Katz also addressed the possibility that Iran might attempt to rebuild its nuclear program, stating that the program was destroyed during Israel's "Operation Rising Lion." He said, "We destroyed it, completely destroyed it." Katz indicated that Trump subsequently joined the operation, deploying B-2 bombers carrying bunker-buster munitions to strike Fordow and another facility. "Since then, the nuclear program has not resumed, and we have been monitoring developments. Now we need to ensure they cannot regain the ability to revive the program, nor will they restart it."

September 2nd - From August 24th to 26th, Liu Xinyan, Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Equipment Industry Development Center of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, led a team to Fuzhou and Ningde cities in Fujian Province to conduct a special investigation on the development of the electric ship industry. The investigation team visited key enterprises in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain to gain a firsthand understanding of the latest progress in electric ship technology research and development, assembly and construction, demonstration applications, and industrial ecosystem development. Going forward, under the guidance of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Equipment Industry Development Center will strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and other relevant units to jointly promote the high-quality development of the electric ship industry.

On September 2nd, Russian President Vladimir Putin, when asked on September 1st about Japan's protest against his recent visit to the Southern Kuril Islands (known as the Northern Territories in Japan), stated that he was "not surprised" by it and that the deterioration of Russia-Japan relations was entirely the responsibility of the Japanese government. Putin said that "signing a peace treaty is a complex issue," and that Russia was willing to discuss the matter with Japan and had responded positively on many related issues, but Japan's actions caused the deterioration of bilateral relations, which he considered "100% Japan's fault." Putin visited the disputed Southern Kuril Islands (known as the Northern Territories in Japan) on August 13th, prompting the Japanese Foreign Ministry to summon the Russian ambassador to lodge a formal protest. In response, the Russian Embassy in Japan stated that "the president's itinerary within his own country is not subject to interference from foreign governments."

On September 2nd, Israeli Defense Minister Katz stated that Israel is monitoring Iranian movements daily and is prepared to strike should an attack occur. Katz noted that Iran "likes to launch attacks during holidays" and emphasized Israel's readiness. When asked whether the ongoing attacks between the US and Iran could potentially affect Israel, especially with Jewish holidays approaching, Katz said that Israeli leaders are continuously monitoring developments. "The Prime Minister and I are tracking the situation daily with the Israel Defense Forces, sometimes communicating via red phone in the middle of the night. We are prepared. If they attack us, we will respond with strong force, acting independently without being influenced by any other party."

September 2nd - As tensions escalate again in the Middle East, crude oil shipments to India have been disrupted. At least two refiners have been forced to arrange for more expensive alternative sources due to delayed arrivals of their scheduled cargoes. According to sources, Bharat Oil Corporation, India's state-owned oil company, had four shipments of crude oil from the Persian Gulf that failed to arrive on schedule in August. They also indicated that some crude oil delivery times for Indian Oil Corporation (INC) have been adjusted. Sources familiar with the transactions revealed that the sudden supply disruptions have forced Indian refiners to seek alternative sources, leading to a surge in recent procurement tenders and inquiries. Of the four delayed shipments for INC, two were from the UAE, one from Saudi Arabia, and one from Kuwait.

According to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings, Standard Chartered (02888.HK) repurchased a total of 370,936 shares on other exchanges on September 1, amounting to £8 million.

The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, stated that the attack has resulted in 5 casualties and 3 injured people hospitalized. A medical facility was damaged in the attack, with several windows broken. Initial reports indicate that hospital staff and patients are unharmed.

On September 2nd, at the 4th Cyberspace Security (Tianjin) Forum, Zhou Hongyi, founder of 360 Group, delivered a keynote speech, arguing that AI has changed the landscape of network attack and defense, making traditional solutions unsustainable. He called for the creation of a new automated attack and defense system centered on "using models to control models," using AI capabilities to address AI risks, ensuring the security of the large models themselves, the reliability of generated content, and the credibility of output results; and establishing an auditable, interventionist, and blocking control mechanism for the entire lifecycle management of intelligent agents.

September 2 – EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Maria Callas said on September 2 that the EU had summoned the Russian ambassador to the EU regarding the attempted drone attack on Leipzig airport in Germany. An informal meeting of EU foreign ministers was held that day in Wicklow, Ireland. Callas stated before the meeting that the incident "has all the characteristics of state-sponsored terrorism," and that the EU and many EU member states had separately summoned the Russian ambassadors to the EU and relevant countries. The countries would discuss next steps at the meeting held that day.