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February deliveries underscored a widening split among China’s new‑energy vehicle startups: Leapmotor and Li Auto held relative strength while many peers experienced steep month‑on‑month declines. With financing incentives proliferating and a concentrated march of new model launches scheduled for March–April, product execution, ADAS scalability and cost control will determine who sustains growth as sector expansion slows in 2026.

Mass demonstrations erupted in Turkey, Greece and Pakistan after a US‑Israeli strike on Iran and reports that Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had been killed. Protesters gathered at US and Israeli diplomatic missions, raising the risk of broader regional escalation and diplomatic fallout for countries hosting Western military facilities.

A Chinese commentary argues that recent U.S. policy choices under Donald Trump precipitated an Iranian "overwhelming response" that has widened a bilateral clash into a Gulf-wide crisis, activating air defences in multiple capitals and exposing U.S. bases. The piece stresses the conflict’s regional realignment, economic fallout for global supply chains, and the acute risk of further escalation.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has permitted US forces to use British bases for narrowly defined defensive operations in the Gulf, while insisting the UK did not take part in strikes on Iran. London, Paris and Berlin jointly warned they could take proportionate action to degrade Iran’s missile and drone launch capabilities, signalling European readiness to deter further attacks.

Britain, France and Germany jointly warned they may take “necessary defensive action” related to threats associated with Iran, signalling a coordinated European posture. The statement increases deterrence but risks miscalculation, with implications for regional stability, shipping and European strategic autonomy.

After U.S. military casualties, Donald Trump vowed retribution while Iran insisted it alone will decide when hostilities end, heightening the risk of escalation. The exchange underscores how public threats constrain diplomatic options and increase the chance of a broader regional conflict unless credible de‑escalatory channels are opened.

A coordinated U.S.–Israeli air strike that killed Iran’s supreme leader represents a tactical and strategic turning point in the Middle East, combining unprecedented co‑bas­ing of aircraft, improved precision targeting and expanded allied air‑defence integration. The operation lowers the threshold for direct strikes on top leadership, raises the prospect of further escalation and accelerates regional realignment, particularly among Gulf states.

U.S. officials privately told Congress there was no intelligence showing Iran planned a preemptive strike against American forces, conflicting with public statements that cited such a threat as justification for action. The admission raises questions about the legal and political rationale for recent U.S. measures, heightening congressional scrutiny and complicating relations with allies while increasing the risk of regional miscalculation.

An airstrike on a girls' primary school in Minab, southern Iran, on 28 February killed 165 people, mostly children, and injured dozens more. The school stood adjacent to an IRGC naval base, prompting debate over targeting decisions; the US and Israel have not accepted responsibility and say investigations into civilian casualties are underway.

Heightened Middle East conflict has pushed oil and precious metals higher and unsettled markets, while China’s central bank cut its forward FX reserve requirement to zero to lower hedging costs and stabilise the yuan. Domestic equities have rebounded sharply, commodity prices — notably tungsten — have spiked, and big flows into robotics and AI are reshaping investment priorities amid a wider debate over the timing of returns from new technology.

China’s stock market opened lower as AI, solar and semiconductor sectors pulled back while oil, natural gas and precious metals rallied, driven by price-rise narratives and renewed Middle East geopolitical risk. Brokers say the market is being steered by a combination of supply constraints and narrative-led sentiment, lifting commodity-linked names even as technology shares give back earlier gains.

Puyin Ansheng Fund Management is under scrutiny after its Strategy Select fund lost 12.52% while promotional materials lauded returns that mostly predated the tenure of the named manager, Yang Fulin. The case highlights potential breaches of China’s rules on truthful fund advertising and raises broader concerns about investor protection and marketing practices in the rapidly expanding retail fund market.

Provincial rollouts of China’s 2026 vehicle subsidy and trade‑in rules aim to stabilise car demand and accelerate fleet renewal, with Shenzhen offering significant purchase rebates for NEVs and small petrol cars. February delivery figures show strong volumes from several new EV makers and mixed results among incumbents, while Xiaomi’s Vision GT concept and ADAS usage data underscore the sector’s technological pivot and intensifying competition.

Meizu, now majority-owned by Geely’s Star Era, has completed development of the Meizu 23 but will not release it as the company pauses domestic phone hardware R&D and pivots to AI-driven software and ecosystems anchored on Flyme. Existing phones remain available while AR hardware and Flyme Auto are being prioritised, even as official sales channels show many phone models sold out.

Bitcoin surpassed $67,000 on March 2, gaining 1.87% intraday, a sign of renewed buying interest that highlights the cryptocurrency’s sensitivity to institutional flows and macro conditions. The rise is significant for market sentiment but carries the usual caveats about heightened volatility around key price levels and potential regulatory scrutiny.

An AWS data centre in the UAE experienced a fire after an "object impact" that generated sparks and necessitated a power cut during firefighting, with affected services taking hours to restore. AWS says operations in other UAE zones were normal; the incident highlights physical vulnerability of regional cloud infrastructure and prompts a reassessment of redundancy and contingency planning.

Goldman Sachs has priced an $18-per-barrel risk premium into crude markets amid reports of severe escalations involving Iran and damage to regional shipping. The premium reflects market concern that a closure of the Strait of Hormuz or other disruptions could swiftly remove millions of barrels per day from global supply, amplifying oil, gas and freight costs despite existing spare capacity and inventories.

February deliveries among China’s electric vehicle newcomers cooled under a long Lunar New Year break and softer demand, producing divergent results. Leapmotor, Li Auto and NIO returned to roughly 20,000 monthly deliveries while Xpeng’s volumes halved, underscoring a market shift from volume to networks, software and international expansion.

NASA has restructured the Artemis lunar programme after recent technical faults and safety concerns, adding a test flight and turning Artemis III into an orbital practice mission in 2027. Crewed lunar landings are now planned for Artemis IV (2028) and Artemis V (2030), reflecting a shift toward caution and institutional reform under the agency’s new chief.

Apple will keep Mac and iPad as separate product lines but is preparing a touch‑enabled MacBook Pro for late 2026 featuring Samsung OLED panels, Dynamic Island and new M6 chips on TSMC’s 2nm node. The device will be touch‑friendly rather than touch‑first, preserving keyboard and trackpad interaction while expanding macOS’s gesture capabilities.