Daily Buzz: 7 August 2026

US Targets China in New Restrictions on Polysilicon Imports

US President Donald Trump ordered new tariffs and also price floors on imported polysilicon used in semiconductors and solar panels, claiming reliance on foreign supplies threatens national security. Under the directive, imported polysilicon derivatives, including silicon wafers, photovoltaic cells and solar modules, will be subject to 15 percent tariffs, effective December 4. The measures are primarily aimed at China, a leading player in both industries.

AI Shares Resume Selloff, Biting Asian Markets

Renewed volatility in AI-related shares hit Asian markets on Thursday after a brief respite. South Korea's Kospi index fell 4.6 percent on selloffs in shares of the nation's two biggest chipmakers. Samsung Electronics closed down 6.3 percent, and SK Hynix lost 10.4 percent. The declines follow slumping prices on the Nasdaq in New York. Tech investors have been spooked by the escalating sums of money big companies are spending on AI development, worrying that the tech boom may be unsustainable. Japan's Nikkei index fell 1 percent, the Hang Seng tech index in Hong Kong lost 2.3 percent and the tech-heavy ChiNext in Shenzhen tumbled 0.55 percent. Bucking the trend was Shanghai's tech-focused STAR market, which rose 0.45 percent, though shares in CXMT, China's largest listed chipmaker, fell 4 percent.

Iran Considers Banning US, Israeli Ships from Strait of Hormuz

Iran has proposed legislation ‌that would bar US, Israeli and other "hostile" vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Fars news agency reported. The plan would reportedly impose fees of up to 7 percent of cargo value on commercial vessels that pass through the strait and fine vessels 20 percent of cargo value if they violate Iran's conditions. The measure comes as Iran said it has reached an agreement with Oman, which also flanks the strait, on a temporary reopening of the oil-vital waterway. It gives Iran control over vessels entering the strait, while exiting ships would travel along a channel adjacent to Oman. Washington has rejected any conditions placed on reopening of the strait. Global benchmark Brent crude futures closed trading in New York at US$82.49 a barrel.

Ukraine Hits Oil Refineries in Russia

Ukraine has said it hit two oil refineries deep in Russia and "shadow fleet" tankers carrying sanctioned oil in the Black Sea as it continues to try to cripple sources of Russian revenue financing for the war and force Moscow into peace talks. Russia continued drone attacks on Ukraine, targeting infrastructure but also hitting residential areas.

Top Business

Swire Properties Turns to Profit From Loss

Hong Kong-based Swire Properties, which has extensive interests in Chinese mainland office blocks, residential developments and shopping malls, said first-half profit turned to a profit of HK$3.6 billion (US$459 million) from a year-earlier loss of HK$1.2 billion on revaluation of fair value on properties. Revenue rose 8 percent to HK$9.4 billion. The company said demand for office space in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou remained subdued, but residential development in Shanghai showed strong performance and its Chinese mainland mall portfolio, which includes Taikoo shopping centers, showed higher retail sales and foot traffic. Swire said its Chinese mainland property portfolio comprised 31 million square feet, with 16.5 million square feet under development. Investment properties were valued at HK$142 million. Its retail portfolio generated rental income of HK$3 billion, up 14 percent. Demand for retail space is expected to be "optimistically cautious in the second half," it said. Gross rental income from office properties increased 3 percent to HK$425 million, with new supply "expected to place further pressure on rents amid subdued demand."

Meta Becomes Third AI Company to Report Rogue Agent

Meta joined the rogues' gallery of the AI industry, announcing that a model from Facebook and Instagram went rogue during cybersecurity testing and hacked into the system of another entity. The disclosure followed similar incidents reported recently by OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta said its Muse Spark model "exploited a security vulnerability" in another company "in a manner similar to previously-reported instances with other companies." The target of the hack wasn't disclosed. The cyberbreaches have alarmed those who have long warned of the risks of algorithms escaping human control and prompted the Trump administration to invite Meta, Anthropic, Google and OpenAI representatives to meet with White House advisors this week. In June, the administration said it working on guidelines that would ask AI companies to voluntarily submit models for government tests up to 30 days before release to the public.

Nvidia Seeks China Partners for AI Base Stations

Nvidia is seeking Chinese partners to develop AI-powered base stations for future 6G telecom networks, Jiemian News reported, citing industry sources. The US chip giant is working with Chinese communication equipment suppliers to build AI-RAN base stations that combine wireless connectivity with AI computing capabilities. The company aims to launch prototype systems by the end of 2026 and enter trial networks in 2027 or 2028. Shenzhen-based Jiaxian Communication is among Nvidia's partners, with the two companies working on products based on Nvidia's CUDA ecosystem. Analysts expect AI-RAN technology to become a major part of future telecom infrastructure as operators seek new revenue from AI services.

Economy & Markets

China Insurance Stocks Drop on New Tax Policy

Beijing and Hangzhou municipal authorities have started to apply personal income tax rates of 20 percent on returns from Hong Kong insurance policies, including dividend payouts and interest earned on prepaid premiums, Chinese media reported. The moves hit stocks of global insurers with business in Hong Kong, including several from the Chinese mainland. Ping An Insurance lost 1.2 percent, and China Life Insurance was down 0.8 percent.

JPMorgan Chief Warns About Leveraged Debt Roiling Markets

JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon warned that leverage across financial markets remained high, which could amplify market disruptions. Financial leverage is the practice of borrowing money and investing the funds in securities with the hope that future returns will be greater than the debt and debt-servicing costs. The practice is commonly referred to as margin trading. "Margin debt is the highest it has ever been," Dimon told CNBC. "There's a lot you don't see because it's not called margin debt. It's called other things. It's that kind of leverage, some hidden, some public." When markets sell off, investors are often forced to dump securities at prices that don't cover debt obligations. "When you have that, you do have a higher chance that somebody will disrupt the market in a quick way," Dimon said.

Jack Ma-Backed Fund Invests in US AI Startup

Yunfeng Capital, a fund backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, has invested about US$30 million in AI insurance startup Corgi, marking the fund's first known investment in a US company. The San Francisco-based startup, founded by Emily Yuan and Nico Laqua, develops AI-powered insurance infrastructure that automates underwriting, claims processing and policy management. The investment was part of Corgi's latest funding round, which valued the company at US$4 billion, according to Forbes.

China Gold Consumption Rises, but Gold Jewelry Drops

China's gold consumption rose 1.2 percent in the first half to 511 tons, the China Gold Association reported, but gold jewelry dived 34 percent to 132 tons. Production in the period was down 15 percent from a year earlier. China is among the top gold countries in the world.

Corporate

DeepSeek Warns Users of Price Increases

Hangzhou-based AI startup DeepSeek, which shot to global attention with AI models developed at a fraction of the cost of US rivals, warned users of a "significant" price increase in the near future.

The company didn't disclose the size of the price hikes for application programming interface services. The move comes as other Chinese AI developers are also increasing fees for such services; Tencent Cloud has raised prices twice and Zhipu AI, three times. China AI leaders are seeking ways to make money from their pace-setting open-source models.

Victory Giant Accelerates Circuit-Board Manufacturing

Victory Giant Technology, a leading Chinese maker of printed circuit boards, plans to ramp up production with the 3-billion-yuan (US$444 million) acquisition of industrial land site in the city of Huizhou for a facility to make high-end AI electronics. The company has been negotiating new orders with US companies to leverage demand in the sector. The company listed in Hong Kong in April.

Lilly Widens Obesity Drug Lead Over Novo Nordisk

Eli Lilly's obesity drug portfolio widened its lead over Novo Nordisk's rival GLP-1 medicines after strong first-half sales growth. Lilly said on Wednesday that revenue from its Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss reached US$27.7 billion in the first six months rose nearly 88 percent from a year earlier. By comparison, Novo Nordisk reported US$17.53 billion in first-half sales from its Wegovy and Ozempic. The revenue gap between the two drugmakers flagship treatments has expanded to more than US$10 billion from less than US$2 billion for full-year 2025. In China, both Lilly and Novo Nordisk are expanding their footprint, with Lilly investing in local manufacturing for its obesity-drug pipeline while Novo Nordisk seeks regulatory approval for its oral Wegovy.

Suds Sales Sluggish in China's Peak Beer Season

Budweiser APAC, which supplies beer to China and other Asian nations, said sales in China declined 10 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier. The slump in sales has failed to reverse in the traditional peak summer season, despite the FIFA World Cup. For the first half, data provider Brandct.com said beer sales fell 11 percent northern China and 4.5 percent in eastern China. "We have been operating for many years, but this is the first time we've experienced a decline in performance," one beer company official told Yicai.

Cainiao Launches Three-Day Cross-Border Delivery

Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao launched a global three-day cross-border service, pledging door-to-door delivery within 72 hours across 15 international routes, including China-Europe and intra Middle East markets, Yicai reported.

CPE to Acquire Swiss High-End Outdoor Brand

Chinese private equity firm CPE, which last year gained control of Burger King's Chinese mainland operations, said it is purchasing Swiss premium outdoor brand Mammut from Europea's Jacobs Capital. CPE said it is committed to preserving and building upon the brand. No financial details were disclosed. CPE has over 150 billion yuan (US$22 billion) of assets under management, with a portfolio that includes investments in Mixue, Pop Mart and Laopu Gold, Yicai reported.

Dreame Technology Surpasses 40 Million Global Appliance Shipments

Dreame Technology announced that cumulative global shipments across its core robot, wet and dry, and cordless vacuum cleaners surpassed 40 million units last month. In the first quarter, Dreame claimed the No. 1 spot globally in robot vacuum sales and revenue, holding the biggest market share in 30 countries.