Markets are moving past 'peak fear in tariffs': CIO
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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Big investors ditch tech ahead of expected September stocks slump
By Nell Mackenzie LONDON (Reuters) -Big investors, fearful of September's typical seasonal declines, exited profitable stock positions on Tuesday, according to investors and trading company research, a sign the selloff in tech may be driven by a broad aversion to risk. The tech-heavy Nasdaq and broad S&P 500 stock index sold off sharply on Tuesday, driven by tech stocks that have rallied hard for much of the year. Nvidia sank 3.5%, the biggest drop in nearly four months. "This week's tech sell-off looks less like panic and more like a broad reshuffling of risk," said Bruno Schneller, managing director at investor Erlen Capital Management. "We've seen crypto, high-beta tech and the AI beneficiaries all come under pressure at the same time, which suggests investors are cutting exposure across multiple risk assets rather than reacting to a single headline." A momentum shift was taking place, noted two other hedge fund investors, declining to be named because they were not authorised to speak publicly. Hedge funds and asset managers were selling their winners, they said. This theme played out earlier on Wednesday in Korean technology stocks and China biotech-related equities, one of the sources said. This week's market moves could be a sign of things to come in the weeks ahead. BUYING EVAPORATES September 3 has historically notched highs for the benchmark S&P 500 index since 1928, after which stocks have fallen most years, said Scott Rubner, head of equity and equity derivatives strategy at Citadel Securities in a note on Tuesday. Stock buying routinely evaporates in September as retail buyers slow their purchases and companies buying back their own stock stop in mid-September for regulatory reasons, Rubner said. "After a summer of strong positioning and relentless upside, September historically brings a shift," he added. Currently, systematic traders such as hedge funds and trend followers have bought all the stock they had planned to and further appetite to push equities higher has petered out, Citadel Securities said. "The final week of August often coincides with low volumes due to vacations, and barbeques contributing to upward drift in stocks, especially in low-volume environments," said Rubner. Plus, larger asset managers will begin to reassess or rebalance their portfolios ahead of the quarter's end in September. "Mostly, we've run out of catalysts to buy more. Valuations are high. What can you point at to justify any higher?" said hedge fund BLKBRD's owner and founder Dan Izzo. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
South Korea Halts Crypto Lending as Market Leverage Sparks Regulatory Concern
South Korean financial authorities have temporarily suspended new crypto lending services in a direct response to a major liquidation event at a local exchange. This move highlights growing global concerns over excessive leverage in the digital asset market. The decision by the country's Financial Services Commission (FSC) follows a recent incident at Bithumb, where regulators noted that more than 27,000 customers tapped lending services in June. As market prices swung against them, a full 13% of these users were forced into liquidation. The authorities stated that this pause will last until formal "Virtual Asset Rental Service Guidelines" can be prepared. They justified the action by noting that "user protection devices... are insufficient" and that there were "concerns about damage to a healthy trading order." "Directionally it signals tighter oversight of leverage and retail risk rather than a permanent ban," Luke, co-founder of Layer-1 network Mitosis, told Decrypt about the suspension. This pause is "a signal that the government has identified they must provide further regulatory clarity to best protect investors," Austin King, co-Founder of Ethereum based layer-1 network Omni Network, told Decrypt. King believes it is "not scrutiny at all," but rather a government acknowledging its own "insufficient regulatory clarity" and creating "clear rules of the road." South Korea Flags Upbit and Bithumb's Crypto Lending, Margin Trading Services This incident is a micro-level example of a macro-level trend. According to a recent report by Galaxy Digital, leverage has been building across the crypto ecosystem, particularly since Bitcoin's all-time high in August. The report found that the combined value of outstanding crypto-collateralized borrows across both centralized and decentralized projects reached an all-time high of $44.25 billion, a nearly 30% increase from the previous quarter. On-chain lending grew by 42% to $26.5 billion, while open borrows on centralized platforms expanded by 14.66% to $17.78 billion. Cantor's $2 Billion Bitcoin Lending Business Makes First Transactions The Bitfinex analysts further highlight this growing fragility, noting that total liquidations have remained elevated, with average daily liquidations exceeding $350 million over the past 30 days. Coinalyze data shows more than $3 billion worth of positions have been liquidated in August so far, with an overwhelming contribution coming from short sellers. 'This tracks a wider pattern,' Luke added, placing South Korea's move into global context by mentioning MiCA in Europe and recent regulatory developments in the U.S. "The ratio of altcoin liquidations to BTC liquidations has surged to historically elevated levels," Bitfinex's July report stated. The build-up in leverage over the past month, particularly in the altcoin segment, suggests a return of speculative enthusiasm. It indicates that the crypto market is entering a more fragile phase with a heightened risk of liquidations. This, according to Austin King, is precisely why South Korea's swift action serves as a clear regulatory warning, providing a necessary "constraint on the max amount of leverage offered on derivative products" and creating a blueprint for other nations to follow. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Forbes
a day ago
- Forbes
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Gets Triple Discount Before iPhone 17 Release
In one of its first promotions since the foldable phone launched, Samsung has released new voucher codes and offers to knock money off the Galaxy Z Fold 7. This comes just weeks before Apple's iPhone 17 lands, the device's chief rival. The most eye-catching deal is Samsung's double trade-in offer. The Korean company will pay for your old phone (more on pricing shortly) but also give you £200 ($270.05) for any tablet in any condition. In essence, allowing buyers to trade in two devices at once. If you don't have a tablet to trade in, you can pick up a cheap (working) one on the secondary market. Having spoken to a Samsung rep before about a similar 'any device in any condition' offer, they told me that the Korean company would honor that promise. I can't see any banana skins in the small print of the terms and conditions, either. Still, it's wise to send in a working device to be safe. Deal hunters can pick up a Lenovo TabM8 on eBay (or Swappa) for £33 ($44.56), or go even cheaper with older Asus and Galaxy Tab models for under £15 ($20.25). These low risk devices are absolutely worth buying and trading in to trigger that £200 ($270.05) discount. This deal can also be stacked with the company's regular smartphone trade-in programme. The prices don't match the Korean company's best, for example, it will only pay £253 ($341.61) for the Galaxy S23 Ultra compared to June's £449 ($606.26) price. An almost £196 ($264.65) difference. Clearly, the guaranteed £200 for any used tablet is where that extra trade-in discount went. Elsewhere, Samsung is selling the 512GB Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the price of the 256GB model using the code 'ZAUG'. Buyers can also get a free case using the code 'ZCASE'. All of these apply to U.K. shoppers only. Expect More Galaxy Z Fold 7 Deals As The iPhone 17 Release Draws Closer Samsung has long been shameless about aggressive deals in the face of competition. With the iPhone 17 launch slated for early September, the Korean company will almost certainly release new discounts for the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and attempt to steal some of Apple's limelight. I expect to see higher trade-in prices for iPhones, alongside free some wearables. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is an important weapon for Samsung in its forever war with Apple, which doesn't have a foldable phone in its roster. Until the iPhone Fold lands, I can see Samsung doubling down on discounts for its foldable tech to exploit the product gap between the two companies. We will see more new initiatives to steal Apple's customers such as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 100-day free trial and the new standalone trade-in scheme. Samsung will be encouraged by news that its market share in the U.S. rose from 23% to 31% in the second quarter of 2025. Meanwhile Apple's market share has declined to 49% from 56%, according to Canalys (via CNBC). We have also seen that Samsung is gaining ground in the second hand phone market, with used Galaxy phones increasingly holding their value and selling for more with every release. Used iPhones still hold the most value, but the numbers are falling. Samsung's repeated discounts and promotions, alongside its trade-in pricing supremacy, appear to be paying off. It will want to repeat that success with the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for the second half of 2025.
