Nikkei hits 65,000 record, Memorial Day gas surges

At the 79th Cannes Film Festival closing on 5/23, Romanian director Christian Mungiu's 'Fjord' (starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) won the Palme d'Or. Park Chan-wook, the first Korean to serve as jury president, presided over the awards.

As of 5/24, Samsung Electronics union wage agreement ratification vote participants reached 47,473, a 82.86% turnout. The agreement includes a 6.2% average wage increase and 10.5% DS division special bonus, with results counted 5/27 at 10AM.

On 5/24, US and Iran moved close to an agreement featuring a 60-day ceasefire extension, Strait of Hormuz reopening, and free Iranian oil sales. Halting uranium enrichment and removing highly enriched stockpiles are core conditions, but Israel and Republicans remain strongly opposed.

Official campaigning for Korea's June 3 local and by-elections began 5/21 with 7,813 candidates registered. With 16 metropolitan mayors and 14 National Assembly seats at stake, this 'mini general election' is viewed as the first nationwide referendum on the Lee Jae-myung administration.

With May 24 Buddha's Birthday falling on Sunday, Monday May 25 was designated as substitute holiday, creating a 3-day weekend from May 23-25. Government offices, banks, and stock markets are closed; workers at 5+ employee workplaces receive holiday premium pay.

Per AAA, US national average gasoline on 5/24 was $4.56/gallon, $1.38 higher than a year ago and the highest in four years. A tank fill-up costs $22 more than last year, but 45M people are still traveling.

April US grocery prices rose 2.9% year-over-year, the highest since August 2023. Beef roast jumped 18%, fresh tomatoes 39.7%, and weekly household food spending hit $170, up 42% from $120 in 2020.

Per Freddie Mac, as of 5/21 the 30-year fixed mortgage rate jumped from 6.36% to 6.51%, and 15-year fixed rose from 5.71% to 5.85%. High home prices and limited inventory keep purchasing power suppressed.

Per NY Fed Q1 report, US household debt grew $18B to $18.8T. Credit card balance hit a record $1.252T; card delinquency rate slowed to 2.92%, but 4.8% of total debt remains delinquent.

Samsung, DB, Hyundai, KB and other top 4 are expected to raise 2026 auto insurance premiums by 1.3-1.5%. With November loss ratios hitting 92.1%, this 5-year first hike comes as health insurance premiums also rise 7.8% on average, intensifying household insurance burden.

President Trump said on May 23 that the Iran peace agreement featuring Strait of Hormuz reopening is 'mostly settled', though core issues like nuclear abandonment and sanctions removal remain disputed. Memorial Day weekend oil pressure makes announcement imminent.

On May 21, official campaigning for June 3 local and by-elections began with 7,813 registered candidates. With 16 metropolitan mayors and 14 National Assembly seats at stake, this 'mini general election' is the first nationwide referendum on the Lee Jae-myung administration.

After Labour's May local election loss of 1,500 seats, Health Secretary Wes Streeting and other ministers and political deputies resigned. With 97 MPs demanding resignation and 159 in support, party infighting intensifies. Reform UK won 1,454 seats.

Beijing summit May 20-21 adopted 40 agreements and multipolarity joint declaration, but Russia's coveted 'Power of Siberia 2' gas pipeline agreement failed. Military and tech cooperation expansion agreed, demonstrating China-Russia solidarity amid US-Iran war.

On May 21, UN Middle East Special Coordinator Mladenov warned Security Council of permanent Gaza division risk and presented permanent ceasefire roadmap. After last October's ceasefire, 856 Palestinians died over 7 months with Israel controlling over 50% of Gaza.

Samsung Group Cho-gi-eob (Super-Enterprise) Union Samsung Branch's 2026 wage and collective bargaining ratification vote began on May 23, with turnout exceeding 80% within a day. As of May 24 5PM, turnout hit 85.1%; voting closes May 27 at 10AM. With 80% of union in DS division, passage likelihood is high.

Meta began notifying about 8,000 layoffs starting May 20. As capital reallocation for AI infrastructure investment, 6,000 new hires cancelled too. Integration, cybersecurity, and content design teams hit; 2026 capex guidance raised to $125B-145B.

Per Layoffs.fyi, about 110K were laid off across 137 tech firms in 2026. The pace approaches the full 2025 total of 125K. Analysis suggests restructuring is for capital shift to AI infrastructure like GPUs and data centers, not revenue weakness.

Per Stanford HAI's 2026 AI Index, hiring of software developers aged 22-25 declined about 20% since late 2022 when generative AI took off. At same firms, age 30+ hiring grew 6-12% instead, with clear age gap.

Hyundai Motor union 2026 wage talks demand 149,600 won base pay hike, 30% of prior year net income as bonus, 800% bonus pay. Other demands include retirement age extension to 65 linked to national pension, AI-related employment guarantees, abolition of wage peak system — summer struggle clouds gather.

Kevin Warsh was sworn in as 17th Federal Reserve chairman on 5/22. June 16-17 first FOMC will release dot plot, with CME FedWatch pricing 97% hold probability. Warsh's first press conference tone will be a key variable for the year's rate path.

On 5/23, US 10-year Treasury yield fell to 4.56% on easing inflation concerns, a roughly week low. However, 30-year remained at 5.082% as of 5/22, staying above 5% and leaving long-end supply burden in the market.

Japan's April core CPI rose just 1.4% year-over-year, the lowest since March 2022. Ex-fresh food and energy slowed to 1.9%, undershooting BOJ's 2% target for 3 consecutive months. Justification for further hikes weakened at the 6/16 BOJ meeting.

US Congressional Budget Office projects FY2026 federal deficit at $1.9T (5.8% of GDP). Net interest costs cross $1T for the first time, doubling to $2.1T by 2036, and federal debt rises to 120% of GDP.

G7 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting 5/18-19 in Paris focused on reducing macro imbalances. ECB held April deposit rate at 2.0%, but Middle East conflict pushed eurozone April inflation to 3%, with markets pricing further hikes in June and September.

On 5/25 (Mon), Japan's Nikkei 225 surged over 3% to close at 65,408.87, breaking the 65,000 mark for the first time. Hormuz Strait reopening reports drove oil down and boosted risk appetite. Topix also rose 1.19%.

On 5/22 (Fri), Kosdaq surged 4.99% to 1,161.13 on AI/semi state fund expectations. KOSPI took a breather after the prior day's rebound, rising 0.41% to 7,847.71. Korean markets are closed 5/25 for the public holiday with trading resuming 5/26.

On 5/25 (Mon), Taiwan Weighted Index rose 2.91% to a record 43,495.92. Australia ASX200 +0.45%, China CSI300 +0.91%, India Nifty50 +1.09% rallied alongside. Hong Kong, Korea, and US markets are closed.

On 5/22 (Fri), pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.73% to 625.12, up about 2.3% for the week. ASML rose nearly 5%, banks like Santander and UniCredit, and industrials like Schneider and Airbus rose more than 2%.

On 5/22 (Fri), spot gold fell 0.58% to $4,516.75/oz; VIX held steady at 16.70 (-0.36%). USD/JPY remained above 159 with weakness persisting; Japan's inflation slowdown eased BOJ tightening pressure. Intervention vigilance at 160 remains.

On May 4, intraday hit 918,000 won record; AI server MLCC and FC-BGA demand explosion drove Q1 revenue to record 3.2 trillion won, breaking 3T for the first time. Mirae Asset and Hyundai Motor Securities raised target prices 90-145%, driving the Korean components rally.

Wearable rehab robot firm with 6,000 won IPO price hit double-limit on listing day then 4 consecutive limit-ups, with May 19 limit-up to 48,600 won marking 778% cumulative surge. North America market entry expectations and foreign/institutional buying concentration drove momentum.

Following late-April reports of expected copper price surges, Gaon Cable hit limit-up on KOSPI, with cable and copper-related stocks surging in turn. AI data center power infrastructure demand expectations drove concentrated buying; KT Submarine and Daehan Cable also rallied.

On May 22, Samsung Electronics jumped 11% on AI server parts supply expansion expectations; the same day Samsung Electro-Mechanics rose 12.06%, Hyundai Mobis 16.45%, LG Electronics 9.17%. Semis and AI stocks led KOSPI's breakthrough of the 8,000 level.

On May 12, amid mixed KOSPI top-traded names, Gaeyang Electric hit 10,990 won limit-up and Kosdaq's Sigetronics also limit-up. LG Electronics surged 17%, leading concentrated buying in top trading value names with strong dual-momentum stock activity.

On May 24, Bitcoin traded at $76,856 (market cap $1.49T) and Ethereum at $2,095. Inflation, Middle East risks, ETF outflows, and leveraged liquidations created short-term pressure, with BTC ranging above $77K.

BlackRock's spot BTC ETF IBIT recorded over $3B in YTD net inflows, holdings exceeding 806,700 BTC. As of May 22, NAV at $43.07 (YTD -11.32%), with institutional inflows continuing.

May stablecoin total market cap hit a record $323.2B. Tether USDT renewed ATH at $190B with 59.2% share regained; USDC ranks second at $77.6B. Market liquidity broke through $320.6B.

On-chain RWA market grew 100% annually to $34.5B. BlackRock BUIDL AUM expanded to $2.5B; on May 8, two new tokenized fund filings submitted to SEC. Uniswap and BUIDL 24/7 trading integration also announced.

European Commission opened two MiCA regulation public and targeted consultations on May 21, closing August 31. Euro stablecoin competitiveness is core. July 1 full EU implementation deadline; of top 10, only USDC and EURC are compliant.

Sequoia, Dragoneer, Altimeter, Greenoaks co-lead with about $2B each. Valued at $900B+, with Founders Fund and General Catalyst also participating — the largest AI round in history.

AI coding startup Anysphere (Cursor) in talks for $2B round co-led by a16z. Nvidia, Thrive, Battery Ventures join; valuation doubles from $29.3B with 2026 revenue projected at $6B, accelerating growth.

Uber-backed micromobility Lime filed S-1 on May 7 targeting June listing. 2025 revenue $887M, net loss $59M; Renaissance Capital estimates $250M raise but $676M debt burden remains.

Prediction market exchange Kalshi confirms $1B round led by Coatue, with Sequoia, a16z, Paradigm, IVP, Morgan Stanley, and ARK joining. Institutional volume surged 800% over 6 months, annualized trading volume tripled to $178B.

AI lab Hark closes $700M+ Series A ($6B valuation), Modal raises $355M Series C led by General Catalyst, fintech Mercury raises $200M Series D led by TCV. Same day, Exa also closes $250M Series C.

After construction zone driving error videos spread, SF, LA, Phoenix, and Miami highway robotaxi operations were temporarily halted; Atlanta service also halted. Resumption planned after software update, but autonomous service limits exposed as case study.

On May 20, Tesla launched supervised FSD service in Lithuania, following Netherlands. EU mutual recognition framework enabled quick approval without separate verification; Belgium and Greece additions imminent, with 2-quarter Europe-wide expansion accelerating.

IEA Global EV Outlook 2026 forecasts this year's global EV sales at 23M units, up 15% YoY. About 30% of new car sales, with Chinese makers holding 60% global share — accelerating adoption trend cemented.

April BYD China domestic sales fell 15.7% for 8th straight monthly decline, but exports surged 70.9% to 135K units, 42.8% of total. Sprinting toward 1.5M annual export target, holding No.1 in UK and Brazil.

EU Commission replaces 2035 100% ICE sales ban with 90% CO2 reduction proposal. Remaining 10% offset by green steel, e-fuels, biofuels; PHEV and mild hybrid production continues allowed — easing auto industry burden signal.

Sequoia, Dragoneer, Altimeter, Greenoaks co-lead $30B round closing the week of May 26. Valuation of $900B surpasses OpenAI's $852B, making Anthropic the world's highest-valued AI startup imminent.

Figure 03 scaled from 1 per day to 1 per hour at BotQ factory in 4 months, shipping 350+ units. Helix-02 neural network performs fully autonomous package sorting without teleoperation.

At Google I/O 2026, Android XR-based intelligent eyewear unveiled. Audio/display glasses developed with Samsung, Warby Parker, and Gentle Monster launch this fall with both iOS and Android pairing support.

Apple reaches preliminary agreement to manufacture some chips at Intel foundries. After over a year of negotiations, US government mediation closed the deal; Intel stock surged 15%. Eliminating TSMC single-source dependency is the core motivation, securing a decisive external customer win.

Chairman Lee Jae-yong visited Taiwan to meet MediaTek CEO Tsai Li-hsing, pitching HBM/DRAM priority supply bundled with 2nm foundry. The push leverages DRAM contract prices nearly doubling in Q1 due to AI infrastructure demand.

Bank Indonesia hiked BI rate 50bp to 5.25% on 5/20, the first 50bp hike since 2022 and exceeding market consensus of 25bp. Deposit rate raised to 4.75% and lending rate to 6.0% to counter rupiah weakness and import inflation pressure.

On 5/22 KRW/USD slid to around 1,510, a month low. Dollar strength and rising US Treasury yields weighed. Meanwhile KOSPI rose 0.41% to 7,848 the same day, with AI and semi momentum lifting it over 150% in a year, deepening stock-currency decoupling.

Turkey's April CPI accelerated to 32.37% year-over-year from 30.87% in March. Food +34.55%, housing/utilities +46.6%, transport +35.06% led broad rises. TCMB Inflation Report II released 5/14 signals further tightening possible.

Ahead of South African Reserve Bank's 5/28 rate decision, May 6 oil price pass-through expected to lift headline CPI to 4.2%. Markets now price 25bp hike likely from 6.75%, lifting prime rate to 11.50%.

Real weakened to 5.02 per dollar in late May, retreating from month-start 2-year high of 4.89. Copom minutes released 5/5 warned of slower easing cycle on Iran-US conflict, raising 2026 inflation outlook to 4.6%. Selic was cut 25bp to 14.50% in April.

Bundibugyo Ebola spreading across DRC's Ituri province and Uganda. As of May 21: 746 suspected cases, 176 deaths, 85 confirmed cases, 10 deaths. No Bundibugyo-specific vaccine or treatment exists; 30-50% fatality concerns rising with 6-9 months until clinical trials.

First-ever oral GLP-1 taken once daily without food/water restrictions. 72-week 12.4% weight loss exceeded oral semaglutide. With insurance $25/month, cash $149+ — fully opening the pill era.

DOJ filed appeal against Judge Murphy's March injunction blocking RFK Jr. vaccine policies including ACIP restructuring. American Academy of Pediatrics and others sued for Administrative Procedure Act violations, with main proceedings expected to be prolonged.

Walmart, Hershey, Nestle and 35% of US food industry join artificial dye removal. Child vaccine recommendations cut from 72 doses across 17 diseases to 10. MAHA coalition fractures emerging over glyphosate and vaccine positions.

PD-1 monoclonal retifanlimab approved as first 1L treatment for advanced anal cancer. Sonrotoclax (relapsed mantle cell lymphoma), atezolizumab (muscle-invasive bladder cancer adjuvant), and first PROTAC based on VERITAC-2 also approved in May — strong oncology month.

National average gasoline at $4.56/gallon, up 3 cents week-over-week, surged $1.38 year-over-year. Prolonged Hormuz blockade combined with summer driving season demand drives prices to highest since 2022's $4.61. California at $6.14.

After Iran's Feb 28 Hormuz blockade declaration, tanker traffic dropped 70% to effectively zero. Brent peaked at $138 April 7 then stabilized at $106 May-June average. Gulf producers' output down 14.4mb/d versus pre-war; June gradual reopening expected.

On May 3, OPEC+ 8-country virtual meeting agreed June daily 188,000 barrel output increase. Saudi and Russia each add 62K b/d, reaching Saudi 10.291M b/d and Russia 9.762M b/d targets. UAE exited OPEC May 1, lowering 2027 spare capacity to 2.5M b/d.

TTF futures hit 49.8 euros/MWh six-week high on May 20 then declined. Qatar Energy declared force majeure on 17% of liquefaction capacity in early March; about 20% of global LNG supply blocked. US-Iran negotiation resumption hopes have eased prices.

China's strategic petroleum reserve at 1.4B barrels year-end, world's largest, with net imports covering 110-180 days exceeding IEA safety standards. Q1 Russian seaborne oil 90% went to China and India, with exports to China reaching 2.1M b/d. Iranian oil supplies 13% of China imports at discount.

Christian Mungiu's 'Fjord' won the 79th Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or. The drama about a Romanian family relocated to Norway becoming an Office of Child Welfare target stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. Distributor NEON became the seven-year consecutive Palme d'Or distributor.

Park Chan-wook, the first Korean to serve as Cannes Competition jury president, joked at the closing ceremony: 'I didn't want to give the Palme d'Or, but I had no choice.' The pun referencing his own film title drew widespread attention.

Director Na Hong-jin's 'Hope', the first Korean film to enter Cannes Competition in 4 years, received a 7-minute standing ovation at Lumière Theater world premiere but failed to win Palme d'Or or director award. Jeon Ho-yeon's scenes drew particular cheers.

Star Wars sequel 'Mandalorian and Grogu' opened to $102M domestic over the 4-day Memorial Day weekend. Global $165M but Disney's lowest Star Wars opening since acquisition, with A- CinemaScore and $165M production budget leaving recovery room.

LE SSERAFIM released second full album 'Pureflow Pt.' on May 22, entering weekend comeback activities. The new full-length from the 4-year-old group, paired with world tour, has chart performance and global reaction emerging as the weekend's biggest K-pop story.

At the May 23 Cannes closing, Palme d'Or winner Renate Reinsve appeared in Louis Vuitton silver pants. Tilda Swinton wore a red Chanel gown, Zoe Saldana wore Chanel, Penelope Cruz wore vintage Georges Chakra.

On May 20, Nicolas Ghesquière presented Cruise 2027 at the Frick Collection's first-floor gallery. Drawing from Keith Haring's drawings on 1930s LV trunks, the collection combined origami leather with Renaissance-collar denim.

Matthieu Blazy unveiled first Chanel Cruise at Biarritz's Casino Municipal on April 28. With 'Sous le Salon la Plage' theme, the show featured reinterpreted 1926 black dresses, rubber boots, pepper-shaped earrings, and beaded mermaid gown finale.

LVMH Q1 revenue 19.1B euros down 6% (organic +1%); fashion and leather -2%. Kering revenue 3.57B euros down 6%, Gucci -8%, Middle East retail -11%. Both missed analyst expectations; luxury recovery has stalled.

At May 17 Cannes Kering Women in Motion Awards, Julianne Moore took the award in Bottega Veneta. Salma Hayek in feathered white gown, Bella Hadid in custom Prada, Cate Blanchett in Sarah Burton's Givenchy.

Video on X claiming Pope Leo XIV deliberately snubbed an LGBTQ rainbow flag hit 12M views, but fact-check confirmed the flag in the video was an Italian peace flag with 'pace' written on it, unrelated to the LGBTQ flag.

Posts claiming Trump wrote on X 'I will criminalize taking and posting photos of gas station prices' spread in May, but Snopes investigation found no trace of the post on X or Truth Social, and the Facebook sharer also identified it as satire.

Video showing Health Secretary RFK Jr. saying 'conspiracy theorists were right and COVID vaccine causes gayness' spread, but Lead Stories verification confirmed audio manipulation; the original video had no such statement and watermark traced to a satire account.

Image claiming Italian PM Meloni shared her own lingerie photo went viral on SNS in early May, but Lead Stories verification confirmed it was actually an AI-based deepfake image users genuinely spread.

After April cruise ship hantavirus outbreak, rumor that 2022 X post saying '2023 COVID ends... 2026 hantavirus' precisely predicted events spread, but Snopes verification confirmed coincidence with no predictive value.