China’s stocks pared weekly gains and the benchmark 10-year bond hit a record low as the global artificial intelligence (AI) stock bubble burst following the US Democrats’ landslide win in midterm elections. The CSI 300 equity index fell 1.4 per cent, weighed down by AI-related shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dropped 1.3 per cent. The yield on China’s 10-year sovereign bond touched an intraday low of 1.58 per cent, according to Bloomberg, spurred by investor demand for safe-haven assets and...

The sweeping midterm election victory by US Democrats has triggered warnings from analysts that an impending regulatory clampdown could derail the nation’s multi-trillion-dollar artificial intelligence data centre buildout. Wall Street forecasters slashed their projections for Big Tech infrastructure spending hours after the vote, cautioning that a wave of proposed project moratoria and tighter oversight could stall up to 30 per cent of planned US facilities and force developers to downscale...

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund, the war chest used to defend the local currency, reported a 74 per cent tumble in third-quarter earnings amid pervasive market uncertainty. The outlook for the final quarter is also challenging, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said on Friday. Earnings totalled HK$18.6 billion (US$2.4 billion) in the quarter, plunging from HK$70.8 billion a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2026, total earnings slid 39.6 per cent from a year earlier to HK$171.9...

Elon Musk bet nearly half a billion dollars that political spending could keep Washington friendly to his sprawling business empire. On Tuesday, that bet came up short. As Democrats recaptured control of the US Congress in the midterm elections, the world’s richest man found himself facing an abruptly altered political landscape. After pouring a record-breaking US$474 million into political groups – overwhelmingly backing Republicans – Musk now faces a divided Washington keen to examine his...

China’s second-largest contract chipmaker, Hua Hong Grace Semiconductor, is aggressively expanding into silicon photonics, as the company looks to capture the next wave of the global artificial intelligence infrastructure boom. Speaking on an earnings call with analysts on Thursday, Hua Hong chairman and president Bai Peng said the company planned to significantly expand its footprint in silicon photonics – a critical technology used in AI optical modules – during its next major capacity...

Huawei Technologies has launched its first desktop computer powered by its proprietary operating system, HarmonyOS, touting the device as “100 per cent domestically made” in its latest push for technological self-reliance. The Shenzhen-based company on Thursday unveiled its Qinyun HM650 series desktop computers for enterprise and government users, powered by the self-developed Kirin X90 processor, which debuted in Huawei’s consumer laptops and tablets last year. The tech giant said the new...

Robots developed by Chinese humanoid maker Unitree Robotics can now paint pictures and play chess without any prior training, relying on frontier AI models to navigate complex physical tasks, according to founder and CEO Wang Xingxing. Speaking on Thursday at the China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, Wang said Unitree’s machines, powered by OpenAI’s GPT-6, were capable of executing intricate robotic sequences, such as dynamically replacing brush water and blending pigments, guided...

China’s state planner has told Japanese investor SoftBank it will not allow the US$5.4 billion acquisition ‌of the robotics segment of engineering group ABB to go ahead, the Swiss firm said on Thursday. The case marks the second major deal blocked by China this year after Meta Platforms was ordered to unwind its US$2 billion-plus acquisition of artificial intelligence start-up Manus. The news comes as Beijing tightens scrutiny of foreign investment in domestic start-ups that are developing...

Dong Mingzhu chairs Gree Electric Appliances, a home-appliance giant based in southern China’s Guangdong province. Having worked her way up from a frontline sales job, she is one of China’s best-known figures in manufacturing. As a deputy to the National People’s Congress, she has long advocated for manufacturing innovation, higher incomes and greener consumption. In this interview, conducted when she was named an inaugural “Cool Leader” at an assembly of the UN Environment Programme’s Cool...

The Democratic Party’s sweeping midterm election victory and takeover of both houses of Congress could slow down the pace of artificial intelligence development in the US, with implications for both the global AI trade and the technology rivalry between Washington and Beijing, analysts said. The assessment comes as concerns about AI and the data centres that power it proved to be a contributing factor in the backlash against the Republican Party and US President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter...