Trending Market News

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang plans to visit China in late January to reopen the critical market for the company's AI chips, according to Bloomberg. The trip follows conflicting signals from the U.S. and China: the Trump administration recently allowed sales of Nvidia's H200 chips to China, but Chinese customs authorities stated a day later that the chips are not permitted to enter the country.

• Huang is expected to attend company events ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays in February and may visit Beijing, though meetings with senior Chinese officials are not confirmed
• The Trump administration approved sales of Nvidia's second-most powerful H200 AI chips to China last week, but Chinese customs blocked their entry on January 14
• China represents a critical market for Nvidia's AI chip business, making the conflicting regulatory signals a significant challenge for the company's market access

Canadian oil producer Cenovus Energy is considering selling C$3 billion worth of conventional oil and gas assets in Alberta's Deep Basin to reduce debt following its C$8.5 billion acquisition of MEG Energy. The company has contacted potential buyers but plans remain at an early stage and may not proceed.

• Cenovus' net debt jumped to C$10.7 billion after the MEG Energy takeover, and the company has committed to reducing it to C$4 billion over time
• The Deep Basin assets are conventional, natural gas-heavy fields with mature production; Cenovus allocated only C$500 million capital to conventional business in 2026 versus up to C$3.6 billion for oil sands
• Conventional assets are expected to produce up to 125,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2026, as Cenovus sharpens focus on its core oil sands business

Energy Fuels, a uranium and critical minerals producer, will acquire Australian rare earth producer Australian Strategic Materials for A$447 million ($300.88 million). The transaction would create a global mid-tier rare earth elements producer outside China with operations in the United States, South Korea, and Australia, as Western countries seek to reduce dependence on Chinese rare earth supplies.

• The deal values Australian Strategic Materials' equity at approximately $301 million, creating a diversified rare earth producer with presence across three countries
• Rare earth elements are critical materials used in wind turbines, electric vehicles, smartphones, and missiles, with prices rising amid Western efforts to reduce China dependence
• Australia has been actively supporting rare earth projects and international partnerships to build alternative supply chains, with Lynas Rare Earths currently the largest producer outside China

Berkshire Hathaway plans to sell its entire 27.5% stake in Kraft Heinz, consisting of 325.4 million shares, according to an SEC filing. The move would end a more than decade-old investment that proved disappointing for Warren Buffett, with Berkshire writing down the investment by nearly $7 billion in total. Kraft Heinz has struggled with competition from healthier alternatives and weakened consumer spending following years of price increases.

• Berkshire wrote down its Kraft Heinz investment by $3.76 billion in August, adding to a prior $3 billion writedown in 2019
• Kraft Heinz announced plans to split into two separate companies in September, a decision that Buffett and Greg Abel (now Berkshire's CEO) opposed
• The divestment comes as Kraft Heinz installed new CEO Steve Cahillane on January 1, the same day Abel became Berkshire's chief executive

United Airlines reported strong fourth-quarter 2025 earnings and forecasts potential record earnings for 2026, driven by robust demand for premium seats, business travel, and budget tickets. The carrier's profit rose 6% year-over-year to $1.04 billion, while premium revenue increased 9% in Q4. United and Delta together accounted for nearly all U.S. airline industry profits in the first nine months of 2025.

• Premium revenue grew 9% in Q4 2025 and 11% for the full year, while restrictive basic-economy ticket sales increased 7% in the quarter
• Fourth-quarter profit reached $1.04 billion ($3.19 per share), up 6% from the prior year, despite unit revenue falling 1.6%
• The longest-ever air traffic controller strike in Q4 impacted pretax results by $250 million but did not derail the carrier's strong performance

Netflix reported fourth-quarter revenue of $12.1 billion, slightly exceeding Wall Street expectations of $11.97 billion, while surpassing 325 million subscribers. The streaming giant is pursuing an $82.7 billion all-cash acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery's studio assets, which has drawn investor skepticism and overshadowed the solid quarterly performance.

• Netflix's 2026 full-year revenue forecast of $50.7-$51.7 billion fell short at the low end of analyst estimates of $50.98 billion
• December viewership rose 10% driven by the final season of 'Stranger Things' (15 billion viewing minutes) and two NFL games on Christmas Day
• The company secured a $59 billion bridge loan and increased it by $8.2 billion to support the all-cash Warner Bros acquisition, which will add major franchises like 'Harry Potter' and 'Game of Thrones' to its content library

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission will appeal a court ruling that dismissed its antitrust case against Meta. The FTC had accused Meta of maintaining an illegal monopoly through its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp. The agency had sought to force Meta to divest or restructure these platforms.

• Meta successfully defeated the FTC's initial case challenging the company's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp as anticompetitive
• The FTC's original complaint sought remedies including forcing Meta to sell or restructure the two acquired social media platforms
• The appeal aims to revive the antitrust case after Meta won dismissal of the FTC's monopoly allegations

UBS Group's board is considering both external and internal candidates to replace CEO Sergio Ermotti, who is expected to step down by mid-2027. Ermotti, who led UBS through its emergency takeover of Credit Suisse, disclosed the succession planning details at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The timeline for his departure has not been finalized.

• Ermotti's departure is planned for mid-2027, though the exact timeline remains unfixed
• The board is evaluating both external candidates and internal contenders for the CEO position
• Ermotti oversaw UBS's emergency acquisition of Credit Suisse, a major milestone in his tenure

Netherlands-based diagnostics company Qiagen is exploring strategic options, including a potential sale, after receiving preliminary takeover interest from multiple suitors, according to Bloomberg News. The company is working with advisers as its supervisory board evaluates approaches from potential buyers, including U.S. strategic acquirers. While Qiagen has faced previous takeover attempts that failed to materialize, the upcoming departure of CEO Thierry Bernard may remove a key obstacle to completing a deal.

• Qiagen has held discussions with several possible buyers in recent weeks, including U.S. strategic companies, though deliberations remain at an early stage with no certainty of a transaction
• The company announced in November that CEO Thierry Bernard will depart once a successor is found, which sources indicate was viewed as a major roadblock to previous deal attempts
• Qiagen has attracted multiple takeover approaches in recent years, but none have resulted in a completed transaction

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff called for AI regulation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, citing documented cases of suicide linked to AI models that he described as having become 'suicide coaches' this year. His warning draws parallels to his 2018 call for social media regulation, suggesting AI could follow a similar pattern of unregulated growth causing societal harm.

• Benioff stated that AI models became 'suicide coaches' this year, pointing to several documented suicide cases linked to the technology as evidence of the need for regulatory intervention
• The CEO drew comparisons to his 2018 call for social media regulation, when he argued platforms should be regulated like cigarettes due to their addictive nature and negative health impacts
• Benioff warned that AI is repeating the pattern of social media's unregulated growth, emphasizing that 'it can't be just growth at any cost' when harmful outcomes are occurring globally

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reported that product prices on the e-commerce platform are rising as sellers respond to cost pressures from Trump administration tariffs. The company's early inventory stockpiling strategy exhausted supplies in fall 2025, and sellers are now split between passing costs to consumers or absorbing them. While consumers remain resilient overall, shoppers are more hesitant on higher-priced discretionary items.

• Amazon pulled forward inventory shipments in early 2025 and encouraged third-party sellers to stock up ahead of tariffs, but those supplies ran out by fall
• Sellers are taking varied approaches: some passing tariff costs to consumers, some absorbing costs to maintain demand, and others using mixed strategies
• Consumers continue shopping and seeking bargains but show increased hesitation toward higher-priced discretionary purchases, with uncertainty about 2026 trends

Oil production at Kazakhstan's Tengiz field, one of the world's largest, has been shut down since Sunday due to a fire at a power station and could remain halted for 7-10 days or until February. The shutdown has forced operator Tengizchevroil (TCO) to cancel five crude export cargoes totaling 600,000-700,000 metric tons scheduled for January and February. Other Kazakh producers are increasing output to partially offset the impact on the country's overall production.

• TCO cancelled five CPC Blend crude cargoes (600,000-700,000 metric tons) for January-February shipments from the Black Sea terminal following the shutdown
• Two other major Caspian fields are compensating: Kashagan increased output 28% to 197,000 barrels/day and Karachaganak rose 21% to 156,000 barrels/day in January
• TCO is operated by Chevron (50% stake), ExxonMobil (25%), KazMunayGas (20%), and Lukoil (5%), with most exports flowing through the CPC pipeline

Universal Music Group is set to receive conditional EU antitrust approval for its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music. The European Commission accepted Universal's offer to divest Downtown's royalty services platform Curve to address competition concerns, with no additional concessions required.

• The deal is valued at $775 million and awaits final EU regulatory clearance
• Universal offered to sell off Curve, Downtown's royalty services platform, to satisfy antitrust concerns
• The European Commission has not requested further concessions beyond the Curve divestiture

Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings is planning a dual listing of its global telecommunications business in London and Hong Kong as early as Q3 2026, with the telecom assets potentially valued at around $20 billion. The spin-off, advised by Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank, could be delayed if the company proceeds with merging its Italian unit Wind Tre with Iliad's Italian operations.

• CK Hutchison is eyeing London as the primary listing venue and Hong Kong as secondary, with the telco unit expected to fast-track into the FTSE100 index
• The spin-off follows regulatory approval of a $19 billion tie-up between CK Hutchison's UK telecom assets and Vodafone
• Potential merger talks involving Italian unit Wind Tre and French telecom group Iliad could pause the listing plans, with a decision expected in coming weeks

European and U.S. banking CEOs urged calm during a global market sell-off on Tuesday triggered by President Trump's threat of new tariffs, including a potential 200% levy on European goods. Major indices fell 1-2%, with European banks among the hardest hit, dropping 1.4%. Executives characterized the volatility as 'the new normal' for markets navigating ongoing trade policy uncertainty.

• Goldman Sachs International co-CEO Anthony Gutman warned that current tariff threats represent 'the new normal' for market volatility, creating complexity for business leaders making investment decisions
• European markets face a 10% U.S. tariff starting Feb. 1, rising to 25% by June 1, following Trump's proposed 200% levy on European wine and champagne
• Banking executives expressed more concern about indirect economic effects—such as altered trade patterns, delayed investments, and supply chain disruptions—than direct tariff impacts

Ethiopian Airlines, Africa's largest carrier, ordered nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to meet growing demand for long-haul travel. The order was jointly announced by the airline and Boeing on Tuesday, representing a significant fleet expansion for the carrier.

• Ethiopian Airlines is expanding its long-haul capacity with nine Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets
• The order reflects increasing demand for long-distance air travel in the African market
• Ethiopian Airlines holds the position as Africa's largest airline carrier

Novavax announced a licensing agreement with Pfizer on January 20 to collaboratively develop vaccine products targeting infectious diseases. The partnership leverages both companies' expertise in vaccine development, though specific financial terms and disease targets were not disclosed in the brief announcement.

• The agreement enables joint development of vaccines for infectious diseases, expanding both companies' product pipelines
• No financial details, specific disease targets, or timeline for vaccine development were provided in the announcement
• The deal comes as pharmaceutical companies continue forming strategic partnerships to accelerate vaccine innovation following the COVID-19 pandemic experience

Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan stated at Davos that the Swiss pharmaceutical giant believes it has an agreement with the U.S. government to shield it from tariffs. This comes as President Trump announced tariffs on several European countries, potentially affecting the pharma sector. The company's $23 billion investment in U.S. manufacturing is expected to protect it from exposure to levies by mid-year.

• Narasimhan said Novartis 'thinks' it has a tariff exclusion agreement with the U.S. government and expects to be 'not really exposed' to tariffs by mid-2025 due to domestic production capacity
• Trump announced tariffs on multiple European nations including Switzerland's neighbors, with EU pharma exports to the U.S. totaling 84.4 billion euros ($98.1 billion) in the first three quarters of last year
• The company's previously announced $23 billion manufacturing investment enables it to produce in the U.S. for the U.S. market, providing additional protection beyond the potential government agreement

Walmart-backed Indian digital payments firm PhonePe has received regulatory approval from SEBI for its IPO after confidentially filing in September 2024. Major shareholders including Walmart, Microsoft, and Tiger Global are expected to partially exit through the offering. The listing comes as India's primary markets reached record fundraising highs in 2025.

• PhonePe commands over 45% market share of India's unified payments interface (UPI) with more than 600 million registered users and nearly 50 million merchant partners
• The company's losses narrowed to 17.2 billion rupees for the year ended March 2025, down from 19.96 billion rupees in the prior year
• Founded in 2015, PhonePe is India's leading payments platform and joins a buoyant IPO market amid record fundraising activity

Pfizer is exiting ViiV Healthcare, the HIV specialist venture it co-founded with GSK, in a $1.9 billion deal that allows Japan's Shionogi to more than double its stake to 21.7%. GSK will retain majority control with a 78.3% stake. The transaction is expected to close in Q1 2026.

• Shionogi is paying $2.13 billion for newly issued shares, increasing its stake from approximately 10% to 21.7% of ViiV Healthcare
• Pfizer will receive $1.88 billion for its 11.7% holding as it faces projected revenue headwinds until 2029 from COVID product sales decline and patent expirations
• GSK established ViiV Healthcare with Pfizer in 2009, with Shionogi joining as a shareholder in 2012; the deal simplifies the venture's ownership structure