Alibaba surges on AI bet

Hey Superheroes,

Markets got a shock this week after Australia’s August Monthly CPI rose to 3.0%, its highest in a year, up from 2.8% in July 2025. 

The hotter-than-expected print has flipped expectations on rates with bond traders now betting the RBA could stay on hold for longer – and some even see the next move being higher, not lower.

The reaction was sharp: the three-year government yield spiked to 3.52%, its highest since May, while the odds of a November cut dropped from nearly two-thirds priced in to just over one-third. 

The shift coupled with gold’s surge past US$3,700/oz has kept markets on edge.

Here are this week’s top stories.

Alibaba Doubles Down on AI

China’s e-commerce titan is back on investor radars.

Alibaba jumped over 9% on Wednesday to a four-year high after the company unveiled an ambitious AI expansion plan and its most advanced AI model to date.

The rally was also fuelled by ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood, who snapped up US$16.3 million in Alibaba stock – her first purchase in four years.

💸 Raising the AI stakes

At its annual Apsara Conference, CEO Eddie Wu announced Alibaba would boost its already massive 380 billion yuan (US$53 billion) AI infrastructure budget, though the exact uplift was undisclosed. 

The company aims to transform Alibaba Cloud into the world’s leading full-stack AI service provider – spanning chips, computing infrastructure and foundation models.

The centre piece was the launch of Qwen 3.0 Max, Alibaba’s largest and most capable large language model to date.

According to the company, it outperforms rivals like Anthropic’s Claude on several key benchmarks – part of Beijing’s broader push to develop sovereign AI models and reduce dependence on Western tech.

🤖 Nvidia joins the party

Alibaba also announced a strategic partnership with Nvidia, integrating the U.S. chipmaker’s AI development tools into its cloud platform. 

The collaboration will focus on real-world “physical AI” applications such as robotics, logistics and autonomous vehicles.

📈 A tech comeback in the making?

Alibaba’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) have surged 106% year-to-date  – a stunning turnaround after years of regulatory crackdowns and investor uncertainty.

Cathie Wood’s re-entry signals that sentiment may be shifting with analysts pointing to Alibaba’s strong market position and improving fundamentals as signs that the worst may be behind it.

TikTok’s American Takeover?

A political plot twist is playing out in Silicon Valley.

Donald Trump has signed an executive order forcing ByteDance to sell TikTok’s U.S. operations in a deal said to be worth US$14 billion. A new American-led venture – backed by Oracle’s Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch – would take control while ByteDance keeps a 19.9% stake.

🧨 Not just TikTok

ByteDance’s other apps, including video editor CapCut, lifestyle platform Lemon8, and education app Gauth, are also under threat. Unless sold, they too face potential U.S. bans under national security laws. With no firm plan for these platforms yet the spotlight on China-linked tech is only growing.

This may be the first tech takeover designed by a president – but it likely won’t be the last.

📊 The algorithm dilemma 

While the U.S. consortium will take over operations, ByteDance will still own TikTok’s recommendation algorithm – the engine behind its addictive “For You” feed. 

Under the proposed structure, the new U.S. entity will license the algorithm from ByteDance, raising questions about whether this truly severs links between the platform and its Chinese parent.

🔦  Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

ONE WORD, BIG IMPACT: ASIC’s high-profile stop order on La Trobe’s A$12 billion credit funds was lifted after the lender made key changes to its Target Market Determination. By adding just one word, La Trobe satisfied the regulator’s concerns and can resume fundraising.

RYMAN’S RETIREMENT PLAY: New Zealand’s biggest aged care provider Ryman Healthcare will dual-list on the ASX from 1 October, valuing the group at about A$2 billion. The listing aims to broaden its investor base as it expands in Victoria, where it already runs nine retirement villages. It also allows Ryman to capitalise on reforms to Australia’s Aged Care Act from November.

VECTION BETS BIG: Small-cap software group Vection Technologies (ASX:VR1) has upsized its equity raising to A$20 million, issuing shares at 6¢ each. The company has also landed a A$22.3 million NATO-approved defence contract. Shares are up 580% over the past year.

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