RBC BlueBay Asset Management remains constructive on long-dated Japanese government bonds, noting Japan’s yield curve is unusually steep versus other globally very flat curves. Fixed-income CIO Mark Dowding said 30-year yields above 3.75% give longer-dated bonds ample protection.

National Energy Administration Power Department director Du Zhongming said fixed-asset investment in China’s national power grid will exceed CNY5 trillion during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The NEA will focus on three priorities: build a new grid architecture integrating backbone transmission, distribution and microgrids to strengthen resilience, enable vehicle-grid interaction and accelerate large-capacity charging and charging-and-swapping facilities for electric heavy trucks to meet charging demand for over 110 million EVs; push breakthrough technologies including grid-forming technologies, long-duration storage and transmission solutions for large 100% renewable generation bases, and deploy AI-enabled grid projects; and roll out new services to optimize renewable grid connection and power delivery and materially enhance system balancing and flexibility.

NATO Secretary-General Rutte said NATO will pledge support for Ukraine at the summit and that Ukrainian President Zelenskiy will attend.