Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to Korea Exchange, NHN's Q2 operating profit beat market expectations by 35%, reaching 57.9 billion Korean won, while Pearl Abyss missed projections by 51.8% at 67.6 billion won, on August 11. NHN's stock soared 78% over five trading days through August 14, driven by its AI

According to Korean Economic Daily on August 17, HMM's Q2 operating profit of 354.1 billion won fell 10.6% short of market consensus of 396.2 billion won, despite a 51.9% year-over-year increase. The shortfall was driven by surging container costs amid geopolitical disruptions, with carrier

The US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) gave conditional approval on Friday for World Liberty Financial's application for a national trust bank charter. The approval allows the company to operate under the title World Liberty Trust Company, National Association, subject to certain

South Korea's National Pension Service purchased 1.5339 trillion won of SK Hynix stocks during its rebalancing operations from the 1st of last month to the 14th of this month, according to Korea Exchange data released on the 18th. The pension fund executed this purchase as part of its asset rebalanc

According to the Korea Exchange, the KOSPI index surged 719.17 points (11.49%) to close at 6,977.94 on August 14, marking five consecutive days of gains and briefly touching 7,010.86 during intraday trading. Semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led the recovery from oversold

According to the Korean Stock Exchange, since the National Pension Fund resumed its stock rebalancing on August 1, funds have flowed most heavily into SK Hynix while exiting SK Square in the largest amounts through August 14. The divergence in institutional fund flows across individual stocks

Gold futures climbed toward the $4,500 mark on August 17 (US Eastern Time), with December delivery contracts rising $30.90 (0.70%) to $4,468.20 per troy ounce as of 2:47 PM on the CME's COMEX exchange. The advance occurred despite a rally in long-term US Treasury yields and renewed expectations

According to prediction markets, traders are pricing approximately 74% probability that the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates unchanged at its September 15-16 meeting, with a 25% probability of a 25 basis point rate hike and near 1% probability of a rate cut. Polymarket's related contracts s

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. soybean and corn crops showed strong conditions last week, with good ratings of 61% and 60% respectively. Cotton crops lagged at 38% good rating, while winter wheat harvest progress

According to CME COMEX, December gold futures (GCZ6) rose to $4,468.20 per troy ounce on August 17 afternoon ET, up $30.90 (0.70%) from the previous close. The contract reached an intraday high of $4,486.50 before paring gains. The U.S. 30-year Treasury yield hit 5.316%, marking its highest level s

South Korean individual investors are pouring funds into covered call exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as domestic stock market volatility intensifies. According to Korea Exchange data as of the 13th, the total net assets of 62 listed covered call ETFs in South Korea reached 27.5548 trillion won, up ove

According to Petrobras executives, the oil discovered in the Amazon region shows high quality, though further analysis is required. The company has identified three additional drilling locations in the

According to Korea Exchange, as of August 13, the combined net assets of 62 covered call ETFs listed in South Korea reached 27.55 trillion won, up 12 trillion won from 15.04 trillion won at the end of last year. The surge reflects growing individual investor interest amid market volatility. In the p

Bloomberg Terminal began tracking Bitcoin prices in 2013, making it among the earliest traditional finance platforms to integrate cryptocurrency data. By 2026, the financial data provider expanded coverage to 50 crypto assets, launched proprietary indices, and spent $100,000 lobbying five federal ag

Foreign investors net purchased 6.5741 trillion won in Korean stocks during the second week of August (August 10-14), marking the largest weekly inflow since record-keeping began in January 1998. The surge reversed three consecutive months of net selling totaling over 103 trillion won and drove the

Ten KOSDAQ active exchange-traded funds posted positive returns in August (1-14 period) as the KOSDAQ index rose 20.13% to rank first globally among major stock indices, according to Korea Exchange Data Marketplace on the 18th. Performance among the funds varied significantly, with returns ranging f

Money Today will host the '2026 The Lifestyle X Single Fire Money Show' on September 4, 2026, at COEX Conference Room 401 in Samsung-dong, Seoul. The seminar brings together investment experts who achieved financial independence to share strategies for navigating volatile markets and retirement

According to News1 and KOSCOM CHECK data, foreign investors made net purchases of 6.57 trillion won on South Korea's KOSPI index during the week of August 10-14, marking the largest weekly inflow since January 1998. The buying spree pushed the KOSPI up 719.17 points to 6,977.94, nearing the 7,000

According to Korea Exchange data, Kosdaq active exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted vastly different returns during August 1–14, despite tracking the same rally that made South Korea's Kosdaq index the world's best-performing major benchmark with a 20.13% gain. Hyundai Asset Management's UNICORN K

Individual investors in Korea net purchased 133 billion won worth of gold in the KRX gold market this month through the 14th. The buying activity marks a reversal after investors net sold 524 billion won in gold from May through last month. International gold prices recently rebounded with the $4000