Be in the know. 26 key reads for Friday…

  1. Ryan Cohen Boosts Alibaba Stake to $1 Billion (wsj)
  2. Ant Group’s Profit Rises With Jack Ma Back in the Public Eye (bloomberg)
  3.  “The whole idea hopefully is lower the value of the dollar, lower the value of interest rates, bring down the debt burden in the country. And that’s what they’re trying to do.” (bloomberg)
  4. Japan’s inflation rate climbs to a 2-year high of 4% in January, supporting rate hike calls from BOJ members (cnbc)
  5. Alibaba to ramp up AI, cloud investments as quarterly profit surges (scmp)
  6. Fed Minutes Reveal Little Appetite for Near-Term Rate Cuts (wsj)
  7. The Wild Economics Behind Ferrari’s Domination of the Luxury Car Market (wsj)
  8. China’s Power Elite: A Guide to the Tech Kingpins Who Met Xi Jinping (wsj)
  9. The Weird New Putting Technique That’s Driving the Golf World Completely Nuts (wsj)
  10. Drop Your Gloves! Are Team USA and Canada Delivering the Hockey Showdown of the Decade? (wsj)
  11. USA vs. Canada: Teams all tied up in third period of 4 Nations finale thriller (nypost)
  12. Nikola, E.V. Start-Up That Once Thrilled Investors, Files for Bankruptcy (nytimes)
  13. Elon Musk wields chainsaw on stage, says he and Trump are battling ‘the matrix’ (usatoday)
  14. Boeing CEO says Musk ‘helping in a big way’ on timing of Air Force One planes (usatoday)
  15. Hedge Funds Reload Option Trades for Yen Gains in Coming Months (bloomberg)
  16. Trump Meets Tiger Woods, Golf Execs as PGA Tour-Saudi Deal Looms (bloomberg)
  17. US Mortgage Rates Drop for Fifth-Straight Week, Falling to 6.85% (bloomberg)
  18. Fed’s Bostic Sees Two Cuts in 2025 Amid Uncertain Outlook (bloomberg)
  19. Alibaba shares soar 11% in Hong Kong after stellar earnings as China’s e-commerce sector recovers (cnbc)
  20. Magnificent Who? The S&P 500 Powers Ahead Without Big Tech. (barrons)
  21. Palantir extends losses on report of defense budget cut (streetinsider)
  22. Ant Group jumps into humanoid robots as China’s AI advances (scmp)
  23. Alibaba Cloud AI model Animate Anyone 2 simplifies making of lifelike character animation (scmp)
  24. Alibaba’s AI Bonanza, Trump China Comments & Premier Li on Raising Domestic Consumption (chinalastnight)
  25. China backs Trump’s Ukraine peace bid at G20 as US allies rally behind Zelenskiy (reuters)
  26. Dollar hits year-to-date lows as bulls get nervous (reuters)

Be in the know. 25 key reads for Thursday…

  1. Alibaba Stock Soars After Earnings Beat. It’s All About AI. (barrons)
  2. Morgan Stanley Drops Bearish China Stocks Call (bloomberg)
  3. Jefferies raises targets on China tech stocks on AI growth (streetinsider)
  4. Fed officials weighed slowing or pausing bond drawdown last month (reuters)
  5. Trump Floats Giving DOGE Savings to Public, Defending Cost Cut (bloomberg)
  6. Trump Says New China Trade Deal Is ‘Possible’ Despite Tensions (bloomberg)
  7. Trump Turns on Zelenskiy, Leaving Ukraine Few Options Amid War (bloomberg)
  8. Japan’s Food Inflation Is Becoming Harder for BOJ to Overlook (bloomberg)
  9. Fed Minutes Signal Officials on Hold Until Inflation Improves (bloomberg)
  10. The CEO of Four Seasons Offers 10 Takeaways About White Lotus (bloomberg)
  11. Trump to Halt NY Congestion Pricing by Terminating Approval (bloomberg)
  12. What Happens When Private Credit Loans Get in Trouble (bloomberg)
  13. China issues action plan to stabilize foreign investment in 2025 (people.cn)
  14. BABA-W Reportedly Launches Large-Scale Recruitment Drive for AI To C Biz w/ 90% of Positions in AI Tech & Product R&D (aastocks)
  15. Palantir CEO Karp’s New Plan to Sell $1.2B of Stock (barrons)
  16. Palantir plunges after CEO Karp changes share sales plan, Pentagon budget cut report (cnbc)
  17. Palantir drops on report Trump administration plans defense cuts (finance.yahoo)
  18. Etsy, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2024 Results (etsy)
  19. Yen Climbs to Strongest This Year Versus Dollar on BOJ Hike Bets (bloomberg)
  20. China’s latest strategy to get consumers spending: a clampdown on rip-offs (scmp)
  21. Alibaba opens data centre in Mexico, ramping up AI infrastructure expansion (scmp)
  22. Fed Wants More Gains on Inflation Before Cutting Rates Again, Minutes Show (barrons)
  23. Trump’s 25% Auto Tariffs Hurt These Stocks the Most (barrons)
  24. Alibaba Earnings Are Coming. China’s AI Battle Is Heating Up. (barrons)
  25. They’ve Been Waiting Years to Go Public. They’re Still Waiting. (nytimes)