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On February 8th, Lu Zhe, chief economist at Dongwu Securities, pointed out that from a medium- to long-term price structure perspective, gold has been in a continuous upward trend since 2020, but the recent price movement has changed. The time it took for London gold to rise from $2,000/ounce to $3,000/ounce, from $3,000/ounce to $4,000/ounce, and from $4,000/ounce to $5,000/ounce has shortened, and the price increase slope shows an accelerating characteristic. He believes this phenomenon reflects that against the backdrop of rising macroeconomic uncertainty and increased risk premiums, the way funds price gold has gradually shifted from "trend-driven allocation" to "emotion and expectation-driven," and the price is reacting to positive factors faster than in previous periods. This accelerated price movement, while strengthening the medium- to long-term upward trend, also means increased sensitivity to external disturbances in the short term.

On February 8th, Fujian Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development," which proposes to systematically advance the construction of "good houses." This includes accelerating the construction of a new real estate development model and improving the "market + guarantee" housing supply system. The document also calls for implementing a housing quality improvement project to enhance the entire housing chain, from design and construction to maintenance and services, and vigorously promoting the construction of safe, comfortable, green, and smart "good houses." Furthermore, it aims to build a modern industrial system for residential construction. The document also emphasizes steadily advancing the renovation of urban villages and dilapidated housing, supporting the independent renewal and reconstruction of old housing, continuously promoting the renovation of old urban residential communities, and implementing an action plan to improve the quality of property services.

February 8th - Japanese voters will head to polling stations on Sunday (January 22nd) to cast their votes for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government. Takaichi hopes to consolidate her power and secure clear authorization for her spending and investment plans, which have unsettled some investors. Takaichi has stated she will stake her job on the election results and will resign if the ruling coalition fails to win a majority in the more powerful House of Representatives. Takaichi currently holds a slim majority of 233 of the 465 seats in the House of Representatives. Polls suggest she is poised for a landslide victory. The Nikkei reports that the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its smaller ruling coalition partner, the Japan Restoration Party, could win over 300 seats. The Mainichi Shimbun states that the LDP alone could win 300 seats, meaning the ruling coalition could secure two-thirds of the House of Representatives. Despite this, the Middle Way Reform Coalition appears to be struggling to win over voters. Some polls suggest the party may ultimately lose half of its seats. In a rare winter election, snowfall in the north could also reduce voter turnout and weaken support for Kaohsiung, especially given that she relies on personal popularity rather than organized voting to increase the Liberal Democratic Party's seats.

February 8th - The "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development" was recently issued, proposing to promote the coordinated development of large, medium, and small cities. It supports Fuzhou in accelerating its construction as a modern international city; Xiamen in building a leading demonstration zone for high-quality development; Zhangzhou in building a green intelligent manufacturing base on the southeast coast, and a modern, livable, ecological garden city; Quanzhou innovating and developing the "Jinjiang Experience," building a 21st-century "Maritime Silk Road City" and a strong intelligent manufacturing city; Sanming and Longyan in building high-quality development demonstration zones in the old revolutionary base area of western Fujian; Putian in implementing the Mulan River governance concept, building a pioneering city for green and high-quality development; Nanping in building the core area of the Greater Wuyi Cultural Tourism Circle; Ningde in building the core area of the new energy and new materials industry; and the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone in a new round of opening-up and development. It supports various localities in exploring urban development positioning that suits their local conditions. It also accelerates the extension of the functions of central cities, driving the development of small and medium-sized cities through industrial transfer and "enclave economy."

On February 8th, Fujian Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development," which proposes to improve urban infrastructure. This includes accelerating the construction of the Fuzhou and Xiamen subway projects; optimizing the hierarchical structure of the urban road network, removing bottlenecks and congestion, and optimizing the urban freight network; strengthening the construction of parking and charging facilities; continuously enhancing the deep coverage of 5G, 5G-A, and gigabit optical networks; coordinating the construction of computing infrastructure and IoT sensing facilities; and encouraging qualified cities to pilot data infrastructure construction. The document also promotes the upgrading and digital transformation of traditional infrastructure and the construction of underground integrated pipe corridors according to local conditions. Furthermore, it accelerates the construction of a modern water network to enhance flood disaster prevention, water resource allocation, and urban and rural water supply security capabilities. Finally, it promotes the high-quality development of the urban power distribution network.

On February 8th, the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Fujian Provincial People's Government issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Urban Development," which proposes to enhance urban development momentum through city-specific policies. The document calls for promoting the expansion and upgrading of urban industrial parks, adhering to intelligent, green, and integrated development. It emphasizes consolidating and enhancing the pillar industry of manufacturing, and cultivating strategic emerging industry clusters such as optoelectronic information, integrated circuits, and new energy. It also calls for planning and constructing future industries, developing new productive forces according to local conditions. Furthermore, it promotes intelligent construction, cultivates a modern construction industry chain, and accelerates the transformation and upgrading of the construction industry. The document also encourages the active development of first-of-its-kind, silver-haired, low-altitude, cultural tourism, and marine economies, fostering new consumption scenarios and new business models. It supports Xiamen in carrying out pilot work for the construction of an internationalized consumption environment and accelerates the creation of distinctive cultural blocks, nighttime cultural and tourism consumption clusters, tourism and leisure blocks, and intangible cultural heritage characteristic blocks.

February 8th - Voting began at 7:00 AM local time on February 8th for the Japanese House of Representatives election. Voting will conclude at 8:00 PM, except in some areas. The vote counting will then begin. This election involves contesting 465 seats in the House of Representatives, including 289 single-election seats and 176 proportional representation seats. The House of Representatives has a legally mandated four-year term, but under pressure from incumbent Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, it was dissolved early on January 23rd, just one year and three months after the last election.

Musk: Once solar power generation, robotics manufacturing, chip manufacturing, and AI form a closed loop, traditional currencies will become an obstacle. What really matters will be (power generation) capacity and output, not the US dollar.

February 7th - US President Trump tweeted: "We need more competition to fight our enemies—the national television networks that spread fake news. Facilitating a good deal like Nexstar-Tegna will help combat fake news because it will bring more, higher-level, and more sophisticated competition. Those who oppose it don't fully understand the benefits for them, but they will in the future. Get this deal done!"

February 7th - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a message on the 7th local time, stating that he received a briefing from the Ukrainian negotiating team following their talks with the US and Russia. The Ukrainian negotiating team provided him with a detailed overview of the progress of the negotiations. He stated that Ukraine needs to achieve substantial results, and one of the most important foundations for a peaceful resolution is effective security guarantees.

February 7th - While the control dispute at Nexperia remains unresolved, another Chinese acquisition of a British chip company is attracting increasing attention. February 7th was the deadline set by the UK government for the mandatory sale of the FTDI acquisition, subject to national security review. This overseas acquisition by China, completed in 2021, is now entering its final countdown to mandatory sale. Back in November 2024, the UK government formally notified the Chinese consortium that it must transfer all its shares in Future Technology Devices International Limited (FTDI), a UK USB bridge chip company, by the stipulated time. The UK cited the National Security and Investments Act (NSIA), which came into effect in 2022, citing "potential threats to national security." An industry insider stated that the Chinese consortium has been trying to secure more time. The latest extension application is still awaiting a response from the UK, and based on past experience, there is still a certain probability of the extension being approved.

February 7th - It was learned from the Ministry of Water Resources that, in order to further improve the construction, operation, and management mechanisms of major water conservancy projects, the Ministry of Water Resources and the National Development and Reform Commission recently issued the "Implementation Opinions on Improving the Construction, Operation, and Management Mechanisms of Major Water Conservancy Projects." Major water conservancy projects are important infrastructure for promoting high-quality economic and social development, playing a crucial supporting role in ensuring flood control, water supply, food security, and ecological security. The opinions are divided into four parts: general requirements, improving the high-quality construction mechanism, improving the high-level operation mechanism, and improving the high-efficiency management mechanism. The opinions require that, focusing on the national water network construction goals of "complete systems, safety and reliability, intensive and efficient, green and intelligent, smooth circulation, and orderly regulation," the government should guide and the market should participate, coordinating "hard investment" and "soft construction," improving the construction and operation mechanism of projects with clear responsibilities, diversified investment, and a focus on both quality and efficiency, and forming a comprehensive, data-driven, and efficient management and guarantee system to achieve high-quality construction, high-level operation, and high-efficiency management of major water conservancy projects.

Algeria plans to cancel its air services agreement with the United Arab Emirates.

February 7th - A Beijing Municipal Market Supervision Work Conference was held on February 7th. The conference revealed that this year's focus will be on investigating and punishing monopolistic practices in public utilities and the platform economy, as well as addressing prominent issues such as unfair competition online.

On February 7th, local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a war report stating that in the past 24 hours, in response to attacks by Ukraine on civilian infrastructure targets within Russia, the Russian military launched a large-scale strike against Ukrainian military energy and transportation infrastructure using sea-based and air-based long-range high-precision weapons, including the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. All designated targets were hit. In addition, Russian air defense systems shot down one guided-missile bomb and 168 fixed-wing drones belonging to the Ukrainian military. Earlier that day, the Ukrainian Air Force posted on social media that from the evening of February 6th to the early morning of February 7th, the Russian military launched a large-scale air strike against key Ukrainian infrastructure using 39 missiles, including two Zircon hypersonic missiles, and 408 drones.

The Ukrainian General Staff stated that its forces attacked an oil depot in Russia's Saratov region.

February 7 - Xu Yiding, a member of the Party Committee and Vice President of the Agricultural Development Bank of China, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and law and is currently under disciplinary review and supervisory investigation by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission.

February 7 - It was learned on February 7 local time that Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mousavi stated that the Iranian military remains on high alert and any threat, aggression, or miscalculation against Iran will be met with a decisive, swift, and regrettable response.

On February 7th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the United States and Russia might reach a bilateral agreement affecting Ukraine without Kyiv's involvement. Zelenskyy said, "Given the potential risks, the Ukrainian delegation expressed the position that if there is any bilateral agreement between Russia and the United States, the clauses related to Ukraine cannot contradict the Ukrainian constitution." He appeared to be referring to the territorial issue. Zelenskyy indicated that Kyiv had received signals that Washington and Moscow might sign bilateral documents, including those related to economic cooperation. He said, "Intelligence indicates that Russia has proposed the so-called 'Dmitriev Plan' to the United States, totaling approximately $12 trillion." He added that Kyiv had also seen some indications that a potential US-Russia bilateral document might include clauses related to Ukraine.