Asian Stocks Slide as AI Valuation Fears and BOJ Uncertainty Weigh on Markets 
Nvidia Weighs Expanding H200 AI Chip Production as China Demand Surges 
Bank of Korea Downplays Liquidity’s Role in Weak Won and Housing Price Surge 
Ford Takes $19.5 Billion Charge as EV Strategy Shifts Toward Hybrids 
Trump Orders Blockade of Sanctioned Oil Tankers, Raising Venezuela Tensions and Oil Prices 
Asian Stocks Edge Higher as Tech Recovers, U.S. Economic Uncertainty Caps Gains 
Blackstone Leads $400 Million Funding Round in Cyera at $9 Billion Valuation 
RBA Unlikely to Cut Interest Rates in 2026 as Inflation Pressures Persist, Says Westpac 
Treasury Wine Estates Shares Plunge on Earnings Warning Amid U.S. and China Weakness 
United Airlines Tokyo-Bound Flight Returns to Dulles After Engine Failure 
Biren Technology Targets Hong Kong IPO to Raise $300 Million Amid China’s AI Chip Push 
China’s November Economic Data Signals Slowing Industrial Output and Weak Consumer Demand 
Shell M&A Chief Exits After BP Takeover Proposal Rejected 
New Zealand Budget Outlook Shows Prolonged Deficits Despite Economic Recovery Hopes 
HSBC’s $13.6 Billion Take-Private Offer for Hang Seng Bank Gains Board Backing 
Asian Currencies Slip as Dollar Strengthens; Indian Rupee Rebounds on Intervention Hopes 
FDA Says No Black Box Warning Planned for COVID-19 Vaccines Despite Safety Debate 
Toyota Motor’s president and chief executive officer, Akio Toyoda, is set to vacate his post on April 1. He is also the grandson of the automaker’s founder.
According to CNBC, although he is stepping away from the CEO and president role, Toyoda will remain in the company as the new chairman of the board. The current chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, will resign from his post but will also stay as a board member now.
It was reported the 66-year-old Toyoda had been Toyota Motor’s chief since 2009. He will be replaced by Lexus’ 53-year-old chief branding officer, Koji Sato. Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, and the executive reshuffle will take effect on the first day of April.
It was stated in the press release that the formal appointment of the members of the Board of Directors would also be made official after approval at the upcoming 119th Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting.
“I thought the best way to further Toyota’s transformation would be for me to become chairman in support of a new president, and this has led to today’s decision,” Toyoda shared during a webcast this week. “Chairman Uchiyamada has long supported me in all imaginable ways. In retrospect, these 13 years have been a period of struggling to survive one day after the next, and that is my honest feeling.”
The incoming Toyota chief, Koji Sato, also said, “Cars in the future will evolve in the concept of mobility itself. Amid such, I hope to preserve the essential value of the car and propose new forms of mobility.”
Finally, Sato has been leading Toyota’s Lexus unit and the GAZOO racing firm since 2020. He said on Thursday, Jan. 26, that as the new president and CEO, he would continue the company’s green efforts. “Energy security, for example, is a big challenge that the whole planet needs to face and the endeavor towards carbon neutrality will be one example of what we have to work on,” he said.
Photo by: Christina Telep/Unsplash
