The Finimize Daily Brief

China booked a record-breaking trade surplus, shipping out far more goods than it brought in, while news of a possible election sent Japan’s stock market and its currency moving in opposite directions. Try Finimize Pro  

JPMorgan revealed worse-than-expected results – but its boss softened the blow with a decent economic outlook – while Alphabet joined the $4 trillion club, hot on the heels of its AI deal with Apple. Today’s stories: JPMorgan Released Quarterly Results – And Investors Cut To The Chase Alphabet Made A Deal With Apple And Joined The $4 Trillion Club Try Finimize Pro  

South Korea and China broke records, while India ended a five-day fall – and US prosecutors opened an investigation into the Federal Reserve chair, leading investors to seek safety. Today’s stories: South Korea’s Stock Market Reached A Record High On Monday US Prosecutors Are Investigating The Fed, Giving Investors A Shock To The System Try Finimize Pro  

TSMC’s results offered fresh reassurance on the AI boom, reinforcing Nvidia’s upbeat message from earlier in the week, while Rio Tinto and Glencore revived their earlier merger talks, discussing a deal that would be the mining industry’s biggest ever. Today’s stories: TSMC Gave Investors A Good Reality Check, Posting Impressive AI Revenue Rio Tinto And Glencore Want To Mine Ore Together Now Try Fi...

Samsung celebrated a profit milestone and investors joined the toast, while convertible bonds – a stock-and-bond lovechild – are the most popular they’ve been in a quarter of a century. Today’s stories: Samsung’s Making Memories, Notching Its Highest-Ever Operating Profit Firms Have Been Hopelessly Devoted To IOUs – Namely, Convertible Bonds Try Finimize Pro

Rare earth stocks climbed after China banned certain exports to Japan, while European inflation landed bang on the central bank’s 2% target in December. Today’s stories: Rare Earth Stocks Leveled Up After Export Controls Put Investors In Trading Mode European Inflation Struck The Right Note In December Try Finimize Pro  

Copper prices reached a record high – but Doctor Copper might be out of office for now – while shares in a Chinese tech firm picked up over 90% in a year, with investors seeing movie magic in its AI video tool. Today’s stories: Copper Prices Hit A Record High, Reaching $13,000 A Ton A Chinese Tech Firm Is High In The AI Rally, After Jumping Nearly 90% Try Finimize Pro  

Investors pushed oil stocks up (and oil prices down ) after the US government ousted the Venezuelan president, while Goldman Sachs raised its price forecast for TSMC’s stock – and investors followed the moving target Today’s stories: Oil Prices Rose After Sudden Political Upheaval In Venezuela Goldman Sachs Raised TSMC’s Target, And Investors Hit Their Marks Try Finimize Pro

South Korea’s benchmark index picked up by 2.3% on Monday, bagging a brand-new record high, and Chinese carmaker BYD is lining up to overtake Tesla as the world’s biggest seller of EVs. Try Finimize Pro  

Entering 2026, economists are sounding the alarm on a "K-shaped economy", and billions flooded into AI in 2025 – but if companies don’t start putting the tech to work this year, that confidence could start to fade. Try Finimize Pro  

The US stock market lined up three years of gains – but history says the fourth could go either way. Plus, 2025 reshuffled the global leaderboard in ways no one saw coming. Try Finimize Pro  

ByteDance is planning a $23 billion investment in AI infrastructure – but it’ll take more than that to match Big Tech – US regulators approved Novo Nordisk’s once-a-day Wegovy pill, handing the Danish drugmaker an early edge over rival Eli Lilly. Today’s stories: ByteDance Is Making A $23 Billion Bid, Eager To Take A Chunk Out Of Big Tech’s AI Lead US Regulators Approved Novo Nordisk’s Weight-Loss...

Macro hedge funds – which bet on big moves in interest rates, currencies, and other markets – had their strongest year since the 2008 global financial crisis, while US asset manager Apollo Global Management has decided some assets are better unmanaged, so it’s selling them and stacking up cash. Today’s stories: Return Of The Mac-ro Hedge Fund Apollo Global Management Is Entering Buy-Stander Mode T...

“Vibe coding” startup Lovable put investors under its spell, landing $330 million at a $6.6 billion valuation, while Japan took it back to the nineties, pushing interest rates to their highest in 30 years. Today’s stories: “Vibe Coding” Startup Lovable Lived Up To Its Name, Giving Investors Fuzzy Feelings The Nineties Called And Japan Answered, Pushing Interest Rates Back Up Try Finimize Pro

US inflation data looked better than expected – but there’s a big, October-shaped hole in the numbers – and forget Silicon Valley: India proved itself as the real AI hotspot. Today’s stories:   US Inflation Data Inspired Some R&R: Resting And… Reading The Footnote India Did It Beta, Becoming The World’s Most Active AI Market Try Finimize Pro

Amazon might hand OpenAI $10 billion – but the ChatGPT creator would need to hand some of it straight back – Alphabet’s self-driving ride-hailing venture, Waymo, could double its valuation to over $100 billion. Today’s stories: Amazon Could Hand OpenAI $10 Billion, In Exchange For… Some Of It Back Waymo Could Come In Clutch With A $100 Billion Valuation Try Finimize Pro  

November’s payrolls report suggested that the US added more jobs than expected… but the fine print dampened the mood, while the European Union looks to be softening its stance on gas-powered cars, giving automakers more time to change their proverbial gears. Today’s stories: November’s Jobs Report Landed Late – And That Wasn’t The Only Disappointment The European Union Made A U-Turn On Its Gas Guz...

China posted the worst retail sales growth on record (excluding the pandemic), adding to the country’s string of disappointing data – while La Niña returned for the fifth time in six years, creating a storm in the air… and potentially, the world’s markets. Today’s stories: China’s Shops Stayed Quiet This November La Niña Storms Aren’t Limited To Crops: They Could Hit Markets, Too Try Finimize Pro

Silver’s price shot heavenward, more than doubling gold’s rally, while OpenAI hit “patch update” on humanity’s collective brain, rolling out ChatGPT-5.2 – a souped-up model built to beat Google and Anthropic. Today’s stories: The Price Of Silver – The So-Called “Devil’s Metal” – Is Heaven-Bound OpenAI Reclaimed Its Main Character Energy With A New Version Of ChatGPT Try Finimize Pro  

Oracle went on an AI shopping spree, so investors checked out – while Microsoft and Amazon pledged to invest $53 billion into AI infrastructure in India. Today’s stories: Oracle Went On An AI Shopping Binge – And Investors Checked Out Microsoft and Amazon Will Invest $53 Billion Into Indian Infrastructure Try Finimize Pro

SpaceX is pushing ahead with its initial public offering plans – a bid to raise some $30 billion and land in the $1.5 trillion club – while the biotech sector has seen the most mergers and acquisitions in a decade, as pharma firms race against an expiry date. Today’s stories: SpaceX Is Preparing For Its Public Market Launch Day Pharma Firms Rushed To Restock Before Their Pipelines Run Dry Try Fini...

The US will finally let Nvidia sell advanced chips to China… in exchange for a cut, while global temperatures are on track to set an unwelcome record, by staying above a key threshold for three years straight. Today’s stories: Nvidia Can Sell Advanced Chips To China… If America Can Keep 25% Climate Change Made Its Third Strike Try Finimize Pro

China’s exports have overshadowed imports by $1 trillion this year, marking the country’s biggest-ever surplus, while hedge funds moved more operations to the UAE – so now London, New York, and Singapore might have a harder time holding on to cash and talent. Today’s stories: China Turned October’s Export Trick Into November’s Treat Hedge Funds Put Their Tread In The Sand, Finding Footholds In Abu...

Netflix brought back blockbuster deals, buying Warner Bros.’ studio and streaming business for $83 billion – while Cristiano Ronaldo bought a stake in AI search company Perplexity, becoming a global representative in the process. Today’s stories: In The Ultimate Touch Of Movie Magic, Netflix Is Buying Warner Bros. Cristiano Ronaldo Bought A Stake In Perplexity, Backing AI Search… And Re-Siuu Try F...

Chinese chipmaker Cambricon expects to triple its chip sales next year – but while demand isn’t a problem, supply might be – and China’s biggest homegrown beauty brand looked to launch products far and wide, posing a threat to Europe’s biggest luxury names. Try Finimize Pro