Dollar Near Two-Week High as Stock Rout, AI Concerns and Global Events Drive Market Volatility 
Prudential Financial Reports Higher Q4 Profit on Strong Underwriting and Investment Gains 
South Korea Assures U.S. on Trade Deal Commitments Amid Tariff Concerns 
Oil Prices Slide on US-Iran Talks, Dollar Strength and Profit-Taking Pressure 
Trump Lifts 25% Tariff on Indian Goods in Strategic U.S.–India Trade and Energy Deal 
Silver Prices Plunge in Asian Trade as Dollar Strength Triggers Fresh Precious Metals Sell-Off 
Uber Ordered to Pay $8.5 Million in Bellwether Sexual Assault Lawsuit 
Dollar Steadies Ahead of ECB and BoE Decisions as Markets Turn Risk-Off 
Baidu Approves $5 Billion Share Buyback and Plans First-Ever Dividend in 2026 
Trump’s Inflation Claims Clash With Voters’ Cost-of-Living Reality 
Thailand Inflation Remains Negative for 10th Straight Month in January 
Vietnam’s Trade Surplus With US Jumps as Exports Surge and China Imports Hit Record 
Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
TSMC Eyes 3nm Chip Production in Japan with $17 Billion Kumamoto Investment 
Japanese Pharmaceutical Stocks Slide as TrumpRx.gov Launch Sparks Market Concerns 
RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal 
Microsoft will not be acquiring Discord anymore as they have already ended their talks without positive results. It was said that instant messaging and digital distribution platform turned down the Washington-based tech company’s $10 billion offer.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the sales talks between Microsoft and Discord are ending, and despite having three other major companies that are interested in buying the company, it made the decision to just stay independent. Discord initially planned to sell itself, and now it has dropped this option based on the latest information.
Discord’s next step
It was last month when the news about Microsoft’s interest in acquiring Discord first surfaced. As per CNBC, Microsoft is interested because Discord is popular with gamers, so it is perfect for the former’s Xbox business.
In fact, the majority of Discord’s users are video game players who use the app to talk about the game in real-time or by posting on the message board. This format is said to fit well with Xbox’s future business as it can help to turn it into something more than just a video game console.
Also, Microsoft is in the midst of building an online gaming service that will allow players to stream their Xbox games, and Discord will be useful in this. However, it seems that the acquisition will not happen anymore.
In any case, according to Bloomberg, Epic Games, Twitter, and Amazon were also vying to acquire Discord, but now that it has decided to remain independent, it may consider public listing instead to grow the company further. This means that Microsoft and the others just lost their chance to acquire that app and its 140 million monthly users.
Microsoft’s other acquisition project
Meanwhile, Microsoft is still busy even if earlier talks with Discord were not productive. It has not stopped working on strategizing to expand the company and offer the best services to the public.
In fact, it is also trying to buy Nuance Communications for an all-cash deal worth $19.6 billion. And this deal has been successful as per the latest reports. It was said that in the agreement, Microsoft will buy Nuance for $56.00 a share, and the cash payment is inclusive of the computer software tech company’s net debt.
