Global TradFi & Macroeconomics

According to Korea Exchange, SK Chemical's stock surged 14.7% on August 14 as the company posted Q2 revenue of 745.1 billion Korean won (up 24.8% year-over-year) and operating profit of 32.3 billion won—swinging to profitability versus market expectations of an operating loss. The company

According to ZDNet Korea, Samsung Electronics is converting its NRD-K Line 2 facility from research to foundry operations, targeting 2nm chips for Nvidia's HBM production. The line is expected to launch in the second half of 2028 under a "Send-Fab" model, receiving wafers from other production

Dell Technologies stock has surged 285% year-to-date, significantly outperforming artificial intelligence infrastructure plays like Micron (up 219%) and AMD (up 126%), according to Mizuho equity analyst Jordan Klein, who described the stock's performance as "crazy." Dell closed Thursday up 2.1% to $

According to ChainCatcher, Charles Schwab announced the launch of Schwab Crypto, offering direct bitcoin and ethereum trading to approximately 40 million brokerage accounts across 48 U.S. states, excluding New York and Louisiana. The service, operated by Charles Schwab Premier Bank and Paxos,

South Korea's financial authorities strengthened delisting requirements effective August 12, with KOSPI-listed companies now requiring a minimum market cap of 30 billion won and KOSDAQ companies 20 billion won. The new standards triggered six companies' reclassification to supervised status on Augus

According to Bank of Korea's official report on international financial and foreign exchange markets trends, the Korean Won surged 9.4% against the U.S. dollar from July 1 to August 11, posting the strongest gains among major currencies. The Won-to-dollar exchange rate fell from 1,549.4 won at end-J

According to Korea Exchange, KOSPI steadied around the 6,900 level on August 14, trading at 6,917.95 as of 1:14 PM, up 104.61 points or 1.54% from the previous close. KOSDAQ, which opened higher, turned negative during afternoon trading and was quoted around the 850

Bitcoin remained range-bound around $63,000 despite US July consumer price index (CPI) data confirming a slowdown in inflation. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, July CPI rose 3.4% year-over-year, down from 3.5% in June, while core CPI excluding food and energy increased 2.5% year-over

According to BlockBeats, Hong Kong-listed AI application stocks declined sharply on August 14, with MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) falling over 10% and Zhipu (02513.HK) dropping nearly 6%, according to Bitget market

Korean retail investors suffered significant losses as the KOSPI stock index experienced extreme volatility through late July, according to BBC reporting on August 14. The volatility was driven by an AI-fueled technology stock boom followed by a sharp correction, with the KOSPI rising above 9,000 in

SC crude oil futures main contract rose 2.00% during intraday trading on August 14, currently quoted at 565.30 yuan per barrel.

US stocks rose on Thursday as July producer price growth slowed and oil prices declined, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell below its 100-day moving average on Friday midday following disappointing earnings from Tencent (00700) and JD.com (09618). The Dow Jones closed up 69 points at 53839,

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bitcoin held around $63,000 on August 14 despite July CPI cooling to 3.4% year-over-year, in line with market expectations. The slower inflation reading reduced odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike at September's FOMC meeting from 46.1% to 41.9%.

According to Guru Club, coking coal futures rallied over 5% on August 14, trading at 1,387.5 yuan/ton and marking the highest level since June 12.

According to Japan's Ministry of Finance, the country's highest-ranking foreign exchange official will meet with their South Korean counterpart in Tokyo on August 21.

Switzerland's largest bank UBS increased its position in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust to nearly $90 million during the first half of 2026, according to a Form 13F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13. The bank reported approximately 2.5 million shares of IBIT as o

BHI announced on the 14th that it recorded Q2 2026 consolidated revenue of 296.3 billion won and operating profit of 45.5 billion won, marking the sixth consecutive quarter the energy infrastructure company exceeded market expectations. Revenue increased 75% year-over-year while operating profit

According to a Form 13F filing on August 13, UBS increased its position in BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund by approximately 230% to nearly $90 million in the first half of 2026, as of June 30. The bank reported approximately 2.5 million shares of iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) compared t

WTI crude futures touched $82 per barrel intraday today, up 0.97% on the session.

According to Asia Economy, energy infrastructure company BHI reported Q2 2026 revenue of 296.3 billion won, surging 75% year-over-year, on August 14. Operating profit jumped 123.1% to 45.5 billion won, with operating margin reaching 15.4%, a new quarterly record. Net profit stood at 20.3 billion won