
Hormuz flips in 24 hours: 3 Brent scenarios for Apr 20
Within 24 hours, Iran moved from 'fully open' back to 'prior state'. Three concrete scenarios for Brent and Vietnam's oil & gas stocks for the week of Apr 20-24.

SJC bucks the world: Decree 24 is repricing the premium
SPDR bought 13.4 tonnes net, world gold rose 2.74% in the week of Apr 13-17, yet SJC bars fell 0.29%. The SJC-world spread has shed nearly one-third in just over two weeks — and behind that number is a policy being rewritten.

TCBS +VND 1,458bn, EVS −VND 197bn: Model Decides Q1
VN-Index fell 6% in Q1 2026, but Q1 filings from 30+ Vietnamese brokers split into two poles. Revenue structure — not size — determined who booked a trillion-dong profit and who wrote a hundred-billion-dong loss.

HCMC remittances fall 16.9%: A soft USD cushion thins
In Q1/2026, remittances into Ho Chi Minh City posted their first double-digit decline in years. The 16.9% YoY drop is not drama — but it adds another layer of pressure on Vietnam's exchange rate and USD supply.

MB admits market is short of cash: Three mechanisms squeezing bank NIM in 2026
MB's credit grew ~4.5x faster than deposits in Q1/2026, yet 29 banks simultaneously cut savings rates. Three structural mechanisms are shaping bank profits this year.

Foreign investors dump VND 5.75T in VHM, VN30F1M; VN-Index +3.3%
During April 13-17, foreign investors net-sold nearly VND 5,751 billion concentrated in VHM and VN30F1M futures, yet VN-Index still closed at 1,817.17. The real story is a rotation, not a retreat.

Q1/2026: Gold +14%, VN-Index -6%, funds dispersed 13pp
A cold look back at a quarter where SJC gold led, VN-Index sat near the bottom, and two active equity funds stood 13.26 percentage points apart despite investing in the same market.

VIX 17 isn't the yearly low: BDI and copper say otherwise
VIX falling 32.7% in 30 days has fueled a 'peak greed' narrative. But Baltic Dry's 11-session winning streak and LME copper inventory at an 8-year high tell a different — messier and more useful — story about the global trade cycle.

Iran opens Hormuz, Brent -10.6%: 5 sector calls
On the night of Apr 17, Iran announced the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz after a week-long blockade. Brent fell 10.6% to $88.88 — Vietnamese investors have 48 hours to rebalance before the Apr 20 session.

29 banks cut deposit rates, 2026 hike pressure still looms
On April 9, the SBV Governor met with commercial banks and 29 lenders cut deposit rates. FiinRatings simultaneously warned that liquidity pressure could push rates back up by 0.5-1 percentage point in 2026.

Silver Deficit Hits 6 Years, Vietnam Retail Premium at 22%
The World Silver Survey 2026 confirms a sixth consecutive year of supply deficit. But for Vietnamese retail investors, the real friction lies in the 22% premium of domestic silver bars over the world price.

Retail +1.27% on 17/4: MWG carries the whole basket alone
HOSE retail sector closed +1.27% on April 17, yet 14 of 22 stocks were flat and only MWG hit the ceiling. Thin breadth tells a story different from the index.