TheChek News Flow

- Hope US will earnestly fulfill its commitments and provide fair, open, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.

On chip tariffs:

- China has lodged representation with the us through the China-US consultation mechanism

- China does not agree with conclusions of US section 301 investigation

- Urges the US to correct 'erroneous practices' as soon as possible and cancel relevant measures

On US Defence report:

- US Report distorts china's defence policy, China firmly opposes this

- China views and deals with ties with India from strategic and long term perspective

On rare earth exports to the US:

- Fluctuations in trade data are normal

- China is committed to the security and stability of the global supply chain

On Japan:

- Urge the Japanese side to put an end to its 'false' narratives, and halt 'targeted' deployment against China

On US arms sales to Taiwan:

- Urges US to correct 'wrong doing'

- US actions 'speeding up the threat of war in the Taiwan Strait'

- The Splits consist of (i) an absorption-type split in which the Company will succeed the data center business of IDC Frontier Inc. (hereinafter “IDCF”), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, as well as customer contracts related to its cloud and network services (hereinafter “Split (i)”), and (ii) an absorption-type split in which IDCF will succeed the Company’s cloud services “White Cloud ASPIRE” and “White Cloud Desktop Service Standard” (hereinafter “Split (ii)”).

- With respect to the data center business, its importance as core infrastructure supporting an AI-driven society is increasing. Accordingly, pursuant to the Split (i), this business will be succeeded by the Company and enhanced and advanced as a next-generation business.

- The Split (i) will be an absorption-type split with the Company as the successor company and IDCF as the splitting company. Split (ii) will be an absorption-type split with the Company as the splitting company and IDCF as the successor company.

- Results of operations of the department to be succeeded due to the Split (i) (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2025) Revenue: JPY 16,552 million (excluding sales to the Company)

- Since these are splits between the Company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, the effect of the Splits on the Company's consolidated results of operations is immaterial.

The best prediction for 2025 would have been predicting the soaring growth of prediction markets. My prediction for 2026 is it will be a tough year for prediction markets.

My colleagues Sara Germano and Yueqi Yang chronicled the stunning rise of these markets last weekend. They focused on the dramatic growth in sports betting and the tumult this has caused in college and professional sports. That’s one piece of the story—there are plenty more.

Until this year, prediction markets mostly drew attention during big elections as an alternative to voter polls. The markets are dominated by Kalshi and Polymarket, which got the usual spikes in trading last fall followed by the usual post-election slowdown.

Prediction markets let people bet against each on everything from economic statistics to celebrity wedding dates. Whoever bets right gets the money.

This year, the prediction markets embraced sports betting. Instead of fading into the background, they boomed again. In one recent week, the two exchanges did more than $2.5 billion in sports trading volume, topping last year’s election. Now sports betting accounts for two-thirds of Kalshi’s spot trading and 40% of Polymarket’s.

However, sports betting put Kalshi and Polymarket in conflict with three powerful entities: state governments, which regulate sports betting and take in billions in tax revenue from it; the sports leagues, which are already facing several betting-related scandals, and the major sports betting companies themselves, FanDuel and DraftKings.

The business is growing fast. Last month Kalshi told investors it was on an annualized pace for between $600 million and $700 million in net revenue. That has attracted a range of new competitors, including Coinbase, digital brokerage Robinhood, President Donald Trump’s social media company, and the sports-betting companies themselves. Many of these are partnering with Kalshi and Polymarket to get going.

While the companies are excited about sports betting, Americans are not.

A Pew Research Center poll over the summer showed that 43% of Americans said sports betting is bad for society, up from 34% three years ago. Just 7% think sports betting is a good thing, while the remainder say it’s neither good nor bad. The biggest shifts against sports betting came in the industry’s two biggest demographics: men overall and people under 29. Democrats and Republicans actually agree on the issue, with 43% of each party’s supporters saying it’s a bad thing.

Now, let me say a little more about the prediction I mentioned at the beginning—because next year, the hottest market for predictions could be the fate of prediction markets themselves. States, which won the right to regulate sports betting in a 2018 Supreme Court decision, are already fighting against these markets. The markets say they are federally regulated, so they can take wagers even in states where sports betting is illegal. They also argue that what happens on their sites isn’t sports betting—rather, they’ve created markets for contracts tied to the outcome of events.

State regulators are not buying that argument. That’s not a surprise, given they take in billions in tax revenue from sports betting—and New York state alone does $1 billion a year. Prediction markets don’t pay state gambling taxes, so any shift from state-regulated betting to the prediction markets means lost revenue for the states.

The states also argue they have built serious regulatory structures around sports betting, including efforts to help problem gamblers. The federal markets regulator that oversees prediction markets hasn’t done any of that.

Another powerful force is states like California and Utah where sports betting is illegal, yet have been flooded by prediction markets offering just that.

The dispute between the states’ regulatory authority and the prediction markets seems headed for the Supreme Court, as the markets insist that federal oversight gives them latitude to take wagers nationwide.

Kalshi and Polymarket aren’t going to shrink from this fight, and they enjoy powerful allies with deep political connections too, including their venture capital backers as well as the crypto companies. (Cryptocurrencies are often used to fund bets.)

While the Trump family is creating its own prediction market, it also has close ties to the industry’s big players. Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Kalshi and Polymarket. Earlier this year, 1789 Capital, an investment firm backed by the president’s family, put money into Polymarket. The prediction market in October also got an investment worth up to $2 billion from the Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The wife of ICE’s chief executive is a member of the Trump administration.

There’s other excitement on tap. The NFL, the NBA and the NCAA have complained in different ways about the impact the prediction markets can have on sports and the regulation around prediction markets. The leagues are highly sensitive to sports betting, having faced some scandals tied to the incumbent sports betting companies. Both prediction markets say they don’t offer some of the bets that led to the sports scandals.

Not all leagues are fighting the prediction markets. The NHL has signed commercial partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, saying the deals help it “promote consumer protection and integrity.”

There’s a bigger integrity issue facing prediction markets than sports scandals. These markets are vulnerable to manipulation by people who know the outcome of events that are being traded, or by people trying to drive up prices to make a profit or influence the outcome of events like elections. The creation of new prediction markets could spread out trading, potentially meaning fewer bets on each prediction. That will make it easier still to manipulate the markets.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong effectively manipulated one market during his company’s earnings call in October. Before the call, bettors were predicting whether Armstrong would say words such as bitcoin, ethereum, blockchain, staking and web3. At the end of the call, Armstrong read out a list of all of the words, creating immediate winners and losers in that market. He said he had been watching the prediction markets during the call.

Earlier this month, Coinbase partnered with Kalshi to let its clients bet on sports and other events, potentially including what chief executives say on their earnings calls. Armstrong could have some fun on the next call.

Good luck predicting that outcome.

The best prediction for 2025 would have been predicting the soaring growth of prediction markets. My prediction for 2026 is it will be a tough year for prediction markets.

My colleagues Sara Germano and Yueqi Yang chronicled the stunning rise of these markets last weekend. They focused on the dramatic growth in sports betting and the tumult this has caused in college and professional sports. That’s one piece of the story—there are plenty more.

Until this year, prediction markets mostly drew attention during big elections as an alternative to voter polls. The markets are dominated by Kalshi and Polymarket, which got the usual spikes in trading last fall followed by the usual post-election slowdown.

Prediction markets let people bet against each on everything from economic statistics to celebrity wedding dates. Whoever bets right gets the money.

This year, the prediction markets embraced sports betting. Instead of fading into the background, they boomed again. In one recent week, the two exchanges did more than $2.5 billion in sports trading volume, topping last year’s election. Now sports betting accounts for two-thirds of Kalshi’s spot trading and 40% of Polymarket’s.

However, sports betting put Kalshi and Polymarket in conflict with three powerful entities: state governments, which regulate sports betting and take in billions in tax revenue from it; the sports leagues, which are already facing several betting-related scandals, and the major sports betting companies themselves, FanDuel and DraftKings.

The business is growing fast. Last month Kalshi told investors it was on an annualized pace for between $600 million and $700 million in net revenue. That has attracted a range of new competitors, including Coinbase, digital brokerage Robinhood, President Donald Trump’s social media company, and the sports-betting companies themselves. Many of these are partnering with Kalshi and Polymarket to get going.

While the companies are excited about sports betting, Americans are not.

A Pew Research Center poll over the summer showed that 43% of Americans said sports betting is bad for society, up from 34% three years ago. Just 7% think sports betting is a good thing, while the remainder say it’s neither good nor bad. The biggest shifts against sports betting came in the industry’s two biggest demographics: men overall and people under 29. Democrats and Republicans actually agree on the issue, with 43% of each party’s supporters saying it’s a bad thing.

Now, let me say a little more about the prediction I mentioned at the beginning—because next year, the hottest market for predictions could be the fate of prediction markets themselves. States, which won the right to regulate sports betting in a 2018 Supreme Court decision, are already fighting against these markets. The markets say they are federally regulated, so they can take wagers even in states where sports betting is illegal. They also argue that what happens on their sites isn’t sports betting—rather, they’ve created markets for contracts tied to the outcome of events.

State regulators are not buying that argument. That’s not a surprise, given they take in billions in tax revenue from sports betting—and New York state alone does $1 billion a year. Prediction markets don’t pay state gambling taxes, so any shift from state-regulated betting to the prediction markets means lost revenue for the states.

The states also argue they have built serious regulatory structures around sports betting, including efforts to help problem gamblers. The federal markets regulator that oversees prediction markets hasn’t done any of that.

Another powerful force is states like California and Utah where sports betting is illegal, yet have been flooded by prediction markets offering just that.

The dispute between the states’ regulatory authority and the prediction markets seems headed for the Supreme Court, as the markets insist that federal oversight gives them latitude to take wagers nationwide.

Kalshi and Polymarket aren’t going to shrink from this fight, and they enjoy powerful allies with deep political connections too, including their venture capital backers as well as the crypto companies. (Cryptocurrencies are often used to fund bets.)

While the Trump family is creating its own prediction market, it also has close ties to the industry’s big players. Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Kalshi and Polymarket. Earlier this year, 1789 Capital, an investment firm backed by the president’s family, put money into Polymarket. The prediction market in October also got an investment worth up to $2 billion from the Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The wife of ICE’s chief executive is a member of the Trump administration.

There’s other excitement on tap. The NFL, the NBA and the NCAA have complained in different ways about the impact the prediction markets can have on sports and the regulation around prediction markets. The leagues are highly sensitive to sports betting, having faced some scandals tied to the incumbent sports betting companies. Both prediction markets say they don’t offer some of the bets that led to the sports scandals.

Not all leagues are fighting the prediction markets. The NHL has signed commercial partnerships with both Kalshi and Polymarket, saying the deals help it “promote consumer protection and integrity.”

There’s a bigger integrity issue facing prediction markets than sports scandals. These markets are vulnerable to manipulation by people who know the outcome of events that are being traded, or by people trying to drive up prices to make a profit or influence the outcome of events like elections. The creation of new prediction markets could spread out trading, potentially meaning fewer bets on each prediction. That will make it easier still to manipulate the markets.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong effectively manipulated one market during his company’s earnings call in October. Before the call, bettors were predicting whether Armstrong would say words such as bitcoin, ethereum, blockchain, staking and web3. At the end of the call, Armstrong read out a list of all of the words, creating immediate winners and losers in that market. He said he had been watching the prediction markets during the call.

Earlier this month, Coinbase partnered with Kalshi to let its clients bet on sports and other events, potentially including what chief executives say on their earnings calls. Armstrong could have some fun on the next call.

Good luck predicting that outcome.

Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, said it will start offering users up to 20% annualized yield on USD1, the stablecoin issued by President Donald Trump’s family crypto venture World Liberty Financial.

The promotion on Binance, set to last for a month, is designed to help drive usage of USD1. The market circulation of USD1 jumped to $2.9 billion on Wednesday from $2.7 billion on Tuesday, making it the 6th largest stablecoin in the world.

“Nothing says Christmas like real-world adoption. USD1 running a massive holiday campaign on Binance is just the beginning,” Donald Trump Jr., co-founder of World Liberty, said in a tweet.

Stablecoins are supposed to invest in safe assets to maintain their 1 to 1 peg against the dollar. Those assets pay roughly 3.6% today, meaning Binance or World Liberty Financial or both are losing money on the promotion.

So far, most of USD1’s growth was driven by Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund MGX’s decision in May to use the stablecoin to pay for its $2 billion investment in Binance. The move has led to criticisms, such as by Senator Elizabeth Warren, that it boosted the fortune of Trump’s family business as Binance founder Changpeng Zhao successfully lobbied for a pardon. Binance has denied such claims

The 48-year-old intimates brand has been acquired by Crown Brands Group, in partnership with Rafar Group, which serves as operating partner.

Hanky Panky, the 48-year-old intimate apparel company best known for “The World’s Most Comfortable Thong” is changing ownership.

Crown Brands Group, a newly formed brand management firm, has acquired Hanky Panky in partnership with Rafar Group, the parent company of Gelmart International. The acquisition cost wasn’t revealed.

Hanky Panky founders Gale Epstein and Lida Orzeck, who had been looking to sell the business, will continue to play a pivotal role in shaping the brand’s future. Both founders will join Hanky Panky’s board of directors to ensure the brand’s signature aesthetic and commitment to quality remain in tact. Epstein will have an advisory role in design.

Under the partnership, Rafar Group will serve as the core operating partner, leveraging more than 70 years of experience in the intimate apparel industry to oversee product design, development, e-commerce operations and distribution. The partners will collaborate on marketing strategy and execution, allowing Crown to focus on brand strategy and global licensing while using Rafar’s best-in-class capabilities to drive operational and product excellence.

Rafar, which specializes in private label, has such brands as Kindly (exclusive to Walmart) and Sugarcup and licenses Motherhood Maternity. The company has been a frequent winner of Walmart Vendor of the Year, and a 2019 FEMMY Award Winner as Manufacturer of the Year.

This transaction marks a significant milestone as Crown’s first acquisition, establishing the anchor asset for a diversified portfolio of iconic consumer brands. Crown seeks to acquire and elevate heritage brands, leveraging deep retail expertise and capital backing from G72 Holdings, the family office of Raymond Gindi, whose family cofounded Century 21 stores.

“Hanky Panky is the definitive example of the type of brand we are building our platform around — one with authentic heritage, category leadership and incredible customer loyalty,” said Raymond Dayan, chief executive officer of Crown Brands Group. “As our inaugural acquisition, this deal sets the standard for our portfolio strategy. By combining Crown’s retail relationships and brand management focus with Rafar’s operational excellence, we are positioned to unlock significant growth for Hanky Panky while honoring the quality that millions of women trust.”

Dayan told WWD that he became aware of Hanky Panky through an investment bank, which was hired by Hanky Panky to run the process to find a buyer. “Hanky Panky has long been a category-defining force in the intimates market. When the opportunity arose to acquire the brand, we recognized it as a rare heritage asset anchored by a truly iconic hero product – ‘The World’s Most Comfortable Thong,'” said Dayan.

For nearly five decades, Hanky Panky has maintained a devoted following with one of its Signature Lace Thongs sold every 10 seconds globally. The brand is distributed in more than 2,500 top-tier boutiques, major departments stores and e-commerce platforms.

“Our priority is building the brand’s DTC and wholesale presence while protecting its premium, full-price integrity,” said Dayan.

“We are honored to partner with Crown Brands Group to carry forward the legacy of a brand that has defined comfort and quality for generations,” said Yossi Nasser, CEO of Rafar Group. “Rafar’s track record of building intimates brands like Lively demonstrates our ability to resonate with today’s consumer. We see tremendous opportunity to expand Hanky Panky’s reach and introduce the brand to new audiences while maintaining the exceptional comfort and quality the brand is known for.”

In a joint statement, Epstein and Orzeck said, “We built Hanky Panky on a foundation of comfort, quality and female empowerment, and it was vital to find partners who respect that DNA. We trust Crown Brands Group and Rafar Group to steward his legacy. Their combined vision gives us great confidence that Hanky Panky will continue to thrive and innovate in this exciting next chapter.”

In an interview Thursday, Nasser said the main reason they wanted to acquire Hanky Panky “is because we love the brand.

“We love what they did with the brand. It’s been around for a long time, and we feel that legacy brands have place right now in retail. We love the story. It’s similar to our story. We’re a family-owned business that’s a private company, and these are two incredible women who started this brand,” said Nasser.

When asked how Hanky Panky fits in with their other intimate apparel brands, Nasser said, “It doesn’t, which is why we like it so much. I think it really differentiates it. And our goal is to really take care of it.”

While Rafar Group’s brands have more mass market distribution, Hanky Panky is sold in stores such as Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, and their own e-commerce site.

“I’m actually looking to bring it back to its roots and really solidify the story and make it front and center. I’m not looking to make any significant changes, but really bring it back toward its heritage because I feel there’s such a strong heritage, and we will enhance that,” said Nasser.

Nasser said Hanky Panky is known for the thong and its lace products. Hanky Panky’s underwear is “one size fits all,” said Caroline Levy, president of Rafar Group. Levy said more than 20 people will be joining Rafar, such as their head of sales and head of finance and they will keep Hanky Panky’s current office at 45 West 25th Street. Nasser said they also look to expand Hanky Panky’s international distribution.

Manufacturing will remain where it makes sense, said Nasser. Hanky Panky manufactures in the Dominican Republic, Colombia and the U.S. Rafar Group manufactures in China, Vietnam, Bangladesh and a lot is done in the Philippines.

Nasser said Crown is looking to bring in other licensees of adjacent categories. For example, he can envision having licenses for loungewear, swim and fragrance. Hanky Panky has a long history of collaborations which they will look to continue, said Levy. Over the years, Hanky Panky has collaborated with such designers as Prabal Gurung, Monique Lhuillier, and Cynthia Rowley, as well as Stony Clover Lane, among others.

Levy added that they will also look to open stores. Hanky Panky previously had a store in New York at 370 Bleecker Street in 2022, which was a 600-square-foot “jewel box,” complete with a thong wall covered with panties in every color.

Nasser declined to reveal how much they paid for the company. He said that Rafar is basically the anchor licensee and bought the operating assets in the company. Rafar also invested in the intellectual property in a significant way. He said it’s a stock deal, and once the deal closes, it’s effective immediately. Crown is buying the IP and will lead the branding efforts and category expansion.

Dayan said his background is in investment banking and private equity. “I’ve done brand acquisitions in the past, and I thought that there was a real opening or a real white space in the market.” He said he seeks to buy brands that the consumer knows and love. “Iconic brands that we have an opportunity to help them grow, while maintaining brand equity is very important,” said Dayan.

“We saw Hanky Panky as an opportunity to do that as long as we had the right partner, and we thought Gelmart was the right partner,” said Dayan. He said Crown is very interested in apparel acquisitions, but also seeks a diversified portfolio.

Wedbush Securities served as financial adviser and Morrison Cohen and Sills Cummis & Gross acted as legal advisors to Crown Brands Group and Rafar Group. Consensus served as financial adviser and Perkins Coie acted as legal adviser to Hanky Panky.

In 2016, Rafar Group/Gelmart International cofounded and incubated Lively, a direct-to-consumer lingerie brand that was acquired by Wacoal International in 2019. Rafar Group also operates FullStrideVentures, an innovation arm focused on sustainable materials including the sugarcup, the world’s first plant-based bra cup made from sugarcane. Rafar operates three manufacturing facilities in the Philippines under Rafar Manufacturing.

The Italian Senate passed the 2026 “Budget Act” which introduces a new levy on extra-EU parcels valued at under 150 euros coming into the country.

MILAN – Italy has made its first official step to curb the impact of ultra-fast fashion, targeting platforms such as Shein and Temu.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed the “Legge di Bilancio 2026,” or “Budget Act 2026,” which introduces a measure that imposes a levy of 2 euros on all parcels valued at under 150 euros coming into Italy from extra-European Union countries. Until before the new bill, low-value goods were duty free.

The bill still needs to be approved by the Italian Parliament’s Lower House. Per Italian law, the Lower House does not have any capacity to change the bill, which must be passed by the end of the year.

The move is seen answering the ongoing requests of fashion industry associations including Confindustria Moda, Confindustria Accessori Moda and Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, among others, to take aim at the unregulated influx of low-cost, low-quality goods into the country.

Camera della Moda estimated that about 1 million parcels from extra-EU countries circulated in Italy last year. According to the most recent figures provided by the fashion association, imports of fashion goods from China jumped 11.8 percent in the eight months to Aug. 31, amounting to 4.5 billion euros.

The Italian bill anticipates the EU’s decision to move up its timeline to close the loophole that has fueled the rapid rise of ultra-fast fashion companies in recent years.

As reported, last November European finance ministers from the 27-country bloc approved a similar agreement to abolish the exemption on packages valued at less than 150 euros, to be implemented as early as the first quarter of 2026 — two years ahead of schedule.

The new rules will also see parcels subject to additional handling and import charges, which is the formal attribution provided in the Italian bill for the new levy.

Both moves echo the U.S. decision to roll back its own de minimis allowance, aimed at curbing the flow of ultra-cheap Chinese imports, which went into effect in May.

Meanwhile, France has been particularly vocal in its fight against platforms like Shein and Temu, lobbying the EU to move toward stricter regulation.

As reported, last week Shein dodged a temporary ban in France after a Paris judicial court deemed the government’s request “disproportionate” following the platform’s voluntary removal of illicit products.

The government had sought to block the website due to illegal items listed on its marketplace, following intense scrutiny after opening its first physical store in Paris in November.

In November, a dozen French retail federations, joined by leading domestic brands, initiated legal action against Shein’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, Infinite Styles Service Co. Ltd., citing unfair competition and breaches of European product safety standards.

At a broader European level, France has called for sanctions through the European Commission, which has requested information from Shein but has yet to open a formal investigation.