Category

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Oct 04
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets
  • China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (28 Sep – 2 Oct)
  • Korea Sector ETFs Bi-Weekly #5: [18 Sept – 2 Oct 2026] Plus Solar & Ess ETF (Top Performer)
  • APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 4) – Hengrui, Hansoh, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Otsuka, Sun Pharma

The Guzzler Chronicles: As Good As It Gets

By Anshul Trivedi

  • Yields above 5%, an AI-only earnings story, and the CPI print that decides November?
  • October and November 2026 are probably “As Good As It Gets”.  Pushing higher requires exceptional, unlikely growth. Consequently, any disappointing results or unexpected shocks could trigger a sharp sell-off.
  • Bottom-Up, the AI complex accounts for more than half of expected earnings growth. The leaders are technically stretched. I would use any results-driven rally to recaliberate, not to chase

China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (28 Sep – 2 Oct)

By Wilfred Yuen

  • Strong deal flows this week: 1) Abogen/Novartis on autoimmune TCE and RNA platform; 2) Scibrunch/Merck on preclinical Kras G12D, 3) Hengrui/Novo on weekly oral GLP-1/GIP, 4) Nhwa/Newco on sleep disorder
  • Akeso’s partner Summit announced US$2bn investment from AstraZeneca and clinical collaborations for ivonescimab with CLDN18.2 ADC sone-ve and TROP-2 ADC Datroway
  • Other updates from Hansoh’s EU setback, Hutchmed’s US NDA filing, Frontier Biotech’s dual-targeting siRNA, Mindrank/3SBio deal, Beam vs. YolTech/Serapha…

Korea Sector ETFs Bi-Weekly #5: [18 Sept – 2 Oct 2026] Plus Solar & Ess ETF (Top Performer)

By Douglas Kim

  • The 30 key sector ETFs in Korea were down on average 0.5% in the past two weeks, underperforming KOSPI which was up 1.6% in the same period.
  • There were 10 sector ETFs (out of 30) that outperformed KOSPI in the past two weeks including Plus Solar & ESS ETF, Tiger Semiconductor Top10 ETF, and KODEX Bio ETF. 
  • Semiconductor exports surged 262.8% YoY to a massive $60.3 billion in September.

APAC Healthcare Weekly (Oct 4) – Hengrui, Hansoh, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Otsuka, Sun Pharma

By Tina Banerjee

  • Hengrui outlicenses once-weekly oral obesity drug candidate HRS-1596, to Novo for total deal value of $2.6B. EC revoked the EU marketing authorization for Hansoh’s lung cancer drug aumolertinib.
  • Roche halts development of obesity drug candidate emugrobart and returns all rights to Chugai. Daiichi Sankyo has withdrawn the BLA seeking accelerated approval in the U.S. for I-DXd for ES-SCLC.
  • Otsuka initiates NDA submission to the FDA for zipalertinib for the treatment of NSCLC. Sun Pharma inlicenses hypercholesterolaemia and dyslipidaemia drug lerodalcibep from LIB Therapeutics.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Oct 03
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price. and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price.
  • Japan Strategy Weekly | Chip Stocks Lift Nikkei

Singapore Market Roundup (02-Oct-2026): UBS raises Venture Corp’s target price.

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • UBS increases target price for Venture Corp.
  • uSMART upgrades Yeo Hiap Seng to ‘buy’, keeping target price at 64 cents.
  • Privium fund sees Multi-Chem benefiting from long-term digital transformation growth.

Japan Strategy Weekly | Chip Stocks Lift Nikkei

By Mark Chadwick

  • Nikkei gained 2.9%, led by AI-linked stocks, despite early oil and yield pressures and a 0.9% Topix decline.
  • Tankan strengthened rate-hike expectations, while Tokyo core inflation accelerated to 2.7%, above the BOJ’s target.
  • JGB yields hit 30-year highs as US yields remained elevated; yen weakness and fiscal policy stayed key market concerns.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Oct 02
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Trim Losses as Treasury Yields Ease and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Trim Losses as Treasury Yields Ease
  • Tencent/Netease: Two Months Without Approvals Despite Second-Highest Count Since 2022
  • South Korea’s Microchip Exports Are Booming. So Why Are Foreigners Still Selling Its Stock Market?
  • Sorting the Software Sector AI Exposure, Defensibility, and Where Singapore Sits
  • Singapore Market Roundup (01-Oct-2026): Privium fund sees Multi-Chem’s growth via digital changes.
  • The IPO Market Has Become Tougher—and the Cycle Is Still Unfolding
  • Asia Real Estate Tracker (01-Oct-2026): CPPIB invests $313M in Indian hospitality after IPO delays.

Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Trim Losses as Treasury Yields Ease

By Mark Chadwick

  • Major indexes finished higher, with the S&P 500 (+0.2%), despite weak open
  • Financing arrangement between Broadcom (-2.2%) & Anthropic, which positions Anthropic to become Broadcom’s largest compute customer
  • SoftBank completed its $10 billion (¥1.6 trillion) third-tranche investment in OpenAI

Tencent/Netease: Two Months Without Approvals Despite Second-Highest Count Since 2022

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

  • China announced game approval for the September batch. The number of games approved is higher than in 2023 and 2024.
  • The pace of China game approval is above its pre-tightening level of August 2020 to July 2021.
  • Of the companies that we are monitoring, none got approval.

South Korea’s Microchip Exports Are Booming. So Why Are Foreigners Still Selling Its Stock Market?

By Mo Aziz

  • Two stocks explain the selling. Samsung and SK Hynix were 77% of September’s foreign net selling and c.93% of January–July’s. Outside them, foreigners are not leaving Korea.
  • Timing and buyers matter. ₩102tn of the ₩135tn sold since May went in May–June; corporates bought ₩31.4tn in September. Buybacks are c.63% done and may finish by mid-October.
  • The open question is FY27, not exports. Consensus profit sits c.24% above the Q3 run-rate. Samsung’s expected 7–8 October prelims and post-buyback flows are the next tests.

Sorting the Software Sector AI Exposure, Defensibility, and Where Singapore Sits

By Swaen Capital

  • The rapid development of AI technology over the past few years has posed a direct threat to the software sector, leading to a broad derating of the sector as competitive advantages are being reassessed.

  • This year, the development of agentic AI has threatened various SaaS companies as the viability of their business models is put to the test.

  • We find the risk is uneven. It is highest where customers pay for work AI can now do and where revenue scales with the number of people doing it.

Singapore Market Roundup (01-Oct-2026): Privium fund sees Multi-Chem’s growth via digital changes.

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • Privium fund management identifies Multi-Chem’s growth from digital transformation.
  • RHB maintains ‘neutral’ stance on telcos; M1 deal may reduce price erosion.
  • JP Morgan: MAS EQDP fund allocation could boost SMIDs’ performance.

The IPO Market Has Become Tougher—and the Cycle Is Still Unfolding

By IPO Prophet

  • The IPO market can change much faster than the companies preparing to enter it.
  • A business may spend months preparing financial statements, selecting underwriters, meeting investors, and building toward an expected valuation.
  • During that process, the market may appear receptive.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (01-Oct-2026): CPPIB invests $313M in Indian hospitality after IPO delays.

By Asia Real Estate Tracker

  • The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has invested $313 million in India’s hotel sector, signaling confidence in the market despite suspending IPO plans.
  • Weave has successfully acquired a 108-unit apartment complex in Tokyo, showcasing the ongoing interest of Japanese investors in real estate.
  • In Sydney, QIC plans to invest $418 million to expand Castle Towers Mall, while Brookfield India’s REIT has completed a $177 million office deal in Mumbai.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Oct 01
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Why More ABF Capacity May Still Not Be Enough and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Why More ABF Capacity May Still Not Be Enough
  • Anthropic’s Leaked S-1 Vs. China’s AI Tigers: The $2 Trillion Question
  • Ohayo Japan | PCE Boosts Tech
  • Singapore Market Roundup (30-Sep-2026): JP Morgan: MAS’s EQDP fund may enhance SMIDs’ performance.
  • Ken Griffin Portfolio: Citadel Top Holdings (Q2 2026)
  • Lifelong Learning Economy: Structural Demand, Selective Winners
  • Japan and North America: a cultural comparison
  • 3 Mergers and 1 Liquidation in the Danger Zone
  • Asia Real Estate Tracker (30-Sep-2026): KKR secures $1B for Helix AI infrastructure.
  • Higher Interest Rates: Winners And Losers In The Hedge Fund Industry

Why More ABF Capacity May Still Not Be Enough

By Raghav Vashisht

  • BofA now sees ABF deficits of 7%/14%/19% in 2026–28, while Goldman is far more aggressive at 14%/34%/51% from 2H26 through 2028.
  • Ibiden, Samsung Electro-Mechanics and ATS are all seeing AI, server-CPU and networking demand tighten advanced-substrate capacity, with new expansion increasingly backed by customer commitments.
  • The shortage is harder to solve than headline capacity additions imply because larger, higher-layer packages consume more processing time and qualify at lower initial yields.

Anthropic’s Leaked S-1 Vs. China’s AI Tigers: The $2 Trillion Question

By Mo Aziz

  • Anthropic’s leaked S-1 shows revenue scaling $400m (FY24) to $4.6bn (FY25) to $11.5bn in Q2 2026 alone — but $518bn of non-cancelable compute commitments dwarf the last $965bn private mark.
  • Anthropic’s ~1.8x operating-loss-to-revenue ratio beats Zhipu’s ~6.5x and MiniMax’s ~3.2x — better unit economics than either listed China AI name, though customer concentration remains the key risk.
  • No formal call on Anthropic or OpenAI — IPO timeline and audited financials aren’t out yet; we reiterate BULLISH MiniMax (FV HK$340) and NEUTRAL Z.AI/Zhipu (FV HK$1,000).

Ohayo Japan | PCE Boosts Tech

By Mark Chadwick

  • US Stocks closed mixed as cooler-than-expected September inflation supported technology stocks
  • Treasury yields continued to rise, with the 10-year yield climbing to 5.3%.
  • The Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge rose 3.4% in August, below the 3.7% expected, reinforcing expectations that policymakers can wait before hiking rates

Singapore Market Roundup (30-Sep-2026): JP Morgan: MAS’s EQDP fund may enhance SMIDs’ performance.

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • JP Morgan: MAS’s new EQDP fund could boost SMIDs’ performance.
  • Lim & Tan rates Aedge Group as ‘buy’ with a target price of 29.5 cents.
  • UMS sees more dividend potential after RM450 million placement, says Citi.

Ken Griffin Portfolio: Citadel Top Holdings (Q2 2026)

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Ken Griffin’s Citadel reported $875.01 billion in U.S. securities on its latest 13F, a figure that makes the hedge fund’s portfolio appear far larger than its actual equity holdings.

  • Roughly four-fifths of the filing consists of options, leaving $171.76 billion in disclosed equity positions.

  • The distinction matters because several different figures are used to describe Citadel’s size. 

Lifelong Learning Economy: Structural Demand, Selective Winners

By 8VantEdge

  • Private education is evolving from a school-age service into a broader lifelong learning economy spanning early childhood, formal education and career-long reskilling.
  • Four structural forces underpin this shift: (1) rising household spending power supporting private education demand; (2) shorter skills cycles creating recurring reskilling needs; (3) employer funding broadening the market for workforce training; and (4) digital delivery expanding access while lowering the cost of learning.
  • These drivers are extending education demand across different stages of life and beyond the traditional classroom.

Japan and North America: a cultural comparison

By Made in Japan

  • My apologies for the radio silence, I recently just got back from the the East coast of the North America. As always it was enlightning as much as it was inspiring.
  • It was great to be there to see old faces as well as new faces this time – some of which have I’ve gotten to meet thanks to their interest in my writings (Thank you!).
  • It was non-stop pretty much over the last 3 weeks but I thought I’d finally stop and reflect on what stood out the most for me. 

3 Mergers and 1 Liquidation in the Danger Zone

By Triple S Special Situations Investing

  • I mentioned this liquidation as one to watch a few months ago.
  • The board had just approved a plan of liquidation and guided to $29.73 to $37.69 a share of total distributions.
  • Shareholders approved the liquidation in June.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (30-Sep-2026): KKR secures $1B for Helix AI infrastructure.

By Asia Real Estate Tracker

  • KKR has received a substantial $1 billion investment from Samsung to enhance its Helix AI infrastructure strategy.
  • Goodman has decided to cancel a $560 million data center project in Sydney after gaining approval for a nearby development.
  • Rava’s Dash Living has successfully acquired a Shinjuku apartment tower for $241 million amid various market changes.

Higher Interest Rates: Winners And Losers In The Hedge Fund Industry

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • The investment environment has changed dramatically over the past several years.
  • After more than a decade of near zero short term interest rates, investors can once again earn a meaningful return on cash and short-term Treasury securities.
  • As of September 2026, the Federal Reserve ‘s target range for the federal funds rate is 3.75% to 4.00% with more rate increases expected.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 30
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Stocks Slip as Treasury Yields Offset Oil Relief and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | Stocks Slip as Treasury Yields Offset Oil Relief
  • China’s Optical Sell-Off: The Missing Bill Behind the Market’s Reaction
  • India Rare Earths Monitor – September 2026
  • Singapore Market Roundup (29-Sep-2026): Lim & Tan rates Uni-Asia a “buy” at $1.39.
  • CFA Society New York: Michael Weinberg Says Retail Money Is Arriving Just as Private Equity Exits St
  • What’s News in Amsterdam

Ohayo Japan | Stocks Slip as Treasury Yields Offset Oil Relief

By Mark Chadwick

  • US: stocks closed modestly lower on Tuesday as rising long-term Treasury yields weighed on sentiment.
  • The 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.62%, its highest level since 2002
  • AI and semiconductor stocks helped limit losses. President Trump backed a “morally binding” industry accord for self-regulation.

China’s Optical Sell-Off: The Missing Bill Behind the Market’s Reaction

By Mo Aziz

  • S.5548 targets federal procurement, not hyperscalers or commercial AI datacentres; the bill alone cannot explain the sell-off.
  • The market appears to be pricing the separate FCC track, which could restrict new Chinese optical-transceiver models more broadly.
  • Positioning: focus on the FCC catalyst; US suppliers offer substitution exposure, while Chinese optics retain substantial policy-risk premium.

India Rare Earths Monitor – September 2026

By Garvit Bhandari

  • IREL opened seven indigenous rare-earth technologies, including NdPr recovery from end-of-life magnets, to industry, attacking India’s core separation and recycling technology gap rather than just adding mining capacity.
  • Prices consolidated with no clear direction. Pr-Nd firmed modestly on producer buying, dysprosium gave back August’s gains, while lanthanum oxide jumped 4.7% on a low base.
  • Government’s Special Campaign 6.0 (2–31 Oct) and an expanded GSI exploration pipeline (300 projects planned for FY27) reinforce India’s push toward recycling feedstock and domestic supply.

Singapore Market Roundup (29-Sep-2026): Lim & Tan rates Uni-Asia a “buy” at $1.39.

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • Lim & Tan rates Uni-Asia a “buy” at $1.39 for shipping and real estate.
  • Koh of UOBKH keeps $1.16 target price for UI Boustead REIT.
  • UOBKH maintains ‘buy’ on Reclaims Global after strong 1HFY2027 results.

CFA Society New York: Michael Weinberg Says Retail Money Is Arriving Just as Private Equity Exits St

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Michael Weinberg, CFA, Special Advisor to the Tokyo University of Science Endowment and Adjunct Professor at Columbia Business School, gave the keynote at CFA Society New York’s “Institutional Exit vs.
  • Retail Entry: Rebalancing the Private Market Ecosystem” event on September 24th 2026.
  • By Weinberg’s own description, the talk was “a bit of a straw man to help create some excitement for the panel.” Higher inflation and rates are choking off private equity exits just as pensions and endowments run out of room to allocate, so managers are courting private wealth instead, often through evergreen funds and continuation vehicles that may simply pass the risk along.

What’s News in Amsterdam

By The IDEA!

  • Amazon is expanding same-day delivery across the Randstad-area, with customers now able to order until 15:00 and receive eligible products between 18:00 and 22:00.
  • The service is enabled by a new fulfilment center in Waddinxveen, operated by logistics provider Dragonfly.
  • More than 25,000 products are available for same-day delivery, while ordering earlier in the day provides access to hundreds of thousands of products.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 29
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Singapore’s Secured Lenders: Filling the Credit Gap and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Singapore’s Secured Lenders: Filling the Credit Gap
  • Ohayo Japan | Nvidia to Police Rogue Agents
  • Oil & Gas Report (18 September 2026)
  • Singapore Market Roundup (28-Sep-2026): UOBKH’s Koh maintains $1.16 target price for UI Boustead

Singapore’s Secured Lenders: Filling the Credit Gap

By 8VantEdge

  • Singapore’s listed secured lenders (two deposit-funded finance companies and two pawnbrokers) provide a complementary source of credit to SMEs and to individuals who borrow against property, vehicles, jewellery and gold, and whose financing needs may be smaller, less standardised or more time-sensitive than those typically prioritised by conventional banks.
  • This role rests on three things: (1) banks’ underwriting appetite and execution speed differ enough to leave openings in smaller, more bespoke credit; (2) borrowing costs remain supportive of specialty-lending economics; and (3) financing gaps persist that favour alternative underwriting models, particularly asset-backed lending built on collateral value and recoverability.
  • Demand for specialised financing should hold up alongside Singapore’s established banking system as a result.

Ohayo Japan | Nvidia to Police Rogue Agents

By Mark Chadwick

  • Geopolitical tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, rising oil prices and a sharp increase in Treasury yields pressured equities.
  • Nvidia announced a record $150 billion buyback, bringing total authorization to $235 billion, as CEO Jensen Huang cited strong cash generation and confidence in AI-driven growth.
  • SpaceX’s (-2.2%) Starship reached Earth orbit for the first time and deployed all 26 Starlink V3 satellites.

Oil & Gas Report (18 September 2026)

By FPA Financial

  • Economic growth has contributed to oil demand growth.

  • In particular, the economic growth of countries outside the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) has contributed to oil demand growth over the recent two decades.

  • Meanwhile, countries that are part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (“OPEC”) accounted for around 35% of global oil production in 2024, while non-OPEC countries accounted for the balance.

Singapore Market Roundup (28-Sep-2026): UOBKH’s Koh maintains $1.16 target price for UI Boustead

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • UOBKH’s Koh keeps target price at $1.16 for UI Boustead REIT.
  • UOBKH maintains ‘buy’ on Reclaims Global due to strong 1HFY2027 results.
  • Geo Energy anticipates a significant rise in net profit for 3QFY2026 and FY2026.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 28
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Rise as Tech Gains and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Rise as Tech Gains
  • SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #13 | 20–26 Sep 2026
  • This Week in AI (Sep 20-26): Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Launch Cheaper; Data Center IPO Delays
  • Miners, Not Compounders: Japan’s SME M&A Brokers Six Years On
  • How Saudi Arabia’s Supply Crisis Is Rerouting Capital to North America?

Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Rise as Tech Gains

By Mark Chadwick

  • US equities ended higher on Friday, closing a volatile week positively, with the Dow outperforming and technology led sector gains
  • Microsoft unveiled major Copilot upgrades, including code generation, persistent agentic AI, deeper Office integration and enterprise automation, positioning it as a workplace-focused AI platform.
  • WTI fell ~2% on reports of potential US-Iran progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iranian pushback.

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #13 | 20–26 Sep 2026

By Mo Aziz

  • Solidigm’s potential US$150bn IPO is Monday’s key Korea catalyst: SK Hynix’s NAND unit is reportedly pitching a 2027 US listing at up to US$150bn, implying ~15% of SK Hynix’s MCAP.
  • Micron enters 30 September results with the Street above guidance: consensus is US$50.97bn revenue / US$31.35 EPS versus US$50bn / US$31 guidance, while Goldman’s whisper sits at US$51.9bn / US$32.54.
  • The sector remains earnings-led but increasingly crowded. We favour Micron tactically, half-sized into the print, with SK Hynix moving to alternative after the Solidigm catalyst fired.

This Week in AI (Sep 20-26): Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Launch Cheaper; Data Center IPO Delays

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

  • Anthropic, OpenAI, xAI, Xiaomi and Stepfun all shipped model updates, with price cuts and open weights at the center of the week.
  • AI infrastructure financing stayed active across Akamai, Nscale, Firmus, Oracle-linked data centers, CoreWeave facilities and SoftBank debt.
  • Regulatory and security news focused on Pentagon supply-chain controls, OpenAI evaluation incidents and US review before UK model testing.

Miners, Not Compounders: Japan’s SME M&A Brokers Six Years On

By Steven Chen

  • Our 2020 valuation caution held: the three leaders lost 10–77% of market value while TOPIX more than doubled, and M&A Research Institute repeated the cycle faster.
  • The deeper error was classification: sell-side brokers mine a finite stock of successor-less owners, each served once, yet traded at compounder multiples of 50–90×.
  • Japan is solving succession faster than assumed, mostly without brokers; the winners will convert extraction profits into repeatable businesses before the ore thins.

How Saudi Arabia’s Supply Crisis Is Rerouting Capital to North America?

By Nimish Maheshwari

  • Drone strikes shut Saudi Arabia’s 4 mb/d East-West pipeline on 11 September; a partial, still-incomplete restart began 22 September, with full capacity roughly six weeks out.
  • With Hormuz still constrained and Qatari LNG structurally impaired, US-shale and Gulf Coast LNG, plus Canadian-oil sands and Pacific LNG, are absorbing displaced barrels and cargoes at a durable premium.
  • The pipeline’s repair timeline and Iran’s untested offer to reopen Hormuz within seven days are the two variables that decide whether this windfall compounds or fades into 2027.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 27
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Japan Strategy Weekly | Nikkei Rebounds as Oil Eases and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Japan Strategy Weekly | Nikkei Rebounds as Oil Eases, but the Bond Market Isn’t Done
  • Gold Consolidation Favours Selective Upside
  • APAC Healthcare Weekly (Sept 27) – Hansoh Pharma, Innocare, Astellas, Otsuka, Telix Pharmaceuticals
  • China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (21-25 Sep)

Japan Strategy Weekly | Nikkei Rebounds as Oil Eases, but the Bond Market Isn’t Done

By Mark Chadwick

  • In a holiday-shortened week, with Tokyo closed Monday to Wednesday, Japanese equities made up for lost time.
  • Global AI and tech names had rallied during Japan’s holiday after Meta’s Muse personal AI agent revived interest in the sector
  • Strong US private-sector activity data and a weak five-year Treasury auction pushed up global bond yields 

Gold Consolidation Favours Selective Upside

By Duncan Chan

  • Gold’s resistance to tighter policy suggests a higher structural floor, but weaker momentum and elevated real yields still favour consolidation.
  • The Yuanyou Bao incident provides the risk discipline, showing how familiar loss limits can fail when the assumed price domain does not match the underlying contract.
  • Futures provide linear exposure and miners add operating risk; a bull call spread fits structurally supported but momentum-constrained upside, subject to confirmation from the live volatility surface.

APAC Healthcare Weekly (Sept 27) – Hansoh Pharma, Innocare, Astellas, Otsuka, Telix Pharmaceuticals

By Tina Banerjee

  • Hansoh Pharmaceutical’s risvutatug rezetecan has been included in the Priority Review and Approval Procedure of NMPA. Innocare entered research collaboration and license agreement with Eli Lilly to develop new medicines.
  • Astellas Pharma initiated Phase 3 trial evaluating setidegrasib for NSCLC. Otsuka announced positive topline results from the Phase 3 trial evaluating ulefnersen in a genetic subtype of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
  • Elevar Therapeutics won FDA approval for Lyrfigtu for bile duct cancer. Telix Pharmaceuticals will acquire ITM Isotope Technologies, a global leader in radioisotope production and radiopharmaceutical development, for $1.65B upfront.

China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (21-25 Sep)

By Wilfred Yuen

  • We highlight key updates from October’s ESMO meeting: 1) Akeso’s ivonescimab in 1L BTC, 2) Kelun/Merck’s sac-TMT (Lung04, Lung06, TroFuse-005), 3) Hutchmed/AZ’s savo, 4) Hansoh/GSK’s B7H3 ADC, 5) Innovent IBI363…
  • BD deal flows this week: 1) Innocare/Lilly on 5-target drug discovery, 2) Earendil Labs/Genentech on bispecific, 3) Insilico Medicine/AI frontier model lab, 4) BoomRay/Novartis on radioligand, 4) Henlius/Amberstone on TCE
  • Other updates/news: 1) LEGN’s 5-year Carvykti OS data in Cart-2 study, 2) BeOne’s first-in-class GPC3/4-1BB entering ph3 study in HCC, 3) TYK/Qilu deal update…

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 26
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Singapore Market Roundup (25-Sep-2026): CGS International maintains ‘add’ rating on CSE Global and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Singapore Market Roundup (25-Sep-2026): CGS International maintains ‘add’ rating on CSE Global
  • AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 25.09.2026

Singapore Market Roundup (25-Sep-2026): CGS International maintains ‘add’ rating on CSE Global

By Singapore Market Roundup

  • CGS International keeps ‘add’ rating on CSE Global, deepening ties beyond AWS.
  • UOBKH raises Yangzijiang Shipbuilding target price to $5.90.
  • UOBKH keeps ‘buy’ on LHN, lowering target price to 59.1 cents due to limited earnings.

AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 25.09.2026

By Auctus Advisors

  • AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ CanCambria Energy (CCEC CN)C: C$6 mm equity raise for Hungary – CamCambria is raising C$6 mm of new equity priced at C$0.30 peer share.
  • Participants in the transaction will also receive one warrant for every new share with a strike price of C$0.40 per share.
  • See website for full report Helium Evolution (HEVI CN)C; Target price of C$0.45 per share: Production starts at new plant adjacent to HEVI’s lands – North American Helium’s Stewart Valley helium purification facility in southwest Saskatchewan is onstream as of September 20, 2026 and producing at a rate of approximately 73 mmcf/y.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free


Sep 25
0
Smartkarma The Investment Intelligence Platform

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Equities Mixed Amid Rate and Geopolitical Concerns and more

By | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

  • Ohayo Japan | Equities Mixed Amid Rate and Geopolitical Concerns
  • The Business of Access
  • ETF Share Classes: Unlocking Distribution Without Reinventing the Operating Model
  • Two friendly Substackers, an old-fashioned debate: “Is University Still Worth It?”
  • GDS Investments September 2026 Commentary
  • Argosy Investors Q2 2026 Commentary
  • New Research Shows How Investors Can Manage US Dominance In Global Equity Portfolios
  • Platinum Market Surplus Of 265 Koz Forecast For 2026 – Inventories Remain Critically Depleted Follow
  • India Data Center Monthly (September 2026): Supply Surges, and Yotta Tests the Public Market
  • Avoiding Dogmatism and Managing Momentum – Crossroads Capital

Ohayo Japan | Equities Mixed Amid Rate and Geopolitical Concerns

By Mark Chadwick

  • US equities ended mixed as oil prices and elevated Treasury yields pressured markets, while geopolitical diplomacy helped indexes recover from session lows. 
  • Meta unveiled the Muse Charm and new AI-enabled glasses at Meta Connect, highlighting its push into personal AI hardware and expanding engagement across devices.
  • Oracle fell 4% after issuing a force majeure notice on its 2.5GW New Mexico AI data centre project with OpenAI and Softbank. 

The Business of Access

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Some of the greatest businesses in history were not built by inventing something entirely new.
  • They were built by taking something desirable, useful or aspirational that already existed and putting it within reach of millions of people who had previously been excluded.
  • Sometimes the barrier was price.

ETF Share Classes: Unlocking Distribution Without Reinventing the Operating Model

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Global ETF assets reached $20 trillion at the end of the first quarter of this year, 35% above the same period last year, with $626 billion in net inflows – the highest ever recorded.
  • The paper looks at the growing opportunity for asset managers to add ETF share classes to existing mutual funds as a way of accessing increasing investor demand for ETFs without launching an entirely new fund.
  • The same portfolio, strategy and performance track record can effectively be distributed through a different wrapper.

Two friendly Substackers, an old-fashioned debate: “Is University Still Worth It?”

By Marc Rudajev

  • Is university still worth it? What you are about to read is two people who have been through the system, watched it change, and been assigned a side to argue as hard as we can.
  • We ask you to put aside whatever you walked in believing, cast an opening vote below, then read all five rounds before you decide.
  • As in a proper Oxford debate, the winner is not the side with the better opening, it is the side that changes the most minds.

GDS Investments September 2026 Commentary

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • GDS Investments’ commentary for the month of September, 2026.
  • “Remember that the art comes in editing after the invention, not before” – Ben Thompson Dear Clients and Friends, I hope you have all had a wonderful summer and have managed to stay cool despite the intense heat covering much of the country.
  • Despite taking August off from this monthly letter myself, the world kept turning, and we return this September with a lot of news to touch on.

Argosy Investors Q2 2026 Commentary

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Argosy Investors’ commentary for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.
  • Dear Investors, This past quarter was among the most challenging since I began investing, mostly due to the runaway AI market, which has since corrected somewhat and already removed a mid-20’s investment savant from his once-high perch atop the AI investment landscape.
  • While I am glad to see some sanity return to the market in recent weeks, there is still extremely high enthusiasm for AI and anything AI-related.

New Research Shows How Investors Can Manage US Dominance In Global Equity Portfolios

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Nice, London, Singapore, Sydney – September 17, 2026 – Scientific Beta released new research that examines how investors can mitigate US dominance in global equity benchmarks.
  • The study ” Restoring International Diversification ” employs a rigorous research framework to quantify the optimism embedded in current weights in US equities, and explores how investors can adopt more neutral views across regions.
  • Key findings : Global benchmarks embed an active bet on US outperformance : US equities now account for around 70% of global benchmark weight and close to 80% of its risk.

Platinum Market Surplus Of 265 Koz Forecast For 2026 – Inventories Remain Critically Depleted Follow

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Trevor Raymond, CEO of the World Platinum Investment Council, comments: “The shift to a forecast platinum market surplus in 2026 is overwhelmingly due to investment outflows that occurred during the first half of the year against a backdrop of heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty.
  • The modest forecast surplus follows three consecutive years of significant deficit and does little to reduce the platinum market’s reliance on exceptionally lean and increasingly illiquid above ground stocks.
  • This comes at a time when platinum’s strategic importance, in particular its expanding use in AI and data centre infrastructure, continues to grow.

India Data Center Monthly (September 2026): Supply Surges, and Yotta Tests the Public Market

By Garvit Bhandari

  • H1 2026 supply jumped 59.3% YOY to 258 MW and absorption rose 31.1% to 278 MW.  Hyperscalers accounted for over 80% of demand.
  • Capital is migrating toward public markets. Yotta targets a Q1 2027 IPO at up to US$6bn valuation, while EQT earmarks US$30bn for Indian data centers.
  • Hyderabad is the re-rating story – 4.9% of stock today, projected at 33% by 2030 (Savills), anchored by TCS HyperVault’s 1 GW campus and Microsoft.

Avoiding Dogmatism and Managing Momentum – Crossroads Capital

By Hedge Fund Alpha

  • Crossroads Capital argues that value investors should avoid rigid labels, recognize momentum’s influence on markets, and manage it without abandoning fundamental discipline.
  • In his H1 letter to Fundsmith Equity Fund investors this past July, Fundsmith CEO Terry Smith surprisingly announced that he had pivoted to a more momentum-driven style of investing.
  • Smith said he wasn’t sure when momentum investing would stop working, only that it will.

💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma

Sign Up for Free

The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network

  • ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
  • ✓ Personalised Alerts
  • ✓ Custom Watchlists
  • ✓ Company Data and News
  • ✓ Events & Webinars
Sign Up for Free