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On April 24th, StepAudio released its next-generation automatic speech recognition model, StepAudio 2.5 ASR. According to reports, this model is the first to introduce large language model inference acceleration technology into the field of speech recognition, significantly improving both inference speed and transcription accuracy. It is primarily designed for scenarios such as meeting transcription, voice interaction, input methods, media content processing, and long audio recognition.

April 24th - Analysts say the European Central Bank (ECB) will raise interest rates once in June in response to the situation in Iran, then reverse this move next year to protect economic growth. In a survey, all but one respondent believed the ECB would keep the deposit rate unchanged at 2% on April 30th, but would raise it by 25 basis points at the subsequent meeting, as new forecasts would more clearly show the impact of the conflict on the economy. Of those who expect a rate hike in June, half also anticipate at least one rate cut by the end of 2027. The median forecast shows the deposit rate returning to 2% in September of that year.

On April 24th, at the Beijing Auto Show, Geely Automobile Group created its first independent technology ecosystem booth, where it unveiled China's first natively developed Robotaxi prototype, the EvaCab. The booth also showcased a series of cutting-edge technologies, including the 900V architecture, the Shield Gold Brick all-solid-state battery, the intelligent egg-shaped cabin, low-orbit satellites, and the methanol ecosystem, demonstrating Geely's full entry into the era of AI 2.0.

April 24 - According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, since the 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Sanriku region of Japan on April 20, 28 perceptible earthquakes have occurred in the area as of 11:00 AM local time on April 24. The Japan Meteorological Agency urges residents in surrounding areas to continue to prepare for potential disasters.

On April 24, 2026, DeepSeekV4-Pro and DeepSeekV4-Flash were officially released and open-sourced. Ascend has always supported the DeepSeek series models, and this time, through close collaboration of core technologies from both companies, Ascend's entire supernode product line now supports DeepSeekV4 models. The Ascend 950 significantly improves inference performance by reducing attention computation and memory access overhead through the integration of kernel and multi-stream parallel technology. Combined with various quantization algorithms, it achieves high-throughput, low-latency DeepSeekV4 model inference deployment. The Ascend A3 supernode series products are also fully compatible, and a training reference implementation based on the Ascend A3 supernode is provided to facilitate quick fine-tuning by users.

According to the Telegraph, Trump threatened Starmer with “high tariffs” over the technology tax issue.

April 24 – According to Al Jazeera, Kenneth Katzman, a former Iran analyst at the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C., stated that while Iran has no new oil exports due to the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports, Tehran currently has 160 to 170 million barrels of oil "floating at sea" on ships around the world. Katzman said, "I learned from an Iranian professor that based on these inventories, despite the U.S. maritime blockade, Tehran could still have a revenue stream until August. There's still a long time until August. Can Trump hold out until August? Probably not. So he may have to consider drastic escalation to get the results he wants, otherwise he will have to accept an agreement that is not as good as he envisioned."

On April 24th, major Hong Kong stock indices opened lower but rallied, with the Hang Seng Tech Index rebounding and turning positive near the midday close. At midday, the Hang Seng Index was down 0.2%, while the Hang Seng Tech Index was up 0.34%. Some heavyweight tech stocks that had been declining recovered, with Baidu (09888.HK) surging over 2% at one point, Alibaba (09988.HK) also closing higher, and Tencent Holdings (00700.HK), Xiaomi Group (01810.HK), and JD.com (09618.HK) all falling within 1%. Semiconductor stocks saw significant gains, led by Hua Hong Semiconductor (01347.HK), while oil stocks, brain-computer interface concept stocks, and robotics concept stocks also rose.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Briden: The stock market is currently too high and is expected to fall.

On April 24th, it was learned from the State Taxation Administration that tax authorities are continuing their special campaign to address tax-related issues arising from irregularities in investment promotion, and are thoroughly rectifying tax-related problems associated with the "invoice-based economy." Invoice data shows that in the first quarter of this year, the invoice amount for six industries with a high concentration of enterprises involved in irregular investment promotion—including comprehensive utilization of waste resources, recycling of renewable materials, wholesale of mineral products, building materials and chemical products, organizational management services, information technology consulting services, and road freight services—decreased by 4.4% year-on-year, a decrease of 3.1 percentage points compared to the whole of last year. The rectification efforts were particularly effective in the central region, where the invoice amount for these six industries decreased by 6.7% year-on-year.

April 24 - The State Council announced the appointment and removal of state personnel. Wang Wenling was removed from her position as Vice Chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund.

The China Earthquake Networks Center officially reported that a 5.7-magnitude earthquake occurred at 11:18 a.m. on April 24 in the eastern Mediterranean (34.85 degrees north latitude, 25.95 degrees east longitude), with a focal depth of 10 kilometers.

AI concept stocks in the Hong Kong stock market plummeted, with MINIMAX-W (00100.HK) falling nearly 5% and Zhipu (02513.HK) once dropping more than 7%.

GFZ (German Center for Geosciences): A 5.95-magnitude earthquake struck Crete, Greece.

Euro Stoxx 50 futures fell 0.92%; UK FTSE 100 futures fell more than 1%; German DAX 30 futures fell 0.5%.

April 24th - According to Al Jazeera, former US Ambassador to Bahrain Adam Ereli stated, "While the US blockade of Iranian ports and the seizure of ships carrying Iranian oil as a policy 'makes sense,' it may not achieve its intended effect due to domestic political considerations in the US. The Iranians are prepared for this possibility. They have their own plans. They have alternative methods to store or sell their oil, and even if their oil runs out, they have ways to survive under a very harsh blockade and sanctions regime. Frankly, I think Iran will outlast Trump's patience and the patience of the American people. Remember, this war is not just about moving soldiers, ships, and planes on a map. It also involves domestic political factors in the US. Trump is extremely sensitive to political winds. For this reason, I think Trump is currently pursuing this Iran strategy on one hand, and facing an election strategy on the other. The question is, on which issue will he concede first?"

JPMorgan Chase lowered its price target for Blackstone Group (BX.N) from $142 to $136.

On April 24th, it was reported that in March 2026, the national electricity market transaction volume reached 635.5 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 25.9%. From January to March 2026, the cumulative national electricity market transaction volume reached 1,841.6 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 25.6%. In terms of transaction scope, intra-provincial transactions amounted to 1,472.6 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 29.3%; inter-provincial and inter-regional transactions amounted to 369 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 12.6%. In terms of transaction types, medium- and long-term transactions totaled 1,594.9 billion kWh; spot transactions totaled 246.7 billion kWh. Green electricity transactions reached 75.6 billion kWh, a year-on-year increase of 3.1%.

On April 24th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the "Annual Report on China's Work in Combating Infringement and Counterfeiting (2025)". Bai Qingyuan, Deputy Director of the State Administration for Market Regulation, stated that in recent years, facing the new challenges brought about by the rapid development of online transactions, especially live-streaming e-commerce, the State Administration for Market Regulation has continuously strengthened the construction of institutional mechanisms and enhanced the routine supervision of the platform economy. This includes: 1) improving rules and regulations; 2) strengthening regulatory enforcement; and 3) deepening administrative guidance. Going forward, the Administration will continue to strengthen the supervision of online transactions, especially live-streaming e-commerce, and investigate and punish all kinds of illegal and irregular activities in accordance with the law to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.