China’s economy expanded 5.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, official National Bureau of Statistics data released on April 16 showed, beating Reuters and market forecasts (4.8%) and improving on a 4.5% pace in Q4. Quarterly growth was 1.3% (in line with forecasts). March industrial output rose 5.7% year-on-year while retail sales slowed to 1.7%. January–March fixed-asset investment grew 1.7%, and property investment plunged about 11.2% year-on-year. Exports were a bright spot for the quarter overall (January–March exports up double digits), but March export growth eased sharply to around 2.5%, reflecting higher energy and transport costs linked to the conflict in West Asia. Factory-gate prices rose in March for the first time in years. Beijing has front-loaded fiscal support, increased bond issuance and signalled continued accommodative monetary policy; the Politburo is set to review the outlook later in April. Markets reacted positively to the data with Chinese equities rising and the onshore yuan largely unchanged.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) reported a 58% jump in first-quarter net profit to NT$572.5 billion ($18.2 billion) and revenue up about 35% to NT$1.134 trillion as surging demand for AI chips drove record results. The world’s largest contract chipmaker forecast second-quarter sales of $39.0 billion to $40.2 billion and raised its 2026 revenue growth target to above 30% in U.S. dollar terms, saying capital spending will be at the high end of prior guidance to expand advanced-node capacity. Advanced 3-nanometre production now accounts for roughly a quarter of sales. Management flagged supply‑chain risks from Middle East tensions for specialty gases but said safety stocks mitigate near‑term disruption. Equipment supplier ASML, a key vendor to TSMC, raised its 2026 sales outlook after strong Q1 results and saw its shares rise as customers accelerate capacity expansion. Markets reacted with TSMC shares at record highs and gains for semiconductor-equipment stocks as analysts warn supply constraints and valuation risks amid an ongoing AI-driven investment cycle.

China’s economy accelerated to 5.0% year‑on‑year growth in Q1 2026, beating forecasts and posting a sequential expansion of 1.3% as manufacturing and exports powered an early‑year rebound. Industrial output rose 5.7% in March while retail sales lagged at 1.7%, underscoring weak domestic demand. March export growth slowed sharply to 2.5% month‑on‑month (after a combined January‑February surge), though exports for the January‑March period were still up about 14.7% year‑on‑year. Property investment remained a drag, falling double digits, and fixed‑asset investment growth softened. Policymakers have front‑loaded fiscal support, boosting bond issuance and spending, while the central bank is expected to keep policy accommodative but cautious. The outbreak of war in Iran has driven up energy and shipping costs, pushed factory‑gate prices out of deflation, and raised the risk that a protracted conflict will squeeze margins, slow global demand and hurt China’s export‑led recovery in coming quarters.

On April 15, 2026 New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed a pied-à-terre surcharge on second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more, a move backed by newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The governor and city officials said the annual levy, which would apply to non–primary residences, is expected to generate about $500 million a year and help close a roughly $5.4 billion city budget shortfall. Officials estimate the measure could affect about 13,000 units; precise rates and brackets are yet to be determined and the proposal is slated for inclusion in the state budget. Supporters argue the tax targets ultrawealthy out-of-city owners who use NYC real estate for wealth storage. Critics, including the Real Estate Board of New York, warn it could depress property values, weaken construction activity and raise costs. Similar proposals have failed before amid heavy industry lobbying, and details of implementation, legal challenges and impact on migration patterns remain unresolved.

Meta Platforms has expanded a multiyear partnership with Broadcom to develop several generations of custom AI processors for its Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) program, extending the tie-up through 2029. The companies said the agreement includes an initial commitment of more than one gigawatt of compute capacity — described as the first phase of a planned multi‑gigawatt rollout — and covers chip design, advanced packaging and Broadcom Ethernet networking to link clusters. Meta’s MTIA 300 already powers some ranking and recommendation workloads, with three further MTIA generations expected through 2027; the chips are slated to use a 2‑nanometer process. Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan will step down from Meta’s board and take an advisory role on the chip strategy. The announcement lifted Broadcom shares by roughly 3–4% in extended trading and prompted upbeat analyst commentary, though some market reports flagged Broadcom’s rich valuation and recent insider selling. Meta has signalled heavy AI infrastructure spending, and the deal sits alongside its other GPU and custom‑chip commitments as it scales compute across dozens of data centres.

Allbirds Inc., the San Francisco shoe maker once valued at about $4 billion, announced in mid-April 2026 that it will sell its footwear assets and rebrand as NewBird AI to focus on AI compute infrastructure. The company agreed in late March to sell the Allbirds brand and related assets to American Exchange Group for roughly $39 million, and disclosed a $50 million convertible financing facility with an unnamed institutional investor to fund purchases of high-performance graphics processing units (GPUs). The move, announced April 15–16 and subject to shareholder approval at a special meeting expected May 18, 2026, aims to position the company as a GPU-as-a-Service and AI-native cloud provider. The stock, which had traded below $3 in recent sessions, spiked intraday by several hundred percent—peaking near 600%—after the announcement. Filings indicate the company may remove references to its prior public-benefit corporate status. Executives say proceeds would be used to lease or sell dedicated compute capacity to enterprises, developers and research groups; the company concedes the plan is early-stage and contingent on closing the financing and approvals.