Businesses across Italy could see a windfall of some $6 billion, as spectators head to the Alps for the Winter Olympics. The Milano-Cortina 2026 Games have run over budget, although by a smaller amount than previous competitions. Giulia Wedam, co-Founder & CEO of the tourism agency Cortina IN, says she's expecting a boost in business that will outlast the Games themselves.   

Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, Asia's most valuable company, has announced plans to produce 3-nanometre cutting-edge chips in Japan. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi lauded the announcement as "the missing piece for the country" since she's looked to bolster domestic chipmaking ahead of lower house elections on February 8. Also in this edition: Cuba is on the edge of a "humanitarian collapse" as it faces an oil siege imposed by the United States.

The Trump administration has put aside its tariff threats, and is calling for a new trade bloc to focus on critical minerals. Ministers from 55 countries attended talks in Washington aimed at reducing their reliance on China, which dominates the production and processing of the elements. Meanwhile, Japan hopes to revolutionise its own mineral supplies, becoming the first country to retrieve deep-sea mud containing rare earth elements. 

A deal between Senate Democrats and President Donald Trump has ended a short-lived partial US government shutdown, but funding for the Department of Homeland Security remains up in the air as lawmakers push for reforms to ICE and Border Patrol. Also in this edition: the EU seeks a partnership with Washington on critical rare earth minerals.

Following a social media announcement by Donald Trump about a trade deal, Indian officials hailed the agreement as "the best in the region", while making no explicit comment about the US president's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Moscow, meanwhile, says it hasn't heard from India about any plans to do so. We take a closer look at how much crude oil India imports from Russia. 

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has acquired his artificial intelligence startup xAI in a deal that values the combined companies at $1.25 trillion. We take a closer look. Also in this edition: the US and India agree to a landmark trade deal, and precious metals rebound from a massive selloff.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has survived the last of a series of no-confidence votes, allowing the full 2026 budget to be adopted. The centrist prime minister had pushed the bill through parliament without a vote after securing the backing of the Socialist Party in exchange for some costly concessions. Also in the segment: US President Donald Trump says he will lower tariffs on Indian goods after New Delhi committed to ending its purchases of Russian oil. 

Precious metals continued to lose ground this Monday following steep declines last week, with investors piling out of the safe haven assets after US President Donald Trump picked Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. Also in this edition: French tech giant Capgemini plans to sell off the US subsidiary that provides immigrant tracking data to ICE.

Both Meta Platforms and Microsoft shared their latest quarterly results on Wednesday and showed they are still planning on sustained spending on artificial intelligence. Similarly, Telsa posted a drop in annual revenue for the first time in its history and announced a shift away from electric vehicles and towards AI and robotics. Meanwhile, hardware providers like Samsung Electronics are fuelling the boom in AI, and reaping the benefits.

The US Federal Reserve has defied pressure from President Donald Trump by holding interest rates steady. The policy announcement was partly overshadowed by ongoing tensions with the administration. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell – who is facing a criminal probe he describes as politically motivated – insisted the US central bank would maintain its independence. Also in the show: the US dollar slides to its lowest level in four years, and Paris Fashion Week deals with the rise of ultra-fast fashion.