Good morning. In at this time’s publication:

• SoftBank pledges $100bn funding in US

• Courtroom names alleged Chinese language spy linked to Prince Andrew

• How China is establishing store in Mexico

Japan’s SoftBank yesterday unveiled plans to take a position $100bn within the US, within the newest signal of how firms are dashing to ingratiate themselves with Donald Trump.

Masayoshi Son, SoftBank’s billionaire chief government, stood subsequent to the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago because the pair formally introduced the plans.

“I would like to have fun the good victory of President Trump,” Son mentioned, including that he was “excited” by the deliberate funding and likewise hoped that Trump would “deliver the world into peace once more”.

The maverick investor, who made the same transfer after Trump received the presidential election in 2016, will focus the brand new funding on creating AI-linked jobs and infrastructure tasks, an individual conversant in the matter mentioned. It’s unclear how Son, who is thought for his lofty pronouncements, will be capable to fund his $100bn funding pledge.

Son’s announcement comes as US know-how teams, led by Amazon and Meta, have moved to make large donations to the fund for Trump’s inauguration in January. Learn extra on SoftBank and company America’s efforts to curry favour with the incoming president. 

• Extra on Japanese enterprise: Hitachi’s new chief government Toshiaki Tokunaga, introduced yesterday, is going through excessive expectations after taking up a conglomerate that has undergone a digital makeover.

Right here’s what else we’re protecting tabs on at this time:

• Financial information: Hong Kong stories November labour market figures.

• Cross-strait relations: Shanghai vice mayor Hua Yuan attends an intercity discussion board in Taipei in a uncommon go to that comes after China performed large-scale navy workout routines round Taiwan.

5 extra prime tales

1. North Korean troops have fought for the primary time alongside Russian forces towards Ukrainian troopers in Russia’s Kursk area, the US mentioned yesterday. The North Korean troopers “have suffered casualties, each killed and wounded​,” a Pentagon spokesman informed reporters. Learn the complete story.

2. The alleged Chinese language spy linked to Prince Andrew has been publicly named as Tengbo Yang after a decide lifted an anonymity order, elevating recent questions on his connections to the British institution. MI5 has alleged that Yang — who suggested UK firms spanning GSK and McLaren — gathered intelligence on behalf of the Chinese language state. The 50-year-old Chinese language nationwide known as the allegations “fully unfaithful”.

3. Germany is heading for early elections after Chancellor Olaf Scholz misplaced a vote of confidence, a broadly anticipated outcome that ends his fractious three-party coalition authorities. “We had been all fed up with one another,” mentioned Robert Habeck, the financial system minister in Scholz’s authorities. Right here’s what to know in regards to the upcoming vote in February.

4. Brussels fears divisions between member states will hamper its skill to fight a possible flood of low-cost items from China — dumped by Beijing in response to the prospect of upper US tariffs — with sanctions of their very own. Anxious that conventional commerce measures could be too sluggish to deploy, policymakers are pushing for extra EU powers to reply.

• Chinese language financial system: Retail gross sales in China missed expectations in November, including to strain on Beijing policymakers to spice up the financial system.

5. Australia’s markets regulator has sued HSBC for what it known as “widespread and systemic failures” in defending prospects towards scammers. The Australian Securities and Investments Fee mentioned yesterday that scammers had price HSBC Australia prospects A$23mn ($14.6mn) between 2020 and 2024, with some prospects dropping greater than A$90,000.

Visible story

Over the previous few years Chinese language firms have established themselves in Mexico’s provide chains, creating stronger commerce hyperlinks and rising manufacturing. Whereas president-elect Donald Trump has threatened Mexico’s authorities with tariffs, China is establishing store in America’s yard, inflicting concern amongst commerce officers within the US and Canada.

We’re additionally studying . . . 

• Financial unfairness in South Korea: The subsequent authorities has to interrupt out of the shackles of chilly battle politics and implement extra egalitarian insurance policies, writes Ha-Joon Chang.

• Pakistan navy’s ‘Imran Khan drawback’: Even behind bars, the vastly widespread former prime minister is seen because the largest risk to the armed forces in half a century.

• Wager towards ‘American exceptionalism’: All the keenness about US shares solely confirms that “the mom of all bubbles” is at a really superior stage, writes Ruchir Sharma.

Chart of the day

A psychological well being pandemic is engulfing the world’s workplaces, with monetary companies among the many hardest-hit sectors. With despair and nervousness costing the worldwide financial system $1tn yearly, Clive Cookson and Amy Borrett discover how employers and governments are tackling the disaster on this first instalment of the International Disaster in Psychological Well being sequence.

Take a break from the information

Columnist Stephen Bush makes a compelling case for varsity uniforms, and why the Christmas season ought to remind us of their worth.