Daily Buzz: 17 June 2026

Top News

Iran Peace Accord Drives Wedge Between US, Israel

The US and Israel, the two nations that started the war against Iran, are at odds over terms for ending it. Israel, which was not party to negotiations that led to a preliminary peace deal, wanted Iran's regime toppled and its stockpiles of enriched uranium removed. According to leaked details, neither goal is achieved in the agreement due to be officially signed between the US and Iran on Friday. US President Donald Trump wants the domestically unpopular war ended quickly as mid-term elections that will determine control of Congress loom, amid reports of heated discussion with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli leader said this week that his country isn't bound by any terms of the agreement related to ending the conflict in Lebanon and Israel intends to keep control over large swathes of southern Lebanon it seized in attacks against Iran-backed Hezbollah. Iran says the deal with the US will require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon. The preliminary agreement shifts the Iranian nuclear issue to negotiations to be held over 60 days following formal signing of the accord.

Trump, Zelensky Meet at G7 Summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met US President Donald Trump at the Group of Seven summit in France as European leaders gathered there pressed Trump to put more pressure on Russia to end the four-year war in Ukraine. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz later said the US will join G-7 allies in providing Ukraine with more air-defense capabilities. US support for Ukraine has been waning under the Trump administration, especially after Washington turned its focus on Iran. The summit on the southern shores of Lake Geneva also discussed the Trump-brokered deal to end the war against Iran and how G-7 members might assist in the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Russian Frigate Fires Warning Shots in English Channel

A Russian naval frigate fired warning shots about 150 meters in front of a British-flagged pleasure yacht near the Isle of Wight in the English Channel. Russia's defense ministry said the yacht appeared to be on a collision course with the warship and the warning was fired after no response from radio contact. The retired couple sailing the yacht said they definitely weren't on a collision course with the ship. Naval analysts said the warship has been escorting tankers carrying sanctioned Russian oil, part of the so-called "shadow fleet." The incident came days after British military forces seized a sanctioned tanker in the channel and a week after the UK defense minister quit, claiming inadequate defense spending in a time of heightened risk.

Top Business

DeepSeek Said to Raise US$7.4 Billion in First Fundraising Round

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek raised more than 50 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion) in its first-ever attempt to attract outside funding, Reuters reported, citing The Information. The fundraising required investors to put their capital into a limited partnership managed by DeepSeek Chief Executive Liang Wenfeng to maintain his control over the company. Investors are also subject to a five-year lockup and won't have voting rights. Liang has previously funded the company entirely through his private hedge fund High-Flyer. He is believed to have invested 20 billion yuan of his own money in the funding round. Earlier reports said Tencent and Contemporary Ampere Technology (CATL) were among interested investors. DeepSeek hit world headlines last year by unveiling its V3 and RI large language chatbot models there were comparable to Western rivals in performance by much cheaper to design and operate.

Alibaba Introduces Qwen Series of AI Robotic Models

Chinese tech giant Alibaba rolled out its first AI models to make robots better understand and perform real-world tasks as the tech industry shifts from chatbots to the more profitable business of AI agents that ⁠can execute complex tasks. The newly released Qwen-RobotWorld series will help robots adapt to diverse environments, handling tasks in unfamiliar settings while following natural language instructions, the company said on Tuesday. The suite includes Qwen-RobotManip, a vision-language-action model; Qwen-RobotNav, a vision-language navigation model; and Qwen-RobotWorld, a video world model designed for embodied intelligence. Alibaba said the models will be subjected to testing by select cloud customers operating in robotics.

Yum to Sell China Pizza Hut Operations to Chinese Mainland Operator

US fast-food chain Yum Brands will sell its Chinese mainland Pizza Hut business to Yum China for US$1.2 billion as part of a divestment that will sell the rest of the global Pizza Hut chain to private equity firm LongRange Capital for about US$1.5 billion. The pizza arm has been a drag on Yum's profits.

Enflame Tech Gets Green Light for US$888 Million Listing in Shanghai

Enflame Technology, an AI chipmaker backed by Tencent Holding, has been approved for a 6 billion yuan (US$888 million) initial public offering on Shanghai's tech-focused STAR Market. The Shenzhen-based company will be the last of the so-called "four little dragons of graphics processing units" to go public, following Moore Threads, MetaX Integrated Circuits and Biren Technology. Enflame said it plans to use proceeds from the sale on research and development, and marketing of its latest generation chips. About 84 percent of its revenue last year came as a supplier to Tencent.

Economy & Markets

China's Industrial Output Expands, Retail Sales Drop

China's industrial production in May rose 4.5 percent from a year earlier, but retail sales dropped 0.6 percent, their first decline in three years, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday. In data for the first five months of this year, investment in urban infrastructure contracted, dragged down by a 16.2-percent slump in the property development sector and the first contraction in the manufacturing segment since December 2020. Retail sales in the January-May period gained 2.8 percent. "The domestic imbalance between strong supply and weak demand is acute," the statistics bureau said. "Some enterprises are facing considerable pressure in their operations." China's urban unemployment rate in May fell to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent a month earlier.

China's New Home Prices Rise in Major Cities, Fall Nationally

New home prices in China's biggest cities rose 0.2 percent from a month earlier in May, extending a three-month rebound after nine months of losses, as government efforts to stabilize the housing sector take hold, the South China Morning Post reported. Prices in Shanghai and Guangzhou last month rose 0.2 percent and increased 0.4 percent in Shenzhen. However, prices slipped 0.2 percent in Beijing, according to National Bureau of Statistics data. Nationally, new home prices fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier. Residential property sales fell 14 percent in the first five months of the year, and sales of new commercial buildings declined almost 14 percent. China's property sector, once a major economic growth driver, has been in a slump since property developers defaulted on loans in a liquidity squeeze that began in 2021.

RedNote Reports Record Viewers on World Cup Livestreaming

Chinese lifestyle platform RedNote (Xiaohongshu), which reportedly may file an application for an initial public offering in Hong Kong as early as this month, said it had a 55-fold surge in livestreaming viewers on the first day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and a record 90 million viewers in the first three days. The site purchased streaming rights from CMG in its first dedicated entry into the high profile event.

Japan Raises Key Interest Rate to 31-Year High

Japan's central bank raised its key interest rate from 0.75 percent to 1 percent, its highest level in 31 years. The move by the Bank of Japan came as the economy is grappling with a weak year and creeping inflation. Yields on 10-year government bonds climbed 3 basis points to 2.615 percent after the decision was announced, and the yen strengthened to 160.22 to the US dollar. While consumer inflation has remained below the central bank's 2 percent target due to government energy subsidies, the Bank of Japan warned that higher crude oil prices were increasingly feeding through to broader consumer prices.

Corporate

MMG Aims to Raise US$1.6 Billion in Share Placement, Bond Sale

MMG, the offshore metal-production unit of state-backed China Minmetals, plans to raise a combined US$1.6 billion in a placement of shares and the sale of convertible bonds to fund business expansion, the South China Morning Post reported. The copper, zinc and gold producer said it intends to raise HK$6.3 billion (US$800 million) from a placement of 705.9 million shares through the Hong Kong stock exchange, and US$800 million in an offer of zero-coupon bonds that can be converted into shares. In addition to funding expansion, the company said proceeds from the sales will go toward debt repayment and acquisitions.

Theme Park Re-Creating Priceless 12th Century Painting Seeks HK IPO

Kaifeng Millennium City Park, operator of a theme park in Henan Province that features a life-size re-creation of the masterwork Chinese painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" has applied for an initial public offering in Hong Kong, the South China Morning Post reported. The original 12th century painting by Northern Song dynasty court artist Zhang Zeduan hangs in the Palace Museum in Beijing. The company didn't reveal how much it hopes to raise in the IPO. The theme park is a major tourist attraction, drawing 9.6 million visitors last year and earning revenue of 746 million yuan (US$110 million).

Eve Energy Forecasts First-Half Profit to Double

Chinese battery maker Eve Energy predicted net profit will more than double in the first half of this year to 3.4 billion yuan (US$500 million) from a year earlier, citing strong demand for lithium batteries used in electric cars and energy-storage systems. The company's market share has risen to 4.8 percent from 4 percent last year.

Fruit Snack Maker Begins Trading in Hong Kong

Shares in Chinese fruit snack maker Liuliumei almost tripled from their offer price in their debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange this week. The initial public offering raised nearly HK$500 million (US$64 million) and was 6,586 times oversubscribed.