Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

Insurance and pension funds net purchased 2.3 trillion won of Korea Housing Finance Corporation (KHFC) mortgage-backed securities issued on the 14th, with market participants speculating Samsung Electronics pension funds entered across all

According to Yonhapinfomax, Samsung Electronics' pension fund (channeled through insurance and fund subsidiaries) made net purchases of 230 billion Korean won in mortgage-backed securities across all maturity segments on August 14. The buying spanned from 2-year to 30-year bonds, with heaviest

According to Financial News, KB Securities director Lee Eun-taek warned on August 18 that if U.S. 10-year Treasury yields sustainably breach 5%, it could indicate an AI bubble collapse. Speaking at a Korea Exchange press briefing, Lee said that historically, capital suppliers including banks,

Korean exchange-traded funds focused on robotics and physical artificial intelligence dominated the top five positions in monthly returns as of the 18th, according to the Korea Exchange. Market funds previously concentrated in semiconductors have rapidly shifted toward robot and AI-related

Japan's 40-year government bond yield has risen 7 basis points, reaching 4.205%.

According to Yonhapnews on August 18, Korean retail investors shifted capital to U.S. index ETFs and covered call products during the week of August 11-13, as four U.S. benchmark-tracking funds entered the top 10 net inflow rankings. TIGER S&P 500 ETF ranked 3rd with 212.4 billion won, KODEX

UK employment increased by 84,000 in the three months to June, falling short of the 130,000 forecast and down from the prior reading of 148,000, according to labor data released on August 18.

UK average wages, including bonuses, rose 4.1% on a year-on-year basis for the three-month period ending in June, beating economist forecasts of 4% but declining from 4.3% in the previous period.

According to Odaily, Nvidia recently announced partnerships with six financial institutions to raise over $500 billion for artificial intelligence infrastructure. Nvidia will lead the collaboration while maintaining its role as a non-investor, leveraging its credit rating to help manage financing co

UK average wage growth including bonuses rose to 4.1% year-over-year in June, missing market expectations of 4%. The prior month's figure was revised upward to 4.4% from an initial reading of 4.3%.

In July, UK jobless claims fell 11,000, according to official data. The prior month figure was revised downward from 6,700 to -6,400.

SK Ecoplant posted a standalone operating loss of 2,121 billion won in Q2 despite reporting a consolidated operating profit of 5,336 billion won, driven by provisions for project financing debt and knowledge industry center operations. The construction firm converted 2,500 billion won of

Korean individual investors net purchased $4.5 billion (approximately 6 trillion won) worth of US stocks in July, according to Korea Securities Depository data cited by CNBC on August 17 (local time). The purchases occurred while Korea's stock market underwent corrections, with investors shifting th

According to Yonhapnewsplus, SK Ecoplanté posted an operating loss of ₩212.1 billion on a standalone basis in H1 2026, while the consolidated group recorded ₩533.6 billion in operating profit driven by semiconductor subsidiaries. The company set aside ₩130.1 billion in loss provisions during the

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix executives' stock holdings are being tracked on a new online website, with valuations surging significantly due to rising share prices. According to industry sources on the 18th, the tracking site displays executive shareholdings based on Financial Supervisory

Retail investors purchased 1.0418 trillion won of three Mirae Asset US index ETFs in the recent 1 month as of the 14th, according to Korea Exchange data released on the 18th. The three products—TIGER US S&P500, TIGER US NASDAQ100, and TIGER US Dividend Dow Jones—attracted concentrated retail

According to industry sources citing Financial Supervisory Service data, on August 18, a tracking website for monitoring shareholdings of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix executives emerged. The site displays executives' stock holdings, recent changes, and valuations in real-time. Samsung Electronic

According to Jin10 Data, mining giant BHP Group reported a net profit of $9.83 billion for the 2026 financial year, up 9% year-on-year. The company's underlying profit reached $13.2 billion, surging 30% annually and exceeding market expectations of $12.66 billion. In commodities markets, copper

Hyperliquid Policy Center and Douro Labs submitted a joint comment on August 17 urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to repeal Rule 611 of Regulation National Market System, commonly known as the trade-through or Order Protection Rule. The organizations argue that the rule's

Harvard University's investment arm held 3,044,612 shares of BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) worth $101.4 million as of June 30, maintaining the position unchanged from March 31 according to its latest Form 13F filing. The decision marks a pause after Harvard Management Company reduced its