Good morning! 24 hours ago, I had no idea I’d be writing you about a sudden declaration of martial law in South (not North) Korea, but here we are.

Today’s letter is brought to you by Public!

You’ve probably heard a lot about interest rates in the news lately. But even as rates start to fall, there’s still time to earn some of the highest yields we’ve seen in years.

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A quick rundown of what you can get with Public:

• The High-Yield Cash Account: 4.35%* APY with zero fees and up to $5M FDIC insurance

• The Treasury Account: Lock in a guaranteed yield with US Treasuries — widely considered one of the safest investments for your portfolio

• The Bond Account: Secure a yield of 6%** or higher.

If you’re looking to earn steady interest — even as rates change — head to Public.

Rapid turnaround

Martial law in South Korea came and went within a matter of hours, and global investors responded just as rapidly. 

In a surprise move Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol announced the emergency military rule and traders immediately sold shares of Korean companies including Samsung Electronics, Coupang, Posco, and Captivision across domestic and overseas exchanges. 

New York-listed iShares MSCI South Korea ETF declined as much as 7% percent Tuesday to hit a one-year low. 

At the same time, the Korean won fell as much as 3% against the US dollar to hit a two-year low. 

President Yoon — whose approval ratings have plunged in recent months — said he made the decision to protect South Korea from North Korean “communist forces,” and he accused his political opponents of sympathizing with North Korea. 

It marked the first time in 44 years that a South Korean president has declared martial law.

Parliament voted against the measure within hours of the initial decision, and shortly after the president said he would formally lift his declaration. 

The opposition party, in turn, called for Yoon’s resignation.

In any case, the rare and unusual series of events ended with Korean stocks and the won rebounding once more.

The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF pared its losses to finish the trading day down just 1.6%. 

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 hit its 55th record high of the year, and the Nasdaq Composite also notched a new record. 

Comments or feedback? Reply directly to this email or let me know on X @philrosenn.

Elsewhere:

📈Job openings surged in October to a total of 7.74 million, 372,000 more than the prior month, the BLS reported Tuesday. At the same time, hiring slowed down amid storm disruptions in the Southeast and labor strikes among dockworkers and Boeing employees. (CNBC)

📊Salesforce stock nailed earnings. The company’s third-quarter revenue grew 8% compared to a year ago, and its net income climbed 25% to hit $1.5 billion. The stock ticked higher more than 5% in after-hours trading. (Yahoo Finance)

🤖 The AI-powered stock rally risks “correction.” That’s according to Vanguard’s chief economist Joe Davis. He said investors have gone too far in their bets on the technology’s potential. Davis cautioned that the companies most closely tied to the boom may not end up being its biggest beneficiaries in the long run. (FT)

Rapid-fire:

• Multiple shots were fired early Tuesday near the Washington DC home of Treasury Secretary Yellen (CNBC)

• Semiconductor stocks dipped after China announced it will tighten controls on chip-related exports to the US (Barron’s)

• Intel is set to pay ousted CEO Pat Gelsinger as much as $10 million in severance (Bloomberg)

• Okta stock popped 18% after-hours following its strong third-quarter earnings beat (CNBC)

• Social security, Medicare and healthcare spending make up half of the total $6.75 trillion in federal spending (Apollo Global)

• BlackRock has agreed to buy private credit manager HPS Investment Partners for $12 billion (Barron’s)

• The number of candidates completing chartered financial analyst exams has tumbled 40% since 2019 (FT)

Last thing:

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Disclosures:

** As of [9/16/24], the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across all ten bonds is greater than 6%. A bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased and is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond.

Paid endorsement for Public Investing, Inc. Not investment advice. All investing involves the risk of loss, including loss of principal. Brokerage services for US-listed, registered securities, options and bonds in a self-directed account are offered by Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA & SIPC. Public Investing offers a High-Yield Cash Account where funds from this account are automatically deposited into partner banks where they earn interest and are eligible for FDIC insurance; Public Investing is not a bank. 

Treasury accounts offering 6 months T-Bills are offered by Jiko Securities, Inc.,member FINRA & SIPC. Securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. For details: www.sipc.org. Banking services and the Bank Accounts are provided by Jiko Bank, a division of Mid- Central National Bank. For U.S. Investments in T-bills: Not FDIC Insured; No Bank Guarantee; May Lose Value. Treasuries risk disclosures, see https://jiko.io/docs/treasuries_risk_disclosure.pdf. See public.com/#disclosures-main 

A Bond Account is a self-directed brokerage account with Public Investing, member FINRA/SIPC and includes 10 investment-grade and high-yield bonds. As of [11/08/24], the average, annualized yield to worst (YTW) across all ten bonds is greater than 6%. A bond’s YTW is not “locked in” until the bond is purchased and is not guaranteed; you may receive less than the YTW of the bonds in the Bond Account if you sell any of the bonds before maturity or if the issuer defaults on the bond. While corporate bond yields should fall in reaction to a Federal Reserve rate cut, there is no way to know whether that will be true of the bonds in the Bond Account, how quickly bond yields will respond, or by how much they will decline. Bond Accounts are not recommendations of individual bonds or default allocations. The bonds in the Bond Account have not been selected based on your needs or risk profile. All investing involves risk. Public Investing charges a markup on each bond trade. Visit public.com/bond-account to learn more