China overtakes Japan to become the world’s largest new-car market, ending a 20-year run State-led, EV-focused expansion drives rapid volume growth, but quality concerns persist Oversupply-fueled price war deepens losses, fueling fears of an “Evergrande-style crisis” in autos

Memory makers’ HBM push tightens wafer supply for DRAM and NAND Wafer capacity stagnates as the post–COVID-19 supercycle memory slump drags on Capex is rising, but a near-term end to the supply crunch looks unlikely A view is emerging tha

Global memory prices keep climbing as AI demand surges and supply stays tight Samsung Electronics and SK hynix gain the upper hand in pricing talks, with earnings seen improving Despite heavy investment, China’s memory profitability and market share stagnate, with an “IPO rally” a medium- to long-term wildcard

International community warns U.S. invasion of Venezuela and forced transfer of Maduro sets a “dangerous precedent” Public comparisons grow between the current crisis and China–Taiwan relations, strengthening the case for intervention U.S.

K-food accelerates expansion into Indonesia, widening its reach beyond Vietnam as a core hub Export flows smooth further after last year’s easing of regulations on key items such as instant noodles Halal certification, a key factor for local consumers, is unlikely to become a major variable

SoftBank buys DigitalBridge for $4B, accelerating expansion of its AI infrastructure portfolio Google also moves into infrastructure M&A to secure priority access to power and land Private markets turn more optimistic, with the AI infrastructure investment boom set to accelerate

EU eases carbon-fiber rules for cars as it shifts its policy course ‘2035 ban on sales of new ICE cars’ also effectively headed for rollback Amid industry pushback, EU delays AI Act rollout; possible slowdown for DMA and DSA also raised The Eur

U.S.

Chinese Chipmakers Rush Into IPOs Moore Threads, MetaX and Others Notch IPO Pops of Up to 6x Tech Self-Reliance Surges — Driven by U.S.

Samsung Electronics Seen Supplying Up to 70% of Mobile DRAM for iPhone 17 HBM Production Focus Triggers Broad DRAM Shortage, Driving Sharp Price Gains Rising Memory Costs Set to Push PC and Smartphone Prices Higher Samsung Electronics h

U.S. Government Launches Probe Into Possible Circumvention of China Export Controls on Advanced Nvidia Chips Routes Range From Sanctions Evasion via “Neoclouds” to Direct Smuggling Into China Export Curbs and Tariff Barriers Ease Instead, Exposing Confusion in U.S.

Strategy Chooses Common-Stock Sale Over Bitcoin Buys Last Week With Fears of a Large Bitcoin Selloff Growing, Strategy Moves to Boost Liquidity MSCI Index-Removal Worries Spread—Saylor Still Signals “More Buying” Strategy, the bitcoi

Trump Administration Halts Offshore Wind Projects Along the U.S. East Coast “I Don’t Support Wind Power”: Pressure Mounts After Launch of Second Trump Term U.S.

Korea’s Webtoon Industry Weakens Amid Content Oversupply; IP “Virtuous Cycle” Benefits Flow to OTT Hits Actor Fees Too High for Webtoon Firms to Move into In-House Production Animation Emerges as the Next Growth Engine, with Kakao and Naver Making Back-to-Back Big Bets

China’s Export Growth Masks Weak Domestic Demand as Property Slump Drags on Consumption and Investment Limits Emerge in China’s Subsidy-Driven Export Model, Growth Engine Wobbles Amid Trade Tensions Chinese Party and Government Set Boosting Domestic Demand as Top Policy Priority for Next Year

Korea’s Refining and Petrochemicals Sector Builds In-House Power Plants to Cut Energy Costs Using Lower-Carbon Fuels Like LNG to Boost Clean-Competitiveness GS Caltex Speeds Up Decarbonization by Building a Palm-Oil-Based Biodiesel Value Chain <

“Largest-Ever Deal” Trump Administration Approves $11.1 Billion Arms Sale to Taiwan US Shifts From Longstanding Cross-Strait Balancing, Turn Accelerates From Biden Era Taiwan Deepens US Ties as Defense Worries Grow and Regional Support Falls Short

Ripple Acquires Gtreasury to Upgrade Cross-Border Payments Targeting SWIFT’s Limits, a “Gradual Convergence” Looks More Likely Than a Full Replacement Low-Volatility Stablecoins Could Still Threaten XRP’s Position Ripple has acquired GTreasury

Ford–LG Energy Solution Scraps Battery Supply Deal Worth About $6.5 Billion Renault Picked as Europe Partner, Set to Cooperate on EVs and Light Commercial Vehicles Renault Chooses Envision AESC as Battery Supplier, With Limited Ties to LG Energy Solution

Pornhub Suffers Massive User Data Breach After Third-Party Vendor Hack OpenAI Also Exposed in Same Vendor-Linked Security Incident, Hitting API Platforms Weak “Supply Chain Security” Seen as Potential Launchpad for APT Attacks A massive data