Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to Financial News on October 2, South Korean and U.S. stock markets held firm despite facing high interest rates, elevated oil prices, and persistent inflation. U.S. nominal GDP growth of 8.5% significantly outpaced the federal funds rate of 4.0%, enabling businesses to absorb higher

According to South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, outstanding balances of derivative securities and bonds reached 96.7 trillion won as of end of June 2026, up 10.9% from the same period last year and marking the highest level in three years. Overall issuance volume in the first half

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX) stocks climbed 1% in overnight trading early Friday after CEO Elon Musk said the company could achieve a milestone with Nvidia's AI hardware, potentially running the system at power levels well above typical industry estimates. Musk stated he is

New Mexico attorneys requested on Thursday that Judge Francis Mathew order Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) to pay $35 billion to $40 billion in penalties in a privacy case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, according to Reuters. The request follows a Sept. 25 jury verdict that found Meta

According to Musk's statement on X early Friday (October 2), SpaceX stock climbed 1% in overnight trading after CEO Elon Musk announced a potential milestone with Nvidia's AI hardware. Musk said the company could run its Nvidia VR72 system at an average

According to Financial News, Neuberger Berman completed its acquisition of Schroders on October 1 (local time), creating an asset manager with $2.6 trillion in assets under management. The combined entity now ranks in the global top 10 across three major investment categories:

Japan's 10-year government bond yields reversed their previous downtrend today, rising by 0.5 basis points to 3.100%.

France's finance minister recently noted that the country's sovereign debt issuance has progressed well, but acknowledged that interest rates remain elevated. The minister stated that the government's budget plan is expected to help drive down borrowing costs in coming

According to South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), on October 2, registered private equity fund managers surged to 430 from 273 in late 2021, prompting escalating concerns over regulatory compliance. The FSS held a CEO briefing session with about 170 fund managers, citing the sector's r

According to Financial News, South Korea's KOSPI index rose 0.05% to 6,974.94 points as of 2:30 PM on Oct 2, approaching the 7,000 mark after climbing to 6,999.27 during intraday trading. The KOSDAQ index declined 0.48% to 890.02 points on the same day.

KOSDAQ semiconductor materials, parts, and equipment stocks have shifted market cap rankings this year, with six such companies now occupying the top 10 positions. At the start of the year, zero semiconductor supply chain companies held top-10 positions on the KOSDAQ, which was dominated by

According to MarketDeepDive, South Korea's semiconductor supply chain companies have dominated the KOSDAQ index recently, with six firms—including Juseung Engineering, Wonick IPS, IOTech, and Lino Industrial—breaking into the top 10, a sharp reversal from earlier this year when none ranked in the to

Citi set 12-month price targets of $113,000 for Bitcoin and $3,028 for Ether, forecasting further upside for both cryptocurrencies while expecting Bitcoin to deliver stronger performance. The targets form part of the bank's latest digital-asset outlook and represent analyst forecasts based on

Dogecoin launched the DogeOS public testnet, a platform designed to introduce Ethereum-style smart contract functionality to the Dogecoin ecosystem. The testnet aims to expand DOGE's utility beyond its traditional role as a payment cryptocurrency by enabling developers to build decentralized

According to T. Rowe Price portfolio manager David Clewell, Japanese stocks appear attractive, especially when the U.S. dollar trades above 152 yen per dollar. The 152 level holds significance as it aligns with the exchange rate assumptions that Japanese companies adopted in the Bank of Japan's

Citi set 12-month price targets of $113,000 for Bitcoin and $3,028 for Ether, according to the bank's latest digital-asset outlook. With Bitcoin trading around the low-$80,000 range entering October, the $113,000 target implies upside of roughly 35% to 40% from current levels. Citi's framework

According to Nomura economist Jeong Woo Park on October 2, South Korea's strong chip-driven exports have not yet transmitted to wages, consumption, or service inflation. While robust export growth increases upside risks to economic growth and reinforces the Bank of Korea's hawkish policy stance,

Woojin I&S, a construction company listed on South Korea's KOSPI market, submitted the first Price-to-Book Ratio (PBR) improvement plan to the Korea Exchange (KRX) following the implementation of low-PBR disclosure guidelines on Sept 11. The company aims to raise its PBR from 0.38 as of 2025 year-en

According to the Korea Exchange, construction company Woojin I&S submitted its first PBR improvement plan on October 2, setting a target to raise its price-to-book ratio from 0.38x (as of end-2025) to 0.8x by 2030, while increasing dividend payout ratio from 13.49% to 20-30%. The plan includes

South Korea's Financial Services Commission proposed detailed regulations for tokenized securities on Friday, with rules set to take effect on Feb. 4, 2027. The framework would allow stocks, bonds, funds, and fractional investment securities to be issued and traded in tokenized form. Companies