Business
South Korea’s ex-first lady Kim arrested

South Korea’s former first lady Kim Keon Hee was arrested late Tuesday over a range of charges, including stock manipulation and corruption, prosecutors said.
The arrest occurred hours after the Seoul Central District Court reviewed the prosecutors’ request for an arrest warrant against the 52-year-old.
The court granted the warrant, citing the risk of tampering with evidence, after prosecutors submitted an 848-page opinion laying out Kim’s alleged “unlawful acts”.
With the arrest, South Korea now has a former president and first lady both behind bars for the first time in the nation’s history.
The charges against Kim include violations of capital market and financial investment laws, as well as political funds laws.
The arrest caps a dramatic fall for the ex-first couple after former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s stunning martial law declaration on December 3, which saw soldiers deployed to parliament but was swiftly voted down by opposition MPs.
Yoon, a former top prosecutor, was impeached and removed from office in April over the martial law declaration, prompting the country to hold a snap election in June.
He has been under arrest and in detention since July 10.
Last week, Kim underwent hours-long questioning by prosecutors, who filed for her arrest warrant the next day.
“I sincerely apologise for causing trouble despite being a person of no importance,” Kim said as she arrived at the prosecutors’ office on Wednesday.
Controversy has long surrounded Kim, with lingering questions about her alleged role in stock manipulation.
Public criticism was reignited in 2022 when a left-wing pastor filmed himself presenting her with a Dior handbag that she appeared to accept.
She is also accused of interfering in the nomination process for MPs in Yoon’s party, a violation of election laws.
Yoon, as president, vetoed three special investigation bills passed by the opposition-controlled parliament that sought to probe the allegations against Kim, with the last veto issued in late November.
A week later, Yoon declared martial law.
Mug shot
Under prison regulations, Kim will have to change from her normal clothes into a khaki prison uniform and be assigned an inmate number.
She will also have to take a mug shot.
The ex-first lady is being held in a 10-square-meter (107-square-feet) solitary cell that has a fan but no air-conditioning, as a heat wave grips South Korea.
According to the prison’s official schedule, she was offered a regulation breakfast including bread, jam and sausages.
Local media reported that her cell includes a small table for eating and studying, a shelf, a sink and a toilet, but no bed.
While she would typically have been held at the same detention centre as her husband, prosecutors on Monday requested that she be detained at a separate facility about 20 kilometres (12.5 miles) away.
Upon the issuance of the warrant, the first lady’s Presidential Security Service protection was terminated immediately.
Kim can be held for up to 20 days as prosecutors prepare to formally indict her, legal expert Kim Nam-ju told AFP.
“Once Kim is indicted, she could remain detained for up to six months,” said lawyer Kim Nam-ju.
The former first lady can challenge the warrant in court as unlawful, “but given the current circumstances, there appears to be a high risk of evidence destruction, making it unlikely that the warrant will be revoked and the individual released,” he added.
“Another option is bail, but this too is not granted if there are concerns about the destruction of evidence.”
Business
Japan inflation holds steady ahead of BoJ rate decision – The Times of India
Japan’s inflation rate held steady in November, official data showed Friday ahead of the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision which could see central bankers raise interest rates to their highest level in 30 years.The hike would be the first since January and could potentially exacerbate turmoil in debt markets.Yields on Japanese government bonds have risen in recent weeks on worries about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s budget discipline, while the yen has weakened.The core consumer price index — which excludes volatile fresh food — rose three percent in November, the same rate as a month earlier, in line with market expectations.Takaichi, who formally took power in October, has promised to fight inflation as a major priority.Her government succeeded in getting parliament approval for an extra budget worth 18.3 trillion yen ($118 billion) this week to finance her massive stimulus package.She has long advocated for more government spending and easy monetary policy to spur growth.Since taking office, however, she has said monetary policy decisions should be left to the Bank of Japan (BoJ).The BoJ began hiking rates from below zero in March last year as figures signalled an end to the country’s “lost decades” of stagnation, with inflation surging.However, with worries about the global outlook and US tariffs growing, the bank paused its tightening measures at the start of 2025, with the last increase in January taking rates to their highest level in 17 years.The inflation figures for November showed rice prices up 37 percent year-on-year, the internal affairs ministry said. Rice prices have skyrocketed because of supply problems linked to a very hot summer in 2023 and panic-buying after a “megaquake” warning last year, amongst other factors.Japan’s economy contracted 0.6 percent in the third quarter, but BoJ governor Kazuo Ueda said last week that the impact of US tariffs was less than feared.“So far, US corporates have swallowed the burden of tariffs without fully passing (them) through to consumer prices,” Ueda told the Financial Times.At the same time, inflation has been above the BoJ’s target of two percent for some time.The majority of economists polled by Bloomberg expect the BoJ to raise its main rate from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, which would be the highest since 1995.
Business
Nike tops earnings estimates but shares fall as China sales plunge, tariffs hit profits
A shopper carries Nike bags in San Francisco, California, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Nike on Thursday posted quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates, as strength in North America helped to offset a plunge in China sales.
The company’s stock slid more than 6% in extended trading Thursday, as investors digested the weakness in China and the sustained hit Nike is taking from higher tariffs.
Here’s what Nike reported for its second fiscal quarter of 2026, according to consensus estimates from LSEG:
- Earnings per share: 53 cents vs. 38 cents expected
- Revenue: $12.43 billion vs. $12.22 billion expected
The athletic apparel retailer said sales in North America rose 9% to $5.63 billion. But revenue in its Greater China market dropped 17% to $1.42 billion.
The sneaker company is just over a year into CEO Elliott Hill’s turnaround strategy, focusing on regaining its growth and market share, clearing out old inventory and investing in wholesale relationships.
“Fiscal year ’26 continues to be a year of taking action to rightsize our classics business, return Nike digital to a premium experience, diversify our product portfolio, deepen our consumer connection, strengthen our partner relationships and realign our teams and leadership,” Hill said on a call with analysts. “And I say we’re in the middle inning of our comeback.”
“We’re nowhere near our potential,” he added.
Hill said Nike’s improvements in its China market are “not happening at the level or the pace we need to drive wider change,” though he said the country remains one of the company’s most powerful long-term opportunities.
Nike expects fiscal third quarter revenues to fall by a low single digit percentage, with modest growth in North America. It also anticipates gross margins will drop 1.75 to 2.25 percentage points – including a 3.15 percentage point hit from tariffs.
The company said wholesale revenues climbed 8% to $7.5 billion during the quarter. But direct sales — which were a focus for Nike in the years before Hill took over and moved away from the strategy — fell 8% to $4.6 billion.
Nike has also been feeling the impact of tariff increases. It said Thursday that its gross margin decreased by 3 percentage points and inventories dropped 3% primarily due to higher tariffs.
The sneaker company has been reporting weakness in its Converse brand, too. In its first fiscal quarter, Nike said Converse sales dropped 27% – on Thursday, it reported a 30% drop in revenues for the sneaker brand.
Despite the weakness in some parts of Nike’s business, the company highlighted some areas of strength and new initiatives ahead. CFO Matt Friend said on the call that Nike.com posted its best Black Friday ever this year, partially driven by its Air Jordan “Black Cat” launch.
Nike also plans to launch a new footwear platform in January called Nike Mind, which aims to help athletes prepare for performance and competition, Hill said on the call.
Nike has been making larger internal changes under Hill.
Earlier this month, Nike underwent leadership changes to “remove layers,” according to Hill. Under its “Win Now” strategy, the company announced that Chief Commercial Officer Craig Williams would leave the sneaker giant.
Hill called the shakeup a move “about growth and offense.”
“Collectively, these changes amount to us eliminating layers and better positioning Nike to continue to have an impact the way only Nike can,” Hill said in a statement at the time.
Nike shares have dropped more than 13% this year as of Thursday’s close.
Business
Trump signs executive order reclassifying cannabis, opening door to broader weed access
U.S. President Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office to sign executive orders, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Dec. 18, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana, loosening long-standing restrictions on the drug and marking the most consequential shift in U.S. cannabis policy in more than half a century.
The order, once finalized by the Drug Enforcement Administration, moves cannabis out of Schedule I classification — the most restrictive category under the Controlled Substances Act, alongside heroin and LSD — to a Schedule III classification, which encompasses substances with accepted medical use and a lower potential for abuse, such as ketamine and Tylenol with codeine.
“This action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems and more, including numerous veterans with service-related injuries, and older Americans who live with chronic medical problems that severely degrade their quality of life,” Trump said from the Oval Office on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, led by Dr. Mehmet Oz, is expected to launch a pilot program in April enabling certain Medicare-covered seniors to receive free, doctor-recommended CBD products, which must comply with all local and state laws on quality and safety, according to senior White House officials. The products must also come from a legally compliant source and undergo third-party testing for CBD levels and contaminants.
Shares of cannabis conglomerates were down following the announcement, likely from worries of new compeititon from international companies.
Trulieve’s stock finished the day down about 23%, Green Thumb Industries fell more than 16% and Tilray Brands fell about about 4% as of close on Thursday. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF, which tracks American operators, slid almost 27%.
“Millions of registered patients across the United States, many of them veterans, rely on cannabis for relief from chronic and debilitating symptoms. We commend the administration for taking this historic step. This is only the beginning,” Ben Kovler, founder and CEO of Green Thumb, said in a statement to CNBC.
The reclassification is viewed by many analysts as a financial lifeline for the cannabis industry. The move exempts companies from IRS Code Section 280E, allowing them to deduct standard expenses like rent and payroll for the first time. It also opens the door for banking access and institutional capital previously sidelined by compliance fears.
Many on Wall Street also expect the changes and the Medicare pilot to draw major pharmaceutical players into the sector to chase federally insured revenue.
While CBD has surged in popularity in recent years, with infused consumer goods ranging from seltzers to skin care, the Food and Drug Administration has stopped short of granting the compound its full backing.
Studies have found “inconsistent benefits” for targeted conditions, while FDA-funded research warns that prolonged CBD use can cause liver toxicity and interfere with other lifesaving medications.
Currently, the FDA has only approved one CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, for rare forms of epilepsy.
“I want to emphasize that the order … doesn’t legalize marijuana in any way, shape or form, and in no way sanctions its use as a recreational drug,” Trump said.
Experts and industry insiders told CNBC this week that a reclassification could pave the way for more research into the effects of CBD use.
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