South Korean Banks' Corporate Dollar Deposits Hit Record High - World Today Journal

• Risk premiums reached multi-year lows on Friday despite a surge in global bond yields across the UK and Europe. • The VIX, a measure of market volatility, traded below 14 for the first time since December and ended the week near two-year lows.

• Global market traders are monitoring upcoming U.S. payrolls data to predict the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates. • Market participants currently estimate a nearly 50-per-cent chance of a rate change following comments from Fed governor Christopher Waller.

• Asian currencies strengthened on Friday, led by a sharp rally in the Japanese yen as the U.S. dollar weakened. • The market shift followed dovish comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller regarding the outlook for U.S. interest rates.

• Federal Reserve officials Waller and Williams recently made dovish remarks that calmed U.S. Treasury yields. • Futures markets currently place the odds of a September interest rate hike and a hold at approximately 50-50.

• Treasury yields rose sharply this week following a hawkish speech by Chair Warsh at the Jackson Hole symposium. • The 10-year Treasury yield briefly reached 4.82%, marking its highest level since late 2023.

• Asian stock benchmarks mostly rose during early Friday trading following a rally in big technology stocks on Wall Street. • Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 2.1% to 25,751.26, while Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 0.6% to 64,622.33.

• Stock markets are becoming more sensitive to interest rates and oil price volatility as the positive impact of second-quarter earnings fades. • Analyst Cau notes that macroeconomics is now the primary driver for equities after the Q2 earnings cushion absorbed tighter financial conditions over the summer.

• Wall Street stocks fell and Treasury yields rose during early trading following a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report. • The government reported that U.S. employers added 162,000 jobs to their payrolls last month.

• The U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs in August, according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. • This growth follows a surprise decline in employment during the month of July.

• Global government bond yields are reaching multi-decade highs as debt levels rise across most G7 nations. • US tech giants are flooding European bond markets to fund AI investments that could reach $1 trillion by 2028, according to the European Central Bank.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) proposed a net settlement process for mutual fund trades in the cash market on September 4, 2026. • The Supreme Court ended SEBI’s legal plea against the National Stock Exchange following a settlement totaling ₹1,491 crore.