News

US Treasury Secretary Bessenter: The Netherlands is bringing gold back from North America (including Ottawa and New York), which reflects its own preferences rather than a complete rejection of US assets.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessenter stated that Norway has not shifted to other markets; it has simply moved from U.S. Treasury bonds to agency bonds. These remain U.S. assets. (Previous reports indicated that Norway's sovereign wealth fund was considering adjusting its bond investment benchmark, shifting some of its U.S. Treasury allocation to U.S. agency bonds.)

US Treasury Secretary Bessant: If capital is really fleeing the US, then why do the data show that foreign investor demand for US assets remains strong? If investors are truly "shrinking from US Treasuries," then someone has clearly forgotten to tell those bidders.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessen: The latest data shows that employment continues to grow, business investment and capital spending are also expanding, and the momentum of the capital spending recovery continues to strengthen. Equipment investment in the second quarter of 2026 will be nearly 20% higher than when Biden's term ends.

1. **Monday:** ① Events: 2027 FOMC voting member and Chicago Fed President Goolsby speaks; Bank of Canada Governor Macklem speaks; Vice Premier He Lifeng leads a delegation to the US from September 19th to 23rd for trade consultations. ② Holiday: The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed for Respect for the Aged Day. 2. **Tuesday:** ① Data: UK August public sector net borrowing; UK September CBI industrial orders balance; US ADP employment change for the week ending September 5th; Eurozone September consumer confidence index (preliminary); US September Richmond Fed manufacturing index. ② Events: RBA Governor Bullock delivers a speech; FOMC permanent voting member and New York Fed President Williams delivers a speech at the 2026 US Treasury Market Conference; Fed Vice Chairman Jefferson delivers a speech at the 2026 US Treasury Market Conference. ③ Holiday: The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed for a national holiday. 3. Wednesday: ① Data: US API and EIA crude oil inventories for the week ending September 18; preliminary September manufacturing and services PMIs for France, Germany, the UK, the Eurozone, and the US; ② Events: 2027 FOMC voting member and Richmond Fed President Barkin delivers a speech; NYMEX New York crude oil October futures rollover, with the last floor trading session completed at 2:30 AM on September 23 and the last electronic trading session completed at 5:00 AM. ③ Holiday: The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed for the Autumn Equinox. 4. Thursday: ① Data: Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in August; Switzerland's central bank policy rate to September 24; Germany's IFO Business Climate Index for September; UK's CBI retail sales balance for September; Canada's retail sales month-on-month rate for July; US initial jobless claims for the week ending September 19, current account for the second quarter, annualized total new home sales in August, and EIA natural gas storage for the week ending September 18. ② Events: The Swiss National Bank announces its interest rate decision; FOMC permanent voting member and New York Fed President Williams holds a fireside chat with former Bank of England Deputy Governor Charlie Bean at the London Macroeconomic Policy Forum; 2027 FOMC voting member and Richmond Fed President Barkin participates in a fireside chat at the Economic Club; 2026 FOMC voting member and Cleveland Fed President Hamak delivers opening remarks at a conference; 2026 FOMC voting member and Philadelphia Fed President Paulson speaks at a Fintech conference; a new round of price adjustments for domestic refined oil products will begin. ③ Holidays: The Seoul Stock Exchange in South Korea will be closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival; the Shanghai Gold Exchange, Shanghai Futures Exchange, Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, and Dalian Commodity Exchange will not have night trading sessions before the Mid-Autumn Festival. 5. **Friday:** ① Data: UK September GfK Consumer Confidence Index; Germany October GfK Consumer Confidence Index; US August Durable Goods Orders (MoM); US September University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index (Final); US September One-Year Inflation Expectations (Final). ② Event: Speech by FOMC Permanent Voting Member and New York Fed President Williams. ③ Holiday: The Seoul Stock Exchange in South Korea is closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival; the Taiwan Stock Exchange, Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, Beijing Stock Exchanges, and domestic futures exchanges are closed for the Mid-Autumn Festival; the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will operate normally, but northbound and southbound trading will be closed. 6. **Saturday:** ① Data: US Total Oil Rig Count for the Week Ending September 25. ② Event: Speech by 2026 FOMC Voting Member and Cleveland Fed President Hamak. 7. Sunday: ① Event: New Zealand begins Daylight Saving Time, meaning its financial market trading hours and economic data release times will be one hour earlier than during Standard Time.

US President Trump has indicated he may be open to meeting with the Iranian president. Some significant events may unfold in the near future.

[Iran Closes French Language Center in Tehran, Accusing it of "Illegal" Activities] According to Al Jazeera, Iranian authorities have closed a French language center in Tehran, affiliated with the French Embassy in Iran, under a judicial order. Iranian authorities stated that the institution had been operating under the guise of foreign language teaching for many years, failing to comply with repeated requests for licenses. Iran accuses the center of engaging in activities "harming Iranian culture and national security," including identifying and establishing networks and facilitating the departure of Iranian technical personnel from the country.

According to Iranian state media, the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces stated that the United States is planning new actions against Iran, with the permission of its regional allies. These plans were coordinated and formulated at a European summit.

According to Iranian state media, the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces warned that regional countries involved in any US attack on Iran should not expect restraint from the Iranian armed forces. Any US attack will provoke Iranian retaliation, and Iran will "not impose any restrictions or considerations on US bases and interests."

[Iran's Top Security Official: The US Will Leave; Gulf States Should Promote Regional Cooperation] Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated in an interview: "The US and Trump will leave. Everyone knows that the US economy is actually on the road to collapse. The US will not be what it is today in the next 10 years. But we and the Arab countries will continue to exist. We are the ones who must solve the problems in the region. We must establish a security mechanism in the Persian Gulf. We must establish economic cooperation agreements and become friends in the region. We are one family—the Persian Gulf family. We have eight countries, and we must focus on reconstruction and economic development, strengthen cooperation, participate in each other's investments, and even establish a single currency and a unified common market."

[Iran's Top Security Official: Iran Also Protected Arab Countries] In an interview, Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated: "I want to ask Arab officials: If Iran hadn't resisted and had been forced to surrender, wouldn't Israel be attacking Saudi Arabia today? Wouldn't Israel have advanced all the way to Damascus? Wouldn't Israel have attacked Iraq? We have already paid the price with our martyrs here; we are defending Arab countries. If we hadn't given the US and Israel a 'brutal nose' here in Iran, if they had won in Iran, then no force in the region would have been able to stand against them. Israel would have attacked all Arab countries, and the US would have supported that action. We resisted, we defended our country, and our defense has also benefited Arab countries."

[Iran's Top Security Official: If the US is Serious, It Will Send Ground Troops into Iran] Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated in an interview: "If the Americans are serious, let them send their soldiers into Iran. Why don't they come in? In war, the final decision is always made by ground troops. Why don't the airborne troops come in? Why don't the US ground troops enter Iran? Why do they just bomb from the air and then leave?"

[Iran's Top Security Official: US Launched a "Foolish War" Against Iran; Netanyahu Dragged Trump into the Quagmire] In an interview, Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, stated that Trump launched a "foolish war" against Iran and is foolishly continuing it. He indicated that Iran is prepared to respond more strongly and painfully if the US launches another military aggression, as it did during the 40-day conflict that began earlier this year. Rezaei attributed the current situation in the US to Trump's miscalculation. He stated that the US's actions—including military action, a naval blockade, and subsequent economic isolation—demonstrate Washington's failure to accurately assess or calculate the military, economic, and political implications. He added that the US war against Iran was entirely driven by Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu, who "dragged Trump into the quagmire."

[Obama: I was concerned about AI risks early in my presidency, but my successor administration did not adopt my advice] According to US media reports, former US President Barack Obama said in a discussion on Friday: “I have been concerned about artificial intelligence for a long time. In fact, I was already concerned about this issue in 2015 and 2016, when I was in the last few years of my presidency. I convened a committee of the best experts in this field to discuss not only the technology itself, but also the political, social, economic, and ethical issues related to artificial intelligence. They wrote a very good report. Obviously, this report was put in the same filing cabinet as my pandemic response proposals. My successor administration (the first Trump administration) did not adopt it.”

Ukrainian President Zelensky: This week alone, Russia has launched more than 2,000 attack drones at us, most of which are jet-powered drones, while also dropping 1,700 aerial bombs and launching 19 missiles of different types.

According to Iran's Mehr News Agency, Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf stated that the old American order has now collapsed in West Asia, and the regional Islamic countries should implement a new order.

Ukrainian President Zelensky: The Ukrainian military attacked an oil refinery in the Moscow region of Russia.

Russian election official: A drone strike in the Russian-controlled Kherson region of Ukraine has killed two people, including an election official.

Hungarian integrated energy operator MVM: The Paks nuclear power plant in Hungary has reduced the output of reactor No. 2 by 150 megawatts due to mechanical equipment failure.

Emergency services in the Kyiv region of Ukraine say a Russian drone strike killed a mother and her two children overnight.