World News by Wild Rose

Rio Times · Asia Intelligence Brief October 1, 2026 — South Korea posts record exports of US$120.9 billion on US$60.3 billion of chips; Lee Jae Myung offers the North talks and promises nuclear submarines; Japan's Tankan hits an eight-year high; India's stocks fall an eighth straight week; Thailand's floods close Toyota plants; Pakistan lines Islamabad with containers ahead of a 4 October march. The post Asia Intelligence Brief — Thursday, October 1, 2026 appeared first on The Rio Times.

US President Donald Trump’s unilateral announcement of a “colossal” South Korean investment package has prompted Seoul to clarify that the deal is far from finalised, laying bare stark differences between the allies over the terms of their trade agreement, observers have said. On Wednesday, Trump announced that South Korea would invest in the construction of a natural gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear power plants across the United States and a liquefied natural gas (LNG)...

Exports jump 83.5 percent to top $120bn for the first time amid ferocious semiconductor demand.

US President Donald Trump has announced US$200 billion in energy investments from South Korea, including US$54 billion towards a long-discussed liquefied natural gas project in Alaska and more than US$100 billion in planned longer-term nuclear power investments. Besides the Alaska LNG project and pipeline and the nuclear plants, the Trump administration announced a US$22.3 billion natural gas-fired power project in Texas that would be supported by Seoul. “The colossal package of investments we...

South Korean stocks are about to lose a key source of support earlier than expected, just as the market struggles to push decisively higher.

Activist investor Flashlight Capital Partners urged Japan’s Secom Co. to roughly double its interest in South Korea’s S-1 Corp. and Taiwan Secom Co., roping in a new party after its earlier bid to acquire an S-1 stake was rejected.

South Korea’s three-year yield rose to the highest level since November 2022 as the local bond market reopened after holidays, joining a global selloff as elevated oil prices stoked concern over inflation.

Mexico South Korea summit: Sheinbaum and Lee signed 17 agreements and a 2026–2030 plan, but car tariffs and a trade deal remain open. What changed. The post Mexico South Korea Summit Ends With 17 Agreements but No Tariff Deal appeared first on The Rio Times.

Currency options traders are betting the Korean won’s Asia-leading rally since July has further to run.

With millions of South Koreans set to hit the road this week during a three-day public holiday, the government is extending fuel-price caps, cushioning households from an energy shock that has pushed global oil prices above $100 a barrel.

South Korea’s central bank began testing a system for round-the-clock won payments, laying the groundwork for greater foreign access to local markets that is set to be implemented next year.

Europe faces a fourth-quarter jet fuel deficit, even as it turns to far-flung suppliers including South Korea, which is set to boost its jet exports to Europe to a four-year high in September, according to analysts and shipping data. The continent has been importing more jet fuel from nations including Nigeria, the United States and Canada since the outbreak of the Iran war over half a year ago, which hit Middle Eastern supplies and cut off around half of Europe’s jet imports. Europe remains...

Turnover in South Korean stocks fell to the lowest this year as investor enthusiasm dwindled, suggesting the AI-heavy market may struggle to regain its previous peak.

South Korea plans to cut new transmission towers by as much as 40% and put more power lines underground, as it seeks to boost grid expansion to meet rising demand from data centers and semiconductor plants.

The first after-hours session on South Korea’s main stock exchange saw erratic and retail-dominated trading, in a sign of the challenges ahead as it seeks to attract more global investors.

South Korea’s National Pension Service named Kyuhong Lee as chief investment officer to oversee its $1.4 trillion portfolio, handing him the reins of one of the world’s largest pools of retirement savings after a sharp surge in investment returns in the first half.

Fund managers wading back into South Korean memory makers’ stocks got a fresh gut check after DeepSeek’s latest artificial intelligence model raised doubts on the strength of demand.

A fraying global economic order could push South Korea and Japan towards deeper trade integration, with business leaders and analysts saying the two neighbours stand to benefit from such a partnership despite lingering historical wounds. The two countries could draw closer as the era of relatively open global trade gives way to tit-for-tat tariffs and supply-chain disruptions due to conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. SK Group chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman...

South Korea has identified a gas-fired power project in Texas as the first US investment under a trade deal agreed last year, a step that could help ease tensions between the two allies after months of friction over the pace of progress related to Seoul’s investment commitments.

The South Korean won advanced to its strongest level in nearly two years Monday, helped by a rally in semiconductor stocks and continued foreign inflows into the country’s benchmark equity index.

A Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategist is standing by his bullish target for South Korean stocks, saying investors underestimate how long the AI boost for the nation’s memory chipmakers will last.