Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) today increased its quarterly dividend by 6.80% to $1.72 per share. This marks the company's 63rd consecutive annual dividend increase, maintaining its status as a dividend

South Korea and Taiwan surpassed Japan in total export value for the first time in the first half, driven by explosive AI semiconductor demand, according to Nikkei. South Korea recorded $496.3 billion in first-half exports while Taiwan reached $416.6 billion, compared to Japan's $384.4 billion.

According to Mengqin Gold (02585), the company expects to achieve attributed profit of 18-21 million yuan for the first half of 2026, swinging to profitability from a loss year-on-year, according to a stock exchange filing on August 11. Total revenue is expected to reach

Raymond James downgraded The Trade Desk (TTD) stocks to 'Underperform' following the company's Q2 earnings miss and Q3 guidance that suggests a 12% year-over-year revenue decline. The downgrade comes after TTD reported Q2 revenue of $715.1 million, falling short of market estimates of

According to Barchart, more than 72% of S&P 500 stocks are trading above their 200-day moving average today, marking the strongest market breadth reading.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the U.S. small business confidence index reached 99.8 in July, rising 2.4 points from 97.4 in June.

According to Raymond James and other analysts, The Trade Desk (TTD) on August 11 reported Q2 revenue of $715.1 million, missing both market expectations of approximately $752 million and the company's guidance floor of $750 million. Adjusted EBITDA of $241.3 million also fell short of expectations o

According to BlackRock reports, the company's TCPC fund delivered cumulative total return of 4.01% from inception through July, equivalent to 0.28% annualized. By comparison, rolling 90-day T-Bills would have generated over 4% annualized during the same period. Over this timeframe, TCPC's stock

According to Nikkei, South Korea and Taiwan's combined exports surpassed Japan for the first time in the first half of 2026, driven by surging demand for AI semiconductors. South Korea recorded $496.3 billion in exports while Taiwan posted $416.6 billion, compared to Japan's $384.4 billion. The

Optical interconnect company Lumilens emerged from stealth mode at a $5.5 billion valuation after raising $700 million. The company supplies a top 3 hyperscaler customer and has secured a multi-billion-dollar customer agreement. Lumilens' emergence provides visibility into the optical interconnect s

According to Korea Exchange's announcement on August 7, the preliminary review for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix single-stock leverage ETF products took 13 days. This was two days longer than the 11-day review period for domestic benchmark index ETFs, though shorter than the 19-day timeframe for

Tanzania is liberalizing its foreign-exchange laws to allow non-residents to participate in government bond auctions. The country's 20-year bond currently offers a yield of 12.5%, attracting regional interest as other African nations have similarly seen rising foreign investment driven by elevated y

Amazon disclosed its stock portfolio as of the end of Q2 through a 13F filing, revealing holdings across seven companies totaling over 236 million shares. The largest position is Rivian with 158,363,834 shares, followed by X-Energy with 65,836,948 shares and Beta Technologies with 11,753,896 shares.

Goldman Sachs stated that the US-Japan yen intervention strengthens rather than weakens the dollar's reserve currency status, highlighting the potential use of the FIMA facility. The New York Federal Reserve executed the intervention by selling euros and buying yen on behalf of the US Treasury,

SK Hynix approved a 54 trillion won investment while its stock fell 4.88% as the KOSPI reversed earlier gains to close at 6,258.77, down 0.60%. The company's board approved 35.2 trillion won for Yongin Y2 and 19.1 trillion won for Cheongju M17, with Y2's first clean room operation scheduled for

Global gold exchange-traded funds recorded a net inflow of $3 billion in July, marking the largest monthly gain since April and reversing consecutive outflows of $2 billion in May and $9 billion in June. Holdings increased by 23 tons to 4,068 tons, approaching the record high of 4,176 tons set on

SK Hynix closed at 1,422,000 KRW, down 4.88%, on the day its board approved 54 trillion KRW in capex — 35.2 trillion for the Y2 Yongin facility and 19.1 trillion for the M17 Cheongju plant. The KOSPI index reversed intraday gains of up

Investor Michael Burry has opened short positions on Navius (NBIS) at $211.77 and Oracle (ORCL) at $144.63 this year, according to social media disclosures. Rather than using options, Burry chose direct stock short selling, citing put option implied volatility exceeding 100% as too expensive. His co

According to its Q2 Form 13F filing with the SEC, Amazon disclosed a stock portfolio anchored by 158.36 million Rivian shares as of June 30, alongside significant positions in X-Energy (65.84M shares), Beta Technologies (11.75M shares for eVTOL development), Asterra Labs and Marvell (AI

According to Zhitong Finance, mainland investors net sold HK$1.376 billion in Hong Kong stocks on August 11. Shanghai Connect net bought HK$2.004 billion, while Shenzhen Connect net sold HK$3.381 billion. CITIC Securities (06030) led mainland inflows with HK$555 million in net purchases. The