TikTok

TikTok establishes joint venture to end US ban threat

BY ALEX PIGMAN

  • The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member, majority-American board including TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives from major investment firms.
  • TikTok announced Thursday it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.
  • The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member, majority-American board including TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives from major investment firms.
TikTok announced Thursday it has established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business, allowing the company to avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will serve more than 200 million users and 7.5 million businesses while implementing strict safeguards for data protection, algorithm security and content moderation, the company said.
The new structure responds to a law passed under President Donald Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, that forced Chinese-owned ByteDance to sell TikTok's US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.
Trump welcomed and claimed credit for the deal, but also thanked Chinese President Xi Jinping for approving it.
"I am so happy to have helped in saving TikTok!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social late Thursday. "It will now be owned by a group of Great American Patriots and Investors, the Biggest in the World, and will be an important Voice."
"I would also like to thank President Xi, of China, for working with us and, ultimately, approving the Deal," he added.
ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake in the joint venture -- keeping its ownership below the 20 percent threshold stipulated by the law.
Three investors -- Silver Lake, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment fund MGX -- each hold 15 percent stakes. Oracle's executive chairman Larry Ellison is a longtime Trump ally.
Other investors include Dell Family Office, affiliates of Susquehanna International Group and General Atlantic, and several other investment firms.
The joint venture will retain decision-making authority over trust and safety policies and content moderation for US users, while TikTok's global entities will manage international product integration and commercial activities including e-commerce and advertising.
Under the arrangement, US user data will be stored in Oracle's secure cloud environment, with cybersecurity audited by third-party experts and adhering to federal standards, TikTok said.
The joint venture will be governed by a seven-member, majority-American board including TikTok CEO Shou Chew and executives from major investment firms.
TikTok executive Adam Presser was appointed CEO of the new entity, with Will Farrell serving as chief security officer.
The 2024 law came as US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, warned that China could use TikTok to mine Americans' data or exert influence through its algorithm.
But Trump, crediting the app for his appeal with young voters, delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline to January 22.
The deal largely confirms an outline announced to staff by Chew last month.
Trump said in September that a new venture had been agreed with China and would meet the law's requirements.
Trump specifically named Ellison, one of the world's richest men, as a major player in the arrangement.
Ellison has returned to the spotlight through his dealings with Trump, who has brought his old friend into major AI partnerships with OpenAI. 
Ellison has also financed his son David's recent takeover of Paramount and bidding war with Netflix for Warner Bros.
arp/ksb/msp/

Global Edition

Asian stocks extend gains but US concerns hit dollar, boost gold

  • Analysts said the Republican's willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, weighing on the dollar and boosting safe haven metals.
  • Asian markets extended their recovery Friday after Donald Trump withdrew his tariff threats over Greenland, though lingering uncertainty about US policy weighed on the dollar and helped push precious metals to fresh record highs.
  • Analysts said the Republican's willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, weighing on the dollar and boosting safe haven metals.
Asian markets extended their recovery Friday after Donald Trump withdrew his tariff threats over Greenland, though lingering uncertainty about US policy weighed on the dollar and helped push precious metals to fresh record highs.
Investors are also preparing for next week's Federal Reserve meeting following data that had been broadly in line with forecasts and after prosecutors issued subpoenas against boss Jerome Powell threatening a criminal indictment, raising fears over the bank's independence.
Sentiment has picked up over the past two days after the US president pulled back from his warning to hit several European nations with levies over their opposition to Washington taking over the Danish autonomous territory.
In light of the row-back, Asian stocks extended Thursday's gains, with Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Sydney, Seoul and Singapore leading the gains.
That followed a second successive advance on Wall Street.
However, Trump's latest salvo against global allies -- and after his ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this month -- revived trade war fears and uncertainty about US investment, putting downward pressure on the dollar this week.
And analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably.
Analysts said the Republican's willingness to threaten tariffs over any issue had rattled confidence on trading floors, weighing on the dollar and boosting safe haven metals.
In early Asian trade, gold rallied to a fresh peak above $4,967 an ounce while silver touched more than $99.
With the Greenland crisis over for now, investors turned their attention to the US economy, which grew slightly more than originally estimated in the third quarter thanks to a boost in exports and investment, according to data delayed by last year's government shutdown.
Separate figures showed jobless numbers dipped and inflation settled slightly lower to where it was before the shutdown.
The bank is tipped to hold interest rates, having cut them in the previous three meetings.
The gathering comes against the backdrop of a deepening row between Trump and Powell, who the president has lambasted for not cutting borrowing costs quickly enough.
And the pressure ramped up on the latter this month when the administration issued subpoenas hinting at a possible criminal probe into a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed headquarters. 
"The bar to a further cut is too high and (Trump appointee) Steve Miran notwithstanding the Federal Open Market Committee are likely to err on the side of a hold, which will inevitably incur the wrath of president Trump," wrote MCH Market Insights' Michael Hewson, referring to the Fed's decision-makers.
"The problem for the president is that in being so belligerent towards Powell, he is making it harder for the Fed to even consider cutting rates over concerns that they are succumbing to political influence on their decision-making process."
Fiona Cincotta at City Index added: "Sticky inflation and solid growth provide little incentive for the Fed to cut rates further for now. These data points support the Fed's wait-and-see stance."
The meeting also comes as Trump considers candidates to replace Powell when his term comes to an end in May. The president told reporters Thursday that "I have somebody that I think will be very good but I'm not going to reveal it".
"It's someone very respected, very, very well known, and will do, I think, a very good job," he added.
In company news, Japanese giant Nintendo jumped as much as 6.9 percent after gaming data firm Circana said its Switch 2 console led the US hardware market in unit and dollar sales in 2025.
The "Switch 2 remains the fastest selling video game hardware platform in tracked history", Circana's Mat Piscatella wrote on BlueSky.
Next week's US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing, Tesla, Meta and other corporate giants. There will also be a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.

Key figures at around 0250 GMT

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.3 percent at 53,870.35 (break)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 26,750.74
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,128.01
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1750 from $1.1751 on Thursday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3498 from $1.3500
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.60 yen from 158.39 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.04 pence from 87.05 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $59.73 per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.6 percent at $64.45 per barrel
New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,384.01 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,150.05 (close)
dan/abs

internet

TikTok: key things to know

  • The platform has faced scrutiny worldwide, particularly in the United States, over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government, including accusations of spying and propaganda.
  • Video-sharing platform TikTok has over a billion users worldwide, including more than 170 million in the United States, it says -- nearly half the country's population.
  • The platform has faced scrutiny worldwide, particularly in the United States, over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government, including accusations of spying and propaganda.
Video-sharing platform TikTok has over a billion users worldwide, including more than 170 million in the United States, it says -- nearly half the country's population.
Here is a closer look at the app, which on Thursday announced it had established a majority American-owned joint venture to operate its US business:

Born in China

TikTok's transformation from niche video app to global digital entertainment powerhouse is one of the biggest shifts in the sector since the advent of social media.
From friends dancing together to home chefs demonstrating recipes or people sharing political views, TikTok can turn ordinary users into celebrities, revolutionizing the traditional path to stardom.
The platform was launched in 2016 by Chinese tech company ByteDance for the local market, where it is called Douyin. The international version, TikTok, was released in 2017.
It gained massive momentum after merging with Musical.ly, a lip-synching app, a year later.

'For You' page

The so-called secret sauce in TikTok's rapid expansion has been its innovative recommendation algorithm.
Instead of showing content from accounts that users already follow, the endless scroll of TikTok's "For You" page is based on viewing habits, engagement patterns and sophisticated content analysis.
A video from a complete unknown can reach millions of people if the algorithm determines it engaging enough -- a model that the app's rivals have been keen to follow.
TikTok's focus on short clips also helps keep users hooked.
It was initially limited to uploads of 15 seconds, but this was later expanded to up to 10 minutes, and now some users can post videos as long as 60 minutes.

Suspicions

TikTok's mass appeal has made its rise controversial -- mainly over its Chinese ownership and built-in unpredictability.
The platform has faced scrutiny worldwide, particularly in the United States, over data privacy and potential ties to the Chinese government, including accusations of spying and propaganda.
India banned TikTok along with other Chinese apps in 2020, citing national security concerns.
And a European Union watchdog fined TikTok 530 million euros ($620 million) last year for failing to guarantee its user data was shielded from access by Chinese authorities.
The social media giant has appealed the fine, insisting it has never received any requests from Chinese authorities for European users' data.

Sell or be banned

The US Congress passed legislation in 2024 requiring that ByteDance divest control of TikTok in the United States, or be banned.
The matter was a major sticking point in US-China trade negotiations, and last month, an internal memo from TikTok's CEO said an agreement had been reached on a new joint venture in the United States.
On Friday, TikTok unveiled its new business structure, which it said would implement strict safeguards for data protection, algorithm security and content moderation.
ByteDance retains a 19.9 percent stake in the joint venture, keeping its ownership below the 20 percent threshold stipulated by the law.
Three investors -- Silver Lake, Oracle and Abu Dhabi-based AI investment fund MGX -- each hold 15 percent stakes. Oracle's executive chairman Larry Ellison is a longtime Trump ally.

Teenage safety fears

In a world first in December, Australia banned under-16s from major social media platforms including TikTok, with the onus on tech firms to kick young users off their services.
Other countries have expressed concern about the potential effects of TikTok on young users, including accusations it funnels them into echo chambers and fails to contain illegal, violent or obscene content.
Albania banned TikTok for a year in March after a 14-year-old schoolboy was killed in the culmination of a confrontation that started on social media.
burs-kaf/abs

economy

Venezuela moves to open up oil sector, a key Trump demand

BY ANDREA TOSTA

  • The energy reform bill before parliament ends a Chavez-era requirement for private companies to form joint ventures with state-owned oil firm PDVSA, which insisted on holding a majority.
  • Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday gave their initial backing to plans to throw open the oil sector to private investors, paving the way for the return of US energy majors -- a key demand of President Donald Trump.
  • The energy reform bill before parliament ends a Chavez-era requirement for private companies to form joint ventures with state-owned oil firm PDVSA, which insisted on holding a majority.
Venezuelan lawmakers on Thursday gave their initial backing to plans to throw open the oil sector to private investors, paving the way for the return of US energy majors -- a key demand of President Donald Trump.
Less than three weeks after the US ouster of Nicolas Maduro, MPs endorsed on first reading a bill allowing private companies to independently engage in oil exploration and extraction.
If adopted on a second reading, the bill would roll back decades of state controls over Venezuela's oil sector, which were tightened by Maduro's late mentor, socialist firebrand Hugo Chavez, in the mid-2000s.
The bill has been promoted by Maduro's former deputy, acting president Delcy Rodriguez, who has overseen a lightning-fast thaw in ties with Washington since taking the helm.
On Thursday, Trump called her leadership "very strong" and said the United States is already taking a cut of Venezuela's oil.
"Our country will become richer and that means our taxes will be going down and they will do better -- Venezuela's going to do better than they've ever done," Trump said.
Another change unfolded in Caracas Thursday, with the United States confirming Laura F. Dogu -- a former ambassador to Nicaragua and Honduras -- as the new charge d'affaires to Venezuela. 
That was seen as a step toward restoration of full diplomatic ties.

Warming relations

Caracas and Washington severed relations after Maduro's first widely disputed claim to reelection in 2019.
Within days of Maduro's January 3 capture in Caracas, US diplomats travelled to the Venezuelan capital to discuss reopening the embassy.
Trump has boasted that he is working "really well" with Rodriguez, who was vice president and petroleum minister -- a position she still holds -- in Maduro's fiercely anti-US government.
On Wednesday, a senior US official said Rodriguez would soon visit the United States, despite still being under Washington sanctions.
Maduro was toppled after a monthslong US pressure campaign and flown to New York with his wife to face trial on drug trafficking charges.
Rodriguez has appeared ready to comply with Trump's open interest in Venezuela's oil.
"We are in a process of dialogue, of working with the United States, without fear," she said Wednesday.

Lost opportunities

This week she ploughed $300 million from a US-brokered oil sale into propping up the ailing national currency, the bolivar.
The mere anticipation of the injection drove down the price of dollars, the currency in which many Venezuelans conduct their business.
But economists warned that true relief from spiraling prices would require a sustained influx of dollars -- which in turn requires foreign investment.
Venezuela has the world's largest proven reserves of oil but output has fallen from over three million barrels per day in the early 2000s to around 1.2 million today.
The energy reform bill before parliament ends a Chavez-era requirement for private companies to form joint ventures with state-owned oil firm PDVSA, which insisted on holding a majority.
"Having oil underground serves no purpose," parliament speaker Jorge Rodriguez, the interim president's brother, told lawmakers Thursday, urging them to back the reform.
"Every day that passes is a day lost and a day of (oil reserves) that we cannot use."
To win the support of both Venezuelans and Washington, Delcy Rodriguez needs to quickly show improvements in the economy and signal an end to a decade of worsening repression under Maduro.
In the past two weeks, her government has slowly freed dozens of political prisoners from the hundreds behind bars.
On Thursday, authorities released the son-in-law of opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who was serving a 30-year sentence on terrorism charges.
Gonzalez Urrutia, in exile in Spain, is widely considered the rightful winner of Venezuela's 2024 election.
His son-in-law Rafael Tudares was arrested by masked men in January 2025 while heading to school with his two children.
Since Maduro's ouster, Trump has ramped up pressure on another Latin American arch-foe, communist Cuba, a longtime Venezuela ally.
Trump has vowed to cut off all oil supplies to Cuba, which has relied for years on heavily-subsidized Venezuelan oil and cash to remain afloat.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel said Thursday he spoke by telephone with Rodriguez to express his "support and solidarity."
afc-jt/sla/msp

Global Edition

US stocks rally again after Trump backs off Greenland tariff threat

  • But relief came Wednesday when Trump backed down on threats to seize the Arctic island by force from ally Denmark and retracted his tariff threat.
  • Global stocks rallied Thursday, lifting US indices for a second straight day after President Donald Trump dialed back tariff threats on Europe over their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland.
  • But relief came Wednesday when Trump backed down on threats to seize the Arctic island by force from ally Denmark and retracted his tariff threat.
Global stocks rallied Thursday, lifting US indices for a second straight day after President Donald Trump dialed back tariff threats on Europe over their opposition to a US takeover of Greenland.
Wall Street indices, which jumped more than one percent Wednesday after Trump significantly softened his tone on Greenland, finished solidly higher again Thursday.
The broad-based S&P 500 won 0.6 percent.
After focusing on Greenland, Iran and other geopolitical hotspots, "it seems like there's a lot of tailwinds back in the market," said Tom O'Shea, from Innovator Capital Management. "The economy is in a really good position to move forward." 
US data releases Thursday included a modest uptick in US third-quarter growth to 4.4 percent and a stable reading on inflation for November.
Next week's US earnings calendar is packed with results from Apple, Microsoft, Boeing and other corporate giants. There will also be a Federal Reserve monetary policy decision.
Markets had been rattled this week by the US president saying he would hammer several nations -- including Germany, France, Britain and Denmark -- with levies for their pushback against his grab for Greenland, a Danish autonomous territory.
But relief came Wednesday when Trump backed down on threats to seize the Arctic island by force from ally Denmark and retracted his tariff threat.
"That was enough to trigger the so-called TACO trade -- 'Trump Always Chickens Out' -- and markets responded with one of their strongest rallies in recent months," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Forex.com.

Trade wars 'biggest concern'

But analysts said there was no guarantee that Europe-US relations had improved durably, a concern that capped gains.
"The Greenland situation may have calmed down, but there are still enough unanswered questions," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould. "It's more about financial markets regaining balance than moving into top gear."
One lesson from this week's price swings was that "financial markets fear tariffs more than geopolitical risks," noted Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. "Trade wars are the biggest concern for markets."
Advances in Asian equities earlier were led by tech-heavy markets Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul, with the latter topping 5,000 points for the first time as chip companies enjoyed bumper gains.
The surge came after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang told the World Economic Forum in Davos that the infrastructure to develop and power generative AI models will require further "trillions" of dollars in investment.
He told delegates that the AI boom "has started the largest infrastructure buildout in human history".
The remarks helped boost South Korean chip leaders Samsung and SK hynix, tech investment giant SoftBank in Japan, and European heavyweights ASML and STMicroelectronics.
French video game giant Ubisoft lost more than a third of its value in a single session, with its stock closing more than 39 percent lower, after the "Assassin's Creed" maker announced it expected to make huge losses this year and needed to restructure drastically.

Key figures at around 2110 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 0.6 percent at 49,384.01 (close)
New York - S&P 500: UP 0.6 percent at 6,913.35 (close)
New York - NASDAQ: UP 0.9 percent at 23,436.02 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,150.05 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 1.0 percent at 8,148.89 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: UP 1.2 percent at 24,856.47 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 1.7 percent at 53,688.89 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.2 percent at 26,629.96 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,122.58 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1751 from $1.1685 on Wednesday
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3500 from $1.3439
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.39 yen from 158.30 yen
Euro/pound: UP at 87.05 pence from 87.00 pence
Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.8 percent at $64.06 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 2.1 percent at $59.36 per barrel
burs/jh/rlp/msp

tariffs

Ecuador, Colombia ramp up trade war with tit-for-tat energy levies

BY LINA VANEGAS WITH SANTIAGO PIEDRA IN QUITO

  • - 'Reciprocal' - Colombia, too, will the feel the pain of a trade war if it has to pay a higher levy for oil transport through Ecuador's OCP pipeline.
  • Colombia and Ecuador punished each other with dueling levies Thursday on fuel and other imports, escalating a trade and diplomatic feud over narco activity on their shared border.
  • - 'Reciprocal' - Colombia, too, will the feel the pain of a trade war if it has to pay a higher levy for oil transport through Ecuador's OCP pipeline.
Colombia and Ecuador punished each other with dueling levies Thursday on fuel and other imports, escalating a trade and diplomatic feud over narco activity on their shared border.
Quito accuses Colombia -- the world's biggest cocaine producer -- of falling short in the fight against drug cartels blamed for a steep rise in violent crime in once peaceful Ecuador.
On Wednesday it announced a 30 percent tariff, starting in February, on imports from Colombia, whose energy minister denounced "an act of economic aggression."
Bogota retorted Thursday with a matching 30-percent "corrective action" on about 20 unspecified products, for now.
Bogota also announced it would suspend electricity sales to Ecuador, which relies heavily on its neighbor for power and hit back with a levy on Colombian oil traveling through its majority state-owned OCP pipeline.
Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa is an ally of US counterpart Donald Trump, who has also made the drug fight a priority and has similarly used tariffs in pursuit of his goals.
But experts contacted by AFP said Ecuador may draw the short straw in its standoff with Colombia, whose ministry of mines and energy announced a suspension of "international electricity transactions" with the neighboring country.
Without mentioning the trade spat, the ministry cited "increased pressure on the Colombian electrical system" as it announced "a preventive measure aimed at protecting Colombia’s sovereignty and energy security."
Colombia repeatedly came to its neighbor's aid as Ecuador suffered prolonged electricity outages during droughts in 2024 and 2025.
Ecuador, a country of 17 million, relies on hydro generation for 70 percent of its electric power. It consumes more energy than it produces, and Colombia covers about half of the deficit.
A shortage of electricity "could paralyze" Ecuador," Alberto Acosta Burneo, an economic analyst at Grupo Spurrier, told AFP.
Colombia proposed a bilateral meeting at the border on January 25, according to an official letter published by local media. 

 'Reciprocal'

Colombia, too, will the feel the pain of a trade war if it has to pay a higher levy for oil transport through Ecuador's OCP pipeline.
"The tariff for transporting Colombian crude oil through the OCP will be reciprocal to the measures taken regarding electricity," Environment and Energy Minister Ines Manzano said on X.
According to the OCP website, 46 million barrels of Colombian crude have been carried through the pipeline since 2013, from the Amazon jungle to a port on Ecuador’s Pacific coast.
The OCP has capacity for 450,000 barrels per day. 
Ecuador, once one of South America's safest countries, has been transformed into a major cocaine trafficking hub in the space of a few years, plagued by gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels.
It closed 2025 with a rate of 52 homicides per 100,000 residents, amounting to one every hour, according to the Geneva-based Organized Crime Observatory.
Ecuador's 600-kilometer (370-mile) border with Colombia, which stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Amazon, is porous and riddled with contraband crossings.
Leftist Petro and counterpart Noboa are on opposite ends of the political spectrum, and have frequently clashed on issues including the recent US military ouster of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.
But the countries are historically close trading partners.
Colombia's main exports to its neighbor are electricity, medicines, vehicles, cosmetics, and plastics, according to Colombia’s National Association of Foreign Trade.
Ecuador's exports include vegetable fats, canned tuna, minerals and metals.
sp/nn/mlr/ksb

bank

Trump sues JPMorgan Chase, CEO Dimon, claims 'debanked' for politics

BY JOHN BIERS

  • Trump's suit describes his experience with JPMorgan as part of a "systemic and widespread" practice of debanking in the United States over political viewpoints, an allegation that has also been heavily promoted by Republican-led congressional committees. 
  • US President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday, alleging he was wrongly "debanked" for political reasons, according to a civil complaint.
  • Trump's suit describes his experience with JPMorgan as part of a "systemic and widespread" practice of debanking in the United States over political viewpoints, an allegation that has also been heavily promoted by Republican-led congressional committees. 
US President Donald Trump sued JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon on Thursday, alleging he was wrongly "debanked" for political reasons, according to a civil complaint.
Trump is seeking at least $5 billion in damages in a civil suit filed in a Florida state court. 
The complaint focuses on the nation's biggest bank's moves to cut ties following the January 6 siege on the US Capitol after Trump refused to concede following his loss in the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
JPMorgan said the case has "no merit," but called for regulatory reform to "prevent the weaponization of the banking sector."
Trump was notified on February 19 that JPMorgan was closing several accounts, resulting in "considerable financial harm," according to the complaint.
Trump and his businesses were hurt "not only by the interruption to their access to JPMC's banking services, but also by the devastating impact of plaintiff's ability to transact and access their monies, and by having to enter into less favorable business arrangements with other financial institutions," the complaint said.
"Plaintiffs are confident that JPMC's unilateral decision came about as a result of political and social motivations, and JPMC's unsubstantiated 'woke' beliefs that it needed to distance itself from President Donald Trump and his conservative political views."
Trump's suit said the president raised the issue with Dimon, who "assured" the president he would offer a detailed response. But Dimon "ultimately never did" get back to Trump, according to the complaint.
JPMorgan said it would fight the litigation, adding it does "not close accounts for political or religious reasons," according to a statement.
"We do close accounts because they create legal or regulatory risk for the company. We regret having to do so but often rules and regulatory expectations lead us to do so," said the bank, adding that it favors reform to "prevent the weaponization of the banking sector."
"While we regret President Trump has sued us, we believe the suit has no merit," the bank added. "We respect the President's right to sue us and our right to defend ourselves -- that's what courts are for." 
Trump's suit describes his experience with JPMorgan as part of a "systemic and widespread" practice of debanking in the United States over political viewpoints, an allegation that has also been heavily promoted by Republican-led congressional committees. 
Banking industry officials reject charges that they debank people over political viewpoints but have echoed JPMorgan's statement in calling for reform.

Rewriting January 6

While the suit targets a specific commercial actor in JPMorgan, the complaint is part of a broader move directed by Trump and his allies to reframe the events of January 6, 2021.
Trump called supporters to Washington to protest Congress's certification of his election defeat.
Following a rousing speech from Trump, several thousand breached the Capitol grounds, overwhelming police lines and wounding more than 140 officers, smashing windows and doors, ransacking offices and forcing lawmakers into hiding as the electoral count was halted for hours before Biden's victory was certified.
Upon retaking the White House in January 2025, Trump granted pardons to more than 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol. Earlier this month, the White House unveiled a website labeling the rioters as "peaceful patriotic protesters" and accusing police of provoking the violent clashes. 
At a congressional hearing Thursday, former special counsel Jack Smith defended his handling of criminal investigations into Trump, rebuffing Republican lawmakers who cast his prosecutions as politically motivated.
"No one should be above the law in this country and the law required that he be held to account," Smith told the panel. "President Trump was charged because the evidence established that he willfully broke the very laws that he took an oath to uphold."
jmb/msp

technology

Musk's Grok created three million sexualized images, research says

BY ANUJ CHOPRA

  • "The data is clear: Elon Musk's Grok is a factory for the production of sexual abuse material," Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of CCDH. "By deploying AI without safeguards, Musk enabled the creation of an estimated 23,000 sexualized images of children in two weeks, and millions more images of adult women." 
  • Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok generated an estimated three million sexualized images of women and children in a matter of days, researchers said Thursday, revealing the scale of the explicit content that sparked a global outcry.
  • "The data is clear: Elon Musk's Grok is a factory for the production of sexual abuse material," Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of CCDH. "By deploying AI without safeguards, Musk enabled the creation of an estimated 23,000 sexualized images of children in two weeks, and millions more images of adult women." 
Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok generated an estimated three million sexualized images of women and children in a matter of days, researchers said Thursday, revealing the scale of the explicit content that sparked a global outcry.
The recent rollout of an editing feature on Grok, developed by Musk's startup xAI and integrated into X, allowed users to alter online images of real people with simple text prompts such as "put her in a bikini" or "remove her clothes."
A flood of lewd deepfakes exploded online, prompting several countries to ban Grok and drawing outrage from regulators and victims.
"The AI tool Grok is estimated to have generated approximately three million sexualized images, including 23,000 that appear to depict children, after the launch of a new image editing feature powered by the tool on X," said the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a nonprofit watchdog that researches the harmful effects of online disinformation.
CCDH's report estimated that Grok generated this volume of photorealistic images over an 11-day period -- an average rate of 190 per minute.
The report did not say how many images were created without the consent of the people pictured.
It said public figures identified in Grok's sexualized images included American actress Selena Gomez, singers Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj as well as politicians such as Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch and former US vice president Kamala Harris.
"The data is clear: Elon Musk's Grok is a factory for the production of sexual abuse material," Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of CCDH.
"By deploying AI without safeguards, Musk enabled the creation of an estimated 23,000 sexualized images of children in two weeks, and millions more images of adult women." 
There was no immediate comment about the findings from X. When reached by AFP by email, xAI replied with a terse automated response: "Legacy Media Lies."
Last week, following the global outrage, X announced that it would "geoblock the ability" of all Grok and X users to create images of people in "bikinis, underwear, and similar attire" in jurisdictions where such actions are illegal.
It was not immediately clear where the tool would be restricted.
The announcement came after California's attorney general launched an investigation into xAI over the sexually explicit material and several countries opened their own probes.
"Belated fixes cannot undo this harm. We must hold Big Tech accountable for giving abusers the power to victimize women and girls at the click of a button," Ahmed said.
Grok's digital undressing spree comes amid growing concerns among tech campaigners over proliferating AI nudification apps.
Last week, the Philippines became the third country to ban Grok, following Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia and Indonesia, while Britain and France said they would maintain pressure on the company.
On Wednesday, the Philippines's Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center said it was ending the short-lived ban after xAI agreed to modify the tool for the local market and eliminate its ability to create "pornographic content."
ac/dw

conflict

French navy boards tanker 'from Russia' in Mediterranean

  • Sanctions against the entire infrastructure of the shadow fleet must be tough," he wrote.
  • France's navy, with the help of allies, on Thursday boarded a tanker alleged to be from Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet" in the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said.
  • Sanctions against the entire infrastructure of the shadow fleet must be tough," he wrote.
France's navy, with the help of allies, on Thursday boarded a tanker alleged to be from Russia's sanction-busting "shadow fleet" in the Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said.
"This morning, the French Navy boarded an oil tanker coming from Russia, subject to international sanctions and suspected of flying a false flag," he said on X in English, adding the operation had been carried out "with the support of several of our allies".
Local maritime authorities said the navy seized an oil tanker called "Grinch" between Spain and Morocco, after it started its journey in the Russian Arctic port of Murmansk.
A ship called "Grinch" is under UK sanctions, while another called "Carl" with the same registration number is sanctioned by the United States and European Union.
Ship tracking websites marinetraffic and vesselfinder said the vessel had been flying a Comoros flag.
"After the team boarded, an examination of documents confirmed the doubts as to the regularity of the flag," the Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture said.
The ship "is currently being escorted by the national navy to a point of anchorage for further verifications," it added.
Images released by the French military showed masked soldiers boarding the Russia-linked ship in an operation involving a navy boat and two navy helicopters.
"We will not tolerate any violation," said Macron.
"The activities of the 'shadow fleet' contribute to financing the war of aggression against Ukraine," he added, referring to the conflict triggered by Russia's 2022 invasion.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was swift to thank Macron.
"This is exactly the kind of resolve needed to ensure that Russian oil no longer finances Russia's war," he responded on X.
"Russian tankers operating near European shores must be stopped. Sanctions against the entire infrastructure of the shadow fleet must be tough," he wrote.
The UK provided "tracking and monitoring" in support of the operation, defence minister John Healey said.
"This support included HMS Dagger monitoring the vessel through the Straits of Gibraltar," he said.
"Alongside our allies, we are stepping up our response to shadow vessels -- to choke off the funds that fuel Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine."
The boarding is the second of its kind in recent months.
France in late September detained a Russian-linked ship called the Boracay, a vessel claiming to be flagged in Benin, in a move Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned as "piracy".
The Boracay's Chinese captain is to stand trial in France in February.
gbh-fff-mra-ah-mp/cc

oil

Venezuela looks to petrodollars to bring down prices

BY BRIAN CONTRERAS

  • This became more difficult under a blockade of Venezuelan oil by the United States, which in recent months seized several tankers transporting crude from the South American nation.
  • The United States' grab for Venezuela's oil, while shocking, may yet provide a short-term boost for the South American nation's haggard economy.
  • This became more difficult under a blockade of Venezuelan oil by the United States, which in recent months seized several tankers transporting crude from the South American nation.
The United States' grab for Venezuela's oil, while shocking, may yet provide a short-term boost for the South American nation's haggard economy.
This week, interim President Delcy Rodriguez said her country had received $300 million from Washington's sale of Venezuelan crude -- money used to prop up the ailing local currency, the bolivar.
The dollars were injected into the domestic foreign exchange market to narrow a growing gap between the formal and informal rates, blamed for fast-rising inflation.
The mere anticipation of the injection reduced the gap.
Analysts believe the injection was a good step toward stabilizing the economy but long-term improvement will require a reliable supply of dollars. 
Without it, Venezuela will soon "end up with another significant depreciation of its currency," said Alejandro Grisanti of the consulting firm Ecoanalitica.  
In the longer term, he added, responsible fiscal policy, not exchange rate intervention, is the only solution to high inflation.
Venezuela's parliament on Thursday started debating plans, proposed by Rodriguez, to throw open the lucrative but nationalized oil sector to private investment after the US military ouster of longtime socialist leader Nicolas Maduro.

Who's in control?

Venezuela decriminalized the use of the dollar and lifted controls to combat a hyperinflationary cycle that lasted from 2017 to 2022.
Since then, the government, under the economic leadership of Maduro's then–Vice President Rodriguez, began injecting petrodollars into the market whenever they were available.  
This became more difficult under a blockade of Venezuelan oil by the United States, which in recent months seized several tankers transporting crude from the South American nation.
After Maduro's January 3 toppling, President Donald Trump said Washington was "in charge" of Venezuela, adding Rodriguez would be "turning over" millions of barrels of oil to be sold at market price.
"That money will be controlled by me," Trump added.
Now Rodriguez, acting as president with a government made up of Maduro cronies, is once again looking at the dollar to try and stabilize the Venezuelan economy, which shrunk by 80 percent in a decade.
On Tuesday, she said revenues from the US sale of Venezuelan crude will be used to "protect against the negative impact of swings in the foreign exchange market."
Prices in Venezuela are set in dollars, but many people pay with the weak bolivar -- taking advantage of the difference between the official and black-market exchange rate to pay less in real dollar value.
The dollar rose on the black market to over 900 bolivars shortly after the January 3 bombing raid that saw Maduro whisked away, blindfolded and cuffed, to stand trial in New York.
By Tuesday, it was half that, and the head of Venezuela's parliament -- Rodriguez's brother Jorge Rodriguez -- urged businesses to adjust their prices.

Hunger or illness

For ordinary Venezuelans, change cannot come soon enough.
The minimum wage is not even $0.40 per month -- that is 40 US cents -- the same as the state pension.
The government hands out discretionary bonuses as a supplement, but it is not enough.
"Every month pensioners have to decide whether to die from hunger or from illness," union leader Josefina Guerra told AFP of the economic situation, with medicine also hard to come by.
Labor organizations demanded on Monday that oil revenues be used to improve Venezuelans’ incomes and boost pensions. 
"Prices have entered a terrible inflationary process. You can see it especially in meat," said Rafael Labrador, a 73-year-old lawyer.
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technology

Musk makes Davos debut with promise of robots for all

  • His Optimus robots will be doing more complex tasks later this year, he said, and "by the end of next year I think we'll be selling humanoid robots to the public".
  • Elon Musk sees his humanoid robots hitting the market next year, one of several "optimistic" forecasts by the US tech mogul at his first-ever Davos appearance on Thursday.
  • His Optimus robots will be doing more complex tasks later this year, he said, and "by the end of next year I think we'll be selling humanoid robots to the public".
Elon Musk sees his humanoid robots hitting the market next year, one of several "optimistic" forecasts by the US tech mogul at his first-ever Davos appearance on Thursday.
In front of a packed conference hall, Musk had a chance to tear into a World Economic Forum he has long derided as a "boring" confab of out-of-touch elites.
But in a remarkably subdued "conversation" with WEF interim chair Larry Fink -- also the CEO of investment behemoth BlackRock -- Musk stuck to his script of optimistic enthusiasm for AI, robotics and space travel.
He was not pressed for example on the scandal caused by sexualised deepfakes of his Grok AI tool, or claims of persistent fake news spread by his X social network.
"Who wouldn't want a robot to watch over your kids, take care of your pet... If you had a robot that could take care and protect an elderly parent, that'd be great," he told the audience.
His Optimus robots will be doing more complex tasks later this year, he said, and "by the end of next year I think we'll be selling humanoid robots to the public".
Musk also predicted the artificial intelligence boom will have models that are "smarter than any human by the end of this year, and I would say no later than next year". 
"And then probably by 2030 or 2031, so five years from now, AI will be smarter than all of humanity collectively."
But he ended his talk with a caveat: "Generally, I think that for quality of life, it is actually better to err on the side of being an optimist and wrong, rather than being a pessimist and right."
js/lth/jh

WTO

WTO chief slams rise of trade protectionism

  • Despite the rise of protectionism, Okonjo-Iweala said 72 percent of global trade was still conducted under WTO rules -- specifically the "most favoured nation" principle, which requires members of the organisation to extend any trade advantages granted to one trading partner to all their other partners to avoid discrimination.
  • World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala slammed the global rise of protectionism on Thursday in Davos, while stressing that most international trade continues according to WTO rules.
  • Despite the rise of protectionism, Okonjo-Iweala said 72 percent of global trade was still conducted under WTO rules -- specifically the "most favoured nation" principle, which requires members of the organisation to extend any trade advantages granted to one trading partner to all their other partners to avoid discrimination.
World Trade Organization chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala slammed the global rise of protectionism on Thursday in Davos, while stressing that most international trade continues according to WTO rules.
Since returning to the White House a year ago, US President Donald Trump has slapped new tariffs on multiple countries, with the aim of rebalancing the US trade deficit and reindustrialising the country.
"Increasingly, in recent times, we've seen rising protectionism, even prior to the US actions," she said during a debate at the World Economic Forum meeting in eastern Switzerland.
"It's something that, of course, we think is not really good for the system, and it's part of the conversation we need to have."
"In this environment we have now, where certain countries feel 'we need to fight for our national interests', how do we proceed?" the former Nigerian finance minister said.
"What are the measures that are legitimate to say you can implement because you're fighting for your national interests, and which are not?
"And if it's national security, who is to determine your national security? What are the guardrails?"
Besides protectionism, Trump has made trade tariffs a weapon of diplomacy, as seen during the row over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.
Despite the rise of protectionism, Okonjo-Iweala said 72 percent of global trade was still conducted under WTO rules -- specifically the "most favoured nation" principle, which requires members of the organisation to extend any trade advantages granted to one trading partner to all their other partners to avoid discrimination.
These issues will be centre-stage at the next WTO Ministerial Conference, taking place in Cameroon from March 26 to 29, as will be the way the WTO makes its decisions.
The Geneva-based organisation currently takes decisions by consensus among its 166 members, with Okonjo-Iweala calling in Davos for greater flexibility.
India and the United States are blocking particular discussions and negotiations -- and a growing number of countries are calling for reform at the global trade body.
"The way we make decisions -- it's not working," Okonjo-Iweala said.
"We need the nimbleness... that's what I'm dreaming about," the director-general said.
apo/rjm/jh

Ubisoft

Ubisoft shares plunge after big-bang restructuring announced

BY KILIAN FICHOU

  • Many of the developers behind breakout hits like last year's "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" cut their teeth at the French giant.
  • Investors appeared unimpressed Thursday by a drastic restructuring and further cost cuts at French game giant Ubisoft, with shares plunging and employees saying they are uneasy.
  • Many of the developers behind breakout hits like last year's "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" cut their teeth at the French giant.
Investors appeared unimpressed Thursday by a drastic restructuring and further cost cuts at French game giant Ubisoft, with shares plunging and employees saying they are uneasy.
Ubisoft stock plummeted more than 39 percent on the Paris market by close of trading, the sharpest intraday fall in the company's history.
Bosses had on Wednesday announced they would reorganise many of Ubisoft's fleet of development studios around different game genres, with the remainder offering project-by-project support.
Slated for the beginning of April, just after the 40th anniversary of the group's founding, the restructuring was flanked by cancellations for six games in development, including a remake of 2000s-era classic "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time" hotly awaited by fans.
Seven more games have been delayed, while managers want to find a further 200 million euros ($171 million) of cost savings after paring 300 million over the past three years.
The powerhouse behind sagas like "Assassin's Creed" and "Far Cry" now forecasts a one-billion-euro operating loss for its 2025-26 financial year.

Big bet

"I'm very worried about the future of the group," said Cedric, an employee at Ubisoft's Paris studio who asked not to use his real name so as to speak freely.
"I can understand the idea of switching to a more financially sustainable model, but it's coming at the cost of a lot of layoffs and studio closures," he added.
In recent weeks, Ubisoft has closed development offices in Stockholm and Halifax, as well as restructuring its Abu Dhabi operation, Redlynx studio in Finland and Massive in Sweden.
Now with around 17,000 staff, Ubisoft has shed more than 3,000 in recent years.
Worker unrest could boil over in home country France, largely spared mass layoffs until now, where bosses say they want to slash work-from-home options.
"Returning to five days a week (in the office) around family life and organising parenting is impossible to imagine nowadays," Cedric of Ubisoft Paris said.
Teleworking was one flashpoint issue that brought French Ubisoft staff out on repeated strikes in 2024.
One union called on workers to walk out immediately on Thursday morning.
Bosses' plan to group studios by genre expertise is nevertheless "an excellent idea", games industry economist Laurent Michaud said.
"Ubisoft is betting on its top asset: its skilled workers," he added.
This is also not the first time the company has abandoned projects like "Prince of Persia" that it judged would not prove good or profitable enough, he added.
"Ubisoft and other major publishers have killed off games many times because the project wasn't progressing".
The action-adventure title was out of step with the 2026 games market dominated by shooters, sports and multiplayer.

'Survival mode'

Other projects have escaped cancellation for now, with Ubisoft saying work is continuing on "Beyond Good and Evil 2" -- in development for 20 years.
Cancelling games means "flushing a lot of money down the toilet," said Lionel Melka, partner at Swann Capital.
And "it's going to do a lot of damage to their reputation with fans" given the "very strong emotional aspect" to players' relationships with games.
Such harsh moves show Ubisoft is "in survival mode", Melka added, fearing "a spiral where as things get worse and worse, more and more people leave".
A full-scale collapse of Ubisoft would be devastating for the country's games sector.
Many of the developers behind breakout hits like last year's "Clair Obscur: Expedition 33" cut their teeth at the French giant.
"France's video games ecosystem owes a huge amount to Ubisoft," Michaud said.
"It would be very bad news if it couldn't manage".
kf/tgb/jh

luxury

'Oasis of stability': Madrid becomes luxury housing haven

BY DIEGO URDANETA

  • Madrid has become "a leading city to invest and live in", and house hunters with deep pockets want "to be a part of this boom", Corda told AFP. The city has topped for the second year running an annual index by the real estate firm Barnes, considered a reference to measure investor appetite in luxury properties. 
  • Madrid has emerged as a coveted global luxury housing destination as Latin American and US investors fuel a real estate boom, seduced by competitive prices and high living standards.
  • Madrid has become "a leading city to invest and live in", and house hunters with deep pockets want "to be a part of this boom", Corda told AFP. The city has topped for the second year running an annual index by the real estate firm Barnes, considered a reference to measure investor appetite in luxury properties. 
Madrid has emerged as a coveted global luxury housing destination as Latin American and US investors fuel a real estate boom, seduced by competitive prices and high living standards.
The Spanish capital "is on fire", said Edoardo Corda, founder of estate agency Mi Piso en Madrid, which specialises in high-end properties. 
Madrid has become "a leading city to invest and live in", and house hunters with deep pockets want "to be a part of this boom", Corda told AFP.
The city has topped for the second year running an annual index by the real estate firm Barnes, considered a reference to measure investor appetite in luxury properties. 
"Cosmopolitan, joyful and vibrant," Madrid "has emerged as one of the leading destinations" for the world's "ultra-high net worth individuals", those possessing at least $30 million of wealth, Barnes wrote in its latest report released on Thursday.
"No other European capital offers such easy daily life," with quick access to an international airport, security, "a pleasant climate, efficient public services, first-class health services, quality education and an excellent transport system", Barnes said.
A "large share" of luxury house purchasers are foreign, among whom 60 percent are South American, followed by British, French and US investors.

'Richard Gere effect'

Martha Lucia Pereira, chief executive of luxury real estate agency PresVip, has witnessed the influx of foreign capital at first hand, saying 99 percent of her clients are Latin American.
Pereira said droves of Latin Americans have arrived in the past decade to invest, starting with Venezuelans and Colombians, joined later by Argentines and Mexicans.
Antonio de la Fuente, an expert at real estate consultancy Colliers, said political upheaval back home explained why Madrid has leapfrogged Miami as the number one destination for Latin American wealth.
"Whenever there was a movement with populist tendencies in their countries, people with the highest purchasing power sought to leave their country, fearing for their savings," he said.
An increase in US investment is another standout trend in recent times, which De la Fuente called the "Richard Gere effect".
The Hollywood star moved to Madrid with his Spanish wife Alejandra Silva in 2024 and has lavished praised on the city in interviews.
According to Barnes, purchasers seek "large apartments with beautiful high ceilings, on upper floors", particularly in the select Salamanca district, defined by broad avenues and stately buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries that host luxury stores and restaurants.
Other central neighbourhoods in high demand include Jeronimos, surrounding the UNESCO-listed Paseo del Prado thoroughfare and Retiro park, as well as the emblematic Puerta del Sol square.

'Oasis of stability'

The average price per square metre in the most sought-after blocks lies between 23,000 and 25,000 euros, according to De la Fuente, meaning that a 100-square-metre home typically costs at least 2.3 million euros (around $2.7 million).
Although an eye-watering sum for most Spaniards, who struggle to rent or buy in a housing crisis that is consistently a top concern for the population, the numbers attract luxury capital.
The price per square metre in other European capitals such as Paris or London can exceed 30,000 euros, real estate agents say.
The Spanish capital has benefited from the pro-investment stance of the Madrid region's conservative leader Isabel Diaz Ayuso, who seeks to make the city "the Florida of Europe".
"Madrid is an oasis of social and regulatory stability," said the consultant De la Fuente, even as the leftist government strives to solve the housing crisis with measures targeting the wealthiest.
The government has scrapped the so-called "Golden Visa", which granted residency to non-Europeans who invested at least 500,000 euros in real estate, and proposed a 100-percent tax on all purchases of homes by non-EU citizens who do not live in Spain.
As the minority coalition struggles to pass legislation in parliament, the latter proposal is unlikely to become law -- "fortunately for this country and for Madrid", in De la Fuente's opinion.
du/imm/cw

games

Games giant Ubisoft suffers share price collapse

  • The share price fall surpassed a previous worst for the group of 31.92 percent in October 2013.
  • Trading in French video game giant Ubisoft was briefly suspended Thursday following a dramatic fall in its share price, a day after the firm announced it expected to make huge losses this year.
  • The share price fall surpassed a previous worst for the group of 31.92 percent in October 2013.
Trading in French video game giant Ubisoft was briefly suspended Thursday following a dramatic fall in its share price, a day after the firm announced it expected to make huge losses this year.
Shares plummeted 33 percent -- a record drop for the firm -- to 4.46 euros in early Paris trading prior to suspension. On resumption, it was down 34.37 percent.
The "Assassin's Creed" maker has been mired in financial difficulties for years and announced on Wednesday it was cancelling development of six video games and postponing the release of seven others. 
Ubisoft revealed it expected an operating loss of one billion euros ($1.2 billion) this year and would push through a major organisational restructuring plan involving cost cuts of some 200 million euros.
The share price fall surpassed a previous worst for the group of 31.92 percent in October 2013.
Among the cancelled project is "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", a remake of one of Ubisoft's biggest hits in the 2000s. 
The game is now being shelved despite several years of development and high fan expectations.
Five other games have also been abandoned, comprising "four unannounced titles" and also one mobile game, the group said.
Seven other games will receive "additional development time."
bur-emb/max/cw/jxb

GDP

South Korea's economy grew just 1% in 2025, lowest in five years

BY KANG JIN-KYU

  • South Korea is home to key semiconductor manufacturers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- whose products have become crucial to sustaining and further expanding infrastructure for the global artificial intelligence market.
  • South Korea logged its slowest growth in half a decade in 2025, the country's central bank said Thursday, while exports rose on the back of a boom in artificial intelligence.
  • South Korea is home to key semiconductor manufacturers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- whose products have become crucial to sustaining and further expanding infrastructure for the global artificial intelligence market.
South Korea logged its slowest growth in half a decade in 2025, the country's central bank said Thursday, while exports rose on the back of a boom in artificial intelligence.
Asia's fourth-largest economy has struggled with sluggish demand, a troubled housing market and the fallout of former president Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration, which plunged the country into political chaos.
Last year's one percent growth was the slowest since 2020, when the economy shrank following the outbreak of Covid-19.
Exports were a bright spot, rising by 4.1 percent, the country's central bank said, while imports were up 3.8 percent.
"The growth of exports continued and the growth of private consumption and government consumption expanded," it said.
A decline in construction investment widened, it added, linked to persistent trouble in the real estate market.
"The decline in construction widened and the growth of manufacturing slowed," the central bank said.
The economy also contracted in the October–December period, the central bank added.
An official said that the slump was expected due to the "base effect" from strong growth in the third quarter.
But the weak construction investment also played a role in dragging down overall growth, he said.
The central bank had projected in its November report that the economy would grow 1.8 percent this year, citing "a recovery in domestic demand and a robust semiconductor cycle".
South Korea is home to key semiconductor manufacturers -- Samsung Electronics and SK hynix -- whose products have become crucial to sustaining and further expanding infrastructure for the global artificial intelligence market.
On the back of robust demand, the benchmark index Kospi broke 5,000 for the first time on Thursday.
"Today's rally is being driven mainly by semiconductor manufacturers, especially Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, amid growing expectations of robust earnings in the sector," Chung Hae-chang, analyst at Daishin Securities, told AFP.
kjk/oho/abs

consumers

Higher heating costs add to US affordability crunch

BY JOHN BIERS

  • The heating bill is yet another cost pressure facing many Americans like Marchiano, who says prices are "outrageous" for groceries and other staples.
  • Madeline Marchiano realizes that this winter’s runaway heating prices mean she can’t afford to raise her thermostat enough to warm her entire South Philadelphia rowhouse.
  • The heating bill is yet another cost pressure facing many Americans like Marchiano, who says prices are "outrageous" for groceries and other staples.
Madeline Marchiano realizes that this winter’s runaway heating prices mean she can’t afford to raise her thermostat enough to warm her entire South Philadelphia rowhouse.
So Marchiano, who also lacks the budget to replace drafty old windows, avoids the colder rooms.
The heating bill is yet another cost pressure facing many Americans like Marchiano, who says prices are "outrageous" for groceries and other staples.
"I try to survive," said the 61-year-old, who lives on a fixed income. "Like everyone else, I worry about bills."
Even before winter started, consumer advocates sounded the alarm on higher heating costs in light of torrid electricity demand growth and costly revamps of pipes and other infrastructure that have led to utility rate hikes.
US households are expected to spend $995 on heating this winter, an increase of 9.2 percent from last year, according to a December forecast from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).
Of course, the final tally will depend on the weather. So far, the 2025-26 season has been a bear in Philadelphia, with forecasts of an arctic blast and a potential blizzard expected to boost usage further.
Through mid-January, the average temperature in Philadelphia was 36.2, the sixth coldest since the year 2000 and about six degrees colder than the winter of 2023-24, said Chad Merrill, a meteorologist at Accuweather.

Assistance programs

Pennsylvania bars utilities from shutting off low-income consumers during the winter months. But consumers who fall behind can face a shutoff once the moratorium ends at the end of March.
"It catches up to you," Luz Laboy, who assists low-income consumers through a maze of assistance programs, said of consumers who don't pay winter bills. She works at Hunting Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee, an NGO in North Philadelphia.
Qualifying consumers are eligible for federal assistance through the US Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which pays an annual stipend, as well as crisis funding that provides grants of up to $1,000.
Other Pennsylvania programs allow consumers with large balances to establish a monthly payment plan or to apply to repair broken radiators.
Jose Rosario, 75, a retiree who lives on his monthly Social Security check of $1,038 and pays $375 to rent his basement apartment, came to the NGO for help completing his LIHEAP application and managing a $4,000 gas balance.
Also there was Linda Croskey, who has borrowed heaters from her sister after her nearly 70-year-old system broke down. Staffers at the NGO think a replacement is likely given the age of the equipment.
Croskey, 61, made too much income in prior years for LIHEAP. But she spent much of last year taking care of her husband, who suffered a stroke, meaning she made less in her job as an insurance broker.
"It is what it is, I am not mad about anything," she said. "I just hope to have heat."

Middle-class hit

Laboy said this winter's number of applicants for LIHEAP is about the same as last year, but the process has been more fraught. 
"It is a lot more stressful this year," said Laboy, noting the program was delayed by the US government shutdown.
US President Donald Trump's administration eliminated the Washington LIHEAP staff in the spring and had initially sought to zero out funding. But Congress ultimately maintained funding for the program.
Seth Blumsack, a professor of energy and environmental economics at Pennsylvania State University, tied this winter's increase in natural gas prices mainly to costs associated with replacing aging infrastructure. 
This is also a factor behind higher electricity rates, although a bigger driver is the growth of energy-guzzling data centers, he said.
"Electricity demand in the US is increasing...in ways we have not seen in decades," said Blumsack, who pointed to the retirements of older generation units as another factor.
The issue resonates with Pennsylvania lawmakers like Representative Heather Boyd. Boyd's most recent electric and gas bill was for $860, up from $660 the prior month, for a 1,400 square foot home in suburban Philadelphia, she said at a hearing Tuesday on energy affordability.
"When I can't pay that, my community can't pay that," she said.
The cost-of-living struggle means "it's not just the poorest families" strained by higher heating prices," said NEADA executive director Mark Wolfe. "It's affecting middle-class families, which is why it's becoming a political issue."
jmb/sla

Greenland

Trump announces Greenland 'framework', backing off force and tariffs

BY DANNY KEMP, LAURENT THOMET AND ELODIE LE MAOU WITH PIERRE-HENRY DESHAYES IN NUUK, GREENLAND

  • "I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security, and minerals and everything else," Trump said, hours after a speech in which he appeared to remove the threat of force to seize Greenland.
  • US President Donald Trump backed down Wednesday on threats to seize Greenland by force from ally Denmark, announcing a vague deal aimed at ensuring security of the Arctic territory.
  • "I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security, and minerals and everything else," Trump said, hours after a speech in which he appeared to remove the threat of force to seize Greenland.
US President Donald Trump backed down Wednesday on threats to seize Greenland by force from ally Denmark, announcing a vague deal aimed at ensuring security of the Arctic territory.
Trump cast his retreat -- also lifting the promise of sanctions against European nations that spoke out against the threats to Denmark -- as a win, saying the deal gives Washington "everything we wanted".
The agreement, he told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos, was negotiated with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and would last "forever".
"I think it puts everybody in a really good position, especially as it pertains to security, and minerals and everything else," Trump said, hours after a speech in which he appeared to remove the threat of force to seize Greenland.
However, there was no sign that Trump had succeeded in his repeated vow to make Greenland part of the United States.
When asked if Denmark would continue to control the territory, Rutte said the subject of Greenland's sovereignty "did not come up" in his talks with Trump.
Speaking to Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier," Rutte gave few details of what the new status for Greenland might be, only saying that NATO would continue to work for securing the Arctic region from adversaries such as Russia or China.
The NATO chief meanwhile told AFP that "there's still a lot of work to be done".
Trump said in a social media post that he would be scrapping tariffs of up to 25 percent threatened against Denmark and other European allies that have sent troops to Greenland in solidarity, including Britain, France and Germany.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said that Denmark, Greenland, and the United States will negotiate on "ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold -- economically or militarily -- in Greenland" -- a key stated concern of Trump.

Some relief in Europe, markets

Global markets that had been rattled by the rift and the threat of tariffs saw relief, with Wall Street's key indices climbing.
Trump's threats had triggered one of the biggest transatlantic crises in decades, with warnings that he could single-handedly destroy NATO through aggression against a fellow member.
His apparent turnaround brought guarded relief in Denmark, long a steadfast US ally, where Trump's bellicose language has triggered shock and feelings of betrayal.
"Trump said that he will pause the trade war, he says, 'I will not attack Greenland'. These are positive messages," Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told Danish public television DR.
Lokke had flown last week to Washington and met Vice President JD Vance, only to say afterward that the United States had not budged on seeking to control Greenland.
But Aaja Chenmitz, one of two Greenlandic lawmakers in the Danish parliament, questioned why NATO would have a voice on the island's mineral wealth.
"NATO in no case has the right to negotiate on anything without us, Greenland. Nothing about us without us," she posted.
In Nuuk, where authorities started handing out brochures on how to live through a crisis, 65-year-old pensioner Lis Steenholdt said that Greenland and Denmark had been firm that the island is not for sale.
"You have to believe the system. That's the only option we have right now," Steenholdt said.

Facing down Trump

Trump has repeatedly said that the United States, the key force in NATO, deserves Greenland as it would be forced to defend the island against Russia or China, although neither country holds any claim to the island.
Addressing Davos for the first time in six years, Trump called Denmark "ungrateful" but appeared to take the threat of military action off the table.
"I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland," Trump said.
Trump, 79, repeatedly referred to Greenland as Iceland in his speech.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney won a standing ovation at Davos on Tuesday when he warned of a "rupture" in the global order long championed by Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron for his part said Europe would not be bullied.
Trump attacked both leaders, mocking Macron for wearing sunglasses at Davos, which the French president said was because of an eye condition.
burs-dk-sct-des/iv

Global Edition

US stocks rise as markets cheer easing of Greenland tensions

  • After Tuesday's equity market weakness following Trump's tariff threats against Europe over Greenland, US stocks opened the day in positive territory after the Republican leader told a World Economic Forum address that he "won't use force" to take over Greenland.
  • Stocks mostly steadied Wednesday as markets digested shifting comments from US President Donald Trump that dialed down tensions with Europe over Greenland.
  • After Tuesday's equity market weakness following Trump's tariff threats against Europe over Greenland, US stocks opened the day in positive territory after the Republican leader told a World Economic Forum address that he "won't use force" to take over Greenland.
Stocks mostly steadied Wednesday as markets digested shifting comments from US President Donald Trump that dialed down tensions with Europe over Greenland.
After Tuesday's equity market weakness following Trump's tariff threats against Europe over Greenland, US stocks opened the day in positive territory after the Republican leader told a World Economic Forum address that he "won't use force" to take over Greenland.
But Trump still insisted on "immediate negotiations," slamming "ungrateful" Denmark for refusing to give up the territory.
Equities moved solidly higher around 1930 GMT Wednesday, after Trump removed the tariff threat, saying he reached a "framework" for a deal over Greenland following a meeting with NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Major US indices finished solidly higher, with the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent.
The dollar also advanced against the euro and other currencies.
"Time will tell if the framework ultimately amounts to any substantive changes, but from traders' perspective, the proximate cause for concern (an escalating trade or military conflict between the US and Europe) has passed," said a note from Matt Weller of Forex.com.
Markets have tumbled this week after Trump threatened tariffs up to 25 percent on several European countries -- including France, Germany, Britain and Denmark -- in response to their opposition to his plans to take Greenland.
Trump's threats had sparked warnings of retaliation at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying that the 27-nation bloc would be "unflinching" in its response.
The controversy has revived talk of the "Sell America" trade after the yield on US Treasury notes moved higher in an echo of the market's reaction to a Trump policy announcement on tariffs in April 2025 that the White House later partially walked back.
"For a while there, it seemed like we were going to be in for sort of a repeat of last April," said David Grecsek of Aspiriant. "There's definitely some concern on the part of the markets that some of these foreign policy can unravel confidence in US assets."
In Europe, London and Paris closed marginally higher, while Frankfurt fell.
In Asian trading earlier Wednesday, Tokyo's stock market fell, while Hong Kong and Shanghai rose. 
Among individual companies, Netflix fell 1.9 percent despite strong earnings, as it gave only muted guidance for future growth.
In company news, shares in British luxury fashion label Burberry jumped five percent in London after it posted a rise in sales as demand from China improved.
In Paris, food group Danone slumped more than eight percent after one of its infant milk brands was recalled in Singapore.

Key figures at around 2115 GMT

New York - Dow: UP 1.2 percent at 49,077.23 (close)
New York - S&P 500 UP 1.2 percent at 6,875.62 (close)
New York - Nasdaq composite UP 1.2 percent at 23,224.82 (close)
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 10,138.09 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 8,069.17 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX: DOWN 0.6 percent at 24,560.98 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.4 percent at 52,774.64 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.4 percent at 26,585.06 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 4,116.94 (close)
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1683 from $1.1725 on Tuesday
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3418 from $1.3439
Dollar/yen: UP at 158.43  yen from 158.15 yen
Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.08 pence from 86.07 pence
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.5 percent at $60.62per barrel
Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $65.24 per barrel
bur-jmb

games

Ubisoft unveils details of big restructuring bet

BY KILIAN FICHOU

  • Caught up in broader headwinds for the games industry, the group's restructuring follows a string of setbacks in recent years including disappointing launches for new titles.
  • Ubisoft on Wednesday ended a months-long wait for details of a restructuring the French games giant hopes will power it up to face a competitive market -- at the price of a string of cancelled games and a new round of belt-tightening.
  • Caught up in broader headwinds for the games industry, the group's restructuring follows a string of setbacks in recent years including disappointing launches for new titles.
Ubisoft on Wednesday ended a months-long wait for details of a restructuring the French games giant hopes will power it up to face a competitive market -- at the price of a string of cancelled games and a new round of belt-tightening.
A wave of disappointed social media posts from fans mourned the highest-profile axed title, a remake of the beloved 2000s-era classic "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time", which was cut after teams sunk several years into its development.
A further five games have been cancelled outright, including four unannounced titles and one mobile game, while seven more have been delayed.
The cuts and delays make up a large chunk of an expected one-billion-euro ($1.2 billion) operating loss in Ubisoft's 2025-26 financial year.
But bosses say the spring cleaning of the group's pipeline is needed to refocus and get the reorganisation off on the right foot in a market that has become pickier and more competitive than ever.
Ubisoft's restructuring will farm out many of its dozens of studios worldwide into an industry-first system of five "creative houses", each dedicated to developing a different genre of game.
"Each one is built around a clear genre and brand focus, with full responsibility and financial ownership, led by dedicated leadership teams," chief executive Yves Guillemot said in a statement, calling the reorganisation a "radical move" for the group.

Billion-euro targets

The first of the houses, Vantage Studios, was unveiled in October and brings together the group's top-selling franchises: "Assassin's Creed", "Rainbow Six" and "Far Cry".
It aims to turn each into a billion-euro-per-year revenue machine.
Vantage was valued at 3.8 billion euros, with Chinese internet giant Tencent taking a 26-percent stake for 1.16 billion euros.
Wednesday's announcement also detailed the four as-yet unnamed units: one covering shooter games like "The Division" or "Ghost Recon"; a second for multiplayer titles such as "For Honor" or "The Crew"; the third for fantasy worlds like "Might and Magic" and "Prince of Persia"; and the fourth for casual or family games like "Just Dance".
Ubisoft's five new units will divide around half the group's studios based around the world amongst themselves.
The remainder will form a global network offering support and specialist know-how to individual projects shepherded by the houses, studios chief Marie-Sophie de Waubert told AFP.
A similar service will take care of technology, production, marketing and distribution, while Ubisoft's HQ in Paris will set strategic priorities and allocate resources.
Bosses also want to slash working from home and reestablish five office days a week as the norm.
That may run into resistance from workers in France, who repeatedly walked out in 2024 to defend teleworking.
"This is completely gratuitous," said Vincent Cambedouzou, a representative of video game workers' union STJV at Ubisoft Paris.
He called the overall plan a "disaster" and a "conflict initiated by management", saying employees were "terrified as studios are closing one after another".

'Turning point'?

Ubisoft has already slashed around 3,000 jobs worldwide and closed several studios as part of a 300-million-euro cost-cutting drive.
It said Wednesday it was launching a "third and final phase" aimed at finding 200 million euros of savings over two years and suggested "possible disposals of assets".
The company also announced the closure of its Stockholm studio and the transfer of its remaining employees to Massive, another Swedish subsidiary.
"Taken together, these measures mark a decisive turning point," Guillemot said.
Nevertheless, "the portfolio refocus will have a significant impact on the Group's short-term financial trajectory".
Ubisoft had until now forecast a roughly balanced financial result for its 2025-26 financial year.
It now expects an operating loss of one billion euros and a fall in its preferred "net bookings" revenue yardstick to around 1.5 billion euros.
Ubisoft had aimed to return to operating profitability in 2026-27, but now says it will provide updated forecasts in May.
Caught up in broader headwinds for the games industry, the group's restructuring follows a string of setbacks in recent years including disappointing launches for new titles.
Ubisoft shares shed 51 percent of their value over the course of 2025.
kf/tgb/cc