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On August 12th, Min Kyung-seop, head of the Innovation and Growth Office at the South Korean Ministry of Finance, stated on Tuesday that South Korea expects to allocate 600 billion to 1 trillion won (approximately US$707 million) in new funds next year to a new sovereign wealth fund targeting strategic industries such as AI. The final investment amount may exceed initial expectations, depending on the specific targets and their funding needs. Min Kyung-seop stated that there are currently no plans for the fund to directly invest in Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix. In July, the South Korean government announced the establishment of a new "Strategic Industry Investment Account" under the Korea Investment Corporation (KIC), with initial funding of at least 20 trillion won (approximately 94 billion yuan). Investment targets include AI, semiconductors, data centers, and core companies in overseas supply chains. The plan is to formally establish and operate this "South Korean version of a sovereign wealth fund" next year. Min Kyung-seop indicated that the fund will also target infrastructure such as robotics, energy and batteries, and power grids, with nuclear energy, space, and quantum technology also under consideration.

According to Al Arabiya TV: Sources say a drone attacked the Zawiya power plant in Libya.

On August 12th, a research report from CICC stated that the commodity market is likely to continue to diverge. AI data centers, grid expansion, and energy transition will continue to support demand for copper and aluminum. Given the continued strong supply constraints, non-ferrous metals offer the dual benefits of improved liquidity and AI-driven physical investment, and we recommend an overweight position. Energy commodities such as oil still possess hedging value, but future volatility may increase; we suggest maintaining current positions and avoiding chasing highs.

On August 12th, a research report from CICC stated that two narratives that previously suppressed gold prices are being disproven: First, global liquidity has not truly entered a tightening cycle. With declining inflation and slowing growth in the US, economic fundamentals support a looser monetary policy. Warsh's "hawkish in name but dovish in practice" stance suggests that Fed reforms may open up room for future interest rate cuts. Second, "de-dollarization" is not over. While Warsh's balance sheet reduction policy objectively helps repair the dollar's credibility, this policy is subject to multiple constraints from financial markets and politics, resulting in high uncertainty regarding its future implementation. Meanwhile, the structural erosion of the dollar's credibility by high debt, high deficits, and policy uncertainty may be difficult to reverse. Global central banks' net gold purchases rebounded to 289 tons in the second quarter, a 62% year-on-year increase and a record high for the second quarter, reflecting deep-seated concerns about the dollar among global central banks. Reserve diversification will continue to support gold demand in the medium to long term. As global liquidity becomes more relaxed, upward pressure on real interest rates and the dollar will ease, potentially allowing gold to regain the dual support of liquidity and monetary system diversification. We believe the gold bull market is not over, and the window for re-allocating after the previous correction has opened. We recommend continuing to overweight gold.

On August 12th, Lin Junyang, former CTO of Qianwen, announced the founding of a new company in Shanghai called Pragmatic Technology, focusing on next-generation intelligent agents bridging the digital and physical worlds. He also revealed that Gaorong Capital and HSG (Sequoia China) co-led this round of financing, with support from Tencent and the Shanghai Future Industry Fund. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that this "round of financing" is Pragmatic Technology's angel round, valuing the company at $2 billion.

Japan's broad money supply liquidity rate was 4.4% year-on-year in July, down from 4.5% in the previous month.

August 12th - According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on the 11th, an internal investigation by the U.S. Department of Defense revealed that a series of U.S. military strikes against Yemen in 2025 will result in hundreds of civilian casualties. The report states that this marks the first time the Trump administration has officially acknowledged the scale of civilian casualties caused by its airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Japan's M3 money supply annual rate was 1.4% in July, down from 1.50% in the previous month.

Japan's M2 money supply grew at an annual rate of 2.2% in July, down from 2.20% in the previous month.

On August 12th, a Reuters Tankan survey showed that Japan's manufacturing confidence index rose to 18 in August from 13 in July, reaching its highest level since March 2026. During the same period, supported by strong domestic consumption, the non-manufacturing confidence index also rose from 25 to 28. The outlook for the next three months suggests that market sentiment will ease somewhat. Semiconductor-related demand was the main driver of the market rally, especially the significant jump in the chemical and metal machinery sub-indices, indicating that the strong momentum in the semiconductor supply chain is continuing to spread across Japan's entire industrial base, rather than remaining concentrated in the hands of a few chip manufacturers. The manufacturing index reaching its highest level since March indicates that the previous drag on chip-related exporters from global trade uncertainty has largely subsided. In contrast, the transportation equipment industry index remained at 0, showing that the automotive industry has not yet significantly benefited from the recovery trend.

National Australia Bank: We still expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate unchanged for the remainder of 2026, and the first rate cut is still expected to take place around mid-2027.

On August 12th, Westpac Chief Economist Luci Ellis stated that the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) decision to keep interest rates unchanged was in line with market expectations, but the change in its policy guidance is more noteworthy than the rate decision itself. Westpac believes that the RBA's statement that it is prepared to raise rates "only if upside risks to inflation materialize" is clearer than the broader "if necessary" wording used in the May meeting. Even without explicit statements, the RBA has effectively lowered its rate hike expectations. Westpac's base case has shifted to maintaining interest rates unchanged until the middle of next year. This view is based on inflation and labor market data, both of which are lower than the RBA's May forecasts. Nevertheless, Westpac cautiously describes this as a "hawkish pause" rather than a "loosening of interest rate controls." Further rate hikes are still possible for the remainder of the year, although less likely, depending primarily on the transmission effects of energy-related costs and developments in the Middle East.

Japan's Reuters Tankan Manufacturing Sentiment Index for August was 18, down from 13 in the previous month.

Japan's Reuters Tankan non-manufacturing business sentiment index for August was 28, down from 25 in the previous month.

August 12th - According to a senior economic advisor and a former government official, US President Trump is seeking new policy promises to demonstrate to voters before the midterm elections, including potential calls for Congress to cut capital gains taxes and establish exemptions for certain home sales. White House National Economic Council Director Hassett said on Tuesday that Trump wants to introduce more incentives to garner voter support for the Republican Party in the November election. Kudlow, who served as director of the National Economic Council during Trump's first term and remains a Trump ally, said he recently discussed a "capital gains tax inflation indexation" proposal with Trump, adjusting for inflation before taxing capital gains. Kudlow also suggested exempting home sales of $2 million or less from capital gains tax, stating that "the boss (Trump) is very interested in this."

On August 12, Iranian Oil Minister Mohsin Paknead stated on the 11th that Iran is repairing its war-damaged natural gas production facilities, and its daily production capacity is expected to recover to 95 million cubic meters by the end of September. Paknead said that the reconstruction of four attacked and damaged natural gas processing facilities is progressing rapidly, with contractors already on the ground, and is expected to be completed ahead of schedule, fully restoring pre-war production capacity. Previously, it was reported that since the US-Israel military action against Iran, Iran's daily natural gas production has decreased by approximately 230 million cubic meters.

Amazon Web Services (AWS): OpenAI’s Daybreak Red and Daybreak Blue are now available to eligible customers on Amazon Bedrock.

August 12 - The Houthi rebels in Yemen stated on the 11th that they are willing to maintain dialogue with Saudi Arabia, but also said that they will continue to launch attacks on Saudi-related ships and Saudi-backed military targets unless their demands are met.

Coreweave (CRWV.O) CFO: Third-quarter revenue is expected to be between $3.45 billion and $3.6 billion, with capital expenditures between $11.5 billion and $13.5 billion.