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Two high‑profile Chinese private firms have used extravagant year‑end giveaways and an institutionalised employee welfare network to bind staff loyalty and burnish reputations. The practices reflect a broader trend of private companies assuming social‑welfare roles amid competition for talent, with implications for inequality, corporate governance and regulatory scrutiny.

Several Chinese municipal market regulators have ordered food-delivery platforms to halt low-price, subsidy-driven “involution” ahead of the Spring Festival, banning predatory subsidies, ‘‘choose-one’’ exclusivity, data-based price discrimination and coercive promotional tactics. The measures aim to protect small merchants, restore market order during a high-demand period, and push platforms to shift from capital-driven growth to value creation.

Prominent economist Ren Zeping has urged investors to position for a renewed upswing in Chinese equities and commodities, invoking long-wave (Kondratiev) cycles and warning against excessive short-term caution. His social-media remarks, mixing market advice with a colloquial contrast between conservative and opportunistic investors, could influence sentiment in retail-dominated Chinese markets and have knock-on effects for global commodity demand.

New York Fed and CBO analyses show roughly 90% of the cost of President Trump’s tariff surge has been borne by American households and businesses. The reports highlight sharp price increases, elevated economic uncertainty and rising political strain in Washington, where legal and congressional challenges to the tariff program are mounting.

China’s 2025 commercial surprises — from the overseas success of Xiaohongshu and the blockbuster Nezha sequel to Pop Mart’s meteoric rise, Starbucks’ partial China JV and a destructive food‑delivery subsidy war — reveal a market driven by cultural momentum, geopolitical spillovers and ruthless competition. These events expose both opportunity for scalable consumer IP and persistent structural risks in margins, supply chains and valuation dynamics.

Shenzhen has issued a public notice banning illegal gold pre‑pricing schemes, leveraged and deferred trades, misleading online marketing and the development or support of unlawful gold‑trading apps. The move targets tech‑enabled distribution channels and warns banks and payment firms to refuse service to illegal operators while pointing retail investors toward authorised gold ETFs, futures and physical purchases through accredited sellers.

Black strawberries have erupted into China’s Lunar New Year fruit market, driven by scarcity, distinctive appearance and social-media buzz, challenging imported Chilean cherries whose prices have weakened. Improved greenhouse techniques and colourful gift-box packaging have helped domestic strawberries move from niche novelty to mainstream seasonal contender.

A Sohu SoBiz page returned a 404 message on Feb. 13, 2026, redirecting readers to the homepage. While possibly mundane, the disappearance underscores wider problems of content churn, archival fragility and opaque takedown practices on the Chinese internet.

A report says Lockheed Martin delivered recent F-35s without AN/APG-85 radars, and the mounting differences prevent fitting the earlier AN/APG-81 as a substitute. The deliveries could constrain the jets' combat roles, strain depots and suppliers, and prompt political and allied scrutiny of the F-35 programme.

South Korea displayed designs for unmanned aircraft carriers, including a 42,000‑ton concept, and plans to upgrade existing amphibious ships to operate drones and coordinate manned‑unmanned missions. The initiative signals a doctrinal shift toward drone‑centric naval power, with implications for regional deterrence, industrial capacity and alliance interoperability.

Researchers at Washington University found that activating a specific brain‑originating neural pathway rapidly reduced whole‑body fat in mice without dietary change, a result published in Nature Metabolism. The finding highlights a potential central mechanism for controlling adiposity, but major translational, safety and ethical hurdles remain before human therapies could emerge.

Gazans are manually searching collapsed buildings for the remains of relatives due to limited access to heavy machinery and restricted recovery operations since the October 2025 ceasefire. Local authorities say roughly 8,000 people remain under rubble while only about 700 bodies have been recovered, underscoring both humanitarian and forensic challenges in post-conflict recovery.

Elon Musk outlined plans to build AI satellites and factories on the Moon, signalling a push to relocate compute and manufacturing off Earth. China concurrently demonstrated launch prowess, published breakthroughs in 3D printing and quantum networking, and saw strong commercial AI activity — developments that together tighten the links between technology, markets and strategic competition.

State military media have showcased PLA units maintaining high vigilance through the Lunar New Year, emphasizing continuous readiness across coastal, maritime and high‑altitude frontiers. The coverage blends technical preparedness with intensified political training, signaling to domestic and international audiences that the armed forces see sustained alertness as standard practice.

China has begun rapid construction of a new carrier, hull 004, projected at about 120,000 tonnes and likely nuclear‑powered. The ship would carry a significantly larger air wing and upgraded flight‑deck systems, enabling longer deployments and higher sortie rates that expand Beijing’s ability to project naval power.

A compact roundup of market‑moving technology and policy developments: Elon Musk outlined plans for lunar factories to build AI satellites, China launched seven satellites including Pakistan’s PRSC‑EO2, and Chinese researchers set a new speed record in millimetre‑scale 3D printing. Together with advances in embodied robotics models, quantum networking and targeted vocational reforms, these items illustrate accelerating commercialisation and strategic competition across space, AI and advanced manufacturing.

Zhipu AI released GLM-5 and Moore Threads said it adapted the model to its MTT S5000 GPU the same day, claiming H100-class FP8 performance. Qianli Technology nominated former Honor CEO Zhao Ming to its board to speed commercialisation, while Alipay’s AI-native payments surpassed 120 million transactions in one week. Together these moves show China advancing a vertically integrated AI stack from hardware and models to monetised services.

An inhaled gene therapy targeting lung cancer has shown promising early clinical efficacy and received FDA RMAT designation and fast‑track status. The move accelerates regulatory review but leaves open critical questions about safety, durability, manufacturing and who will ultimately benefit.

The Pentagon has directed a second carrier strike group, centered on USS George H.W. Bush, to prepare for deployment to the Middle East, with a likely departure from the U.S. East Coast in about two weeks. The decision sharpens U.S. naval presence in the region, signaling deterrence while imposing logistical and strategic trade-offs for American forces juggling global commitments.

President Trump warned on February 10 that Washington would use military force if Iran does not agree to a tougher nuclear framework that also curbs missiles and regional proxies. Israel has reinforced US resolve by sharing intelligence, while Iran vows destructive retaliation and Russia urges diplomacy to avoid wider war.