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JD.com grew revenue to ¥1.3 trillion in 2025 but saw operating profit collapse and free cash flow shrink sharply as losses from new businesses, especially food delivery, ballooned. Management says investment intensity could ease in 2026 if competition stabilises, but the company must show that its retail margins and newly listed subsidiaries can deliver independent, durable profits.

Laopu Gold’s 20–30% price rise at the start of 2026 produced a buying frenzy rather than deterring customers, underscoring the brand’s transition from jeweller to luxury-asset maker. Strong resale demand and elevated gold prices have reinforced the perception of jewellery as an investable, appreciating good, but rising raw-material costs and intensifying competition threaten margins and the sustainability of the model.

China has made the development of an ‘intelligent economy’ a national priority, with central targets to grow AI‑related industries to more than 10 trillion yuan. All 31 provinces have laid out AI plans for 2026, but strategies vary widely: Beijing focuses on research and governance, Shanghai on finance and open source, coastal provinces on manufacturing upgrades, and interior regions on compute and niche specialisation.

Iran’s recent toggling between closing the Strait of Hormuz and targeting only Western-linked vessels has injected fresh volatility into oil markets, driving weekly price jumps and heightening geopolitical risk. Tehran’s calibrated strikes aim to pressure the United States and its allies while limiting damage to Iran’s own oil revenue, but the situation leaves global consumers and Asian importers dangerously exposed.

Beijing has enshrined a new urban and rural residents’ income plan in the 2026 government work report, combining wage, social‑security and wealth‑income measures to lift household incomes and stimulate consumption. The move responds to weak external demand and aims to rebalance growth toward domestic consumption, but success depends on sustained, coordinated implementation and financial safeguards.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Britain will send four Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Qatar to bolster regional air defences, supplementing an RAF deployment that arrived in January. The move is intended to reassure Gulf allies, preserve forward basing options and signal British commitment to regional security while avoiding a large-scale escalation.

Turkey said a ballistic missile launched from Iran was intercepted by a NATO defence system after flying over Iraq and Syria; Iran denied targeting Turkish territory, stressing respect for neighbours' sovereignty. The episode raises the risk of accidental escalation between Tehran and NATO-member Turkey and highlights the dangers of missile operations that cross multiple airspaces.

U.S. Defense Secretary Hegesse announced a planned sharp increase in strikes over Tehran while acknowledging shortages in key munitions that limit a sustained campaign. The Pentagon is expanding deployments and using overseas bases including Diego Garcia, highlighting the operational dependence on allied support and the risk of wider regional escalation.

US Central Command says it has destroyed over 30 Iranian vessels, including a large unmanned aerial vehicle carrier, and reports sharp drops in Iranian missile and drone attacks. Washington says it will target Iran’s missile industrial base to prevent reconstruction, a campaign that risks wider regional escalation and long‑term strategic consequences.

The United States is racing to destroy or degrade Iran’s missile and drone capabilities before allied interceptor stocks deployed in the Gulf are exhausted. High rates of interceptor use, combined with limited inventories and slow replenishment, place Washington and its partners under pressure to choose between escalation, strategic diversion of munitions, or accepting greater damage to regional allies.

The Senate voted 47–53 against a resolution that would have required President Trump to seek congressional authorization before further military action against Iran, a predictable outcome given the Republican 53-seat majority. Democrats called the strikes unlawful and lacking evidence of an imminent threat, but with both chambers controlled by Republicans, meaningful congressional constraints appear unlikely.

CENTCOM has requested extra intelligence personnel to support operations against Iran that could last at least 100 days, a shift from Washington's initial short‑campaign framing. The move raises operational, fiscal and political challenges as U.S. forces face mounting casualties and questions about the rationale for the strikes.

A week of US‑Israel strikes on Iran and vigorous Iranian retaliation have produced repeated battlefield claims, disputed at sea incidents, and mounting regional spillovers. European allies are resisting US requests to host offensive operations even as Washington plans for a protracted campaign, increasing the risk of broader escalation and disruption to shipping through the Gulf.

Israel announced that operations against Iran are entering a more intensive phase after six days of strikes, claiming extensive damage to Iranian air defences and missile launchers. Iran’s IRGC responded by claiming it fired a heavy Khoramshahr‑4 missile at Tel Aviv and Ben‑Gurion Airport and vowed continued, strengthened retaliation, raising the risk of wider regional escalation.

Iran is pairing larger, roughly one-tonne warhead-capable missiles with swarms of inexpensive drones, a combination that raises the lethality and operational complexity of its forces. The development transforms deterrence into a more flexible coercive posture, complicating regional defence and increasing the risk of escalation and proliferation.

UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called on 6 March for an immediate halt to fighting in the Middle East and rapid commencement of serious diplomatic talks, warning that unlawful attacks are causing immense civilian suffering and threatening the global economy. His statement highlights urgent humanitarian and economic risks and the diplomatic challenge of translating international alarm into effective mediation.

The UN has warned that escalating Middle East hostilities could spiral out of control, creating large humanitarian needs and economic spillovers. UN officials highlighted rising oil prices, mounting food insecurity and an estimated 25 million people affected, while urging ceasefires, safe corridors and renewed diplomacy.

The U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its seventh day as exchanges continue to expand geographically and technologically, with Iran employing newer ballistic and hypersonic missiles and drones. The conflict has produced significant civilian casualties, pulled Lebanon into the fighting, disrupted Gulf aviation and raised the specter of wider economic and supply-chain shocks if maritime chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz are affected.

US defence officials have acknowledged that Iran’s cheap, slow, low‑flying attack drones are difficult to intercept and can overwhelm expensive air‑defence systems through massed use. The tactic creates a cost‑asymmetry that risks depleting missile interceptors and forcing reliance on electronic and directed‑energy defences, while prompting the US and partners to replicate and counter Iranian designs.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister said Tehran would fight “to the last bullet,” a forceful statement that intensifies regional tensions. The rhetoric raises risks of proxy escalation, complicates diplomacy, and could have economic knock-on effects on oil and shipping routes.