The Taiwan dollar is exhibiting greater stability than its regional peers amid this week’s geopolitical headwinds as greenback sales from local exporters support the currency. One-month implied volatility for the dollar-Taiwan dollar currency pair fell to the lowest since April on Friday, signaling expectations for its continued stability. Gauges for most other Asian currencies rose as President D...
The Taiwan dollar is exhibiting greater stability than its regional peers amid this week’s geopolitical headwinds as greenback sales from local exporters support the currency. One-month implied volatility for the dollar-Taiwan dollar currency pair fell to the lowest since April on Friday, signaling expectations for its continued stability. Gauges for most other Asian currencies rose as President Donald Trump’s territorial claims on Greenland fueled US-Europe tensions. US dollar sales from large exporters on Tuesday and Wednesday helped counter foreign capital outflows from the island, according to traders. Greenback selling from state-owned banks further aided the local currency, said the traders who asked not to be named as they aren’t allowed to speak publicly. “The balanced supply and demand of USD in Taiwan’s FX market has resulted in a decline in spot volatility,” according to a BofA Securities note. “We expect this to continue throughout 1Q26.” Taiwan’s dollar inched up 0.1% to 31.578 per greenback on Friday afternoon in Taipei. It had weakened to a eight-month low of 31.706 earlier in January amid outflows from local shares. Taiwan-US Trade Deal Seen Boosting Growth, Weighing on Currency Taiwan Dollar at Risk of Insurers Reducing $95 Billion of Hedges Taiwan to Raise Up to $10 Billion for US Trade Deal Guarantees
It's set to be a critical year for privately-held AI companies — especially OpenAI — as investors turn their attention to returns, analysts say. It will be "make or break" for companies whose sole business is selling their AI models, Deutsche Bank wrote in a note on Jan. 20. "OpenAI is particularly extended and may be most at risk as it seems not yet to have found a workable business model to cove...
It's set to be a critical year for privately-held AI companies — especially OpenAI — as investors turn their attention to returns, analysts say. It will be "make or break" for companies whose sole business is selling their AI models, Deutsche Bank wrote in a note on Jan. 20. "OpenAI is particularly extended and may be most at risk as it seems not yet to have found a workable business model to cover its reported cash burn of $9bn last year and likely $17bn this year," Adrian Cox and Stefan Abrudan, analysts at the investment bank, said. They say that of an estimated 800 million weekly users, "only a fraction" are paying. At the same time, the AI bellwether has committed to data center projects worth an eye-watering $1.4 trillion. OpenAI's revenue was more than $20 billion last year, up from $6 billion in 2024, according to a blog post by its financial chief Sarah Friar. It is widely expected that the company will go public late this year, or early 2027. The company has inked deals with Nvidia and Microsoft , among others, and raised billions of dollars in the process, giving it a possible valuation of $500 billion . It secured $22.5 billion from SoftBank at the end of last year, on top of $40 billion already committed by the investment company. While it partners with many hyperscalers, OpenAI's moat is "relatively shallow" compared with larger competitors whose AI playbooks are subsidized by sound business fundamentals elsewhere, Cox and Abrudan wrote, adding "Its path to success appears to be looking narrower and narrower." "The pressure will only increase as it gets nearer to an IPO, mooted for early 2027 and forecast to potentially top $1trn," they said. In a blow to OpenAI, on Jan. 12, Apple opted to power its AI products with Google's technology. On Jan. 16, OpenAI announced it would soon test advertising in ChatGPT — a move founder Sam Altman said in 2024 was "a last resort" as a business model. It represents a new phase for foundation model developers, accordi...
Chery Automobile Co. , China’s top car exporter, agreed to buy Nissan Motor Co.’s vehicle-manufacturing plant in South Africa soon after it grew to become the second-biggest vehicle retailer locally. The Chinese carmaker will buy the land, buildings and associated assets of Nissan facilities in Rosslyn, Pretoria, including the nearby stamping plant that’s used to make body parts such as doors, it ...
Chery Automobile Co. , China’s top car exporter, agreed to buy Nissan Motor Co.’s vehicle-manufacturing plant in South Africa soon after it grew to become the second-biggest vehicle retailer locally. The Chinese carmaker will buy the land, buildings and associated assets of Nissan facilities in Rosslyn, Pretoria, including the nearby stamping plant that’s used to make body parts such as doors, it said in a statement. The transaction will take place in mid-2026, subject to conditions. The move is the latest — and most significant — marker of Chinese auto manufacturers’ growing presence in South Africa, the largest economy on the continent. That comes at the cost of more established players from Japan, the US and Europe, which have lost market share to cheaper imports from China and India . Due to an agreement with Chery, Nissan would not to disclose the value of the transaction, it said. Chery Automobile overtook Suzuki Motor Corp. as the second-biggest passenger-car seller in South Africa in December, just four years after re-entering the market. Chery Overtakes Suzuki to Rank Second in S. Africa Car Sales GWM, Chery Plan Vehicle Plants in South Africa as Demand Soars Mahindra Expands in South Africa as US Tariffs Hit Autos
Commerce.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) is one of the undervalued technology penny stocks to buy now. On January 11, Commerce.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) endorsed Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open-source standard designed to unify how agents and systems interact across the shopping journey. The move builds on Commerce.com’s partnership with Google and leverages its Feedonomics-powered data ...
Commerce.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) is one of the undervalued technology penny stocks to buy now. On January 11, Commerce.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:CMRC) endorsed Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open-source standard designed to unify how agents and systems interact across the shopping journey. The move builds on Commerce.com’s partnership with Google and leverages its Feedonomics-powered data enrichment […]
US natural gas futures pared a record breaking three-day rally, after traders finished exiting short positions and the market braced for a historic winter storm. Front-month contracts dropped as much as 7.6% to $4.660 per million British thermal units on Friday, after surging 63% over the previous three sessions. Prices were still on track for their biggest weekly gain in records going back to 199...
US natural gas futures pared a record breaking three-day rally, after traders finished exiting short positions and the market braced for a historic winter storm. Front-month contracts dropped as much as 7.6% to $4.660 per million British thermal units on Friday, after surging 63% over the previous three sessions. Prices were still on track for their biggest weekly gain in records going back to 1990. This week’s surge was driven by forecasts for below normal temperatures across most of the country, threatening to boost gas consumption and drain inventories. The freeze — particularly in the southern gas-producing states — has raised concerns about water icing in pipelines, potentially disrupting output from this weekend. The shift in US weather forecasts came days after hedge funds turned more bearish on gas at the end of last week, leaving the market poised for a rally as traders rushed to close out those wagers. Gas prices briefly climbed above $5.50 per million Btu on Thursday, a level that a Citigroup analysis on Thursday showed would wipe out all shorts. There are signs that the current price spike will be short lived. February futures are trading at a steep premium to the March contract , signaling the market is focused on the near-term supply crunch. The February contract was down 3.9% to $4.847 per million Btu at 4:09 p.m. in Singapore.
Europe will import record volumes of liquefied natural gas this year, deepening its reliance on the volatile global market, according to the International Energy Agency. The region is expected to buy more than 185 billion cubic meters of LNG, the agency said in a report Friday. Even as overall demand for the fuel is set to drop amid the continued expansion of renewables, Europe will need more to r...
Europe will import record volumes of liquefied natural gas this year, deepening its reliance on the volatile global market, according to the International Energy Agency. The region is expected to buy more than 185 billion cubic meters of LNG, the agency said in a report Friday. Even as overall demand for the fuel is set to drop amid the continued expansion of renewables, Europe will need more to replenish rapidly depleting inventories and sustain exports to war-torn Ukraine. Imports have been rising since Europe lost most of its Russian pipeline supplies after the invasion of Ukraine. The super-chilled fuel now covers roughly half of the continent’s gas needs. While that’s helped to avoid any supply shortages — including during the energy crisis four years ago — it’s increased its exposure to global price volatility and geopolitical risks. Global LNG supply growth, already accelerating, is expected to expand at its fastest pace since 2019 this year, the IEA said. The additional volumes should ease fears of market tightness, but geopolitical tensions and weather risks could still stoke huge price swings. The growing interdependence of regional markets is reflected in prices, the IEA said. The correlation between European and Asian benchmarks rose to a record 0.955 in 2025. The link is driven by the rising share of destination-flexible LNG supplies. Read: Europe Needs Record Summer LNG Inflows as Stocks Low: BNEF Chart Gas prices and volatility eased to pre-crisis levels last year, but jumped again this month. The rebound was triggered by low European inventories, colder-than-expected weather in key markets and short covering, as traders unwound bearish positions built during a period of relative price stability. Looking ahead, the IEA expects global gas consumption to rise nearly 2% this year to a record, following growth of less than 1% in 2025. Asia is forecast to be the main driver. In Europe, total gas demand is projected to fall 2%. Continued growth in renewable...
European stocks suffered their biggest weekly loss in two months amid lingering geopolitical risks and as a jump in oil prices dragged airline shares lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell about 0.1% by the close. It dropped 1% over the past five days, its first weekly decline in six. Travel and leisure stocks were among the biggest laggards , along with economically sensitive sectors such as bank...
European stocks suffered their biggest weekly loss in two months amid lingering geopolitical risks and as a jump in oil prices dragged airline shares lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell about 0.1% by the close. It dropped 1% over the past five days, its first weekly decline in six. Travel and leisure stocks were among the biggest laggards , along with economically sensitive sectors such as banks, consumer products abd construction. Telecom and mining sectors outperformed. Investor sentiment was rattled this week after President Donald Trump ’s threat to impose new Greenland-linked tariffs. Stocks clawed back some losses Thursday after Trump backed down, and investors are willing to look past some political turbulence given a resilient economic outlook. “The very limited pullback this week shows that investors are getting used to the noise, with the Trump administration seemingly pedaling back whenever markets react too strongly,” said Philipp Lisibach , head of strategy and research at LGT Private Banking. Deutsche Lufthansa AG dropped 1.9% , while Air France-KLM slid 3.2% and International Consolidated Airlines Group SA declined 2.8% . WTI crude futures climbed 2.9% . Ericsson AB rose 11% after the telecom-equipment maker’s efforts to cut costs and boost margins paid off. The latest reading of the euro area’s Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index showed private-sector activity maintained moderate growth in January as Germany’s fledgling economic recovery helped offset weakness in France. In other individual stocks, Wacker Neuson SE fell 22% , the most on record, after the firm announced that discussions regarding a potential majority stake acquisition and takeover by Doosan Bobcat have been terminated. Adidas AG dropped 5.7% after RBC downgraded the German sportswear maker, forecasting decelerating revenue growth. For more on equity markets: Strategists’ Confidence in Europe Is Running High: Taking Stock M&A Watch Europe: Wacker Neuson, Shell, Pierre & Vacances, ...