The Finimize Daily Brief

The US finally published its January jobs report – but this year’s good news came with last year’s caveats – while fresh data showed China’s still battling the same old problems, justifying local governments’ decisions to downgrade their economic forecasts. Today’s stories: Late US Payrolls Showed That Great Things Don’t Always Come To Those Who Wait China’s Same Old Problems Could Force A Brand-N...

TSMC outdid itself, setting the tone for an industry on track to break records this year, while the US government planned its biggest-ever regulatory rollback – a move that could bruise some stocks but hand others a lucky break. Today’s stories: TSMC Added Chips To The Industry’s Potentially Trillion-Dollar Stack The US Government Planned Its Biggest-Ever Regulatory Rollback Try Finimize Pro

China celebrated a record trade surplus… without filling a single ship, while Japan’s election outcome got the country’s stocks and bonds moving. Today’s stories: China Recorded A Record Trade Surplus For Digital Services Japan’s Prime Minister Won The Strongest Majority In Decades Try Finimize Pro

Investors changed their minds about a former safe bet, refusing to buy the software sector’s stocks or lend its firms cash, while the US government’s new drug platform could mean cheaper medicine for you… and discounted pharma stocks, too. Today’s stories: Investors Lost Faith In Software Firms, Wanting Higher Returns For Their Debt The White House (Ozem-)Picked Drugmakers Apart Try Finimize Pro  

Amazon’s incomings were a pretty package – but its outgoings weren’t exactly what investors ordered – while Elon Musk is taking SpaceX public, and he wants the firm to skip the stock market index waiting list. Today’s stories: Amazon Delivered Last Quarter – But Investors Refused The Package Elon Musk Wants Priority Index Boarding For SpaceX Try Finimize Pro  

Alphabet revealed better-than-expected results, but investors were too busy fretting over its supersized spending plans to notice, while bitcoin fell to its lowest price since 2024, failing to live up to its “digital gold” nickname. Today’s stories: Alphabet’s Better-Than-Expected Results Failed To Impress Investors Bitcoin Went To The Moon… And Back Try Finimize Pro

The US and India struck a trade deal, with both sides agreeing to trim tariffs, while China made a record-breaking investment in its power grid, determined to keep the AI lights on. Today’s stories: India Shook Hands With The US On A Pretty Nifty Trade Deal China Invested Record Sums To Get Its Watts Up Try Finimize Pro

Investors changed their tune on precious metals, kicking gold and silver to the curb, while Elon Musk wants to combine liftoffs with logins by merging SpaceX and xAI. Today’s stories: Precious Metals Gave Investors The Ick Elon Musk Is In Advanced Talks To Merge SpaceX And xAI Try Finimize Pro

The US president finally appointed the next chair of the Federal Reserve – and the pick wasn’t exactly what investors expected – while Exxon and Chevron both beat expectations, even as oil prices slid. Today’s stories: The US President Finally Hired The Next Fed Chair Chevron And Exxon Interrupted The Oil Sector’s Slumber Try Finimize Pro

Apple fared better than expected, but it still needs a helping hand from Google's AI labs, while OpenAI and Anthropic are raising fresh billions – and spending them at record speed. Today’s stories: Apple Is Tasting The Forbidden Fruit, Getting Google To Power Its AI Tools OpenAI and Anthropic Are Hitting The Motherlode Try Finimize Pro

Meta and Microsoft both made more revenue and profit than expected, but investors only rewarded one of them, while the US dollar hit a four-year low – and your portfolio may be more exposed than you’d like. Today’s stories: Meta And Microsoft Beat Expectations, But Investors Still Played Spot The Difference The US Dollar Plummeted To A Four-Year Low Try Finimize Pro

Analysts expect China’s tech sector to make 50% more profit this year than last – and that’s in spite of the country’s biggest names, not because of them – while shares in SK Hynix reached an all‑time high, after the South Korean chipmaker went exclusive with Microsoft. Today’s stories: Analysts Played Favorites With China’s Tech Sector, Forecasting A Fall For The Tech Eight SK Hynix And Microsoft...

Big Tech earnings – which kick off this week – could be a make-or-break moment for the “Buy America” trade, while Europe’s initial public offering market is having a record-breaking start to the year. Today’s stories: Big Tech Earnings Could Convince Investors To Sell America Europe’s IPO Market Broke Its Fast Try Finimize Pro  

Elon Musk had a busy week – promising robots, deploying unmanned cars, and taking OpenAI to the cleaners – while a European defense company pulled off a record-breaking initial public offering. Today’s stories: Elon Musk’s Embracing The Year Of The Horsepower Investors Czech-ed Out Defense Stock CSG Try Finimize Pro

The US economy grew at its fastest pace since 2023, and Apple – well, Google – will finally give Siri an AI upgrade. Today’s stories: The US Economy Had A Growth Spurt Apple’s Siri Will Get An AI Upgrade… Thanks To Google Try Finimize Pro

The World Economic Forum hosted quite the double act, bringing the US president and Nvidia’s CEO to the stage – while gold nabbed another record high, as investors reached for something more real. Today’s stories: The World Economic Forum Focused On AI – And The Rest Was Politics Investors Got Physical, Sending Gold To Another Record High Try Finimize Pro  

Investors bailed out of Japanese government bonds, sending their yields up to record levels – while UK unemployment stayed high, with layoffs outpacing vacancies. Today’s stories: Japan’s Bond Market Was Shaken, Not Stirred The UK Job Market Was Practically Perfect In Almost No Way Try Finimize Pro  

The US president threatened eight European nations with tariffs in a push to take over Greenland, while China hit its 5% economic growth target – but the country’s broader scorecard was far from a bullseye. Today’s stories: The US President Waved A Red Flag For Greenland China’s Economy Landed On Target – But The Country’s Still On The Edge Try Finimize Pro

China and Canada marked a relationship milestone, building on their own thing outside of the US, while major money managers issued a warning about investing in corporate debt. Today’s stories: China and Canada Worked On Their Commitment Issues, Desperate To Get Back At The US Corporate Bond Yields Might Be Too Close For Comfort, Warned Money Managers Try Finimize Pro

TSMC’s profit sailed past analysts’ expectations, bolstering investors’ confidence in the whole “AI chips” thing, while the UK economy grew by the most since June. Today’s stories: TSMC Delivered Results You’d Need To See To Believe The UK Economy Posted Its Biggest Monthly Uptick Since June Try Finimize Pro

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