On January 2, 2026, Waymo outlined plans to scale its autonomous ride service, aiming for 1 million weekly rides by the end of 2026 and adding 20 new markets over the next year. It says it currently provides roughly 250,000 weekly trips and has completed 20 million rides since 2020. Production in Arizona will double to over 2,000 vehicles by late 2026, while Zeekr will help produce tens of thousands annually.

CES 2026 opens on Jan. 6 in Las Vegas, with robotics highlighted as the year's central theme, according to organizer Kinsey Fabrizio. On Jan. 5, Nvidia, AMD, Intel and Qualcomm will detail gaming, AI and processor updates, including Intel's Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) on 18A, with sessions scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening.

In West Texas, around 6,000 workers reportedly arrive each day at an OpenAI construction site that forms part of the multibillion-dollar Stargate data center program, with individual sites estimated at about $50 billion and the total near $850 billion. Major tech firms including OpenAI, Meta, Google, Microsoft and Oracle are collectively driving capital spending toward roughly $443 billion this year and are taking on $121 billion in new debt, while analysts warn that power availability, rising leverage and growing use of credit-default swaps signal mounting investor unease.

On December 31, 2025, the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index showed an 8.1% year-to-date decline, the steepest annual drop in eight years. The outlook hinges on who replaces Jerome Powell when his term ends in May, with traders pricing at least two U.S. rate cuts in 2026 while Europe is seen on hold and some peers may raise rates.

In November 2025, Chinese carmakers captured 12.8% of Europe's electric vehicle market and exceeded 13% of hybrid sales across the EU, EFTA countries, and the UK, even as EU tariffs of up to 45% took effect. Leading brands such as BYD and SAIC Motor expanded aggressively, while newer entrants like Chery and Leapmotor recorded triple- and quadruple-digit percentage growth in regional EV sales.

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's December 9-10 meeting show a 9-3 vote for a 0.25% rate cut to a 3.5%-3.75% target range, but reveal sharp divisions over the pace of future easing. Some officials viewed the move as a finely balanced choice and favor holding rates while inflation remains elevated, while others point to rising unemployment and softer price data as reasons to move toward further cuts.

On December 30, 2025, Prenetics, a healthcare firm backed by David Beckham, confirmed it stopped buying Bitcoin on December 4 after starting a crypto treasury program in June. The company will retain its 510 BTC, valued at $44.8 million, while redirecting strategic focus to IM8, its vitamins and supplements line created in partnership with Beckham.

On December 30, 2025, Bitcoin made a second push toward $90,000 but stayed confined to the $85,000–$95,000 band. The asset is about 5% lower than last December after an October setback and an early-October record. ETFs shed $6 billion in Q4, while derivatives open interest rose $2.4 billion in December.

In 2025, storage and infrastructure companies, led by Sandisk's roughly 580% surge, took the top positions in the S&P 500 as AI data center spending accelerated. Traditional AI leaders like Nvidia gained about 40% and slipped to 71st place, while investors rotated toward power, cooling, wiring, construction and even Bitcoin miners pivoting to high-performance computing. Analysts now see more moderate upside for some 2025 winners, with growing attention on names such as Pure Storage, Quanta Services and Vertiv as potential next-stage beneficiaries of AI infrastructure demand.