Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to U.S. officials, Ukraine agreed yesterday (August 8) to avoid attacking non-Russian-flagged oil tankers and Black Sea infrastructure critical to Kazakhstan's crude exports. Ukraine has established a communication point to enable commercial shipping companies to coordinate and ensure

According to Newsis, South Korea's ETF market experienced significant contraction in July, with total net assets declining by 77.9 trillion won (15.2%) from the end of June. As of July 31, the total net assets of domestically listed ETFs stood at 434.6 trillion won, marking a sharp drop over the

According to Korea Exchange and Financial Supervisory Service disclosures, as of August 7, 163 listed companies face delisting procedures following stricter valuation requirements implemented by the government. Stock prices below 1,000 won affected 131 KOSDAQ and 32 KOSPI companies, while market

According to iRhythm Holdings, the cardiac monitoring device maker announced on Aug 7 that it will acquire VitalConnect for $287.5 million, comprising $237.5 million in cash and $50 million in stock. The acquisition will give iRhythm access to VitalPatch, a wearable patient monitoring patch that

KOSDAQ leverage ETFs posted gains of approximately 60% during the week from July 31 to August 7, following a regulatory change that raised the minimum deposit requirement for single-stock leverage ETFs from 10 million won to 30 million won on July 31. The surge occurred as funds previously

Fashion B2B platform Delicious and vascular disease treatment developer Ingenia Therapeutics recorded subscription competition ratios of 10.29:1 and 3.09:1 respectively in general subscriptions confirmed last week, according to financial investment industry sources on the 9th. The figures mark

According to Korea Exchange data, Kosdaq leveraged ETFs surged 59% to 63% during the week of July 31-August 7 as regulatory tightening on single-stock leveraged products redirected investor capital. South Korea's financial authorities raised the minimum deposit requirement for single-stock leveraged

According to Reuters and Korea Exchange, shares of South Korea's Hanwha Q Cells surged 33% this week through August 7, driven by U.S. trade policy targeting Chinese solar manufacturers. The surge began August 5 after the U.S. Department of Commerce announced a 15% tariff on polysilicon and related d

According to South Korea's financial industry on August 9, two newly listed companies recorded subscription rates far below historical averages. Fashion B2B platform Delicious saw a 10.29-to-1 subscription ratio, while biopharmaceutical firm IngeniaTherapeutics achieved only 3.09-to-1, compared to t

According to Odaily, South Korea's stock market volatility index fell to a two-month low last week as forced liquidations and stricter regulatory limits on leveraged ETFs cleared excess leverage positions. Morgan Stanley estimates the deleveraging process is now more than 50% complete. The KOSPI in

According to multiple sources, on August 9, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz led to a 75% decline in Iraqi oil exports. The United Arab Emirates' ADNOC reported that one of its tankers was struck by a missile attack while transiting the strait early Saturday morning; the company stated the

According to the Korea Exchange and Financial Supervisory Service, 38 KOSDAQ-listed companies and 10 KOSPI-listed companies disclosed delisting risk on August 9, as share prices fell below 1,000 Korean won as of August 7. The disclosure follows the implementation of stricter penny stock delisting

Strategy Inc. Executive Chairman Michael Saylor identified digital credit as a major finance opportunity in an Aug. 7 post on X, writing that if he were looking for the next billion-dollar business in finance, he would study digital credit. The post included a chart showing effective yields across S

According to a post on X on Aug. 7, Michael Saylor, Executive Chairman of Strategy Inc. (Nasdaq: MSTR), identified digital credit as the next billion-dollar business opportunity in finance. The post included effective yields for Strategy's four preferred securities: Stride Preferred Stock (STRD) at

According to its H1 2026 earnings release on Aug 7, Desai Technology (02526) reported total revenue of approximately 109 million yuan for the first half of 2026. Model services revenue surged 101.1% year-over-year and accounted for 86.9% of total revenue, while the company's overall gross margin

According to BlockBeats, on August 9, SpaceX options trading volume hit a record 2.24 million contracts, with call options reaching 1.3 million, as the stock surged on back-to-back gains. Short sellers face mounting pressure, with over 250 million SpaceX shares currently sold short, representing

According to DB Securities research lead Tae-hyun Seol, investors holding single-stock leveraged ETFs can significantly shorten capital recovery periods through planned additional investments at specific

According to South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service, domestic securities firms' short-term funding via commercial paper and short-term bonds surged 170% year-over-year as of August 7, 2026. The spike is driven by expanded margin trading among retail investors, which has increased collateral and

According to The Kobeissi Letter, Oracle's 5-year credit default swap (CDS) spread surged 70 basis points year-to-date to roughly 215 basis points, marking a record high and the steepest increase among major technology firms. Broadcom, Meta, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet saw 5-year CDS spreads