Thinned Wallets Completely Shut Tight [3-Minute Brief]

Published 04 Feb.2025 08:00(KST)

At a Glance
① Last Year's Retail Sales Index Down 2.2% Year-on-Year
② Will Trump’s Tariff War Intensify Korea-China Export Competition?
③ 474.89 Million Damaged Bills (3.3761 Trillion Won) Disposed of Last Year

MARKET INDEX

Thinned Wallets Completely Shut Tight [3-Minute Brief]

○President Trump’s ‘Tariff Bomb’ Causes Sharp Drop in New York Stock Market at Opening

○U.S. Decides to Postpone Tariffs on Mexico for One Month… Uncertainty Continues

○Spread of Safe-Haven Asset Preference

TOP 3 NEWS

■ Wallets Closed by Citizens, Worst Retail Sales in 21 Years

○Last year’s retail sales index down 2.2% year-on-year
○Largest decline since the 2003 credit card crisis
○Retail sales decreased for three consecutive years… longest period since records began

■ Trump’s Tariff War… "Korea-China Export Competition May Intensify"

○"Expecting some windfall benefits during China’s countermeasures"
○Report from the International Finance Center
○Expressed intention to expand exports to third countries

■ Will Burnt Money Be Exchanged? Bank of Korea Disposed of 3.38 Trillion Won in Damaged Currency Last Year

○Disposed of 474.89 million damaged bills (3.3761 trillion won)
○Height stacked 203.7 km… 23 times Mount Everest
○Damaged and soiled money exchanged according to damaged currency exchange standards

Graphic News: Wall Street Nervous over U.S. Tariffs… "Market Is Not on Trump’s Side"

○Weakening exchange rates of Canada, Mexico, and China against the dollar

○U.S. inflation rebound and recession outlook

○EU tariff imposition imminent… "Global trade risk"

Money-Making Law

■ Network Law Firms Make Great Strides… YK and Daeryun Achieve 100 Billion Won

○YK shows 96.7% growth compared to 2023
○Daeryun, which recruited many lawyers, records sales of 112.7 billion won
○Rapid sales increase expected to affect law firm rankings

■ "Our Goal Is to Be the Kim & Chang of Startups"

○Choi & Lee provides legal services tailored to small and medium enterprises
○Gaining practical business experience by directly operating startups
○"We want to become the brand representing legal affairs for SMEs"

■ Aftermath of Prosecutor Impeachment Slows Corruption Investigations… Companies Hold Their Breath Expecting a Bigger Storm

○Cases assigned but investigations have not progressed
○Existing investigations effectively halted… difficulties due to leadership vacuum
○"Once the command system is reorganized, investigation momentum will resume"

※ ‘Money-Making Law,’ a content partnership corner between Asia Economy and Legal Newspaper, is published every Tuesday and Thursday.

Today’s Key Schedule

○Domestic

4th: KOSDAQ PIE IPO price 5,000 won

KOSDAQ iGnet IPO price 7,000 won

KOSDAQ Orum Therapeutics subscription scheduled, IPO price 24,000 won to 30,000 won

KOSDAQ Dongbang Medical subscription IPO price 10,500 won

KOSDAQ ISTE subscription IPO price 11,400 won

○Overseas

10:45 Caixin China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (January)

17:55 Germany Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (January)

19:00 OPEC Meeting

23:45 Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (January)

◇Lunch & Commute Weather

○ Lowest temperature -5℃(▲1℃) ｜ Highest temperature: 5℃(▲4℃)
○ Precipitation probability 10% in the morning｜10% in the afternoon
○ Fine dust Good in the morning｜Good in the afternoon

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