Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

XRP-backed exchange-traded funds pulled in $27.29 million in July, marking a fourth consecutive month of net inflows, even as the token trades near $1.08, down roughly 40% since the start of the year. The steady institutional demand through ETF products contrasts with XRP's price performance,

According to Bloomberg data, Bitcoin posted lower return volatility than South Korea's benchmark KOSPI stock index this year, with BTC swings of 48% compared to the KOSPI's 63% daily fluctuations. The gap stems from extreme concentration in the KOSPI, where Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix—memory ch

According to Coin Glass, XRP-backed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) pulled in $27.29 million in July, marking a fourth consecutive month of net inflows. Cumulative XRP ETF inflows now sit near $1.5 billion, the largest total among altcoin products. Yet the token itself trades near $1.08, down

Leaderway Paperboard Ltd announced H1 2026 net profit of HK$1.373 billion, up 69.28% year-over-year, with earnings per share of HK 31.97 cents. The interim dividend stands at HK 11.2 cents per share. Revenue for the period reached HK$14.842 billion, up 21.29%.

Hanwha M&S Holdings officially launched on the 3rd as a holding company consolidating Hanwha Group's Tech and Life Solutions divisions. The company held a launch ceremony at The Plaza in Jung-gu, with attendees including President Kim Dong-sun (Future Strategy), newly appointed CEO Kim Hyung-jo, and

According to Bernstein, on July 31, the analyst upgraded Apple's target price from $350 to $370, maintaining its outperform rating. The rating came after Apple reported third-quarter revenue of $109.4 billion, up 16.4% year-over-year, with gross margin at 48.1% excluding tariff rebates. iPhone reven

According to Chosun Biz Money Move, former Awa Home chairman Koo Mi-hyun acquired Bonne, a KOSDAQ-listed company facing delisting risks, on August 3. The stock surged significantly following the ownership transfer, with analysts projecting that the company will overcome its delisting

Morgan Stanley upgraded Korean stocks to overweight after the KOSPI index fell to the 5,000 level, setting a target of 9,000 that implies approximately 36% upside potential. The global investment bank attributed the recent decline to mainly technical factors, as leveraged exchange-traded fund

According to Morgan Stanley, on August 2, the global investment bank upgraded its rating on South Korea's KOSPI index to overweight with a 9,000 target price, citing 36% upside potential from current levels near 5,000. Morgan Stanley attributed the recent 30% decline in KOSPI since June primarily to

According to an FCC filing released last week, AST SpaceMobile shares rose 2% overnight late Sunday (August 2) as the company disclosed that direct-to-cell operations with Rakuten Mobile in Japan are expected to begin imminently. The service will use Rakuten's licensed 700 MHz spectrum, with

South Korean government bond yields showed mixed movements on the morning of the 3rd, with the 3-year benchmark falling 0.9 basis points to 3.751% while the 30-year yield rose 1.4bp to 4.522%. The divergence reflected a supply-demand standoff between domestic institutions selling holdings ahead of t

According to Yonhap Infomax, South Korea's inter-bank offered rates (KORIBOR) were announced on August 3. The 1-month KORIBOR stood at 2.83%, up 0.01 percentage point from the previous day, while the 12-month rate reached 3.66%, down 0.01 percentage point. Other key periods included 2-month at 2.89%

According to Onchain Lens, James Wynn's short position on the S&P 500 index was liquidated for the 22nd time 40 minutes ago (August 3). His cumulative realized losses on the position have reached approximately $73,100. Despite repeated liquidations, Wynn continues to hold a short position worth appr

Korean securities firms issued 580 target price downgrade reports in July, exceeding the 351 upgrade reports for the same period, financial data provider FnGuide reported on August 3. This marked the first month in 2025 where downgrades outnumbered upgrades. The reversal followed sharp stock

According to The Fact citing F&Guide data, South Korean brokerages issued 580 downgrade reports in July, exceeding upgrade reports of 351 for the first time this year. The shift reflects growing caution following semiconductor stock declines, despite strong second-quarter earnings. Samsung

According to Korea Exchange, the KOSPI index fell 22.19% in July, marking the worst monthly performance among major global stock indices. The benchmark dropped from a June 19 intraday peak of 9,385.59 to 6,306.82 on August 3, a decline of nearly 30%. Nomura Securities attributed the sharp selloff

According to latest quarterly earnings, Microsoft shares soared 19% to $460 and Amazon jumped 15% to $271 this week, while Alphabet gained 7% to $356, as Wall Street reorients its valuation logic away from capital spending scale toward actual cash flow generation. AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud all

According to Securities Times, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) launched 5-year RMB government bond futures on August 3. The product is the only government bond futures contract in the offshore market, designed to meet growing demand from offshore investors for interest rate risk management a

Veteran Wall Street investor Jim Bianco warned on the 2nd local time that artificial intervention by the Federal Reserve or Treasury Department to lower Treasury yields could backfire and push rates higher instead. Bianco stated via X that inflation is currently unsettling markets, and any policy

Foreign investors net sold 283 billion won in South Korean government bonds on July 31, a sharp departure from typical month-end patterns when World Government Bond Index (WGBI) inflows drive purchases exceeding 2 trillion won. The reduced buying intensity follows statements by Japanese Finance