Kuwait and Qatar have increased crude oil exports via the Strait of Hormuz, with their export volumes rebounding to 70% of pre-conflict levels.

According to Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index closed Thursday up 104.16 points, or 1.53%, at 6912.37 points. Among its heavyweight stocks, Samsung Electronics rose 1.72% and SK Hynix gained 2.49%.

Binance founder CZ stated at today's offline "Binance Life" book club meetup in Hong Kong that the development of real-world assets (RWA) has far outpaced his expectations. He noted that many people wish to buy US stocks but face barriers to opening trading accounts, adding that tokenized stocks would make global trading much more accessible. CZ encouraged industry participants to build in the RWA space, which encompasses numerous sub-sectors including stablecoins, though he pointed out that real estate tokenization may be more challenging due to insufficient price volatility.

Beating AI Insight News: Alibaba launches new Qoder, evolving its developer-focused product into an agent-based workbench accessible to all users. Users don’t need to start coding from scratch—they simply state their goals, and Qoder will independently plan, call tools, and execute tasks such as prototyping, data processing, and file organization. Qoder now offers two modes: "Programming" and "General". The Programming mode remains centered on coding and development tasks, while the General mode targets a wider range of non-technical users. On August 12, Alibaba officially renamed its original Qoder desktop application to Qoder IDE, and is now rolling out this general-purpose workbench under the Qoder brand. The tool’s underlying technology draws on the Coding Agent capabilities Alibaba has accumulated over the past year. It integrates models including Qwen 3.8-Max, supports automatic model selection, and connects to over 40 connectors, 70 plugins, and more than 20,000 skills. Additional features include a Plan function to outline workflows, a Goal function for continuous execution around objectives, a Side Tasks panel to handle parallel sub-issues, plus real-time voice, recording transcription, and a desktop pet feature. Launch-period promotional offers include free credits: individual users can claim 500 Qwen-exclusive credits daily for 5 consecutive days, up to a total of 2,500 credits; enterprise users enjoy a 50% discount when calling Qwen series models in the new Qoder.

Former Binance CEO CZ and co-CEO He Yi have long used aliases from *The Simpsons* in internal Binance meetings and chats for the exchange and its subsidiaries: CZ uses Homer, while He Yi goes by Marjorie, shortened to Marge. An insider noted the playful aliases reflect their ongoing activity across Binance’s full ecosystem, including BNB Chain events and subsidiaries like CoinMarketCap. A close associate of CZ confirmed the former Binance CEO did use the Homer alias. He Yi currently serves as Binance’s co-CEO alongside fellow co-CEO Richard Teng. A former Binance employee revealed that He Yi still uses the Marge alias in internal meetings and communications. The *Simpsons* characters are all yellow, a detail aligning with Binance’s primary brand color used in its logo and marketing materials.

Isio Investment Management Chief Investment Officer Ajith Nair noted that the Jackson Hole symposium may not focus heavily on immediate policy decisions, but rather on the long-term direction of monetary policy, central bank policy frameworks, and their implications for investors. "While markets will naturally fixate on interest rates, this year’s key focus should be Waller’s first appearance at Jackson Hole as Federal Reserve Chair, and what it reveals about his vision for the Fed’s future direction," Nair said. He added that under Waller’s leadership, one of the most notable shifts is his apparent desire to reduce the market’s reliance on Fed forecasts and policy path projections, and this Jackson Hole gathering may further cement this approach.

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) emphasized that young people should not rush into entrepreneurship, advising them to work at reputable large companies for a minimum of two years, ideally between two and five years, during a closed-door sharing session in Hong Kong when responding to a question about college student entrepreneurship. Citing his own four years at Bloomberg as an example, Zhao noted that the comprehensive management systems of large companies are inaccessible to new graduates who jump straight into starting businesses, and this experience will prove highly beneficial for future entrepreneurial pursuits. CZ stressed that young people must prioritize developing a specialized skill. “This is a world of global competition,” he said. “If you just claim to know programming, there are tens of millions of programmers worldwide. It’s impossible to be twice as good as everyone, but if you can rank among the top 1% or even 0.1% globally, the rewards you get could be several, dozens, even hundreds of times higher than others. The gap in treatment and opportunities between first place and second place is enormous.”