South Korea and Japan promise hundreds of billions to the US but most of it may just be loans, not real cash. Turns out investment sometimes means IOUs in a nice suit

South Korea has made it clear: most of the $350 billion it pledged in U.S. investment will be loans and guarantees, not equity. Direct investment makes up less than 5 % of the total fund. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-08-04/korea-expects-less-than-5-of-350-billion-us-fund-as-investment Japan’s negotiator Akazawa added fuel to …

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Hedge funds are shorting stocks again, boosting leverage to new record. Chicago PMI plunges to four-month low, sinks to 40.5 in May. Supercore PCE turns negative for the first time since covid.

The Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index fell for a second straight month to its lowest level in four months. The index sank to 40.5 this month from 44.6 in April, falling short of the 45.1 forecast. The latest reading marks the …

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Japan’s top insurer bond losses triple echoes U.S. bank collapse warning. SVB crisis replay? Unrealized pain turns real without central bank shield

‘Japan’s Top Life Insurer Says Unrealized Bond Losses Tripled.’ This Bloomberg headline sounds familiar, right? Back in March 2023, several US regional banks, including Silicon Valley Bank and later First Republic Bank, collapsed when ‘unrealized losses’ became realized losses as …

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