LVMH’s Fashion Engine Returns to Growth, but the Luxury Recovery Remains Uneven

LVMH’s Fashion and Leather Goods division returned to organic growth in the second quarter of 2026, with revenue increasing 1 per cent to approximately €8.9 billion. Although the result fell slightly below market expectations, it ended seven consecutive quarters of declining sales and represented the division’s first quarterly expansion in two years. The recovery was supported by stronger US demand, renewed momentum at Christian Dior and successful Louis Vuitton flagship stores in Beijing and Seoul. However, first-half profit remained under pressure from currency movements, geopolitical disruption and uneven spending across consumer groups, suggesting that the global luxury downturn is moderating rather than decisively ending.

21 h ago

Musk’s US$130 Billion Reversal and China’s New Technology Wealth Boom

Elon Musk’s loss of approximately US$130 billion in five trading days, shortly after becoming the world’s first trillionaire, illustrates how rapidly fortunes tied to publicly traded technology companies can change. At the same time, the extraordinary stock-market debuts and rallies of Chinese semiconductor and artificial-intelligence companies have created billions of dollars in new paper wealth for their founders and executives. The contrast reflects more than movements in individual fortunes: it highlights a global reallocation of investor attention toward strategic technologies such as memory chips and generative AI, while also exposing the speculative risks created when market valuations rise much faster than underlying businesses can mature.

21 h ago

Apple Overtakes Nvidia as World’s Most Valuable Company with $4.95 Trillion Valuation

Apple's valuation rose to $4.95 trillion after a 1% stock gain, overtaking Nvidia, which fell 5% to $4.77 trillion amid a broader pullback in AI chip equities.

21 h ago

China’s Chip Self-Sufficiency Push Reaches Mass-Production Milestone

China’s state-backed Shanghai Aishengna has begun mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography machines to supply major local foundries like SMIC and CXMT, marking a strategic milestone in Beijing’s drive for semiconductor self-sufficiency despite performance lagging established foreign suppliers like ASML.

21 h ago

CXMT Becomes China’s Most Valuable Listed Company After Record IPO Debut

Changxin Technology Group (CXMT) surged nearly 466% in its Shanghai stock market debut, making the memory chipmaker the most valuable company listed in mainland China. The blockbuster listing highlights strong investor confidence in China's semiconductor industry as AI-driven demand and Beijing's push for technological self-sufficiency continue to reshape the sector.

28/07/2026

Sony Ends Physical PlayStation Game Discs, Reshaping the Future of Console Gaming

Sony has announced that all new PlayStation games released from January 2028 onward will be distributed digitally, marking the end of physical game discs for future titles. The move is expected to improve profitability and reflect changing consumer preferences, but it has also sparked criticism from gamers and raised concerns over ownership rights, consumer choice and the future of the multibillion-dollar second-hand gaming market.

28/07/2026

Burberry’s China Rebound Signals a Selective Luxury Recovery, Not a Return to the Boom Years

Burberry’s first-quarter performance offers evidence that luxury consumption is beginning to recover in Greater China, particularly among younger consumers benefiting from stronger technology employment and rising financial markets. Retail revenue increased 5 per cent to £455 million, while comparable sales in Greater China rose 9 per cent. Strong results from Cartier owner Richemont reinforce the improvement, but demand remains concentrated in desirable brands and categories such as jewellery and heritage products. China’s property downturn, employment concerns and changing attitudes toward value mean the recovery is likely to remain uneven.

28/07/2026

SHEIN’s Quarterly Loss Exposes the Cost of a Changing Global Trade Regime

SHEIN reported a US$99 million net loss for the first quarter of 2026, reversing a US$395 million profit a year earlier, despite revenue edging up 1.1 per cent to US$9.05 billion. Although a US$328 million accounting charge contributed significantly to the loss, the company is confronting a deeper commercial problem: the low-value import exemptions that supported its direct-from-China model are being dismantled in major Western markets. Falling US sales, new European import fees and rising logistics costs are weakening margins just as SHEIN prepares for a long-awaited Hong Kong initial public offering.

28/07/2026

Housing Market Rebound to Boost Hong Kong Developers’ Earnings

Hong Kong property developers are poised to report an average core net profit growth of 8% for the first half of 2026, supported by a 20-year high in residential market activity and improving profit margins.

28/07/2026

Chinese Chipmaker CXMT Surges 466% in First-Day Trading, Overtaking ICBC

CXMT executed Asia’s largest initial public offering of the year, raising 57.92 billion yuan ($8.6 billion) at 8.66 yuan per share. On its first trading day, the stock jumped nearly 466% to close at 49 yuan, bringing the company’s market capitalization to approximately 3.3 trillion yuan.

28/07/2026

Oracle Wins Pentagon Software Deal Worth Up to $7 Billion Over 10 Years

Oracle has secured a software contract worth up to $7 billion with the U.S. Department of Defense, marking one of the company's largest government agreements to date. The long-term deal strengthens Oracle's position in the federal technology market and comes as the company invests heavily in AI infrastructure while navigating investor concerns over its growth outlook.

25/07/2026

Volkswagen Deepens Restructuring as Weak Profits Raise Risk of Plant Closures and Job Cuts

Volkswagen reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings and lowered its 2026 revenue outlook as tariffs, rising costs and intensifying competition pressure profitability. The German automaker is preparing a deeper restructuring that could include up to 100,000 job cuts and potential changes to the future of several domestic factories.

25/07/2026

CXMT’s Pre-IPO Crypto Valuation Sparks Scrutiny Ahead of Record Shanghai Listing

A crypto-based derivatives contract linked to Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies is valuing the company far above its official IPO price ahead of its Shanghai debut. The sharp premium highlights strong investor demand for restricted Chinese technology assets, while also raising questions about the reliability of crypto platforms as venues for pre-IPO price discovery.

25/07/2026

Samsung Unveils New Foldable Smartphones With Higher Prices Ahead of Apple’s Expected Entry

Samsung has launched its latest generation of foldable smartphones, expanding its lineup while raising prices amid higher component costs. The launch comes at a pivotal time as Apple is widely expected to introduce its first foldable iPhone later this year, intensifying competition in the premium smartphone market.

25/07/2026

Six-Month Admiralty Office Flip Signals a Turning Point in Hong Kong’s Prime Market

The resale of a premium Admiralty office for an apparent 19 per cent gain only six months after its purchase is an unusually rapid transaction for Hong Kong’s commercial-property market. The deal reflects improving price discovery and renewed interest from cash-rich buyers following a prolonged downturn. Yet the recovery remains concentrated in high-quality offices in Central and Admiralty, supported by financial-sector expansion, mainland wealth inflows and stronger capital-market activity, while oversupply and financing constraints continue to affect non-core districts.

25/07/2026

China Moves to Anchor Stock Markets with Long-Term Institutional Capital

China’s securities regulator is intensifying efforts to channel insurance, pension, mutual-fund and other institutional money into domestic equities after a sharp sell-off erased about 10 trillion yuan from market capitalisation in two weeks. The latest measures combine countercyclical intervention with stronger supervision, investor protection and corporate-governance reform. While state-backed purchases have provided immediate support, Beijing’s broader objective is to create a more stable investor base capable of reducing volatility, absorbing major share offerings and financing strategic industries over the long term.

25/07/2026

Intel Bets Big on 14A Process Node Following Tesla Win and Revenue Beat

Intel reported strong second-quarter results with $16.13 billion in revenue (a 25.4% increase) and 42 cents per share in adjusted profit, easily topping analyst expectations and leading to an upgraded third-quarter outlook.

25/07/2026

Shift in the Supply Chain: China’s Chipmakers Challenge Huawei and Western Rivals

The U.S. Department of Defense has labeled both firms as Chinese military-linked companies. While Western competitor Micron pushes for tighter equipment export restrictions against them, Apple has lobbied to safeguard access to CXMT's memory supply.

25/07/2026

China’s Moonshot AI Prepares for Hong Kong Public Listing Amid Surging Investor Demand

China’s artificial intelligence landscape remains exceptionally high, underscored by rival DeepSeek similarly pursuing a new financing round at a US$70 billion pre-investment valuation.

25/07/2026

Chinese Tech Firms Accelerate Global Expansion Across Software, Hardware, and AI

First-half 2026 customs data reveals massive growth in physical tech exports, including a near-doubling of integrated-circuit values to $177.3 billion and significant increases in data-processing and industrial robotics shipments.

25/07/2026

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GMT Eight