News

Glonghui, April 21 – On April 21, South Korean police applied for the arrest of South Korean entertainment magnate Bang Si-hyuk, believing he was suspected of fraudulent transactions prior to the company’s initial public offering (IPO). Bang Si-hyuk is the founder and chairman of South Korea’s HYBE.

Golden Ten Data reported on April 21 that some of the market's top analysts state that oil prices have not fully reflected the impact of what is described as the largest supply disruption in history. Saad Rahim, Chief Economist at Trafigura Group, said at the Financial Times Global Commodities Summit in Lausanne on Tuesday that, so far, the Iran conflict has resulted in a reduction of around 1 billion barrels of oil supply. If the conflict continues, this figure could rise to 1.5 billion barrels. Frédéric Lassere, Head of Analysis at Gunvor Group, indicated that if this war lasts another month, oil inventories will be depleted. Since the outbreak of the Iran war, Brent crude oil futures have experienced extreme volatility. On hopes for peace talks, the price once surged to nearly $120 per barrel before retreating somewhat. On Tuesday, the price hovered around $95 per barrel, partly due to expectations that the conflict would end soon. Rahim stated, "This scale seems to be beyond the market's comprehension." He also pointed out that if a peace agreement is reached, it would still take some time for trade flows to return to normal, “so there is indeed a significant gap between the market’s perception of the situation and the reality at the moment.”

Golden Ten Data reported on April 21 that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated on Tuesday that the economic impact of the Iran crisis has already cost France between 4 billion and 6 billion euros (approximately 4.7 billion US dollars). The government is currently developing new aid measures and has frozen certain expenditures. Since the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East, bond yields have risen sharply, and this increase in government borrowing costs alone has added 3.6 billion euros in extra budget expenditure. The French government has pledged to fully offset the budgetary impact of measures aimed at helping households cope with energy price shocks caused by the conflict. Le Maire said he would outline plans to freeze some spending at a meeting with lawmakers on Tuesday, emphasizing that the government will not implement sweeping budget cuts. He added that the Prime Minister would announce new measures on Tuesday evening to help consumers deal with higher energy prices, with particular attention to those who rely on vehicles for their work.