China is turning to services and experiences as a new lever to revive domestic demand, as weak household confidence, a prolonged property slump, and slowing exports weigh on the world’s second-largest economy. On Thursday, the State Council released a work plan aimed at boosting services consumption over the coming years, spanning cruise and yacht tourism,
Exxon Mobil Corp achieved fourth-quarter 2025 earnings that narrowly surpassed Wall Street expectations, largely fueled by robust results in its refining segment and all-time high output from significant growth assets. Despite this strong quarter, the energy behemoth’s overall profit for the full year decreased compared to 2024, primarily due to the adverse effects of depressed
Indonesian equities plunged further into turmoil on Thursday after a warning from MSCI Inc. over a possible market downgrade triggered the worst two-day selloff in almost three decades, rattling investor confidence across equities and currency markets. The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index tumbled as much as 10%, after earlier triggering a 30-minute trading halt. At the
On Thursday, global markets and geopolitics were shaped by a mix of accelerating artificial intelligence investment, volatile Asian equities, renewed UK-China diplomacy, and a powerful rally in commodities. OpenAI funding signals acceleration in AI arms race OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is on track to raise tens of billions of dollars from existing and new
Gold prices continued to surge to new record highs as the yellow metal cleared $5,600 per ounce on Thursday. Gold had surged past the $5,000 threshold for the first time this Monday, marking a weekly gain of over 10%. This rally is attributed to a combination of strong factors: robust safe-haven investment, persistent central bank
SK Hynix has overtaken Samsung Electronics in operating profit for the first time, marking a shift in South Korea’s semiconductor hierarchy as artificial intelligence reshapes the memory market. The crossover became clear this week when the two rivals reported earnings on consecutive days. SK Hynix’s results highlighted how leadership in advanced memory chips tied to
Coinbase has expanded its prediction markets feature to users across all 50 US states, giving customers nationwide access to event-based trading directly inside its app. The company confirmed the rollout on Jan. 28, marking a significant expansion from an earlier launch in December that was limited to a smaller group of users. With the move,
India and the European Union signed a long-awaited free trade agreement on Tuesday, billed by officials as the “mother of all deals”, prompting renewed scrutiny of how — or whether — the pact alters Washington’s approach to its own stalled trade negotiations with New Delhi. The timing of the landmark trade deal, nearly two decades
China and the United Kingdom moved cautiously toward rebuilding their relationship on Thursday, with President Xi Jinping telling Prime Minister Keir Starmer that Beijing was willing to develop a long-term strategic partnership after years of diplomatic strain and mistrust. The remarks came during Starmer’s four-day visit to China, the first by a British prime minister
Deutsche Bank reported record profits in the fourth quarter of 2025, beating market expectations as strong performance in its investment bank and asset management businesses offset slower corporate activity and lingering regulatory scrutiny. According to its earnings statement on Thursday, Deutsche Bank posted net profit attributable to shareholders of 1.3 billion euros ($1.56 billion) for