29/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JAN 29, 2026

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Greenback struggles to rebound from losses

SpaceX weighs June IPO at US$1.5 trillion valuation: FT

SAN FRANCISCO: Elon Musk’s SpaceX is weighing a mid-June initial public offering, aiming to raise as much as US$50 billion (RM195 billion) at a valuation of US$1.5 trillion, the Financial Times said yesterday, citing people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. SpaceX did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The reported fundraising target doubles prior reports, positioning the rocket and satellite company’s listing as the largest in history in terms of deal size, after Saudi Aramco’s US$29 billion IPO in 2019. The IPO gave Aramco a US$1.7 trillion market capitalisation, and it was the only completed deal to have achieved a valuation of more than US$1 trillion. SpaceX chief financial officer Bret Johnsen has held talks and Zoom calls with existing private investors since December to explore a mid-2026 IPO, the newspaper added. While Musk has long expressed a preference for keeping SpaceX private, people familiar with his thinking indicated that the company’s growing valuation and the success of its Starlink satellite-internet service have prompted a shift in strategy. SpaceX is lining up four Wall Street banks for leading roles in its market debut, Reuters reported last week, citing a source. Global financial markets are bracing for a year of potentially mega US listings, led by SpaceX, with artificial intelligence firms Anthropic and OpenAI also laying early groundwork for potential IPOs. A rebound in the US equity capital market activity began in 2025 after three years of limited activity, partially as the result of ongoing volatility and geopolitical tensions. Space technology is a tightly held sector but is sought after by investors keen for exposure in light of rapid development prospects, analysts have said. – Reuters UK govt serves up financial support for struggling pubs LONDON: The British government on Tuesday served up some financial relief to the nation’s struggling pubs by cutting the amount of business tax they must pay. The move follows warnings from the sector that measures in the government’s annual budget last November would heap further pressure on an industry hit by mass closures in recent years as customers suffered from a cost-of-living crisis. Pubs will receive a 15% cut to business rates from April followed by a two-year real-terms freeze, the government said in statement. It equates to an average pub saving £1,650 (RM8,915)annually, it added. “We are pleased the government has listened to our concerns,” said Emma McClarkin, chief executive of pubs lobby group BBPA, in a statement. “This pub-specific package will stave off the immediate financial threat posed by accelerating business costs and will help keep the doors open for many.” The government said Britain had lost almost 7,000 pubs since 2010, or a reduction of about 15%. The Labour administration of Prime Minister Keir Starmer had already announced that pubs in England and Wales could apply to open longer during this year’s football World Cup to be held in the US. – AFP

peak – as chipmakers Samsung and SK hynix rallied. There were also big gains in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Mumbai and Bangkok. London and Frankfurt were flat at the open, while Paris fell. Sydney, Singapore and Wellington dipped. Traders are keeping a close watch on earnings this week from some of Wall Street’s Magnificent Seven, with Microsoft, Meta, Tesla and Apple all reporting. “These results will provide critical insights into the trajectory of the artificial intelligence trade,” wrote Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG. “After losing momentum in the final months of 2025 due to growing scrutiny over return on investment, capital expenditure and real-world constraints, the market is eager to see if the AI narrative can regain traction in 2026. “Forward guidance will be key, alongside scrutiny of margins and capex projections.” In company news, tech investment titan SoftBank jumped almost 6% after the Wall Street Journal reported it was in talks to pump an additional US$30 billion into ChatGPT developer OpenAI. That comes after it invested US$22.5 billion last month for an 11% stake. – AFP

euro in four-and-a-half years and a two-and-half-month low against the yen. “Look at the business we’re doing. The dollar’s doing great. “I want it to be – just seek its own level, which is the fair thing to do.” The dollar also sank against the pound, South Korean won and Chinese yuan, with a slight bump yesterday doing little to recover its latest losses. Observers said unease about Trump’s latest tariff outbursts, including threats against European nations over their opposition to his Greenland grab and a warning to Canada over its trade talks with China, have also dented faith in US assets and weighed on the unit. Meanwhile, US consumer confidence plunged to its lowest level since 2014, a survey showed, as households fret about inflation and the elevated cost of living. Win Thin, at Bank of Nassau 1982 Ltd, said: “Foreign exchange typically is the leader in terms of showing market discomfort with a country’s policies and economic outlook, so this dollar weakness bears watching.” Still, equity markets performed well in Asia after the S&P 500 clocked another record high in New York thanks to a surge in tech titans including Apple, Microsoft and Amazon. That helped Seoul to be among the best performers again – hitting another all-time

HONG KONG: The dollar struggled to bounce back yesterday following another selloff fuelled by Donald Trump’s suggestion he was happy with the currency’s recent decline, while tech firms helped most Asian equity markets extend their rally. Traders are also keeping an eye on the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, hoping for some guidance on its plans for interest rates amid uncertainty over the US president’s policies following his latest tariff threats. The greenback has retreated across the board this week following reports that the New York Fed had checked in with traders about the yen’s exchange rate, which fuelled talk that US and Japanese officials were prepared to stage a joint intervention. That led to speculation the White House was prepared to let the dollar weaken, and Trump did little to dismiss that when asked Tuesday if he was worried about the decline. “No, I think it’s great,” he told reporters in Iowa as the unit hit its weakest level against the o Selloff fuelled by Trump’s suggestion he was happy with US currency’s decline

Employees of the foreign exchange trading company Gaitame.com work in front of monitors, displaying the current yen exchange rate against the US dollar, at their dealing room in Tokyo. – REUTERS

GM reports quarterly loss but boosts shareholder returns NEW YORK: General Motors announced on Tuesday fresh actions to return funds to investors, lifting shares despite reporting a quarterly loss on costs connected to its electric vehicle retreat. The results were dented by a Revenues dipped 5.1% to US$45.3 billion on lower vehicle sales compared with the year-ago period. GM has significantly scaled back its EV investments while redirecting billions of dollars in capital towards boosting production of gasoline-fired vehicles.

undertaken significant strategic pivots in light of Trump’s aggressive policy changes on trade and fuel economy rules, projected higher profits in 2026. GM described its performance in 2025 as “resilient,“ with 2026 “positioned to be stronger than 2025”, according to a company presentation. GM expects solid vehicle pricing to continue amid relatively tight vehicle inventories that stand “slightly” below the company’s target of having 50-60 days of supply on hand. GM also plans launches of key vehicles, including its popular Chevrolet Silverado pickup. “We grew the business and adapted to significant changes in tax and trade policy, to deliver full year (earnings) at the high end of guidance range,” said CEO Mary Barra.

previously-announced hit of US$7.1 billion, mostly due to write-down on EV investments following an about-face in US environmental policy enacted by President Donald Trump’s administration. That resulted in a fourth-quarter loss of US$3.3 billion, compared with a loss of US$3 billion in the year-ago period. Annual profits fell 55% to US$2.7 billion. But the big US automaker, which has

However, Barra has said the company continues to believe in an EV future, in part because “we know once somebody drives an EV, they rarely go back to internal combustion engine”, she said on Tuesday’s analyst call. GM expects 2026 tariff costs of US$3-US$4 billion after incurring US$3.1 billion in 2025, a bit below the US$3.5 to US$4.5 billion previously forecast. – AFP