Computex opens, Nvidia N1X June 3 elections D-2, ASCO cancer wins

Jensen Huang, Nvidia CEO, takes the keynote on June 1 at 11 AM Taiwan time in Taipei and unveils the N1X (20 Arm cores, 6,144 CUDA cores) and N1 consumer processors for the first time in over a decade. Dell, Lenovo, and Asus are preparing Windows on Arm notebooks.

Pre-vote turnout for the June 3 local elections reached 23.51%, a historic record for local elections. Out of 44.64M eligible voters, 10.49M participated, with Jeollanam Province at 38.95% (highest) and Daegu at 18.65% (lowest), while Seoul recorded 23.84%, heating up the race 2 days before the main vote.

On May 30, PSG defeated Arsenal 4-3 on penalties at the Puskas Arena in Budapest to win the Champions League for the second consecutive year. After a 1-1 draw, Gabriel's missed final penalty gave PSG their back-to-back title, the first consecutive European champions since Real Madrid.

The New York Knicks swept Cleveland 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals (final 130-93) to reach the Finals for the first time since 1999, and the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Thunder in seven games to claim the Western crown. Game 1 tips off on June 3 on ABC.

On May 31 at ASCO 2026 in Chicago, the oral RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib showed in Phase 3 results that it extended overall survival for metastatic pancreatic cancer from 6.7 to 13.2 months—nearly doubling it—and the mortality risk dropped 60%. FDA designated it a breakthrough therapy, drawing intense market attention.

US regular gasoline national average fell to $4.39/gallon on May 29 from the mid-month peak of $4.56, but all 50 states exceeded the $4 mark. GasBuddy warns the summer average could hit $4.80—potentially an all-time high—if Hormuz closure persists, with California at $6.15.

Seoul apartment jeonse prices rose 0.29% in the third week of May—the largest weekly gain in approximately 10 years and 6 months since November 2015—according to Korea Real Estate Board data. The average jeonse price hit 680M won, up 2.89% since the start of the year, as landlords cite scarce inventory and redevelopment restrictions.

US grocery prices (at-home) jumped 2.9% YoY and 0.7% MoM in April—the largest monthly increase since 2022. Beef roasts surged 18% and steaks 16%, while fresh vegetables climbed 11.5%. Only eggs fell 39%, compounding household budgeting pressure.

The Federal Reserve's Q1 report shows US household debt reached a new record of 18.8T dollars. Credit card balances climbed to 1.25T, up 5.9% YoY, with the new delinquency rate hitting 8.6%, while total debt in arrears stands at 4.8%—compounding consumer pressure.

South Korea's household credit hit an all-time high of 1,993.1T won in Q1, up 14T won and marking eight consecutive quarters of growth since Q2 2024. Bank regulatory spillover into non-bank lenders has triggered fresh waves of margin trading and leveraged real estate speculation.

Bank Indonesia surprised markets on May 20 with a 50bp rate hike to 5.25%—double the expected 25bp—marking its first increase in two years since April 2024. The decision aims to defend the rupiah, which has weakened 5.64% since the start of the year.

On May 15, USD/TRY hit an all-time high of 45.53, pushing the lira to its weakest level ever. The central bank held the policy rate at 37% but acknowledged disinflation delays, raising year-end inflation forecasts to 26% from prior guidance. April inflation stood at 32.37%.

The RBI's monetary policy committee meets June 3-5 with results announced June 5. Markets expect a third consecutive hold at 5.25% with a neutral stance, though rising oil and commodity prices pushing retail inflation near 5% create significant caution.

Mexico's central bank cut 25bp on May 7 to 6.5%—the lowest since April 2022—signaling the end of its easing cycle. Brazil cut to 14.5% on April 29 but May minutes shifted hawkish, warning that Iran-triggered easing may pause given oil shocks.

The South African Reserve Bank hiked 25bp on May 28 to 7.0%, marking its first increase in three years since 2023. April inflation stood at 4%. Argentina passed its second IMF review on May 21, receiving 1B dollars, bringing total support to 15.8B.

US April PCE inflation jumped to 3.8% from 3.5% in March, with core PCE rising to 3.3%. Monthly headline gained 0.4%. Middle East tensions have reignited oil-driven inflation, complicating Kevin Warsh's inflation mandate as the new Fed chair.

CME FedWatch shows 97.2% odds of a June hold for Kevin Warsh's inaugural FOMC on June 16-17 after his 54-45 confirmation on May 13. Rising inflation and Treasury yields eclipse Trump's rate-cut pressure, with hike chatter even surfacing.

On May 29, the 10-year Treasury closed at 4.45% and briefly topped 4.7% at 16-month highs. The 30-year broke 5.198%, hitting levels last seen before the Great Recession. Iran ceasefire hope provided some relief, but fiscal and inflation worries keep long rates under pressure.

The BoJ paused in April on a 6-3 split but June 16 leans toward a hike. Middle East inflation risks and strong Q1 GDP growth support an increase, while a hawkish board member's term ends June 29—making June the last practical window.

Eurozone April inflation rose to 3% from energy, and markets price a 91% likelihood of a 25bp ECB hike on June 11. Deposit rates are forecast to rise to 2.25%, with another 50% odds of a September hike. The ECB held at 2.0% on April 30.

On May 29, the S&P 500 closed at 7,580.06 (+0.22%) with nine consecutive weeks of gains—the longest run since early 2023. The Dow hit 51,032 (+0.72%), crossing 51K for the first time ever, while Nasdaq surged 26,972 with an 8% May rally.

On May 26, Kospi surged 2.55% to 8,047.51—breaking 8,000 at the close for the first time—on US-Iran ceasefire hopes. Foreign investors returned to net buying after 13 sessions, with SK Hynix +5.72% and Hyundai Motor +5.19% leading.

On May 29, Japan's Nikkei 225 surged 2.5% to an all-time closing high of 66,329.50. Moderating Tokyo core inflation supported the move, and with US-Iran ceasefire hopes extending, both Korean and Japanese markets extended their synchronous record runs.

On May 29, Taiwan's Weighted Index rose 2.5% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed at 25,182.39 (+0.7%). Easing US-Iran tensions and AI chip demand hopes lifted regional risk appetite across Asia.

On May 29, USD/KRW retreated to 1,493.49 from the week's 1,520.8 high as the won strengthened, while USD/JPY held steady at 159.26. VIX eased to 15.32 (-2.67%), reflecting global risk appetite recovery.

On May 26, Micron surged 18% to $886.60, breaking a 1T market capitalization for the first time. UBS raised its target from $535 to $1,625, and 2026 HBM production is fully sold out. Q2 revenue hit 23.86B, up 196% YoY.

Samsung announced shipment of industry-first 12-layer HBM4E samples on May 29, surging 6% to a new high of 307K won. Including preferred shares, total market cap broke 2,015T won for the first time, up 163% YTD.

On May 29, SK Hynix hit a record 2,333K won, crossing 1.1T in market cap and nearly quadrupling since October 2025. The gap with Samsung compressed to 6.8%, and YTD performance jumped 258%. HBM supply scarcity is forecast through 2028.

Dell surged 32.76% on May 28—its largest one-day gain since its 2018 re-IPO. AI server revenue jumped 757% YoY to 16.1B, surpassing PC sales for the first time, and FY27 guidance raised to 167B.

Revolution Medicines surged near its 52-week high of $155.70 (up 300% YTD) as daraxonrasib showed 60% death-risk reduction at ASCO. Summit's ivonescimab cut lung cancer death risk 34% and extended survival 27.9 months.

Jensen Huang unveils N1 and N1X on June 1 at 11 AM Taipei time. The N1X packs 20 Arm cores and 6,144 CUDA Blackwell integrated graphics. Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and MSI are preparing Windows on Arm devices.

Computex June 1-5 centers on Vera Rubin NVL72 supercomputer. Training is 3.5x and inference 5x faster than Blackwell, with inference cost cut to 1/7th. Huang previews unrevealed surprise products, accelerating AI infrastructure competition.

Opus 4.8 released May 28 lifted agent coding scores from 64.3% to 69.2% and cut code defects 4x. Same price with 2.5x faster Fast Mode and Claude Code dynamic workflows debut.

Apple's developer conference opens June 8 at 10 AM PT. Delayed Apple Intelligence and chatbot-style new Siri are core, with iOS 27 updates and M5 Mac Studio and Mac mini hardware refreshes expected.

TSMC is raising H2 3nm wafer prices up to 15% due to AI and ASIC demand, at roughly $20K per wafer. Fab 18 monthly capacity jumps from 130K to 160-175K units. H2 gross margin guided 68-70% with additional 2027 increases forecast.

Anthropic raised 65B in Series H funding, hitting a 965B valuation and overtaking OpenAI's 852B valuation as the highest-valued AI startup ever. From 380B in February, a near 3x jump with 47B ARR, signaling imminent IPO.

AI gateway OpenRouter raised 113M in Series B led by Alphabet Capital G, vaulting 547M to 1.3B valuation. Nvidia and ServiceNow participated. OpenRouter processes 25 trillion tokens weekly across 400+ models.

E-commerce fulfillment Stord raised 250M in Series F led by Stripes Capital, jumping 15B to 3B valuation. Processing annual 15B GMV with new Stord Labs for robotics and physical AI.

Princeton spinoff Thea Energy raised 100M in Series B led by Thomas Tull's USIT, accumulating 130M total and becoming the top-funded fusion startup. Building large stellarator Eos targeting 2034 commercial operation.

Defense-tech Anduril raised 5B in Series H led by Thrive and a16z, doubling from 30.5B to 61B valuation. Cumulative 11B raised with 2025 revenue 2.2B (doubled) anchors the defensetech capital cycle.

On May 29, Bitcoin hovered near $73,500 and slumped about 10% from May's $81K peak. Geopolitical US-Iran risks and risk-aversion have underperformed risk assets, with new buyer shortage rather than selling pressure cited.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded 9 consecutive trading days of ~2.8B outflows (May 15-28), the longest streak since January 2024 launch. BlackRock IBIT's May 27 outflow of $528M ranked second-largest ever.

Stablecoin market cap hit 322.5B on May 26, surpassing the forex reserves of 95 nations including the UK and Canada. USDT leads at 189.4B, USDC at 76.4B, with GENIUS-Act 1:1 reserve rules driving growth.

RWA tokenization market surpassed 34.5B in May—100%+ YoY growth. BlackRock filed two additional tokenized fund applications on May 8, with BUIDL AUM at ~2.5B. US Treasury tokenization near 11B.

On May 29, Ethereum traded at $1,995 with ~637 YoY decline, maintaining its #2 position at ~233B market cap. ~55% of stablecoins (~190B) are Ethereum-based. EU MiCA deferral expires July 1 with regulatory shift imminent.

RAS inhibitor daraxonrasib showed in Phase 3 RASolute 302 that median overall survival in metastatic pancreatic cancer reached 13.2 months vs chemotherapy's 6.7 months—doubling it—with 60% death-risk reduction (HR 0.40) across 500 patients in six countries.

Dual PD-1/VEGF antibody ivonescimab in Phase 3 HARMONi-6 cut first-line squamous NSCLC death risk 34% vs tislelizumab plus chemotherapy and extended survival ~4 months. Presented May 31 with US partner Summit benefit.

Phase 3 LIBRETTO-432 showed selpercatinib adjuvant therapy cut early RET-fusion NSCLC recurrence or death risk 83% in 151 patients across 22 countries—first proof in a non-targeted therapy population with simultaneous NEJM publication and ASCO plenary.

WHO declared May 17 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern for Bundibugyo Ebola across DRC and Uganda. As of May 28, DRC reports 125 confirmed, 17 deaths, 906 suspected; Uganda 9 confirmed with no approved vaccine or treatment.

FDA approved May 27 CD123-targeted ADC decitabine for BPDCN, May 18 first aldosterone synthase inhibitor boxpendi for hypertension, and May 28 durvalumab plus BCG for high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Disney's live-action Lilo & Stitch racked 182.7M domestic and 363.1M global over Memorial Day weekend, breaking Top Gun Maverick's prior record. Monday alone hit ~37M.

Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible Final Reckoning posted the franchise's best 4-day Memorial Day opening at ~79M domestic. Day-one hit 24.8M (franchise record) with 191M global first week.

Star Wars Mandalorian and Grogu posted 98M domestic and 163M global Memorial Day opening. Post-2012 Disney acquisition, it's the lowest Star Wars opener, though budget at ~165M and audience/critic reaction solid.

aespa's regular 2nd album LEMONADE posted 842,534 first-day copies (May 29), the second-largest 2026 female artist debut after BLACKPINK's DEADLINE at 1.46M. Top 1 on iTunes in 19+ markets.

Director Christian Mungiu's Fjord (starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve) won the 79th Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or. Mungiu's second win makes him the 10th director honored twice.

New Gucci artistic director Demna took over Manhattan's Times Square on May 16 with a 63-model Cruise 2027 show. 50+ digital billboards lit with Gucci Time ads. Guests included Cindy Crawford and Tom Brady.

Jonathan Anderson unveiled his Dior Cruise debut May 13 at LA's LACMA David Geffen Gallery with 75 looks inspired by film noir, modified Bar jackets, California poppy motifs, and Philip Treacy headpieces. Guests: Miley Cyrus, Al Pacino.

LVMH sold the Marc Jacobs brand to a 50-50 WHP Global and G-III Apparel joint venture for $850M. Closing expected by year-end with G-III operating and investing ~$500M. Creator Marc Jacobs remains creative director.

Kering reported Q1 2026 sales of 3.57B euros down 6.2% YoY. Gucci fell 1.35B euros (-14.3%). North America improved 7% but failed to offset Western Europe and China weakness. CEO Luca De Meo named Gucci top priority.

Fast-fashion giant Shein acquired US brand Everlane from L Catterton for ~$100M in late May. Everlane's ethical factory and radical transparency merge with Shein's ultra-fast fashion, giving Shein US market access and a premium online footprint.

With four days left, major parties concentrated fire on Seoul, Ulsan, North Jeolla on May 31. Democrats touted government stability; the opposition emphasized check on ruling party dominance. This marks Lee Jae-myung's first nationwide mid-term assessment.

President Lee Jae-myung urged May 31 voters not to be silent—abstention gives power-abusers an opening. Opposition leader Jang Dong-hyuk fired back with ruling party accountability. Two-day voting push battle continues.

US and Iran tentatively agreed on 60-day ceasefire extension, Hormuz reopening, nuclear talks resumption. Iran commits 30-day mine-clearing and toll waiver; US stages sanctions easing. Trump final signature and Iranian confirmation remain.

May 31: Israeli forces occupied the 900-year-old Beaufort Castle and ridgeline in southern Lebanon, marking the biggest post-April ceasefire offensive in 25 years. Netanyahu expanded operations north of the Litani River; France requested emergency UN Security Council session.

May 31: Pro- and anti-ICE protesters clashed outside Newark Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility after a week-plus of encampment. Curfew imposed. Trump's immigration crackdowns cut 668,000 job projections.

Brent crashed to $91.20 Friday at 6-week lows; May tumbled 17%—the biggest monthly drop since 2020. US-Iran ceasefire talks, 60-day Hormuz reopening tentative accord cut risk premium.

Hormuz closure entered its 90th day starting Feb 28. US-Iran tentative agreement includes 60-day ceasefire extension and Iran's 30-day mine-clearing pledge, though supply recovery will stall pending rail/facility repairs and production restarts.

NextEra Energy announced May 18 it will acquire Dominion Energy for ~$67B. Combined 10M customers and ~110GW generation capacity create the world's largest regulated power company. 12-18 month close targets AI power-demand surge response.

US power demand surged from 4,097 TWh in 2024 to forecast 4,250 TWh in 2026—all-time high—with AI driving. Goldman Sachs forecasts global data center power demand +165% by 2030, with wholesale electricity rates facing +6-29% by decade-end.

US regular gas fell to $4.39/gallon May 29 from mid-month $4.56 peak, though all 50 states topped $4. GasBuddy warns summer average could hit $4.80—potentially all-time high—if Hormuz closure extends, with California alone at $6.15.

Meta began May 20 notifying ~8,000 (10%) layoffs and canceled 6,000 hiring plans—8,000 net reduction. Q1 revenue hit 56.31B despite 2026 AI infrastructure spending target of $145B and 7,000 redeployed to new AI teams.

Cloudflare cut 1,100+ (roughly 20%) on May 7 in organizational realignment for agentic AI era. CEO Prince emphasized no business decline, with Q1 record revenue and year-end salary guarantee for departing staff.

2026 tech layoffs surpassed 142K across Meta, LinkedIn, Cisco and others. Amazon, MS, Alphabet, Meta's four hyperscalers pledged 700B AI capex (2x prior year) and layoff-funded redeployment—profitable-firm headcount cuts offset capital spending.

Samsung's 62,616 workers voted 73.7% in favor of provisional agreement on May 27 (95.5% turnout). 6.2% average wage hike and new DS division special performance bonus at 10.5% of operating profit approved. Parting from brink of May 21 strike.

Harvard Graduate School of Unions (HGSU-UAW) strike began April 21, surpassing the 2020 record of 29 days on May 20, extending to commencement with 27 bargaining breakdowns. Demands: wage hike, international student protections, anti-discrimination grievance process.

Waymo rolled out its first from-scratch fully autonomous Ojai robotaxi without steering wheel or pedal to passenger service in SF, LA, Phoenix. Geek-made with 42% fewer sensors than 5th gen and sub-$20K per unit cost. Thousands planned deployment by year-end.

New Texas DMV filing revealed Tesla's Texas robotaxi fleet at just 42 units—one-thirteenth of Waymo's 577 and trailing AV Ride's 317. Unsupervised deployment at ~20 units highlights expansion lag.

BYD unveiled Dolphin G DM-i global-market first model, June Europe debut. WLTP combined 1,000km range at Polo-class 4,160mm size, £20K UK pricing offers strong European value. Hungary's Szeged plant production begins regional push.

Archer completed FAA eVTOL Stage 3 certification first and Joby flew first conforming aircraft. Both target 2026 US launch but face legal battles among Joby, Archer, Vertical threatening timeline and investor sentiment.

Hyundai's first US-exclusive MetaPlant factory produced Ioniq 5 and 3-row Ioniq 9. 300K annual capacity (expandable to 500K) with Kia models and Genesis joining by year-end; LG Energy Solution co-venture battery facility coming online.

An AI-generated fake newspaper impersonating Gwangju Ilbo claimed May 18 was North Korea-ordered. Gwangju Ilbo didn't exist until November 1980 (five months after May 18). National Police Agency is investigating under the May 18 Act; max 5-year sentence applies.

Claims circulated on X and TikTok that Hanta means hoax/fraud in Hebrew and signals Israeli conspiracy. Hanta has no Hebrew meaning; the virus is named after Korea's Hantan River. Euronews and Snopes fact-checked jointly.

HantavirusMap.com screenshots claiming rapid Andes variant Europe/North America spread misconstrue a simple news aggregator. ECDC confirms 13 total cases (11 confirmed, 2 suspected)—very low European risk.

June 3 pre-vote turnout 23.51% sparked electronic-ballot and pre-vote manipulation theories. NEC and fact-checkers countered that voting-behavior partisan differences differ across voting modes—not evidence of fraud.

The Republican Senate campaign publicly posted an AI deepfake video of Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico, sparking election-misinformation fears. CNN reports AI-distorted 2026 midterm content exploding, election integrity threatened.