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• Asian equities experienced a severe sell-off, highlighted by South Korea's KOSPI index plummeting as much as 7% intraday and triggering circuit breaker concerns. • Memory-related stocks were the hardest hit, though ChipMOS surged nearly 8% as investors sought a safe haven amidst the volatility. • Despite bullish AI-driven outlooks from Barclays and Nanya Technology President Lee Pei-Ing, analysts warn that low trading volume makes a V-shaped recovery unlikely for the Taiwan market.

• SK Automation secured a significant order valued at RMB 4.5 billion from battery giant CATL, while Lingyun Guang reported a nearly six-fold increase in net profit driven by AI investments. • Xingye Silver & Tin, via its subsidiary Xingye Gold (Hong Kong), acquired a 20% stake in Australian-listed Tartana Minerals Limited (TAT) for approximately A$5.1827 million. • These developments, announced after the market close on July 16, highlight a surge in strategic industrial growth and overseas mineral resource expansion for companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges.

Guardian analysis finds 19% of games reached heat levels warranting delays, as Fifa defends its player safeguardsThe climate crisis has come for football.During this year’s World Cup, nearly one in five of the tournament’s 100-plus matches took place in levels of heat and humidity that a football players’ union has previously said should trigger delays or postponements, a Guardian analysis has found. An additional 23 matches were played in cities as they reached those heat levels, but in stadiums where conditions were mitigated by air conditioning. Continue reading...

• The KOSPI index plunged nearly 20% in just 15 days, dropping from 8,476.48 at the end of last month to 6,806.93 on the 13th, driven largely by declines in Samsung Electronics. • Despite the market drop, semiconductor exports remain strong, with Korea Customs Service data showing a 193% increase from July 1 to 10 compared to the previous year. • Investors are now focusing on the upcoming earnings reports and investment plans from SK Hynix and global big tech companies scheduled for the end of this month.

• Nearly 80% of high-net-worth investors in Singapore are utilizing AI for investment research, though they lack full trust in the technology's results. • To mitigate risks, these investors continue to rely on human financial advisors to double-check and validate AI-generated insights. • This trend highlights a hybrid approach to wealth management where AI provides efficiency while humans provide necessary oversight and trust.

Authorities confirm worst toll in more than 20 years as new extreme temperatures force early closure of Eiffel TowerNearly 100 people, the largest proportion of whom were young men, died by drowning in Germany last month, authorities have said, as extreme temperatures in western Europe that have been blamed for hundreds of excess deaths geared up again.In Germany’s worst death toll from drowning for more than two decades, 99 people died in June, according to official figures, after temperatures rose as high as 41.7C (107.1F) in some areas. Continue reading...

• South Korea's KOSPI index rebounded nearly 4% in early trading on Thursday, July 9, peaking at 7,539. • This recovery follows a sharp 5.35% plunge on Wednesday that had dropped the index to 7,246.79 and pushed it into bear market territory. • The surge is significant as it lifts the index back above the 20% threshold, effectively escaping the bear market designation.