GMT EIGHT - OPPORTUNITIES IN CHINA

World Cup tickets prices increase, with the most expensive ticket for the World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico exceeding 75,000 yuan.

After all 48 participating teams in the 2026 FIFA World Cup were confirmed, FIFA announced on the 1st local time that the final stage of ticket sales has officially begun. The highest-priced ticket for the World Cup final has been raised to $10,990, equivalent to 75,530 Chinese yuan. After the World Cup group stage draw ended in December last year, FIFA had initially priced tickets at $8,680, equivalent to 59,737 Chinese yuan. FIFA has also raised prices for various matches and different ticket categories. It is reported that ticket sales will continue until all matches are completed.

He Lifeng met with Canadian Minister of Finance Sean Fraser.

Hohhot: Vice Premier of the State Council, who is the leader of the China-Canada Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue, met with the Canadian Minister of Finance and co-leader of the Canadian delegation, Shang Pengfei, in Beijing on the afternoon of the 3rd. He Lifeng said that the two sides should jointly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, deepen cooperation in economic, trade, financial and other fields, and promote the stable and healthy development of China-Canada economic relations. Shang Pengfei said that Canada attaches great importance to its relations with China and is willing to work with China to promote economic and financial cooperation and achieve more practical results. The two sides agreed to hold the Economic and Financial Strategic Dialogue in the second half of this year. He Lifeng and Shang Pengfei also jointly met with representatives of the China-Canada Financial Working Group and the Financial Institutions Roundtable, welcoming financial institutions from both sides to expand their business in the other's market.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Risk Warning on Timely Updating iOS Specific Versions to Prevent Exploitation of Vulnerabilities

Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's network security threat and vulnerability information sharing platform has detected that attackers are using exploit tools targeting vulnerabilities in Apple's terminal products to carry out network attack activities, which can lead to serious harm such as information theft and system control. The affected range includes Apple terminal products such as iPhones and iPads running iOS 13.0 to 17.2.1. Attackers use methods such as SMS, email, or poisoned web pages to induce users to access web pages containing malicious code using Safari browser, exploit security vulnerabilities existing in terminal devices, implant remote control trojans into victim terminal products, steal user sensitive information, obtain highest privileges, and take control. Users of Apple terminal products are advised to conduct risk assessments and promptly fix vulnerabilities by upgrading versions and installing patches.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology promotes inclusive computing power to empower small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a notice on launching a special action to empower small and medium-sized enterprises with inclusive computing power. It proposes to basically establish a universal computing power service system by the end of 2028 that covers a wide range, low cost, excellent service, vibrant ecosystem, and strong talent pool, covering not less than 10 categories in 15 industries applicable to the classification standards for small and medium-sized enterprises. The notice makes a series of arrangements around five key tasks, including action to improve the allocation of computing resources, action to enhance the inclusive supply of computing power services, action to empower key industry enterprises, action to jointly build industrial ecosystems, and action to enhance talent development capacity, such as encouraging the establishment of exclusive computing power pools for small and medium-sized enterprises; exploring innovative businesses such as "computing power banks" and "computing power supermarkets" to support small and medium-sized enterprises in depositing idle computing resources, etc. The notice also proposes to carry out a special action on "modular resonance" to promote the coordinated development of artificial intelligence model training and data resource utilization in small and medium-sized enterprises; organize activities to facilitate communication and collaboration among large, medium, and small enterprises; and conduct targeted talent training in a hierarchical manner. In terms of guarantee measures, the notice specifies that relevant parties should establish a sound local work promotion system, clarify tasks, timelines, and responsible parties, and provide necessary support for the special action of empowering small and medium-sized enterprises with inclusive computing power.

China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission: Promoting the establishment of a financial service system that is compatible with the financing needs of the entire lifecycle of future industries.

On April 1st, the Party Committee of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission held a collective study session for the theory learning center group. Li Yunze emphasized the need to focus on the core business of finance, promote the construction of a financial service system that is adaptable to the financing needs of future industries throughout their life cycle, and provide precise services for the development of future industries such as artificial intelligence through technology finance, injecting new momentum into China's modernization. It is necessary to coordinate development and security, deeply understand and grasp the trend of artificial intelligence development, steadily and orderly promote the pilot application of artificial intelligence in the financial industry, establish a sound governance framework for the development and application of artificial intelligence, and promote high-quality development of digital finance. It is important to strengthen technological empowerment, start the construction of the "Financial Supervision Project" with high quality, build a strong technological support for financial supervision, continuously improve the level of digitalization in supervision and the penetration of supervisory capabilities, and effectively enhance the quality and effectiveness of strong supervision and strict regulation.

Two departments: Encourage leading enterprises such as China Recycling Resources Group to expand the integrated mode of lithium battery recycling, transportation, and processing in regions where lithium battery electric bicycles production and sales are concentrated.

The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the General Office of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative issued a notice on further strengthening the construction of the electric bicycle lithium-ion battery recycling system. Localities should leverage the role of companies such as China Renewable Resources Development Group Limited and supply and marketing cooperatives in the recycling and reuse of renewable resources, reasonably plan and layout the backbone network of lithium battery recycling and utilization, and improve the collection capacity of resources. Encourage grassroots supply and marketing cooperatives to integrate idle land, factories, and other resources, and layout a network for recycling renewable resources. Support leading companies such as China Renewable Resources Group in building sorting centers and comprehensive utilization projects, upgrading existing recycling sorting centers and dismantling bases, and improving the capacity for lithium battery recycling and utilization. Encourage leading companies such as China Renewable Resources Group to expand the integrated model of lithium battery recycling, transportation, and processing in regions with concentrated production and sales of lithium battery electric bicycles, such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Chongqing. Encourage various recycling enterprises to connect with electric bicycle sales and after-sales service outlets, and carry out "exchange + recycling" business. Encourage various recycling enterprises to promote flexible and diverse collection and transportation models such as appointment-based door-to-door recycling and "Internet + recycling" to meet the recycling needs of different user groups.

official response of Manner to the "price increase"

On April 3rd, Manner Coffee recently announced a price adjustment on its official ordering app, stating that starting from April 7th, the price of the single-origin espresso (SOE) coffee at their stores will be raised by 5 yuan per cup. In addition, their popular product "Green Wonderland" completed a renewal upgrade on April 2nd, with the price also increasing by 5 yuan. Manner confirmed to Sina Finance that the price adjustment for the SOE single-origin espresso coffee drink is due to the use of higher quality coffee beans to provide consumers with a better flavor experience. At the same time, the nationwide promotion of "bring your own cup and get 5 yuan off" at all Manner stores remains unchanged.

The National Internet Information Office seeks opinions: Encouraging the application and implementation of digital virtual humanoid services in various fields.

The State Internet Information Office has drafted the "Administrative Measures for Digital Virtual Personal Information Services (Draft for Solicitation of Opinions)" and is now seeking public opinions.

A-share market closing analysis: Ceasefire expectations dashed! Indexes collectively decline, Shanghai index falls below 3900 points again

As of the close, the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.00% to 3880.10 points, with a turnover of 713.8 billion yuan.

The trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets exceeded 1.5 trillion yuan, down by 186.8 billion yuan from the previous day.

China Automobile Dealers Association: The Used Car Manager Index for March was 45.5%, showing a slight improvement in market vitality compared to the previous month.

The used car manager index in March was 45.5%, an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the previous month, reflecting that with the resumption of work of used car dealers after the holiday, and the continuous release of consumer demand, the market's sentiment has improved compared to the previous month.

South American Tin Industry (TSXV: TIN) completes large financing for strategic acquisitions, synergistic layout may leverage fundamental explosive growth.

This acquisition will drive South America Tin Industry to officially enter the two major high-growth tracks of gold and copper.

The Shenzhen Component Index fell by 1.00%, now reported at 13351.814 points; the Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.16%, now reported at 3873.675 points; the Growth Enterprise Index fell by 0.59%, now reported at 3153.880 points.

Copper and gold dual-wheel drive + AI infrastructure wave! Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. issued a bullish research report on copper mining giant McMoran Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX.US).

Goldman Sachs recently released a in-depth research report covering Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) for the first time, giving it a "buy" stock rating and a target price of $70.

The trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets exceeded 1 trillion yuan, a decrease of 123.6 billion yuan from the previous day at this time.

Japanese stock buyback frenzy cools down for the first time since 2020: valuation rising and global uncertainty prompt Japanese companies to prioritize cash.

As of the end of Tuesday, the number of stock buyback plans announced by Japanese companies decreased for the first time since 2020.

Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) Executive Management Changes: Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US) veteran finance executive Amie Thuener will take on the role of CFO.

Broadcom Corporation has appointed Amie Thuener, Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Google's parent company Alphabet, as the company's next CFO.

Comprehensive improvement of mobile power safety, mandatory national standards released.

On April 3, 2026, the mandatory national standard "Mobile Power Safety Technical Specification" was publicly released and will be implemented on April 1, 2027. The new standard proposes several requirements to further enhance the safety level of mobile power products, including power banks. Specifically, the standard aims to improve the safety protection capabilities of mobile power in scenarios such as high temperatures, overcharging, and squeezing. It also introduces a new detection method for lithium leakage after cycling aging to reduce the risk of internal short circuits in mobile power after long-term use. Products are required to have the function of storing and retrieving abnormal information to ensure consumer awareness. Additionally, products should be labeled with a unique "ID number" for querying core information such as battery brand. After the implementation of the standard, consumers who have purchased compliant mobile power products with mandatory product certification can continue to possess and use them normally. Furthermore, as long as they comply with the current civil aviation regulations, they can still carry them on flights.

JPMorgan Chase vs. Goldman Sachs: Are tariffs and oil prices "short-term pain" or "long-term bomb"?

This debate on the "nature of inflation" reflects Wall Street's deep concerns about the future direction of monetary policy.

The Shanghai Composite Index fell below 3900 points, dropping 0.49% intraday.

The balance of financing in the two cities decreased by 10.89 billion yuan.

As of April 2, the financing balance of the Shanghai Stock Exchange was reported at 13,111.04 billion yuan, a decrease of 53.43 billion yuan from the previous trading day; the financing balance of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange was reported at 12,609.51 billion yuan, a decrease of 56.46 billion yuan from the previous trading day; the total financing balance of the two exchanges was 25,720.55 billion yuan, a decrease of 109.89 billion yuan from the previous trading day.

Trump's new medical policy boots on the ground: imposes 100% tariffs on some imported drugs, supply chain risks may worsen.

The Trump administration will impose tariffs of up to 100% on certain imported drugs, despite having several important exemptions. This move aims to pressure pharmaceutical companies to expand production in the United States.

The global industrial metal trade pattern is changing once again! Trump reshuffles metal tariffs: 50% high wall does not fall, exemptions and graded tariffs run parallel.

The Trump administration is reorganizing the broad metal tariffs but keeping the 50% tax rate framework unchanged; it will maintain a tariff framework of 50% on various imported steel, aluminum, and copper products, while simplifying tariffs on goods made with only small amounts of metal. Goods with a total steel, aluminum, or copper content of less than 15% will be exempt from metal tariffs, while certain derivative products will be subject to a lower 25% tax rate.

Physical oil shortage strikes: Brent spot price soars to $141.36, reaching a new high since 2008! A premium of over $30 compared to futures.

On Thursday, the spot price of Brent crude oil for immediate delivery surged to $141.36 per barrel, reaching its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.

New York Fed President Williams supports maintaining interest rates unchanged, stating that inflation and employment risks are roughly balanced.

The "three top officials" of the Federal Reserve, New York Fed President Williams, said that the risks facing inflation and employment are roughly balanced and support keeping interest rates unchanged.

The United States announced that it will impose a 100% tariff on imported patented drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients.

The White House in the United States issued a statement on the 2nd, saying that President Trump signed a document on the same day, imposing a 100% tariff on imported patented drugs and pharmaceutical ingredients in accordance with Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. This measure also provides a pathway for exemptions or reduction of tariffs, with the aim of pressuring pharmaceutical companies to reach agreements with the White House on drug prices and industry reshoring.

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed with mixed gains and losses.

The three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed, with the S&P 500 up 0.11%, the Dow down 0.12%, and the Nasdaq up 0.16%. In terms of large tech stocks, Intel rose 4.89%, AMD rose 3.47%, Microsoft rose 1.11%, ASML fell 3.13%, and Tesla fell 5.42%. In terms of Chinese stocks, Nio rose 1.53%, Ctrip rose 1.39%, XPeng rose 1.11%, Alibaba fell 1.36%, and JD.com fell 1.42%.

Tesla's stock price closed down 5.4%, marking the largest single-day decline since November.

Iran attacks Oracle and Amazon data centers.

On the evening of April 2 local time, the Naval Command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran issued a statement claiming to have targeted the US Oracle Corporation data center located in Dubai, UAE, and the Amazon data center located in Bahrain. #Iran Strikes Amazon Cloud Computing Center in Bahrain Again#

The White House announced that President Trump has signed a "proclamation" related to metal tariffs. The United States will impose a 25% tariff on steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives. The tariff on metal derivatives applies to items with at least 15% metal content. At the same time, the US will impose a 100% tariff on prescription drugs but will "comply" with the exemption clause.

Global major crude oil spot prices soared to their highest level since 2008.

On April 2nd, the global benchmark physical crude oil trading price surpassed the $140 per barrel mark, reaching a new high since 2008. According to S&P Global, the spot Brent crude oil price which is the price of physical shipment crude oil traded in the North Sea region has reached $141.37 per barrel, hitting a new high since 2008. US President Trump "reaffirmed" that Iran should reach an agreement now to avoid being too late. Currently, the Strait of Hormuz has been blocked for over a month. The International Energy Agency describes it as the "most severe supply disruption in the history of the oil market". The waterway carries about one-fifth of global oil flows; since the blockade, global refiners have been scrambling to secure any physical crude oil they can get. The spot Brent crude oil price has surged from slightly above $128 the previous day, and is now above the crisis peak during the 2022 Russia-Ukraine conflict. Although the benchmark Brent crude oil futures price is still below the highs of that year, the value of spot Brent represents a more urgent price for physical delivery of oil.

Nvidia and Google are cooperating to optimize Gemma 4 large models for Nvidia graphics cards.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.3% at the opening, the S&P 500 fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq fell 1.7%.

The storage chip sector led the decline, with SanDisk down 6.7%, Micron Technology down 6.3%, and Western Digital down 4.7%. High oil prices dragged down airline stocks, with Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Alaska Airlines all falling about 4%. Satellite operator Globalstar rose 13.5%, as it discussed acquisition matters with CNOOC and Amazon. Dow Inc. rose 3.9%, as global chemical product prices entered an upward cycle. Immunovant fell 8.4%, as two late-stage studies of its baricitinib monoclonal antibody therapy for thyroid eye disease failed.

Tesla's Q1 deliveries fell short of expectations, putting pressure on its traditional business.

Tesla announced one of its worst quarterly sales performances in recent years today, failing to meet Wall Street expectations. The company is facing challenges in transitioning its core business, with difficulties in the electric vehicle market. The company stated on Thursday that global deliveries in the first quarter were 358,023 vehicles, while analysts had expected a median of 372,160 vehicles. This forecast has been continuously revised downwards in the past few weeks. This is the second consecutive quarter that Tesla has failed to meet expectations. Most investors are willing to overlook Tesla's sales trends as CEO Elon Musk shifts focus to future business lines such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, and robotics. However, the traditional automotive business remains Tesla's main source of cash flow. Following the release of delivery data, Tesla's stock fell 4% in pre-market trading, and as of Wednesday's close, the stock price has dropped 15% this year, down 22% from its historical high in December.

Tesla's stock price fell 3.2% in pre-market trading, as first quarter deliveries fell short of expectations.

State Grid's fixed asset investment in the first quarter was nearly 130 billion yuan.

Information released by State Grid on the 2nd shows that the company completed nearly 130 billion yuan in fixed asset investment in the first quarter, an increase of about 37% year-on-year, driving investment in the upstream and downstream industries exceeding 250 billion yuan.

The People's Bank of China has added 12 new digital renminbi operational agencies.

The People's Bank of China has added China CITIC Bank, China Everbright Bank, Huaxia Bank, China Minsheng Bank, Guangfa Bank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, Zhejiang Commercial Bank, Ningbo Bank, Jiangsu Bank, Bank of Beijing, Bank of Nanjing, and Suzhou Bank as operators of digital RMB business, and they have been connected to the digital RMB system of the central bank. These new institutions will conduct digital RMB business after completing business and technical preparations.

The central bank conducted a net injection of 50 billion yuan in the open market in March through buying and selling government bonds.

The central bank announced the liquidity injection situation of various tools in March 2026, with a net injection of 50 billion yuan under the medium-term lending facility. In terms of open market operations, the net withdrawal of 7-day reverse repurchase agreements was 890.3 billion yuan, and the net injection of government bond transactions was 50 billion yuan.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology: Encouraging the establishment of dedicated computing power pools for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The General Office of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice on launching a special action to empower small and medium-sized enterprises through inclusive computing power. It points out the need to optimize the deployment of computing power resources. It guides various entities such as basic telecommunications enterprises and computing power service enterprises to build and deploy edge computing facilities such as edge data centers and integrated training and promotion machines according to the needs of the national public service demonstration platform for small and medium-sized enterprises, city pilot projects for the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, characteristic industry clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises, and innovative industry clusters, providing computing power support that is easily accessible and rapidly responsive. It encourages the establishment of dedicated computing power pools for small and medium-sized enterprises, promotes standardized interface protocols, supports flexible access by computing power service enterprises, and provides inclusive and convenient computing power resources for small and medium-sized enterprises. It promotes the integration of local idle and dispersed computing power, pools and integrates computing power resources through platforms such as the Chinese computing power platform, and supports small and medium-sized enterprises in obtaining inclusive computing power resources as needed.

AI cannot overthrow F1! When AI anxiety and Middle East war shake the market, Liberty Formula One (FWONK.US) displays the "HALO premium" to its fullest.

Analysts from Bank of America also pointed out that there is almost no possibility of the owners of the Formula One racing series being replaced by artificial intelligence, a halo that matches the extremely hot HALO investment theme in the current market.

According to the International News Agency, Russia has implemented a ban on gasoline exports to manufacturers until the end of July.

Spot silver lost the 71 dollar per ounce mark, dropping 5.53% within the day.

Spot gold fell below $4650 per ounce, dropping 2.37% within the day.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 2% to 232.61 points.

Trump's toughest words to overturn market expectations! Risk assets that just staged a big comeback were hit hard again, with oil and the dollar dancing once more.

President Trump's national address on "issuing important updates on the Iran issue" is essentially a speech that claims strategic objectives are nearing completion, but refuses to provide a clear path to withdrawal, and leans towards further escalating tensions in the Middle East geopolitical landscape.

SK Hynix leveraged ETF raked in $1.6 billion in the first quarter, becoming the world's most attractive single stock leveraged ETF.

SK Hynix leveraged ETF had a remarkable performance in the first quarter of 2026, with its global fund inflow surpassing related products of Tesla and Microsoft.

The trading volume of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets exceeded 1 trillion yuan, a decrease of 133.9 billion yuan from the previous day at this time.

The S&P 500 stock index futures fell to a 1.1% decline, while Nasdaq futures dropped by 1.3%.

Trump claimed victory himself.

On April 1st local time, President Trump of the United States spoke at the White House in the capital, Washington, claiming himself to have achieved a "rapid, decisive, overwhelming victory" in the conflict with Iran.

Gold price soared close to $4800: when the "war risk" retreats, can the fear of recession ignite a second peak in gold?

Due to traders betting that the Fed may need to cut interest rates to address a possible economic recession, the price of gold has risen for the fourth consecutive trading day.

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Summary of key points of the US government's fiscal year 2027 budget proposal: Trump emphasizes military spending over social programs, significant cuts in social welfare spending may lead to partisan struggles.

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