Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Crude fell sharply on optimism around US-Iran negotiations, helping lower Treasury yields and support risk assets.
Nvidia reports after the US close, making its revenue outlook, AI demand and capex commentary the key test for Japanese AI/semiconductor names.
Dick’s Sporting Goods cut its FY2026 outlook sharply; the main issue was Foot Locker, where comp sales fell 3.6%, reflecting weak demand for legacy sneakers & excess inventory

Japan Activism Briefs | Dentsu Soken, Hakuhodo, Miura

Dentsu Soken: Oasis files 5% ahead of a rumoured take-private; at ¥2,688 per share the deal looks fair and exit likely.
Hakuhodo: Silchester takes a 5% stake in an undervalued ad group; the real prize is a ¥120bn securities portfolio ripe for return.
Miura: Silchester backs a cash-generative industrial franchise, mispriced at 12x despite double-digit margins and a credible global expansion.

Singapore Market Roundup (25-Aug-2026): BRC Asia gets positive outlook from PhillipCapital, CGSI,

PhillipCapital, CGSI, and UOBKH are positive on BRC Asia after 3QFY2026 update.
OCBC Research starts ‘buy’ on Foundation Healthcare, targeting 58% upside.
RHB keeps Delfi ‘buy’ rating with a target price of $1.21.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (25-Aug-2026): Alibaba raising $10.2B for AI and data centers.

Alibaba plans to raise $10.2 billion to enhance its AI infrastructure and expand data centers.
JD has won a $2.1 billion project tender in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis, showcasing growth.
Gaw Unit GCP Hospitality partners with IHG to manage 14 hotels in Kyoto, indicating real estate activity.

India: Defense Privatization | AK-203 Rifle Completely Indigenized

By Ankit Agrawal, CFA

India recently completed 100% indigenization in manufacturing of the AK-203 rifle. All the components and raw materials are now being sourced and manufactured locally vs just 25% indigenization 2Y ago.
AK family rifles are an advanced assault rifles that have been replacing legacy INSAS infantry rifles. AK-203 rifle being the latest iteration is comparable to modern western rifles like HK416.
Successful test-firing has been already done at the manufacturing facility and formal trials are expected to begin soon. This is a major step forward towards India’s self-reliance in small-arms segment.

Exencial Morning Chart – 25-08-2026

Factories hold at a 58.7 PMI while urban auto sales growth halves to 14.9 percent in the June quarter
Japanese firms rank India the most promising overseas market, ahead of the US and Vietnam.
Fiscal 2026 mobile output of 70 billion dollars lands far under the 126 billion vision target.

Exencial Filings Daily – 25-08-2026

TCS buys its way deeper into cars, One order carried the order tape
Promoters are writing the cheques , Group clean ups beat trophy deals
Bawal facility fire 06-May-2026 damaged 1.3 GWh tubular batterycapacity; no insurance recovery disclosed

The Golden Age of Customer Relationships?

By Fallacy Alarm

TLDR Summary The most defensible assets are those that are hard to replicate.
Most tangible assets are fairly easy to replicate these days due to automation technology.
Therefore, the lion share of value creation will likely continue to happen in intangible assets.

U.S. GDP, FOMC Outlook & Financial Conditions + ‘POTUS’ Job Approval Rating

By Maverick Equity Research

Dear all, 5 + 1 cherry picked Maverick Charts of the week say 10,000 words or more = the ‘How’ ! Table of contents = the ‘What’! Executed in a succinct manner with the aim of a high density of ideas, because great research respects the reader’s time:
Maverick Charts: GDP, FOMC Outlook & Financial Conditions 📊 Bonus: ‘ POTUS’ Job Approval Rating Objective: both data-driven insights + valuable food for thought = the ‘Why’
Maverick Charts: GDP, FOMC Outlook & Financial Conditions 📊 U.

Weekly U.S. IPO & Equity Capital Markets Brief

By IPO Prophet

Period: Week of August 24, 2026
Coverage: U.S. transactions of at least $100 million Bottom line.
There are no qualifying U.S. IPOs of at least $100 million scheduled to price this week

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Aug 25

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Tech Slides Ahead of Nvidia Earnings and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Tech Slides Ahead of Nvidia Earnings
GIC’s 1.4bn USD Tokyo Exit: Tokenization Mega-Deal Exposes Winners and Refinancing Risks
Exencial Filings Daily – 24-08-2026
Exencial Industry Tidings – 24-08-2026
Asia Real Estate Tracker (24-Aug-2026): Data centers in Singapore gain expansion rights.
Singapore Market Roundup (24-Aug-2026): RHB’s Yeo lowers Food Empire target price to $3.08,
M&A a Key Tool to Gain Market Share in Japanese Retailing

Ohayo Japan | Tech Slides Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

US stocks closed mixed, with the S&P 500 down -0.3% and Nasdaq -0.8%
Semiconductor weakness weighed on technology stocks, with Nvidia falling 2.9%
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announced expanded sanctions against Iran, including measures targeting countries that maintain economic ties

GIC’s 1.4bn USD Tokyo Exit: Tokenization Mega-Deal Exposes Winners and Refinancing Risks

GIC’s Strategic Shift: Unloading a Tokyo trophy asset for 1.4bn USD secures a 33% gain, pivoting capital to structural growth sectors before BOJ rate hikes compress yield spreads.
Tokenization Milestone: Kenedix’s plan to fractionalize this mega-asset validates digital securities globally, proving domestic liquidity can absorb massive transactions while foreign capital efficiently recycles.
Divergent Real Estate Equities: The transaction cements a high valuation floor, heavily bullish for Mitsubishi Estate, but exposes highly levered, floating-rate vehicles like GLP J-REIT to severe risks.

Exencial Filings Daily – 24-08-2026

Deals skewed to control and clean-up, Capital-raising led the tape
Power and transmission kept winning work, USFDA outcomes were clean, not yet cleared
A G M season forced board an d auditor churn

Exencial Industry Tidings – 24-08-2026

Food products industry’s sales grow by 13.6% in June 2026 quarter
Textiles industry’s sales grow by 12.5% in June 2026 quarter
Groundnut prices likely to be around Rs.65-70/kg in upcoming harvest season

Asia Real Estate Tracker (24-Aug-2026): Data centers in Singapore gain expansion rights.

Digital Realty, Equinix, STT GDC, and Keppel have gained rights to expand data centers in Singapore.
In Malaysia, DayOne has purchased a data center site for $153 million after a significant IPO filing.
Henderson Land reported a 41% profit increase, reflecting Hong Kong’s economic recovery and growth.

Singapore Market Roundup (24-Aug-2026): RHB’s Yeo lowers Food Empire target price to $3.08,

RHB’s Yeo keeps positive view on Food Empire, lowers target price to $3.08.
PhillipCapital maintains ‘buy’ rating for CNMC Goldmine at reduced valuation.
ComfortDelGro’s target price cut to $1.21 by PhillipCapital’s Chew due to taxi decline.

M&A a Key Tool to Gain Market Share in Japanese Retailing

By Michael Causton

Japan’s top retailers had a strong FY2025, with the top 81 companies now controlling 48% of all retail sales, up 5.2 points in a single year.
It was a year defined as much by reconfiguration as growth, with drugstores, discounters and e-commerce taking share from supermarkets, department stores and home centres.
A wave of M&A reshaped the competitive map faster than organic performance alone could explain. This focus examines what results reveal about where Japanese retail is heading next.

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Aug 24

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Rebound as Higher Yields Keep Pressure on Markets and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Rebound as Higher Yields Keep Pressure on Markets
This Week in AI (Aug 16-22): Mysterious Ox Alpha Model; Stripe Buys OpenRouter; YMTC’s IPO
US$ Weakness: Ranking the Winners and Losers in Semiconductor Memory
China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (17-21 Aug)

Ohayo Japan | Rebound as Higher Yields Keep Pressure on Markets

US equities rebounded Friday, but weekly losses persisted as inflation concerns pushed 10-year Treasury yields to 4.73% and 30-year yields to 5.2%.
Wednesday’s Nvidia earnings will test the resilience of the AI trade, with strong spending benefiting the chipmaker but lofty expectations and valuation leaving little room for disappointment.
Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.3% despite recovering sharply intraday, while TOPIX gained 0.2%; shipping, mining and oil stocks outperformed.

This Week in AI (Aug 16-22): Mysterious Ox Alpha Model; Stripe Buys OpenRouter; YMTC’s IPO

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

We tracked AI models, infrastructure, and M&A this week: Ox Alpha appeared on OpenRouter and Stripe agreed to buy OpenRouter.
DeepSeek added vision to V4 Flash, OpenAI paused Astra RL work, and Alibaba and Baidu reported faster AI-linked growth.
YMTC moved toward a Shanghai IPO, Nvidia backed OpenAI capacity, and Anthropic added IPO banks and credit capacity.

US$ Weakness: Ranking the Winners and Losers in Semiconductor Memory

Margins are the FX airbag. Memory is 100% dollar-billed but locally costed; at 76–86% margins, earnings are less currency-sensitive than at any point in 20 years.
The FX dispersion is 20x. Micron sits at −0.15x beta versus Winbond at −3.03x; a 10% dollar decline can erase Samsung’s 42% upside.
Korean Q3 consensus has not caught the won rally. A 6.1% monthly appreciation implies KRW4.6tn operating drag and c.KRW3tn FX losses for SK Hynix.

China Healthcare Weekly Wrap (17-21 Aug)

By Wilfred Yuen

Genscript delivered a strong set of 1H26 results, driven by AI demands. Kelun Bio, CSPC, Sino Biopharm delivered positive 1H26 results, thanks to revenue ramp-up from innovative drugs and BD
Hengrui missed its 2Q26 results, dragged down by generic drugs (-17% QoQ to RMB2.3bn) and moderating growth from oncology segment (-6% YoY). Yet, we are positive on its pipeline progress
Other updates from this week include Zai Lab/Argenx, Hutchmed/AstraZeneca, and EyePoint/Betta Pharma…

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Aug 23

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): India Aerospace Opportunity: Can The Space Economy Become The Next Manufacturing Revolution? and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

India Aerospace Opportunity: Can The Space Economy Become The Next Manufacturing Revolution?
SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #7 | 15-21 Aug 2026
APAC Healthcare Weekly (August 23) – Henlius Bio, Wuxi XDC, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Celltrion

India Aerospace Opportunity: Can The Space Economy Become The Next Manufacturing Revolution?

By Nimish Maheshwari

India’s private space ecosystem is moving towards commercialisation, with companies developing launch vehicles, satellites and aerospace technologies.
The global space industry is being reshaped by reusable rockets and lower launch costs. India currently remains significantly more expensive than global leaders.
India’s long-term opportunity depends on building scale, improving launch economics and developing reusable launch technology.

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #7 | 15-21 Aug 2026

Samsung top trade CLOSED at +21.9% MTM; SK Hynix re-initiated as new top trade at ₩1,730,000 — ₩40T buyback delivers ~₩380bn/day mechanical support through 19 November.
WSJ’s $3 trillion shadow AI balance sheet (Shadow DSCR: 0.46x) triggered the 19 August selloff. Korea’s largest-ever buybacks set the floor; only October earnings can re-rate.
New Alternative Trade: Kioxia (285A JP) at ¥54,320, TP ¥120,000 (+121%) — three-for-one split on 1 October, 79.5% Q2 FY26 OP margin guidance, and HBF co-standard with SK Hynix.

APAC Healthcare Weekly (August 23) – Henlius Bio, Wuxi XDC, Chugai Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo, Celltrion

By Tina Banerjee

Henlius Biotech is collaborating with Sandoz for commercialization of up to 10 biosimilars in ~$322M deal. Wuxi XDC achieved GMP release of its antibody bioconjugates production line at Singapore site.
Chugai Pharmaceutical signed an exclusive license agreement with GSK for the anti-dengue virus antibody AID351. Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu demonstrated PFS improvement as first-line treatment of NSCLC in Phase 3 trial.
Celltrion has launched IV formulation of Steqeyma in Japan. Eubiologics submitted an IND to the MFDS for domestic Phase 1 trial for its Alzheimer’s disease vaccine candidate, Padivax.

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Aug 22

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Japan Strategy Weekly | AI Winners Held Hostage to US Bond Yields and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Japan Strategy Weekly | AI Winners Held Hostage to US Bond Yields
Macquarie, GIC, Anthropic: A Sovereign Threat: How the Theseus AI Deal Rewires Data Center Equities
Japan’s Winning Formula Is Under Pressure: Rising Yields, Costlier Oil and a BoJ on the Brink
AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 21.08.2026

Japan Strategy Weekly | AI Winners Held Hostage to US Bond Yields

Japanese equities slid as rising US long-term yields overwhelmed strong domestic fundamentals and hit AI-linked, long-duration technology valuations.
Treasury long-end buybacks helped yields retreat, exposing Japanese semiconductor stocks’ growing sensitivity to Washington’s debt-management decisions.
AI capex remains Japan’s growth engine, but higher US term premia threaten valuations, making November’s buyback expiry a key test.

Macquarie, GIC, Anthropic: A Sovereign Threat: How the Theseus AI Deal Rewires Data Center Equities

Validation of power scarcity: The Macquarie, GIC, and Anthropic deal proves grid access is the ultimate moat, establishing a massive valuation floor for existing powered data center assets.
Disintermediation threat: Sovereign funds acting as direct developers bypass traditional REITs, structurally shrinking the future pipeline of stabilized mega-assets available for public market drop-downs.
Asian operators hold the keys: Developers like GDS with actionable power pipelines in high-demand corridors are prime targets for sovereign joint ventures, offering desperately needed grid access.

Japan’s Winning Formula Is Under Pressure: Rising Yields, Costlier Oil and a BoJ on the Brink

By Umang Agrawal

JGB yields near multi-year highs are reshaping the Nikkei’s backdrop, with a negative yield-equity relationship highlighting growing sensitivity to further yield increases.
Japan’s oil import bill is surging as prices climb, with sharply higher values exposing the growing cost of energy dependence.
With 80% odds of a September BoJ hike and 63% Fed hold probability, Japan-US rate differentials are poised to narrow, supporting near-term yen strength.

AUCTUS ON FRIDAY – 21.08.2026

By Auctus Advisors

AUCTUS PUBLICATIONS ________________________________________ ADX Energy (ADX AU)C; Target price of A$0.16 per share: HOCH-1 potentially larger than expected – Pressure‑build‑up analysis from the first Hall zone at HOCH‑1 indicates stronger reservoir productivity, supporting a potential flow rate of ~3.5 mmcf/d versus the actual test rate of 2.7 mmcf/d.
The sand body is also estimated to extend at least 600 m from the HOCH‑1 wellbore.
Recently reprocessed pre‑stack depth‑migrated 3D seismic has refined the mapping of the Hall Channel Sands intersected in the deeper section of HOCH‑1.

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Aug 21

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Ohayo Japan | Yields Rebound as Tariff and Iran Risks Weigh and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Ohayo Japan | Yields Rebound as Tariff and Iran Risks Weigh
Before CPO: Optics Earnings Are Already Separating Scarcity From Volume
China’s Dye Supply Shock: Why India Could Emerge As A Structural Winner?
Asia Real Estate Tracker (20-Aug-2026): JDC Corp backs $320M Centuria Sydney office purchase.
How Rising Coking Coal Prices Impacting Indian Steel Producers?
REF China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | August 14-20, 2026
Singapore Market Roundup (20-Aug-2026): PhillipCapital maintains ‘buy’ on TeleChoice after

Ohayo Japan | Yields Rebound as Tariff and Iran Risks Weigh

U.S. Treasury yields resumed their rise, while Brent crude moved above $93 amid Middle East tensions.
S&P 500 0.8% and Nasdaq 1.0%, with negative breadth. Health Care, Consumer Staples and Consumer Discretionary lagged
Mitsubishi Electric agreed to acquire U.S.-based software provider PCI Energy Solutions for around ¥220 billion

Before CPO: Optics Earnings Are Already Separating Scarcity From Volume

By Raghav Vashisht

Lumentum converted AI-optics demand into 50.4% gross margin and positive cash flow; Coherent and Fabrinet grew quickly, but their capacity and inventory builds consumed it.
CPO demand has not moved out, but 2026 revenue sits in pumps, DCI, 200G EML, 1.6T and OCS rather than scaled co-packaged engines.
The optical build is already generating revenue before scaled CPO, but the economics are splitting sharply across the laser, integrated-system and manufacturing layers.

China’s Dye Supply Shock: Why India Could Emerge As A Structural Winner?

By Sudarshan Bhandari

China’s dye and intermediate industry is facing a structural supply reset as environmental inspections, safety audits and compliance requirements force weaker chemical plants to shut or reduce operations.
The disruption has triggered an unprecedented spike in critical intermediates, with reductant prices rising from approximately RMB 25,000/ton at the end of 2025 to around RMB 120,000/ton by July 2026.
China supplies the majority of global dyes and intermediates. Any reduction in reliable Chinese supply creates an opportunity for Indian manufacturers with integrated operations, export relationships and compliant manufacturing assets.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (20-Aug-2026): JDC Corp backs $320M Centuria Sydney office purchase.

JDC Corp has facilitated a significant $320 million acquisition of Centuria’s office in Sydney.
Hines and Pebblestone have completed the sale of a logistics facility in Greater Seoul for $65 million.
Nomura REIT acquired a hotel in Tokyo for $55 million, while Mirvac reported a profit increase to $479 million.

How Rising Coking Coal Prices Impacting Indian Steel Producers?

By Nimish Maheshwari

Premium hard-coking-coal averaged about USD 236/ton FOB Australia in Jan–July 2026, up 25% year on year, as Australian disruptions, Chinese supply losses and Middle East freight risks tightened the market.
India imports the overwhelming majority of metallurgical coking coal used by blast-furnace mills. Every USD 10/ton rise in coal can add roughly USD 7–9/ton to steelmaking costs.
The near-term earnings risk is concentrated in blast-furnace producers with weaker pricing power. Longer term, India’s capacity expansion deepens coking-coal exposure unless domestic washing and blending improve materially.

REF China Property Developers In Distress – Weekly News & Announcements Tracker | August 14-20, 2026

By Robert Ciemniak

This note is a weekly (select weeks on SK) curated selection of Chinese news articles and company announcements focused on developers in distress
We look for their deals, updates, specific project progress news (‘local signals’), as well as relevant local research commentaries about the market
We do not verify the underlying data or provide any opinion; we only select and summarise the information. See direct links to the sources

Singapore Market Roundup (20-Aug-2026): PhillipCapital maintains ‘buy’ on TeleChoice after

PhillipCapital’s Chew keeps ‘buy’ rating on TeleChoice after 1HFY2026 results.
CGSI views Marco Polo Marine as a buying opportunity.
OCBC’s Lim keeps ‘buy’ on CAO but reduces fair value after 1HFY2026 results.

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Aug 20

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Big Tech’s $3tn Shadow Balance Sheet: AI’s Hidden Leverage Crisis and the Shareholder Return Dilemma and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Big Tech’s $3tn Shadow Balance Sheet: AI’s Hidden Leverage Crisis and the Shareholder Return Dilemma
Ohayo Japan | US Treasury’s Bond Buyback Expansion
Silicon Wafer Industry Handbook: Primer, Cycle Framework and the 300mm Valuation Map
Singapore Market Roundup (19-Aug-2026): OCBC’s Lim maintains ‘buy’ on CAO, cuts fair value due to
Japan Morning Connection: Advantest, Shin Etsu Upgraded to Buy Amid Negative AI Sentiment
India’s Sugar Market: Record Prices, Shrinking Inventories And The Listed Beneficiaries
Asia Real Estate Tracker (19-Aug-2026): Keppel REIT sells Ginza office for $72M.
No-Man’s Land
Energy Roundup : US Oil Rig Count Continues to Climb; No Middle East Peace Negotiation Progress

Big Tech’s $3tn Shadow Balance Sheet: AI’s Hidden Leverage Crisis and the Shareholder Return Dilemma

According to WSJ article, AI off-balance-sheet obligations hit $3tn — 5× reported capex and 3× on-balance-sheet debt; the real leverage story lives buried in the footnotes.
However, the nine-company cohort is not one story: Nvidia and Broadcom benefit from supply demand; Oracle is distressed; Alphabet and Amazon face the sharpest FCF pressure.
Anthropic and OpenAI’s accelerating ARR growth is bullish: AI is monetising faster than debt tightens. The key question is whether ROI arrives before Oracle’s covenants tighten.

Ohayo Japan | US Treasury’s Bond Buyback Expansion

US indices were mixed; Healthcare outperformed, while Industrials, Technology, Financials and Energy declined.
Treasury to at least double long-duration liquidity buybacks to USD 4bn, pushing long-end yields lower (10Y -7bps) and weighing on the USD.
Moderna surged over 175% after successful melanoma vaccine trial with Merck; Estée Lauder beat quarterly expectations and raised FY outlook.

Silicon Wafer Industry Handbook: Primer, Cycle Framework and the 300mm Valuation Map

Record 300mm shipments, three loss-makers: ¥134bn of depreciation — not demand — is the entire gap; it peaks in FY2026 and mechanically rolls to ¥90bn by FY2028.
China has won 200mm and is contesting mature-node 300mm; at the leading edge — where the profit pool sits — no Chinese supplier is qualified below 14nm.
Constructive on the sector: SUMCO top pick BULLISH ¥4,200 (9.0x FY2028E EBITDA), Shin-Etsu BULLISH ¥7,300 (11.5x FY2027E EBITDA), GlobalWafers NEUTRAL NT$920, Siltronic BEARISH €76.

Singapore Market Roundup (19-Aug-2026): OCBC’s Lim maintains ‘buy’ on CAO, cuts fair value due to

OCBC’s Lim keeps ‘buy’ on CAO, lowers fair value; notes potential re-organization.
Wong cuts DHLT target price to 50 cents at Beansprout.
DBS, Maybank, and RHB raise UMS Integration target prices after strong 2Q results.

Japan Morning Connection: Advantest, Shin Etsu Upgraded to Buy Amid Negative AI Sentiment

By Andrew Jackson

Mizuho was out overnight with bullish commentary on the segment and it raised both Advantest Corp and Shin Etsu Chemical to buy, so this may help mellow the negative sentiment.
Japan AI related had a big fall yesterday but may stabilise soon with many stocks back down around their 200-day levels with intact growth outlooks and earnings done.
Sumi Forestry could see a squeeze after US homebuilders KB Home, DR Horton and Lennar rallied on the Treasury’s bond-buying intervention.

India’s Sugar Market: Record Prices, Shrinking Inventories And The Listed Beneficiaries

By Nimish Maheshwari

Wholesale sugar in Kolhapur has risen to about Rs. 5,350 per 100 kg, while raw sugar futures recently touched a one-year high of 16.6 cents/lb.
India’s opening sugar inventory on 1 October is estimated near 3.5 million tonnes—potentially the lowest in more than three decades.
The near-term earnings advantage shifts toward mills with large sugar stocks carried at Rs. 37–38/kg that can be sold into a Rs. 46–53/kg market.

Asia Real Estate Tracker (19-Aug-2026): Keppel REIT sells Ginza office for $72M.

Keppel REIT has sold its Ginza office for $72 million, marking its exit from Japan’s market.
Goodman has secured a long-term 20-year tenant for the initial phase of its Tokyo data center.
Partners Group has acquired a substantial $1 billion credit mandate aimed at the Asian real estate sector.

No-Man’s Land

By Investment Talk

During the First World War, then referred to simply as “the Great War”, battles were fought with boots on the ground.
Despite the modest presence of air and sea, WWI became synonymous with artillery and trench warfare.
The Great War would bear witness to the creation of the tank in 1916, which would play a peripheral role due to its slow speed, unreliability, and tactical limitations.

Energy Roundup : US Oil Rig Count Continues to Climb; No Middle East Peace Negotiation Progress

By Water Tower Research

US oil rig count advances to highest level in 14 months.
In its latest weekly report released on August 14, Baker Hughes stated the US active oil rigs rose by one to 455 rigs this week, the highest level since late May 2025 (Figure 1).
With the West Texas Intermediate benchmark oil price up 24% (to $83/bbl this week) since the start of the Iran war on February 28, the US oil rig count has increased by 47 rigs as operators gain confidence that higher oil prices could remain higher for longer due to the war-related oil supply disruptions.

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Aug 19

0

Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Property Easing Improves the Tail Risk and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Property Easing Improves the Tail Risk, but an Iron-Ore Rally Remains Unwarranted
Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Buckle as Higher Yields Hammer Tech
Japan Morning Connection: Brace for a Rocky Start as AI Rebound Proves Short-Lived
BOJ Reflation Alpha: Long Japan Hotel REIT, Short GLP J-REIT
India Office REITs: Structural Demand Meets a Regulatory Re-Rating – August 2026
Exencial Industry Tidings – 18-08-2026
Defense Contractors Backlog, Palantir, Mercado Libre, Wix + S&P 500 & New Fed Chair

Property Easing Improves the Tail Risk, but an Iron-Ore Rally Remains Unwarranted

By Duncan Chan

Beijing’s latest property easing reduces downside risk, but weak construction activity suggests limited immediate impact on China’s physical steel and iron-ore demand.
Cement and steel output remain weak despite stronger iron-ore imports, unlike the synchronised construction and commodity recovery seen during the 2020–21 cycle.
With global steel demand barely growing and new seaborne supply emerging, upside remains constrained, although subdued expectations could amplify a re-rating if inventories fall and steel margins recover.

Ohayo Japan | US Stocks Buckle as Higher Yields Hammer Tech

US stocks sold off as elevated long-term yields pressured growth valuations and AI infrastructure concerns hammered semiconductors; SK hynix, Seagate, Sandisk all down around -9%
Nikkei futures dropped in sympathy, trading 2% discount to cash; 10-year JGB yields hit 2.95%
Hitachi (6501 JP): Plans to sell its remaining 10% stake in Hitachi Construction Machinery

Japan Morning Connection: Brace for a Rocky Start as AI Rebound Proves Short-Lived

By Andrew Jackson

The nascent AI rebound hit a roadblock overnight just as it was starting to draw a momentum bid again after the recent meltdown.
Server and DC infra/optical names which had been doing quite well MTD took an absolute beating as the risk-on bid evaporated overnight.
A sour tone for memory after SK -9.2%, Seagate -9.2% and Sandisk -9%.

BOJ Reflation Alpha: Long Japan Hotel REIT, Short GLP J-REIT

BOJ’s rate hikes and quantitative tightening aggressively compress yield spreads, punishing long-duration assets while severely rewarding inflation-hedged variable-rent cash flows.
LONG Japan Hotel REIT: Unprecedented inbound tourism and 54.1% variable rent exposure create immediate inflation pass-through, driving a 28.5% surge in 2025 distributions.
SHORT GLP J-REIT: A 10.9% Tokyo logistics vacancy rate traps fixed-lease cash flows, forcing reliance on asset sales and share buybacks to mask fundamental stagnation.

India Office REITs: Structural Demand Meets a Regulatory Re-Rating – August 2026

By Garvit Bhandari

Record H1 CY2026 leasing of 45.5 msf, with GCC (43%) and flex (24%) demand rising as third-party IT services contracts to 13%
Regulatory re-rating underway: SEBI’s equity reclassification opens the INR 65 trn mutual fund base, a sixth REIT has listed, and the BSE has launched a REIT benchmark.
Knowledge Realty offers the most growth headroom (18% LTV, largest GAV at INR674bn); Embassy leads on scale (52.5 msf) but has highest leverage; Mindspace and Brookfield remain acquisition led.

Exencial Industry Tidings – 18-08-2026

India targets to seal 5 bilateral investment treaties by Oct-Nov 2026
Govt intensifies scrutiny of sugar stocks as prices reach record highs
Milling products industry’s sales grow by 4.8% in June 2026 quarter

Defense Contractors Backlog, Palantir, Mercado Libre, Wix + S&P 500 & New Fed Chair

By Maverick Equity Research

4 + 1 cherry picked Maverick Charts of the week say 10,000 words or more = the ‘How’!
Table of contents = the ‘What’! Executed in a succinct manner with the aim of a high density of ideas, because great research respects the reader’s time: Maverick Charts: Defense Contractors Backlog, Palantir, Mercado Libre, Wix
Bonus: S&P 500 1st year Performance with new Fed Chair

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Aug 18

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): Blood in the Water: S-REIT Distress Unlocks Generational M&A Trades and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

Blood in the Water: S-REIT Distress Unlocks Generational M&A Trades
SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #6 | 9-15 Aug 2026
Ohayo Japan | NVIDIA Invests $1.5 Billion in SB Energy
Singapore Market Roundup (17-Aug-2026): Phillip Capital calls HRnetGroup’s $332M cash ‘excessive’.
Stock Trade Compilation Diez
Japan Morning Connection: SEI Could Emerge as a Laggard Target as Optical/Cable Sector Heats Up
India Auto Ancillaries: Why Content Per Vehicle Matters More Than Volumes?
Exencial Industry Tidings – 17-08-2026

Blood in the Water: S-REIT Distress Unlocks Generational M&A Trades

Approaching 50% gearing limits, stranded S-REITs are locked out of equity markets, halting dividends and triggering lucrative, event-driven M&A opportunities for private credit and larger peers.
Manulife US REIT is a highly distressed restructuring play. Facing 60.8% gearing, it is executing fire sales to repay debt, offering deep-discount targets for opportunistic buyers.
Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT is a clean turnaround target. Resuming dividends early with stable 44.1% gearing, it trades at steep NAV discounts, ripe for privatisation.

SEMICONDUCTOR MEMORY CYCLE MONITOR — Issue #6 | 9-15 Aug 2026

SanDisk converts the NAND cycle from a debate into a contract: two-thirds of FY2028 bits locked under enforceable deals, ~80% gross margin targeted through FY2030, no HBF required.
Korea’s seven-week leverage unwind reverses in a single week — KOSPI +11.5%, Samsung +18.8%, SK Hynix +15.7% — confirming the selloff was ETF plumbing, not a fundamental reckoning.
We maintain BULLISH Samsung Electronics, TP ₩400,000 (+46% upside) — the cheapest name in the memory universe at 3.82x P/B versus a 7.66x sector median, buyback and HBM4 still ahead.

Ohayo Japan | NVIDIA Invests $1.5 Billion in SB Energy

US stocks fell as renewed US-Iran tensions pushed oil higher, reviving inflation and Fed rate-hike concerns; S&P 500 -0.5%, Nasdaq -0.2%, Dow -273 points.
Tech and financials lagged: Microsoft -3.0%, Meta -3.5%, while chipmakers advanced, led by Sandisk +9.0%, and Micron +4.1%.
NVIDIA investing $1.5 billion in SB Energy and securing exclusive AI compute infrastructure capacity at Ohio’s PORTS-Pike campus

Singapore Market Roundup (17-Aug-2026): Phillip Capital calls HRnetGroup’s $332M cash ‘excessive’.

By Triple S Special Situations Investing

Phillip Capital calls HRnetGroup’s $332M cash hoard ‘excessive’; RHB cuts TP to 86 cents.
Maybank views CSE as a proxy for US AI data centers, predicts stronger 2HFY2026.
Citi, DBS, and OCBC see Sembcorp as a buying opportunity post-MSCI removal.

Stock Trade Compilation Diez

I’m back from vacation after navigating some bears* Here’s an update of some things I’m researching at the moment.
This smorgasbord is not intended as personal advice. You’re responsible for position sizing, strikes, and so on.
YMMV and do your own DD.

Japan Morning Connection: SEI Could Emerge as a Laggard Target as Optical/Cable Sector Heats Up

By Andrew Jackson

SEI looks like a laggard target, up only 25% from its lows versus Furukawa and Fujikura’s 60% rebound.
Kioxia looks like it could have plenty of room to rebound on a return to momentum chasing with it still -45% from the recent highs.
QPS and Astroscale worth watching with SpaceX’s 4.4% gain overnight, lifting sentiment for smaller space names.

India Auto Ancillaries: Why Content Per Vehicle Matters More Than Volumes?

By Sudarshan Bhandari

India’s auto ancillary industry, serving both ICE and EV platforms, reached INR 7.60 lakh crore in FY26, with higher content per vehicle increasingly driving growth beyond vehicle volumes.
EV transition can lift supplier content per vehicle by ~3x to 17x, while powertrain-neutral portfolios reduce dependence on vehicle volumes and uncertain EV penetration forecasts.
Revenue per vehicle, EV-linked order-book share and powertrain neutrality offer a better framework to identify structural auto ancillary winners than client count or vehicle-cycle exposure.

Exencial Industry Tidings – 17-08-2026

Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar’s sales decline by 10.1% in June 2026 quarter
Tobacco products industry’s sales decline by 14.7% in June 2026 quarter
El Nino likely to have mixed impact on global agri commodities

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Aug 17

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Daily Brief Thematic (Sector/Industry): This Week in AI (Aug 9-15): DeepSeek Hikes V4 Prices; Anthropic Shows Profit Before Listing and more

By Smartkarma Daily Briefs | Daily Briefs, Thematic (Sector/Industry)

In today’s briefing:

This Week in AI (Aug 9-15): DeepSeek Hikes V4 Prices; Anthropic Shows Profit Before Listing
Ohayo Japan |Consumer Warning Signs
China/Us: DRONE ATTACK !!
Consolidation in Japanese Food Retail as Top 5 Grab 30% Share

This Week in AI (Aug 9-15): DeepSeek Hikes V4 Prices; Anthropic Shows Profit Before Listing

By Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

We tracked AI models, infrastructure, and funding this week: DeepSeek raised V4 pricing, while Anthropic showed profit before listing.
China labs pushed pricing, agents, and device subscriptions; US labs added OpenAI Ultrafast, Gemini Flash, Meta Glimmer, and Grok releases.
Nvidia lined up financing platforms, Anthropic signed compute capacity, DayOne filed for a US IPO, and OpenRouter revenue shifted toward Anthropic.

Ohayo Japan |Consumer Warning Signs

US stocks closed modestly lower on Friday in quiet trade, with the Nasdaq underperforming
Fed expectations are becoming more dovish: Softer consumption and subdued inflation reduce pressure for a September rate hike
Japan’s TOPIX finished the week at a record high as a positive quarterly earnings season comes to an end.

China/Us: DRONE ATTACK !!

By David Mudd

President Trump is targeting the drone industry for sanctions and tariffs, hoping to surge domestic supply after being unable to defeat Iran’s low-cost drone arsenal with US high-tech missiles.
Trump has announced 100% tariffs on larger drones after the Administration increased sanctions on Chinese drone makers like DJI.
Regardless of tariffs on drone imports, China continues to control the supply of several critical components for the global drone industry, including energy storage, motors, and optics and thermal imaging.

Consolidation in Japanese Food Retail as Top 5 Grab 30% Share

By Michael Causton

Japan’s food retail sector is worth ¥55.8 trillion and is undergoing fast consolidation. If you are investing in Japanese food retailers/brands, this in-depth review will provide context and key trends.
National chains are finally displacing regional operators through M&A and organic expansion – already, the top five food retailers control 29.5% of the market.
Private label is eroding national brand share as inflation bites and supermarkets are replacing fresh foods with higher margin deli, providing significant margin growth.

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