May 2nd week tidy up
On the 3rd (local time), the US raised its base interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, widening the difference between the base rates between Korea and the US to 1.75 percentage points based on the upper level. In the market, there was also expectation that this was actually a ‘last step’, but after the regular meeting of the FOMC in May, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said, “The decision on freezing was not made today and inflation will not come down quickly, so there is no ‘pivot’ (change in direction) to cut interest rates. It is inappropriate and will not be taken down,” he stressed. President Lee Chang-yong, who is attending the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), also stressed on the 3rd, “Sticky inflation is still a situation,” and that “the possibility of interest rate cuts depends on data such as major countries’ monetary policies.”
Meanwhile, four US banks went bankrupt in the past two months, from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) to the recent First Republic. JP Morgan, the largest bank in the United States, put out the urgent fire by acquiring First Republic, but after that, as stock prices of Pac West Bank and West Alliance Bank tumbled for three days in a row until the 4th (local time), the crisis caused by regional banks was renewed. There are observations that it has entered a phase.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said, “Currently, regional banks seem to be on dry firewood. Even a small spark can spread into a dangerous fire.”
As the US commercial real estate market fell into a recession in the aftermath of interest rate hikes, local bank insolvency accelerated, and the Domino bankruptcy of banks that occurred as a result served as a new detonator for the US economy. A recent report estimated that nearly half of the 4,800 U.S. banks are at risk of potential bankruptcy due to capital erosion, and in the worst-case scenario, as many as 1,600 banks could suffer a bank run. The world economy is looking at the United States, and the United States is only looking at unabated inflation, and now it is in a situation where it has to deal with the unexpected variable of the Ukraine-Russia war in a situation where interest rates cannot be raised or lowered.
Russia claims that an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) exploded on the roof of the Kremlin Palace, the heart of Russia, where the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin is located. The response was that it was a self-made play. In Ukraine, there is also a reaction that Russia is fabricating a justification for a terrorist attack. The New York Times (NYT) diagnosed that “signs of an imminent counterattack by Ukraine are being detected one after another.” On the 29th of last month, an oil storage facility in Crimea exploded, and on the 1st to 3rd, explosions occurred in western and southwestern Russia for three days in a row. This is because on the 3rd, a drone exploded in the Kremlin Palace. Russia is said to have launched intense airstrikes on several Ukrainian cities after the drone bombings. Russia was scheduled to hold a large-scale military parade across the country on the 9th, Victory Day, commemorating the victory in World War II, but has recently canceled the event one after another.
Elling Hollan (23, Manchester City), who entered the English Premier League (EPL) this season, set the record for the most goals in one season. On the 4th, Halan scored a goal (season 35) in the 25th minute of the second half of the home game against United. The Manchester City players, who won the game that day, dedicated the ‘Guard of Honor’ ceremony to Halan. This is a scene you can see when a certain team wins during the season, when the opposing team lines up on both sides and applauds and congratulates them. With five matches remaining, Haalan could climb to the 40-goal mark if he scores one goal per match. He is currently scoring 1.1 goals per match.
Lee Kang-in (22, Mallorca) scored the opening goal (Season No. 6) in the 13th minute of the second half in the 2022-2023 La Liga home game against Bilbao on the 2nd. For the first time since advancing to La Liga, we succeeded in achieving double-digit attack points in one season. Lee Kang-in has scored 3 goals in his last 3 matches. On the 5th, Napoli, where Kim Min-jae (27) is playing, reached the top of Italian professional football Serie A after 33 years. Kim Min-jae, who started 32 out of 33 games and kept the defensive line firmly, became the first Korean player to experience a Serie A championship. Kim Min-jae made his professional debut in the domestic professional soccer K-League Jeonbuk, played in the Chinese and Turkish leagues, and wore a Napoli uniform in July of last year.
In relation to the massive stock price crash from SG Securities, the CEO of an illegal investment company and the jeonju owners who entrusted money to him are all claiming that ‘I am a victim’ as well. Ra Deok-yeon, CEO of H Investment Consulting Company, who led the manipulation of the stock price, only admits to the fact of illegal operation, but blames the company owner for the plunge in stock prices. Hundreds of jeonju, including entertainers, doctors, and wealthy people, cannot be said to be pure victims in that they entrusted their money and personal information to illegal companies for high profits. Circumstances are also revealed one after another that the family of the owner of the company, which was the target of stock price manipulation, sold their shares at a high price before the crash, but they also say that they ‘just sold the stock at that time by chance’. The chairman of the Dow Kiwoom Group sold his stocks four days before the crash and cashed in 60.5 billion won. The chairman of Seoul City Gas disposed of stocks worth 45.7 billion won three days earlier.
According to the financial sector on the 3rd, the Financial Supervisory Service launched a blitz inspection of Kiwoom Securities to examine the process of arbitrage settlement (CFD), which is pointed out as the cause of the ‘slump in stock prices from SG Securities’. It is said that the inspection of the remaining major securities companies will also be conducted sequentially. Regarding this incident, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok ordered, “Thoroughly search out and punish the forces involved in stock price manipulation and the beneficiaries of unjust gains.”
Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil voluntarily appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutor’s Office on the 2nd in connection with the Democratic Party’s “suspicion of money envelopes at the convention,” but the prosecution refused the investigation and returned in 10 minutes. Former CEO Song criticized the prosecution, saying, “We went all-in on Lee Jae-myung’s investigation, but when it didn’t work, they are targeting Song Young-gil and going all-in on a political planning investigation.” . Supporters and conservative YouTubers tangled around CEO Song, who once turned away, and became a mess with high voices and abusive language. People’s power criticized it as “a ‘appearance show’ to interfere with the prosecution’s investigation.” In the National Assembly on the 3rd, Yoon Gwan-seok (3rd term, Namdong-eul, Incheon) and Lee Seong-man (Cho-seon, Bupyeong-gap, Incheon), who were involved in the ‘money envelope suspicion’, withdrew from the party.
As a result of a recent poll conducted by Gallup Korea on 1,000 people aged 18 or older across the country from the 2nd to the 4th, the Democratic Party’s party approval rating was 32%, 3 percentage points lower than the people’s strength (35%). In addition, the Democratic Party’s approval rating was reversed by the people’s power in 7 weeks, but public opinion about next year’s general election appeared different. In next year’s general election, 49% of respondents said that “more opposition candidates should be elected to check the current government,” and 37% said “more candidates from the ruling party should be elected to support the current government.” The positive evaluation of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s job performance recorded 33%, up 3 percentage points from last week, and the negative evaluation was 57%, down 6 percentage points from last week.
The coronation ceremony of King Charles III (75) of England was held in London on the 6th (local time). On September 8, last year, Charles III, who ascended the throne with the death of Queen Elizabeth II, held a coronation ceremony in eight months, and it is also the first coronation ceremony held in England in 70 years. Considering the social atmosphere such as high prices and energy crisis, the distance of the march was reduced by less than half compared to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II 70 years ago. The coronation ceremony held at Westminster Abbey on this day was attended by about 2,200 key figures from 203 countries around the world, including about 100 leaders, including US President Joe Biden. In our government, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo attended.
On the 3rd, an exhibition of R&D achievements in scientific public order was held at the National Police Agency. A ‘portable drug detection kit’ developed jointly by the National Police Agency and the National Institute of Scientific Investigation was also exhibited. A portable test kit that can easily check whether drugs have been mixed in drinks as the crime of ‘fondant drug’ secretly taking drugs in drinks or drinks at nightclubs continues. no see. On the other hand, three suspects in the ‘Gangnam Hagwon Street Drug Drink’ incident were handed over to trial. Initially, the maximum penalty for providing drugs to minors, which the police applied, is life imprisonment, but the charge of using drugs to minors for profit can be punished up to the death penalty.
On the 29th of last month, French luxury brand Louis Vuitton held its first official fashion show in Korea. The place for the runway was Jamsu Bridge over the Han River, but with the cooperation of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, traffic was controlled and a stage and seats were created. Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who directed Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’, also participated in the stage production. This is a photo where you can see the ‘changed status of Korea’. However, global luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, raised product prices several times last year, when the won-dollar exchange rate skyrocketed, taking advantage of the high exchange rate. It’s being criticized for not being there. Louis Vuitton Korea recorded 1.6923 trillion won in sales last year, a 15% increase from the previous year (1.4681 trillion won), and operating profit was 417.7 billion won, a 38% increase over the same period.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.