Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Australian Pension Funds Boost Currency Hedging as Aussie Dollar Strengthens 
Kroger Set to Name Former Walmart Executive Greg Foran as Next CEO 
Gold and Silver Prices Climb in Asian Trade as Markets Eye Key U.S. Economic Data 
Nikkei 225 Hits Record High Above 56,000 After Japan Election Boosts Market Confidence 
SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
Vietnam’s Trade Surplus With US Jumps as Exports Surge and China Imports Hit Record 
Asian Currencies Stay Rangebound as Yen Firms on Intervention Talk 
OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering 
South Africa Eyes ECB Repo Lines as Inflation Eases and Rate Cuts Loom 
Yen Slides as Japan Election Boosts Fiscal Stimulus Expectations 
Nvidia, ByteDance, and the U.S.-China AI Chip Standoff Over H200 Exports 
Bank of Japan Signals Readiness for Near-Term Rate Hike as Inflation Nears Target 
Toyota’s Surprise CEO Change Signals Strategic Shift Amid Global Auto Turmoil 
Anta Sports Expands Global Footprint With Strategic Puma Stake 
Global Markets Slide as AI, Crypto, and Precious Metals Face Heightened Volatility 
Top global investment banks (IB) forecast the South Korean economy to grow 3.4 percent this year, up by 0.1 percentage point from their previous estimate.
Credit Suisse upgraded its estimate by 0.7 percentage point to 3.6 percent and HSBC by 0.5 percentage point to 2.7 percent.
Others surveyed in late December, Barclays, BoA-Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Nomura Securities, and UBS, have retained their previous projections ranging from 3 percent to 4.1 percent.
UBS gave the rosiest outlook of 4.1 percent.
South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance recently forecasted a 3.2 percent growth, while the Bank of Korea gave a 3 percent outlook.
The average 2021 outlook for the global economy stood at 5.7 percent.
The forecast for China was an 8.4 percent growth, while the US was given a 4.4 percent growth outlook. Japan is expected to grow 3 percent.
