Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) shares dropped 17% on Thursday to close at $55.01, marking the stock's lowest closing level of the year, after the company announced a $1 billion convertible-note offering. The financing, structured as 1.625% convertible senior notes due in 2034 with an initial conversion

According to Xiao Sheng, director of the Capital Account Management Department of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China's foreign debt reached $2.41 trillion at the end of Q1 2026, up slightly from the previous quarter. The country's external debt has remained generally stable over the

According to options analyst Jon Najarian, AST SpaceMobile shares plunged 17% on Thursday (July 17) to close at $55.01, marking their worst single day in over two years, following announcement of a $1 billion convertible-note offering at a conversion price of $79.57 per share. Najarian called the st

According to Guru Club, spot silver fell below $55 on July 17, touching $54.8445 per ounce and marking its lowest level since December 2025. This represents a cumulative decline of 54.92% from the intraday record high of $121.6485 reached on

According to National Foreign Exchange Administration Deputy Director Li Bin at a State Council Information Office briefing on July 17, China's foreign assets reached approximately $12 trillion as of March 2026, a historic high. The country's net foreign assets exceeded $4 trillion, ranking second g

SpaceX (SPCX) shares closed on July 16 at $131.11, down 3.1%, and for the first time fell below its $135 IPO issue price. That same day, Starship’s 13th flight from Starbase in the southern part of Texas stopped its countdown when the Super Heavy booster engines had just begun ignition. SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot said engineers will inspect the issue before scheduling a new attempt. Record of the Cancellation of Starship Flight 13 Around 6:45 p.m. Eastern Time on July 16, 2026, the launch coun

Hong Kong stocks declined over 300 points during morning trading, falling below the 25,000 level after opening 13 points higher at 25,022 points. The market reversed downward as pharmaceutical stocks and metal stocks faced selling pressure. US stocks fell overnight with the Nasdaq declining over 1%,

Visa (NYSE: V) announced on July 16, 2026, the launch of Visa Stablecoin Platform (VSP), a managed environment that combines stablecoin issuance, wallet infrastructure, and payment-network connectivity. The platform aims to reduce technical and operational barriers that have prevented financial

The Hang Seng Index dropped 337 points or 1.35% to 24,670 by 10:30 a.m. on July 17, breaking below the 25,000 level as pharmaceutical and metal stocks came under selling pressure following overnight weakness in U.S. equities. The Nasdaq fell over 1%, while the CSI 300 Index rose 1.79%. The Tech Inde

Merck (MRK) shares closed up 3.3% to $127.63 on July 16. Earlier, U.S. regulators approved Lipfendra to become the first—and only—daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor tablet worldwide, which can reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) by up to 60%, with no contraindication or allergy warning. Lipfendra Approval Snapshot: First Oral PCSK9 Tablet, LDL Down 60% According to the approval announcement, Lipfendra is the first and only daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor tablet globally. Its mechanism of action

Spot silver touched $55 per ounce today, marking its lowest level since November 28, 2025. The metal declined 0.91% intraday.

According to Shanghai Metals Market, today (July 17), the mid-price of MMLC battery-grade lithium carbonate rose to 152,450 yuan/ton, up 1,250 yuan/ton from the previous close.

According to Jin10, on July 17, China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Deputy Director Li Bin stated at a State Council Information Office press conference that exchange rates are determined by market supply and demand and are difficult to predict. He noted that the RMB exchange rat

Semirara Mining and Power Corporation has filed a court petition against the Philippine Department of Energy over demands for proprietary information and asset inventory related to the Semirara coal operation. The Consunji-led company seeks protection from repeated DOE requests for geological

According to Rappler, Semirara Mining and Power Corporation (SMPC) filed a court petition on July 17 after the Department of Energy repeatedly demanded proprietary technical information and asset inventory related to its coal operations. The dispute follows DOE's rejection of SMPC's request to

According to EToday, South Korea's Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) announced yesterday it will track brokerage margin trading and securities lending activities to prevent individual investor losses from market fluctuations. FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin chaired a financial stability meeting,

According to Dovey Wan, founder of Primitive Ventures, South Korea introduced single-stock leveraged products on May 27, which he views as a potential peak indicator for global risk assets. Dovey noted that the asset had already experienced near-vertical gains when the leverage product was introduce

According to Bitget market data, Zhipu's Hong Kong-listed shares fell over 15% intraday on July 17, down from an earlier drop exceeding 17%. Moonshot, a direct competitor, released Kimi K3, which outperformed Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 in select coding and agent tests. Additionally, Anthropic

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) expects foreign investment inflows to maintain positive momentum, according to official remarks on July 17. SAFE official Zhao Yuchao attributed the outlook to China's expanding market openness, improving policies supporting foreign investment,

Apple Inc. shares rose 1.8% on Thursday to a fresh record high, with the stock climbing 15.2% in July and on pace for its best month in nearly four years. The rally prompted HSBC to upgrade AAPL to 'Buy' from 'Hold' with a $366 price target on Thursday. The outperformance stands in contrast to the t