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Taiwan has rejected U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick's proposal to relocate 40% of Taiwan's semiconductor supply chain to the United States, calling it 'impossible.' Taiwan's Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun emphasized that the island's semiconductor ecosystem, built over decades, cannot simply be moved. The dispute highlights tensions over U.S. chip onshoring ambitions and Taiwan's strategic interest in maintaining its technological dominance.

• Under a recent U.S.-Taiwan trade deal, Taiwan committed $250 billion in tech investments with an additional $250 billion in credit for U.S. production expansion, while the U.S. reduced tariffs on most Taiwanese goods from 20% to 15%
• TSMC has already committed over $65 billion to U.S. manufacturing with plans to expand to $165 billion, but Taiwan maintains an 'N-2 rule' requiring overseas plants to use chip technologies at least two generations behind Taiwan's most advanced production
• Lutnick warned that Taiwan-based chip companies not building in the U.S. could face 100% tariffs, part of a broader plan to create '$500 billion' semiconductor industrial parks in America

SoftBank Group Corp shares surged over 10% after its telecom subsidiary raised its full-year profit outlook and renewed optimism around Arm Holdings boosted sentiment toward the group's AI exposure. SoftBank Corp reported record revenue of 5.2 trillion yen for the first nine months of fiscal 2025, up 8% year-over-year, prompting an upward revision of its annual forecast.

• SoftBank Corp raised its full-year revenue forecast to 6.95 trillion yen from 6.7 trillion yen and increased its operating income target to 1.02 trillion yen
• Arm Holdings rally provided additional boost due to SoftBank's large stake, with Arm's data-center royalty revenue growth and AI-driven demand exceeding analyst estimates at $1.242 billion
• Arm is targeting to supply half of the CPUs used by major cloud computing hyperscalers by year-end, reflecting strong AI-linked growth beyond smartphones

Salesforce has cut fewer than 1,000 jobs in early February 2026, according to a Business Insider report citing a person familiar with the matter. The workforce reduction represents the latest layoff announcement from the enterprise software company, though Reuters has not independently verified the details.

• The job cuts occurred at the beginning of February 2026 and affected under 1,000 employees
• Business Insider reported the layoffs based on information from a single source familiar with the matter
• Reuters was unable to immediately verify the reported workforce reduction independently

Oil prices dipped 0.4% on Tuesday as traders evaluated supply disruption risks following U.S. warnings to commercial vessels about transiting the Strait of Hormuz amid U.S.-Iran tensions. Brent crude fell to $68.79 per barrel and WTI to $64.13, retreating after a 1% gain on Monday when the U.S. Maritime Administration issued guidance for ships to avoid Iranian territorial waters.

• About one-fifth of global oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it a critical chokepoint for crude exports from Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Iraq to Asia
• The U.S. issued maritime warnings despite Iran's foreign ministry reporting 'good start' to Oman-mediated nuclear talks, keeping a modest risk premium in oil markets
• The EU proposed extending Russia sanctions to include ports in Georgia and Indonesia handling Russian oil, while India bought 6 million barrels from Africa and Middle East, avoiding Russian crude amid U.S. trade deal negotiations

The Trump administration plans to exempt major tech companies including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft from upcoming semiconductor tariffs, according to the Financial Times. The carve-outs would be tied to investment commitments from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which is investing $165 billion in Arizona factories. The plans remain in flux and have not yet been signed by President Trump.

• The exemptions would be provided by the Commerce Department and specifically target firms building AI data centers
• TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, is investing $165 billion to build manufacturing facilities in Arizona
• The tariff carve-outs are contingent on investment commitments but plans are still under development and await presidential approval

Target is eliminating approximately 500 jobs in distribution centers and regional offices while simultaneously increasing investment in store staffing to address customer complaints about poor store conditions, out-of-stock items, and long checkout lines. New CEO Michael Fiddelke, who took the helm this month, is implementing these changes to revive growth after four years of flat annual sales.

• Target is cutting about 100 positions at the store district level and 400 across supply chain sites while redirecting funds to add more labor hours and guest experience training for frontline store employees
• The company has faced declining customer satisfaction as shoppers report Target has lost its edge in attentive service and trendy merchandise that once earned it the 'Tarzhay' nickname
• Annual sales have remained roughly flat for four years as Target struggles with increased operational complexity from fulfilling online orders in stores and stiffer competition from rivals like Walmart

Nike-owned Converse is implementing job cuts and team reorganization as part of strategic changes aimed at recapturing sales growth. Employees were instructed to work from home this week while the company announces new roles and team moves. This follows Nike's broader cost-cutting efforts, including previous workforce reductions at both Nike and Converse in 2024.

• Converse CEO Aaron Cain announced the restructuring in a memo, with changes including new roles and team moves for affected staff
• Nike has been cutting costs across the organization, having eliminated nearly 1% of corporate workforce in August 2024 and over 1,600 jobs (2% of workforce) in February 2024
• The parent company is struggling to reestablish itself as the world's leading sportswear brand after losing market share, with CEO Elliott Hill leading turnaround efforts since taking over in 2024

Morgan Stanley has rehired veteran dealmaker Michael Grimes as chairman of investment banking following his tenure as a senior advisor at the Commerce Department. Grimes, who spent over three decades at the bank and led major IPOs including Meta and Uber, returns as the firm positions itself for a wave of high-profile tech listings, including a potential SpaceX IPO that could value the company over $1.5 trillion.

• Grimes will be based in Menlo Park, California, managing relationships with major global corporate, venture capital, private equity, and sovereign clients
• His return positions Morgan Stanley as a leading contender for Elon Musk's SpaceX IPO, building on previous work on Tesla's IPO and the $44 billion Twitter acquisition
• Morgan Stanley reported a 47% jump in investment banking revenues in Q4, with dealmaking momentum expected to continue through the year

Autodesk has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Google in San Francisco federal court, alleging Google's AI movie-making software 'Flow' infringes on Autodesk's Flow trademark used since September 2022. Autodesk claims Google misrepresented its commercialization plans and used a trademark filing in Tonga to circumvent public scrutiny while targeting the same visual effects and production management customers.

• Autodesk alleges Google promised not to commercialize Flow, then filed a trademark application in Tonga in May 2025 to avoid public disclosure before seeking broader protection
• Despite Autodesk's $51 billion market value, the company warns that Google's $3.9 trillion parent Alphabet could 'overwhelm' its Flow products in the market
• Autodesk is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for consumer confusion and irreparable harm, while recently announcing 1,000 job cuts (7% of workforce)

The FDA issued a warning letter to Novo Nordisk on February 5, stating that a television advertisement for the company's weight loss pill is 'false or misleading'. This regulatory action challenges the drugmaker's marketing practices for its obesity treatment product.

• The FDA's letter specifically targeted a television ad for Novo Nordisk's weight loss pill, citing false or misleading content
• The warning was formally dated February 5, indicating recent regulatory scrutiny of the pharmaceutical company's advertising practices
• This development comes as Novo Nordisk faces increasing regulatory attention in the competitive obesity treatment market

Uber has agreed to acquire the delivery business of Turkey's Getir, a once high-flying startup previously valued at $12 billion. Uber will purchase Getir's food delivery business outright and pay $100 million for a 15% stake in its grocery, retail, and water delivery operations, with plans to complete full acquisition over the next few years. The deal comes after Getir scaled back dramatically from its pandemic-era expansion, exiting the U.S. and European markets in 2024.

• Getir's food delivery business alone recorded gross bookings of over $1 billion in 2025, up 50% year-over-year, despite the company's valuation collapse from $12 billion to group assets worth $374 million
• Uber will combine Getir's services with Trendyol Go, a Turkish delivery service Uber acquired for $700 million in May 2025, strengthening its position in a key growth market
• The acquisition from Getir's largest investor Mubadala follows years of turmoil including mass layoffs, market exits, and internal legal battles over restructuring that saw a co-founder sue over an 'illegal coup'

Alphabet is planning to raise approximately $15 billion through a U.S. high-grade dollar bond sale, according to Bloomberg News sources. This represents a significant capital raise by Google's parent company in the investment-grade debt market.

• The bond sale will be conducted in the U.S. high-grade dollar market, indicating investment-grade quality debt
• The $15 billion fundraising amount represents a substantial capital market transaction for the tech giant
• No official details were provided about the intended use of proceeds or timing of the bond issuance

Chevron's Tengiz oilfield in Kazakhstan has restored production to approximately 60% of capacity (550,000 bpd) following fires at power facilities on January 18 that caused a prolonged shutdown. The field, which represents 40% of Kazakhstan's total oil output, is expected to reach full production of 950,000 bpd by February 23. The outage significantly reduced Kazakhstan's overall oil production and exports through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium.

• Kazakhstan's oil production recovered to 1.6 million bpd in the week of February 1-8, up from 1.27 million bpd average in January when Tengiz was largely offline
• CPC oil exports are expected to drop to around 1.1 million bpd in February from a preliminary schedule of 1.7 million bpd, with January loadings falling to just 880,000 bpd (nearly half the initial plan)
• Tengiz oilfield is operated by the Chevron-led Tengizchevroil consortium and is Kazakhstan's largest oilfield, located on the northeastern shores of the Caspian Sea

The European Commission charged Meta Platforms with antitrust violations for blocking rival AI assistants from WhatsApp, allowing only its own Meta AI on the platform as of January 15. EU regulators threatened to impose interim measures against Meta to prevent serious and irreparable market harm, pending the company's response and defense.

• Meta implemented a policy on January 15 that permits only its Meta AI assistant to operate on WhatsApp, excluding competing AI services
• The European Commission sent a formal statement of objections (charge sheet) to Meta for breaching EU antitrust rules
• Regulators may impose interim measures to halt the policy change while the case proceeds, subject to Meta's rights of defense

TotalEnergies signed two long-term agreements to supply 1 gigawatt of solar capacity to Google's data centers in Texas. The power will come from solar plants in Wichita and Mustang Creek, Texas, which are scheduled to begin construction in Q2 2025. This deal expands the partnership between the French energy company and the tech giant to support growing data center energy demands.

• TotalEnergies will deliver 1 gigawatt of solar capacity through two sites owned by the company in Texas
• Construction on the Wichita and Mustang Creek solar plants is set to begin in the second quarter of 2025
• The agreement supports Google's renewable energy goals for its expanding Texas data center operations

A consortium led by Advent and FedEx has agreed to acquire European parcel locker company InPost for 9.2 billion euros (15.60 euros per share). The deal will see Advent and FedEx each own 37% of InPost, with CEO Rafal Brzoska's holding company retaining 16% and PPF holding 10%. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the year.

• InPost will maintain its name, management structure, and headquarters in Poland following the acquisition
• The ownership structure splits the company between Advent (37%), FedEx (37%), CEO Brzoska's A&R holding (16%), and PPF (10%)
• The deal aims to strengthen delivery networks and enhance fast, flexible delivery options for European e-commerce consumers

China's Innovent Biologics has signed its seventh collaboration deal with Eli Lilly to develop immunology and oncology drugs. Lilly will pay $350 million upfront with potential milestone payments reaching $8.5 billion. Innovent will lead development through Phase II trials in China, while Lilly gains exclusive rights to commercialize products outside Greater China.

• Total deal value could reach $8.85 billion, including $350 million upfront and up to $8.5 billion in developmental, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments
• Innovent will lead drug development from concept through Phase II clinical trials in China, with Lilly holding exclusive commercialization rights outside Greater China
• Innovent is also eligible for royalties on net sales outside Greater China; the companies previously collaborated on weight loss drug mazdutide

British online grocery and technology company Ocado plans to cut up to 1,000 jobs, representing approximately 5% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting initiative following challenges in its automated warehouse business. The redundancies are expected to primarily affect UK head office roles in technology, legal, finance, and human resources departments. An announcement could come as early as this month.

• Job cuts follow setbacks including Canadian partner Sobeys closing its Calgary robotic warehouse and U.S. partner Kroger pausing three automated warehouses
• Ocado stated in July its core priority is achieving cash-flow positive status in its 2025/26 fiscal year (starting December) through cost reductions
• The company is scheduled to report annual results on February 26

UBS opened accounts for Ghislaine Maxwell in 2014, just months after JPMorgan closed Jeffrey Epstein's accounts, and managed up to $19 million for her until her 2020 arrest for sex trafficking. Newly released Justice Department documents reveal UBS continued banking services for Maxwell even after Epstein's 2019 arrest, including a $130,000 transfer 16 days later. JPMorgan had previously flagged Maxwell as a 'High Risk Client' in 2011 due to her Epstein connections.

• JPMorgan labeled Maxwell 'High Risk Client' in 2011 and closed Epstein's accounts in 2013 after his 2008 felony conviction, but UBS took her on as a client in early 2014
• UBS processed a $130,000 transfer for Maxwell on July 22, 2019, just 16 days after Epstein's arrest, and received a Grand Jury subpoena regarding her accounts in August 2019
• Maxwell used UBS accounts to manage personal expenses, her TerraMar charity, and multiple business entities, including a $2.5 million payment to Scott Borgerson in 2016, whom she married that year

Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block is reportedly considering workforce reductions of up to 10% during its annual performance reviews, according to Bloomberg News citing unnamed sources. Reuters has not independently verified the report. The potential cuts would affect the payments and financial services company's employee base.

• The layoffs would affect up to 10% of Block's total workforce and would be implemented through annual performance review processes
• The report comes from Bloomberg News citing people familiar with the matter, though Reuters could not immediately verify the information
• Block is a fintech company founded by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, operating in the payments and financial services sector