RATINGS: Moody's Affirmed Korea At Aa2; Outlook Stable

"The affirmation of the rating is supported by Korea's very high degree of economic diversity and competitiveness, and continued institutional management around key challenges. These features balance ongoing challenges from an ageing population and slower productivity growth, which drive rising levels of government debt. Geopolitical risks have broadened and become intertwined with trade and economic outcomes." * "Risks from demographic ageing will drag on public finances, resulting in a steady increase in the debt ratio. Meanwhile, contingent liability risks from non-financial SOE debt remain persistent. Government efforts to curtail these fiscal risks through revenue and expenditure reforms are crucial to our baseline assumptions for the debt trajectory." * Click: https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-Ratings-affirms-Koreas-Aa2-issuer-rati ng-maintains-stable-outlook-Rating-Action--PR_518816 for full report.

SOUTH AFRICA: Manufacturing Falls 1.2% M/M in December

* "SOUTH AFRICA DEC. MANUFACTURING FALLS 1.4% Y/Y" - BBG * "SOUTH AFRICA DEC. MANUFACTURING FALLS 1.2% M/M"

PLN: Zloty Holds Steady, NBP Rhetoric Support Bets On 25bp Cut In March

EUR/PLN trades flat at 4.2161 with latest rounds of NBP speak lending support to pre-existing expectations. From a technical perspective, initial resistance is seen at 4.2330, the high print of Dec 29. Meanwhile, downside focus is on the 4.20 handle, followed by 4.1704, the 76.4% retracement of the Feb 27 - Apr 16 bull cycle. * MPC's Masowska joined a number of her colleagues in signalling that the terminal rate could be 3.50%, while the next 25bp cut would likely be delivered at the next meeting in March. PAP then circulated comments from Ludwik Kotecki who signalled that March 'will be a very good moment to make a 25bp cut' and suggested that the target rate is around 3.75-3.50%, adding that the MPC 'should pause for longer' after reaching this level. These comments cement firm consensus around the outcome of the NBP's monetary policy meeting in March. * Statistics Poland will release January CPI data tomorrow morning and the outcome may provide some clarity on the outlook for monetary policy. That being said, the initial print will be subject to a revision after the re-weighting of the CPI basket on Mar 13. * The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled that mortgages based on the WIBOR rate do not create unfair imbalance to the detriment of the consumer and thus cannot be contested in courts on that basis. The verdict provides reprieve to Poland's banking sector, but the reaction in the WIGBANK Index (+0.7%) has been limited so far. * Preliminary data showed that Poland's GDP rose by 4.0% Y/Y in 4Q25, which was in line with expectations. Sequential growth accelerated to +1.0% Q/Q, falling short of the +1.4% consensus forecast, but marking the eighth consecutive quarter of expansion. More detailed data will be published a couple of weeks from now. * JSW shares jumped by 5.7% this morning on the back of speculation on the outcome of the ongoing referendum held by miners' unions, which asked their members whether to accept a cost-cutting deal with the management board. The agreement envisages the suspension of some benefits but could take JSW from the brink of a liquidity crisis.

UKRAINE: Kremlin-Next Round Of Ukr-US-Rus Talks 'Could Take Place Soon'

There is still no sign of when or where a second round of tripartite talks between Ukraine, Russia and the US could take place. Russia's state-run Tass reports comments from Kremlin spox Dmitry Peskov stating that the Kremlin "has an understanding" about the next round of talks and that they "could take place soon", but gives no further details. On 11 Feb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said to Bloomberg News: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-02-11/zelenskiy-says-deal-on-terri tory-is-focus-of-next-talks-with-us that a second round of talks could take place on 17 or 18 Feb in the United States, but that it was unclear if Russia would participate. * The US's potential proposal of a 'free economic zone' in the Donbas to bridge the divide over territorial control - the key issue in the talks - looks to be a non-starter. BBG reports Zelenksyy saying, "None of the sides is keen on the idea of the free economic zone - neither the Russians, nor us". * There has been no further development or comment on the FT story : https://www.ft.com/content/50d3d86b-2d2a-4d06-845e-a4e089382cadclaiming that on 24 Feb the Ukrainian gov't could call a presidential election and referendum on a peace deal to take place in May. Ukraine's Mezha Media reported : https://mezha.net/eng/bukvy/ukraine-s-election-commission-refutes-february-24 -election-claims/the country's election commission had refuted the claims in the story, noting that "under current law any elections and referendums are possible only after the abolition or termination of martial law, and no new documents concerning the organization of postwar voting have been submitted to the CEC."