Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 470
Gold Breaks $5,000: A New Safe‑Haven Run as Dollar Wobbles and Central Banks Buy In
Gold surged past $5,000 an ounce on January 26 amid expectations of prolonged Fed easing, a weakening dollar and renewed safe‑haven demand from both central banks and retail investors. Central‑bank purchases, sizable ETF inflows and geopolitical jitters have combined to lift prices, but analysts warn of elevated short‑term volatility and key risks tied to future Fed policy and the pace of official buying.
Trump Slaps 25% Tariffs on South Korea as Markets Rally and Microsoft Unveils New AI Chip
President Trump announced a unilateral increase in tariffs on South Korean cars, lumber and pharmaceuticals from 15% to 25%, citing Seoul’s failure to ratify a bilateral trade deal, while U.S. markets rose as investors focused on tech earnings and Microsoft’s unveiling of its Maia 200 AI chip. The tariff move risks straining a strategic alliance and creating supply‑chain uncertainty even as competition among cloud providers intensifies over in‑house AI hardware.
Paying to Be Judged: Can AI Rescue China’s Fading KTV Scene?
China’s KTV chains are deploying AI scoring, coaching and synthetic music videos to revive a shrinking industry, with major investments from leading operators. The technology attracts customers with gamified rewards and cost-saving AI MVs, but it also provokes backlash over cold, intrusive judging, diminished emotional experience and ways for users to game the system.
Gold Rally, Debt Delusion: Why Washington Isn’t 'Using Gold' to Pay Down US Debt
A viral claim that the US is inflating gold prices to convert bullion into cash to pay down national debt is misleading. US debt management relies on rollovers, tax revenues, Fed liquidity and the dollar's reserve status, while gold holdings serve as strategic backing for the currency rather than a ready source of debt repayment.
Young Chinese Investors Flock to Gold and Silver as Prices Surge—and Lessons in FOMO Follow
A surge in precious-metal prices has attracted a wave of young Chinese investors buying physical gold and silver, ETFs and derivatives. Their enthusiasm is driven by portfolio diversification, central-bank buying and social-media-fuelled FOMO, but the rush underscores behavioural risks and the need for investor education amid broader macro shifts.
Moutai’s Zodiac Reset: Horse-Year Release Marks End of Speculative Boom and a Return to Consumption
Moutai’s Horse-year zodiac release cooled quickly as the company deliberately tightened distribution and pricing, shrinking speculative premiums and redirecting the series toward consumption and collecting. The dual-version product design and timed releases aim to broaden access while protecting scarcity, but channel delays and cautious sentiment mean short-term risks remain.
Anta's Bold Bet: Chinese Sportswear Group to Buy a Near-30% Stake in Puma for €1.5bn
Anta has agreed to buy a 29.06% stake in Puma SE for €1.505 billion, a near-30% holding that confers large minority influence while remaining below Germany’s 30% mandatory-offer threshold. The purchase advances Anta’s global expansion strategy and creates scope for commercial cooperation across product, retail and markets, but also invites governance and regulatory scrutiny.
China's Industrial Profits Inch Up as Tech and Equipment Manufacturing Offset a Mining Slump
China's large industrial firms posted a small 0.6% profit increase in 2025, driven by strong gains in equipment and high‑technology manufacturing that offset a steep fall in mining. Revenue growth remained tepid and indicators such as rising receivables and inventories point to a fragile recovery that could be vulnerable to external demand shocks.
A-shares’ Narrow Rally: Precious-metals and Chip-Equipment Stocks Shine as Market Breadth Worsens
China’s mid-session rebound left headline indices flat to slightly positive while market breadth deteriorated: over 4,400 stocks fell as trading volume declined. Precious metals and semiconductor-equipment pockets drove gains, but widespread selling — particularly in the battery chain — underlines a narrow, rotation-driven market.
China’s Auto Industry Goes Global: Gigafactories, Subsidies and New Market Access Propel an Overseas Push
Chinese automakers and suppliers have accelerated overseas investment, disclosing more than RMB70 billion in projects over three months. Major moves include a planned 2.067 billion euro battery gigafactory in Portugal and policy openings in the EU, Canada and Germany, signaling a shift from export‑led sales to localised, global supply chain building.
Li Auto Tightens Its Retail Network as Growth Slows — From Rapid Expansion to Efficiency Drive
Li Auto is assessing the closure of some low‑efficiency retail stores after an aggressive multi‑year network build‑out, denying plans to close 100 outlets but confirming a targeted optimisation. The retrenchment follows a 19% fall in 2025 deliveries and recent quarterly losses, and accompanies a product and organisational reset aimed at restoring growth and margins amid fiercer competition in the range‑extended EV segment.
Market Ripples and Social Controls: China’s Gold Surge, Tencent’s Big Red Packet and a Gansu Quake Shake the Week
A 5.5-magnitude quake rattled Gansu but caused no confirmed casualties as emergency teams responded. China tightened internet protections for minors, markets saw a gold-led rally while mainland turnover topped 3 trillion yuan, Tencent plans a 1 billion yuan red-packet campaign for its new app, and KFC raised delivery prices slightly amid cost pressure.