Source: The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan are experiencing a consumer-driven stock market surge tied directly to AI company valuations. Retail traders and bonus-receiving workers are piling into equities alongside institutional money. Where previous generations saved through real estate or bank deposits, a new cohort is treating AI stock exposure as both investment thesis and cultural participation in their country's tech dominance. The concentration of consumer financial risk in a narrow sector during a valuation bubble creates political pressure on governments to sustain AI champions regardless of fundamentals.