US Dollar Rises as Fed Rate Outlook Stays Hawkish, Euro Slips and Yen Near 40-Year Low 
Michael Burry Shorts Tesla at $416 as AI and Semiconductor Bearish Bets Expand 
Switch Seeks $2 Billion Funding at Nearly $50 Billion Valuation Ahead of Potential IPO 
India Manufacturing PMI Slows in June as Demand Weakens Despite Lower Cost Pressures 
US Resumes Dollar Shipments to Iraq After Months-Long Suspension 
Turkey Vehicle Sales Fall 11.4% in June as Auto Market Weakens 
Gold Price Drops to Eight-Month Low as Fed Rate Hike Bets Weigh on Bullion. Source: Photo by Michael Steinberg via Pexels 
South Korean Stocks Tumble as AI Chip Selloff Hits Asian Markets 
Asian Currencies Slip as Dollar Holds Firm, Yen Near Four-Decade Low Ahead of Fed, Jobs Data 
Gold Price Hits Annual Low as Fed Rate Hike Bets and Sticky Inflation Weigh on Bullion 
US Jobs Report Preview: June Payroll Growth Seen Slowing as Fed Rate Decision Looms 
Trump Reports $1.4 Billion in Crypto Income as Digital Assets Become Top Wealth Source 
Anthropic Restores Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 After U.S. Lifts AI Export Controls 
Northern Star Appoints New CEO as Activist Elliott Pushes for Leadership Overhaul 
Wall Street Futures Rise Ahead of JOLTS Data, Nike Earnings, and U.S.-Iran Talks 
Chip Stocks Rally as Samsung and SK Hynix’s $1.3 Trillion Investment Plan Boosts AI Optimism 
OpenAI Proposes 5% U.S. Government Stake Amid AI Policy Talks 
KT Corp. and CJ ENM have agreed to combine their respective over-the-top video platforms to form the largest streaming site. This means that they will be merging KT’s Seezn and CJ ENM’s TVing with the aim of becoming the No. 1 OTT video service provider in South Korea.
KT Corp. and CJ ENM expect that their merger decision will effectively scale up the growth of Korean video content. According to Pulse News, the companies said earlier this week that KT Studio Genie and TVing are set to have a separate board meeting, and it was subsequently held on Thursday.
The meeting was to discuss the integration plan and finalize the details of the merger. Business observers said that once the deal is completed, KT’s Seezn may be placed and operated under TVing. In any case, the financial details, including the capital ratio of the agreement, were not divulged to the public.
It was noted that once Seezn and TVing are finally unified, it will be the second merger and acquisition (M&A) agreement in the Korean OTT market. The first was the partnership of SK Telecom’s Oksusu and Pooq that was formed through the collaboration of major TV stations - SBS, KBS, and MBC - to create a joint video-on-demand platform in the country.
“In 2019, mobile carrier SK Telecom led the platform integration as the controlling stockholder, but this time, content provider CJ ENM’s Tving will lead the unity, showing the changed status of the content business,” an official in the OTT sector stated.
KT’s Seezn and CJ ENM’s TVing will have a combined number of customers reaching 5.6 million. This figure will surpass South Korea’s current highest number of subscribers, which is 4.24 million, under the Wave OTT platform.
Korea Joongang Daily also quoted an analyst at Yuanta Securities, Choi Nam Gon, as saying about the merger, “It is a win-win for both because Seezn can target beyond KT subscribers and CJ ENM can get access to KT’s 14 million phone users.”
Meanwhile, it was suggested that KT Corp. and CJ ENM would be competing with Netflix once their OTT streaming platforms are completely combined. As of April, the American streaming company has more than 10 million subscribers, and it will be easy for the companies to catch up and gain additional subscribers as they already have more than five million combined. users
