In today’s briefing:
- DeepSeek AI: A Buzz or a Revolution?
- Ohayo Japan | Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft Hit Hard
- #93 India Insight: Indian Media Sues OpenAI, L&T Loses Submarine Tender, UBS Explores JV in India.
- DeepSeek R1: An Attempt at Rearranging the World’s AI Furniture & Global Influence
- Japan Morning Connection: Mixed Signals from Tech and Semi’s but After-Mkt Moves Pointing Higher
- Palladium Price to Double Within a Decade
- Platinum Demand to Grow from 2025 Onwards
- Japan’s Retail Week
DeepSeek AI: A Buzz or a Revolution?
- A relatively unknown Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has recently caused a stir in Silicon Valley challenging the dominance of established giants like OpenAI, Alphabet (GOOGL US) Meta Platforms (Facebook) (META US).
- DeepSeek’s V3 model has a total of 671Bn parameters, or settings inside the AI model that it adjusts as it learns, it is actually only using 37Bn at a time.
- The reported $5.5 million figure is not the total cost for developing DeepSeek-V3, it represents a significant portion of the training expenses.
Ohayo Japan | Nvidia, Meta, and Microsoft Hit Hard
- US markets fall as tech stocks slide – Fed holds rates, Nvidia drops 4% on export concerns, Meta and Microsoft decline post-earnings, while Tesla rises despite weak results.
- Fed cautious on inflation and rates – Officials see trade and immigration pressures, inflation remains elevated, job market solid, and a higher bar for further rate cuts.
- Strong earnings from Japan Inc. – Advantest’s profit up 2.7x, Makita’s net profit up 65%, & Shin Etsu’s profit rises 6%.
#93 India Insight: Indian Media Sues OpenAI, L&T Loses Submarine Tender, UBS Explores JV in India.
- Indian media firms, including NDTV, Network18, and the Indian Express, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the company of scraping their content to train AI models without proper copyright permission.
- Larsen & Toubro (LT IN) lost a Rs 70,000 crore tender for building six submarines after its bid was deemed non-compliant by the Defence Ministry.
- UBS is in advanced talks with India’s 360 One WAM to form a joint venture aimed at expanding its wealth management presence in India, a rapidly growing market for HNI.
DeepSeek R1: An Attempt at Rearranging the World’s AI Furniture & Global Influence
- DeepSeek R1 is more than an open-source AI platform; it’s a geopolitical tool designed to reshape global collaboration, attract talent, and influence AI standards under the guise of transparency.
- DeepSeek R1’s low-budget claim crafts the illusion of cost-efficiency, aimed at redirecting capital away from expensive U.S.-based AI ventures toward China’s AI ecosystem.
- Launched during Trump’s inward-focused rhetoric, DeepSeek projects China as a viable, inclusive, and progressive alternative to the U.S., signaling a collaborative economic and trade option for nations.
Japan Morning Connection: Mixed Signals from Tech and Semi’s but After-Mkt Moves Pointing Higher
- Huge print from ASML set a positive tone, but the potential for tighter NVDA restrictions weighed on sentiment.
- Big selling for Corning off the highs as guidance not enough to justify the run… may see weakness in Fujikura and Furukawa.
- Strong numbers from Advantest will also help sentiment for Japan SPE.
Palladium Price to Double Within a Decade
- Investment community is too bearish on Pd, a strategic metal, it has strong growth dynamics looking forward. Future supplies will be physically constrained, whether from Russia and/or South Africa.
- Palladium (Pd) demand to grow 26% over the next decade. Production dominated by Russia and South Africa. Russian production sustainability under question
- Virtually all global Pd production is via by-product. Significant price rises required to incentivise additional supply
Platinum Demand to Grow from 2025 Onwards
- Global platinum demand declined ~18% in the past decade, with the consumption nadir will be reached during 2025.
- Decline in diesel vehicle sales have plateaued, with Industrial/chemical demand to exceed autocatalyst by 2035.
- Platinum prices to remain flat for foreseeable future, but others in the basket may climb (e.g. palladium).
Japan’s Retail Week
- Key events in Japanese retailing this week include Muji raising forecasts for this FY and opening its biggest store ever, at 8,500 sqm as it goes after the food market.
- LINE Yahoo acquires Beenos in a bid to capture more of the fast-expanding cross-border e-commerce market.
- Fast growing, and Zozo-owned, online mall Yutori buys a cosmetics brand and in a sign of the serous labour shortage, Familymart moves to single manager franchises.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
