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Buried in the reddish soil of southern China lies latent power: one of the largest clusters of crucial rare earths is mined around the clock by a secretive and heavily guarded industry.The hills of Jiangxi province are home to most of China’s rare earth mines, with the materials used in a wide range ofproducts including smartphones and missile guidance technology.The flourishing industry is closely protected by Chinese authorities and media access is seldom granted.In a rare visit to the region last month, AFP journalists were trailed and monitored by minders who declined to identify themselvesCompanies did not accept requests for interviews.Business has been booming: the number of rare earth processing points in China observed by the US Geological Survey jumped from 117 in 2010 to 2,057 by 2017. Most of the 3,085 nationwide recorded by the USGS today are clustered in the hills of Jiangxi.Locals there told AFP thatone rare earths mine was maintaining near-constant operations.”It’s busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” a resident in the town of Banshi said.Nearby, construction work was getting started for the day on a vast new industrial park housing facilities including rare earth processing sites.The bustling mining region is the result of a decades-long push by Beijing to build up its might in the strategic sector.Those efforts paid off this year, with a tentative truce in a trade war with the United States reached when China relaxed stringent export controls on rare earths.Washington is now racing to establish alternative supply chains, but experts warn such efforts will take years.In a sign of deepening concern among other Western governments, the European Union announced new measures this month to reduce the bloc’s dependence on China for securing the critical minerals.The bloc said it would earmark nearly three billion euros ($3.5 billion) to support projects in mining, refining and recycling vital materials, and proposed the creation of an EU supply hub — the European Centre for Critical Raw Materials.- Heavy metal -“The Middle East has oil, China has rare earths,” former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping said in a 1992 speech.Since then, China has taken advantage of its natural reserves — the largest of any country — to dominate processing and innovation in the field.The country’s rare earths industry is concentrated in two main hubs.One is the Inner Mongolia region’s Bayan Obo mining district on the edge of the Gobi Desert, which is rich in “light” rare earths used for magnets in everyday items.The other hub, around the city of Ganzhou in Jiangxi, specialises in “heavy” rare earths — harder to extract but more valuable because of their use in heat-resistant magnets, fighter jet engines, missile guidance systems and lasers.The rugged hills surrounding Ganzhou are home to the world’s largest mining and processing operations of the strategic “heavy” elements, including dysprosium, yttrium and terbium.And in the county-level district of Longnan alone, USGS counted 886 such locations, accounting for 31.5 percent of Jiangxi’s total.An AFP team in Longnan saw rows of large rare earths processing plants in an industrial district adjacent to that dense smattering of extraction sites.- ‘Moving mountains’ -Heavy rare earths are formed over millions of years, as rainfall weathers igneous rocks, breaking them down and leaving elements concentrated near the surface.Jiangxi’s gentle slopes, high rainfall and natural stone make it a prime location for such elements.Mining methods in the region have evolved throughout the decades.Authorities have criticised highly destructive approaches and cracked down on what they call “chaotic extraction” since the early 2010s.One method — termed “moving mountains” — was described in 2015 by China’s top industry and technology regulator as “first cutting down trees, then clearing weeds and finally stripping away the topsoil, causing irreparable damage”.Unlicensed mining has been drastically reduced over time.Large signs in rural areas now warn against illegal extraction of rare earth resources. Others offer cash rewards for reporting such actions.The industry has been largely consolidated into two huge state-owned companies.On a Ganzhou street dubbed “Rare Earth Avenue”, construction workers bustled to complete a sprawling new headquarters for one of those giants, China Rare Earth Group.But the province’s hills still bear the scars of bygone mining practices, with bare patches of red soil visible where vegetation has struggled to regrow.

Japan unveiled a five-year goal on Saturday for business projects totalling $19 billion in Central Asia as Tokyo vies for influence in the resource-rich region.The announcement came after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hosted an inaugural summit with the leaders of five Central Asia nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — in Tokyo.Japan “set a new target of business projects at a total amount of 3 trillion yen in 5 years in Central Asia”, a joint statement said after Takaichi wrapped up her meeting with the five leaders. Like the United States and the European Union, Japan is drawn by the region’s enormous, but still mostly unexploited, natural resources in a push to diversify rare earths supplies and reduce dependence on China.”It is important for Central Asia, blessed with abundant resources and energy sources, to expand its access to international markets,” the statement said.The leaders agreed to promote cooperation that can help the “strengthening of critical minerals supply chains”, while also pledging to achieve economic growth and decarbonisation.They also held separate summits with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen this year.The summit was seen as important for Japan to increase its presence in the region, said Tomohiko Uyama, a professor at Hokkaido University specialising in Central Asian politics. “Natural resources have become a strong focus, particularly in the past year, because of China’s moves involving rare earths,” Uyama told AFP on Friday, referring to tight export controls introduced by Beijing this year.The leaders agreed on Saturday to expand cooperation regarding “Trans-Caspian International Transport Route”, a logistics network connecting to Europe without passing through Russia.Efforts towards “safe, secure, and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence” were also agreed.Tokyo has long encouraged Japanese businesses to invest in the region, although they remain cautious.Xi visited Astana in June, and China  — which shares borders with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan — has presented itself as a main commercial partner, investing in huge infrastructure projects.The former Soviet republics still see Moscow as a strategic partner but have been spooked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Other than rare earths, Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium producer, Uzbekistan has giant gold reserves and Turkmenistan is rich in gas. Mountainous Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are also opening up new mineral deposits.  However, exploiting those reserves remains complicated in the harsh and remote terrains of the impoverished states.

Resurgent artificial intelligence shares lifted the Nasdaq Friday for a second straight session while the yen retreated despite a Bank of Japan interest rate hike. The tech-forward Nasdaq piled on 1.3 percent after a similar gain Thursday following blowout earnings from chip company Micron Technology.But several leading AI names including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Google parent Alphabet rose Friday with Micron, which soared for a second straight session.Large tech names are “kind of carrying the market in today’s session,” said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare. Those gains “helped stabilize a market that was kind of acting a little squirrely over the past week,” he added.Stocks have been choppy in recent weeks amid unease over the massive spending spree on AI infrastructure. But Micron’s results helped reignite the AI stock trade.The Dow and S&P 500 also advanced on a day in which most leading European and Asian bourses also rose.Also Friday, the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to a 30-year high.The unanimous vote to lift the main borrowing rate to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent came hours after official data showed the country’s core inflation rate held steady in November but was still well above policymakers’ two percent target.The bank began hiking rates from below zero in March last year as figures signaled an end to the country’s “lost decades” of stagnation, with inflation surging.However, the dollar jumped about 1.3 percent following comments from BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda that left some traders wondering about what comes next.”Cautious comments on the rate outlook from BoJ Governor Ueda at his press conference have undercut the yen.” said a note from Scotiabank.Russia’s central bank said it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to 16 percent as the country’s economy sags under the financial burden of the Ukraine offensive and Western sanctions.The Bank of England cut rates Thursday, when the European Central Bank left eurozone borrowing costs unchanged.Shares in Oracle jumped nearly seven percent after TikTok said it had signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States.The deal will see Oracle take a 15-percent stake in the joint venture with private equity fund Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment fund for artificial intelligence technologies.But Nike tumbled 10.5 percent after reporting lower quarterly earnings as the sports giant continues to be dogged by poor sales in China.- Key figures at around 2115 GMT – New York – Dow: UP 0.4 percent at 48,134.89 (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 6,834.50 (close)New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 23,307.62 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 9,897.92 (close) Paris – CAC 40: FLAT at 8,151.38 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,288.40 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 49,507.21 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,690.53 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,890.45 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 157.59 yen from 155.55 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1719 from $1.1722Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3386 from $1.3381Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.55 pence from 87.60 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 1.1 percent at $60.47 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $56.66 per barrelburs-rl/sbk/jmb/sla

A French court on Friday rejected the state’s request to suspend Shein’s site in France as “disproportionate” after the Asian e-commerce giant removed illicit products sold on its platform.The French government said it would appeal the ruling.French authorities had requested the ultra-fast-fashion giant’s site be blocked for three months after weapons, banned medications and childlike sex dolls were found on the platform.The authorities asked that the platform only be reopened if it applied strict new measures to prevent a repeat of the offences.The Paris judicial court acknowledged a “serious harm to public order”, but found their sale of the items in question had been “sporadic” and noted that Shein had removed the products.The court nevertheless issued an “injunction” to Shein not to resume selling “sexual products that could constitute pornographic content, without implementing age-verification measures”. The state’s request that Shein “at a minimum” maintain the suspension of its marketplace, which hosts products sold by third-party vendors, was not granted. “Only certain products on the marketplace were identified, in these proceedings, as manifestly illegal and harmful, while the ‘fr.Shein.com’ platform offers several hundred thousand items for sale,” said the court ruling.Despite the court’s decision, Shein’s marketplace is not expected to fully reopen right away, but gradually, its lawyers said.The company has acknowledged difficulties in implementing an effective age filter for pornographic products.As a result, the adults-only sexual category would remain closed for the time being, as is the case worldwide since the uproar over the sale of childlike sex dolls on the platform broke out in France in November.In a statement to AFP, the French government said that it would appeal the court decision.”Convinced of the systemic risk of the model linked to Shein, and at the request of the prime minister, the government will appeal this decision in the coming days,” said the statement.A number of other e-commerce giants have also faced pressure on the European stage in recent months. Brussels in November requested formal information from Shein, which could lead to probes and even fines. But that does not in itself suggest the law has been broken, nor is it a move towards punishment.Earlier in December, EU finance ministers agreed to impose a three-euro ($3.5) duty on low-value imports into the bloc from July 2026 to help tackle a flood of small parcels ordered via sites such as Shein. European retailers argue they face unfair competition from overseas platforms, which they claim do not always comply with the European Union’s stringent rules on products.

Stock markets pushed higher on Friday as expectations for lower US interest rates continued to cheer investors.”Stock markets around the globe saw another day of strong gains on the back of Thursday’s post soft US inflation rally,” said IG analyst Axel Rudolph.US consumer inflation slowed unexpectedly in November, climbing 2.7 percent from a year ago, fuelling investor hopes that the US Federal Reserve will have room to cut rates further next year.”Equity traders were desperate for a trigger to ‘buy the dip’ and they got it from the latest CPI release,” said Trade Nation analyst David Morrison.The data “sparked the bounce-back as traders decided that the better data would give the Fed room to cut rates sooner and further than previously forecast”.Morrison called this reasoning “complete garbage” as the data was partial in November due to the US government shutdown and completely lacked October.New York Federal Reserve President John Williams told CNBC that Thursday’s reading showing lower inflation was likely “distorted” due to data-collection problems during the government shutdown.Equity markets, particularly on Wall Street, have come under pressure in recent weeks as concerns mount about stubborn US inflation even as the jobs market weakens.Moreover investors have also started worrying about when, if ever, investors will see returns on the colossal amounts of cash pumped into artificial intelligence.But blockbuster earnings from chip firm Micron Technology, released after the market closed on Wednesday, helped soothe nerves over a tech bubble and helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq close with a gain of 1.4 percent on Thursday.The Nasdaq gained another 1.1 percent on Friday. Shares in Micron Technology surged by 5.5  percent, after gaining more than 10 percent on Thursday.Shares in the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, which includes AI chip maker Nvidia and Google parent company Alphabet, gained 0.6 percent overall.”Stocks in the tech sector have been boosted by yesterday’s bumper earnings from Micron,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at trading group Scope Markets.- Russia cuts key interest rate -The yen fell against the dollar on profit-taking after the Bank of Japan on Friday hiked, as expected, its own borrowing costs to a three-decade high, hours after data showed prices had held steady.Russia’s central bank said it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to 16 percent as the country’s economy sags under the financial burden of the Ukraine offensive and Western sanctions.The Bank of England cut rates Thursday, when the European Central Bank left eurozone borrowing costs unchanged.Germany’s central bank on Friday predicted a slower recovery for Europe’s biggest economy following three years of stagnation.Shares in Oracle jumped nearly seven percent after TikTok said it had signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States.The deal will see Oracle take a 15-percent stake in the joint venture with private equity fund Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment fund for artificial intelligence technologies.- Key figures at around 1630 GMT – New York – Dow: UP 0.7 percent at 48,264.98 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.9 percent at 6,832.26New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 1.1 percent at 23,254.82London – FTSE 100: UP 0.6 percent at 9,897.92 (close) Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.3 percent at 8,171.30 (close)Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 24,295.95 (close)Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 49,507.21 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,690.53 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,890.45 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 157.48 yen from 155.63 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1718 from $1.1721Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3374 from $1.3378Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.61 pence from 87.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.5 percent at $60.10 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $56.32 per barrelburs-rl/sbk

Global stock markets mostly advanced on Friday as traders reacted to central bank activity and easing concerns over the technology sector.Equity markets, particularly on Wall Street, have come under pressure in recent weeks amid questions about when, if ever, investors will see returns on the colossal amounts of cash pumped into artificial intelligence.But blockbuster earnings from chip firm Micron Technology helped soothe nerves over a tech bubble and the tech-heavy Nasdaq close with a gain of 1.4 percent on Thursday.The Nasdaq added 0.5 percent as trading got underway Friday. Shares in Micron Technology rose by 4.3 percent.Shares in the so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks, which includes AI chip maker Nvidia and Google parent company Alphabet, gained 0.3 percent overall.”Stocks in the tech sector have been boosted by yesterday’s bumper earnings from Micron,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at trading group Scope Markets.”As we close out a week that has seen a huge amount of data and central bank announcements, there is an expectation that we start to see volumes and volatility ease off from here.”- Russia cuts key interest rate -However, Briefing.com analyst Patrick O’Hare, said trading volume should be huge today driven by the expiration of options.”Today is a quadruple witching expiration day, which involves the expiration of stock index futures, single-stock futures, stock index options, and single-stock options,” he said.As traders make purchases or sales to cover options volatility could spike.”Participants are also waiting to see if yesterday’s AI-related bounce following Micron’s (MU) stellar report has legs,” added O’Hare.Below-forecast US inflation data Thursday also boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next month.The yen fell against the dollar on profit-taking after the Bank of Japan on Friday hiked, as expected, its own borrowing costs to a three-decade high, hours after data showed prices had held steady.Russia’s central bank said it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to 16 percent as the country’s economy sags under the financial burden of the Ukraine offensive and Western sanctions.The Bank of England cut rates Thursday, when the European Central Bank left eurozone borrowing costs unchanged.Germany’s central bank on Friday predicted a slower recovery for Europe’s biggest economy following three years of stagnation.Shares in Oracle gained more than five percent as trading got underway in New York after TikTok said it has signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States.The deal will see Oracle take a 15-percent stake in the joint venture, with private equity fund Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, an Emirati state-owned investment fund for artificial intelligence technologies.- Key figures at around 1330 GMT – New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 48,099.15 pointsNew York – S&P 500: UP 0.4 percent at 6,800.44New York – Nasdaq Composite: UP 0.5 percent at 23,124.16London – FTSE 100: UP less than 0.1 percent at 9,844.71 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN less than 0.1 percent at 8,145.04Frankfurt – DAX: UP percent at 24,239.34Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 49,507.21 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,690.53 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,890.45 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 157.23 yen from 155.63 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: UP at $1.1733 from $1.1721Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3379 from $1.3378Euro/pound: UP at 87.70 pence from 87.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.7 percent at $60.21 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.7 percent at $56.39 per barrelburs-rl/jj

European stock markets steadied Friday after solid gains in Asia, as traders reacted to central bank activity and easing concerns over the technology sector.Below-forecast US inflation data Thursday boosted hopes that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates next month.The yen fell against the dollar on profit-taking after the Bank of Japan on Friday hiked, as expected, its own borrowing costs to a three-decade high, hours after data showed prices in the country rising.Russia’s central bank said it was cutting its benchmark interest rate to 16 percent as the country’s economy sags under the financial burden of the Ukraine offensive and Western sanctions.The Bank of England cut rates Thursday, when the European Central Bank left eurozone borrowing costs unchanged.Germany’s central bank on Friday predicted a slower recovery for Europe’s biggest economy following three years of stagnation.On the corporate front, blockbuster earnings from chip firm Micron Technology helped soothe nerves over a tech bubble.”Stocks in the tech sector have been boosted by yesterday’s bumper earnings from Micron,” noted Joshua Mahony, chief market analyst at trading group Scope Markets.”As we close out a week that has seen a huge amount of data and central bank announcements, there is an expectation that we start to see volumes and volatility ease off from here.”Equity markets, particularly on Wall Street, have come under pressure in recent weeks amid questions about when, if ever, investors will see returns on the colossal amounts of cash that have been pumped into artificial intelligence. Those concerns, though, were tempered Thursday after blowout earnings from Micron, which said its quarterly profits nearly tripled to $5.2 billion as it benefits from the AI boom. It also gave an upbeat outlook for the current three months.- Key figures at around 1115 GMT – London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 9,836.52 pointsParis – CAC 40: DOWN 0.1 percent at 8,142.66Frankfurt – DAX: DOWN 0.1 percent at 24,172.03Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 49,507.21 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,690.53 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,890.45 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 47,951.85 (close)Dollar/yen: UP at 157.31 yen from 155.63 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1716 from $1.1721Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3377 from $1.3378Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.59 pence from 87.62 penceBrent North Sea Crude: FLAT at $59.82 per barrelWest Texas Intermediate: FLAT at $56.01 per barrel

Asian markets rose Friday as a below-forecast read on US inflation boosted hopes for another interest rate cut next month, while blockbuster earnings from chip firm Micron helped soothe nerves over a tech bubble.The yen fell against the dollar after the Bank of Japan (BoJ) hiked its own borrowing costs to a three-decade high, hours after data showed prices continued to rise more than preferred.A tough week for global equities looked to be heading for a positive end after figures showed US inflation slowed last month to its lowest level since July and was well below forecasts.The reading provided a sliver of light for rate cuts, after traders pared their bets on a fourth successive reduction in January following the Federal Reserve’s policy decision last week.Markets see a 20 percent chance of a cut next month, though they see two by the end of 2026, according to Bloomberg News.However, analysts said disruptions to data collection during the longest-ever US government shutdown, which ended in mid-November, had likely distorted the figures.Economists at Bank of America warned that “we recommend taking (the) report with a large grain of salt”, citing “shutdown-related distortions”.Still, the news helped lift all three main indexes on Wall Street, which has come under pressure in recent weeks amid questions about when, if ever, investors will see returns on the colossal amounts of cash that have been pumped into artificial intelligence (AI).That has led to speculation about a bubble in the tech sector — which has led the equity surge to record highs this year — that could pop soon.Those concerns, though, were tempered Thursday after blowout earnings from chip company Micron Technology, which said quarterly profits nearly tripled to $5.2 billion as it benefits from the AI boom. It also gave an upbeat outlook for the current three months.The positive lead from Wall Street was picked up by Asia, where Tokyo added one percent while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Wellington were all up.London and Paris fell at the open, while Frankfrurt was flat.  The BoJ lifted borrowing costs to their highest level since 1995, hours after news that inflation held steady at three percent in November, well above its target of two percent.The yen retreated to as much as 156.71 per dollar — from 155.86 late Thursday — before recovering to around 155.90.Yields on 10-year Japanese government bonds hit a 26-year high. They have been on the rise in recent weeks on worries about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s budget discipline, while the yen has weakened. Takaichi, who took power in October, has promised to fight inflation as a major priority.While the Japanese currency remains under pressure, observers see it strengthening as the Fed cuts rates at the same time the BoJ lifts them.”As the BoJ proceeds with measured rate increases while Fed implements one to two cuts, the yield gap that has long supported dollar strength will continue tightening,” wrote IG market analyst Fabien Yip.”This convergence should exert sustained downward pressure on (the dollar against the yen) throughout the year.”- Key figures at around 0815 GMT – Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.0 percent at 49,507.21 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,690.53 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,890.45 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.2 percent at 9,822.64Dollar/yen: UP at 156.68 yen from 155.63 yen on ThursdayEuro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1720 from $1.1721Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3364 from $1.3378Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.58 pence from 87.62 penceWest Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.3 percent at $55.99 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.3 percent at $59.67 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 47,951.85 (close)

TikTok said Thursday it has signed a joint venture deal with investors that would allow the company to maintain operations in the United States and avoid a ban over its Chinese ownership.The move caps a lengthy tussle over the hugely successful video-sharing app in the world’s largest economy, where TikTok says it has more than 170 million users.According to an internal memo seen by AFP, TikTok CEO Shou Chew told employees that the social media company and its Chinese owner ByteDance had agreed to the new entity.Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX are on board as major investors, the memo said. Oracle’s executive chairman Larry Ellison is a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump.”The US joint venture will be responsible for US data protection, algorithm security, content moderation, and software assurance,” Chew said in the memo.”It will also have the exclusive right and authority to provide assurances that content, software, and data for American users is secure.”Chew told staff that half the US venture will be held by a consortium of new investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — which will have 15 percent each.Affiliates of existing ByteDance investors will own a touch over 30 percent of the venture, with Bytedance retaining just shy of 20 percent, the maximum ownership allowed for a Chinese company under the terms of the law.TikTok Global’s US entities will manage global product interoperability, and certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing, according to the memo.Chew noted that there is more work to be done ahead of the January 22 closing date for the deal.- Ellison amassing media? -The new set-up is in response to a law passed under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, that forced ByteDance to sell TikTok’s US operations or face a ban in its biggest market.US policymakers, including Trump in his first presidency, warned that China could use TikTok to mine data from Americans or exert influence through its state-of-the-art algorithm.Trump has delayed enforcement through successive executive orders, most recently extending the deadline into January.The deal largely confirms a September announcement by the White House that said a new venture had been agreed with China and would meet the requirements of the 2024 law.”If I could make it 100 percent MAGA I would, but it’s not going to work out that way unfortunately,” Trump told reporters after the TikTok announcement in September.Trump in September had specifically named Oracle boss Ellison, one of the world’s richest men, as a major player in the arrangement.Ellison has returned to the spotlight through his dealings with Trump, who has brought his old friend into major AI partnerships with OpenAI.Ellison has also financed his son David’s recent takeover of Paramount and is involved in his son’s bidding war with Netflix to take over Warner Bros.- Bytedance impact -Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun did not directly address reports of the deal, reiterating Friday that “China’s position on the TikTok issue is consistent and clear”.Bytedance did not immediately comment, but experts said it was a compromise that had averted the blow of losing access to the lucrative US market.”Keeping the US operation live is itself a victory” for Bytedance, Li Chengdong, founder of Chinese technology consultancy Dolphin, told AFP.Settling the issue allows Bytedance to focus on new ventures including artificial intelligence projects, and could help it move towards an initial public offering (IPO), Li said.Zhang Yi of technology research firm iiMedia said the US market was of “paramount importance to TikTok” but warned the deal did not guarantee smooth sailing going forward.”The US side could still leverage its regulatory power… to impose unfair demands on TikTok,” Zhang said.

The Bank of Japan hiked interest rates to a 30-year high on Friday and indicated more were in the pipeline as it said the economy had shown signs of improvement.The unanimous vote to lift the main borrowing rate to 0.75 percent from 0.5 percent came hours after official data showed the country’s core inflation rate held steady in November but still well above policymakers’ two percent target.The yen weakened slightly against the dollar after the widely expected announcement, which puts rates at their highest since 1995.”Japan’s economy has recovered moderately,” bank officials wrote in a report explaining the decision. “While uncertainties remain regarding the US economy and the impact of trade policy in each jurisdiction, these uncertainties have declined.”As long as economic activity and prices continued to improve, they added, the bank would “continue to raise the policy interest rate and adjust the degree of monetary accommodation”.While Friday’s increase was widely anticipated by analysts, “the board’s hawkish messaging suggests that the tightening cycle has further to run”, said Abhijit Surya of Capital Economics.”Our own view is that the incoming data are more likely than not to surprise to the upside of the BoJ’s expectations,” Surya added, forecasting rates will reach 1.75 percent in 2027.Yields on Japanese government bonds have spiked in recent weeks on worries about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s budget discipline, while the yen has weakened.On Friday the yield on the benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 2.01 percent, its highest since 1999.The core consumer price index — which excludes volatile fresh food — came in at three percent in November, the same rate as the previous month and in line with expectations. However, it is well above the BoJ’s two percent goal, as it has been for some time.Takaichi, who formally took power in October, has made fighting inflation a major priority.Her government this week succeeded in getting parliament approval for an extra budget worth 18.3 trillion yen ($118 billion) to finance a massive stimulus package.She has long advocated for more government spending and loose monetary policy to spur growth.Since taking office, however, she has said monetary policy decisions should be left to the BoJ.The bank began hiking rates from below zero in March last year as figures signalled an end to the country’s “lost decades” of stagnation, with inflation surging.However, with worries about the global outlook and US tariffs growing, it paused, with the last increase in January taking rates to their highest level in 17 years.The inflation figures for November showed rice prices jumped 37 percent year-on-year, the internal affairs ministry said. The cost of the grain has skyrocketed because of supply problems linked to a very hot summer in 2023 and panic-buying after a “megaquake” warning last year, amongst other factors.Japan’s economy contracted 0.6 percent in the third quarter, but BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda said last week that the impact of US tariffs was less than feared.”So far, US corporates have swallowed the burden of tariffs without fully passing (them) through to consumer prices,” he told the Financial Times.