Fed's Warsh Says Inflation Mission Not Accomplished | The Asia Trade 7/15/2026

Summary

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh warned the inflation fight is not over despite a cooler June CPI, while the US-Iran conflict over the Strait of Hormuz kept oil prices elevated and threatened further instability. IBM saw its worst plunge since 1968 after an AI-driven chip shortage hit sales. Guests addressed the macro setup, strong memory-chip fundamentals, Chinese EV export resilience, and the potential for a Brent crude shock.

• Fed Chair Warsh reiterated hawkish resolve and a lack of forward guidance, limiting the bond rally after soft CPI.
• Strait of Hormuz tensions flared again, pushing Brent above $85 and raising watch for a spike to $100.
• IBM suffered a historic drop on a sales miss blamed on customers shifting spending to AI chips.
• SK Hynix ADRs traded at an extreme 50% premium to local shares on options buying and memory shortage bets.
• Marc Franklin sees memory supply crunch extending to 2028 and favors the sector recovering after froth clears.
• Franklin also sees Chinese onshore investors leaning toward bonds, keeping yields compressed.
• Fidelity’s Peiqian Liu expects Chinese EV exports to stay resilient despite trade frictions.
• Japanese JGB repatriation efforts and Korean positioning dynamics were flagged as emerging market stories to monitor.