Dos and Don'ts | Learn six common investing mistakes to avoid, from chasing quick returns and following stock market rumours to ignoring diversification, risk and costs. Discover practical investing dos and don'ts to make informed decisions, manage market risks and support long-term wealth creation.
South Korean stock investors' deposits at securities firms have plunged, according to industry data Saturday, amid prolonged volatility in the stock market. The amount of investor deposits came to 88.6 trillion won ($66.8 billion) as of Thursday, marking the lowest amount since Jan. 13, when they stood at 88.04 trillion won, according to the data from the Korea Financial Investment Association.
Compared with June 4, when they stood at 139.6 trillion won, investor deposits dipped by 51 trillion won, the data showed. The nation's benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) hit the 9,000-point milestone in June but has seen sharp swings and high volatility since July.
The KOSPI gained 0.3 percent to end at 5,550.30 on Friday.
With the November midterm elections fast approaching, President Donald Trump is throwing an array of costly and politically fraught solutions at one stubborn problem: the price of diesel. His administration has offered billions of dollars to farmers, relaxed rules for truckers, eased sanctions on Russian fuel and pressured European allies to release emergency stocks.
Yet diesel prices rose again last week, leaving Trump spending political and financial capital without delivering the relief his party wants as voters go to the polls. Republicans are defending narrow majorities in Congress, and high costs are a major concern for voters. Nearly 80% of Americans blame Trump for higher costs, according to an October Reuters/Ipsos poll.
US diesel prices rose nearly 10 cents a gallon in the latest week to an average of $6.28, reversing two weeks of declines and remaining near record highs, according to the Energy Information Administration. Diesel in the last two months has become a central issue not only in the midterms but as a catalyst driving up already-elevated US inflation.
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Blue chip stocks sold off on Friday as investors fretted over rising tensions between Iran and the US and looked ahead to the Fed's rate decision.
The quickest and most affordable response to historically high diesel prices is also the simplest: Use less of it.Why it matters: Diesel is so entrenched in farming, trucking and other industries that even soaring prices aren't enough — at least not yet — to prompt a wholesale shift to alternatives from electric semi trucks to manure-powered tractors.Catch up fast: Diesel prices have climbed to record highs since the U.S. war with Iran began in March, rising faster than gasoline amid global oil supply disruptions.Diesel averaged $6.31 a gallon Thursday, up 74% from a year ago, according to AAA.
Regular gasoline averaged $4.27, up 39%.The big picture: Gasoline gets the attention, but diesel is the workhorse of the American economy. It powers grocery trucks, tractors, freight trains, construction equipment, hospital backup generators and even school buses.Driving the news: The price spike is hitting farmers during the fall harvest."Farmers buy diesel by the truckload, so we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in diesel, and when it goes up the way it has spiked, that's the difference between profit and loss in a year," said Curt Blades, senior vice president at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, a trade group representing tractor makers and other heavy-equipment manufacturers.The financial pain varies: Trucking companies can often pass higher fuel costs to customers through surcharges.
Farmers, who have little control over crop prices, generally can't.The economic pressure has become political ahead of the midterm elections.President Trump announced $8 billion in one-time aid for farmers at a campaign rally in Kansas on Monday, where Republicans face a competitive Senate race."It's a bit too soon to tell the impact," Blades said of the aid package, though he welcomed support during harvest.State of play: Trucking and agricultural equipment experts say the most immediate savings come from using existing diesel engines more efficiently.Truckers can slow down and reduce idling.Farmers are increasingly using GPS-guided tractors to avoid covering the same ground twice, a practice known as precision agriculture.Biodiesel and renewable diesel can reduce petroleum dependence without replacing existing engines, but government blending requirements — rather than high diesel prices alone — are driving growth, according to Clean Fuels Alliance America, an industry trade group.Zoom in: Batteries that power truck drivers' sleeping quarters without idling the engine are gaining traction.Nevada-based Dragonfly Energy sells systems that recharge through the truck's diesel-powered engine while driving, then power air conditioning and other appliances while parked.The company projected a 160% increase in third-quarter trucking revenue, a bright spot amid otherwise sluggish financial performance.Texas-based Stevens Transport says 400 of its trucks use Dragonfly's batteries, cutting diesel consumption by about 4% compared with trucks using smaller diesel engines to power their sleeping quarters.The approach illustrates a fundamental tension in energy transitions: Does technology incrementally change an industry or revolutionize it?"We haven't even mastered leaving the truck off when it's not moving, let alone moving it with electricity," said Wade Seaburg, Dragonfly's chief commercial officer.
"Let's master the little things first, and that's been a well-received message.""Think evolutionary rather than revolutionary," said Mike Roeth, executive director of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency, a nonprofit researching fuel-saving trucking technologies.Zoom out: The same logic applies across diesel-dependent industries. Expensive equipment lasts for years, and switching fuels often requires new infrastructure and vehicles."The fact diesel fuel prices are higher matters in the calculations, but it doesn't make the challenges of these alternatives any easier," Roeth said.Yes, but: More dramatic changes are still percolating, particularly in electric trucking.Forum Mobility, which builds shared charging depots and leases electric trucks, says electric trucks have a roughly 40% fueling cost advantage over diesel in California, where diesel prices have topped $8 a gallon.The company has commitments from 25 carriers for 330 Tesla Semis and is building four additional charging depots in California.Meanwhile, on the farm, equipment maker New Holland has spent more than a decade bringing methane-powered tractors to market, including ones that can run on fuel made from livestock manure, after abandoning an expensive hydrogen tractor project."The increase in diesel prices has generated a little more interest," said Sean Dorosz, a product marketing manager at New Holland.
But "I don't think it's going to be the one thing that makes them write a check to buy a methane tractor."Access to manure-derived fuel and state incentives also shape the economics.The bottom line: High diesel prices are strengthening the case for alternatives. Making them practical is a much slower process.
While higher interest rates are a complication for stocks and bonds, they are an unequivocal boon if you just want to park some cash and make a little money, our columnist says.
Tech stocks dropped sharply Wednesday, NPR's Leila Fadel asks David Wessel of the Brookings Institution what it means.
Rolling coverage of the latest economic and financial newsWhile less red tape will be welcome news for small businesses, the chancellor is still facing pressure from bigger companies in the UK for more support.Earlier this month some of the UK’s biggest retailers and hospitality businesses, including Tesco, Costa Coffee and the Co-op, met John Healey to urge him to cut the cost of employing young people in his first budget.It’s not right that pointless bureaucracy gets in the way of people working hard to build something that matters to their high street.So we’re getting government off their backs and giving businesses the breathing space to grow.
Because when businesses succeed, they create good jobs, strengthen their communities and bring growth to every part of the country.”British firms are fed up with form-filling and pointless paperwork that eats into valuable time and money when they simply want to get on with running their businesses.That is why we are cutting unnecessary bureaucracy and giving businesses the breathing space they need to invest, innovate and create good jobs.”The test now is delivery.
Cutting unnecessary admin can free firms to invest, compete and grow – and business will want to see that ambition translated quickly into meaningful reductions in the burden they face.” Continue reading...
Potential government regulatory scrutiny may have been the main factor behind SK hynix’s decision to halt plans for a U.S. listing of its subsidiary Solidigm, according to industry sources Friday. Earlier in the day, SK hynix announced that its U.S.-based NAND flash memory subsidiary will halt its review of potential pre-initial public offering (IPO) fundraising and IPO options, citing volatile capital markets and recent trends in semiconductor stock prices, the chip giant said Friday.
“Even though SK hynix cited market conditions, the government’s warnings may have played a greater role in the decision,” an industry source said. After reports emerged in August that Solidigm was considering a U.S. IPO as early as next year, potentially valuing the company at up to $150 billion, concerns arose that the listing could undermine SK hynix’s shareholder value.
Since then, SK hynix has repeatedly responded to reports of a possible U.S. listing by saying that no decision had been made. However, amid mounting controversy over Solidigm’s potential dual listing, financial authorities war
Solidigm, SK hynix’s NAND flash memory subsidiary, has decided to halt its review of potential pre-initial public offering (IPO) fundraising and IPO options, citing volatile capital markets and recent trends in semiconductor stock prices, the chip giant said Friday. The company was established in the United States following SK hynix’s $9 billion acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash memory business.
"While SK hynix and Solidigm continue to deliver solid business performance, financial market volatility has increased, contributing to a broader correction in semiconductor stocks," SK hynix said in a press statement. "After comprehensively assessing these business conditions, Solidigm has decided to discontinue its review of potential pre-IPO and IPO options."
Reports circulated that Solidigm was considering a U.S. IPO as early as next year that could value the company at up to $150 billion, with the listing seen as a way to secure funding for U.S. production facilities and technology development amid growing demand for enterprise solid-state drives for artificial intelligence data center
Solidigm has decided to halt its review of potential pre-IPO fundraising and initial public offering (IPO) options, citing volatile capital markets and recent trends in semiconductor stock prices, SK hynix said Friday. “The decision does not reflect any change in the company’s growth prospects or investment needs,” SK hynix said in a press statement.
“Rather, it reflects a reassessment of whether an IPO would be the most beneficial option for SK hynix and its existing shareholders under current market conditions.” Reports circulated that Solidigm, SK hynix’s NAND flash memory subsidiary, was considering a U.S. IPO as early as next year that could value the company at up to $150 billion.
However, the potential listing had raised concerns over its impact on SK hynix's shareholder value, as well as regulatory scrutiny over the possibility of a subsidiary listing overseas while its parent company remains listed in Korea.
"We're going to have an amazing 2027," he said.