
Nikkei futures surged 3.8% to 56,310, reversing a 3.6% drop the day before. The index remains up 7.7% year‑to‑date and 45% over the past year, reflecting strong investor appetite for low‑multiple Japanese stocks and tech exposure. The Bank of Japan reaffirmed its commitment to further rate hikes amid rising energy costs, while Japan's PMI hit a two‑year high, signaling cyclical momentum. Volatility remains high, and cash market movements may diverge from futures as traders gauge regional and global risk factors.

The U.S. dollar is strengthening across major G10 pairs as the Middle East conflict fuels risk aversion, pushing the euro, yen, and sterling lower. Emerging market currencies such as the peso, yuan and real also slide, while equity markets suffer...

Korea’s KOSPI slumped over 7% on its first post‑holiday session as oil prices spiked amid heightened Hormuz risk. Roughly 70% of Korean crude comes from the Middle East, linking oil shocks directly to trade balances, inflation and currency pressure. The...
Attacks in Iran and retaliatory strikes across the Middle East sparked a classic risk‑off rally, pushing the U.S. dollar higher and dragging most Asian equity markets lower, with the notable exception of commodity‑heavy Australia. Hong Kong’s benchmark indices fell sharply, while...

Over the weekend, coordinated US and Israeli strikes hit Iran, prompting missile and drone retaliation that shut Dubai’s airport and threatened oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. The conflict pushed Brent crude toward $73 a barrel and heightened geopolitical...

Tokyo’s February CPI showed headline inflation at 1.6% year‑on‑year, while core inflation slipped to 1.8%, falling below the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for the first time in 16 months. The core‑core measure, which excludes fresh food and energy, accelerated...

China's PBOC will cut the foreign‑exchange risk reserve ratio for forward FX sales from 20% to 0% starting March 2, 2026. The move aims to ease hedging costs, curb excessive yuan appreciation, and signal a shift from emergency policy tools....

Michael Fritzell, a former hedge‑fund analyst with 15 years in investment banking and buy‑side roles, left finance in 2021 to launch Asian Century Stocks, a paid newsletter spotlighting overlooked Chinese and Southeast Asian companies. Leveraging his Mandarin fluency and on‑the‑ground...

HSBC reported a 7.4% year‑on‑year drop in 2025 profit before tax to US$29.907 billion, landing near the top of its forecast range. Basic earnings per share were US$1.21 and the bank declared a fourth interim dividend of US$0.45, bringing the total...

Bank of America sees the U.S. dollar gaining strength if geopolitical tensions with Iran intensify. Rising odds—now 69%—of a U.S. military strike by June could push oil prices higher while global equities weaken, a combination that traditionally benefits the greenback....

The episode reviews the Asian market landscape during the week of Feb 15‑20, 2026, highlighting that Mainland China’s Lunar New Year closure shifted price discovery offshore, with earnings-driven rotation favoring North Asian hardware stocks. Korea led the earnings surge thanks...

The Hour Glass (HG SP), Singapore’s premier luxury watch retailer, posted a robust fourth‑quarter 2025 earnings report, highlighting a 12% year‑over‑year revenue increase. The company expanded its physical footprint with three new stores in key Southeast Asian markets while digital...

The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated President Trump's emergency authority to impose broad tariffs, prompting a modest sell‑off in the dollar despite its recent resilience. Dollar Index fell to just above 97.5, yet key technical levels held, while the euro recovered...

The US Treasury will publish its latest International Capital (TIC) data, showing foreign investors holding a record $9.36 trillion of Treasury securities. China’s holdings slipped to roughly $683 billion, the lowest level since 2008, while Japan remains the top holder with about...
India’s corporate funding is increasingly sourced domestically as the yield gap with US Treasuries narrows to about 2.5%, eroding the cost advantage of foreign‑currency debt. Deepening private‑credit markets now finance even near‑investment‑grade borrowers, exemplified by a recent $3.4 billion rupee‑denominated deal....

Casio (6952 JP) is entering a turnaround phase, now trading at a 1.0× enterprise‑value‑to‑sales multiple. The valuation suggests the market sees modest growth potential after recent operational improvements. Management has outlined cost‑cutting measures, new product launches in the G‑Shock line, and...

The episode examines China’s financial sector—banks, brokers, and emerging digital intermediaries—as the engine behind the anticipated “great rotation” in the 2026 equity outlook. It explains how tightening yields and improving credit conditions are creating nuanced opportunities beyond a simple "buy...

The episode outlines the upcoming market closures across Asia for the Lunar New Year and the U.S. President’s Day, detailing each country's holiday schedule and the impact on trading calendars. It highlights a surge in U.S. customs bond insufficiencies, reaching...

The episode reviews China’s latest loan data released after market close, noting new yuan loans of CNY 4.71 trillion in January—significantly below the CNY 4.8 trillion forecast and far under expectations of around CNY 5 trillion. While total social financing surged to CNY...

The episode outlines the upcoming Lunar New Year market closures across major Asian economies and the U.S. President’s Day holiday, forecasting lighter trading volumes. It highlights the imminent release of the Fed’s Miran speech and the China House Price Index,...

The episode covers four major Asian market stories: Singapore’s 2026 budget under Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, which projects a surplus, boosts AI investment, and offers household cost‑of‑living credits; the political fallout in the US as the House votes to overturn...

Mainland investors used the final pre‑Lunar New Year Stock Connect window to snap up roughly $600 million of Hong Kong‑listed shares, focusing on internet giants Tencent, Xiaomi and Meituan. The broader Asian equity landscape was mixed, with Korea and Thailand gaining...

The episode analyzes a dramatic shift on Feb 12, 2026, where the Korean KOSPI surged over 3% on record foreign inflows while U.S. tech indices fell, highlighting a rotation from software‑focused “bits” to hardware‑centric “atoms.” Host LoRosha explains that institutional...

Chinese local governments announced a suite of stimulus measures ahead of the longest Lunar New Year break, extending the holiday to nine days. The central government allocated 2.05 billion yuan in vouchers, red‑envelopes and subsidies to directly benefit consumers. January's consumer...

The episode examines the growing divergence between China’s onshore stock markets and Hong Kong’s offshore market, arguing that this split reflects a deepening mistrust of Xi Jinping’s political control over finance. While mainland indices appear stable, the offshore market is...

The White House has issued an updated U.S.–India trade factsheet, removing a reference to India cutting tariffs on pulses and softening language around digital services commitments. The document also shifts wording from India “intending” to purchase more U.S. goods to...

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) set the USD/CNY midpoint at 6.9438 on Tuesday, notably higher than the Reuters estimate of 6.9109. The central bank maintains its +/-2% trading band around the reference rate, with the yuan closing the previous...

China’s central bank reaffirmed an “appropriately loose” monetary policy in its Q4 report, promising ample liquidity and the option to cut reserve‑requirement ratios or interest rates. The PBOC highlighted support for domestic demand, technology innovation and small‑medium enterprises while keeping...

The People’s Bank of China is set to announce the USD/CNY reference rate around 0115 GMT, with Reuters estimating a midpoint of 6.9109. China’s managed‑floating system keeps the yuan within a ±2 % band around this rate, blending market data with...

Westpac projects the Reserve Bank of New Zealand will keep the Official Cash Rate at 2.25% in its February 18 meeting, but expects the first rate hike to arrive in December 2026, slightly earlier than previously forecast. The bank notes...

China will publish its January 2026 CPI and PPI data today, offering the first post‑holiday inflation signals of the year. Analysts expect headline consumer inflation to edge up to roughly 0.6‑1.2% year‑on‑year, buoyed by seasonal food and service price spikes...

USD/JPY fell for a second day as Japan’s new lower‑house majority under Prime Minister Fumio Takaichi spurred a rally in Japanese equities and a shift of capital into the yen. The decline was amplified by weak U.S. retail‑sales data and...
India’s household financial portfolio is shifting away from traditional safe assets toward equities and managed funds. Between March 2021 and March 2025, bank deposits fell from roughly 47.5% to 43.5% of total financial assets, while mutual‑fund and pension holdings rose...

The episode breaks down the ASEAN Inc. portfolio—a $1 million, equally weighted allocation across seven U.S.-listed ETFs covering Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and a regional ASEAN‑40 fund—and shows it delivered a 21.3% annualized total return through February 2026, beating...

Carabao Energy Drink (CBG TB) is being touted as Thailand’s equivalent to Monster Beverage, trading at roughly 12 times forward earnings. The forward P/E of 12× is well below the global energy‑drink peer average, indicating a potential valuation discount. Carabao commands about...

The episode revisits Panda Perspectives' May 2025 deep‑dive on Chinese property developers, evaluating how its thesis—that state‑owned enterprises (SOEs) would outpace privately owned developers (POEs) across balance sheets, funding, land banks, margins, and market share—has held up after nine months. The...
China remains the world’s largest electric‑vehicle market, with millions of EVs on its streets daily. The ecosystem features a dense mix of legacy manufacturers like BYD and tech entrants such as Xiaomi and Huawei, each launching high‑performance or software‑centric models....

In this episode LoRosha analyzes the February 4 Asian market session, highlighting a 1.57% rise in the KOSPI driven by Samsung Electronics breaking the 169,000 KRW mark and reaching a $720 billion market cap. He argues that despite heavy foreign net...

Asian equity markets slumped after President‑Trump‑appointed Fed nominee Kevin Warsh signaled hawkish policy, prompting a broad risk‑off that also lifted the U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, the renminbi hit a 52‑week high at 6.94 per dollar even as commodity futures and semiconductor...

The episode examines China’s fixed asset investment (FAI) slump in 2025 and the government’s new policy push in January 2026 to shift spending from traditional construction toward smarter factories and digital infrastructure. It argues that this pivot could turn FAI...

The episode surveys the volatile Asian macro landscape, highlighting Trump‑triggered tariff threats to South Korea, shifting US immigration policy, and Xi’s military purge, while noting strong performances in emerging‑market currencies like the ringgit and Singapore dollar. It reviews the earnings...

The episode reviews the latest China market dynamics, highlighting a split performance where Shenzhen‑focused growth stocks outperformed while Shanghai mega‑caps and state‑heavy sectors lagged. Offshore Hong Kong showed modest gains with defensive sectors leading, and regional momentum was driven by...

E Ink remains the unrivaled supplier of e‑paper displays, controlling virtually the entire global market. The company trades at a lofty 16× price‑to‑earnings multiple, reflecting investor optimism despite modest growth. A breakthrough colour‑display technology is poised to expand its addressable...

In this episode the hosts dissect the recent breach of the 7.00 RMB per USD threshold, a move they had forecast despite official resistance. They revisit their earlier stance against a "balance‑sheet recession" narrative, argue that the fundamentals still support further...

The U.S. dollar is in a consolidating phase, hovering around JPY158.6 after a brief push toward JPY159.5, as Japanese authorities intensify verbal warnings of possible market intervention. In North America, traders await U.S. PPI, retail sales data and comments from...