Markets

Pinwheel is expanding its solutions on the Jack Henry digital banking platform. This includes the Switch Kit and Bill Navigator, streamlining account activation and bill management for community and regional financial institutions. These features aim to simplify onboarding, allowing customers to easily switch deposits and bills, potentially saving money and enhancing customer loyalty.

In June 2025, reports emerged of fraud within the tech sector, exploiting a new government subsidy program for digital devices. “Scalpers” are reportedly using students to purchase subsidized items and resell them, netting profits of up to 300 yuan per device. This illegal activity involves dedicated chat groups and circumvents in-person verification. Legal experts warn that this scheme, even with small amounts, could constitute fraud, leading to penalties.

JD.com, led by Liu Qiangdong, plans to aggressively enter the hospitality and travel sectors. Leveraging its logistics network and financial strength, JD.com aims to reduce supply chain costs significantly in food, travel and hospitality, potentially lowering consumer costs by two-thirds while providing new channels for partners. They will expand from convenience stores and food delivery, with CEO Xu Ran confirming a focus on high-growth local services.

Eli Lilly will acquire Verve Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company focused on gene editing therapies for cardiovascular disease. The deal, valued at approximately $1 billion, aims to advance Verve’s one-time treatment approach targeting genes linked to heart disease. Lilly plans to leverage its expertise in cardiometabolic diseases and gene medicines to develop Verve’s pipeline, including VERVE-102.

DeepSeek R1-0528 surpassed Claude Opus 4 in web programming, showcasing strong coding capabilities, especially with detailed prompts. Though performing well in web app development, it faltered with a Tetris game. R1 is also the top-performing open-source text model but has been recently surpassed by Kimi-Dev in open-source code.

Moonshot AI introduced Kimi-Dev-72B, an open-source code LLM designed for software engineering. The 72-billion parameter model tops the SWE-bench Verified benchmark, surpassing larger models like DeepSeek-R1. Kimi-Dev-72B utilizes RLHF to autonomously repair code within Docker. Key features include BugFixer, TestWriter, mid-stage training, and test-time self-play. The model is available on Hugging Face and GitHub.

TCTM Kids IT Education Inc. (VSA) announced a non-binding LOI to acquire HopeAI, a leader in AI solutions for clinical development. This move aims to expand VSA’s presence in the AI-driven biopharmaceutical sector. HopeAI’s platforms offer solutions to reduce clinical trial timelines and improve efficiency. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and will allow VSA to leverage HopeAI’s technology to advance drug development.

A recent dispute highlights the ambiguities of China’s ride-sharing “hitch” services. A passenger delayed by a shared ride demanded compensation from the driver for missing a train. Public debate ensued, with users questioning driver accountability for delays inherent to shared services. The incident underscores the need for clearer terms of service in China’s rapidly expanding ride-sharing market to define responsibilities and manage expectations for both riders and drivers.

Customs at Wuhan Tianhe Airport seized 144 Pop Mart Labubu figurines from two individuals attempting to smuggle them. The figures, part of the popular Labubu 3.0 blind box series, were intended for resale, capitalizing on their high secondary market value. This incident highlights the increasing demand for Labubu, a character created by Kasing Lung, as well as the soaring popularity of Pop Mart.

CSG and AWS are collaborating to accelerate cloud transformations for telecom and financial services. This partnership aims to reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 60% by leveraging cloud-native technologies and innovation. The initiative will see CSG’s mediation capabilities available via AWS Marketplace, enabling businesses to modernize, drive down costs, and utilize advanced technologies like AI.