From North America:

  • The NYSE and NASDAQ will be closed on Thursday January 9 to honor Jimmy Carter.
  • Apple offers iPhone discounts in China as competition intensifies.
  • Retailer Big Lots received approval from a bankruptcy judge for a last-minute sale that would allow 200 to 400 stores to remain open with a new owner.
  • S&P Global, Inc. In December 2024, manufacturing activity varied globally, with Indonesia, Taiwan, and Thailand experiencing growth, while India, Australia, the Eurozone, Germany, Turkey, and Malaysia saw declines, and France reached a 55-month low in its manufacturing sector.
  • Alibaba Group Holding has agreed to sell its 73.7% stake in Sun Art Retail Group to Paragon Shine for up to $1.58 billion, while its grocery chain, Freshippo, reported profitability for nine consecutive months in 2024.
  • Nvidia invested $1 billion in AI companies and saw its market value surge to $3.28 trillion due to an AI rally, while U.S. ETFs faced potential challenges in 2025 after a record inflow year, and technology stocks, including Nvidia, advanced in the premarket ahead of the first trading session of 2025.
  • Equinor has secured over $3 billion in financing for its Empire Wind 1 offshore wind power project in New York, USA.
  • Morgan Stanley has withdrawn from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance but reaffirmed its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions, impacting financial stocks and ETFs, though no specific reason for the exit was provided.
  • Synaptics collaborates with Google to enhance AI-driven IoT technologies, while technology stocks, including Synaptics, see gains in premarket trading, amidst Alphabet's YouTube and Elon
  • Musk's X not yet securing a social media license in Malaysia under new regulations.
  • Apple is launching a four-day promotional discount on iPhones and other products in China to protect its market share against increasing competition from Huawei and other domestic brands.
  • NIO and Li Auto are offering discounts on their electric vehicles in China to compete with Tesla and BYD, with Li Auto also reporting a 19% increase in December sales to 48,740 vehicles and a 16% rise in vehicle deliveries for December 2024 compared to the previous year.
  • Meta Platforms, Inc. Malaysia's Communications and Multimedia Commission has granted WeChat and TikTok licenses to operate under the country's new social media regulations.

From Europe and Asia:

  • Deutsche Bank plans to expand its fixed-income trading business in the Americas.
  • Swisscom revises its earnings outlook downwards following the completion of the acquisition of Vodafone Italia.
  • Pershing Square receives approval to delist from Euronext Amsterdam.
  • Repsol resumes oil exploration in Libya after 10-year suspension.
  • Vastned Belgium merges with Vastned Retail.
  • Chinese health agency accepts priority review of AstraZeneca-backed Hutchmed lung cancer treatment.
  • Skanska wins €35 million contract to build wastewater treatment plant in Finland.
  • Vestas to supply wind turbines for a 26 MW project in Italy
  • Nippon Steel has made new proposals to the US government in a bid to buy United States Steel, overcoming Joe Biden's block.
  • BYD sales reached 4.25 million passenger cars in 2024 (+41%), which would put the Chinese group in3rd place among global brands, behind Volkswagen and Toyota. Several automakers, including Tesla, will publish their annual figures later today.
  • Alibaba sells its stake in Sun Art to DCP for $1.6 billion.
  • We Doctor, a Chinese e-health platform, recently filed for a new IPO in Hong Kong.