Hybe Co. ’s shares plunged as much as 15% after a heavily-promoted comeback concert by K-pop megastars BTS drew a smaller crowd than authorities initially expected. Stock in BTS’s agency recorded its biggest intraday decline since June 2022. The group’s event at Gwanghwamun square attracted 104,000 fans versus the 260,000 initially estimated by police, according to Chosun Ilbo. Stringent crowd con...
Hybe Co. ’s shares plunged as much as 15% after a heavily-promoted comeback concert by K-pop megastars BTS drew a smaller crowd than authorities initially expected. Stock in BTS’s agency recorded its biggest intraday decline since June 2022. The group’s event at Gwanghwamun square attracted 104,000 fans versus the 260,000 initially estimated by police, according to Chosun Ilbo. Stringent crowd control measures — reflecting in part the authorities’ focus on avoiding a repeat of the Itaewon incident years ago — may have played a part. The concert was live-streamed by Netflix Inc. , which should release viewership figures later this week. The group performed 12 songs during the hour-long show, ranging from new tracks on their album Arirang to hits such as Butter and Dynamite . The event also drew more viewers on Netflix, topping daily charts in countries including South Korea over the weekend. Read More: Netflix Grows Live Event Push With BTS Comeback Spectacular BTS is returning to the global stage after a near-four-year hiatus, when its seven members underwent mandatory South Korean military service. They’re embarking on their largest-ever tour, with 82-stops already sold out. The preliminary reception to their new work was strong. The album quickly topped Spotify charts after its release. Several songs led rankings including on Spotify and iTunes, while the album sold 4 million copies on its first day. The stakes are immense for both BTS and Hybe. The success of the group will dictate the future of Hybe, its management company and record label. Despite Hybe’s global expansion through the acquisitions of labels from Hollywood to Latin America, BTS remains the company’s core earnings driver. Profit growth had been sluggish during the group’s hiatus. Read More: BTS Shares Its Plan to Break Boy Band Curse: Screentime
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images At a glance Performance The Portfolio returned -1.67% (gross) and the MSCI World Gross TR returned 3.20%. Contributors/detractors Stock selection in healthcare and an underweight allocation to real estate contributed to relative performance, while stock selection in industrials and financials detracted. Outlook 2025 saw urgent sustainability challen...
Khanchit Khirisutchalual/iStock via Getty Images At a glance Performance The Portfolio returned -1.67% (gross) and the MSCI World Gross TR returned 3.20%. Contributors/detractors Stock selection in healthcare and an underweight allocation to real estate contributed to relative performance, while stock selection in industrials and financials detracted. Outlook 2025 saw urgent sustainability challenges, AI-driven market shifts, and continued clean technology investment. This presents opportunities to invest in longer-term sustainability trends with the aim of realizing superior risk-adjusted returns. Investment environment Global equity markets rose in the fourth quarter, with many indices nearing new record highs. The investment environment was supported by further monetary policy easing and sustained enthusiasm for the artificial intelligence (AI) trend. Both the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) and the Bank of England (BoE) cut interest rates during the period, with the Fed's December rate cut marking its third in four months. Meanwhile, the Fed announced a renewed Treasury purchasing program at $40 billion per month, at the same time indicating that further rate cuts could follow in 2026. A softer U.S. labor market offset these supportive measures, with unemployment rising in November to a four-year high of 4.6%, as well as weaker consumer sentiment. Meanwhile, the longest U.S. government shutdown on record – lasting 43 days – finally ended in November after agreement was reached on a new spending bill. Under this backdrop, healthcare stood out as the best-performing sector, benefiting from the more defensive qualities amid increased market volatility and relatively attractive valuations after having underperformed for much of the year. Communication services and financials also delivered strong returns, while real estate and utilities were the only two sectors that produced a negative return. Commodities emerged as one of the best-performing asset classes, driven by si...
If you save for your senior years in a traditional retirement account, you won't have complete control over your money later in life. Once you turn 73 (or 75, depending on your year of birth), you'll have to start taking mandatory withdrawals known as required minimum distributions (RMDs). If you're getting close to that point and are thinking you'll just ignore your RMDs, you may want to come up ...
If you save for your senior years in a traditional retirement account, you won't have complete control over your money later in life. Once you turn 73 (or 75, depending on your year of birth), you'll have to start taking mandatory withdrawals known as required minimum distributions (RMDs). If you're getting close to that point and are thinking you'll just ignore your RMDs, you may want to come up with a different plan. Blowing off your RMDs could prove to be a costly mistake. Watch out for steep penalties With a traditional individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k), you get a tax break on your contributions. The IRS wants to get a chance to tax that money eventually, which is why it imposes RMDs. RMDs are due every year by Dec. 31. If you don't take an RMD on time, you could face a 25% penalty on whatever sum you don't remove from your savings. Now, if you have a small IRA with a $2,000 RMD, failing to take it means facing a $500 penalty. It's not a great thing to lose money, period, but a $500 penalty is one you may be able to recover from pretty easily. If you're on the hook for a $40,000 RMD, though, then failing to take it on time could mean getting penalized $10,000. If you have a $100,000 RMD, not taking it could mean losing $25,000 to the IRS. For this reason, ignoring RMDs isn't smart. But that doesn't mean you can't lessen the blow. How to reduce the pain of RMDs RMDs can trigger a potentially large tax bill, as well as other consequences. If they cause a big increase in your income, you could face taxes on Social Security benefits and surcharges on your Medicare premiums. The good news is that there are steps you can take to reduce the blow of RMDs. One option is to do qualified charitable distributions, or QCDs. These allow you to send money from your retirement account directly to a qualifying charity, allowing you to avoid taxes. QCDs can be done only from an IRA, not a 401(k). If you have a 401(k) plan, though, you should be able to roll that money...
Vietnam Prosperity JSC Bank is seeking a sustainability‑linked loan of about $1.2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the country’s largest financings tied to ESG metrics. The Hanoi-based firm, also known as VPBank, has mandated more than a dozen banks to underwrite the three-year facility, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing privat...
Vietnam Prosperity JSC Bank is seeking a sustainability‑linked loan of about $1.2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, in what would be one of the country’s largest financings tied to ESG metrics. The Hanoi-based firm, also known as VPBank, has mandated more than a dozen banks to underwrite the three-year facility, the people said, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. is the sole coordinator of the deal, they said. SMBC’s parent company, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group , owns about 15% of VPBank’s shares. The deal underscores the staying-power of corporate funding tied to environmental, social, and governance goals in emerging markets, even as such instruments have moderated after a period of expansion. SMBC and VPBank didn’t reply to requests for comment. Fosun Secures $500 Million Refinancing Loan Despite Loss Warning Korea Zinc Seeks $2 Billion Loan for US Critical Minerals Plant India’s ReNew Energy to Secure $800 Million Refinancing Loan Last May, VPBank secured a $1 billion loan from global financial institutions to support the growth of women-led businesses, green projects and other socially responsible initiatives. COFCO International Ltd. , the trading arm of China’s largest food processor COFCO Corp. , recently secured a $435 million revolving credit facility from Standard Chartered Plc in a deal linked to social and climate targets for agricultural supply chains. State Bank of India is also marketing a $500 million syndicated social loan , tied to women’s economic empowerment and gender equality. Sustainability-linked loans totaled about $139 billion last year and are estimated to grow to about $160 billion in 2026, according to a February report by ING analysts.
Glitch Shuts Australia's Biggest Maker Of Vital Fertilizer Input For 2 Months At Worst Possible Time Australia's largest ammonia plant will be shut for two months to repair damage caused by a power outage, amidst a global supply crunch for the vital fertiliser and explosives ingredient. To say that the shutdown comes at the worst possible time for the global fertilizer market would be an understat...
Glitch Shuts Australia's Biggest Maker Of Vital Fertilizer Input For 2 Months At Worst Possible Time Australia's largest ammonia plant will be shut for two months to repair damage caused by a power outage, amidst a global supply crunch for the vital fertiliser and explosives ingredient. To say that the shutdown comes at the worst possible time for the global fertilizer market would be an understatement: more than a quarter of the world's traded ammonia flows through the Strait of Hormuz, as do 43% of urea shipments, the fertilizer made from ammonia. As we discussed in recent days, that flow has been cut to a trickle as Iran blockaded the SoH, as have vital gas supplies, causing fertilizer plants in India to shut. Adding insult to injury, last week Yara's Pilbara plant, which uses gas to produce 850,000 tonnes of ammonia a year, suffered a power outage, damaging equipment, BoilingCold reports. The Yara Pilbara plant produces 5% of globally traded ammonia A spokesman for the Norwegian company said workers and the environment were unaffected, and initial assessments indicated repairs could take about two months. "Yara well understands the importance of its products to customers and will work to bring the operations back online as soon as practical," he said. An adjacent plant, half-owned by Australia's Orica, uses 140,000 tonnes of the ammonia to make the explosive technical ammonium nitrate (TAN) for WA's mining sector. The remaining ammonia is shipped to Australian and international customers, and much of it is used to make urea fertilizer. The shutdown could not have come at a worse time for Australia's farmers, who last year imported 1.2 million tonnes of urea in April and May for use before or shortly after seeding. Three-quarters came from the Gulf nations, where shipping is now severely curtailed after the United States and Israel attacked Iran. Australia's largest export could also be affected. For the next two months, WA's iron ore miners no longer have 330,00...