On Monday, the world watched as $1tn was wiped off the stock market in a single day, a huge bonfire kindled by the little-known Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek.
Its release of a new AI model, known as R1, upended assumptions about US supremacy in AI and raised the prospect that some in China are learning how to beat Silicon Valley at its own game.
China's factory activity grew in December but at a slower-than-expected pace, as overall sales were dampened by falling export orders amid concerns over the trade outlook, a private-sector survey showed on Thursday.
The data echoed an official survey on Tuesday showing manufacturing activity expanded modestly, reinforcing calls for more stimulus to spur growth this year as Donald Trump will soon take office and likely intensify U.S.-China trade tensions.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held his first phone conversation Friday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a sign that Beijing is willing to get down to business with the new Trump administration.
Rubio, a harsh China critic, was among a handful of U.S. officials China sanctioned twice in 2020, the last year of President Trump’s first term. The call indicated that Beijing was prepared to work around the sanctions to engage with Rubio—at a time when Trump has shown a willingness to negotiate with Beijing as opposed to starting a trade war right away.
President Donald Trump has pushed into new trade law territory with an emergency sanctions law to justify punishing 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and an extra 10% duty on Chinese goods to curb fentanyl and illegal immigration into the U.S.
Trade and legal experts said the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is untested for imposing import tariffs and Trump's action will likely face swift court challenges that could set important precedents.
Lawyers at the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) have been told they need to seek permission from the politically appointed leadership before formally launching probes, two sources briefed on the matter said, in a marked change in procedure that could slow down investigations. The change, which has not been previously reported, was made under new leadership at the SEC since President Donald Trump took office, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity as the move has not been made public.
An Asian-American venture-capital investor has sued PayPal, accusing the company of illegal discrimination by earmarking $100 million in investments for Black- and Latino-owned investment funds.
The lawsuit—brought by a law firm with ties to Edward Blum, the activist who successfully challenged college affirmative-action programs—was filed Thursday in federal court in Manhattan.
Few fusion startups have been as closely watched as Helion. The 12-year-old company is backed by Sam Altman, rumored to be in talks with OpenAI, and has a deal to supply Microsoft with electricity by 2028 — years earlier than its competitors.
The company’s unorthodox approach to fusion power and relative secrecy has earned it plenty of fans — and critics. But don’t count its investors among the naysayers.
On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott banned the use of artificial intelligence and social media apps that were affiliated with the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party—but only on government-issued devices.
According to Abbott, the ban now prohibits state employees and contractors from downloading and using the following apps on state-owned or personal devices used for work:
TXSE Group Inc., parent company of the proposed Texas Stock Exchange, closed its initial fundraising round at $161 million and said the TXSE has filed for registration as a bourse with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
If the registration is granted, trading would start in early 2026, the company said in a statement Friday. It had previously said trading would begin by the end of this year. The exchange – whose backers include BlackRock Inc. and Citadel Securities – is still targeting its first listings for next year.
First Mark Zuckerberg moved Meta’s META 0.32%increase; green up pointing triangle trust and safety workers to Texas. Now, he is exploring moving his social-media giant’s legal residence to the Lone Star state.
Meta Platforms META 0.32%increase; green up pointing triangle is discussing moving its incorporation from Delaware, where most big U.S. companies are legally housed, people familiar with the matter said. Texas has billed itself as a better destination for companies such as Meta with controlling shareholders like Zuckerberg. The paperwork change wouldn’t relocate its corporate headquarters.
Tesla plans to debut a fully autonomous ride-hailing service for the public in Austin, Texas, by the middle of this year. At least that's what CEO Elon Musk pledged Wednesday on a year-end earnings call with investors. "We're going to be launching unsupervised Full Self-Driving as a paid service in Austin in June," he said.
Two of its co-founders recently retired, but Pearlstone Partners isn't slowing down.
The Austin-based real estate development firm, responsible for several luxury condo projects around the city, has announced a minority ownership stake in a major luxury listing agency — the Texas affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate — with plans to launch a new brokerage team to represent Pearlstone’s entire portfolio.
Additionally, new Pearlstone President Chris Zaiontz said the firm is eyeing development opportunities outside of Austin.
The Austin metro was among the hottest destinations in the country for where people were moving last year, according to the latest annual ranking from U-Haul International Inc. This data can inform the real estate crowd on potential housing needs and can tell businesses where corporate players, and their workers, are headed.
When it comes to solar and wind power, renewable energy has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines.
The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. Then in 2021, it took off.
In this episode, we explore how this new energy market works in two states: California and Texas.
“I love Europe,” newly inaugurated U.S. president Donald Trump proclaimed to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. Yet there was also much he did not love, such as that time back in his days as a property developer when he gave up a project in Ireland because, he said, European Union approval would take five or six years. “I’m trying to be constructive,” Trump said.
