a16z Announces Completion of $15 Billion Fundraise, Will Focus on AI and Crypto Areas

According to Bitget market data, Hong Kong-listed Alibaba’s stock fell more than 10%, hitting a new low in nearly a month. On the news front, Alibaba announced Sunday that it plans to place new shares in Hong Kong. The company said the total value of the placement is HK$80 billion (US$10.2 billion). This transaction will be the largest primary follow-on offering in the history of Hong Kong-listed firms, the largest Regulation S stock offering on record (for securities offerings and sales conducted outside the U.S.), and the world’s third-largest primary follow-on stock offering this year, after Alphabet and Intel.

Fed Chair Walsh will attend the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium this Friday for the first time in his capacity as chair. Markets are awaiting his speech to clarify the Fed’s policy framework following sharp cuts to forward guidance, in a bid to ease recent tensions in the U.S. Treasury market. Previously, Walsh scaled back guidance on future interest rate paths in policy communications and even hinted at a possible adjustment to the inflation target, sparking market concerns over the Fed’s transparency and policy credibility. A survey shows over 60% of surveyed economists believe the Fed’s credibility crisis has been a major driver of the surge in long-term U.S. Treasury yields. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Bessent is attempting to lower borrowing costs by expanding the scale of longer-term U.S. Treasury repurchase operations, while Walsh appears to tolerate the rise in long-end yields—this has drawn market attention to policy divergences between the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury. Analysts warn that if Walsh fails to release clear policy signals on Friday, the outcome could be seen as "disappointing" by markets, further intensifying sell-offs in long-term U.S. Treasuries. If he can clearly define potential inflationary pressures, it is expected to reduce term premiums and ease bond market pressure.

As Bitcoin rebounded to near the $77,000 threshold on Monday, the massive short positions in Bitcoin and Ethereum held by the whale known as "Set 10 Big Targets" may once again incur losses. If the whale retains its original positions: - BTC short positions: 1,830.724 coins, valued at roughly $139 million, with an average entry price of $76,397.56; - ETH short positions: 12,756.739 coins, valued at roughly $30.25 million, with an average entry price of $2,371.57. Based on the current BTC price of $77,000 and ETH price of $2,436, the total unrealized loss in the whale’s address could reach up to $1.93 million.

According to Bitget market data, Samsung Electronics' intraday decline has widened to nearly 8%, South Korea's KOSPI index is currently down 2.4%, and SK Hynix's gain has narrowed to 0.4%.

Samsung Electronics fell 8% in early trading this week after unveiling a record $79 billion shareholder return plan, but the market was disappointed as it had expected the company to distribute more cash gains from the AI boom to shareholders and clarify its share repurchase program further. The South Korean tech giant announced last Friday that this year’s total shareholder return will range from 90 trillion to 110 trillion won, including a 30 trillion won cash dividend in the third quarter. Eugene Securities analyst Sohn In-joon said: “Samsung Electronics neither mentioned the possibility of raising its existing shareholder return policy nor announced a plan to cancel treasury stock, which is disappointing.” Morgan Stanley noted that investors need to watch how Samsung will allocate the remaining 60 trillion to 80 trillion won in January next year, as well as the next phase of its capital return framework set to take effect next year. (Jinshi)

As markets await US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s announcement of new sanctions targeting Iran, international oil prices edged lower on Monday. WTI crude futures fell roughly 1.3% to $85.93 per barrel, while Brent crude dropped 1.24% to $93.22 per barrel. Bessent had earlier stated that the US would launch the “largest-ever financial offensive” against Iran, pushing allies and other countries to sever economic ties with Tehran. Iran, for its part, has said it is capable of withstanding the sanctions and maintaining its foreign economic relations. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia forecasts that if the US’s efforts to economically isolate Iran succeed, the risk of Tehran taking more drastic actions could rise, further exacerbating volatility in energy markets.