Markets

JD.com founder Richard Liu made a surprise appearance at a Jiangsu Provincial City Football League match in Suqian, cheering on the local team. This follows JD.com’s recent sponsorship of the league and coincides with the opening of four JD Discount Supermarkets in Suqian. Liu was also seen mingling with locals, highlighting his commitment to the region. The events showcase JD.com’s strategy of intertwining community engagement with business expansion, demonstrating investment in local sports development and economic opportunities.

Gold Reserve Ltd. announced the U.S. Government’s Statement of Interest in the New York federal court litigation regarding the validity of 2020 PDVSA bonds. The U.S. supports the 2015 National Assembly of Venezuela’s claim that the bonds, issued by the Maduro regime, are invalid under Venezuelan law and urges the court to consider the Assembly’s views. While taking no position on pending summary judgment motions, the U.S. affirmed recognition and support for the 2015 National Assembly as the government of Venezuela. Investors are cautioned to review Gold Reserve’s filings for risk factors.

A Chinese restaurant owner faces potential legal issues for posting surveillance video of a customer using 40 napkins in 5 minutes. Legal experts suggest sharing the unedited video may violate the customer’s privacy and portrait rights. Unauthorized filming and online sharing infringe upon these rights, allowing victims to demand content removal and cessation of the behavior. The incident highlights the need for content creators to be aware of privacy laws and obtain explicit consent when filming others to avoid legal challenges.

A recent court ruling in China has forced an insurer to pay a claim under mandatory traffic accident liability insurance despite the policy’s “midnight start” clause, because the insurer failed to offer alternatives or explain the risks of the clause. The court deemed the clause invalid in this specific case, setting a potential precedent. However, the claim under commercial third-party liability insurance was rejected, as the driver was deemed to have implicitly accepted the terms. The insurer was ordered to pay 180,000 yuan.

Genentech and Alnylam plan to initiate a Phase III trial for zilebesiran, an RNAi therapeutic for hypertension, informed by positive Phase II KARDIA program data. The KARDIA-3 study showed zilebesiran achieved clinically meaningful reductions in systolic blood pressure at month three, sustained through month six, with encouraging safety. The ZENITH Phase III trial will enroll approximately 11,000 patients with uncontrolled hypertension to evaluate zilebesiran’s impact on cardiovascular outcomes. Zilebesiran offers twice-yearly dosing and targets a key regulator of blood pressure.

Amarin Corporation presented REDUCE-IT® trial sub-analyses at ESC Congress 2025, highlighting the benefits of VASCEPA®/VAZKEPA® (icosapent ethyl) regarding cardiovascular risk reduction. Key findings include a 9% drop in total hospitalizations and a 44% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular events for patients with Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) syndrome. The treatment also showed significant MACE reductions across all ApoB quartiles. The ESC/EAS guidelines reaffirmed icosapent ethyl as a Class IIA therapy.

Jiangsu Provincial City Football League (“Su Chao”) is experiencing a surge in popularity, fueled by the online frenzy and innovative marketing. A cinematic trailer for the upcoming Nanjing vs. Xuzhou match went viral, highlighting the league’s competitive spirit. Alipay sponsors the Xuzhou team, incentivizing goals with consumption vouchers, driving a 19.5% increase in “Alipay Touch and Pay” usage after a previous match. Su Chao exemplifies community-driven sports and offers a compelling case study for brand engagement.

BridgeBio Pharma’s acoramidis demonstrated a 44% reduction in cardiovascular mortality risk in ATTR-CM patients after 42 months in the ATTRibute-CM open label extension study. The study also showed a 46% hazard reduction in cardiovascular mortality or first cardiovascular hospitalization. Approximately 50% of participants exhibited disease stabilization compared to less than 20% on placebo at month 30. Acoramidis, marketed as Attruby® and BEYONTTRA®, exhibited the fastest benefit observed in a Phase 3 ATTR-CM study, with positive changes seen in 3 months.

BYD reported record first-half 2025 revenue of ¥371.3 billion, surpassing Tesla for the first time. The company emphasized strengthening industry collaboration through proactive coordination, optimizing payment terms, and fostering a mutually beneficial ecosystem for stakeholders. BYD highlighted its already low DPO and further reductions compared to 2024, prioritizing prompt supplier payments. This follows a commitment by BYD and other Chinese automakers to limit payment terms to 60 days, addressing concerns about supply chain pressures and promoting sustainable industry growth.

Cytokinetics’ MAPLE-HCM trial results show aficamten significantly outperformed metoprolol in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM). Aficamten improved exercise capacity (+1.1 mL/kg/min), while metoprolol decreased it (-1.2 mL/kg/min). 51% of aficamten patients improved in functional class, compared to 26% on metoprolol. Aficamten also showed superiority in secondary endpoints. The FDA is reviewing aficamten with a PDUFA date of December 26, 2025. A higher incidence of hypertension was noted with aficamten.