Texas is challenging a nationwide system that routinely adds costs to millions of businesses. Texas trade groups have launched a lawsuit targeting OSHA’s rulemaking authority in December 2025, aiming to disrupt how workplace regulations are created and enforced. This isn’t about opposing safety rules but about attacking the

China’s semiconductor industry raised 8 billion yuan in Moore Threads Technology Co.’s IPO, the second-largest onshore deal of 2025. Moore Threads debuted in Shanghai, signaling a major step in China’s push for domestic chip independence. This surge isn’t just about fundraising—it’s about overcoming critical

Asian talent acquisition typically demands high-cost, fragmented efforts with limited scale. Hong Kong just rewrote the playbook by launching Hong Kong Talent Engage (HKTE), a platform that centralizes and automates international hiring through online fairs. This government-backed initiative connects global talent pools directly to businesses aiming to grow in Hong

Copper prices just hit a record high, driven by a bullish outlook from Citigroup and tightening supply-demand dynamics. Citigroup's forecast underscores a looming imbalance that rewrites the constraints of copper availability. This shift isn’t just about commodity prices—it reveals a deeper system-level leverage in resource scarcity

East Asia faces an underwater arms race as new nuclear submarine capabilities drive a strategic power shift. South Korea is now building its first nuclear-powered submarines, challenging conventional defense boundaries in a region long dominated by China and Japan. This isn’t just an equipment upgrade—it restructures how naval

The Philippines’ stock market struggles to attract large IPOs while neighboring markets flourish with looser listing rules. Philippines’ securities regulator now plans to ease free float requirements for initial public offerings, aiming to lure tech giants like GCash and others to list locally in 2025. This move targets not just

China's app ecosystem faces regulatory walls as Taiwan moves to ban RedNote, a Chinese social app linked to millions lost in alleged fraud. Taiwan's authorities announced the ban in December 2025 amid growing concerns over financial losses tied to the app's user interactions. This

AI development in China poses a unique challenge compared to Western innovation, where cost and access differ drastically. OpenAI recently said Chinese rivals are directly building on its work to power their AI apps, raising questions beyond simple copying. This situation exposes how knowledge flows turn into leverage when underlying

Debt reduction moves often get boxed as mere cost-cutting. British American Tobacco Plc is challenging that by increasing its stake sale in Indian hospitality giant ITC Hotels Ltd. This move isn’t just about raising cash—it’s a strategic reshuffling of assets to restructure leverage under pressure. British American

Digital advertising costs for customer acquisition typically hit $8-15 per install. Phia, a New York-based AI startup helmed by Phoebe Gates, just secured a new $30 million funding round, raising its valuation to $180 million. This move is more than a capital raise—it's a strategic shift in

Texting while driving costs the US billions in accidents each year. Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said the company’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) software will allow drivers to glance at their phones in certain contexts starting with version 14.2. This move comes amid a legal landscape where states like

Political negotiations between neighboring countries often focus on trade or security. Mexico's head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, is scheduled to meet former US President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister in Washington. But this trip signals a deeper system-level shift — one that repositions Mexico as a

Informal retail in Nigeria accounts for a significant but fragmented share of trade, often overlooked by digitization efforts focused on order placement alone. Afiari, initially founded to help retailers sell online, has evolved into a digital documentation platform that captures and organizes retail transactions across Nigeria's informal economy.

Manufacturing automation adoption in Southeast Asia lags behind global averages despite rapid industrial growth. IsCoolLab, a Taiwanese startup, is accelerating this shift with its Robotiive computer-vision RPA platform in Thailand and Vietnam as of late 2025. This isn’t just about automation—it’s about fitting high-tech tools into legacy

Unlike typical social media shutdowns, Russia's move to block Snapchat is not just censorship—it’s a strategic redefinition of digital control. Russia executed this block in late 2025 amid growing geopolitical tensions, cutting one channel among many used by millions of Russians. But this isn’t merely

Video now dominates digital engagement across Southeast Asia, far outpacing global averages in consumption speed and volume. GliaCloud, a Taiwan-based AI video startup, is scaling its presence in Thailand through the Taipei City’s Global Pass programme, gaining critical market insights that AI alone can’t provide. This approach is

North Africa’s e-commerce market remains widely seen as fragmented and difficult to scale. Taager, the Egypt-born social commerce startup, just challenged this assumption by launching operations in Casablanca, Morocco, marking its first North African expansion. With a $6.75 million pre-Series B round led by Norrsken22 earlier this year,

China’s steadfast commitment to manufacturing-driven growth contrasts sharply with global shifts toward consumption-led economies. In December 2025, China’s leadership doubled down on export-driven policies, resisting mounting pressure to pivot toward domestic spending. This persistence highlights a constraint repositioning where the country leverages its vast industrial capacity rather than

Across Southeast Asia, cities face a costly trade-off: upgrade ageing CCTV systems for smart capabilities or confront escalating privacy concerns. Taipei and startups like AIRA have introduced a new path by retrofitting existing cameras with lightweight, on-premise AI that cuts hardware costs and limits data exposure. Through the Global Pass

Global copper and cobalt supply chains grapple with high complexity and opaque trading layers. Mercuria Energy Trading and Democratic Republic of Congo’s state-owned miner Gecamines SA just formed a copper and cobalt trading partnership, signaling a rare vertical tie in African mineral markets. But this deal isn’t simply

China’s semiconductor sector rarely sees stock debuts as explosive as Moore Threads Technology’s recent Shanghai launch. The Beijing-based AI chip supplier’s shares skyrocketed over 468%, starting at 650 yuan against an IPO price of 114.28 yuan during a broadly declining market where the CSI300 Index slipped

Electric vehicle adoption in India competes with aggressive incumbent ecosystems and capital-intensive infrastructure. Ola Electric suffered a catastrophic year in 2025, signaling cracks in its business model and system design. This is not just a story about poor execution—it’s about how mismanaged operational leverage and market constraints crushed

Meta Platforms once bet big on the metaverse as its future, repositioning itself from Facebook to a virtual worlds pioneer. Now, CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to slash up to 30% of the budget dedicated to this vision next year, including cuts to Meta Horizon Worlds and the Quest VR unit.

Online travel often gets framed as a product discovery or booking race. Yet in Southeast Asia’s 2025 rebound, it’s not volume but pricing power that shapes the story. The online travel sector in SEA is poised to hit US$33 billion GMV, propelled chiefly by a >20%

Asia’s capital markets have long been dominated by Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo, while the Middle East often plays a secondary role in global finance. Abu Dhabi is rewriting that script as ADGM, its international financial centre, deepens collaborations with China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan ahead of Abu