Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

On July 15, the Depository Trust Company (DTCC's subsidiary) successfully converted eligible US Treasuries and equities into tokenized digital assets, with BitGo Bank & Trust serving as the OCC-regulated custodian for settlement and onchain movement. Over 30 institutions, including BlackRock,

The U.S. Treasury doubled its buyback program for long-dated bonds to $4 billion on August 19, triggering a sharp rally in gold prices. According to Goldman Sachs, gold surged over 7% in the five days following the announcement, pushing spot prices near $4,700 per ounce as investors interpreted the

South Korea's top five securities firms posted combined net profit of KRW 4.4698 trillion in Q2 2024, up 150.5% year-on-year. Mirae Asset Securities led with KRW 1.9052 trillion in net profit, driven by a KRW 1.6242 trillion valuation gain from its SpaceX equity investment. The record performance

IBK Securities maintained its target price of 81,000 won and 'buy' rating for Hotel Shilla Stocks on the 31st, citing strong inbound tourism growth. Analyst Nam Seong-hyun stated that robust growth in foreign visitors to Korea is likely to continue into 2027, presenting significant upside

According to Economist, Mirae Asset Securities recorded a net profit of 1.9 trillion won in Q2 2026, ranking first among South Korea's five major brokerages. The company achieved 1.62 trillion won in valuation gains from its SpaceX investment, accounting for approximately 64% of pre-tax profit for t

According to Financial Times, tech giants Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, and Microsoft reported combined valuation gains exceeding $160 billion from AI company stock investments in their latest earnings, prompting concerns that one-time gains may overstate the underlying strength of the AI boom. These g

According to South Korea's National Data Processing, industrial production in July remained flat month-on-month, released on August 31. Manufacturing production, which comprises most industrial output, increased 0.2% from June, driven by semiconductors (up 20.7%), primary metals (up 4.2%), and

Hana Securities maintained its target price of 2.05 million won for Samsung Biologics stocks on the 31st, keeping its buy rating unchanged. The securities firm stated the company's latest fundraising extends beyond domestic production facility expansion to include securing global production bases an

SK Securities issued a report on August 31 recommending corporate value revaluation for SK Corporation based on SK Ecoplant's performance improvement and shareholder return measures. Analyst Choi Gwan-soon maintained a 'Buy' rating and ₩800,000 target price on SK Corporation. The report

According to Hana Securities analyst Kim Sun-ah, Samsung Biologics announced new funding on August 31 to expand global production capacity and diversify its modality offerings beyond domestic manufacturing. The company plans to invest approximately 1 trillion won in its sixth factory, with

According to SK Securities, SK Ecoplan recorded 10 trillion won in H1 2026 revenue, up 83% year-over-year, with operating profit reaching 1.465 trillion won, up 584% YoY. SK Securities expects SK's full-year operating profit to reach 13.4 trillion won, up 638% year-over-year, driven by high-tech

KB Investment manages ₩3.236 trillion across 45 funds. The venture capital subsidiary of KB Financial Group has invested in over 1,200 companies, with more than 180 achieving IPOs. The firm focuses on deeptech scale-up in semiconductors, biotechnology, robotics, and space/aviation. Its role has

Shinhan Investment & Securities on August 31 raised its target price for DB Insurance stock from 220,000 won to 245,000 won while maintaining a 'buy' investment rating, citing the insurer's mid- to long-term value-up plan that strengthened dividend quality and sustainability. The new target

Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, plans to accept bitcoin, ether, and tether as collateral for loans, according to Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of its management board, in an Aug. 28 interview with TASS. The expansion will follow the implementation of Russia's new cryptocurrency regulations and the

LS Securities raised its target price for Samsung Electronics stocks to 450,000 won from 400,000 won on August 31, maintaining a 'Buy' rating. Analyst Jung Woo-sung cited the company's recovering competitiveness in high-bandwidth memory (HBM), particularly HBM4 products. The upgrade reflects

LS Securities cut its target price for SK Hynix stocks by 27.3% to 2.4 million won from 3.3 million won on May 31, while maintaining a 'buy' rating. Analyst Jung Woo-sung adjusted the 2027 high-bandwidth memory (HBM) operating margin forecast from approximately 80% to 60%, citing normalization of su

According to Korea Credit Finance Association, card loan balances fell 460 billion won between May and July, but cash services and revolving credit increased by 600 billion won during the same period. As of July 31, the combined balance of nine major card issuers' card loans reached 42.796

According to LS Securities on August 31, SK Hynix saw its 2027 HBM (high-bandwidth memory) operating profit margin forecast cut to approximately 60% from the previously projected 80%, prompting a target price reduction from 3.3 million won to 2.4 million won. The downgrade reflects intensified

According to Intel CFO David Zinsner at Deutsche Bank's 2026 Tech Conference, the company's next-generation 14A process shows defect density improvements exceeding its original target and matching the best performance since the 22nm generation. The 14A is on track for risk production in H2 2027 and

According to Choson Biz Money Move, Appten convertible bond investors achieved over 3.5x returns approximately two years after investment as of August 30. The gains were triggered by the company's recent equity financing, which caused conversion prices to reset downward, enabling investors to