The Latest Breaking News from Shigeru Ishiba

Oil prices stabilised Friday after soaring on fears about the Middle East crisis as investors await Israel's response to Iran's missile attack, while shares in Hong Kong resumed their rally on a mixed day for equity markets.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will propose a new happiness index during his first parliamentary policy speech on Friday, local media have reported.

Both main crude contracts shot up more than five percent at one point Tuesday after Iran fired dozens of missiles at Israel in response to the killings of Tehran-backed militant leaders.

December S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESZ24) are trending down -0.37% this morning as flaring tensions in the Middle East dampened sentiment, while investors braced for the ADP National Employment numbers due later in the day.

Asian shares are mixed, with Tokyo's benchmark falling while Hong Kong's advanced despite the sharp escalation of tensions in the Middle East

Chinese President Xi Jinping has congratulated new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, state media reported Wednesday, the day after he took office in Tokyo.

Oil prices rose more than one percent Wednesday, extending the previous day's rally, and safe haven gold pushed towards a record high after Iran's missile attack on Israel ramped up fears about an escalation in the Middle East.

Despite some good news that August saw more job openings than economists expected, markets closed down.

Japan's newly elected Prime Minister took office on Tuesday and formed a cabinet made up of numerous security and defence experts in line with his calls to strengthen regional military alliances. The majority of cabinet members are relative unknowns, marking a break from a string of corruption scandals that have…