The Economy Markets

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix Overtake Alibaba and Tencent in Market Capitalization for the First Time Asia’s AI Investment Axis Shifts from Platforms to Infrastructure Chinese Big Tech Turns to AI for Survival, but Global Leadership Remains Distant

Cost Structure Shifts Including Memory Drag ProfitsGlobal Appliance Market Reorganizing Around China

Rising Middle East Tensions Driven by U.S.–Iran Conflict Send Crude Shipping Rates Soaring Stalled Bilateral Talks Leave Scope for Military Confrontation Intact China’s Economic Slowdown Deals a Direct Blow, Pushing Container Freight Rates Lower Across All Routes

Europe shifts energy policy, steps up SMR development EU expands institutional and financial backing East Asia’s three major economies also focus on SMRs, with South Korea and Japan struggling on commercialization Across Europe, efforts to bui

U.S. Shipbuilding Loses Competitiveness, With Sixfold Cost and Sevenfold Time Gaps Severe Shortage of Skilled Workers at U.S.

Aggressive expansion of DRAM production linesParallel push into high–value-added memory segments

U.S. DOE Quietly Revises Safety, Environmental, and Security Standards Exploding Power Demand From AI Data Centers Aging Infrastructure Adds to Rising Blackout Risks The administration of U.S.

Market intervention moves into a phase of depleted ammunitionConstraints on banks’ and companies’ foreign-currency operations likely

Nvidia’s next core challenge: physical AIActual executable tasks remain limited

Stalemate in Negotiations Over $200 Million AI Contract With Anthropic Prolonged Dispute Over Application of Claude Safeguards China’s Advanced Unmanned Capabilities Emerge as a Key Security Variable The U.S.

Call for “pragmatic federalism” spanning fiscal and industrial policy Fiscal integration gap persists despite growth pressures in major economies Security and foreign-policy autonomy issues reignite debate Europe risks deindustrializ

Jensen Huang: “TSMC Supply Expansion Inevitable to Meet AI Demand” TSMC Moves to Resolve Foundry Bottlenecks With 2-Nanometer–Centered Investment Challenger Samsung Focuses on Yield Stabilization and Profitability Recovery Nvidia Chief Executive

Tariffs Slashed to 18% as India Agrees to Suspend Russian Oil Purchases U.S.

Unprecedented January Dissolution Riding Sky-High Approval Ratings Ruling Coalition Poised to Exceed 310 Seats, Clearing the Threshold for Constitutional Revision Two-Year ‘Zero’ Food Tax Pledge Triggers Collapse in Ultra-Long Bonds

Japan Succeeds in Trial Deep-Sea Mining of Rare Earths Near Minamitorishima Push to Reduce Reliance on China in Rare Earth Supply Chain Accelerates After 2010 Brazil, Australia, and the United States Also Step Up Efforts to Reshape Rare Earth Supply Chains

Entering a Phase of Precise Replication of Human Physical Conditions Dual Strategy Combining Mass-Market Expansion and Premium Models Proving Technology While Targeting High-Value Profitability Zhuoyide Robotics’ humanoid

From Surreal Vision to Reality Check A Choice Forged by AI Competition and Fiscal Pressure NEOM’s Geography Optimized for Cooling and Renewable Energy Supply An aerial rendering of The Line at Saudi

Homeplus Sees Payment Delays Spill Into Unpaid Supplier Bills and Wages Amid a Cash Crunch Labor and Management Urge DIP Financing, Saying Support Is Needed to Normalize Operations Potential DIP Lenders Meritz Financial and Korea Development Bank Show Limited Appetite for Additional Funding

“Serious talks underway” signal eases tensionsBreak from $130-a-barrel outlook

China Signals Determination to Break from the Dollar and Build a New Reserve Currency Xi Jinping Calls for a “Strong Currency,” Urges Elevation of the Renminbi to Reserve Status U.S.