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RC365 Holding plc (LSE:RCGH) has added Target International Trustee Limited as the second client for the Wealth Management System SaaS platform operated by its Regal Crown Technology subsidiary.

Target International Trustee Limited, a Hong Kong-based trust company, will use the Wealth Management System alongside RC365’s Banking Virtual Account service. According to RC365, the client provides family and corporate trust and custodian services.

The companies have entered into a five-year strategic agreement that will renew automatically. Under the arrangement, Regal Crown Technology will provide multi-currency business virtual accounts, an upgraded trust management system, fintech integration and API access.

RC365 said the agreement will generate recurring SaaS fees of US$10,000 per month, equivalent to US$120,000 annually based on the stated monthly fee.

The agreement represents the second subscribing trust company using the Wealth Management System as RC365 continues the commercial rollout of the platform.

About RC365 Holding

RC365 Holding operates in the payments and financial technology sector, primarily in East and Southeast Asia, through subsidiaries including Regal Crown Technology and HC Capital.

The group provides services including payment gateways, IT support for financial systems and ERP solutions. Its activities have also expanded into digital remittance, foreign exchange and asset-linked credit card services for merchants, small and medium-sized businesses and individuals.

RC365 is developing additional financial technology services, including virtual banking and Banking Virtual Account products, and plans to expand geographically into the UK and other European markets.

Dr. Martens (LSE:DOCS) has changed its financial reporting structure from a regional model to a market-based approach, reflecting changes to the footwear group’s operating model.

Effective from 1 April 2026, the company will report its operations across two segments: U.S. and Global Markets, which covers markets outside the U.S. Central costs will be reported separately.

Dr. Martens said the revised structure is intended to align its external financial reporting with how management now operates and assesses the business.

To provide comparative information under the new structure, the company has re-presented historical financial data for FY25 and FY26. Dr. Martens said the changes do not affect previously reported consolidated revenue, margins, profit before tax or earnings per share.

Under the revised reporting format, the company will disclose its direct-to-consumer and business-to-business revenue mix at Group level rather than through its previous regional structure. Demand generating spend will also be disclosed at Group level.

Dr. Martens has additionally changed the classification of mules, moving the footwear category from sandals to shoes. The reclassification results in a limited change to the reported revenue mix between product categories but does not affect overall revenue or financial performance.

About Dr. Martens

Dr. Martens is a British footwear company whose products include the 1460 boot, 1461 shoe and 2976 Chelsea boot. The company operates in more than 60 countries through direct-to-consumer retail, ecommerce and wholesale channels.

Its product range includes boots, shoes, sandals, children’s footwear and accessories. Dr. Martens is listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250.

Oriole Resources (LSE:ORR) has reported a maiden JORC-compliant Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 32.2 million tonnes at its Wapouzé limestone project in Cameroon.

The estimate covers marble grading an average 50.33% calcium oxide (CaO) across six domains and four open-pit shells. According to the company, the identified resource could support a multi-year quarry operation, with Pit 1 estimated to provide approximately 27.5 years of material based on a notional production rate of 400,000 tonnes per year.

Oriole is assessing Wapouzé primarily as a potential source of limestone for cement production in Cameroon and neighbouring Chad. The company has also identified potential applications for the material in gold ore processing, chemical-grade calcium carbonate and mineral filler markets.

The company is progressing a local Environmental and Social Impact Assessment as part of preparations for an exploitation licence application, which it plans to submit during the fourth quarter of 2026.

Oriole also plans to undertake a preliminary economic assessment of Wapouzé. The company is targeting a royalty-based income model for the project, with potential proceeds intended to contribute towards funding its gold exploration activities.

Wapouzé Project Background

Oriole Resources is an AIM-quoted exploration and development company focused on Central and West Africa, with its principal gold exploration activities located in Cameroon.

The company owns an 85% interest in the Wapouzé limestone project in north-eastern Cameroon. Wapouzé was initially explored as a gold project before the commodity designation was changed to marble in 2022 following the identification of extensive carbonate units.

Subsequent surface exploration and a maiden diamond drilling programme identified widths of marble that the company is evaluating for cement production and other industrial applications.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) began trading precious metals derivatives in London this week, introducing futures contracts covering gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

The contracts are linked to the daily auction prices operated by ICE in London and range in duration from same-day settlement to six months. Clearing will take place through ICE’s London operation, which also handles Brent crude oil futures.

London is a major centre for physical bullion trading, with more than $190 billion of over-the-counter physical gold transactions conducted daily and approximately $1.4 trillion of bullion held in the city, according to the supplied material.

Contracts Linked to London Physical Market

ICE’s new futures contracts will settle against the physical auction prices it manages for all four precious metals.

Chris Rhodes, president of ICE Futures Europe, said: “Derivatives markets generally are there to support the physical market.”

“The physical market is in London. We believe that if you were to enable people to manage their risk in a different way . . . that could be an attractive prospect, particularly if it’s linked into the auction price.”

London’s bullion pricing systems are used as benchmarks for transactions and investment products internationally.

ICE acquired the gold benchmark approximately 10 years ago. Since then, participation in its auction has increased from four firms to 20, including Jane Street, DRW, Goldman Sachs and Citi.

Daily auction volumes have risen to more than 424,000 ounces, representing growth of more than 30% since 2015, according to the supplied material.

Previous London Gold Futures Markets Closed

London has previously hosted gold futures markets, although recent initiatives did not remain operational.

The London Metal Exchange closed its gold futures contract in 2022 following five years of low trading volumes. An earlier London Gold Futures Market ceased operations in the mid-1980s.

In the U.S., CME Group’s gold futures contract averaged approximately $125 billion in daily trading volume during the first half of the year, according to the supplied material.

Gold reached a record of more than $5,500 per troy ounce in January.

Gold Storage Patterns Shift

Changes in trade policy, economic sanctions and geopolitical considerations have also affected the movement and storage of physical gold.

Following trade measures introduced in April 2025, dealers transferred substantial quantities of gold to the U.S. as New York futures prices traded above physical prices in London, according to the supplied material.

Central banks have also reconsidered the location of some gold reserves. Last month, the Dutch central bank transferred more than 78 tonnes of gold from New York to London, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest” and concerns about potential government action.

Hong Kong and Singapore are expanding gold storage facilities, while France and India have transferred gold back to their domestic markets, according to the supplied material.

Venezuela is also working to transfer approximately $4 billion of disputed reserves from the Bank of England to New York.

ASOS (LSE:ASC) shares fell on Tuesday after customers received a notification through the online fashion retailer’s app containing a claim that hackers had accessed company data.

The shares dropped as much as 13.2% before reducing losses to trade around 9% lower.

ASOS had not commented on the notification at the time covered by the supplied material. It therefore remains unconfirmed whether the company’s systems were breached or whether any customer data was accessed or compromised.

Notification Claims Access to Snowflake Instance

The message, which was addressed to ASOS’s data protection officer and IT employees, stated: “We have fully compromised the Snowflake instance. Engage with us, or we will leak it.”

The claim has not been independently verified in the supplied material.

The notification included a link to a Telegram channel identified as the Xuanye group gateway. Cybersecurity company Sophos said it had not previously encountered the group and that it did not appear on the Telegram channels or forums monitored by the company.

Snowflake is a cloud platform used for storing and analysing data. According to the supplied material, it hosts Simon AI, which combines behavioural, transactional and demographic customer information into individual profiles.

Customers Report ASOS Website Issues

Nearly 500 customers reported problems with the ASOS website shortly before 10 a.m., according to Downdetector.

The website and app appeared to operate normally until 9:41 a.m., and the supplied material does not establish whether the reported technical problems were connected to the notification or the alleged security incident.

The ASOS website and app subsequently continued to appear operational, with no indication of the alleged incident beyond the notification.

No confirmation that customer information was accessed, obtained or disclosed is provided in the supplied material.

We’re still not getting much good news on the geopolitical front, which might be good for USOIL, but not so much for the rest. 

Starting with Eastern Europe, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it would step up strikes on military targets in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, in response to Zelenskyy saying Ukraine would intensify attacks on Russian refineries.

And even without that, Russia’s new budget suggests that war, rather than peace, remains the baseline, with military spending rising to 17.1 trillion rubles, or around 7% of GDP, in 2027, up from an average of 2.8% in 2017–2021. 

In the Middle East, the U.S. withdrew B-1 bombers from Fairford amid warnings of a possible Iranian attack, not clear signs of a deal. Hence, government bond yields briefly hit their highest levels since 2002 before pulling back.

If both wars ended next week, what would happen to global bond markets? 

Sure, the immediate reaction would be positive as one of the main inflation risks would fall, giving central banks less reason to keep monetary policy so tight.

Beyond that, though, there’s a bigger problem: rising bond yields aren’t just about the energy crisis, with governments running huge deficits and continuing to take on more debt, including for defense.

Another negative factor for government bonds is growing competition for capital from AI companies, which is putting further upward pressure on yields. 

So while yields may correct lower in the short term on geopolitical developments, we shouldn’t expect them to return to pre-war levels until other fundamental problems are resolved. 

That’s why, for now, it’s worth being cautious with long-term bonds from heavily indebted countries like France, as well as with the EUR/USD pair. And when it comes to corporate bonds, the higher the benchmark cost of borrowing, the more expensive it is for companies to take on debt, so it makes sense to focus on companies with stronger balance sheets. 

Crude oil prices moved lower on Tuesday after shipping data showed Gulf exports recovering during September, while G7 countries committed to releasing crude and diesel from emergency stockpiles.

At 04:12 ET, Brent crude futures declined 0.2% to $100.17 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 0.8% at $88.67 a barrel.

The market was assessing signs of higher crude flows from the Middle East despite continuing risks to regional shipping routes. The planned release of G7 emergency reserves also introduced the prospect of additional supply.

Gulf Oil Shipments Exceed Pre-War Levels for 14 Days

Gulf oil exports exceeded levels recorded before the Iran war for 14 days in September, according to Kpler shipping figures cited by Reuters.

The seven-day moving average for crude exports from the region stood at 18.3 million barrels per day on 30 September.

The figures indicated that crude shipments continued despite risks affecting tankers and other commercial vessels. According to the supplied material, Iran largely closed the Strait of Hormuz following the start of the war, affecting a waterway that previously carried approximately one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.

The conflict has subsequently affected other parts of the region, including Yemen and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Saudi Pipeline Incident Highlights Continuing Supply Risks

Reports on Monday said Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline had again been targeted but that operations were not disrupted.

ING analysts described the incident as a “reminder that flows remain at risk.”

The Wall Street Journal separately reported, citing Kpler figures, that crude exporters had been able to increase shipments using alternative routes and logistical adjustments.

Refined-product shipments, including gasoline and diesel, remained more limited, however, partly because of damage to regional refineries, according to the report. The supplied material said reduced availability had contributed to higher global prices for these fuels.

Emergency Reserve Release Adds Potential Supply

G7 countries have pledged to release 100 million barrels of crude and diesel from emergency reserves.

The group has also agreed not to impose energy export restrictions, according to the supplied material, following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The planned stockpile release would provide additional barrels to the market, although the eventual effect on oil and refined-product prices will depend on the timing and composition of the releases as well as broader supply and demand conditions.

Energy prices are also being monitored by central banks because of their potential contribution to inflation. According to the supplied material, policymakers are considering the trajectory of fuel costs as they assess interest-rate policy for the remainder of the year.