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A historic intraday crash on 30 January 2026 wiped out major portions of gold and silver’s recent gains, provoking panicked selling and a striking countertrend: older Beijing shoppers queuing to buy physical bars even as younger online investors were trapped. The rout was driven by stretched positions, margin increases on U.S. futures exchanges and uncertainty about U.S. monetary policy; it exposed frictions between physical dealers, retail products and global derivatives markets.

A sudden one-day 30% plunge in spot silver on January 30 triggered sharp declines in metal-linked equities and highlighted the danger leverage poses during liquidity squeezes. Swift regulatory margin increases and low market valuations helped avert widespread forced liquidations, but the incident underscores the need for cash buffers, conservative leverage and structural market safeguards.

Alibaba’s Qianwen extended its Spring Festival 25-yuan free-order card validity to February 28 after demand outpaced expectations, and widened eligibility to include meals, fresh produce and New Year goods via Tmall and Hema. Heavy user participation has strained merchant and flash-delivery capacity, leaving many unable to place orders and exposing the logistics limits behind a high-profile promotional push.

Alphabet reported strong 2025 results, with revenue growth and rising search and cloud momentum, yet surprised markets by guiding roughly $180 billion of capital expenditure for 2026 to accelerate AI infrastructure. The plan deepens Google’s hardware‑and‑energy play, raises barriers to competition and creates short‑term pressures on earnings through higher depreciation and cash burn.

A Bithumb employee’s data‑entry error credited 620,000 bitcoins across 695 accounts, prompting rapid selling, a 17% price plunge on the exchange, and sweeping regulatory alarm. Bithumb says it recovered 99.7% of the coins, will compensate harmed customers, and regulators in Seoul will review exchange controls and possibly conduct on‑site inspections.

China’s traditional roasted‑nut and dried‑fruit shops have been transformed into premium retail experiences with polished stores, viral products and hefty price tags, led by brands such as Xueji. The sector’s growth is driven by packaging, product innovation and digital marketing, but rising prices and perceived homogeneity risk a consumer backlash even as market size continues to expand.

IKEA’s high-profile clearance sales at seven closing Chinese megastores drew crowds and chaotic scenes, highlighting the decline of large-format furniture malls and the rise of small-format, omnichannel retail. Consumer preferences, e-commerce competition and changing urban living patterns are reshaping China’s home-furnishing market, creating winners among agile domestic brands and lifestyle retailers and headaches for landlords and legacy operators.

U.S. attempts to weaponize Venezuelan oil have produced unintended market distortions, turning a potential strategic asset into an operational burden. China's deepening ties in Latin America and the timing of oil flows have reduced Washington's leverage and increased volatility in global energy markets.

China’s Attack-11 is a publicly unveiled stealth unmanned combat aircraft using a flying-wing layout designed to reduce radar signature and operate in high-risk airspace. Its combination of stealth and unmanned operation could expand PLA options for deep strike and electronic suppression, while complicating regional air-defence calculations.

A U.S. raid that captured Nicolás Maduro has unexpectedly strengthened the hand of Venezuela’s acting president by consolidating military support and drawing an unequivocal diplomatic rebuke from China. The episode has turned Maduro into a bargaining chip in a wider contest over Venezuelan oil, sovereignty and great-power influence in Latin America.

Israel has contracted Elbit Systems to supply equipment upgrade packages for the CH‑53K heavy‑lift helicopters it ordered, part of a broader rotorcraft modernisation that also includes a proposed AH‑64E Apache purchase. The move combines US airframes with Israeli systems to tailor capability to local needs while deepening defence‑industrial ties and logistical dependencies with the United States.

A small aircraft crashed near Gilbert, South Carolina on February 6, killing one person and injuring another, while a separate crash occurred in Idaho the same day with local firefighters on scene. The FAA and NTSB have opened investigations that will examine mechanical, human and environmental factors and could lead to safety recommendations affecting general aviation oversight.

Relatives of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic‑bomb survivors protested in Hiroshima against Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s reported consideration of revising Japan’s “three non‑nuclear principles,” calling on Tokyo to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Municipal assemblies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have formally urged the central government to respect survivors’ feelings and retain the prohibition on possessing, producing or introducing nuclear arms.

The US Air Force pulled two F-22 stealth fighters from the Super Bowl flyover after reassigning them to operational tasks amid heightened activity related to Iran. The move highlights the limited availability of fifth‑generation assets and signals that the Pentagon is prioritizing real‑world missions over public displays during a period of increased tension in the Middle East.

Qianwen’s app crashed amid overwhelming demand for a widely publicised free milk-tea promotion, prompting the operator to ask users for patience and to confirm voucher validity until Feb 28. The outage exposes tensions between explosive AI-driven marketing and the logistical and regulatory realities of fulfilling mass consumer promotions.

The US embassy in Baghdad reported a "controlled explosion" at a US diplomatic support facility on February 7 but provided no details about causes or casualties. The terse notice, first noted in regional media, underscores persistent security risks to diplomatic sites in Baghdad and leaves open questions about whether the incident was disposal of a device, an exercise, or something else.

This week’s announcements from Xpeng, Li Auto, Avita and Leapmotor underline a shift in China’s EV industry toward high‑end SUVs that sell on software, chassis electronics and compute as much as battery range. Manufacturers are betting that steer‑by‑wire, 800V electrification and lidar‑led autonomy will justify premium pricing, though execution, safety certification and clear consumer benefits remain the decisive hurdles.

Bitcoin rose above $70,000 on 8 February, climbing 1.14% intraday, according to a NetEase user-posted market alert. The milestone underscores continuing investor interest and market volatility, with implications for traders, asset managers and regulators monitoring crypto's systemic risks and adoption dynamics.

China’s Li Auto and Xpeng are reorganising to build ‘car robots’ by fusing smart cockpits and autonomous driving onto a shared AI platform. Technical, safety and organisational barriers mean the transition will be incremental: common base models and compute may be shared, but driving functions will require strict isolation and staged deployment in low-risk scenarios.

Hangzhou’s Market Scene Innovation Center, founded in July 2025 and backed by municipal investment and data groups, is accelerating deployment of AI applications by providing real‑world municipal scenarios, financing and data access. The initiative aims to turn early‑stage AI ideas into scalable products while competing with cities such as Hefei and Shenzhen for national recognition and support.