Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to Yonhap Infomax, on August 12, Hanwha Investment Securities reported that its consolidated operating profit for Q2 2026 reached 55.6 billion won, up 47.4% year-over-year and 87.5% compared to the previous quarter. Sales surged to 320.3 billion won, a 263.6% increase year-over-year and 94

According to Yonhap Infomax, Korea Electric Power Corporation reported on August 12 that its operating profit for the second quarter of 2026 fell 47.2% year-over-year to 1.1285 trillion won, down from 2.1359 trillion won in the same period of 2025. The sharp decline was driven primarily by a 24.3% s

According to Jin10, major currency pairs showed varied performance on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. The data provides a comprehensive overview of exchange rate movements across key global currency pairs.

Nasdaq announced on the 11th local time the establishment of Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN), a new division dedicated to digital assets and tokenized products. The division was created to respond to emerging market structures in digital assets and tokenization by combining the exchange operator's

Grayscale withdrew registration statements for its Cardano, Hedera, and Polkadot Trust products on August 7, 2026. The asset manager filed Form RW withdrawals and stated it does not intend to proceed with the planned distributions. The withdrawals were voluntary issuer decisions, not regulatory

Hotel Lotte and Busan Lotte Hotel signed a stock purchase agreement with global private equity firm TPG the previous day to sell a combined 61.17% stake in Lotte Rental for 1.3105 trillion won, securing substantial liquidity for the Lotte Group. The transaction will bring 817 billion won to Hotel Lo

South Korea's securities industry expects the domestic stock market stimulus policy to continue despite controversy over the government's 2026 tax reform plan. The government proposed a new productive finance ISA that would fully exempt taxes on interest and dividend income from domestic stocks, dom

According to Bloomberg, Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA) is investing $400 million to repair its main smelter and restore production to pre-conflict levels by the first quarter of 2027, following an Iranian attack in March that halted output. EGA, the Middle East's largest aluminum producer, said it

China's major futures contracts closed higher on August 12 morning session, with gains outweighing losses. Polysilicon led gains with a rise exceeding 4%, followed by fuel oil up over 3%, lithium carbonate and European container routes up nearly 3%, low-sulfur fuel oil, synthetic rubber, and

According to UBS Group's chief economist Jonathan Pingel, on August 12, the bank expects U.S. inflation year-on-year growth for July to slow, though it will remain significantly above pre-Iran conflict levels and higher than the same period last year. Core inflation is projected to strengthen

Spot platinum rose 0.98% and spot palladium increased 0.56% as of 3:00 p.m. Beijing time on August 12.

According to Nasdaq on August 11, the U.S. securities exchange operator established Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN), a dedicated division to address digital assets and tokenized products. The division will expand Nasdaq's existing digital asset capabilities and solutions across new market

According to Grayscale's Form RW filing on August 7, 2026, the asset management firm voluntarily withdrew registration statements for its Cardano (ADA), Hedera (HBAR), and Polkadot (DOT) Trust products. The company stated it does not intend to proceed with the planned distributions. The withdrawal i

According to Financial News and Korea Exchange data, high-dividend ETFs rallied from Aug. 3-12 as investors positioned for expected tax incentives under South Korea's 2026 tax reform plan. PLUS High-Dividend Stock ETF led with trading volume of 120.7 billion Korean won and a 1.36% gain. PLUS High-Di

According to Nice Credit Rating, Lotte Group divested a 61.17% stake in Lotte Rental to TPG for approximately 1.31 trillion Korean won on August 11. The deal was completed through a stock purchase agreement between the global private equity fund and Lotte Hotel, which sold 38.14% of shares, and

According to Han Kyung Economic Daily, South Korea's top 10 securities firms posted combined net profit of 5.936 trillion won in Q2 2026, surging 37% from the previous quarter and reaching 98.4% of the top 10 banks' combined profit of 6.0296 trillion won. The ratio jumped significantly to 98.4% from

According to Korean Economic TV, on August 12, LG Electronics surged 13% to close at 205,000 won, rebounding from a low of 141,900 won on July 29. The stock recovery outpaced major semiconductor peers including Samsung Electronics (up 6.68%) and SK Hynix (up 5.54%). The rally is attributed to

According to Yonhap Infomax, Meritz Financial Holdings announced on August 12 that it achieved a record half-year net profit of 1.4716 trillion Korean won (approximately $1.1 billion USD), up 8.3% year-over-year. The company's second quarter net profit reached 791.4 billion won, marking its

According to Yonhap Infomax, Meritz Securities reported operating profit of 245.7 billion Korean won in Q2 2026 (announced August 12), down 18.2% year-over-year. Net profit for the same period rose 1.4% to 259.7 billion Korean won. For the first half of 2026, the company's consolidated operating pro

Individual investors in South Korea shifted their exchange-traded fund positions during the one-month period from July 10 to August 11, net purchasing 744.1 billion won in KODEX Leverage and 433.2 billion won in KODEX KOSDAQ150 Leverage while net selling 282.3 billion won in KODEX 200 Futures