capital markets

Chinese President Xi Jinping has left Beijing for Washington for his first state visit to the US capital since 2015. President Trump is reportedly expected to greet him personally on the tarmac rather than at the White House, a gesture analysts read as a signal of warmer US-China ties and a potential easing of trade tensions between the two countries.

Reports circulating online suggest that Anthropic, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company behind the Claude chatbot, has taken steps toward an initial public offering. Details of the filing, its timing and valuation remain unconfirmed, but the news has drawn attention from investors watching the wave of AI companies heading to public markets.

A Reuters commentary examines where US Federal Reserve monetary tightening will hit hardest across Asia. As the Fed continues raising interest rates, attention is turning to which regional economies face the greatest strain from capital outflows, weaker currencies and higher borrowing costs. Analysts are weighing vulnerabilities such as current account deficits, external debt levels and dependence on dollar funding across Asian markets.

US Treasury yields have crossed a key threshold, with the 10-year trading around 5.18% and the 30-year near 5%. Commentators highlight the ripple effects beyond Wall Street, noting pressure on emerging markets such as India through capital outflows and higher borrowing costs.

Russia is confronting a growing budget gap, and analysts at The Moscow Times argue that borrowing will not offer an easy way out. Years of high military spending and falling energy revenues have strained state finances, while Western sanctions limit Moscow's access to foreign capital markets, leaving the government with difficult spending and borrowing choices.

Bitcoin is holding around $83,400 as traders balance rising bond yields against geopolitical tensions involving Iran. The cryptocurrency showed little movement despite broader market uncertainty, with investors weighing whether higher yields will keep drawing capital away from risk assets. Analysts note the flat price suggests markets are waiting for clarity on both monetary policy and the Middle East situation.

UBS has offered its view on whether the Federal Reserve's tightening cycle represents a turning point for emerging market assets. The question of how higher US rates affect capital flows to developing economies is a recurring concern for investors, and the bank's assessment is being circulated among market watchers tracking the impact on EM currencies, bonds and equities.

Inflows of foreign capital into US equities have reached a record high, even as overseas investors pull back from US debt, according to Financial Times reporting. The shift suggests international money is chasing American stocks while showing declining appetite for Treasuries and other fixed-income assets, a rebalancing with potential implications for both equity valuations and US borrowing costs.

Singapore's state-owned investor Temasek Holdings has bought a 9% stake in the management company of FSI, an Italian private equity firm. The deal marks a further step in Temasek's expansion into European asset management. Business observers are watching what the Singaporean capital presence could mean for FSI's investment strategy and Italy's private equity market.

Tokyo has been ranked second in the world for the risk of a housing bubble, according to a new global comparison. The finding points to sharply rising property prices in the Japanese capital relative to incomes and fundamentals, and is drawing attention amid widespread concern about overheated real estate markets in major cities worldwide.

Nvidia has approved the biggest share buyback ever seen in the stock market, according to Business Insider. The move signals the chipmaker's confidence in its long-term outlook despite its already enormous valuation, and comes as the company sits at the centre of the global AI boom. Investors and analysts are weighing what the unprecedented capital return means for the broader tech sector.

Nvidia is buying back $150 billion of its own stock, the largest share repurchase ever announced by a public company. The move signals the chipmaker's confidence in its cash flow after explosive AI-driven growth, and gives it room to offset dilution from employee stock compensation while returning capital to shareholders at a historic scale.

Market analysts are pointing to a new growth avenue for SpaceX that goes beyond its core rocket launch business: supplying power for artificial intelligence infrastructure. According to commentary reported by MarketWatch, analysts view the AI energy demand boom as a potentially larger commercial opportunity for Elon Musk's company than its established launch operations.

Bridgewater argues that the surge in capital spending on artificial intelligence can only be justified if adoption scales broadly across the economy. The investment firm's view feeds into a growing debate about whether massive outlays by tech companies on data centres and chips will deliver returns, or whether current spending levels rest on unproven demand for AI products and services.

Polish space startup Eycore is capitalizing on growing demand for satellite intelligence as governments boost defense and security spending following the end of the post-Cold War 'peace dividend' era. The company is positioning itself within a rapidly expanding market for commercial satellite imagery and geospatial data, driven by geopolitical tensions and renewed military investment across Europe.

Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalisation has fallen below 60%, according to Yahoo Finance and 24/7 Wall St., both asking what happens next. The drop in dominance suggests capital is rotating into altcoins and other tokens, and analysts are debating whether this marks the start of a broader altcoin rally or a temporary shift in an otherwise bitcoin-led market.

Strategy, the bitcoin-focused company formerly known as MicroStrategy, sold $246 million worth of stock and used the proceeds to buy more bitcoin and fund part of a share buyback. The move continues the firm's long-standing practice of raising capital through equity sales to expand its bitcoin holdings, a strategy that keeps drawing attention from crypto investors and market watchers.

Hong Kong's exchange has listed eight new exchange-traded funds, aiming to capture growing demand from mainland Chinese investors for exposure to overseas assets. The move reflects efforts to position the city as a gateway for Chinese capital seeking international diversification, as tightening onshore investment options push investors toward offshore products for foreign market access.

A new commentary published by Project Syndicate argues that global finance is being reshaped by two sets of opposing forces, and examines how their interaction will determine the direction of markets, capital flows and financial regulation. The piece, also carried by Advisor Perspectives, frames today's financial landscape as a contest between competing pressures rather than a single trend.

Commentary from market analyst Sam Ro argues that heavy investment in AI infrastructure is becoming a headwind for corporate earnings and an accounting problem that will intensify. The core issue: massive capital expenditures and depreciation on data centers weigh on reported profits even as companies promise future AI revenue gains.

Tens of billions in capital have flowed into robot tactile technology over the past six months, with multiple companies now competing to become the first tactile technology firm to go public. The funding surge reflects growing investor interest in touch-sensing systems seen as critical for advanced robotics and humanoid machines, as firms race to secure a stock market first in the fast-developing sector.