Category: Flash News

On March 20th, Lebanese President Aoun met with German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbek at the Babda Palace (Presidential Palace) on the 19th to discuss important issues such as the political and security situation in Lebanon. Aoun emphasized that reform is not only a requirement of the international community, but also an urgent need for Lebanon itself. Aoun also mentioned that Israel continues to occupy five strategic locations in southern Lebanon. Aoun pointed out that Israel’s actions have hindered the full implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and violated the Lebanon Israel ceasefire agreement. Bellberg reiterated Germany’s commitment to supporting Lebanon and emphasized the importance of implementing reforms. Bellberg expressed that Germany is deeply concerned about the situation in Lebanon, especially the ongoing challenges in the southern region and the Lebanon Syria border area.

On the evening of March 20th, the Israeli parliament voted to reappoint Ben Gevel as Israel’s Minister of National Security, along with the appointment decisions of two members of the Jewish Power Party who also belong to Ben Gevel. Among them, Amihai Eliahu was appointed as Minister of Heritage Affairs, and Yitzhak Vasilyev was appointed as Minister of Development for the Negev and Galilee. The Israeli cabinet had previously voted to appoint Ben Gevel and three others as cabinet ministers.

On March 20th, Deutsche Bank announced on March 19th that it will further reduce the number of branches and cut about 2000 jobs this year to lower costs. Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Zewin said at a meeting on the same day that the bank plans to close a “considerable number” of branches and has prepared funds for the cost of layoffs. In recent years, the bank has repeatedly reduced its branches to cut operating expenses, and this layoff further demonstrates the continuation of its cost control strategy.

On March 20th, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that the base inflation rate before the implementation of tariffs was basically 2.5%. The inflation rate is still running at a level above 2% and has increased due to the impact of tariffs. Federal Reserve staff have a simulated forecast of the impact of tariffs, which assumes that the United States will be subject to comprehensive tariff retaliation. And expressed that there is no need to worry about a repeat of the situation in the 1970s.

On March 20th, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell stated that the inflow and outflow of funds from the Treasury Department’s TGA have prompted the Fed to consider reducing its balance sheet. This is a good time to slow down the reduction of the balance sheet, and the decision to slow down the reduction has not sent any signals. Slowing down the contraction means that this will happen at a slower pace, but for a longer duration. The Federal Reserve will stop this process when the balance sheet is reduced to slightly above the sufficient level; There is still a long way to go from that level, and the speed will be slower when approaching that level. TGA accounts are decreasing and reserve levels are increasing, which makes the underlying signals unclear. And it is stated that there are currently no plans to slow down the reduction rate of MBS holdings. The reduction of MBS holdings may or may not be stopped; The Federal Reserve has not yet made any decision. Strongly hope that MBS will exit the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet; We will carefully consider whether to allow MBS to exit after stopping the scale reduction.

On March 19th, US President Trump announced in an interview with Fox News that he will appeal the ruling regarding the US Agency for International Development. On that day, a federal judge in the United States indefinitely blocked the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development, stating that the unilateral closure of the agency may violate the US Constitution.

On March 19th, Nvidia CEO Huang Renxun stated that the four major public cloud providers in the United States – Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Oracle under Alphabet Inc. – purchased 1.3 million units of Nvidia’s older generation Hopper AI chips last year. He stated that since 2025, this camp has purchased 3.6 million Blackwell AI chips.

On March 19th, a research team from the University of Texas reported in the recent issue of Science Advances that monkeys infected with Ebola virus can be cured through oral medication. This has opened up new avenues for humans to obtain more practical and economical treatment methods. In this experiment, the research team used the antiviral drug Obeldesvir. This is the oral version of remdesivir originally developed for the treatment of COVID-19 infection. Obedesivir is a “polymerase inhibitor” that works by blocking key enzymes required for virus replication.

On March 19th, according to French media reports, French President Macron, who is currently visiting Germany, told the media on March 18th that the ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine should be “verifiable” and “assessable”. It was reported that Makron told the media after meeting with German Prime Minister Schultz that the “latest discussion” on ending the Russia-Ukraine conflict had taken the first step and was moving in the right direction. France will continue to support Ukraine and hopes to achieve a fully respected and assessable ceasefire, leading to a stable and lasting peace. He also emphasized that negotiations without the participation of Ukrainians are unimaginable. The French media pointed out that Makron made the above speech in response to the telephone discussion between the President of the United States and Russia that ended the Russia-Ukraine conflict that day.

① A new round of price adjustment window will be opened for domestic refined oil products to be determined; ② 11: 00 Bank of Japan announces interest rate decision; ③ 14: 30. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda held a press conference; ④ 18: Final annual and monthly CPI rates for February in the Eurozone; ⑤ 22:30 US EIA crude oil inventory and EIA strategic petroleum reserve inventory for the week ending March 14th; ⑥ At 02:00 the next day, the Federal Reserve FOMC announced its interest rate decision and summary of economic expectations At 02:30 the next day, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell held a monetary policy press conference.