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Nvidia Sets Monthly Record with Unprecedented Market Value Surge in January 

A NVIDIA logo is shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 31, 2017. (Reuters)
A NVIDIA logo is shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 31, 2017. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Sets Monthly Record with Unprecedented Market Value Surge in January 

A NVIDIA logo is shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 31, 2017. (Reuters)
A NVIDIA logo is shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 in Los Angeles, California, US, July 31, 2017. (Reuters)

NVIDIA Corp experienced a record-breaking surge in market value in January, the largest monthly increase ever, driven by heightened optimism around artificial intelligence (AI), positive analyst projections, and the company's announcement of expanded AI offerings.

The world's most valuable chipmaker saw its market value expand by an unprecedented $296.52 billion to about $1.52 trillion, surpassing its previous high of $248.23 billion in gains seen in May 2023.

Last month, Nvidia's stock climbed to new heights following the announcement of new desktop graphics processors and advancements in AI-related components and software.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, the world's most valuable company, also enjoyed a robust increase in market value, adding $159.36 billion, largely attributed to the rising demand for its Azure cloud service.

The tech giant on Tuesday reported higher than estimated quarterly profit and revenue, although investors turned cautious about its rising costs that are expected to "increase materially" on a sequential basis.

As of Wednesday, Microsoft's market value stood at $2.95 trillion, outstripping Apple Inc's $2.85 trillion in market capital.

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms saw a strengthening in its market value last month, crossing back over the $1 trillion mark for the first time since September 2021.

Meta's stock surged over 14% to a record high $451 after the bell on Thursday, elevating its market capitalization by $148 billion to $1.16 trillion after the Facebook owner delivered a 25% jump in revenue to $40.1 billion for the December quarter and declared its first-ever dividend.

On the other end of the spectrum, Tesla Inc emerged as the weakest performer among the top 20 global companies by market cap, losing about 24.5% of its value over the last month due to concerns over slowing growth. CEO Elon Musk has cautioned that sales growth would be "notably lower" this year despite recent price reductions.

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US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
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US Defends Law Forcing Sale of TikTok App

This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)
This photograph taken in Mulhouse, eastern France on October 19, 2023, shows the logo of the social media video sharing app TikTok reflected in mirrors. (AFP)

The Justice Department late Friday filed its response to TikTok's civil suit aimed at derailing a law that would force the app to be sold or face a US ban.

TikTok's suit in a Washington federal court argues that the law violates First Amendment rights of free speech.

The US response counters that the law addresses national security concerns, not speech, and that TikTok's Chinese parent company ByteDance is not able to claim First Amendment rights here.

The filing details concerns that ByteDance could, and would, comply with Chinese government demands for data about US users or yield to pressure to censor or promote content on the platform, senior justice department officials said in a briefing.

"The goal of this law is to ensure that young people, old people and everyone in between is able to use the platform in a safe manner," a senior justice department official said.

"And to use it in a way confident that their data is not ultimately going back to the Chinese government and what they're watching is not being directed by or censored by the Chinese government."

The response argues that the law's focus on foreign ownership of TikTok takes it out of the realm of the First Amendment.

US intelligence agencies are concerned that China can "weaponize" mobile apps, justice department officials said.

"It's clear that the Chinese government has for years been pursuing large, structured datasets of Americans through all sorts of manner, including malicious cyber activity; including efforts to buy that data from data brokers and others, and including efforts to build sophisticated AI models that can utilize that data," a senior justice department official said.

TikTok has said the demanded divestiture is "simply not possible" -- and not on the timeline required.

The bill signed by President Joe Biden early this year set a mid-January 2025 deadline for TikTok to find a non-Chinese buyer or face a US ban.

The White House can extend the deadline by 90 days.

"For the first time in history, Congress has enacted a law that subjects a single, named speech platform to a permanent, nationwide ban, and bars every American from participating in a unique online community with more than one billion people worldwide," said the suit by TikTok and ByteDance.

- TikTok shutdown? -

ByteDance has said it has no plans to sell TikTok, leaving the lawsuit, which will likely go to the US Supreme Court, as its only option to avoid a ban.

"There is no question: the Act will force a shutdown of TikTok by January 19, 2025," the lawsuit said, "silencing (those) who use the platform to communicate in ways that cannot be replicated elsewhere."

TikTok first found itself in the crosshairs of former president Donald Trump's administration, which tried unsuccessfully to ban it.

That effort got bogged down in the courts when a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump's attempt, saying the reasons for banning the app were likely overstated and that free speech rights were in jeopardy.

The new effort signed by Biden was designed to overcome the same legal headaches, and some experts believe the US Supreme Court could be open to allowing national security considerations to outweigh free speech protection.

"We view the statute as a game changer from the arguments that were in play back in 2020," a senior justice department official said.

There are serious doubts that any buyer could emerge to purchase TikTok even if ByteDance would agree to the request.

Big tech's usual suspects, such as Facebook parent Meta or YouTube's Google, will likely be barred from snapping up TikTok over antitrust concerns, and others could not afford one of the world's most successful apps used by about 170 million people in the United States alone.