Highlights for this morning: TikTok in the US has split from ByteDance, gold price nears $5000

Gold, silver and platinum hit all-time highs due to geopolitical risks and pressure on the US Federal Reserve. Tesla shares rose sharply after Elon Musk announced the launch of robotaxi rides in Austin without the use of a security checker. TikTok finalized the separation of its U.S. business from China's ByteDance. About these and other topics - in our review of key events by the morning of January 23.

The joint venture to which TikTok's U.S. assets are being transferred has officially been created ahead of a deadline set by Donald Trump to separate the service from China's ByteDance, CNBC reports. Adam Presser, who previously oversaw TikTok's data security in the US, was appointed CEO.

Trump said that the deal was agreed with the participation of the Chinese side, but Beijing did not publicly confirm it. The finalization of the deal puts an end to the long-running conflict over TikTok in the United States and reduces the risk of banning the application, which is used by more than 200 million Americans, the channel said.

Tesla shares rose more than 4% after CEO Elon Musk said on social network X that the company's robotaxis in Austin have started making trips without the use of a safety checker, Yahoo Finance writes.

Tesla AI division head Ashok Elluswamy added in a separate post that the service is "starting with a few fully autonomous cars that work alongside a broader fleet of robotaxis with safety controllers, and their share will increase over time."

Gold prices approached the $5000 per ounce mark: quotations updated the record above $4967, showing almost 8% growth for the week amid the weakening dollar, Bloomberg reports. Silver and platinum also reached historic highs as risks to the global economy and currencies push investors to protective assets, the agency explains.

The rally is supported by geopolitical tensions and Donald Trump's statements that have increased doubts about the Fed's independence, Bloomberg notes.

Revolut has abandoned plans to buy a bank in the US and is instead considering applying for a banking license in the country, expecting accelerated approval under Donald Trump's administration, the Financial Times has learned. According to the newspaper, the company is consulting with regulators and believes deregulation could make that path faster than an M&A deal, which requires approvals and the retention of offline branches.

Although no final decision has been made, Revolut cites the US market as key to growth, notes the FT.

Netflix is confident it will win the support of Warner Bros Discovery shareholders on its $82.7bn bid to buy the movie and TV studios, the company's co-CEO Greg Peters told the Financial Times. He said Paramount's rival $108 billion bid for Skydance has not received notable interest and looks unrealistic.

Peters emphasized that Netflix's all-cash terms provide more certainty to the deal compared to Paramount's bid, much of which is financed with debt. Earlier, the board of directors of Warner Bros. Discovery rejected Paramount's improved offer, and Netflix converted its own to an all-cash format, hoping to accelerate the deal's closing and allay investor concerns.

Capital One announced it will buy payments startup Brex for $5.15 billion, according to the bank's fourth-quarter earnings report, CNBC reports. The deal will be paid equally in cash and shares.

For the head of the bank Richard Fairbank this is another major deal after the purchase of Discover Financial for $35 billion in 2025, the channel points out. Capital One said that the deal will accelerate business development in the corporate payments segment.

- Japan's broad Topix index was up 0.39 percent, while the Nikkei 225 was up 0.26 percent in Jan. 23 trading.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 0.38%. CSI 300 index of mainland China was falling by 0.32%.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index rose 0.68% and the Kosdaq rose 2.33%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.13 percent.

- S&P 500 futures were up 0.24%, Nasdaq Composite futures were up 0.26% and Dow Jones Industrial Average exchange-traded contracts were up 0.12%.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor