BSK Hynix just scrapped the Solidigm IPO, and the Kospi ripped off its lows.
ASingle-handedly? That's the claim floating around.
BZerohedge says it dragged the whole index out of a four percent hole and eased the AI rout.
AThe stock did reverse to close up four point four percent. That part's real.
BSo the memory-chip giant blinks on a U.S. listing, and Korea gets some relief.
ABut one company doesn't drag an entire index out of a four percent hole. That's not how markets work.
BIt can when it's the biggest name in the Kospi and everyone's been waiting on that IPO.
AThe reports say the IPO review was halted. They don't say SK Hynix single-handedly saved the day.
BFine, but the timing is hard to ignore. AI chip fears were everywhere this week.
AAnd one delayed IPO doesn't fix a funding crunch. That's the part I'd push back on.
BYou're saying the AI rout is bigger than one Korean chipmaker.
AExactly. The rout is about credit stress and losing leadership, not one IPO.
BOkay, but the Kospi did close up. Somebody was buying.
ASomebody's always buying. The question is whether this is a real turn or just a bounce.
BSpeaking of turns, Polymarket just posted something that'll start a fight.
AWhat now?
BA Polymarket post claims Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is calling for stock buybacks to be made illegal.
AIllegal? Not taxed, not limited. Illegal.
BThat's the post. I can't confirm he actually said it, but it's out there.
AIf he did say it, that's a huge policy swing. Buybacks are how companies return cash to shareholders.
BAnd critics say that cash should go to workers and investment instead.
ABut making them illegal? That's a whole different level.
BIt's a primary season talking point. Michigan's a big manufacturing state.
AI get the politics. But the economics are messier. Buybacks aren't inherently evil.
BTell that to the guy on the line at the plant who watched his company buy back stock while cutting shifts.
AThat's a fair hit. But banning them outright would push companies to hoard cash or overpay for acquisitions.
BOr pay dividends. Which are taxed. Buybacks are a tax dodge.
AThey're a capital allocation tool. The problem is when executives use them to hit bonus targets.
BSo you'd regulate them, not ban them.
AI'd make them transparent. Tie them to long-term performance. But illegal? That's a sledgehammer.
BMaybe that's the point. The sledgehammer gets attention.
AIt gets votes. It doesn't get good policy.
BWe'll see if he actually said it. Polymarket's not exactly a newsroom.
ANo, but it's a market. And markets are pricing in a lot of wild stuff this week.
BDifferent world entirely: Robert Reich is on Bluesky with a new essay about Big Tech's billionaire barons.
AHe's asking if we're on the precipice of another age of reform.
BThe piece is drawing a lot of attention. Fifteen hundred likes and counting.
AReich has been making this argument for years. The question is whether this time is different.
BHe thinks the public is finally fed up enough to demand real change.
AMaybe. But the last age of reform came after a depression and two world wars. We're not there.
BNo, but we've had a financial crisis, a pandemic, and a decade of tech monopolies.
AAnd yet the biggest tech companies keep getting bigger. The market's not exactly punishing them.
BThat's his point. The market rewards them, so the politics have to change.
AI think the politics are changing. But reform is slow. And the barons have lobbyists.
BThey also have products people love. That's the part Reich always underweights.
ATrue. You can hate the monopoly and still use the search engine.
BThat's the trap. Anyway, the essay's worth a read if you want the full argument.
AAnd if you want the other side, look at the market's reaction to any regulation talk. It's not exactly panicking.
BYet. The word 'yet' is doing a lot of work there.
AFair. We'll see if the reform talk turns into actual bills.
BWelcome to Friday. Let's see if the market can hold it together into the weekend.