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In 2025 Chinese battery manufacturers supplied over 70% of global EV battery installations and dominated the energy-storage market, SNE Research reports. CATL and BYD led the pack, while other Chinese firms climbed into the global top ten as Korean and Japanese incumbents lost ground amid shifting demand and mounting losses.

Spot silver plunged about 15% to below $75/oz while gold fell roughly 3%, triggering sharp falls in Chinese precious‑metals equities and a silver LOF product that hit its fourth straight limit‑down. Officials and market veterans attribute the discordant moves to speculative short‑term flows and silver’s higher sensitivity to sentiment compared with gold. The episode underscores how leveraged, retail‑heavy positioning in a thin market can amplify price moves and create domestic market stress even when gold remains a macro hedge.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI have merged in a deal that Forbes estimates added roughly $84 billion to his net worth, pushing him past the $800 billion threshold to a record level around $852 billion. The combined company is being valued privately at about $1.25 trillion, with Musk holding an estimated 43% stake, and is preparing for an eventual IPO and index inclusion that could unlock significant liquidity.

Hesai has named Grab its exclusive distributor of lidar products across Southeast Asia, leveraging Grab’s platform to commercialise sensing hardware among fleets and logistics operators. The deal promises faster regional deployment but brings integration, regulatory and competitive challenges.

Alphabet reported strong 2025 results and announced a dramatic increase in 2026 capital expenditure — $175–185 billion — to scale AI compute and data‑centre capacity. Gemini 3 adoption, a 48% jump in cloud revenue, and falling model service costs underpin management’s argument that the spending is necessary to meet surging AI demand.

Alphabet beat earnings expectations but stunned markets by guiding $175–185bn of capital expenditure for the year, roughly double 2025’s outlay. Google Cloud’s 48% revenue growth and Gemini’s rapid user adoption — helped by a new Siri partnership with Apple — underpin the company’s aggressive push for AI infrastructure, even as investors fret about near‑term returns.

On Alphabet’s earnings call Sundar Pichai said Gemini will empower SaaS companies by being embedded into workflows rather than replacing them. His comments highlight both an opportunity for software vendors to add AI-driven value and a strategic shift that increases dependence on major cloud and model providers.

AMD’s stock plunged about 17% in its worst one‑day drop since 2017 after investors reacted to what they saw as cautious guidance despite a Q4 beat. CEO Lisa Su pushed back, saying AI demand is accelerating faster than expected, that compute demand exceeds supply, and that the Helios server system should help drive a second‑half inflection.

WeChat has restricted direct opening of links from Tencent’s Yuanbao app, after the app’s New Year ‘red‑envelope’ campaign spread via high‑frequency share tasks and drew user complaints. The move exposed a strategic rift within Tencent between a product philosophy that defends user experience and a group push to drive rapid user acquisition through viral mechanics.

Pakistan has received expressions of interest from five countries for the JF-17 fighter, but current production — under 20 jets per year and largely reserved for the Pakistan Air Force — may be unable to meet a sudden export surge. Scaling up will require investment, supply-chain adjustments and raise geopolitical questions about Pakistan’s role as a seller of military hardware.

U.S. Defence Secretary Hegseth warned that Iran faces “other options” if nuclear talks fail, saying the military is “very well” prepared, while President Trump reiterated threats of force. Both officials framed diplomacy as possible but secondary to a posture of preparedness, raising concerns about escalation in a region already strained by sanctions and nuclear tensions.

Iran has publicly showcased an underground missile complex and a new anti‑ship cruise missile, "Abu Mahdi," claiming over 1,000 km range and a heavy warhead capable of damaging large U.S. warships. The display underscores Tehran’s reliance on concealment, mobility and asymmetric tactics to complicate U.S. naval operations in the Gulf and Arabian Sea.

Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. special envoy Witkoff that Israel needs 'freedom to act' on Iran, demanding Tehran halt ballistic missile production and uranium enrichment. The meeting also covered Gaza reconstruction, with Israel insisting on Hamas disarmament, full demilitarization, and exclusion of the Palestinian Authority from Gaza's governance.

President Trump said talks with Iran are ongoing and expressed hope for a deal, while Tehran confirmed plans for imminent negotiations and said Turkey and Oman have offered to host. A meeting between U.S. envoy Witkoff and Iranian foreign minister Araghchi in Istanbul on Feb. 6 has been reported; any agreement faces deep trust deficits, regional sensitivities and domestic political constraints on both sides.

The United States and Iran have placed both diplomacy and military options on visible display: negotiators are due to meet in Istanbul even as both capitals conduct exercises and issue stark warnings. The dual posture widens room for bargaining but also raises the risk of miscalculation and regional escalation.

A U.S. F‑35C shot down an Iranian drone near the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, and IRGC fast boats later harassed a U.S.‑flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The incidents occurred as fragile talks between Washington and Tehran were being arranged, highlighting the risks that operational friction could derail diplomacy and raise the chance of miscalculation in regional waters.

Jack Ma's recent visit to Alibaba's Qianwen team coincides with a planned RMB3 billion Lunar New Year promotional campaign for the AI-enabled shopping app. The effort aims to embed Qianwen in everyday holiday consumption by leveraging Alibaba's ecosystem, but it carries commercial and regulatory risks.

Desktop AI agents—software that gives large language models permission to read, write and operate a user’s local applications—have transitioned from experiments to commercial products. Anthropic’s Claude Cowork and open-source projects like OpenClaw have catalysed a market response in China, where Alibaba’s QoderWork, MiniMax’s Agent2.0 and Step’s desktop partner offer competing approaches. The shift promises productivity gains and clearer monetisation but raises substantial security, privacy and regulatory challenges.

China’s major cloud providers are integrating open‑source AI assistants like OpenClaw while confronting rising upstream costs and surging enterprise demand. Expect selective price increases for AI GPU services, a tighter focus on packaged AI applications, and competition shifting from raw compute to full‑stack offerings.

JD.com has allocated over ¥1.3 billion in subsidies for frontline employees, a move that supports delivery and warehouse staff amid weak consumer demand and reputational pressure. The measure protects service capacity and signals responsibility, but it also raises questions about margin impact and whether the boost will be temporary or structural.