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IKEA is closing a number of its large-format stores in China as it reworks how it reaches customers in a market reshaped by a prolonged property downturn and tougher competition. The Swedish furniture retailer is moving away from its long-standing blue-box model in some major cities and placing greater emphasis on smaller outlets and faster… Continue reading IKEA to close large China stores as property slump reshapes retail strategy

Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence start-up xAI has raised $20 billion in new funding in an upsized round that more than doubles its valuation since last spring, underscoring investors’ appetite for AI even as the company faces mounting criticism over the content generated by its technology. The company, which develops the Grok chatbot and its underlying… Continue reading Elon Musk’s xAI secures $20B in funding amid intensifying scrutiny

Rising demand for advanced memory chips is beginning to strain global supply chains, creating fresh pricing pressure across the electronics industry. Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s largest memory chipmaker, has signalled that shortages are no longer confined to specialist markets such as data centres and are now spilling into consumer electronics, said a Bloomberg report.… Continue reading Samsung says price hikes are coming as memory chips become costlier

China has rolled out a new set of e-commerce regulations aimed at controlling how its biggest online platforms compete, signalling a renewed push to stabilise a sector shaken by aggressive discounting and subsidy wars, said a Bloomberg report. The measures, unveiled on Wednesday, target business practices by major platforms that regulators say have distorted market… Continue reading China tightens e-commerce rules to curb platform competition and subsidy wars

Mounting evidence, from easing inflation to a softening jobs market, suggests the Bank of England’s fight against price rises is nearing a conclusion, with financial experts now predicting a shift to rate cuts in March and June, though February is considered too soon for action. Despite the impending possibility of rate cuts, current economic data… Continue reading Softening UK jobs market paves way for BoE rate cut in March, says ING Group

Europe’s markets and politics jolted into motion as a dramatic US intervention in Venezuela rippled across global finance and diplomacy. London stocks pushed toward historic highs amid a rush into defence and gold, while regulators intensified scrutiny of AI abuses and leaders from Copenhagen to Budapest warned of far-reaching consequences. From energy prices to Arctic… Continue reading Europe bulletin: FTSE near 10,000, UK grills Grok, Denmark warns on Greenland

Versant – a media business that Comcast has recently spun-off – started trading independently on Nasdaq today. The separation marks a significant reshaping of CMCSA’s media assets, with VSNT positioned as a standalone player under the leadership of Mark Lazarus. Versant’s portfolio includes notable assets like CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Rotten Tomatoes, and the Gold… Continue reading How to play Comcast-separated Versant stock as it lists on Nasdaq

Shares of Arbe Robotics Ltd. surged in early trading on Monday after the company announced a new automotive radar platform that integrates its perception technology with computing capabilities from Nvidia, lifting investor optimism around its positioning in the autonomous driving market. Arbe stock jumped 20.8% in premarket trading following the announcement. At the time of… Continue reading This stock is surging 10% ahead of CES—and it has a major Nvidia connection