GuShiio.com ① Zelensky: He will not meet with Putin until he and Trump work out a plan to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict;
② German President: The new U.S. administration ignores existing rules and partnerships;
③OpenAI’s board of directors unanimously rejected Musk’s acquisition of the company.
Overnight stock market
The world’s major indices were mixed on Friday, with the three major U.S. stock indexes divided. The S & P 500 index was basically flat, the Dow fell slightly, and the Nasdaq rose slightly.
commodity market
WTI March crude oil futures closed down US$0.55, or 0.77%, to US$70.74/barrel, down 0.37% this week. Brent April crude oil futures closed down US$0.28, or 0.37%, at US$74.74/barrel, up 0.11% this week.
market news
[Zelensky: Will not meet with Putin until he and Trump work out a plan to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict]
On February 14 local time, Ukraine President Zelensky said at the Munich Security Conference that he would meet with Russian President Putin only after he worked out a general plan with US President Trump to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He also did not plan to meet with any Russians other than Putin.
Zelensky said that Ukraine is ready to engage in any dialogue with the United States and its allies. If the United States and Europe give specific answers to Ukraine’s specific requests, on the basis of reaching consensus,”we will be prepared to engage in dialogue with Russia.”
[European Commission President: EU needs to significantly increase defense spending]
On February 14, local time, European Commission (EC) President Von der Leyen said during his attendance at the 61st Munich Security Conference that the EU needs to significantly increase defense spending.
Von der Leyen said she would propose activating exemption clauses for defense investment, which would allow EU member states to significantly increase defense spending in a controlled and conditional manner.
[Saudi Arabia welcomes the possible U.S. -Russian presidential summit in the country]
On February 14, local time, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that Saudi Arabia welcomed US President Trump’s previous suggestion that a US-Russian presidential summit might be held in Saudi Arabia.
[German President: New U.S. government ignores existing rules and partnerships]
On February 14, local time, German President Steinmeier delivered an opening speech at the Munich Security Conference and pointed out that the current U.S. government’s perception of the world is different from ours. They “ignore existing rules and partnerships and mutual trust.”
Steinmeier said that we cannot change this and can only accept and continue to deal with it. But Steinmeier also stressed that Europe will not become a “scared deer under the car lights” and that Europe should strengthen its own cooperation and unity.
[US Vice President: European allies should join any negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict]
In a speech at the Munich Security Conference on February 14 local time, U.S. Vice President Vance said that European allies “of course” should join any negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Vance said that before meeting with Ukraine President Zelensky, the United States is prepared to put pressure on Russia to end the conflict. In his speech, Vance also urged European officials to curb illegal immigration, saying voters do not want the “floodgates” open to millions of people.
[U.S. judge extends the Ministry of Government Efficiency’s ban on accessing the Treasury’s payment system]
A U.S. judge has extended a temporary ban on Musk’s Department of Efficiency accessing the Treasury’s payment system. In the early morning of February 8, local time, a federal judge in the United States temporarily prevented the Department of Government Efficiency led by Musk from accessing the government systems used by the U.S. Treasury Department to process trillions of dollars in payments, citing the risk of inappropriate disclosure of sensitive and confidential information. The order was issued by U.S. District Judge Engel in Manhattan after a coalition of 19 U.S. states, most of which are led by Democrats, filed a lawsuit claiming that the Department of Government Efficiency led by Musk had no access to the U.S. Treasury Department’s systems.
[U.S. Treasury Secretary Basent: Committed to reducing Iran’s oil exports by more than 90%]
As U.S. President Donald Trump resumes his “extreme pressure” campaign on Iran’s nuclear program, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. goal is to bring Iran’s oil exports below 10% of current levels. In an interview with Fox Business on Friday, Besent said,”We are committed to getting Iran back to exporting 100,000 barrels of oil a day,” as in Trump’s first term. Basent said Iran now exports 1.5 million to 1.6 million barrels of oil a day.
[Berkshire Hathaway increased its holdings of Occidental Oil and other stocks in the fourth quarter]
Berkshire Hathaway opened a position in the fourth quarter to go long at Constellation Brands Inc., Increase holdings in Western Petroleum (OXY), Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) and other stocks; reduce holdings in Bank of America, Chartered Communications (CHTR), etc.; liquidate Utah Medical Products (UTMD) and S & P 500 ETF-SPDR (SPY).
[Hillhouse’s HHLR Advisors disclosed that 8 of the top ten heavy positions in U.S. stocks in the fourth quarter were in the top ten positions]
Hillhouse’s independent fund management platform HHLR Advisors, which focuses on secondary market investment, released U.S. stock position data as of the end of the fourth quarter of 2024. Data shows that among the top ten positions held by HHLR Advisors in the fourth quarter, Chinese stocks accounted for eight. Baiji Shenzhou and Alibaba are still the top two big positions, in addition to Pinduoduo, Netease, Shell, Vipshop, Legendary Biotech and Futu Holdings. The position shows HHLR Advisors ‘continued focus on China assets. Among the 4 stocks newly purchased by HHLR Advisors in the fourth quarter, 2 were Chinese stocks, namely Shengwang and Zhiwen Group (Momo). In the fourth quarter, HHLR Advisors increased its holdings of 10 stocks, of which 4 were Chinese stocks, namely Jingdong, Shell, Futu Holdings and Dada Group.
[OpenAI’s board of directors unanimously rejected Musk’s acquisition of the company]
On February 14, local time, the board of directors of the American Open Artificial Intelligence Research Center (OpenAI), a ChatGPT developer, unanimously rejected Elon Musk’s offer to acquire the company’s assets for US$97.4 billion.
On the 10th, a consortium led by Musk offered $97.4 billion to seek control of OpenAI. Musk’s lawyer Mark Toberov said the offer had been submitted to the OpenAI board of directors. On the 11th, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that Musk’s proposal to acquire OpenAI was “ridiculous” and would not be sold.
[Insider: TSMC is considering taking control of Intel’s U.S. chip factory at the request of Trump administration officials]
A person familiar with the matter revealed that TSMC is considering whether to acquire a controlling stake in the Intel factory at the request of Trump administration officials. People familiar with the matter said that Trump’s team raised the idea of reaching an agreement between the two companies during a recent meeting with TSMC officials, and TSMC was happy to accept it. It is unclear whether Intel is open to transactions. Discussions are at a very early stage, and the exact structure of a potential partnership has not yet been determined.
[Boeing CEO will appear before a U.S. Senate committee on April 2]
Boeing’s CEO will appear before a U.S. Senate committee on April 2. This hearing will be related to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) review of the Alaska Airlines accident in 2024 (a passenger plane’s cabin door burst and fell off after takeoff).
[Wenyuan Zhixing surged 83.46%]
At the close of U.S. Eastern Time on Friday, Wenyuan Zhixing surged 83.46%, and once rose nearly 140% in intraday trading.
Nvidia’s SEC 13F file data disclosed on February 14, 2025 showed that Nvidia held 1.74 million shares of Wenyuan Zhixing in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a market value of US$24.65 million. According to a reporter from the Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily, the 1.74 million shares were not new purchases, but Nvidia’s early strategic investment in Wenyuan Zhixing in 2017.
[Meta plans to invest heavily in AI humanoid robots]
Zuckerberg’s Meta’s next major bet is to invest heavily in AI humanoid robots. Meta has formed a new team within Reality Labs.
[Musk’s xAI considers raising US$10 billion at a valuation of US$75 billion]
According to people familiar with the matter, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI plans to make a new round of financing of approximately US$10 billion at a valuation of approximately US$75 billion. Existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Valor Equity Partners, are in talks to participate in the financing, people familiar with the matter said. The terms of this round of financing have not yet been finalized and may still change.
[Trump: Don’t mind Japan holding a minority stake in U.S. steel company]
U.S. President Trump said he did not mind Japanese companies holding minority stakes in U.S. steel companies. Japan is considering investments in U.S. steel companies, including debt investments.
