Category: Flash News

On April 18th, Syrian regime leader Salah met with visiting Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Safadi on April 17th local time. During the meeting, the Jordanian side reiterated Jordan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations, supporting Syria’s security and stability, and firmly standing with Syria in the reconstruction process; Sala highly appreciated Jordan’s support for Syria and stressed that Syria is committed to strengthening relations with Jordan in various fields to benefit the two peoples. Safadi also held talks with the head of the Syrian diplomatic department, Shebani. Safadi reiterated that Jordan firmly supports the reconstruction process in Syria. Safadi emphasized the need to stop Israel’s continuous aggression against Syria and occupation of some Syrian territories, pointing out that this is a blatant violation of international law and a dangerous escalation of regional tension and conflict. Shebani stated that Syria attaches great importance to Jordan’s security and stability, firmly opposes any actions that endanger its security, and is committed to strengthening bilateral security cooperation.

On April 18th, it was reported that Trump has discussed with several senior advisors the dismissal of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. According to reports, Trump has had discussions with former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh regarding the early dismissal of Powell. Warsh told Trump that Powell should be allowed to complete his term without interference. Treasury Secretary Bessent opposes the idea of Trump advisers seeking to dismiss Powell, believing that this move is not worth the cost. On that day, Trump also publicly fired at Powell due to the Fed’s delay in cutting interest rates. He stated that he has the ability to make Powell step down, even though the Federal Reserve is an independent institution. Powell’s current term will end in 2026.

On April 18th, US President Trump announced on April 17th local time that he would “listen to the opinions of the Russian side” on the US proposal for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine this week. Trump said that the United States will receive news from Russia “soon”, and the United States hopes that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will stop. It is reported that US Secretary of State Rubio and Middle East envoy Vitkov held a meeting with Ukrainian officials in Paris on the same day.

On April 18th, according to the Masila TV station controlled by the Houthi armed group in Yemen, on the evening of April 17th local time, Beida Province in Yemen was hit by at least three airstrikes by the US military. Earlier that day, according to a reporter from the headquarters, explosions were also heard in the Yemeni capital Sana’a.

On April 18th, US mortgage rates rose for the first time in four weeks, marking the largest weekly increase since April 2024. In a statement, Freddie Mac stated that the average level of 30-year fixed rate mortgage loans was 6.83%, higher than last week’s 6.62%. As broader economic uncertainty puts pressure on homebuyers, rising interest rates may suppress the typically busy spring market sales. The tariff dispute disrupted the stock market and pushed up the yield of the 10-year US treasury bond bond, which is the benchmark for mortgage interest rates. When it rises, mortgage rates usually follow suit, “said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com. Looking ahead, multiple economic forces are driving mortgage interest rates in opposite directions, making it increasingly difficult to predict their direction. Demand has begun to slow down. According to Redfin’s data, the number of signed contracts decreased by 0.8% year-on-year in the four weeks ending April 13th.

On April 17th, Alcoa announced on April 16th that some of its materials come from Chinese suppliers. Due to the lack of suitable alternative suppliers, the high tariffs imposed by the United States on China will increase the company’s annual costs by $10 million to $15 million.

On April 17, after the issuance of more large-scale government bonds in the first quarter of this year was accelerated, a large amount of new local government special bonds and treasury bond still remained to be issued. According to the latest arrangement of the Ministry of Finance, the first super long term special treasury bond in 2025 and the special treasury bond funded by the central financial institutions will be issued by bidding on April 24. In the face of new changes in the domestic and international situation, the interviewed experts believe that after the “opening” of the two types of special treasury bond, the government bonds will continue to maintain a larger supply, and further accelerate the issuance speed in the second quarter.

On April 17th, with the disclosure of the 2024 annual report of public funds, the full holdings of FOF (Fund of Funds) portfolios, known as “professional buyers,” were announced. From indicators such as the number of funds held, the number of shares held, and the market value of holdings, index funds with lower costs and clear styles are favored by many FOFs, while some active equity funds with stable investment styles and better long-term performance have also been favored by FOFs. According to Wind’s statistics, as of the end of 2024, a total of 1257 active equity funds (including common stock type, equity mixed type, and flexible allocation type) were held by FOFs, with 121 funds holding more than 50 million FOF shares; From the perspective of market value of holdings, there are 100 funds held with a market value of over 100 million yuan.

On April 17th, it has been six months since the official establishment of the stock repurchase and increase in holdings refinancing policy tool on October 18th last year, and listed companies and major shareholders have actively responded. According to data from Wind Information, as of April 16th, 470 A-share listed companies have disclosed a total of 496 repurchase and increase loans, with a total loan amount cap of 96.978 billion yuan, nearly one-third of the initial 300 billion yuan scale. The interviewed experts stated that repurchasing and increasing holdings of loans provides a convenient financing channel for listed companies and major shareholders, helps manage the market value of listed companies, promotes the return of company stock prices to reasonable values, and effectively boosts market confidence. Next, we can further optimize the repurchase, increase holdings, and refinancing policies to better meet the needs of listed companies and major shareholders.

On April 17th, recently, the repurchase activities of Hong Kong listed companies have been heating up. According to Wind statistics, as of the time of press release on April 16th, 112 Hong Kong listed companies have implemented buybacks since April, with a cumulative buyback amount of HKD 8.967 billion. Compared with the same period last month, the number and total amount of listed companies implementing repurchases since April have increased by 286.21% and 171.15% respectively. Since 2025, the total repurchase amount of Hong Kong listed companies has exceeded HKD 50 billion. On the whole, companies that actively implement repurchase are not only concentrated in the financial blue chip and Internet technology sectors, but also some consumer enterprises have increased repurchase efforts. Institutional insiders say that after the recent significant fluctuations in the Hong Kong stock market, there has been a noticeable increase in repurchase activities, which conveys optimism and helps boost market confidence.