S&P 500 Slides as AI Chip Stocks Tumble, Cooling Tech Rally 
BOJ Expected to Deliver December Rate Hike as Economists See Borrowing Costs Rising Through 2025 
China’s November Economic Data Signals Slowing Industrial Output and Weak Consumer Demand 
Global Markets Slide as Tech Stocks Sink, Yields Rise, and AI Concerns Deepen 
Oil Prices Rebound in Asia as Venezuela Sanctions Risks Offset Ukraine Peace Hopes 
U.S. Dollar Slides for Third Straight Week as Rate Cut Expectations Boost Euro and Pound 
Asian Technology and Chipmaking Stocks Slide as AI Spending Concerns Shake Markets 
China’s Small Bank Consolidation Struggles as Profits Fall and Risks Persist 
Gold Prices Slip Slightly in Asia as Silver Nears Record Highs on Dovish Fed Outlook 
U.S. Stock Futures Mixed as Tech and AI Stocks Face Pressure Ahead of CPI Data 
Dollar Struggles as Markets Eye Key Central Bank Decisions and Global Rate Outlooks 
Mexico Moves to Increase Tariffs on Asian Imports to Protect Domestic Industries 
Ireland Limits Planned Trade Ban on Israeli Settlements to Goods Only 
Fed Near Neutral Signals Caution Ahead, Shifting Focus to Fixed Income in 2026 
South Korea Extends Bond Market Stabilization Measures Amid Rising Financial Risks 
South Korea’s finance minister lauded the success of property laws that took effect in July last year for increasing lease contract renewals and protecting tenants.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki said that the laws pushed the average annual lease contract renewal rate of 100 apartment complexes in Seoul from 57.2 percent to 77.7 percent
Hong was referring to the Housing Lease Protection Act and the Commercial Lease Protection Act.
An amendment on the Act on Report on Real Estate Transactions, which mandated a reporting of the rent to the authorities within 30 days of a lease being signed, took effect on June 5.
The revised laws limit the amount that landlords can increase in renewing a monthly lease or a jeonse lease by no more than 5 percent.
Additionally, tenants are given the right to extend a lease by up to two years after an initial two-year lease expires.
Landlords are given a limited range of reasons to refuse lease renewals.
Examples are when direct family members plan on residing at the property, or if the tenant violates the terms by subletting.
Hong noted that the “5 percent rule” was adopted in 8 out of 10 lease renewal contracts, and the period of average tenancy has risen from roughly 3 years to 5 years since last year, proving that the laws provided more stability for tenants.
The laws have been criticized for fueling a spike in disputes between homeowners and tenants and creating a price gap between leases that have adopted the 5 percent rule and those that have yet to, disrupting the market as a result, they added.
