Capital Economics economist Gareth Leather said that after the BANK OF KOREA's rate hike on Thursday, further increases remain possible in the coming months. Headline consumer inflation has risen sharply recently, while core inflation — the central concern — has climbed from 2.0% at the start of 2026 to 2.5%. Rising house prices pose financial‑stability risks that support a higher policy rate, and strong exports mean the economy can tolerate tighter monetary policy.

Minor shareholders led by platform ACT will hand a joint letter to the National Pension Service on July 20 seeking to block a management-union performance-pay scheme at Samsung Electronics that ACT says could divert up to 10.5% of semiconductor unit operating profit to a special bonus over 10 years with no cap. ACT says including existing incentives the program would allocate about 12% of operating profit; based on this year’s results the related bonus could reach about 40 tln won annually and aggregate into the hundreds of trillions of won over a decade. The group argues the deal was finalised without shareholder approval, raises procedural and allocation concerns, and creates an asymmetry where shareholders absorb share-price downside while employee pay is tied to operating profit rather than equity performance. The NPS holds a 7.9% stake in Samsung Electronics.

伯恩斯坦：將阿斯麥(ASML.O)目標價從2,623美元上調至2,859美元。