Group 1: Market Overview - U.S. investors are facing challenges including high tech stock valuations, hawkish Federal Reserve commentary, and unpredictable tariff policies from the Trump administration [1] - Despite Nvidia's strong earnings, the market experienced a sell-off, indicating potential volatility ahead [2] - High-quality international stocks have emerged as a refuge from U.S. market fluctuations [2] Group 2: Shinhan Financial Group - Shinhan Financial Group, a South Korean banking conglomerate, has a market cap of $25.5 billion and reported strong growth in interest income and net interest margins in Q3 2025 [3][5] - The company is trading at a Price-to-Earnings (P/E) ratio of 7.94 and a Price-to-Book (P/B) value of 0.5, with a dividend yield exceeding 3% [5] Group 3: POSCO Holdings - POSCO Holdings, valued at $16 billion, is transitioning from traditional steel manufacturing to lithium battery production, which offers higher margins [6][8] - The company has secured deals for lithium extraction in the U.S. and mining operations in Australia and Argentina, yet it trades at 14 times forward earnings and 0.4 times book value [6] Group 4: PLDT Inc. - PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines, offers a range of services and has developed the popular PayMaya app, now rebranded as Maya [9] - The stock trades at 7.5 times forward earnings and 1.2 times sales, with a dividend yield over 7%, presenting a potential buying opportunity after a recent drop [11] Group 5: United Microelectronics Corp. - United Microelectronics Corp. is a key player in the semiconductor foundry market, with a market share of 5% and major clients including Texas Instruments and Intel [12][14] - The stock is trading at 14 times forward earnings and 2.4 times sales, below industry averages, and has shown improved earnings performance in Q3 2025 [14]

Core Insights - Blackstone Inc. (BX) is a leading alternative asset management firm with a market cap of $106.5 billion, specializing in various investment strategies including private equity and real estate [1] Performance Overview - BX shares have underperformed the broader market, declining 14.5% over the past year, while the S&P 500 Index has increased by nearly 18.5% [2] - In 2025, BX stock is down 17.2%, contrasting with the SPX's 15.1% rise year-to-date [2] Comparative Analysis - BX's underperformance is less severe compared to the Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), which has gained about 13.3% over the past year [3] - The XLF's 8.5% gains year-to-date further highlight BX's struggles [3] Q3 Financial Results - On October 23, BX shares fell over 4% after reporting Q3 results, with an adjusted EPS of $1.52, exceeding Wall Street's expectation of $1.21 [4] - The company's revenue for the quarter was $3.1 billion, down 15.7% year-over-year [4] - Analysts project BX's EPS to grow 14.9% to $5.33 for the current fiscal year ending in December [4] Analyst Ratings - Among 23 analysts covering BX, the consensus rating is a "Moderate Buy," consisting of eight "Strong Buy," two "Moderate Buy," 12 "Holds," and one "Strong Sell" [5] - This rating configuration has improved from two months ago, where seven analysts previously suggested a "Strong Buy" [6] Price Targets - TD Cowen maintained a "Buy" rating on BX, lowering the price target to $205, indicating a potential upside of 43.5% from current levels [6] - The mean price target is $178.76, representing a 25.1% premium to current prices, while the highest price target of $215 suggests an upside potential of 50.5% [6]

I also do want to ask you about the president's new executive order that would potentially allow people to use money in their 401k towards things like crypto, private equity, uh buying homes. What gives how would that work. How quickly could that take effect.So it's super controversial because there have there have been uh roadblocks and guide rails against this for a long long time because the concern is a regular buy and hold investor somebody who is doesn't make a ton of money makes the average amount of ...