On October 21, the UK government's borrowing in the first six months of this fiscal year exceeded expectations, highlighting the constraints faced by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt ahead of his first budget announcement next week. From April to September, the UK's fiscal deficit widened to £97.8 billion (approximately $130 billion), which is £6 billion higher than the forecast made by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) in March. In September, government borrowing reached £24.5 billion, surpassing both the OBR's predictions and the levels from the same period last year. This set of data reflects the latest state of public finances ahead of the budget announcement on October 28, where Hunt must outline the policy direction for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's new government while avoiding panic in the bond market, as concerns grow over the high level of UK government debt. The total UK government debt has now exceeded £3 trillion for the first time. Despite the UK economy demonstrating strong resilience against energy shocks caused by the Middle East conflict and tax revenues exceeding OBR forecasts, government borrowing has still been higher than expected for the fiscal year 2025 to 2026 so far.
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UK Government Debt Exceeds £3 Trillion for the First Time
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SK Hynix Completes 40 Trillion Won Share Buyback
On October 21, according to Yonhap News Agency, SK Hynix's large-scale share buyback, following that of Samsung Electronics, also concluded on the 21st. SK Hynix announced that it completed a two-month share buyback worth 40 trillion won (approximately 30.213 billion USD) on the Korea Securities Exchange (KOSPI) on that day. Previously, SK Hynix had declared an investment of 40.0434 trillion won to repurchase 24.07 million shares of the company, with all shares to be canceled after the buyback is completed. This buyback represents about 3.3% of the company's total issued shares and is the largest share cancellation operation by a listed company in South Korea. The originally announced buyback period was from August 20 to November 19, but the actual buyback was completed approximately one month ahead of schedule. -
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Market data shows that BTC has surpassed $83,000, currently priced at $83,116.53, with a 24-hour increase of 1.81%. The market is highly volatile, so please ensure proper risk management. -
Hang Seng Tech Index Declines by 1%
On October 21, the Hang Seng Tech Index saw its decline widen to 1%, while the Hang Seng Index fell by 0.7%. Kuaishou Technology dropped over 12%, and CATL fell by more than 11%. -
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On October 21, a key crude oil benchmark in the Middle East dropped to its lowest level in nearly three months, indicating that despite escalating attacks on shipping by Iran, the region's oil exports are showing strong resilience. According to General Index data, this week, the premium of Oman crude over Dubai crude fell to around $4 per barrel, the lowest level since late July. This price difference reflects the strength of the physical crude oil market in the Gulf region. In the early stages of the conflict, this premium soared to over $60 per barrel as the Strait of Hormuz was nearly closed. Despite the risk of attacks, major oil-exporting countries in the Middle East have successfully allowed more tankers to pass through the waterway or completely bypassed the Strait of Hormuz via pipelines. These efforts have weakened Iran's attempts to leverage its position by disrupting global energy flows. -
Korean Stocks Close Up Over 3%
On October 21, the South Korean KOSPI index closed up 182.93 points, an increase of 3.29%, reaching 5735.67 points. Samsung Electronics rose by 5.67%, while SK Hynix increased by 5.8%. -
President Trump: Large Data Centers Must Generate Their Own Power and Benefit Communities
On October 21, President Trump stated that newly constructed large—sometimes even giant—data centers must generate their own power and either return excess electricity to the local community or sell it to the grid. This way, electricity prices are not only unlikely to rise but may actually decrease significantly! Other relevant parties should take similar measures! If businesses want their data centers to be welcomed, they should pay 'dividends' to the community and/or individuals within the community. I have closely observed this process: data centers that were initially very unpopular in certain areas became highly favored after reaching economic compensation agreements. Reaching agreements and building data centers is greatly beneficial for the United States! -
Two Whales Open Long Positions on Nearly 30,000 ZEC in 15 Hours on Hyperliquid
On October 21, according to on-chain analysis platform Lookonchain, two whale addresses opened long positions totaling 29,798 ZEC with 10x leverage on Hyperliquid within the past 15 hours, valued at approximately $37.57 million. The data shows that address 0x30af…6393e opened a long position of 14,800 ZEC at an average price of $1,243.28 (approximately $18.65 million, isolated margin), while address 0xbf73…5d58 opened a long position of 15,000 ZEC at an average price of $1,217.06 (approximately $18.91 million, full margin). Based on the current price of about $1,260.5, the unrealized profits for both addresses are approximately $255,000 and $655,000, totaling about $910,000. -
French AI Planning Software Company Pigment Raises $250 Million at $2.3 Billion Valuation
On October 21, Bloomberg reported that French AI business planning software company Pigment announced the completion of a $250 million funding round, reaching a valuation of $2.3 billion. This round was led by Scaleup Europe Fund, with participation from Nvidia, World Innovation Lab, Iconiq, IVP, and Meritech Capital. CEO Eléonore Crespo stated that the company plans to attract Asian investors to accelerate its business expansion in Asia. Founded in 2019, Pigment primarily offers a financial and business planning platform for enterprises and has launched agentic AI features; its annual recurring revenue (ARR) has surpassed $100 million. -
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Netanyahu Pushes to Restart Military Actions Against Iran, U.S. Officials Say 'No Rush'
On October 21, the Financial Times reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is advocating for a resumption of large-scale military strikes against Iran. Earlier this month, he instructed the military to develop operational plans for a new wave of large-scale offensives. Three informed sources revealed that the Israeli military had previously devised a bombing operation plan lasting several days, originally scheduled to commence on the weekend of October 10, targeting civilian infrastructure such as power plants, nuclear facilities, and regime-related objectives in Iran. However, this operation was ultimately not carried out. The sources indicated that the cancellation was due to Trump's opposition to reigniting conflict before the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. The bombing operation was intended to be more intense than the joint U.S.-Israeli military actions against Iran that began in February this year. One source noted that it is 'not impossible' for Israel and Washington to restart strike actions in the coming weeks. An official stated that Israeli officials submitted an updated list of Iranian strike targets to the U.S., which included targets identified based on the latest intelligence, including civilian infrastructure that had not been struck earlier this year. However, White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly stated that Iran is in a 'very bad situation, both economically and militarily.' She pointed out that U.S. efforts to blockade Iranian ports and facilitate the export of Gulf oil through the Strait are proving effective, emphasizing that 'the U.S. will not launch any attacks on Iran before the midterm elections.' (Jin Shi)
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