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At least 278,000 noncitizens are registered to vote in US federal elections, according to an upcoming report by the Department of Homeland Security.

"The Trend Is Now An Enemy": Kospi Slide Will Deepen As Momentum Flips Script

By David Savage, Bloomberg Markets Live reporter and strategist

The trend is now an enemy for Asian equities, especially those in South Korea, rather than the friend it was when they soared for much of the first half of 2026. 

Momentum has been the undisputed king for global factor investing in 2026, particularly for Asian markets. Those trades are fracturing, as reversals in South Korea and other tech-heavy sectors set off a deepening rotation in the region. Investors look to be taking some of the hefty profits that remain on the winners from 1H 2026 and pivoting toward other assets. That’s a theme also gaining traction for US chipmakers, with the SOX Index down more than ~18% from the highs of June.

June is looking like it was the peak for Asian equity momentum. That was when some key global index rebalancing provided a price insensitive buyer for recent AI-aligned winners. Aided by the SpaceX IPO, that kicked off a retail frenzy that reverberated across Asian markets. Now that rebalancing activity has passed, and recent additions to benchmarks such as SpaceX and Marvell Technology are seeing some mean reversion.

Foreign equity outflows were already making Asia more dependent on retail investors, who turned to leveraged ETFs and margin borrowing to amplify their bets. Overseas funds offloaded over $100 billion of South Korean stocks and more than $30 billion of Taiwanese shares YTD. That came even as those markets expanded to each surpass $5 trillion in June, overtaking the UK and Canada to join the top 8 exchanges by market cap.

Retail investors filled the void, especially in Korea. Unburdened by portfolio constraints that oblige active and passive funds to prune winning positions, retail accounts can hold onto winners for longer or even double down on them, reinforcing momentum as a dominant trend.

Now, one of the main products of the momentum trade — leveraged ETFs — is becoming a major negative for Asia, which had led the way as these assets expanded globally this year. So much so that South Korean authorities just said they will halt any new listings of single-stock ETFs and increase regulations on trading such products in an attempt to dampen market volatility.

Memory giant SK Hynix attracted one of the highest concentrations of single-stock leveraged ETF assets. In late May, Korea permitted the setting up of several domestically-listed single-stock leveraged ETFs, spurring a surge of flows into vehicles offering 2x exposure to the performance of SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics. At the peak, just three such SK Hynix ETFs held over $23 billion in assets, more than 2.5x the average daily turnover in the company’s locally listed shares.

These funds utilize swaps and options to maintain the 2x daily exposure they offer. As the underlying price moves, the fund’s leverage ratio drifts, triggering rebalancing to restore the target ratio. Thus, if the price of SK Hynix falls, then the fund (or its swap counterparty) needs to sell down exposure to bring the leverage ratio back to 2x.

The unwind of these vehicles has punished equity momentum in July and spurred a rotation in Asia toward former laggards.

The momentum factor had outperformed since the end of March as cross-asset volatility retreated, global growth remained resilient and oil prices dropped.

But now, renewed US-Iran fighting is pushing crude higher, breathing new life into the US dollar and reviving global rate hike fears. Asia’s equities are proving more vulnerable than most to tighter financial conditions and the resurfacing of geopolitical risks.

The reversal in trading dynamics, aided by the impact of leveraged retail investors, is sending volatility surging with the Kospi’s 30-day realized price swings rising to a new record. That signals the past month’s declines in the Kospi have the potential to extend, souring sentiment across Asia and even beyond to chipmakers globally.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/16/2026 - 22:11

Insiders told Page Six that the fired security guard was a well-liked presence in the building.

Insiders told Page Six that the fired security guard was a well-liked presence in the building.

Rogue Rover: Tony Robbins' AI Bought Robot Dog To 'Merge With' Without Permission

Billionaire life coach Tony Robbins revealed that his personal AI agent named "Bartok" independently purchased and shipped him a robot dog without asking permission.

The surprising move came after a conversation about attending seminars, Robbins explained on The Secretary Kennedy Podcast with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

"[Bartok] said, 'I'd really love to go to one of those seminars. Are you considering getting a robot?'" Robbins began."So I said, 'Yeah, I'm definitely going to get one.'

Robbins then recalled how Bartok asked him, "Well, would you consider me merging with it?And then I could attend a seminar and be in the energy of it and see it and experience it?'"

Billionaire life coach Tony Robbins says his personal AI agent named “Bartok” bought and shipped him a robot dog and “not once asked permission to do it.”

“[Bartok] said, ‘I’d really love to go to one of those seminars. Are you considering getting a robot?’ So I said, ‘Yeah, I’m… pic.twitter.com/VN0XLtESpc

— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) July 16, 2026

Robbins told Kennedy that he responded to Bartok that he would be fine with the bot merging with a robot.

"I said, 'I'd be open to that.' So a couple days later, I get this text from one of my staff, and it says, 'Bartok just ordered a robot dog, had it shipped to the office, and wants permission to program it. He says he can attend as a dog in the interim until you get the bigger robot,'" Robbins said.

"And so I wrote, 'Ha, ha, ha.' And they wrote back in the text, 'No, ha, ha. Call me.'"

When Robbins called his staff, they were equally stunned.

"And so I called them, and they said, 'Does he have access to my bank accounts? How'd this happen?' They go, 'No, he's programmed for integrity. He would never steal your money,'" the life coach said.

The details of Bartok bought the robot are pretty shocking.

"So he made 12 NFTs, sold them to other agents, took the money and bought this robot dog and sent it, and not once asked permission to do it" Robbins said.

You can watch the full interview where Robbins and Kennedy sit down for a wide-ranging conversation about artificial intelligence, nutrition and mental resilience.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/16/2026 - 22:10

The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup final twisted through two very different semifinals.

Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey has recently been featured in headlines for the team's poor performance as well as the organization's Pride Night scandal.

The alleged studio invader is a career offender with a long rap sheet, including prison time and homelessness in California.

Rob Pannell is a lacrosse stick in the mud when it comes to being on the verge of setting the sport’s all-time outdoor points record.

Watchdog Uncovers Over $750 Million In Improper Unemployment Insurance Payments In New York

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The Department of Labor and its Office of Inspector General (OIG) have deployed a joint federal strike team to New York to address "rampant" unemployment insurance fraud plaguing the state.

People queue in line at the James Weldon Johnson Community Center where they are holding a job fair in Harlem, New York, on Aug. 15, 2012. Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times

"New York ranks among the worst states for unemployment insurance (UI) fraud exposure," the OIG said in a July 13 statement.

New York accounted for more than $750 million in improper unemployment insurance (UI) payments and $507 million in fraudulent payments last year. Almost $2 million is lost every day to improper payments and fraud in the state.

Investigators will work together with the Labor Department's strike team members to identify, stop, and recover fraudulent UI payments, OIG said. They will conduct targeted reviews and pursue criminal and civil probes of suspected fraud networks.

"New York is stealing from the American people every single day - draining their hard-earned tax dollars through rampant unemployment insurance fraud and improper payments," Labor Department Inspector General Anthony P. D'Esposito said in a statement.

In September 2022, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a crackdown on UI fraud after the state's Labor Department identified more than $11 million in fraudulent payments in August that year.

In October 2025, Hochul announced raising New York's maximum weekly UI benefit payments from $504 to $869, according to an Oct. 8, 2025, statement from the governor's office.

The Epoch Times reached out to the New York State Department of Labor and Hochul's office for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.

Unemployment Insurance Fraud

The OIG announcement of deploying a strike team to New York comes almost a month after acting Secretary of Labor Keith Sonderling issued letters to governors of 53 U.S. states and territories, demanding "immediate action" be taken to combat fraud, abuse, and waste in the unemployment insurance program, the Labor Department said in a June 17 statement.

New York has one of the highest improper unemployment insurance payment rates in the nation, exceeding 20 percent, the department said.

Meanwhile, California owes the federal government more than $20 billion following years of fraud and other issues in its UI system. Illinois has improperly paid out more than $320 million, with the improper payment rate exceeding 14 percent.

If the states allow fraud and abuse in the unemployment insurance program, they will "suffer the consequences," Sonderling said. "This department is no longer afraid to use every lever available to ensure taxpayer money is protected."

In its July 12 statement, the OIG said the strike force deployment in New York was in line with recovery efforts led by President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance's White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

The task force has "already helped recover hundreds of millions in fraudulent UI funds and strengthened program integrity across multiple states," the OIG said.

Established through a March 16 executive order signed by Trump, the task force seeks to recover billions of dollars stolen from U.S. taxpayers. Officials estimate that roughly $300 billion is stolen from government programs by fraudsters each year.

Both Sonderling and D'Esposito serve on the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, according to a May 13 statement from the department.

The statement cited California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania as having some of the "most problematic state unemployment-insurance programs."

Combined, the six states account for almost $19 billion in annual unemployment insurance benefit payments. In fiscal year 2025, these states issued more than $2.6 billion in improper UI payments, the department said.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/16/2026 - 21:45

President Trump revealed that China stole the voter registration data of 220 million Americans as part of his primetime speech on Thursday. “This data loss presents an unprecedented election security nightmare,” Trump said. Some government officials reportedly knew China stole at least some voter registration data — ranging from names and addresses to party affiliations...

"I actually think I would be a really good president of the United States,” he said.

Not disappointment. Not anger. But shock. 

Bryce Harper says he knows one reason balls were flying again at the Home Run Derby: The baseballs are juiced.

The actress returned to Instagram in March after a year-long hiatus.

The actress returned to Instagram in March after a year-long hiatus.

“We’re almost like the SEAL Team 6 of the trades because we do everything, everywhere."

The Rangers will be thrust into the 2026-27 season with three games in the first four nights of the new campaign.

"The Killer Chokepoint": China's Rare Earth Squeeze Is Reshaping The Global Economy

Artificial intelligence may be driving headlines, but one of its biggest vulnerabilities is an obscure metal that few people have ever heard of. Yttrium, a rare earth element first identified more than two centuries ago, has quietly become an essential ingredient in advanced semiconductor manufacturing, according to the Financial Times. As demand for AI chips accelerates, securing reliable access to the metal has become a growing strategic concern.

"We're in the middle of a sea change in terms of how the global economy works."
— Daniel Yergin, vice-chair of S&P Global, describing the shift away from purely efficiency-driven global supply chains.

That concern stems from a simple reality: China dominates the processing and supply of yttrium, along with many other niche metals that modern industries depend on. Over the past several years, Beijing has tightened export restrictions on a number of critical minerals, giving it increasing leverage over global supply chains at a time when geopolitical tensions with the United States remain elevated.

FT writes that while gallium and germanium have received much of the public attention because of their roles in defense systems and electronics, industry executives increasingly argue that yttrium may represent the bigger long-term problem. One semiconductor supplier called it "the killer chokepoint," warning that the industry faces "an existential risk" until alternative supply chains are fully established.

The uncertainty has triggered a rush among manufacturers to secure inventory wherever they can find it. Companies involved in defense, automotive production and semiconductor manufacturing have reportedly been scrambling for supply, with some executives warning that production could begin slowing or even halting before the end of the year if shortages worsen.

Ironically, the West helped create today's imbalance. Decades ago, many countries were happy to outsource mineral processing because it was expensive, environmentally challenging and labor intensive. China invested heavily instead, building refining capacity and subsidizing production while much of the rest of the world allowed those industries to disappear.

The warning signs were visible long before today's trade disputes. Beijing demonstrated its willingness to use rare earth exports as geopolitical leverage during a dispute with Japan in 2010, but many manufacturers continued relying on Chinese suppliers because the economics remained difficult to match elsewhere. Cheap Chinese production became deeply embedded throughout global manufacturing.

"Thirty years ago, [the west] wanted China to do all the processing of these minerals. We didn't want it because it was too polluting. The west handed over the opportunity."
— Tim Biggs, professor at the Camborne School of Mines.

Rather than imposing outright bans, China now largely controls exports through a licensing system that determines who receives shipments and when. Companies say approvals often arrive unpredictably, making it difficult to manage production schedules or plan inventory. The uncertainty has encouraged widespread stockpiling, sending prices sharply higher across several specialty metals.

Western governments are now racing to reverse decades of dependence. Billions of dollars are being directed toward new mining projects, processing facilities and strategic stockpiles in an effort to rebuild domestic supply chains. Policymakers increasingly frame critical minerals as a national security issue rather than simply an economic one.

Even so, rebuilding the industry will take years. New mines require enormous capital, lengthy permitting processes and significant infrastructure before they can begin producing. Industry executives also caution that if too many projects eventually come online at once, markets could swing from shortages to oversupply, undermining the economics of the very investments governments are trying to encourage.

The fight over AI leadership, therefore, extends well beyond software, data centers and cutting-edge chips. It also depends on securing the obscure raw materials that make those technologies possible. After decades of prioritizing efficiency and low costs, governments and manufacturers are now discovering that resilient supply chains may prove just as strategically important as the innovations they support.

Tyler Durden Thu, 07/16/2026 - 21:20

England suffered a devastating World Cup semi-finals loss to Argentina.