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The tech-rich Nasdaq tumbled early Monday as traders around Wall Street and other global bourses reacted to the emergence of a low-cost Chinese generative AI venture that has apparently overtaken US companies.DeepSeek, which was developed by a start-up based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has shown the ability to match the capacity of AI pace-setters such as Nvidia,  which sank more than 11 percent Monday, giving up some $400 billion in market value.The tech-rich Nasdaq led major indices lower, falling 2.7 percent, with AI players Meta, Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet all firmly lower.DeepSeek said they spent only $5.6 million developing their model — peanuts when compared with the billions US tech giants have poured into AI.US “tech dominance is being challenged by China,” said Kathleen Brooks, research director at XTB. “The focus is now on whether China can do it better, quicker and more cost effectively than the US, and if they could win the AI race.”Meta and Microsoft are among the tech giants scheduled to report earnings later this week, offering opportunity for comment on the emergence of the Chinese company, likened by venture capitalist Marc Andreessen to a “Sputnik moment,” when the Soviet Union shocked Washington with its 1957 launch of a satellite into orbit. “DeepSeek’s AI assistant is now the top-rated free application on Apple’s US App Store,” said a note from David Morrison, senior market analyst at FCA.”Investors have been forced to reconsider the outlook for capital expenditure and valuations given the threat of discount Chinese AI models. These appear to be as good, if not better, than US versions.”Earlier, European and Asian stock markets mostly slid as markets also digested the latest tariff back-and-forth involving US President Donald Trump and Colombia.- SoftBank sinks -Just last week following his inauguration, Trump announced a $500 billion venture to build infrastructure for AI in the United States.Tech and chip firms were among the big losers in Tokyo on Monday as the Nikkei ended in negative territory, with Advantest down more than eight percent and Tokyo Electron off almost five percent.SoftBank, which is a key investor in Trump’s AI project, tumbled more than eight percent.Besides tech earnings, this week also sees interest-rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, ahead of American inflation data.Equities enjoyed a healthy run-up last week on the hope that Trump’s second administration would take a less hardball approach to global trade. However, his threat Sunday that he would hit Colombian goods with a 25 percent tariff — rising to 50 percent next week — and revoke the visas of government officials set off alarm bells.The move came after President Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States. In response to Trump’s decision, Petro initially announced retaliatory levies of 25 percent on imports from the United States.But Bogota later backed down and agreed to accept the deported citizens, with Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo saying they had “overcome the impasse.”- Key figures around 1450 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,271.66New York – S&P 500: DOWN 1.7 percent at 6,000.18 New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 2.7 percent at 19,415.06London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,495.07Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.4 percent at 7,899.44Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.7 percent at 21,237.11Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 39,565.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,197.77 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,250.60 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0510 from $1.0497 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2499 from $1.2484Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.29 yen from 156.00 yen Euro/pound: UP at 84.09 pence from 84.08 penceBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.2 percent at $78.30 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.4 percent at $74.40 per barrel

European and Asian stock markets mostly slid Monday and Wall Street was forecast to open sharply lower on talk that a cheaper Chinese generative AI programme can outperform big-name rivals, notably in the United States.President Donald Trump’s threat to impose huge tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States was also unsettling markets.The fear is that Trump could go full throttle also with tariffs planned for China and other major trading partners.”US markets are likely to take centre stage today as a slump in the tech sector puts pressure on wider markets,” noted Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets. – Eyes on DeepSeek -Wall Street already took a hit Friday following the launch of the Chinese DeepSeek artificial intelligence programme last week.The firm said only $5.6 million was spent developing the model.The programme’s arrival has sparked competition fears, as US tech titans — including Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet — have made huge investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars into AI products that has sent their valuations soaring.The US tech sector saw sharp falls Monday in stocks futures trading ahead of Wall Street’s reopening. Just last week following his inauguration, Trump announced a $500-billion venture to build infrastructure for AI in the United States.Tech and chip firms were among the big losers in Tokyo on Monday as the Nikkei ended in negative territory, with Advantest down more than eight percent and Tokyo Electron off almost five percent.SoftBank, which is a key investor in Trump’s AI project, tumbled more than eight percent.The week also sees earnings from US big tech and interest-rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank, ahead of American inflation data.Equities enjoyed a healthy run-up last week on the hope that Trump’s second administration would take a less hardball approach to global trade as he held off imposing stiff levies on China and other partners immediately on taking office, as he warned he would.His comments that he would “rather not” hit Beijing, and a signal of openness to a trade deal added to the optimistic tone.However, news Sunday that he would hit Colombian goods with a 25 percent tariff — rising to 50 percent next week — and revoke the visas of government officials set off alarm bells.The move came after President Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States. In response to Trump’s decision, Petro initially announced retaliatory levies of 25 percent on imports from the United States.But Bogota later backed down and agreed to accept the deported citizens, with Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo saying they had “overcome the impasse”.”Actions speak louder than words. The situation with Colombia just shows how little it takes for Trump to use tariffs as a negotiation tool,” said Dane Cekov at Sparebank 1 Markets.Gold — a haven investment in times of economic uncertainty — sat Monday just shy of its record high.- Key figures around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,480.22 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 1.0 percent at 7,852.04Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 1.4 percent at 21,101.03Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 39,565.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,197.77 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,250.60 (close)New York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,424.25 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0505 from $1.0500 on FridayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2497 from $1.2484Dollar/yen: DOWN at 154.02 yen from 155.93 yen Euro/pound: UP at 84.07 pence from 84.06 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.2 percent at $78.69 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.2 percent at $74.80 per barrel

Indebted Chinese property giant Vanke warned Monday of a major loss last year amid a continuing market slump, while also saying its CEO was resigning due to “health reasons”.Beijing has in recent years grappled with a prolonged crisis in the country’s vast real estate sector, once a key pillar of the economy but now beset with sprawling debt.Hong Kong-listed Vanke is part-owned by the government of Shenzhen and was China’s fourth-largest real estate firm by sales last year, according to research firm CRIC.Chinese outlet the Economic Reporter this month cited sources as saying that CEO Zhu Jiusheng had been “taken away by public security authorities”, but did not specify whether he had been formally detained.Vanke has not confirmed Zhu’s detention but said in a statement on Monday that he “has applied to resign… owing to health reasons”.Zhu “will no longer hold any position within the company”, the firm said.The Economic Observer article did not specify what offences Zhu may be alleged to have committed.It reported at the time that calls and messages to Zhu and people close to him had gone unanswered.Vanke did not respond to an AFP request for comment following the publication of the article.Two other top executives — chairman of the board Yu Liang and company secretary Zhu Xu — had left their positions “due to work adjustments” but would continue in other roles, according to the company.- Persistent woes -Alongside other Chinese real estate titans, Vanke has staggered through a years-long debt crisis, and on Monday in a filing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange warned of a net loss of approximately 45 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) last year.Among the reasons for the expected losses were “the continuous market downturn”, while “sales and gross profit margins turned out to be lower than investment expectations”, Vanke said in the filing.”The Company deeply apologises for the performance loss and will make every effort to promote business improvement,” it wrote.”Looking forward, the Company considers that the industry has already got through the most difficult time, and is confident that the real estate market will stop falling and stabilise.”Vanke is among several major Chinese property firms to become embroiled in recent years in a debt crisis that has left developers in severe financial distress.Earlier this month, rating agency Moody’s downgraded Vanke’s credit rating to indicate a “negative” outlook.The company’s woes are emblematic of the recent downturn, which has spooked investors and weighed on consumer confidence, applying downward pressure on Beijing’s annual growth targets.Authorities posted one of China’s lowest rates of economic growth in decades earlier this month, suggesting that a string of recent policies aimed at stimulating activity have yet to fully kick in.Beijing in November announced support measures for the ailing property sector that included lowering deed tax rates for certain first and second homes in four major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.Cities across the country have also announced various relaxations to purchasing restrictions in recent months, once implemented to limit harmful speculation.

Indebted Chinese property giant Vanke said Monday that its CEO had resigned due to “health reasons”, after state-backed media reported he had been taken away by authorities.The company also warned on Monday of a net loss of approximately 45 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) last year.Chinese outlet the Economic Reporter this month cited sources as saying that Zhu Jiusheng had been “taken away by public security authorities”, but did not specify whether he had been formally detained.Vanke has not confirmed Zhu’s detention but said in a statement on Monday that he “has applied to resign… owing to health reasons”.Zhu “will no longer hold any position within the company”, the firm said.Hong Kong-listed Vanke is part-owned by the government of Shenzhen and was China’s fourth-largest real-estate firm by sales last year, according to research firm CRIC.Alongside other real estate titans, it has staggered through a years-long debt crisis, and on Monday in a filing at the Hong Kong Stock exchange warned of a net loss of approximately 45 billion yuan last year.”The Company deeply apologises for the performance loss and will make every effort to promote business improvement,” it said in a separate statement.Two other top executives — chairman of the board Yu Liang and company secretary Zhu Xu — had left their positions “due to work adjustments” but would continue in other roles, according to the company.The Economic Observer article did not specify what offences Zhu may be alleged to have committed.It reported at the time that calls and messages to Zhu and people close to him had gone unanswered.Vanke did not respond to an AFP request for comment following the publication of the article.

An Indian state announced Monday it had begun implementing a common civil code to replace religious laws, stoking fear among minority Muslims of a looming nationwide rollout by the Hindu-nationalist ruling party.Introduction of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to replace India’s patchwork of laws on marriage, divorce and inheritance has been a longstanding goal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).The northern state of Uttarakhand, taking in much of the Indian Himalayas, on Monday became just the second Indian state to implement such a law. Goa, the beach resort state on India’s west coast, is the only part of the country that already had a common civil code — introduced when it was still a Portuguese colony.Supporters say the UCC gives Muslim women the same rights as others by ending polygamy, setting equal property inheritance rights for sons and daughters, and requiring divorce processes take place before a civil court.It also makes it mandatory for couples to register live-in heterosexual relationships — or else face a three-month jail term or a fine.Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a press conference announcing the law’s enactment that the UCC would bring about “equality”.”This code is not against any sect or religion. Through this, a way has been found to get rid of evil practices in the society,” added Dhami.The BJP has long campaigned for a standardised civil code but that has fuelled tensions, especially among minority Muslims who say such a move would infringe on their religious freedoms.Critics see its introduction in Uttarakhand as part of signal from the BJP to its base and a promise to implement the UCC nationally.Other BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh have signalled plans to bring in their own civil codes.- ‘Attack on identity’ -Muslim leaders say the UCC challenges Islamic laws on divorce, marriage and inheritance.”This is an attack on our identity,” Asma Zehra, president of the All India Muslim Women Association, told AFP.This move would create “huge challenges” for Muslim women because it would lead to a conflict between state laws and those of their faith, she told AFP.”This law is totally biased against Muslims and is a manifestation of Islamophobia,” she added.Other clauses of the newly minted law also sparked objections, including the mandatory registration of partners living together.”It is absolutely contrary to the right to privacy and personal autonomy,” senior lawyer Geeta Luthra told AFP.The state should not enter into the realm of what citizens do consensually, Luthra added.The Uttarakhand assembly had passed the UCC bill in February last year.

Asian markets mostly fell Monday on fresh trade fears after Donald Trump’s threat to impose huge tariffs on Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.Traders were also assessing the impact of a new, cheaper Chinese generative AI programme amid claims it can outperform big-name rivals and worries that a recent surge in the sector may be called into question.Equities enjoyed a healthy run-up last week on the hope that Trump 2.0 will take a less hardball approach to global trade as he held off imposing stiff levies on China and other partners immediately on taking office, as he warned he would.His comments that he would “rather not” hit Beijing, and a signal of openness to a trade deal added to the optimistic tone.However, news Sunday that he would hit Colombian goods with a 25 percent tariff — rising to 50 percent next week — and revoke the visas of government officials set off alarm bells.The move came after President Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States. In response to Trump’s decision, Petro initially announced retaliatory levies of 25 percent on imports from the United States.But Bogota later backed down and agreed to accept the deported citizens, with Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo saying they had “overcome the impasse”.”Actions speak louder than words. The situation with Colombia just shows how little it takes for Trump to use tariffs as a negotiation tool,” said Dane Cekov at Sparebank 1 Markets.Traders were already gearing up for a big week that will see the Federal Reserve hold its first policy meeting of the year. While it is widely expected to hold rates, investors will be keeping a close eye on its statement and comments from Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell.There is a concern that Trump’s pledges to impose tariffs while slashing taxes, immigration and regulations could reignite inflation and force the central bank to pause its rate cuts or even hike them again.- Eyes on DeepSeek -The move against Colombia sent the dollar up against most of its peers, piling on around one percent against the Mexican peso. Gold, a safe haven in times of uncertainty, was sitting just shy of its record high.”This pivotal week kicks off in Asia, setting the stage for a global market spectacle intensely focused on the unfolding of… Trump’s economic agenda amidst key inflation reports and anticipated Fed guidance,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. He added that markets were bracing for “a torrent of earnings reports from companies constituting nearly 40 percent of the S&P 500’s market capitalisation”.”Their outcomes could either amplify the recent bullish surge or instigate a reevaluation of market sentiments.”All three main indexes on Wall Street fell Friday, with the S&P 500 off a record high on profit-taking and as tech firms took a hit following the launch of the DeepSeek AI programme last week.The firm said only $5.6 million was spent developing the model.The programme’s arrival has sparked competition fears, as tech titans — including Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet — have made huge investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars into AI products and sent their valuations soaring.It also came on the heels of Trump’s announcement of a new $500 billion venture to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the United States.Tech and chip firms were among the big losers in Tokyo as the Nikkei ended in negative territory, with Advantest down more than eight percent and Tokyo Electron off almost five percent.SoftBank, which is a key investor in Trump’s AI project, tumbled more than eight percent.”What we’ve found is that DeepSeek… is the top performing, or roughly on par with the best American models,” Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, told CNBC.There were also losses in Shanghai, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila but Hong Kong rose.London and Frankfurt opened on the back foot, having retreated Friday from record highs, while Paris also fell.- Key figures around 0815 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.9 percent at 39,565.80 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.7 percent at 20,197.77 (close)Shanghai – Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,250.60 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 8,477.60Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.91 yen from 155.93 yen on FridayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0460 from $1.0500Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2430 from $1.2484Euro/pound: UP at 84.15 pence from 84.06 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.5 percent at $74.28 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.4 percent at $78.17 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,424.25 (close)

India’s efforts to pare back a longstanding reliance on Russian military hardware is bearing fruit after the courting of new Western allies and a rapidly growing domestic arms industry, analysts say.At a time when Moscow’s military-industrial complex is occupied with the ongoing war in Ukraine, India has made the modernisation of its armed forces a top priority.That urgency has risen in tandem with tensions between the world’s most populous nation and its northern neighbour China, especially since a deadly 2020 clash between their troops. “India’s perception of its security environment vis-a-vis China has been dramatically altered,” Harsh V Pant, of the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think-tank, told AFP.Relations between the two neighbours went into freefall after the clash on their shared frontier, which killed 20 Indian and at least four Chinese soldiers. “It has sort of shaken the system and there’s a realisation that we have to do whatever is best now, and very fast,” Pant said of the incident. India has become the world’s largest arms importer with purchases steadily rising to account for nearly 10 percent of all imports globally in 2019-23, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said last year.More is in the pipeline, with orders worth tens of billions of dollars from the United States, France, Israel and Germany in coming years.Modi will be in France next month where he is expected to sign deals worth about $10 billion for Rafale fighter jets and Scorpene-class submarines, Indian media reports say.- ‘Not easy to switch’ -Defence minister Rajnath Singh has also promised at least $100 billion in fresh domestic military hardware contracts by 2033 to spur local arms production. “India has been traditionally an importer for decades and only switched to emphasising on indigenous manufacturing… in the last decade,” strategic affairs analyst Nitin Gokhale told AFP.”It is not easy to switch, not everything can be manufactured or produced here,” he said, saying the country lacked the ability to manufacture “high-end technology” weapons systems.But its efforts have still seen numerous impressive milestones.  This decade India has opened an expansive new helicopter factory, launched its first homemade aircraft carrier, and conducted a successful long-range hypersonic missile test.That in turn has fostered a growing arms export market which saw sales last year worth $2.63 billion — still a tiny amount compared to established players, but a 30-fold increase in a decade.India is expected in the coming weeks to announce a landmark deal to supply Indonesia’s military with supersonic cruise missiles in a deal worth nearly $450 million. The government aims to triple this figure by 2029, with a significant chunk of the $75 billion it spent on defence last year aimed at boosting local production. – ‘Spread risks’ -India has deepened defence cooperation with Western countries in recent years, including in the much-feted Quad alliance with the United States, Japan and Australia.This reorientation has helped India sign various deals to import and locally co-produce military drones, naval ships, fighter jets and other hardware with suppliers from Western countries.It has also led to a precipitous drop in India’s share of arms from longstanding ally Russia, which supplied 76 percent of its military imports in 2009-13 but only 36 percent in 2019-23, according to SIPRI data. New Delhi has nonetheless sought to maintain the delicate balance between India’s historically warm ties with Moscow while courting closer partnerships with Western nations.Modi’s government has resisted pressure from Washington and elsewhere to explicitly condemn Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, instead urging both sides to the negotiating table.Gokhale said that India was not in the position to abandon its relationship with Russia, which still plays an important role as a supplier of advanced weaponry including cruise missiles and nuclear submarine technology.”India has certainly spread its risks by sourcing from other countries,” he said. “But Russia remains a very important and dependable partner.”

Higher US tariffs under President Donald Trump could accelerate a slump in the value of China’s currency, complicating recent efforts by Beijing to kickstart a rebound in its struggling economy, analysts warn.Just days after beginning his second term in the White House last week, Trump said he would impose a 10 percent levy on all Chinese products from February 1, while leaving the door open for negotiations.If implemented, the duties will likely exacerbate the yuan’s weakness, just as Chinese leaders work to shore up an economy beset with challenges including sluggish domestic consumption and a prolonged debt crisis in the property sector.Economists say this year could see the yuan fall to the lowest level against the US dollar since Beijing scrapped its fixed exchange rate two decades ago.”The combination of looming tariffs, looser monetary policy and a slower pace of rate cuts in the United States will weaken the yuan,” said Harry Murphy Cruise, an economist at Moody’s Analytics.A depreciated currency enhances the competitiveness of exporters by lowering the prices of their goods and services overseas.This could encourage Beijing to allow the yuan to decline further in order to support its foreign trade and reduce deflationary pressure at home, notes Alicia Garcia Herrero of Natixis.- ‘Catch-22’ -But a weaker yuan “could exacerbate trade tensions with the United States, hindering negotiations to bring tariffs back down”, said Murphy Cruise.He added that a “rapid drop” in its value could trigger large-scale capital outflows, similar to those that occurred in 2015 as uncertainty regarding China’s economy swirled.Above all, a major depreciation would run counter to the strategic objective of President Xi Jinping to ensure a “strong currency” and make China a “financial power”.But a stronger yuan would require sacrificing China’s currency advantage in trade — a vital lifeline for the economy at a time of sluggish domestic spending.”It is a Catch-22 situation,” wrote Garcia Herrero.For now, Beijing’s strategy is to prioritise the yuan’s stability, with the ambition of ultimately making it a major global reserve currency, analysts from Macquarie Group noted.The exchange rate could slide to 7.45 yuan per dollar by the end of 2025, from 7.24 currently, noted Murphy Cruise.While China’s central bank cannot put a full halt to the yuan’s slump, it “will likely intervene in the foreign exchange markets to ensure that the depreciation… is gradual”, he said.Surpassing the symbolic marker of 7.5 yuan per dollar could cause “panic”, sparking an even more rapid spiral, Wang Guo-Chen of the Taiwan-based Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research told AFP.Authorities may initially orchestrate a slight devaluation in response to US tariffs, but “they will eventually pull back” he said.- ‘Tricky balance’ -The People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has recently introduced what it hopes will be hefty support for the yuan, including the issuance of six-month central bank bills in Hong Kong totalling a record 60 billion yuan.The PBoC has also recently injected tens of billions of dollars into financial circuits in order to stabilise markets and prevent activity from screeching to a halt during the Lunar New Year.But such moves may come into conflict with Beijing’s efforts elsewhere to boost an economy that is struggling to regain momentum.”It’s a very tricky balance: if domestic liquidity is increased, the currency will depreciate,” said Wang.The PBoC’s approach so far has been to alternate between liquidity injections and withdrawals, he told AFP.Beijing has pledged to continue providing major economic support for the domestic economy in 2025, boosting fiscal stimulus and encouraging consumption through measures such as subsidies for household goods.But the spectre of heightened trade tensions with the United States continues to darken the horizon.”Domestic consumption sentiment is unlikely to improve meaningfully amid trade disputes,” warned Kiyong Seong, macro strategist at Societe Generale.

Asian markets fluctuated Monday on fresh trade fears after Donald Trump’s decision to impose huge tariffs on Colombia, in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights from the United States.Traders were also assessing the impact of a new, cheaper Chinese generative AI programme released last week that hit tech firms amid claims it can outperform big-name rivals such as ChatGPT. Equities enjoyed a healthy run-up last week on the hope that Trump 2.0 will take a less hardball approach to global trade as he held off imposing stiff levies on China and other partners immediately on taking office, as he warned he would.His comments that he would “rather not” hit Beijing, and a signal of openness to a trade deal added to the optimistic tone.However, news Sunday that he would hit Colombian goods with a 25 percent tariff — rising to 50 percent next week — and revoke the visas of government officials set off alarm bells.The move came after President Gustavo Petro blocked deportation flights from the United States. In response to Trump’s decision Petro announced retaliatory levies of 25 percent on imports from the United States.”Actions speak louder than words. The situation with Colombia just shows how little it takes for Trump to use tariffs as a negotiation tool,” Dane Cekov at Sparebank 1 Markets.Traders were already gearing up for a big week that will see the Federal Reserve hold its first policy meeting of the year. While it is widely expected to hold rates, investors will be keeping a close eye on its statement and comments from Federal Reserve head Jerome Powell.There is a concern that Trump’s pledges to impose tariffs and slash taxes, immigration and regulations could reignite inflation and force the central bank to pause its rate cuts or even hike them again.The move against Colombia sent the dollar up against most of its peers, piling on around one percent against the Mexican peso. Gold, a safe haven in times of uncertainty, was sitting just shy of its record high.”This pivotal week kicks off in Asia, setting the stage for a global market spectacle intensely focused on the unfolding of… Trump’s economic agenda amidst key inflation reports and anticipated Fed guidance,” said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. He added that markets were bracing for “a torrent of earnings reports from companies constituting nearly 40 percent of the S&P 500’s market capitalisation”.”Their outcomes could either amplify the recent bullish surge or instigate a reevaluation of market sentiments.”All three main indexes on Wall Street fell Friday, with the S&P 500 off a record high on profit-taking and as tech firms took a hit following the launch of the DeepSeek AI programme last week.The programme’s arrival has sparked competition fears, as tech titans — including Nvidia, Meta and Alphabet — have made huge investments worth hundreds of billions of dollars into AI products.It also came on the heels of Trump’s announcement of a new $500 billion venture to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence in the United States.Tech and chip firms were among the big losers in Tokyo as the Nikkei ended the morning in negative territory, with Advantest down more than eight percent and Tokyo Electron off more than four percent.SoftBank, which is a key investor in Trump’s AI project, lost more than six percent.There were also losses in Singapore, Wellington and Manila but Hong Kong and Shanghai rose.- Key figures around 0300 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.6 percent at 39,699.76 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 20,167.21Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.3 percent at 3,262.62Dollar/yen: DOWN at 155.60 yen from 155.93 yen on FridayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0462 from $1.0500Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2445 from $1.2484Euro/pound: UP at 84.08 pence from 84.06 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 1.2 percent at $73.75 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 1.2 percent at $77.56 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.3 percent at 44,424.25 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.7 percent at 8,502.35 (close)

Cars speeding along a smooth, black-coloured street in Nepal’s Pokhara are also driving over heaps of discarded plastic, transformed into an ingredient in road construction.Nepal’s urban areas generate about 5,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, according to the World Bank, of which 13 percent is plastic waste dumped in landfills.While high-value plastics, like bottles, are absorbed by the recycling industry, low-value plastics — such as multi-layered packaging — pose a significant challenge because they don’t fit into a single recycling category.For a group of young Nepali entrepreneurs, the vast accumulation of this low-value plastic waste presented an opportunity.”A plastic road can use even low-value plastics,” said Bimal Bastola, founder of Green Road Waste Management, the organisation leading the initiative in Nepal.”We saw scope for such plastics to be utilised as a raw material, partially substituting bitumen in road construction.”  Discarded packages of noodles, biscuits and other snacks move along a conveyor belt at their trash-sorting centre.The divided plastic is then put into machines to be shredded into fine pieces.Since the early 2000s, neighbouring India has been leading the world in building a network of plastic roads, even making the usage of plastic waste mandatory in roads near large cities in 2015.A growing number of countries are experimenting with it, including nearby Bhutan and Bangladesh.In traditional road construction, bitumen is the binding material, a tarry oil product mixed directly with hot aggregates before paving a road. The plastic road method, however, first coats the aggregates with shredded plastic before adding bitumen.”This method reduces the need for fresh raw materials, lowers costs, prevents water infiltration and increases road lifespan,” Bastola said.Studies show that roads paved with plastic waste can be twice as durable as normal roads.- ‘Scale up’ -Globally, only nine percent of plastic waste is recycled, while 19 percent is incinerated, and nearly half ends up in controlled landfills, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Left unchecked, the production of synthetic polymers — the building blocks of plastics -— is expected to reach about 1.2 billion tonnes annually by 2060.The plastic that accumulates in the environment is non-biodegradable, takes hundreds of years to decompose and breaks down into tiny microscopic particles.And while Nepal banned single-use plastic bags thinner than 40 microns, that ban is not strictly implemented. For Bastola, increasing plastic road construction is key to making the recycling of low-value plastics economically viable.His organisation says about two tonnes of shredded plastic is used to build a kilometre of road.So far, the organisation has completed about 10 projects totalling a little over 1.5 kilometres (one mile).”It is happening at a small scale, we need to scale up,” Bastola said. “We have to make government-level projects and we are trying to work closely with the department of roads.”A pilot project is planned this year in the capital Kathmandu at a major intersection.”Nepal is keen on testing this technology through pilot projects,” said Arjun Nepal, an engineer with the Kathmandu road department.”But to take it forward, we need government-led standards to ensure quality.”The World Bank says life cycle analyses of plastic roads are limited and it is still not clear what environmental impacts — if any — recycled plastics may have when used in road construction. “While initial anecdotes and pilot studies show promise, further research is needed to measure emissions during production, evaluate microplastic release over time and determine how these roads behave once they are decommissioned,” said Valerie Hickey, global director of the World Bank’s climate change group.Despite these concerns, environmentalist Bhushan Tuladhar said that plastic roads present an important opportunity for Nepal.”It is a low-hanging fruit to address two problems simultaneously — the need for strong roads and the management of plastic waste — for a developing country like Nepal,” he said.