Legal experts suggest that Trump's appeal to TikTok is a test for the US Supreme Court. By requesting the court to suspend a law until he assumes his role, some argue that the incoming US president might be exceeding his power.

The peculiar appeal by US President-elect Donald Trump to the Supreme Court, asking them to delay a forthcoming prohibition on TikTok until he assumes office, has led legal experts to speculate about the court's potential response or even recognition of his request.

Last week, Trump submitted an amicus brief, urging the supreme court to deliberate on the legality of a law. This law mandates ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, to sell the app to a non-Chinese entity by January 19 or risk being banned in the United States.

The legislation claims that TikTok, an app for brief videos with an estimated user base of 170 million in the US, constitutes a threat to national security as its private user data could potentially be accessed by Chinese government agencies. The court consented to hear the case after TikTok presented an urgent appeal citing First Amendment rights to free speech. The court has set the date for verbal debates to begin on January 10.

Trump is set to assume the presidency on January 20. However, by explicitly asking for a halt to any proceedings, legal experts suggest he is asking the court to overstep its constitutional boundaries.

The summary, prepared by John Sauer, Trump's choice for solicitor general, portrays Trump as "the appropriate constitutional figure to settle the disagreement via political avenues".

The text asserts that only Trump has the ultimate negotiation skills required to reach a solution that takes into account both national security issues and the future of TikTok.

Analysts believe Alibaba is primed for expansion following their divestment from physical retail properties.

By letting go of Sun Art and Intime, a now 'asset-light' Alibaba is predicted to have a more competitive edge against other online commerce competitors.

The Chinese real estate industry: the increase in house purchases indicates a promising future for a sector that has been struggling for the past four years. There are indications of a rebound in China's real estate market, as home sales in key cities are on the rise, raising expectations for a stable market by 2025.

Housing developers in Mainland China got a promising kickoff to the new year as home sales increased towards the end of 2024. This follows a commitment by the Chinese authorities to prevent further decline in housing prices.

In 30 prominent mainland cities, there was an 86% increase in average home sales in the last quarter, compared to the prior quarter, according to information provided by China Real Estate Information Corp (CRIC).

Residential property sales in the four premier cities – Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen – increased by 35 per cent in December compared to the same period the previous year, as reported by CRIC. When compared to the average monthly sales in the third quarter, there was a whopping 80 per cent increase in December, as the data revealed.

According to the data from CRIC, there was a 23% drop in new home sales across the 30 cities sampled for the year. This represents a 3.75 percentage point reduction in the decline over the initial 11 months of the year.

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Xi's call to action establishes economic goals for Chinese authorities, forgiving them for past errors.

"This signifies a crucial indicator for the upcoming 'stabilization' phase," stated Ding Zuyu, the executive director of E-House China Enterprise Holdings. "A consistent upward pattern, rather than a fleeting emotion after the implementation of lenient policies, has been clearly shown."

Ding predicted that while there will be a market adjustment in 2025, the cost of new homes is projected to rebound and match the rates of 2019. Additionally, the prices of previously owned homes are set to attain the rates seen in 2017.

A developer in Hong Kong slashes rates in Shau Kei Wan venture due to market saturation

The latest pricing guide lowers the district's average cost to its least since September 2016 for initial offerings, according to data from Midland Realty.

Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) is now accepting requests for 50 properties at Oria in Shau Kei Wan, following an unsuccessful sale in June 2023. The medium-sized private developer has decided to reduce the prices of 30 of these properties by over 30%, as per the updated list released on Thursday.

The apartments in the 23-floor building are on average valued at HK$19,544 per square foot, which is close to a nine-year low for new launches in the area, as reported by Centaline Property. The Island Garden project by Nam Fung Group had a similar average pricing of HK$19,409 per square foot back in September 2016.

Quarter to Seven

Despite the enhancing quality of life in Hong Kong, a growing number of its residents are showing interest in relocating to mainland China.

"Developers lack the power to hike prices," stated Jeff Yau, a real estate analyst at DBS Bank (Hong Kong), in a media conference on Thursday. He added that because some heavily leveraged home builders are feeling the squeeze to liquidate their stock for cash, there won't be much leeway for price growth in 2025.

The value of houses dropped by 6.6% in the initial 11 months of the previous year, cumulatively declining by 27% from the highest point in the market in September 2021, based on the government's statistics. Experts suggest that prices may start to level off by the middle of the year after slight recoveries in October and November.

A developer in Hong Kong reduces costs in the Shau Kei Wan project due to market oversupply

The updated pricing brings the average cost in the area to its lowest since September 2016 for initial releases, according to data from Midland Realty

The revised price list drives the average cost in the region to the lowest point since September 2016 for first-time releases, as per information from Midland Realty.

Hip Shing Hong (Holdings) is now accepting orders for 50 properties at Oria in Shau Kei Wan, following a failed sale attempt in June 2023. The medium-scale private developer has announced a price reduction of over 30 per cent on 30 of these properties, as per the updated list released on Thursday.

The apartments in the 23-story building are valued at an average of HK$19,544 per square foot, which is close to a nine-year low for initial property offerings in the area, as per Centaline Property's data. Back in September 2016, Nam Fung Group set the price for its Island Garden project at an average of HK$19,409 per square foot.

Quarter to Seven

Despite the enhanced quality of life in the city, an increasing number of residents from Hong Kong are expressing a desire to relocate to mainland China.

"Developers lack the capacity to hike prices," stated Jeff Yau, a real estate industry analyst at DBS Bank (Hong Kong), during a press conference on Thursday. He further added that due to the financial strain on some heavily leveraged home builders who need to liquidate their stock for cash, significant price increases are unlikely in 2025.

The value of homes dropped by 6.6% in the initial 11 months of the previous year, resulting in a total decrease of 27% since the market's high point in September 2021, as per governmental statistics. Analysts predict that prices might level off by the middle of this year after slight recoveries in October and November.

Apple has consented to settle a Siri eavesdropping lawsuit by paying out $95 million. The collective legal action alleges that Apple captured personal dialogues when Siri was inadvertently triggered.

The suggested resolution, submitted to a federal court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday, was accompanied by Apple's staunch denial of any wrongdoing.

"Apple has persistently rejected and still refutes any accusations of misconduct and responsibility," stated the technology giant in the suggested settlement, which needs a judge's consent to be completed.

The tech powerhouse from California has positioned user privacy as a significant aspect of its brand reputation. This is a primary reason why it maintains a firm grip on its integrated system of hardware and software.

Hong Kong shares bounce back as Beijing increases backing for institutional purchases. Around 20 securities firms, fund managers, and insurance companies were given a total of US$7.53 billion in liquid assets by the PBOC via a swap mechanism.

The Hang Seng Index saw a 0.7 per cent increase, closing at 19,760.27, partially offsetting the 2.2 per cent drop experienced on the inaugural trading day of 2025. Over the week, the index decreased by 1.6 per cent, marking the biggest five-day slump in nearly two months.

The Tech Index of Hang Seng saw an increase of 1.1 per cent. Meanwhile, the CSI 300 Index in mainland decreased by 1.2 per cent and the Shanghai Composite Index also experienced a fall of 1.6 per cent.

Nonetheless, the willingness to take risks was muted and investors amplified their acquisition of fixed-income assets, indicating doubt over a robust resurgence in China's growth. For the first time ever on Friday, the return on China’s standard 10-year government bond surpassed 1.6 per cent.

Approximately 20 companies, including securities firms, fund managers and insurance companies, were granted 55 billion yuan (equivalent to US$7.53 billion) in liquid assets from the People's Bank of China on Thursday. These assets can be used as security for loans to purchase stocks, according to a statement from the central bank. This was the second instance of this new facility's operation since its initiation in September as a component of a stock and economic recovery package.

SenseTime, a Chinese AI company, scales back its Singapore branch due to increased rivalry following the advent of ChatGPT. This move highlights the challenges SenseTime is encountering in the evolving AI industry and signifies a shift in Singapore's premier office real estate market.

The firm is relinquishing an approximately 11,000 square foot (1,022 square meter) area in Frasers Tower in favor of a less centrally located building, according to individuals who requested anonymity while discussing confidential matters.

In the final quarter, BYD surpassed Tesla to become the biggest producer of fully electric vehicles globally. BYD's deliveries outpaced Tesla by over 20% in this period.

"BYD boasts a robust range of products, with their more affordable battery electric vehicle (BEV) models appealing to a global audience of middle- to low-income consumers," stated Phate Zhang, the originator of CnEVPost, a data service for electric cars based in Shanghai. "It is poised to maintain its position as the world's leading producer of BEVs this year."

In an unprecedented occurrence, Tesla, renowned for manufacturing high-end electric vehicles, experienced a yearly drop in deliveries for the first time. The company announced a 1.1 per cent decrease from the previous year, delivering 1.79 million units. Following this news, the value of its shares listed on the New York stock exchange dipped by 6 per cent to US$379.28 on Thursday, despite having seen a substantial increase of 61 per cent in 2024.

Alibaba collaborates with Lee Kai-fu's unicorn amid the unification of China's AI industry. Alibaba Cloud enters an agreement with the start-up 01.AI to create AI model solutions tailored for business customers.

The laboratory plans to merge the expertise in research and development of both groups to investigate AI-related technology and services. Their goal is to develop robust and all-encompassing big model solutions to cater to the needs of business customers, as per the announcement made by Alibaba Cloud.

Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

Launched in May 2023, 01.AI rapidly ascended to unicorn status within half a year, following a financing round that involved Alibaba Cloud. The startup's open-source base large language model (LLM) Yi-34B was previously rated as the top pre-trained model by the online AI community, Hugging Face. However, it has since been surpassed.

01. The top AI model, Yi-1.5-9B-Chat-16K, placed tenth among the Chinese contenders as per the recent ratings by benchmarking service SuperClue. Alibaba Cloud's Qwen2.5-72B-Instruct was the frontrunner, only surpassed by models from international competitors OpenAI and Anthropic.

Real estate transactions in Hong Kong saw a decrease in December, leading to a reduction in the number of agents. Despite a 28.3% dip in December, there was an overall increase of 17% in property deals in 2024, based on the information provided by the government.

Real estate deals in Hong Kong saw a decline in December, during a downturn that has dwindled the number of certified real estate agents to the lowest it's been in seven years.

In December, there were 5,510 real estate sales in Hong Kong, which included new and used residences, parking lots, retail spaces, industrial properties, and office buildings, as per the data provided by the Land Registry on Friday. This signifies a decrease of 28.3% compared to November, but indicates a substantial rise of 46.4% compared to the same period last year. The overall worth of these transactions was HK$42.8 billion (US$5.5 billion), a decline of 33.3% from November, however, it demonstrated a 27.4% increase on a year-to-year basis.

The number of home sales dropped by 35 per cent to 4,103 in December, following a surge in the last two months. However, this still signifies a 40 per cent increase compared to the previous year. The total revenue generated from residential sales was HK$32.6 billion.

In 2024, there was a record of 67,979 transactions, marking a 17% increase from 58,035 in 2023, and hitting the highest point since the 96,133 deals in 2021, according to the data. The annual residential sales also witnessed a significant boost, jumping 23.5% to reach 53,099.

"Eddie Kwok, executive director of valuation and advisory services at CBRE Hong Kong, indicated that the expansion in residential property deals primarily resulted from initial sales. This boost was due to the lifting of property restrictions and the initiation of a cycle of rate reductions."

The decrease in the actual mortgage rate has consistently drawn more purchasers to the housing market, he noted. He also pointed out that the decline in December was primarily due to seasonal influences.

"Kwok predicts that the volume of transactions will stay consistent in January," He stated. "The circumstances are anticipated to get better post Lunar New Year, as we foresee more new initiatives being launched by developers."

China's economic boost draws in an increasing number of Generation Z stock traders willing to take on greater risks: according to a study. The number of Gen Z traders escalated to 110 million following the policy changes in September, expanding the group of investors ready to shoulder higher risks, as per a report by Hurun-Ping An.

China's aggressive economic stimulus in September to bolster its economy has attracted more Generation Z investors to the stock market and increased the number of traders willing to take on more risk, based on findings from a research study.

The investor demographic, categorized as individuals born from 1997 to 2012, has seen a significant increase, now accounting for about 110 million or 30% of China's stock trading population, according to a study released by Hurun Research Institute and Ping An Securities. The study further indicated that the number of traders willing to take on greater risks rose to 54% from 49% following a policy change.

On September 24, the central bank of China introduced two fresh financing mechanisms designed to stimulate stock purchases. This action was taken in response to ongoing poor data that risked undermining public confidence. Additionally, the bank committed to reducing the interest rates on home loans. This move triggered a significant surge in Chinese domestic and international stocks, attracting foreign investments back into the market.

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Extreme fluctuations in stock markets of Hong Kong and mainland China

The report indicates that the younger generation is now the primary driving force in the market. These youthful investors display a strong interest in technological advancements and emerging sectors, and exhibit a greater readiness to embrace higher risks in pursuit of substantial returns.

The stimulus strategies implemented by Beijing have diversified the geographical makeup of Chinese stock investors. Now, 61 percent of these investors come from cities other than the top-tier ones, an increase from the previous 42 percent prior to the policy's launch.

In 2024, the significant Chinese index, the CSI 300, increased by 15 per cent, marking a significant recovery from its previous status as one of the globe's weakest. The majority of this growth happened in the weeks following September 24. However, the stocks have plateaued since then as investors are urging for more impactful subsequent actions.

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Xi's call to action establishes economic objectives for Chinese authorities, forgiving them for past missteps.

In the last year, according to data examined by Hurun and Ping An Securities, 58% of investors have seen a minimum of a 10% return on their stock investments.