Korea Economic Daily

Attention is on whether the KOSPI, which for the first time ever has crossed the 4,700 threshold, can extend its rally. A broad selloff in tech shares led by Nvidia in the New York market is being flagged as a negative. According to the Korea Exchang

U.S. President Donald Trump signaled he is stepping back from plans for direct intervention in Iran. On the 14th (local time), speaking to reporters at a White House executive order signing ceremony, he said he had heard Iran “has no plans for execut

Venezuela’s interim president: “Spoke with Trump… discussed agenda for cooperation” Reporter Song-ryeol Lee, Hankyung.com yisr0203@hankyung.com

The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board (MPB) will adjust the policy rate. According to the financial sector on the 15th, the BOK will hold its first monetary policy meeting of the year this morning and decide the base rate. The market expects the

U.S. stocks ended lower amid mounting concerns over potential U.S. military intervention in Iran’s political turmoil. Tech and financial shares in particular underperformed. On the 14th (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42.36 points

The United States, Denmark and Greenland met to discuss the issue of Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, but failed to find common ground. According to Reuters on the 14th (local time), US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Mar

◆Seoul city bus strike ends after two days as wage talks reach agreement Wage and collective bargaining negotiations between labor and management for Seoul city buses have been concluded, and services resumed normal operations starting with the first

The USD/KRW exchange rate plunged in overnight trading after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the won’s sharp weakening does not square with South Korea’s strong economic fundamentals. The Treasury said in a press release on the 14th that B

Analysis by Ahn Dong-hyun, professor at Seoul National University "The policy deck is already exhausted… we should have finished it in last month’s intervention" "Ammunition is only $28 billion… blaming retail ‘ant investors’ misses the point" Ahn Do

Korea’s EPS growth rate 54%… three times the U.S.; riding 'Samsung–Hynix' toward KOSPI 5,000 Semiconductor sprint… Korea ranks No. 1 in corporate profit growth KOSPI-listed firms’ EPS expected to surge 54% this year Of the 108 trillion won increase i

A rallying point emerges amid a fractured opposition As anti-government protests spread across Iran, Reza Pahlavi, the last crown prince of Iran’s monarchy, has emerged as a focal point for unity. Years of repression and purges of the opposition have

‘Money supply–weak won’ debate flares again BOK: “Driven by supply-demand factors more than money supply” Rebuttal: “Net FX outflows up 39-fold last year” South Korea’s ratio of broad money (M2) to gross domestic product (GDP) was found to be 2.2 tim

Aggressive export diversification strategy pays off Gains in emerging markets…U.S. 20%↓, Africa 25%↑ Also seen as an upgrade to the trade structure China posted a record-high trade surplus last year despite an intense tariff war with the United State

Nickel prices, which had fallen on slowing EV demand and China’s construction downturn, have staged a sharp rebound, breaking above $17,000 per metric ton (t) for the first time in 15 months. The move follows an announcement by Indonesia—the world’s

As the won-dollar exchange rate has climbed again to near 1,480 won at the start of the year, voices are emerging—particularly in academia—that the Bank of Korea should be considering a hike in its policy rate. The argument is that narrowing the inte

Retail investors are placing big bets on gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs). As the won-dollar exchange rate has recently turned upward again and the value of the won has weakened, analyses suggest gold has become more attractive as an investment. Acc

Import prices rose for a sixth consecutive month through last month, data showed. Prices typically ease when global crude prices fall, but the exchange rate—spiking into the high KRW 1,400s per dollar—pushed prices higher. According to export and imp

“No actions that undermine central bank independence” “Political pressure on the Fed would lift inflation and rates” Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, warned that political interference with the US central bank (the Fed) would instead push interest

Major U.S. stock indexes in New York fell across the board. Financial shares weakened on news that U.S. President Donald Trump would regulate credit-card interest rates. The December Consumer Price Index (CPI) largely matched expectations. On the 13t

◆ U.S. stocks weaken on fallout from Trump’s push to cap credit-card interest rates Wall Street’s three major indexes fell together on the 13th local time. Financial stocks weakened after major Wall Street banks criticized U.S. President Donald Trump

Analysis by Ira Kalish, Deloitte chief economist Trump immigration policy raises possibility of first US population decline since 1918 Inflation could reach 4.5% if companies start passing through tariffs AI-led stock gains lift spending by the top 1

Public defense as the U.S. Justice Department weighs indictment Europe on edge over possible dollar, FX turbulence As reports emerged that the U.S. Department of Justice is considering indicting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell over the cost of re

Drop on spreading speculation that the "Takaichi government may call an early general election" "An early election would weaken the yen and Japanese government bonds" The Japanese yen fell to its lowest level in 18 months since July 2024 against the

Government measures that only hobble companies… KRW/USD breaks past 1,470 Government rolls out a barrage of ineffective steps Vows to inspect illegal FX transactions Companies: “Even legitimate trades are being flagged” FX authorities fail to manage

Part of front-runner NXT consortium Musicow: "A decade-long fractional investment business You can’t call Lucent Block the only innovator" A dispute over the preliminary approval for an over-the-counter exchange for security tokens (STOs) is escalati

New York Fed President John Williams publicly backs Powell Stresses Fed independence, saying it “helped deliver major gains in curbing inflation” John Williams, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, publicly defended Federal Reserve Chai

GA and crypto exchanges also required to invest in security Corporate insurance agencies (GAs), cryptocurrency exchanges and loan companies—previously in financial security blind spots—could as early as next year be subject to regulations on par with