Shuli Ren

The chip industry seems to be the only game in town lately. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, known as the SOX, has risen 48% this year. Bourses in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are riding the wave and hitting record highs, brushing away potential energy shocks from the military conflict over Iran.

China is ordering Meta Platforms Inc. to cancel its acquisition of AI startup Manus only weeks before a much-anticipated meeting between US President Donald Trump and his counterpart Xi Jinping.

SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son is known for making audacious multibillion-dollar bets. Some acquisition deals, such as chip designer Arm Holdings Plc, have paid off nicely, while others, most notoriously WeWork Inc., became big flops. So what about OpenAI, by far Son’s largest investment?

Investors in Asia have long traded US stocks, sometimes staying up until midnight to follow price movements in New York. But as chipmakers’ shares witness a historic rally, some are finding lucrative opportunities in their time zones. The question is which brokerages can provide this liquidity.

South Korea has the world’s best-performing stock market this year. It has now been thrust to the forefront of a global discussion over whether AI widens wealth inequality — and how governments can ensure that the society at large benefits from this revolutionary technology.

The nothing-burger that came out of the Xi-Trump summit drove home a new reality for global investors. The NACHO trade, which stands for “not a chance Hormuz opens,” is on. Prospects of prolonged inflation have risen, sending global bond yields higher and the US dollar stronger.

South Korea is home to the world’s best-performing stock market, up by 71% this year. But global investors, who own about 39% of the Kospi index, have been steadily selling, offloading almost $60 billion since Jan. 1.

As the Iran war drags on, emerging markets powerhouses are reeling from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the oil trade’s most important routes. Turkey’s foreign reserves are depleting at record pace, India is considering all options as the rupee plunges to record lows, and Indonesia delivered a jumbo interest rate hike to defend its currency. If these heavyweights are struggling, what chances are there for smaller nations?

In a surprise move, China punished three brokerages for offering mainland investors access to overseas stocks without licenses, in an escalating attempt to control cross-border capital flows. The question is why now.

As the war in Iran drags on, emerging market powerhouses are reeling from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the oil trade's most important routes.