Economy
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Economy · 4 min readAmazon earnings and stock drop — AWS up 39%, but free cash flow at minus $42.4 billion
Results — revenue $201.9 billion (+12%), record 13.9% operating margin, AWS $46.0 billion (+39%)
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Economy · 6 min readWhat is RPO — $2.5 trillion of big tech backlog, and why it is still not revenue
Meaning — contracts signed but not yet booked as revenue; a reservation ledger for future sales
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Economy · 5 min readFed holds rates at 3.75%-4.00% on October 28 — both dissenters wanted a hike, and markets now price a December 9 increase
Decision — held at 3.75–4.00%, 10–2; first meeting after the September 16 hike
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Economy · 5 min readWhy big tech stocks split after earnings — Alphabet fell 13%, Microsoft held, and the difference was who pays for AI with cash
Outcome — Oct 29: Alphabet ~−13%, Microsoft roughly flat, Amazon ~−7% after hours
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Economy · 3 min readWhy the KOSPI broke 5,500 — closed at 5,469.47 on October 26, 2026 as foreigners sold ahead of a 'super week'
Index — KOSPI 5,469.47 (−1.46%), KOSDAQ 727.21 (−3.26%); 792 decliners vs 101 gainers
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Economy · 4 min readWhat is an S-1 filing? What Anthropic disclosed in 300 pages — and what it left blank
Definition — the SEC registration statement for a US IPO, under the Securities Act of 1933
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Economy · 3 min readBank of Korea holds its rate at 3.00% (October 22) — unanimous, but the hiking cycle isn't over
Decision — held at 3.00%, 7-0 unanimous; first pause after July and August hikes
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Economy · 2 min readFOMC October 28 rate decision — a hold is priced above 90%, so why is everyone watching December 9?
Timing — decision 2:00 p.m. ET Oct 28; 3:00 a.m. Oct 29 in Seoul
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Economy · 2 min readMeta free cash flow turns negative at -$2.1 billion — why a 26% sales jump sank the stock 7%
Results — revenue $64.6B, up 26%, beating the $63.3B estimate
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Economy · 2 min readWhat is free cash flow? How Meta earned $9.9 billion and still ended $2.1 billion short
Formula — operating cash flow minus capex (some firms also subtract lease payments)
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Economy · 2 min readBank of Korea expected to hold at 3.00% on October 22, 2026 — and to hike again in November
October — hold at 3.00% expected by 20 of 21 economists
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Economy · 2 min readWhy AI data centers aren't getting built: Bernstein says 35% of the US pipeline is credible
Scale — 47+ large US projects stalled in 2026; ~35% of pipeline credible (Bernstein)
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Economy · 2 min readAnthropic offers Blackstone a 10% coupon in a $60 billion TPU deal — 3 points over similar bonds
Structure — $42B Broadcom-guaranteed senior plus $18B junior; Blackstone takes $9B
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Economy · 2 min readGartner: $3.5 trillion of AI infrastructure faces impairment — it needs $8.5T in revenue, sees $3.6T
Warning — over $3.5T exposed to write-downs by 2030, over $4T by 2032
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI weekly October 12-16, 2026: down 14.46% to 5,668.05 — why it fell four days straight, and who came back Friday
Numbers — 6,625.93 to 5,668.05, down 957.88 points (14.46%), circuit breaker on Oct 15
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Economy · 3 min readHow is an IPO valuation set? Same revenue, 22x or 30x — the book-building step that moves $500 billion
Steps — valuation and price range, then book-building with institutions, then final price and listing
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Economy · 3 min readSouth Korea added 113,000 jobs in September 2026 — manufacturing turned up, youth jobs fell for a 47th month
Headline — +113,000 jobs, unemployment 2.0%, 15-64 employment rate 70.6% (September record)
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Economy · 3 min readWhat is AI circular financing — Nvidia funds its customers, the money comes back as chip sales
Loop — chipmaker invests or guarantees, customer borrows and buys chips, chipmaker books revenue
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Economy · 3 min readWhy the KOSPI crashed 7.57% on October 15, 2026 — hot US inflation, AI debt fears and Chinese memory hit at once
Close — KOSPI 5,554.22 (-7.57%), KOSDAQ 760.82 (-7.65%); Level 1 circuit breaker and sidecars in both markets
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Economy · 2 min readCoreWeave bonds near 15% yield — AI cloud debt priced like distress as stock drops 15% in a day
Bonds — 2031/2032 notes yielding 14.5-15%; 2032s below 80 cents on the dollar
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Economy · 2 min readWhy Korea's early-October exports doubled — chips up 170.9%, plus two extra working days
Headline — exports $26.1 billion for October 1-10, 2026, up 102.0%; previous record for the period was $15.3 billion in 2024
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Economy · 3 min readWorking days in Korea's trade data — how to subtract two days from a 102% export jump
Definition — business days in the period; by convention weekdays 1, Saturdays 0.5, Sundays and holidays 0
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Economy · 3 min readWhy the won-yen rate hit an 18-year low — chip dollars in Seoul, fiscal worries in Tokyo
Level — 840s won per 100 yen, lowest since January 2008; down 60+ won in two months
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Economy · 2 min readUS September CPI forecast at 3.6-3.7% — gasoline lifts headline, core near 2.4%, out October 14
Release — October 14, 8:30 a.m. ET. Headline seen at 3.6-3.7%, up from 3.4% in August
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Economy · 3 min readWhy oil won't fall below $100 — Brent settled up at $104.72 despite Trump's no-strike pledge
Settlement — Brent $104.72 (+0.42%), WTI $91.85 (+0.39%) on October 9, erasing an intraday drop
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Economy · 2 min readSoftBank seeks $100 billion from Gulf investors — why Son went back after $64.6 billion in OpenAI
Report — Son sounding out Gulf investors for up to $100 billion; buy companies, fix them with AI and robots
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Economy · 3 min readSamsung Q3 operating profit hits 107.4 trillion won — why the KOSPI still fell 2.62%
Results — revenue 195T won, operating profit 107.4T won; +782.5% year on year, +20.0% on the quarter
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Economy · 3 min readWhat are preliminary earnings — why Samsung's 107.4 trillion won can still change
Definition — a company's pre-closing estimate of quarterly results; often just revenue and operating profit
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Economy · 3 min readWhy the KOSPI fell again — a strong won, chip bonuses and 2.6T won of foreign selling
Result — KOSPI 6,803.90 (−1.98%), KOSDAQ 898.43 (−2.34%) on Oct 7; foreigners sold ~2.6T won
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Economy · 2 min readGoogle's 3.6 GW Constellation deal — only a quarter is new nuclear
Size — 3,590 MW total: 890 MW of nuclear uprates (20 years) plus 2,700 MW of source-agnostic supply
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Economy · 2 min readWhy foreigners sold 1.75 trillion won of Korean stocks — U.S. yields at a 2002 high
Result — foreigners net sold 1.75T won; KOSPI 6,941.39 (−0.89%); SK Hynix −3.69%, Samsung Electronics −1.45%
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Economy · 2 min readKorea Youth Future Savings 2nd round, Oct 7–16 — the 19.4% is not a bank rate
Schedule — Oct 7–8 by birth-year parity, Oct 12–16 open; screening Oct 19–Nov 13; accounts open Nov 16–27
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Economy · 2 min readKorea's September inflation 2.9% — why it fell as fuel jumped 14.8%
Numbers — CPI +2.9% (Aug 3.1%); petroleum +14.8% added 0.56 point; core 2.8%
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Economy · 2 min readSamsung Q3 2026 earnings date: October 8, with 108 trillion won expected
Schedule — preliminary results October 8 (two numbers only); division detail in late October
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Economy · 3 min readSoftBank's $11.1 billion junk bond — why it pays 9.75% to fund OpenAI
Size — 11.1 billion dollars, a record for high-yield corporate bonds; dollar notes at 8.625%, 9.25% and 9.75%; orders above 20 billion
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Economy · 3 min readKorea tax windfall tops 50 trillion won — chip profits and a stock boom paid it
Size — more than 50 trillion won above the 415.4 trillion won forecast (some reports say 60+); January–July revenue 274 trillion won, up 17.8%
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Economy · 3 min readTrump rejects Iran's 7-day Hormuz plan — why oil lost its direction in a day
Rejection — Trump on September 26: the deal "would not be acceptable." Iran's seven-day roadmap, sent via Qatar, is effectively dead
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Economy · 2 min readSouth Korea exports $71.4 billion in Sept 1–20 — up 78% with one fewer working day
Total — 71.4 billion dollars (+78.3%), a record; 15.5 working days, one fewer, so daily average +89.8%; the previous 20-day record was 61.7 billion in June 2026
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Economy · 2 min read10-year Treasury yield hits 5.18% — the three forces behind a 2007-level high
Levels — 10-year 5.18% (highest since 2007), 30-year 5.47% (22-year high), 30-year mortgage 7.37%, all on September 24
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Economy · 2 min readUS-China trade truce extended to January 10 — why only two months, tariffs intact
Deal — the Busan Agreement now expires January 10 instead of November 10; no tariff cuts
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Economy · 2 min readKOSPI closes at 6,954.52 on September 8, 2026 — 217 points given back from 7,171
Reversal — intraday high 7,171.52, the first break above 7,100; close 6,954.52 (−0.58%), giving back 217 points
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Economy · 2 min readEight US reactors, $130bn (September 7) — two Korean, and nothing signed until September 18
Scale — eight US reactors at $130bn (~175 trillion won): six Westinghouse AP1000 units plus two Korean APR1400 units
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Economy · 3 min readGoldman keeps its KOSPI target at 12,000 (September 7) — the index trades at 5.3 times forward earnings
Target — KOSPI 12,000 maintained. Timothy Moe, Goldman's chief Asia-Pacific equity strategist, on Bloomberg TV, September 4
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Economy · 2 min readKorea's exports pass 709.4 billion dollars (September 5) — a full year's total, 117 days early
Record — 709.4 billion dollars cumulative as of 1 p.m. September 5, passing last year's full-year 709.3 billion with 117 days to spare
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Economy · 3 min readWhat a winning-bid ratio is — Korea's August figure was 84.7 percent, Seoul's was 97
Definition — winning bid divided by appraised value. The appraisal predates the sale by six months to a year, so it is not a market discount
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,995.39 on September 7, 2026 — up 4.61%, and 4.61 points short of 7,000
Index — KOSPI 6,995.39 (+308.18, +4.61%), KOSDAQ 822.19 (+8.69, +1.07%); 4.61 points short of 7,000
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Economy · 3 min readWon closes at 1,340.5 per dollar on September 7, 2026 — 220 stronger in two months
Close — 1,340.5 per dollar (−9.9). Intraday low of 1,334.7 was the strongest since October 4, 2024
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Economy · 3 min readSeptember FOMC dates — September 15-16, and the last inflation print is September 11
Dates — FOMC September 15-16 with a dot plot; decision 2:00 pm ET September 16
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Economy · 3 min readWhat a memory supercycle is — when DRAM prices move, half of Korea's exports move
Definition — prices rising further and longer than the normal cycle, from structural demand plus a supply lag
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Economy · 3 min readKorea's August exports hit $98.25 billion — semiconductors alone were $46.65 billion, 47.5% of the total
Total — 98.25bn dollars (+68.7%), third-highest month on record. Imports 63.51bn (+22.5%), surplus 34.75bn
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Economy · 2 min readKOSPI weekly −1.50% (August 31 – September 4, 2026) — four up days lost to one down day
Week — 6,788.88 to 6,687.21. Down 101.67 points, 1.50 percent, with four up days and one down day
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 weekly +0.09% (August 31 – September 4, 2026) — the index went nowhere, oil went up 9%
Week — S&P 500 7,711.76 to 7,718.60, up 6.84 points or 0.09 percent, with two changes of direction
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Economy · 3 min readWhat a base effect is — why half of '68.7% export growth' is a fact about last year
Definition — a growth rate distorted because the comparison period, the denominator, was abnormally low or high
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Economy · 4 min readUS August payrolls 162,000 — triple the forecast, and July's loss became a gain
Headline — August payrolls +162,000, triple the ~55,000 consensus and a five-month high
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Economy · 4 min readKOSPI closes at 6,687.21 on September 4, 2026 — retail sold 3.7 trillion won and it rose anyway
Close — KOSPI 6,687.21 (+107.73pt, +1.64%); KOSDAQ 813.50 (+2.95%), back above 800
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Economy · 4 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,718.60 on September 4, 2026 — it fell because the jobs number was good
Close — S&P 500 7,718.60 (−0.38%), Nasdaq 26,506.99 (−0.29%), Dow 53,414.25 (−0.51%)
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Economy · 5 min readWhat the 2-year Treasury yield is — where the Fed's next move gets priced first
Definition — the annual yield on a two-year US government note, tracking the policy path
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,579.48 on September 3, 2026 — 123 points lost in 27 minutes, then recovered
Close — KOSPI 6,579.48 (+0.26%). KOSDAQ 790.21 (−1.71%), below the 800 level
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,747.71 on September 3, 2026 — one Fed speech cut hike odds from 63% to 50%
Close — S&P 500 7,747.71 (+1.06%), Dow 53,686.11 (+1.18%), Nasdaq 26,584.06 (+1.40%)
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Economy · 4 min readKorea to merge 109 public institutions (September 3, 2026) — 524 bodies become 415
Scale — 109 institutions and subsidiaries affected; the count falls from 524 to 415, about 21 percent
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Economy · 4 min readWhat weekly options are — how an expiry twice a week moves a whole index
Definition — an index option expiring weekly. KOSPI200 weeklies expire Mondays and Thursdays
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Economy · 2 min readKOSPI closes at 6,562.72 on September 2, 2026 — a 4% drop with no domestic trigger
Close — KOSPI 6,562.72, down 273.08 points (3.99%); KOSDAQ 803.98, down 2.10%
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,666.60 on September 2, 2026 — a rebound built on nothing getting worse
Close — S&P 500 7,666.60 (+0.46%), Dow 53,061.95 (+0.56%), Nasdaq 26,217.83 (+0.45%)
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Economy · 2 min readSamsung Electronics and SK hynix fall 4% on September 2, 2026 — oil, rates and Chinese HBM3E
Move — Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each fell more than 4%, driving the KOSPI's 3.99% drop
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Economy · 2 min readWhat institutional net selling means in Korea — seven actors behind one number
Composition — institutions bundles securities desks, funds, insurers, banks and pensions
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Economy · 2 min readKOSPI closes at 6,820.02 on August 31, 2026 — down 175 points at the open, saved by buybacks
Close — KOSPI 6,820.02, up 31.14 points (0.46%). It had opened down 2.58 percent
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,686.14 on August 31, 2026 — Dow sheds 374 points but August still ends higher
Close — S&P 500 7,686.14 (−0.33%), Nasdaq 26,370.89 (−0.12%), Dow 53,185.90 (−374.09 pts)
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Economy · 3 min readBrent crude back above $90 on August 31, 2026 — the settlement was reported as 90.49, 90.69 and 91.09
Direction — Brent back above $90, on the resumption of US-Iran fighting at the mouth of Hormuz
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Economy · 3 min readWhat MSCI rebalancing is — why it is struck at the August 31 close and applies from September 1
Definition — the periodic reset of index constituents and weights, run on a quarterly cycle
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Economy · 3 min readSalesforce revenue of $11.345 billion (August 26, 2026) — $2.6bn of the profit jump is Anthropic
Results — quarterly revenue of $11.345bn, up 10.83%, slightly ahead of estimates
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Economy · 3 min readSK hynix US revenue of 84.5648 trillion won — tripled in a year, 64.1% of the total
Number — first-half US revenue of ₩84.5648tn, 64.1% of the total, roughly tripled in a year
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Economy · 4 min readWhat a strategic petroleum reserve is — and why the US stock hit a 1983 low
Definition — crude a government stores in salt caverns against a supply shock
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Economy · 3 min readMarvell falls 8.2% on August 28, 2026 — $120bn from Google, but not until FY2029
Results — quarterly revenue $2.739bn (+37%); data center $2.17bn (+46%), 79% of the total
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI week of August 24-28, 2026: closed at 6,788.88, down 1.79%
Week — KOSPI closed at 6,788.88, down 124.07 points or 1.79 percent
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Economy · 4 min readFed hike odds of 56% — the number comes from a futures price, not a poll
Source — not a poll: it is reverse-engineered from 30-day fed funds futures prices
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,788.88 on August 28, 2026 — foreigners sell 1.76 trillion won on chip tariff report
Index — KOSPI 6,788.88, down 123.49 points or 1.79 percent, ending a three-day advance
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Economy · 3 min readWarsh's first Jackson Hole speech (August 28, 2026) — September hike odds jump to 56 percent in a day
Message — The economy is strong, but underlying inflation has not improved. More work to do
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,711.76 on August 28, 2026 — down for the day, up for the week
Indices — S&P 500 7,711.76 (−0.25%), Nasdaq 26,402.42 (−0.52%), Dow 53,559.99 (−0.02%)
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Economy · 3 min readWhat Section 232 tariffs are — how a president taxes imports without Congress
Definition — Lets the president restrict imports once Commerce finds a national security threat
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Economy · 3 min readBank of Korea raises base rate to 3.00% on August 27, 2026 — growth forecast lifted to 3.3%
Decision — 25bp increase to 3.00 percent, a second straight hike and the first 3-handle in about 18 months
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,912.37 on August 27, 2026 — a third straight gain, on the day rates rose
Index — KOSPI 6,912.37, up 104.16 points or 1.53 percent, a third straight advance
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,730.99 on August 27, 2026 — Nasdaq up 1.57%, Dow up 0.2%
Indexes — S&P 500 at 7,730.99, up 0.72 percent. Nasdaq 1.57 percent, Dow 0.2 percent
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Economy · 4 min readWhat the Korea-US rate gap is — what changes when 1.00 point narrows to 0.75
Definition — The difference between Korea's base rate and the US policy rate. US above Korea is called an inversion
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,808.21 on August 26, 2026 — retail sold ₩2.2tn and it rose anyway
Index — KOSPI 6,808.21 (+65.47 points, +0.97%); KOSDAQ 826.87 (-0.28 points, -0.03%)
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Economy · 3 min readUS July PCE 3.7% (August 26, 2026) — core at 3.3%, unchanged for a second month
Numbers — Headline PCE +3.7% YoY, +0.2% MoM. Core +3.3% YoY, +0.2% MoM — the same as June
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Economy · 3 min readBank of Korea rate decision, August 27, 2026 — 79% of the bond market says hold
Standing — Base rate 2.75 percent, following a 25bp increase at the July meeting
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,742.74 on August 25, 2026 — after a 4.3% intraday drop
Index — KOSPI 6,742.74 (+45.78 points, +0.68%). Intraday low was 6,408.82, or -4.30%
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,677.28 on August 25, 2026 — all three indexes rise
Indexes — S&P 500 7,677.28 (+0.32%), Nasdaq 26,151.30 (+0.66%), Dow 53,577.40 (+160.24 points)
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Economy · 3 min readCanada's $20bn retaliatory tariffs (August 25, 2026) — 15, 25 and 50 percent
Size — about $20bn of US goods, matched dollar for dollar against the US 50 percent duties
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Economy · 4 min readWhat an analyst consensus is — why 40 forecasts set the share price
Definition — the average of analysts' forecasts. Distinct from guidance, which the company issues itself
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,696.96 on August 24, 2026 — Samsung falls 8.7%
Index — KOSPI 6,696.96, down 215.99 points (-3.12%), below 6,700. KOSDAQ went the opposite way, up 1.42% to 813.33
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,652.86 on August 24, 2026 — only the Dow rose
Indexes — S&P 500 7,652.86 (-0.28%), Nasdaq 25,980.19 (-0.76%), Dow 53,417.16 (+0.26%). They split
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Economy · 3 min readWTI settles at $84.89 on August 24, 2026 — down as sanctions landed
Settlements — WTI $84.89 (-2.5%), Brent $92.06 (-2.5%). Friday's were $87.06 and $94.39
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Economy · 4 min readWhat program trading is — the pipe that moves trillions of won in one session
Definition — 15 or more KOSPI 200 names ordered simultaneously from one account. A regulatory category, not a synonym for algo trading
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Economy · 3 min readUS 50% tariffs on Canada took effect August 22 — retaliation lands September 8
In force — 50 percent on roughly $20bn of Canadian goods from midnight, August 22. Talks broke down the night before
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Economy · 3 min readEvergrande's Hui Ka Yan gets life on August 20 — 15.8bn yuan in corporate fines
Sentence — life imprisonment, confiscation of all personal property, lifetime loss of political rights, August 20
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Economy · 3 min readUS gasoline at $4.1044 a gallon on August 20, 2026 — up 97 cents in a year
Price — $4.1044 a gallon on August 20. Up 3 cents on the week, 97.07 cents on the year
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Economy · 4 min readWhat a retaliatory tariff is — why 'dollar for dollar' doesn't mean the same goods
Definition — a duty imposed in answer to another country's tariff. The products need not match
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Economy · 3 min readJackson Hole 2026 (August 27–29) — the keynote belongs to Warsh, not Powell
Timing — symposium August 27–29; keynote 10:00 a.m. ET on August 28, which is 11:00 p.m. Korean time
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI weekly -0.93% (August 18–21) — 948 points moved, 65 points remained
Week — 6,977.94 (Aug 14) to 6,912.95 (Aug 21), a net change of -64.99 points or -0.93%
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Economy · 3 min readGold at $4,590 (August 21) — up nearly 5% on the week, still 18% below the January record
Price — $4,590.51 an ounce on August 21 (+$74.51, +1.65%). At 9 a.m. Eastern the quote was $4,577.49
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Economy · 4 min readWhat the Jackson Hole symposium is — a conference that went trout fishing for a Fed chair
What it is — an economic policy symposium run every August by the Kansas City Fed. It is not an FOMC meeting and no rate is set there
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Economy · 4 min readKOSPI closes at 6,912.95 on August 21, 2026 — 683 stocks fell and the index still rose
Close — KOSPI 6,912.95 (+0.88%), KOSDAQ 801.94 (-4.63%). Korea's two markets moved in opposite directions
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,674.37 on August 21, 2026 — the week was set by bonds, not stocks
Close — S&P 500 7,674.37 (+0.43%), Nasdaq +0.46%, Dow +0.51%. All three rose on Friday
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Economy · 3 min readBitcoin touches $79,500 on August 21, 2026 — its biggest weekly gain in two and a half years
Price — intraday high around $79,500, low $71,132. More than $8,000 of range inside one day
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Economy · 4 min readKorea's Future Response Fund — built by cutting the 20.79% that went automatically to schools
Definition — a 'fiscal reservoir' holding revenue above a ten-year trend line: filled in booms, drawn down in downturns
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,852.58 on August 20, 2026 — 381 points back in one session
Close — KOSPI 6,852.58 (+5.89%), KOSDAQ 840.89 (+1.99%): the same threefold gap as the day before, inverted
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Economy · 4 min readSamsung's 100 trillion won shareholder return — it is dividends, not cancellation, because of a 10% ceiling
Size — in the 100tn won range, derived from the company's standing rule of returning 50% of free cash flow. Some outlets cite 150tn–160tn
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,641.16 on August 20, 2026 — the buyback relief lasted one session
Indexes — S&P 500 7,641.16 (-0.87%), Dow 52,759.21 (-1.32%), Nasdaq Composite 26,067.17 (-1.00%)
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Economy · 5 min readWhat a special dividend is — and why the word 'special' is not about size
Definition — a one-off payout on top of the regular dividend, carrying no commitment to recur
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Economy · 4 min readKOSPI closes at 6,471.17 on August 19, 2026 — foreigners sold 4tn won, retail bought 5.6tn
Close — KOSPI 6,471.17 (-5.80%), KOSDAQ 824.46 (-1.17%): a fivefold gap in the fall
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Economy · 4 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,707.98 on August 19, 2026 — a buyback plan bent the yield curve
Indices — S&P 500 7,707.98 (+0.21%), Dow 53,463.05 (+0.22%), Nasdaq 26,331.09 (+0.16%)
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Economy · 3 min readFOMC July minutes show a 9-3 vote — and a proposal to cut meetings from eight to six
Vote — 9-3 to hold at 3.5-3.75%; all three dissents favoured a quarter-point hike
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Economy · 5 min readWhat a share cancellation is — why destroying stock makes your slice bigger
Definition — the company acquires its own shares and destroys them, cutting shares outstanding
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Economy · 5 min readWhat a Treasury buyback is — why a government repurchases its own debt
Definition — the government buys back its own outstanding bonds before maturity
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,869.83 on August 18, 2026 — after touching 7,216 intraday
KOSPI 6,869.83 (-1.55%); the tech-heavy KOSDAQ fell further, to 834.20 (-3.52%)
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,691.76 on August 18, 2026 — chips fall 5.5%
S&P 500 7,691.76 (-0.69%) · Nasdaq -1.33% · Dow -0.22% — all three lower
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Economy · 3 min readAI bonds hit $200 billion — it was not the government crowding out markets
Scale — big tech borrowed roughly $200bn in 2026, near 25% of net US Treasury issuance
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Economy · 4 min readWhat a corporate bond is — how a company borrows without a bank
Structure — an IOU sold directly to investors with the coupon and maturity fixed in advance
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Economy · 3 min readUS 30-year Treasury yield hits 5.31% on August 17, 2026
30-year yield at 5.31% on August 17, 2026 — a 19-year high, above the prior month's peak
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,745.06 on August 17, 2026 — all three indices fall
S&P 500 7,745.06 (-0.52%) · Dow 53,732.41 (-0.2%) · Nasdaq 26,729.16 (-0.3%)
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Economy · 4 min readWhat a 30-year government bond is — why price falls when yield rises
Structure — principal repaid at a 30-year maturity, with fixed interest paid along the way
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Economy · 4 min readBrent versus WTI — why two barrels of crude have different prices
Origin and route — Brent is North Sea crude carried by tanker, WTI is US inland crude moved by pipeline
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Economy · 3 min readFOMC July minutes land August 19 — the question left by three dissents
Release — minutes of the July 28-29, 2026 FOMC meeting are published August 19 (US time)
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Economy · 3 min readKorea's jeonse loan residency rule — never lived there, no loan from 2027
Who is covered — single homeowners with a capital-region or regulated-district apartment who have no residence history in it and are renting it to someone outside the family
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Economy · 4 min readWhat FOMC minutes are — and why a three-week-old document still moves markets
What they are — the detailed record of an FOMC meeting, describing the discussion in narrative form without naming individual speakers
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Economy · 4 min readKorea's August 13 housing measures — 230,000 units, 68 months to 37
Supply — 230,000-plus units for the capital region, of which about 100,000 come from new public housing districts. 27,000 announced first, 73,000-plus more to be named within 2026
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Economy · 4 min readKOSPI closes at 6,977.94 on August 14, 2026 — up 11.49% in five sessions
Close 6,977.94, up 164.60 points (+2.42%). Intraday high 7,010.86 — the 7,000 line did not hold into the close
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Economy · 4 min readS&P 500 closes at 7,785.76 on August 14, 2026 — sentiment falls to 51
S&P 500 7,785.76 (-0.17%) · Nasdaq 26,729.16 (-0.28%) · Dow 53,732.41 (-0.20%)
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Economy · 4 min readWhat foreign net buying means — and why outlets print different numbers
Net buying = purchases minus sales, measured in value, not trade count, and normally per session
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Economy · 3 min readKOSPI closes at 6,813.34 on August 13, 2026 — but KOSDAQ managed only 0.29%
Close 6,813.34 — up 234.30 points (+3.56%). Open 6,773.92, intraday high 6,895.63
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Economy · 3 min readS&P 500 closes at a record 7,798.99 on August 13, 2026 — the Dow added 0.13%
S&P 500 7,798.99 (+50.49, +0.65%) — record close, beating the 7,757.64 set on August 7
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Economy · 3 min readUS July PPI came in flat at 0.0% on August 13, 2026 — one core measure rose 0.4%
Headline 0.0% MoM (forecast +0.2%) and 4.7% YoY (forecast +4.9%, June 5.5%)
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Economy · 4 min readWhat is PPI — the inflation gauge that moves before consumer prices
PPI is the seller's price, CPI is the buyer's price — the same inflation measured at different stages
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Economy · 4 min readKOSPI closes at 6,579.04 on August 12, 2026 — foreigners buy 2.8tn won in one session
Close 6,579.04 — up 233.51 points (+3.68%). Open 6,438.50, intraday high 6,668.43
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Economy · 4 min readUS July CPI comes in at 3.4% on August 12, 2026 — September hike odds fall to 42%
Headline CPI +0.1% m/m and 3.4% y/y — down 0.1 point from June's 3.5%
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Economy · 4 min readKorea's sidecar rule explained — 5%, one minute, five minutes
KOSPI: futures 5% held for one minute. KOSDAQ: futures 6% and cash index 3% together
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Economy · 5 min readShareholder returns explained — why a buyback only counts once shares are cancelled
Total shareholder return ratio = (dividends + buybacks) ÷ net income
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Economy · 3 min readKorean chip exports jump 155% — $9.95bn in ten days, 46.8% of everything the country sold
Exports $21.3bn (+45.3%) — working days were 7.0, identical to last year, so this is not a calendar effect
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Economy · 2 min readUS July CPI lands today — oil is what reopened the inflation question
Release: 8:30am ET, August 12 — effectively the last inflation print before the September FOMC
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Economy · 3 min readTrade balance explained — why a 45% export surge barely moves the surplus
Trade balance = exports − imports — the surplus comes from the gap in dollars, not the gap in growth rates
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Economy · 3 min readKOSDAQ jumps 6.97% while foreigners pull $1bn out of KOSPI — one country, two markets
KOSDAQ 854.47 (+6.97%) — buy sidecar triggered around 9:50 a.m., the 31st sidecar of 2026
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Economy · 4 min readKorea's property tax rewrite — living in the home is worth 500 million won
Deduction: 1.4bn won if you live in it (up from 1.2bn), 900m won if you don't — a 500m won gap on the same single home
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Economy · 3 min readDubai, Brent, WTI — the oil price in the headlines is not the one Asia pays
The three differ by origin, quality and trading form — quality runs WTI > Brent > Dubai
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Economy · 2 min readS&P 500 closes at a record 7,757.64 — KOSPI ends the week at 6,258.77
Friday in New York: S&P 500 7,757.64 (+0.62%) and Nasdaq 26,690.62 (+1.30%) at records, Dow 54,036.93 (+0.28%)
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Economy · 4 min readUS CPI explained — why one monthly number moves rates everywhere
CPI is published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in headline and core (ex-food-and-energy) forms
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Economy · 5 min readWhy rising bond yields push stocks down — one formula and three exceptions
Equity value is future cash flows discounted to the present, and the discount rate starts from the risk-free government bond yield
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Economy · 2 min readHow a Fed cut reaches Korean wallets — deposits first, loans last
A Fed cut eases won-weakness pressure, widening the Bank of Korea's room to follow
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Economy · 2 min readSeoul's first session after the jobs shock — a Monday morning checklist
Friday's US close left two signals at once: payrolls fell, indexes hit records
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Economy · 2 min readWhy US jobs numbers get rewritten — the revision machinery
The first payroll print uses early survey responses only; two monthly revisions follow
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Economy · 2 min readThe Jackson Hole symposium, explained — why a lodge speech moves world markets
Jackson Hole is the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium — this year August 27-29
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Economy · 2 min readHow the unemployment rate is measured — and why it falls when jobs vanish
The denominator is not the population — only workers plus active job-seekers count
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Economy · 2 min readAmerica lost jobs in July — minus 23,000 against a +83,000 forecast
Nonfarm payrolls fell 23,000 — a decline, not a slowdown, against a +83,000 consensus
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Economy · 2 min readBad jobs, good rally — S&P 500 and Nasdaq close at records
S&P 500 +0.62% to 7,757.64 and Nasdaq +1.3% to 26,690.62 — both record closes
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Economy · 2 min readThe US jobs report, explained — why one number moves every market
The jobs report reduces to three numbers: nonfarm payrolls, unemployment, hourly wages
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Economy · 2 min readHow Korean antitrust fines are calculated — the formula behind '₩15 trillion'
The formula: relevant sales × gravity-tier rate, then aggravating and mitigating adjustments
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Economy · 2 min readKOSPI closes at 6,258.77 on August 7, 2026 — rebound fades after 6,400
KOSPI opened at 6,365, recovered the 6,400 line intraday, then closed down 0.60% at 6,258.77
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Economy · 2 min readThe Dow's record run stops at the jobs report's door
Dow -0.85% (-464), S&P 500 -0.18%, Nasdaq -0.06% — the record-high streak is over
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Economy · 2 min readA ₩76 trillion collusion case — Korea moves on its treasury dealers
FTC examiners allege bid-rigging and information exchange in treasury auctions from 2020 to mid-2023
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Economy · 2 min readKorea's housing package is one announcement away
President Lee chaired a second housing review Friday, four days after the first
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Economy · 1 min readThe rice-grain part behind Korea's wildest stock this week
Samsung Electro-Mechanics surged 14.43% on Wednesday, then gave back double digits Thursday
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Economy · 1 min readKOSDAQ explained — Korea's other stock market
KOSDAQ, launched in 1996 on the Nasdaq model, is a separate market from KOSPI
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Economy · 1 min readKOSPI falls 4% to the 6,290 level on August 6, 2026 — sell sidecar fires
KOSPI slid more than 4% to the 6,290 level, erasing Wednesday's 4.33% surge
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Economy · 1 min readKorea's 'sidecar' explained — and how it differs from a circuit breaker
The sidecar halts program-trading orders for five minutes on sharp futures moves
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Economy · 1 min readKOSPI closes at 6,634.55 on August 5, 2026 — up 4.33%, buy sidecar fires
KOSPI jumped 275.60 points (4.33%) to 6,634.55, reclaiming the 6,600 level
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Economy · 1 min readWhy KOSDAQ rises on the days KOSPI falls
On Monday KOSPI fell 5.12% while KOSDAQ rose 2% — and the split widened Tuesday
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Economy · 1 min readSeoul's split screen: KOSPI slips again, KOSDAQ jumps 5%
KOSPI surrendered its morning rebound to close around 6,180, down a second day
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Economy · 1 min readOil drops 5% — WTI back below $80
WTI crude fell more than 5% on Monday, breaking below $80 a barrel
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Economy · 1 min readHow oil reaches your wallet: the Korean pipeline
Crude price moves pass through import costs and won rates to pumps in 2–3 weeks
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Economy · 1 min readSeoul reopens after the record surge: three checks
The KOSPI opens Monday for the first time since its record 17.91% single-day gain
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Economy · 2 min readKorea's circuit breakers: 8, 15, 20 — then the day ends
Halts trigger when the index falls 8%, 15% or 20% from the prior close for one minute
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Economy · 2 min readAfter the 17.91% day: Seoul's week of two tests
After the record rebound, weekend outlooks favour a staircase recovery over a V-shape
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Economy · 2 min readDeleveraging: why selling ends in a rally
Deleveraging means cutting debt by selling assets or raising equity to lower risk
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Economy · 2 min readKorea's KOSPI jumps 17.91% in one day
The KOSPI rose 1,001.89 points to 6,595.45, setting records for both percentage and point gain