The following are some of the news items mentioned in the last few days:

  • BTC trading at 80k USD. It has lost 17 percent in the last one week. Why is the BTC price going down given that there is Trump administration that is cryptocurrency friendly ?
  • Donald Trump has said he would impose another 10 percent tariff on imports from China and press ahead with levies on Mexico and Canada from next week
    • He also planned to hit China with an additional 10 percent levy on March 4
    • His reciprocal tariffs are going to hit various countries on April 2
  • Israel and Hamas ceasefire looks to be shortlived
  • The recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appears fragile and may be short-lived. Negotiations are ongoing in Cairo, mediated by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, aiming to extend the truce and address critical issues. A significant point of contention is Hamas’s proposal to release 28 hostages, including an American, in exchange for Israel withdrawing its forces from Gaza. Israel is hesitant to agree, citing security concerns over potential weapons smuggling. Additionally, discussions are stalled over the future governance of Gaza, as Israel opposes Hamas’s continued rule but has not suggested an alternative administration. The current ceasefire is set to expire soon, and without a new agreement, hostilities could resume as early as Sunday, March 2. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned Hamas of severe Israeli retaliation if all hostages are not released. The situation remains tense, with both sides under pressure to find a sustainable resolution
  • Almost 10,000 organisations receiving aid dollars from the US will have their grants permanently axed as Trump pushes ahead with this plan to dismantle the country’s wide ranging foreign assistance program
  • Stripe doesn’t intend to go public. Its valuation are back at peak 95B USD levels
  • BP chief chucks sustainability agenda and goes all in on fossil fuels and expects that the pivot will make BP a 200B value company
    • As of February 28, 2025, BP p.l.c. (NYSE: BP) has a market capitalization of approximately $86.53 billion.
    • Recently, BP’s CEO, Murray Auchincloss, announced plans to more than double the company’s market value to $200 billion within five years. This strategic shift includes increasing annual investments in oil and gas to $10 billion and reducing spending on renewable energy by over $5 billion annually.
  • Nvidia reported a profit of 39.3 B USD in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025
    • Revenue: $130.5 billion, more than double the previous year’s figure.
    • Net Income: $72.9 billion, a 145% increase from the prior year
    • Why is Nvidia calling it fourth quarter of fiscal year
      • Some companies and governments do not follow the calendar year (January–December). Instead, they have custom fiscal years that may begin in a different month. Examples:
        • U.S. Government: Fiscal year runs October 1 – September 30.
        • Microsoft & Walmart: Fiscal year runs July 1 – June 30.
        • Apple: Fiscal year runs October 1 – September 30.
        • Nvidia: Fiscal year runs February 1 – January 31.
  • OpenAI releases GPT 4.5, a far more powerful model that has 37 percent hallucination rate as compared to GPT 4.0. OpenAI might restrict developer access to this new model as it might not find it remunerative to run this costly model as compared to the revenue it might obtain by API access fees from the developers
    • Open AI is estimated to be valued around 300B USD
    • Anthropic is estimated to be valued around 60B USD
  • China’s securities regulator has clamped down on small companies listings on NYSE after many of them became vehicles for price rigging, causing heavy losses for US investors
  • Saifuzzman Chowdhury, a minister in the regime of Sheikh Hasina, and his family bought 482 properties overseas costing 295m USD
  • Keir Starmer is portrayed as confronting a pivotal “Bismarck moment” in his political career. This term references a critical juncture requiring decisive leadership, akin to challenges faced by historical figures like Otto von Bismarck. T