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POLITICAL drama, historic interest rate adjustments and crypto peaks. Major events in 2024 have caused some upheavals in certain corners of global markets and political landscapes – and kept investors and companies watching.

Here are some of the major events that happened.

South Korea’s short-lived martial law

The country was left mired in political turmoil after President Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law on Dec 3.

Yoon had cited the need to thwart “anti-state forces” among his domestic political opponents. His decree was overturned just six hours later after the National Assembly voted against it.

But the economic fallout that ensued roiled South Korean markets.

Yoon has since been impeached by South Korean lawmakers on Dec 14 and was suspended from office.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is currently the nation’s interim leader. The constitutional court has 180 days to decide on removing Yoon from office. If removed, a snap election will be held.

Bitcoin crossing the US$100,000 mark

The digital asset soared above US$100,000 for the first time on Dec 5 after US president-elect Donald Trump nominated pro-crypto Paul Atkins to run the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Since Trump’s sweeping victory, Bitcoin has surged more than 50 per cent and nearly US$10 billion has also been poured into its exchange-traded funds.

Trump has promised to replace Biden administration scepticism about digital assets with a less restrictive regulatory regime. He even suggested plans to create a US Bitcoin strategic reserve that is similar to its oil reserve.

The cryptocurrency industry spent more than US$19 billion backing pro-crypto US congressional candidates, hoping to boost those who would pass crypto-friendly bills to promote digital assets.

Bitcoin, which has more than doubled in value this year, hit a fresh high of US$106,533 on Dec 16. Some market watchers are optimistic that Bitcoin will gain even more, possibly fetching US$110,000.

Trump returns to the White House

In a stunning comeback four years after being voted out of the White House, Trump was elected president on Nov 5.

Trump, 78, secured 312 Electoral College votes, thus beating Democrat rival and current vice-president Kamala Harris.

Global markets rallied in the wake of Trump’s victory, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index reaching record highs. The pan-European Stoxx 600 also ended higher post-election.

But a Republican sweep is expected to lead to increased tariffs, adversely affecting the Chinese and South-east Asian markets, some analysts warned. Trump has proposed a wide range of tariffs, including 60 per cent on China and 10 to 20 per cent universal tariffs.

Trump will be sworn into office on Jan 20.

Indian billionaire Adani indicted in US bribery case 

Gautum Adani was charged by US prosecutors in November over an alleged US$250 million bribery scheme.

The tycoon, along with other defendants, had allegedly promised to pay more than US$250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to win solar energy contracts, and concealed the plan as they sought to raise money from US investors. The group said it lost nearly US$55 billion in a stock market rout in one week.

Barclays reportedly suspended extending new loans or financing to the group for now, while Jefferies Financial Group has not discussed new dealings with the conglomerate. Meanwhile, Japanese banks are said to be maintaining ties with the billionaire despite the charges.

Legal experts weighing in on the matter noted that the US fraud case against Adani appears strong, but they believe the tycoon is unlikely to be extradited to stand trial anytime soon.

US Fed’s oversized half-point cut 

For the first time in more than four years, the US Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by 50 basis points (bps) amid a weakening job market, while continuing to push down on inflation.

On Dec 18, the Fed reduced interest rates again by a quarter point and indicated it would slow the pace of future rate cuts. This comes amid a relatively strong jobs report and little recent improvement in inflation.

US central bankers now project it will make just two 25 bps rate reductions by the end of 2025 – half a percentage point less in policy easing next year than officials anticipated in September.

Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara 

Despite delays and funding woes, Indonesia’s new capital Nusantara is nearing the end of its first phase of development.

In August, the Nusantara development taskforce’s head said basic infrastructure for the 256,000 hectare mega-project was about 95 per cent complete.

Construction of Nusantara will take place over five stages, with the project expected to be completed by 2045. Phase 1 entailed the development of 47 apartment towers, comprising nearly 3,000 residential units for around 10,000 people.

President Prabowo aims to complete key government and parliamentary buildings in Nusantara in the next four years.

CrowdStrike outage

A defective CrowdStrike software update for Microsoft Windows computers in July caused a major technology outage across the world, disrupting essential services such as those of banks and airlines.

The problem was first reported in Australia after the software updates were pushed out, causing computers to see a “blue screen of death”.

In October, Delta Air Lines sued CrowdStrike over the incident. Delta said the outage resulted in 7,000 flight cancellations and affected 1.3 million passengers over five days.

CrowdStrike is said to be liable for more than US$500 million in out-of-pocket losses and for an unspecified amount of lost profits and expenditures.

Baltimore bridge collapse

A Singapore-flagged container ship smashed into a four-lane bridge in the US port of Baltimore on Mar 26, causing it to collapse.

Officials estimate this incident is set to cost an amount between US$1.7 billion and US$1.9 billion.

Supply chains were also disrupted. Shipping traffic was suspended at the port, idling some 15,000 workers. Baltimore is the busiest US port for shipments of cars and light trucks, handling at least 750,000 vehicles in 2023, data from the Maryland Port Administration showed.

The Fort McHenry channel leading to the port of Baltimore reopened to commercial navigation on Jun 10. On Oct 24, the US Justice Department reached a US$100 million settlement with the Singaporean owner and operator of the Dali.

US ban on TikTok

President Joe Biden in April signed a Bill tied to the aid legislation that bans TikTok in the US if its owner, Chinese tech firm ByteDance, fails to divest the app over the next nine months to a year.

The law would block TikTok from US app stores and web-hosting services unless ByteDance sells its stake by Jan 19.

This came after the US House and Senate in March voted in favour of banning the app or forcing a sale.

On Dec 6, a federal appeals court ruled that TikTok could be banned in the US due to national security concerns. Some two weeks later, the US Supreme Court agreed to hear TikTok’s appeal and scheduled oral arguments in the case for Jan 10.

Bank of Japan’s first rate-hike in 17 years

On Mar 19, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) ended its era of negative interest rates amid increasing inflationary pressure.

The central bank set a new policy rate range of between zero and 0.1 per cent, shifting from a minus 0.1 per cent short-term interest rate.

The yen tumbled by as much as 1 per cent after the news, as most investors had already priced in a change. It stood at 150.55 against the US dollar, and slid 0.7 per cent to 163.22 against the euro.

BOJ hiked rates for the second time on Jul 31, setting an interest rate of 0.25 per cent – a notch up from the previous rate adjustment. The decision, which also indicated plans to cut government bond purchases, helped push the yen to 150.41 against the greenback.

At the Dec 19 meeting, the BOJ kept interest rates steady amid uncertainty over Trump’s economic plans.