Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

Meta Platforms stocks closed at $545.83 on 20 August 2026, down 31% from the 52-week high of $790.80, as Q2 2026 free cash flow collapsed to $784m despite $31.86bn of operating cash flow. The drop followed capital expenditure of $31.08bn in a single quarter — an 82% year-on-year increase — which

Walmart shares plunged more than 9% on Thursday despite the retail giant beating Wall Street's quarterly revenue estimates and raising its full-year outlook. The selloff was triggered by weaker-than-expected comparable sales in Walmart's core US business, which rose just 2.6% — the slowest quarterly

According to Walmart's earnings report released Thursday (August 20), the company's stock fell more than 9% on concerns over weak comparable sales growth, despite fiscal second-quarter revenue of $187.9 billion exceeding the $186.77 billion consensus estimate. Adjusted earnings came in at 81 cents p

South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 21st that the 9th petroleum maximum price will remain frozen at current levels for a 4-week period starting midnight of the 22nd. The freeze maintains gasoline at 1,784 won per liter, diesel at 1,773 won per liter, and kerosene at

Brent crude oil expanded its intraday gain to 1.00% today, trading at $92.63 per barrel.

WTI crude futures rose over 1% intraday on August 21, trading at $87.08 per barrel.

Nine publicly-listed Bitcoin mining companies spent $5.11 billion on capital infrastructure during H1 2026 while generating $341.2 million from AI and high-performance computing services in the same period, according to data compiled by BlocksBridge Consulting and reported by Cointelegraph.

Tencent repurchased shares worth HKD 300.3 million on August 21.

According to Guru Club, U.S. diesel crack spreads (refining profit margins) surged to over $100 per barrel on August 21, reaching historic highs. Over the past two months, global refined product profit margins climbed approximately $30 per barrel year-over-year, while global refinery utilization

According to Jin10 Futures on August 21, Mongolia's fuel supply command center reported that Ulaanbaatar's fuel supply has stabilized with reduced vehicle queue congestion, while border imports and rail capacity continue to increase. The government has issued targeted fuel supply tasks to

On August 21, 2026, from 09:30 to 09:45 (UTC), BTC rose rapidly by 0.62% over 15 minutes, trading within a range of 77,619.1–78,350.0 USDT and recording an amplitude of 0.94%. Over the preceding 24 hours, BTC rebounded from a low of $71,122.8 to a high of $79,520, gaining 8.14% and showing clear signs of an oversold rebound. Market volatility intensified, and attention increased significantly. The primary driver of this move was the escalation of the US–Iran geopolitical conflict. More than 750

According to Yonhapinfomax, on August 21, South Korea's interest rate swap (IRS) rates rose across the curve, with longer-dated maturities climbing more steeply than shorter tenors. The 1-year IRS rate increased 0.25 basis points to 3.4625%, while the 3-year and 5-year rates rose 2.50bp and 4.25bp r

According to Yonhap Infomax, South Korea's government bond yields rose on August 21 afternoon, with the benchmark 10-year yield up 5.3 basis points to 4.376%, steepening the yield curve as longer-term rates outpaced shorter-term gains. The 3-year yield climbed 4.3bp to 3.854%, while the 30-year yiel

South Korea's stock market circuit breaker mechanism, known as sidecar, triggered 49 times on the KOSPI as of the 21st this year, approaching its 50th activation. The Korea Exchange reported the mechanism, designed to halt program trading during rapid market movements, activated 25 times for sell or

Gate launched Japanese stock trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), making approximately 300 securities accessible through its platform. The launch strengthens Gate's one-stop multi-asset trading ecosystem by enabling users to execute transactions in Tether (USDT) without establishing a

Bitcoin surged toward $79,000 on Friday, briefly crossing the level after gaining more than 5% on Thursday and roughly 7% on Wednesday. The rally was triggered by two major catalysts: the U.S. Treasury announced it would at least double the size of buybacks for government securities maturing

Gate launched trading for approximately 300 stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) on August 21, offering an industry-first service among cryptocurrency platforms. The initial rollout includes major issuers such as Toyota Motor (7203.P), Sony Group (6758.P), SoftBank Group (9984.P), and

According to Guru Club, Japan's government will allocate an additional 150 billion yen (approximately 9.44 billion dollars) to support chip startup Rapidus on August 21, aiming to compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and other leading manufacturers. The Japan External Trade

According to BlockBeats, citing the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes released on August 21, policymakers mentioned artificial intelligence 18 times across 15 paragraphs discussing economic conditions and outlook. Fed officials warned that large-scale AI infrastructure investment may

According to the Korea Exchange, the program trading halt mechanism (known as a 'sidecar') was triggered approximately 50 times in the securities market as of August 21, 2026. The safety mechanism is designed to prevent sharp market fluctuations by temporarily halting program trading when triggered.