China Making Electric Cars with Robots... Even the US Is Surprised [3-Minute Brief]

[3-Min Brief 3-Second Summary]
① Japan Price Hike Causes '100 Yen Shop' Wave of Bankruptcies
② Banks Revamp KPIs After ELS Crisis
③ Samsung NAND Q1 Sales Expected to Double

MARKET INDEX

- US New York Stock Exchange's three major indices closed higher
- Technology stocks such as Nvidia, Apple, and Alphabet rose

- Expectations for interest rate cuts weakened... Strong bond yields

Top3 NEWS

UBTECH's humanoid Walker S is undergoing training, assembling electric vehicle emblems and more. [Image source=UBTECH YouTube]

■ Even assembling electric vehicle emblems... China’s robots rapidly becoming human-like, US on alert

- China accelerating development of humanoid robots
- US-China clash emerging in the humanoid industry
- China chasing the US with aggressive investments

■ "ELS loss incident due to performance evaluation"... Banks revamping KPIs

- Hana Bank adding high-risk product-related items to KPIs from the first half of this year
- KB Kookmin Bank, which sold the largest volume of Hong Kong H-Index ELS, also revising KPIs
- Financial authorities expected to present KPI-related guidelines within the year... "Will form a task force"

■ Will Japan’s '100 Yen Shops' disappear amid rising inflation? Supplier bankruptcies increase

- Japan’s '100 Yen Shops,' which grew through a multi-product low-margin strategy, at a crossroads
- Unable to meet unit prices due to rising raw material and labor costs... also adopting shrinkflation strategies
- Suppliers reluctant to supply to 100 Yen Shops, raising concerns about industry instability

the Chart : Samsung's 'Ugly Duckling' NAND finally turns around

- Non-volatile memory 'NAND' retains information even when power is off
- Brightening NAND market... demand increasing due to more AI devices
- "Samsung NAND expected to exit operating losses in Q1 and Q2"

Money-Making Law

■ Former Supreme Court Justice Kim Young-ran: "Judiciary’s role more important in a divided Korea"

- Kim Young-ran returns after 4 years with 'Freedom Beyond Judgment'
- "Judiciary must consider minimum consensus even if opinions differ"
- Harsh criticism on trial delays: "Structural innovation needed"
☞Read article: https://www.asiae.co.kr/article/lawtimes/2024031815023993116

■ 529 applicants for 30 experienced prosecutor positions... Competition ratio 18 to 1

- 529 applicants for 30 experienced prosecutor positions
- Likely to be concentrated in 28 places facing manpower shortages
- Written exam boldly omitted... increase in lawyer applicants
☞Read article: https://www.asiae.co.kr/article/lawtimes/2024031815051405792

■ Doctor prescribed medication based only on inmate letters... Court rules license suspension justified

- Issued 17 prescriptions based solely on symptoms described in letters
- Some senders were drug offenders... prescribed psychotropic drugs
- Disputed 2-month license suspension... retrial also upheld suspension
☞Read article: https://www.asiae.co.kr/article/lawtimes/2024031815072016017

※ 'Money-Making Law,' a content partnership corner between Asia Economy and Law Times, is published every Tuesday and Thursday.

News Terminology: Soaring fruit prices 'Applelation'

- Inflation caused by apples
- Prices of other fruits rising together
- Emergency imports impossible... increased household burden

Today's Key Schedule

○ Domestic
- 08:55 February trade balance
- 19th KOSDAQ Hana 32 SPAC subscription, public offering price 2,000 KRW

○ Overseas
- 12:30 Australia March interest rate decision
- 13:30 Japan January industrial production
- 19:00 Germany March ZEW economic sentiment index
- 19:00 Eurozone Q4 wages
- 21:30 US February housing starts
- 21:30 Canada February consumer price index

- 23:48 Japan interest rate decision

◇ Lunch & Commute Weather

○ Lowest temperature 3℃(▲2℃) ｜ Highest temperature: 11℃(▼1℃)
○ Precipitation probability morning 60%｜afternoon 60%
○ Fine dust morning moderate｜afternoon temporarily bad

OK in 3 minutes, essential time-efficient economic news. Published daily at 8 AM.