Author: Megan Burrows

On March 4, brokers in Seoul witnessed the KOSPI plummet more than 12%, forcing the Korea Exchange to physically halt the bleeding. It had experienced its worst single-day decline ever by the end. In a single session, Samsung Electronics fell by almost 12%. SK Hynix experienced a 10% decline. The two chipmakers appeared to be the most visible names on the continent, despite the fact that their combined valuation had just momentarily surpassed that of Tencent and Alibaba. Over the past few weeks, it has been an odd exercise to watch how the three major Asian indices respond to the…

Seeing a former first-overall pick start over on a veteran minimum contract has an odd beauty. By most accounts, Kyler Murray appeared to have been subtly humbled but not financially punished when he entered the Vikings’ facility in March. According to the most reliable estimates currently available, his net worth in 2026 is estimated to be between $40 million and $50 million. Not particularly impressive for a quarterback. Not embarrassing either. Until you consider how he arrived, the number itself seems almost insignificant. On March 11, Arizona let him go, capping seven seasons that alternated between success and disappointment. Minnesota…

Observing Islamabad, a city more frequently linked to security alerts than diplomatic theater, transform into the space where the US and Iran finally sat across from one another is somewhat ironic. That discussion was supposed to take place in Geneva, perhaps in Vienna, or in some opulent Oslo chamber for decades. Rather, it took place in a sealed Red Zone at the Serena Hotel, where 10,000 police officers surrounded the diplomatic area and traffic was redirected off the Express Highway. It’s difficult to ignore how out of style that host is. And how it managed to function in any case.…

Since late February, there has been an odd atmosphere on the lower Manhattan trading floors. Not yet in a panic. but more subdued than normal. When no one wants to publicly discuss what they are modeling, a certain kind of silence falls on a desk. Since Iranian forces started blocking shipping through a 21-mile stretch of water that most Americans were unaware of prior to this year, that silence has hung over Wall Street for nearly three months. Nearly one-fifth of the world’s daily petroleum supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. It also transports massive amounts of liquefied natural…

On a weekday afternoon, the Edgewater Commons parking lot has a distinct rhythm: the elderly customers cutting across with reusable bags from the Acme on the corner, the kids spilling out of Target, and the slow loop of SUVs searching for spots. That final phase ends on August 15. Layoff notices have already been sent to all 115 employees of the Acme at 481 River Road, which is closing permanently. A representative for parent company Albertsons stated that the official explanation is simple. The lease came to an end. On paper, that kind of explanation sounds neat, but in practice,…

When a founder says something that the room isn’t quite prepared for, a certain kind of silence falls over the tech conference. Ryan Breslow made one of those remarks earlier this week at Fortune’s Workforce Innovation Summit in New York. “We got rid of our HR team.” He said it in a tone that was almost casual, similar to how someone might suggest changing brands of coffee. The audience, which was made up of executives whose jobs depend on human resources departments, were unsure of where to place their hands. In 2014, Breslow, a 31-year-old who appears younger, founded Bolt,…

When the first calls started coming into the Capital Markets Authority offices, the smoke had just cleared from the apron at Dubai International. There was a burning berth at Jebel Ali. Of all places, the Burj Al Arab had sustained damage from interceptor fragments falling back. Additionally, a Lebanese fund manager admitted later that he was updating his terminal every fifteen seconds somewhere on the 18th floor of a glass tower along Sheikh Zayed Road. Regulators had made the decision by Sunday night. On Monday, neither the Abu Dhabi exchange nor the Dubai Financial Market would open. They wouldn’t open…

This week, Seoul’s financial district has a strange atmosphere. In Yeouido, the so-called Manhattan of Korea, you can see traders huddled over phones, scrolling through charts that, to be honest, no longer make sense, as you pass the glass towers. In one session, the KOSPI fell 1.6%, but in the next, it recovered by almost 5%. That isn’t a correction in the market. That’s a market debating itself. The official justification is fairly neat. They call it profit-taking. a rest following a rally. The true story is more complicated, though, as anyone who has watched Korean stocks for more than…

Before you do the math, the numbers seem enormous. 400 million barrels. The largest emergency oil release in the International Energy Agency’s fifty-year history. Standing at the lectern in Paris on March 11, Fatih Birol described it as “unprecedented.” The word was used twice by him. The cameras lingered on him for an excessive amount of time, as they do when reporters are unsure whether they have just witnessed something historic or something that will be irrelevant by Friday. Brent crude was still rising by Friday. For the second consecutive session, it closed above $100 per barrel, which gives you…

It seems odd to try to put a monetary value on a man whose life ended in a DeKalb County courtroom in August 2016. It’s a common question on the internet about Hemy Neuman’s net worth, and the truth is that no one really knows. There are no financial disclosures. There are no publicly available estate filings. Instead, we have pieces that a journalist learns to put together when official figures are unavailable. Neuman was the kind of man who fit in with the corporate environment of the northern suburbs of Atlanta before everything fell apart. He worked at GE…