Category: Flash News

① Pending release of interest rate decision and economic outlook report by the Bank of Japan; ② 14:30 Switzerland’s actual retail sales annual rate in March, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda held a press conference; ③ 16:30 UK manufacturing PMI final value for April, central bank mortgage approval for March; ④ 19:30 Number of layoffs by challenger companies in April in the United States; ⑤ 20:30 Initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending April 26th; ⑥ 21:45 US April S&P Global Manufacturing PMI Final Value; ⑦ 22:00 US April ISM Manufacturing PMI and March Construction Expenditure Monthly Rate; ⑧ 22:30 US EIA natural gas inventory for the week ending April 25th.

On May 1st, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Threads currently has over 350 million monthly active users. The improvement of the recommendation system has driven a 7% increase in user engagement time on Facebook, a 6% increase on Instagram, and a 35% increase on the Threads platform over the past six months.

On May 1st, Robinhood’s first quarter revenue was $927 million, with a market expectation of $920 million, compared to $618 million in the same period last year. Net profit of 336 million US dollars, market expectation of 310 million US dollars, compared to 157 million US dollars in the same period last year.

On May 1st, Qualcomm’s adjusted revenue for the second quarter was $10.84 billion, with an estimated revenue of $10.64 billion; Q2 adjusted earnings per share of $2.85, estimated at $2.81; The company expects to generate revenue of $9.9 billion to $10.7 billion in the third quarter, with a market estimate of $10.33 billion; The company expects adjusted earnings per share of $2.60 to $2.80 for the third quarter, with a market estimate of $2.66.

May 1, late Wednesday (April 30) in New York, the yield of US 10-year treasury bond bonds fell 0.97 basis points to 4.1619%. In April, the cumulative decline was 0.89 basis points. It rebounded after falling to 3.8564% on April 4, and rose to 4.5864% on April 11, and then continued to give up the rise. The two-year US Treasury yield fell by 4.92 basis points, hitting a new daily low of 3.6007%. In April, it accumulated a decline of 28.24 basis points, with a trading range of 4.0305% -3.4305%. The yield spread of 2/10-year US Treasury bonds has risen by over 5.8309 basis points, setting a new daily high of+94.140 basis points, with a cumulative increase of 26.668 basis points in April.

On May 1st, according to the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology, after several years of research, Professor Li Yibo’s research group from the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement, College of Life Sciences and Technology, and Hubei Hongshan Laboratory’s rice team at Huazhong Agricultural University has discovered the key gene for rice to resist high temperatures – QT12. It is like a natural “air conditioning system” built into rice, which can ensure the yield and quality of rice under high temperatures. On April 30th, this important research achievement was published in the internationally authoritative journal Cell.

On May 1st, Russian Federation Security Council Secretary Shoigu stated on April 30th local time that European countries’ plans to deploy so-called peacekeeping forces on Ukrainian territory show signs of preparing to occupy western Ukraine. Russia believes that the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine is unacceptable and will become a legitimate target for Russian military strikes. Shoigu said that Europe is attempting to get involved in the conflict and prevent Russia from normalizing relations with the United States.

On May 1st, at the meeting of the Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures of the World Trade Organization held on the 29th, the Chinese representative comprehensively refuted the false accusations made by the United States and other individual members against China regarding “overcapacity”, condemned the United States’ “equivalent tariffs” and discriminatory subsidy policies, which seriously undermine WTO rules, and called on members to unite and cooperate, oppose unilateralism and protectionism, and defend the multilateral trading system centered on the WTO. The Chinese side stated that there is no universally recognized standard or calculation method for “overcapacity”, and the imbalance between supply and demand is normal and absolute. In the context of economic globalization, a country’s energy and products are not only supplied to its own market, but also participate in global trade and market competition based on comparative advantages. Chips, airplanes, soybeans from the United States, and cars from Germany and Japan are all exported in large quantities. The hype of “overcapacity” by members such as the United States violates the laws of market economy and the logic of globalization. Essentially, it is a concern for their competitiveness and market share, using “overcapacity” as an excuse to create anxiety, smear and suppress China, and find poor excuses for adopting unilateralism and protectionism measures. The Chinese side emphasizes that the development of Chinese industries and the competitive advantage of Chinese products are not the result of subsidies, but rather stem from continuous technological innovation and collaborative development. China attaches great importance to trade policy compliance, continuously ensuring that trade policies, including subsidy policies, comply with WTO rules, actively fulfilling transparency obligations such as subsidy notifications, and firmly upholding the multilateral trading system. The Chinese side pointed out that the United States’ “reciprocal tariffs” disrupt global trade and harm the interests of developing members, while China is the “stabilizer” of global trade growth and has always firmly stood on the side of developing members. The fundamental reason why the United States repeatedly accuses and smears China on the issue of production capacity, describing China as a “threat”, is that the United States always insists on “zero sum game” and “America first”, only cares about its own interests, and does not believe that win-win results can be achieved through economic and trade cooperation. At the same time, under the issue of “US discriminatory subsidy policies” in the committee, China strongly criticized the US discriminatory subsidies and “equivalent tariffs” such as the Chip and Science Act for distorting the market, pursuing “double standards”, and violating WTO rules. It also pointed out that the US approach deviates from the laws of the market economy and seriously disrupts the normal order of international trade and investment. China calls on its members to strengthen cooperation, oppose unilateral bullying by the United States, and jointly uphold the rules based multilateral trading system.

On May 1st, minutes of the Bank of Canada meeting showed that the committee had differences on whether to cut interest rates or keep them unchanged. Members who support unchanged interest rates hope to obtain more information about US tariffs and support a wait-and-see attitude; Members who support no changes believe that considering the inflationary pressure brought about by tariffs may soon emerge, another interest rate cut may be premature; Members who support interest rate cuts mentioned that inflation risks have been relatively flat recently, and there are signs that the economy is weakening; Members who support interest rate cuts say that as long as the medium – to long-term inflation expectations remain stable, the central bank has the flexibility to further lower interest rates; Members who support interest rate cuts emphasize the necessity of timely action, as there is a lag in the transmission of monetary policy measures to the economy and inflation.

On May 1st, as the rift between the United States and Europe deepens, accelerating the elimination of dependence on American security and developing independent defense has become a consensus among European countries. At the 2025 European People’s Party Congress held in Valencia, Spain, on April 29, President of the European Commission von der Leyen once again mentioned that Europe should promote defense autonomy to hedge the impact of the “big turn” of the US policy towards Europe.