On December 15, 2025, OpenAI was selected as Yahoo Finance's Company of the Year even as it carried the largest losses ever recorded, tied to $1.4 trillion in spending plans. The firm shifted into a for-profit structure, struck massive deals with Microsoft, Oracle, AMD, Nvidia and others, and now reports 800 million weekly active users, $13 billion in 2025 revenue, and a private valuation of $500 billion. HSBC projects a $207 billion funding gap by 2030, while analysts warn that ambitious chip and data center investments have rattled partners and heightened competitive and financial risks.

Bitcoin dropped from the low $92,000 area to around $87,000 over the weekend as trading liquidity remained extremely thin. The move unfolded during slow Sunday hours while traders stayed cautious ahead of key economic data, and major altcoins also extended their double-digit monthly losses on muted volumes.

HashKey Holdings Ltd. raised HK$1.6 billion, roughly $206 million, by pricing its Hong Kong initial public offering at HK$6.68 per share, close to the top of the HK$5.95–HK$6.95 marketing range. The company sold 240.6 million shares amid strong demand, while its debut comes during a busy December for Hong Kong listings and a volatile period for the broader crypto market.

Tesla's long-serving directors realized more than $3 billion from legacy option awards as shares surged. The board halted new stock grants in 2020 and froze compensation in 2021 amid litigation. Reported pay from 2018–2024 remained far above peers, while a spokesperson said directors attended 58 meetings in 2024.

On December 15, 2025, markets prepared for a backlog of U.S. data delayed by a prolonged government shutdown. The week's schedule features October retail sales and the November jobs report on Tuesday, November CPI and the December Philly Fed index on Thursday, and October PCE, November existing home sales, and Michigan surveys on Friday.

According to officials, Japan will begin selling more than $500 billion in ETFs next month and will proceed at an unusually slow pace to avoid market stress. The Bank of Japan set the annual sale at ¥330 billion at its September board meeting, a rate that would take around 112 years if left unchanged.

Germany's exports to China have fallen by a quarter since 2019, while imports from China have continued to climb, driving the 2025 trade deficit toward €88 billion. In response, Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other officials are backing measures such as shielding domestic steelmakers, tightening bans on Chinese components in networks and promoting "buy-European" rules, as industry groups call for diversification and new trade defenses.

At the Central Economic Work Conference on Monday, President Xi Jinping criticized inflated metrics and vanity projects, urging "solid", fact-based growth and accountability. Official data showed fixed-asset investment fell 2.6% in January–November, while Moore Threads' shares, up 613% since listing, dropped as much as 6.9% after a filing revealed 7.5 billion yuan would go into deposit products.

Gulf equities retreated on Sunday after crude ended the week down 4% and profit-taking curbed risk appetite. Saudi Arabia's main index fell 1.2% to 10,589, with Al Rajhi Bank down 1.3% and Saudi Basic Industries Corp off 1.2%. Qatar slipped 0.4% to 10,855, while Kuwait and Oman edged up 0.1%.