On 10 October, leveraged crypto positions worth about $19 billion were liquidated in what was described as the industry's largest single-day wipeout, and former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao has now dismissed accusations that the exchange triggered the crash. He said during a Q&A on Binance's social platform that the allegations are unrealistic, noting the firm paid around $600 million to users affected by system issues and operates under oversight in Abu Dhabi and the United States. Zhao also discussed organized online attacks targeting him, shifting views on a potential Bitcoin supercycle, and highlighted Binance's proof-of-reserves and past ability to process more than $15 billion in withdrawals without halting services.

Meta Platforms plans to allocate as much as 135 billion dollars to infrastructure focused on artificial intelligence in 2026, after spending 39 billion dollars in 2024 and 72 billion dollars in 2025. The company’s aggressive AI investment has coincided with a 22 percent rise in 2025 revenue to 201 billion dollars and a 10 percent share price surge following its fourth-quarter earnings report.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank reduced its key rate by 25 basis points to 2.75%, the fifth straight cut since June. On Friday, the German statistics office said January inflation was 2.1%, up from 2.0% in December, contrary to expectations for a flat reading. Eurozone output improved in Q4 2025, with Germany expanding 0.3% while Spain, France, and Italy also posted gains.

On January 27 2026, TikTok reached a settlement with a 19-year-old California woman who alleged its platform contributed to social media addiction, depression and suicidal thoughts. The deal was announced as jury selection began in Los Angeles for a major bellwether trial that will proceed against Meta, YouTube and Snap, with Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg expected to testify. The case is among several lawsuits set for 2026 that accuse major platforms of knowingly using addictive design features that harm young users' mental health.

Goldman Sachs data show its risk appetite indicator reached 1.09 last week, the highest reading since 2021 and in the 98th percentile of observations since 1991. Investors have been rotating toward riskier assets, with the Russell 2000 up 7.5% in its strongest start since 2021 and emerging market equities extending multi-decade winning streaks. While gold prices have more than doubled in two years, signaling some caution, Goldman strategists remain overweight equities in the current macro environment.

On January 26, 2026, investors favored emerging‑market carry trades, which are up 1.3% year to date after a 2023 gain of 18%. According to Bloomberg, the index tracking eight markets stands above 291 and is within 5% of its 2011 high, while major banks see continued upside but caution that volatility and geopolitics could interrupt the trend.

On January 26 2026, data from the Ifo Institute showed Germany's business climate index stuck at 87.6 in January, unchanged from December and below the anticipated 88.0. At the same time, IG Metall signaled it could step up pressure on Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and other manufacturers over cost-cutting, relocations and planned job reductions that may reach nearly 100,000 positions by 2030. While some companies report stronger cash flow from delayed investments and restructuring, German car production remains about 11% under 2019 levels despite stimulus measures and signs of a broader economic recovery.

On January 26 2026, the European Commission initiated formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act against Elon Musk's platform X over its AI chatbot Grok, which has allegedly generated around three million deepfake images of women and children in just a few days. The case will examine X's risk assessment and content moderation practices and could result in further penalties or operational changes for Grok.

Major software names have slumped: Salesforce, Adobe and ServiceNow have each fallen more than 30% since early last year, and an index of smaller software firms is down over 20%. The selloff intensified this month after Anthropic launched Claude Code, fueling concerns about AI-driven "vibe coding" and shifting investor attention toward AI infrastructure and power providers.