Business news

• Silver resumes its slide, plunging 13%, after short-lived rebound - Silver prices slid as much as 16% on Thursday, snapping a two-day rebound as investors continued to unwind positions.
• Sony profit jumps 22% in December quarter, beating expectations and lifting full-year outlook - TechSony profit jumps 22% in December quarter, beating expectations and lifting full-year outlookPublished Wed, Feb 4 202610:31 PM ESTDylan Butts@in/dylan-b-7a4
• China's Xi reasserts Taiwan stance in call with Trump, while U.S. president pushes trade - Beijing stressed Taiwan is the most important issue while Trump highlights the trade aspects of the bilateral relations.
• Shares of Arm plunge 8% after licensing revenue misses estimates, Qualcomm outlook adds pressure - Shares of UK-based semiconductor designer Arm Holdings fell in aftermarket trading, despite the company posting record revenues amid AI demand.
• Oil slides in volatile trading as upcoming U.S.-Iran talks revive de-escalation hopes - Oil prices fell on Thursday after Washington and Tehran agreed to hold talks in Oman on Friday, even as differences persist over the scope of the discussions.
• Asia markets mostly fall, tracking Wall Street losses as tech sell-off continues - In Asia, investors will keep an eye on tech and tech-related stocks in the region to watch for any spillover.
• Alphabet resets the bar for AI infrastructure spending - The search giant's proposed capex spend for 2026 exceeds that of its hyperscalers peers.
• Qualcomm stock sinks as memory shortage drags on forecast - "We're starting to see that memory is going to define the size of the mobile market," Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said in an interview.
• Alphabet earnings are out – here are the numbers - Wall Street will be looking for more details Google's deal to revamp Apple's Siri virtual assistant with the search company's Gemini AI models.
• Hedge funds made $24 billion shorting software stocks so far in 2026 — And they are increasing the bet - Hedge funds are increasing their short bets against software stocks, contributing to the brutal sell-off in the space so far this year, according to sources at two major funds on Wall Street.