Global economic trends and investment implications
Nvidia GTC 2026 declares $1T AI inference market, Brent crude surges 50% to $103.2 since war onset, Asia spot LNG hits 3-year high
Zero ships cross the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the conflict began; ruthenium reaches an all-time high of $1,750/oz; US Q4 GDP revised down to 0.7%
Brent crude holds above $100 for second straight day, Morgan Stanley flags four Asian economies most vulnerable to LNG disruption, SK Hynix R&D spending up 35% to KRW 6.7T
After the Supreme Court tariff ruling, the US pivots to Section 301 trade pressure; Brent crude breaks $100 despite IEA's record release; autonomous weapons near battalion-scale operations
Trump announces first US oil refinery in 50 years backed by India's Reliance Industries. South Korea's March exports hit a record 55.6% gain with semiconductors at $7.6B. Southeast Asian urea fertilizer prices spike 40%.
US confirms Anthropic Claude in Iran strike targeting, KOSPI surges 5.35%, oil warned to hit $150/barrel
Hormuz Strait effectively blockaded pushing Brent crude to $119.5 intraday, REMX rare earth index surges 92% but supply chain transition lags 2–3 years, SIPRI shows US weapons exports at 42% global share
AI agents move into middle management at US firms; KRW/USD daily swing hits post-COVID high as Korea reviews first oil price cap in 30 years; S&P 500 energy sector YTD +24.2%
Korean defense consortium enters the final round of Canada's $41B submarine program, Goldman Sachs builds an $18/bbl geopolitical risk premium into oil, KOSPI rebounds 9.63% on record retail net buying
Qatar LNG supply cut of 15-20% doubles Asian spot prices, KOSPI plunges 698 points triggering circuit breaker, Iraq's 3M bpd output at risk
Brent crude surges 8.36% to $84, KOSPI plunges a record 452 points (-7.24%), China bans 7 rare earth elements to 20 Japanese defense firms
Non-Chinese NdPr output absorbed by existing contracts, Goldman Sachs projects 130% Hormuz LNG spike, KOSPI margin debt reaches all-time high at KRW 31 trillion
US-Israel joint strike kills Supreme Leader Khamenei; Iran's IRGC signals Hormuz closure; South Korea's February exports hit an all-time record of $67.45B with semiconductors surging 160.8% YoY
Korea's MASGA investment drives US tariffs down from 25% to 15%; global debt hits a 2025 record of $348 trillion; ASML's High-NA EUV achieves mass production readiness
Salesforce Agentforce hits $800M annualized run rate, Samsung reclaims DRAM leadership, Bank of Korea raises growth forecast to 2.0%