Global economic trends and investment implications
South Korea ranks 3rd globally in US stock net purchases, Brent hits $106 amid Hormuz closure, copper faces 10M-ton supply gap by 2040
50 countries break solar import records simultaneously, TSMC projects 11x AI wafer demand growth, Trump approval drops to all-time two-term low
Hanwha Aerospace–Northrop Grumman missile co-development MOU, SpaceX secures $60B option on Cursor, Iraq oil output collapses 80%
US crude exports reach all-time high, renewables overtake coal for first time in a century, South Korea's April exports hit record $50.4B
POSCO-JSW $7.3B integrated steel mill deal, Brent crude hits $95 after Iran ship seizure, Japan's first-ever warship export
Japan's export ship orders fall for fourth straight year as AI robot pivot accelerates, Hormuz LNG blockade deepens, Nvidia cuts gaming GPU production up to 40%
NAND flash up 4-10x in a year, TSMC 2026 capex at the high end of $52-56B, ASE building six plants at once, SK Hynix hits all-time KRW 1.15M, Samsung operating profit KRW 57T.
ASML's China revenue share plunges while Singapore-origin chip tool imports hit $5.7B record; Meta commits to 1GW custom AI chips; Anthropic ARR tops $30B; IEA warns of demand destruction
IEA records history's largest oil supply disruption in March, Korea's semiconductor exports surge 151% YoY to $32.8B, JPMorgan Chase Q1 earnings beat estimates
Iran blockade sends oil up 8%, Hungary's Tisza party wins 138-seat supermajority, Samsung 2nm yields at 40% with back-end
Non-Gulf crude premiums surge as Asian refiners scramble for supply, US-Iran 21-hour peace talks collapse in Islamabad, Anthropic enterprise AI adoption hits 30.6%
US tariffs 96% consumer pass-through, Supreme Court unconstitutional ruling, $160B importer refund claims; Meta-CoreWeave $21B deal; EVs displace 1.7M barrels daily
Brent crude plunges to $94.80 as global equities surge; Ras Laffan LNG faces 5-year rebuild, fertilizer prices double; Strait of Hormuz transit toll set at $2M per ship
Samsung Electronics Q1 operating profit KRW 57.2T (8x YoY increase), Broadcom-Anthropic 3.5GW deal, Trump's $1.5T defense budget
Aramco's record Asia premium, WTI-Brent inversion, Meta's $115-135B AI investment