Asian markets swung Wednesday ahead of the Federal Reserve’s much-anticipated policy announcement, while shares in Japanese car titan Nissan soared more than 20 percent after reports said it was in merger talks with rival Honda.There were few catalysts to drive region-wide activity before the US central bank’s interest rate decision, with Wall Street providing a negative lead as profit-takers moved in while economic data was mixed.The Fed is widely expected to cut borrowing costs for the third successive time when it concludes its gathering later in the day, but the main focus is on its statement, with traders hoping for guidance on its plans for next year.With inflation coming down but hovering above the two percent target and the labour market still robust, decision-makers have been able to loosen their grip on policy since September amid optimism they can guide the economy to a soft landing.However, with Donald Trump due to take the White House next month pledging tax cuts, deregulation and tariffs on imports from China, there are fears that prices could be reignited, forcing the Fed to re-evaluate its rates timetable.”We are experiencing a whirlwind of change and uncertainty that profoundly affects global economies,” said Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management.”Questions loom: Will Donald Trump be a ‘Deal Maker in Chief’ or lean into his ‘Tariff Man’ persona? How will bond yields react? Can China effectively stimulate consumer demand? Will Trump broker peace in Eastern Europe? Will the dollar maintain its oppressive strength?”He added that “the crucial question is whether the Federal Reserve will signal a pause starting from the January (policy) meeting”.”My view leans toward an affirmative; the real intrigue, however, lies in how explicitly the Fed will beam this potential shift and confirm a ‘hawkish cut’.”While Wall Street fell — though still just off their recent record highs — Asian markets diverged. Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei rose but Singapore, Wellington and Manila fell.Tokyo edged down, though Nissan scorched 24 percent higher soon after opening in response to reports it was in preliminary merger talks with Honda, adding the move would help them better compete against Tesla and other electric vehicle makers.While both firms did not confirm the reports, they had agreed in March to explore a strategic partnership on EVs, which analysts said was aimed at catching up with Chinese competitors.Nissan in particular has been struggling, announcing 9,000 job cuts last month and slashing its annual sales forecast.The rise was the biggest since 1974, according to Bloomberg News.Honda fell about two percent, while Mitsubishi Motors — of which Nissan is the top stakeholder — gained more than 14 percent.On currency markets, the yen edged back against the dollar ahead of the Fed decision, while traders were also awaiting the conclusion of the Bank of Japan’s own Thursday meeting as debate swirls about when it will hike rates.Bitcoin pared gains after earlier hitting a new record of more than $108,315 Wednesday.- Key figures around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 39,281.06 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 19,860.34Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.7 percent at 3,385.49Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0500 from $1.0498 TuesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2705 from $1.2707Dollar/yen: UP at 153.66 yen from 153.41 yen Euro/pound: UP at 82.63 pence from 82.52 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $70.26 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.3 percent at $73.38 per barrelNew York – Dow: DOWN 0.6 percent at 43,449.90 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.8 percent at 8,195.20 (close)

TikTok’s breakneck rise from niche video-sharing app to global social media behemoth has drawn intense scrutiny, particularly over its links to China.The platform faces accusations of espionage in the United States, while the European Union has launched an investigation into claims it was used to sway Romania’s presidential election in favour of a far right candidate.So is TikTok a spying tool for Beijing, a fun app, or both?- Romania influence campaign -The EU is probing whether far-right presidential candidate Calin Georgescu’s surprise victory in the first round of Romania’s presidential election was aided by Russian meddling and “preferential treatment” by TikTok.It is the third investigation the commission has launched against TikTok, which risks fines of up to six percent of its global turnover.The platform said it had taken “robust actions” to tackle election-related misinformation. Russia has denied interfering in the vote.- Under pressure -The United States in April passed a law obliging TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance to sell off the platform by January 19 on the grounds it allowed China to access data on US users.If not, the platform would be banned in the United States — denying TikTok its claimed 170 million users in the countries.TikTok admitted ByteDance employees in China had accessed Americans’ data but it has denied giving data to the Chinese authorities.To protect data, the US government, the European Commission and Britain’s government had already banned TikTok from their employees’ work devices in 2023.- Teenage ban in Australia -But bans have not halted TikTok’s growth.With more than one billion active users worldwide, the platform is a phenomenon for young people attracted by its never-ending scroll of ultra-brief videos.Nearly a third of TikTok users are between 10 and 19 years old, according to the Wallaroo agency.But that success has brought accusations that the platform encourages the spread of misinformation and illegal, violent, or pornographic content, particularly among young people.TikTok was among the many platforms targeted by a landmark law passed in Australia in November banning under-16s from accessing social media.Social media firms that fail to comply with the law face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million) for “systemic breaches”.TikTok said it was “disappointed” by the Australian legislation, claiming it could push young people to the “darker corners of the internet”.- Opaque algorithm -Its editing features and powerful algorithm have kept it ahead of the game, attracting an army of creators and influencers as well as creating many of its own.But the algorithm is opaque and often accused of leading users into digital content silos.TikTok and ByteDance employees also manually increase the number of views on certain content, according to a report in Forbes.TikTok has said manual promotion only affects a tiny fraction of recommended videos.In August, the company, under pressure from EU regulators, was forced to ditch a feature in its TikTok Lite spinoff in France and Spain rewarding users for the time spent in front of their screens.In that rewards programme, users aged 18 and over could earn points to exchange for goods like vouchers or gift cards by liking and watching videos.It was accused by the EU of potentially having “very addictive consequences”.- Disinformation -The app is regularly accused of putting users in danger with the spread of hazardous “challenge” videos.Several children have reportedly died while trying to replicate the so-called blackout challenge, which involves users holding their breath until they pass out.And around one-fifth of videos on topical issues such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine were found to be fake or misleading in a study by misinformation group NewsGuard.AFP, along with more than a dozen fact-checking organisations, is paid by TikTok in several countries in Asia and Oceania, Europe, the Middle East and Spanish-speaking Latin America to verify for internal moderation videos that potentially contain false information. The videos are removed by TikTok if the information is shown to be false by AFP teams.