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Reports that Elon Musk is exploring tighter integration between SpaceX, Tesla and xAI reflect a strategic push to build a ‘space‑compute’ ecosystem combining satellite connectivity, vehicle and robot endpoints, and large AI models. While the business case is clear, major legal, technical and geopolitical hurdles make a full corporate merger unlikely in the near term; closer operational collaboration is the more probable path.

Chinese social‑media aggregators are amplifying claims that a newly surfaced trove of Jeffrey Epstein‑related documents exceeds three million pages and names high‑profile figures, including Elon Musk. The headlines raise reputational risks for those named but do not constitute proof of criminality; independent verification and legal assessment are still needed.

SpaceX has applied to the FCC for permission to deploy and operate up to one million satellites as an "Orbital Data Center" designed to host AI compute in space, linking to Starlink via optical intersatellite links and relying on Starship launches. The plan raises immediate questions about regulatory approval, collision risk, financing, and geopolitical and commercial consequences for cloud and satellite sectors.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the company will participate in the current OpenAI funding round and that the investment could be Nvidia’s largest ever, though it will be far below earlier $100 billion speculation. The pledge strengthens ties between a leading GPU supplier and a top AI-model developer, with strategic benefits and regulatory complexities for both firms and their customers.

China’s first L3 automated‑driving permits, issued at the end of 2025, have intensified a strategic divide between firms that favour a regulated, scenario‑limited rollout and those aiming to leap directly to L4 autonomy. The debate is shaped by rapid L2 adoption, certification standards that increasingly demand L4‑like fail‑safe behaviour, and the commercial limits of narrow ODDs.

China plans to launch a second solar observatory, Xihe‑2, to the Sun‑Earth L5 point in 2028–2029 to deliver stereoscopic and multi‑band observations of the Sun. The mission aims to improve early warning of solar storms, bolster China’s heliophysics capabilities and strengthen operational space‑weather forecasting.

Vanke expects a roughly ¥82 billion net loss for 2025, driven by falling development settlements, low margins and fresh impairment charges. While deliveries and service revenues remain steady and cost cuts continue, the company warns that earnings will stay under pressure as it pursues asset disposals and operational reforms.

Xiaomi founder Lei Jun will livestream from the company's Beijing auto factory lab on February 1 at 8 p.m., a move that spotlights his personal backing of Xiaomi's electric-vehicle push. The broadcast aims to demonstrate production and engineering progress but also invites immediate scrutiny of Xiaomi’s readiness to scale in a fiercely competitive EV market.

China announced the successful launch of Algeria Remote Sensing Satellite-3 B, a step that enhances Algeria’s earth-observation capacity and reflects China’s growing role as a supplier of turnkey space systems to developing countries. The launch strengthens bilateral ties, offers practical benefits for resource and disaster management, and raises strategic questions about the proliferation of remote-sensing capabilities.

Volkswagen is cutting a third of executives in its core brand cluster and consolidating factories into five production regions as part of a drive to save €1 billion by 2030. The measures respond to a sharp sales slowdown in China, steep declines in local EV volumes and tariff pressures in North America that have eroded profits and forced tougher restructuring.

Keling AI has launched a 3.0 series of multimodal models—Video 3.0, Video 3.0 Omni and Image 3.0—positioned as an end‑to‑end solution for image and video generation, editing and post‑production. The suite emphasises native multimodal I/O and subject consistency, offering speed and integration for creators while raising questions about compute demands, governance and misuse risks.

Gold rallied to an extraordinary intraday peak in late January before a flash crash erased roughly 6% and knocked several silver and gold ETFs lower. The drop reflected technical profit-taking and forced liquidations amid a crowded, leveraged market, but structural supports — weak dollars, central-bank buying and geopolitical risk — remain intact.

China ended 2025 with modestly lower overall budget revenue but slightly higher tax collections and expanded spending financed in part by a surge in bond deployment. Authorities combined a universal childcare cash subsidy with accelerated bond-financed projects to boost demand while maintaining targeted social and scientific spending.

Tesla's pivot from Model S/X to Optimus has turned humanoid robots into a new battleground between Elon Musk and Chinese automakers. Shared technology stacks and supply chains make the transition low-cost for carmakers, and 2026–27 looks set to be the decisive window for scale competition.

A Panama Supreme Court ruling that voided concession renewals for two Hutchison‑operated port terminals has unsettled a planned sale of 43 port assets led by CK Hutchison. Hong Kong and Beijing have protested, and the decision has already depressed CK Hutchison’s share price while raising wider questions about investment risk and geopolitics in global infrastructure.

Apple delivered a strong Q4 driven by iPhone sales and a notable recovery in Greater China, where iPhone revenue rose about 38% to $25.5 billion. Strategic price adjustments, the iPhone 17 product cycle and supply‑chain shifts to India and the US helped the rebound, though sustaining growth will test Apple against fierce local competition and geopolitical risks.

President Trump has nominated former Fed governor Kevin Warsh as his choice for Federal Reserve chair, a pick that aligns with the White House’s push for faster interest‑rate cuts. Warsh’s finance background, family ties to the Lauder fortune and political alignment with Trump heighten the stakes for Fed independence and global markets.

A dramatic overnight sell-off saw spot silver plunge as much as 36% and spot gold fall over 12% intraday, with both metals closing substantially lower. The rout followed a rebound in the dollar after news that President Trump would nominate Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, and was amplified by crowded positioning and thin liquidity. The move raises questions about market positioning, Fed independence and the durability of metals as an inflation hedge.

Japan has begun sea trials to harvest rare‑earth‑rich mud off Minami‑Tori‑shima, seeking to reduce reliance on China’s dominant refining industry. The tests face steep technical, economic and environmental hurdles, and even successful extraction would not immediately displace China’s lead in processing and supply chains.

Oriental Selection has returned to profit after a turbulent year, driven mainly by steep cost‑cuts and a shift to self‑operated goods, prompting a strong stock market reaction. Yet its recovery is fragile: GMV remains below prior peaks, app membership has declined and the company still depends heavily on Douyin traffic while former anchor Dong Yuhui’s independent operation soars.