Real-time News

French Prime Minister: We must strengthen the protection of our systems to deal with the surge in cyberattacks.

On May 1st, analysts at RBC Capital Markets wrote in a report that sporting goods companies appear more vulnerable to high oil prices compared to other apparel and fashion companies. Sportswear has a relatively high reliance on oil in its raw material costs, higher freight costs, and lower profit margins than luxury fashion brands. The bank stated that this could have a "very negative" impact on the financial performance of sporting goods groups such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma.

UK mortgage lender Nationwide said on Friday that UK house prices unexpectedly rose 0.4% in April, up 3.0% year-on-year, despite the Middle East conflict dampening consumer confidence. Economists surveyed by Reuters had previously expected a 0.3% month-on-month decline and a 2.2% year-on-year increase in April. Since the start of the war with Iran in late February, UK mortgage rates have risen, and consumer confidence has fallen to its lowest level since 2023. Property surveyors reported that buyer demand weakened in March, resulting in the most widespread decline in house prices since January 2024.

May 1st - The Japanese government announced on May 1st that it has begun releasing additional national oil reserves from its oil facilities in Ibaraki Prefecture. This comes amidst widespread concern over a recent sharp drop in Japan's crude oil imports due to the situation in the Middle East. The Japanese government began releasing national oil reserves on March 26th. On April 10th, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi stated that an additional 20-day supply of national oil reserves would be released in May.

On May 1st, Insight Investment senior investment specialist Jill Hezer stated in a report that one or two precautionary rate hikes by the European Central Bank (ECB) could help reassure markets and anchor inflation expectations, while retaining the flexibility to quickly reverse policy once the economic outlook becomes clearer. The ECB kept its deposit rate at 2% on Thursday but discussed other options, including rate hikes. The expert stated, "The ECB is in a favorable position: it led the global easing cycle and remains the only major central bank to return policy to a neutral level."

The UK's Nationwide house price index rose 3% year-on-year in April, below the expected 2.20% and the previous reading of 2.20%.

According to Japan's Kyodo News, Japan has begun releasing additional national oil reserves.

Royal Bank of Canada: Raises its price target for AMD (AMD.O) from $230 to $325.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi: During this trip to Asia, we will seek cooperation to strengthen our supply chains and ensure the security of energy and critical minerals.

French automotive industry organization PFA: New car registrations in France fell 1.4% in April to 169,167 vehicles.

Japan's domestic car sales rose 17.6% year-on-year in April.

May 1st Futures News: Economies.com analysts' latest view: WTI crude oil futures prices are fluctuating, but the short-term bullish trend remains dominant, with prices moving along a supportive upward trendline. This is supported by prices trading above the 50-day exponential moving average (EMA50), further solidifying the stability of the bullish trend. Meanwhile, the Relative Strength Index (RSI), after experiencing extreme oversold conditions, has begun to show a positive golden cross signal, suggesting a potential bullish divergence, which could provide further support for continued upward movement in the short term.

Voyah Automobile: 15,146 vehicles were delivered in April 2026, a year-on-year increase of 51%.

On May 1st, Zheng Shanjie, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, published an article in Qiushi magazine entitled "Promoting Chinese-Style Modernization through High-Quality Implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan." The article states that developing new productive forces is an inherent requirement and key focus of high-quality development, and an inevitable choice for gaining a competitive edge in international competition. It emphasizes accelerating high-level scientific and technological self-reliance. This includes focusing on strengthening original innovation and tackling key core technologies, and increasing the proportion of funding for basic research. It also stresses reinforcing the leading role of enterprises in scientific and technological innovation, and promoting the aggregation of innovation resources such as projects, platforms, data, and talent to enterprises. Furthermore, it calls for integrated development of education, science, and talent, strengthening planning coordination, policy synergy, resource allocation, and evaluation linkage. Finally, it emphasizes seizing the opportunities presented by digital and intelligent development, promoting the large-scale, intensive, green, and inclusive development of computing resources, strengthening the supply of high-quality data resources, and deepening and expanding "artificial intelligence +".