Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to Westpac, Australia's consumer sentiment index rose 3.5% month-on-month in May, rebounding from the previous month's -12.5% decline. The improvement reflects a shift from negative to positive sentiment among Australian

Australia's Westpac consumer confidence index rose to 83 in May, up from 80.1 in April, marking a gain of 2.9 points.

According to Jin10, crude oil futures and low-sulfur fuel oil surged over 6% on May 18, driven by escalating geopolitical risk premiums. Pentagon preparations for potential military action against Iran contributed to the gains, with Bloomberg reporting the U.S. and Israel could resume strikes as

According to TechCrunch, South Korean optical module startup LetinAR secured $18.5 million from Korea Development Bank, Lotte Ventures, and other investors on May 19, ahead of a planned 2027 IPO. The funding brings LetinAR's total capital raised to $41.7 million and will support production scaling f

Australia's Resources Ministry will conduct further industry consultations and hold a roundtable discussion on the country's natural gas market assessment in the coming days, according to the ministry's assistant

According to SoSoValue data, Hyperliquid (HYPE) spot ETFs saw net inflows of $4.418 million on May 18. The 21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP) led with $2.373 million in single-day inflows, bringing its historical total to $12.901 million. Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP) followed with $2.0446 million in

According to SoSoValue data, Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ) saw net inflows of $750,400 on May 18. The fund has accumulated $379 million in total net inflows since inception.

On May 19 at market open, Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.6%, while South Korea's Seoul Composite index fell 1.2%.

On May 19, the Nikkei 225 Index opened higher, rising 548.22 points, or 0.90%, to 61,364.17.

According to Jin10 data, on May 18, jewelry retailer Zhou Daisheng held an earnings call, addressing the closure of over 500 stores in 2025. The company attributed the store reductions to two main factors: weak consumer demand for gold jewelry and consolidation of franchisee stores. The company

Japan's nominal GDP expanded 0.8% on a quarter-on-quarter basis in the first quarter (preliminary estimate), matching market expectations but slightly slower than the previous quarter's 0.9% growth rate.

According to NOPA and USDA data, on Monday, CBOT soybean oil futures closed up 2.4%, recovering part of last week's losses. U.S. soybean oil inventories held by NOPA members totaled 1.947 billion pounds as of end-April, down 4.5% from March but slightly below market expectations. Meanwhile, U.S. soy

Japan's private consumption in the first quarter grew at a seasonally adjusted 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, exceeding the market forecast of 0.2%. The prior quarter's figure was revised downward to zero percent from an initially

Japan's first-quarter real GDP annualized quarter-on-quarter rate came in at 2.1% on initial estimate, exceeding expectations of 1.7%. The prior quarter's figure was revised downward to 0.8% from the previously

Japan's net exports contributed 0.3 percentage points to first-quarter GDP growth on a quarterly basis, exceeding economist forecasts of 0.1 percentage points, according to official economic data released in

According to Calcalist, Tom Livne, former CEO of Israeli AI transcription startup Verbit, raised $172 million for Iron Dome Acquisition Corp, a Nasdaq-listed SPAC targeting cybersecurity, defense tech, or AI businesses with annual revenue exceeding $100 million. The SPAC's leadership includes Israel

Japan's real gross domestic product grew 0.5% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of 2026, exceeding economist expectations of 0.4% and accelerating from 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, preliminary data

Japan's Q1 GDP deflator (seasonally adjusted initial reading) came in at 3.4% year-over-year, beating economist expectations of 3.1% and matching the prior quarter's 3.4% reading.

According to China International Capital (CICC), the U.S. Federal Reserve is unlikely to cut interest rates for the remainder of 2026, as inflation remains elevated above the central bank's 2% target. CICC's latest report forecasts U.S. PCE inflation will stay above 3.5% for the full year, with

Multiple U.S. media outlets reported on May 18 that Kevin Warsh will be sworn in as chair of the Federal Reserve on May 22, 2024. President Trump will hold the swearing-in ceremony at the White House. Senate Confirmation The U.S. Senate confirmed Warsh on May 13 with a vote of 54 in favor