Core Insights - The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS) and the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) provide different exposures to international equities, with IXUS including emerging markets and IEFA focusing solely on developed markets [1][2] Cost and Size Comparison - Both IXUS and IEFA have an expense ratio of 0.07% - As of January 30, 2026, IXUS has a 1-year return of 37.7% while IEFA has a return of 34.9% - IXUS has a dividend yield of 3.2% compared to IEFA's 3.6% - IXUS has assets under management (AUM) of $51.9 billion, while IEFA has $162.6 billion [3][4] Performance and Risk Comparison - Over the past five years, IXUS experienced a maximum drawdown of -30.05%, while IEFA had a drawdown of -30.41% - An investment of $1,000 in IXUS would have grown to $1,305, whereas the same investment in IEFA would have grown to $1,353 [5] Fund Composition - IEFA tracks developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East, holding 2,589 companies with a sector focus on financial services (22%), industrials (20%), and healthcare (11%) [6] - IXUS holds over 4,100 stocks, providing broader diversification with sector allocations leaning towards financial services, industrials, and basic materials [7] Investor Implications - The choice between IXUS and IEFA depends on the desired exposure; IXUS offers global exposure including emerging markets, while IEFA provides stability and a higher dividend yield from developed markets [8][11] - IEFA's focus on developed markets avoids emerging market volatility but limits growth potential, while IXUS can deliver higher returns due to emerging market growth despite associated risks [9][10]

Core Insights - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is recognized as one of the 13 best extremely profitable stocks to invest in currently [1] Analyst Sentiment - TSM maintains a bullish analyst sentiment with a consensus price target of $410, indicating an upside potential of 24.03% after a stock surge of 40.54% over the past six months and over 10% in 2026 [3] - TD Cowen raised its price target for TSM to $370 from $325 while maintaining a 'Hold' rating, citing strong production execution and better-than-expected quarterly results [5] - Morgan Stanley increased its target by 5% to NT$2,088, highlighting strong gross margins and rising demand for AI [6] - Barclays set a target of $450 with an 'Overweight' rating, describing the fourth-quarter results as strong across all areas [6] Capital Spending and Revenue Growth - TSM plans to increase capital spending to $52–$56 billion in 2026, representing at least a 25% increase compared to 2025, driven by AI demand [4] - Revenue growth for TSM is projected to reach approximately 30% in 2026, surpassing average analyst expectations [4] Company Overview - TSM manufactures advanced integrated circuits and semiconductors for various sectors including AI, computing, communications, automotive, and consumer electronics globally [7]

Core Insights - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSM) is recognized as one of the 13 best extremely profitable stocks to invest in currently [1] Analyst Sentiment - TSM maintains a bullish analyst sentiment with a consensus price target of $410, indicating an upside potential of 24.03% after a stock surge of 40.54% over the past six months and over 10% in 2026 [3] - TD Cowen raised its price target for TSM to $370 from $325 while maintaining a 'Hold' rating, citing strong production execution and better-than-expected quarterly results [5] - Morgan Stanley increased its target by 5% to NT$2,088, highlighting strong gross margins and rising demand for AI [6] - Barclays set a target of $450 with an 'Overweight' rating, describing the fourth-quarter results as strong across all areas [6] Capital Spending and Revenue Growth - TSM plans to increase capital spending to $52–$56 billion in 2026, representing at least a 25% increase compared to 2025, driven by AI demand [4] - Revenue growth for TSM is projected to reach approximately 30%, surpassing average analyst expectations [4] Company Overview - TSM manufactures advanced integrated circuits and semiconductors for various sectors, including AI, computing, communications, automotive, and consumer electronics globally [7]

Group 1: AI Market Growth - The AI market is projected to grow from $375.9 billion in 2023 to $2.48 trillion by 2034, representing a compound annual growth rate of 26.6% [2] Group 2: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) - TSMC is a leading company in semiconductor chip production, essential for powering devices like personal computers, tablets, and smartphones [6] - TSMC is the largest foundry globally, producing over 11,800 products across 288 processes in 2024, which gives it a significant competitive advantage [7] - TSMC's revenue for the fourth quarter was $33.73 billion, reflecting a 25.5% increase year-over-year, with a profit margin of 48.3% [8] - In 2023, TSMC derived more than half of its revenue from chips larger than 7 nanometers, but it is now focusing on producing more advanced 3nm and 5nm chips [9] - In the fourth quarter, 3nm chips accounted for 28% of total shipments, an increase from 23% in the third quarter, while 5nm chips represented 35% of shipments, down from 37% [9]

Core Insights - The report introduces a "Five-Dimensional Industry Comparison Framework" that integrates multiple factors affecting stock price performance, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive analysis rather than relying on a single indicator [3][9] - Historical backtesting from 2016 to February 2025 shows that industries with higher scores in this framework tend to perform better, with annualized returns for the top scoring group at 11.8% compared to -10.5% for the lowest scoring group [21][23] - The report suggests a focus on growth sectors for February, particularly in high valuation industries such as electronics, power equipment, machinery, non-ferrous metals, communications, and computers [3][34] Five-Dimensional Industry Comparison Framework - The framework consists of five dimensions: market style, fundamentals, liquidity, trading, and valuation, with subjective judgments applied to market style, liquidity, and valuation [9][12] - The scoring process involves adjusting weights based on market conditions, with equal weighting during non-earnings seasons and increased emphasis on fundamentals during earnings seasons [8][30] February Market Outlook - The report anticipates a growth-oriented market style for February, with expectations of net inflows from public funds and a focus on high valuation sectors [3][34] - Key industries identified for investment include electronics, power equipment, machinery, non-ferrous metals, communications, and computers, which are expected to benefit from favorable market conditions [34][35] Industry Recommendations - **Electronics and Communications**: Companies like Zhongji Xuchuang and ShenNan Circuit are highlighted for their strong positions in AI-related markets and expected growth in demand for high-end products [36] - **Power Equipment**: Firms such as Shenghong Co. and Yangguang Electric are recommended due to their potential benefits from overseas storage and AI power sectors [40] - **High-End Manufacturing**: Companies like Anpeilong and Jingjin Equipment are noted for their advancements in robotics and AI applications, with significant growth potential [42] - **Non-Ferrous Metals**: Companies like Zijin Mining and Luoyang Molybdenum are expected to benefit from rising copper prices and strategic stockpiling initiatives [46][47] - **Computers**: Firms such as Hikvision and Kingsoft are recognized for their strong AI capabilities and market positioning, with expectations for sustained growth [49][50]

Key Insights - Temu and SHEIN have suspended their cross-border operations in Turkey, shifting towards localized operations due to regulatory changes [5] - Hungarian Post has signed a memorandum of understanding with Temu to enhance cross-border logistics cooperation [6] - TSMC's 2nm production capacity has been fully booked by major tech companies, indicating strong demand for advanced semiconductor technology [7] - Hesai Technology has partnered with Grab to accelerate the deployment of LiDAR technology in Southeast Asia [8] - Anta is set to open its first store in the United States, marking a significant step in its global expansion strategy [10][13] - Baiotai has signed a licensing agreement for its BAT3306 injection in the Middle East and North Africa, with a potential transaction value of up to $7 million [15] - Alibaba Cloud has been recognized as the global leader in cloud service adoption for Chinese enterprises going abroad [16][18] - OpenAI's first AI headset, Dime, has been revealed, although its initial capabilities may be scaled back due to supply chain challenges [20][22] - Tesla plans to increase investments in AI hardware and energy sectors in China, with a projected capital expenditure exceeding $20 billion by 2026 [24]

Investment Opportunities in AI Sector - The AI sector presents several strong investment opportunities, particularly for stocks that are expected to benefit from significant AI spending [1] - Companies identified as excellent buys include Nvidia, Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), and Microsoft, all of which are positioned to outperform the market [2] Nvidia - Nvidia is the world's most valuable company by market cap, driven by high demand for its GPUs, which are essential for training and running AI models [4] - The company has a market cap of $4.5 trillion, with a current price of $185.65 and a gross margin of 70.05% [5][6] - Analysts project a 52% growth for Nvidia in fiscal 2027, indicating strong long-term potential despite concerns about an AI bubble [6] Broadcom - Broadcom is competing with Nvidia in the AI chip sector by focusing on ASICs, which are optimized for specific workloads and can outperform GPUs in certain applications [7] - The company has a market cap of $1.6 trillion, with a current price of $333.06 and a gross margin of 64.71% [8][9] - Broadcom expects its AI semiconductor revenue to double year over year, indicating rapid growth potential [9] Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC) - TSMC is a leading chip foundry with unmatched technology and capacity, making it a key player in the AI industry [10] - The company has a market cap of $1.8 trillion, with a current price of $348.85 and a gross margin of 59.02% [11] - Analysts forecast a 31% growth for TSMC this year and 22% next year, supported by sustained AI spending [11] Microsoft - Microsoft operates in both AI application and infrastructure markets, with its Azure cloud platform experiencing significant revenue growth of 39% year over year [13] - The company has a substantial backlog of $625 billion in its cloud business, indicating further growth potential [13] - Despite a recent stock decline, Microsoft is viewed as a buying opportunity, trading at 25 times forward earnings, the lowest in some time [14][16]

Core Insights - Elon Musk discussed the future of AI infrastructure in space, emphasizing that within 30 to 36 months, space will become the preferred location for AI data centers due to energy efficiency and scalability [4][10][27] - Musk highlighted the challenges of energy supply on Earth, stating that the growth of chip production is outpacing energy production, which could hinder AI development [4][45] - He predicted that in five years, the annual AI computing power launched and operated in space will exceed the cumulative total on Earth, potentially reaching 1 terawatt of power [4][27][74] Group 1: Space as AI Infrastructure - Musk believes that space will be the most economically attractive place for deploying AI due to the efficiency of solar panels in space, which can generate five times the power compared to Earth [8][21] - The construction of data centers in space is seen as a solution to the energy supply issues faced on Earth, where building new power plants is slow and complicated [11][24] - Musk stated that the average power consumption in the U.S. is currently 0.5 terawatts, and achieving 1 terawatt for data centers would require significant infrastructure [11][27] Group 2: Challenges and Innovations - The manufacturing of solar panels for space is expected to be cheaper and easier due to the lack of weather-related constraints, which eliminates the need for robust structures [21][23] - Musk pointed out that the bottleneck in scaling AI infrastructure will shift from energy to chip production once space operations begin [45][46] - He mentioned that the current global chip production capacity is insufficient to meet future demands, necessitating the establishment of large-scale chip manufacturing facilities [38][39] Group 3: Competitive Landscape - Musk warned that without breakthrough innovations in the U.S., China could dominate the AI and manufacturing sectors due to its advanced capabilities and larger workforce [74][75] - He emphasized the importance of addressing energy constraints to maintain competitiveness in the global market [66][67] - The discussion highlighted the need for the U.S. to innovate rapidly to avoid falling behind in AI and robotics, particularly in the context of manufacturing and energy production [75][70]

太突然了，也太讽刺了。就在2月5日，台积电董事长魏哲家在东京与日本首相高市早苗见了面。随后，台积电发布的一纸新闻稿，立刻引爆了岛内的 舆论：原本规划给日本熊本二厂的制程，居然要直接升级到3纳米。你没有听错，就是那个曾经被台积电视作压箱底的技术——3纳米，曾经被反复强 调绝对不会外流的核心技术。难怪国民党的一些立委们急得像热锅上的蚂蚁，纷纷感叹所谓的硅盾已经变成了千疮百孔的破窗。这哪里是在做生意？ 这分明是在拆自家的承重墙，去为别人打基础！ 让我们先解读一下，什么叫惊喜，什么又叫硅盾。在民进党当局的叙述里，台积电就像是台湾的保命符。为什么？因为全球近七成的先进制程掌握在 台积电手中，只要3纳米、2纳米这样的最先进制程留在台湾，美日两国为了防止全球产业链崩塌，就不得不捍卫台湾的安危。这就是所谓的硅盾逻 辑。然而现实却是，魏哲家这次与高市早苗的见面，实际上就是将这块最坚固的盾牌，从岛内拆下，亲手送给了日本。说到日本首相高市早苗，大家 都知道她是典型的极右翼人物，时常高喊台湾有事就是日本有事，这句话几乎成了她的口头禅。而现在，台积电竟然主动送上了如此丰厚的大礼包。 日本不仅提供了资金、土地，还慷慨地承诺了万亿日元的补 ...

公众号记得加星标⭐️，第一时间看推送不会错过。 AI浪潮快速席卷全球，半导体产业结构正出现关键转折。芯片大厂联发科总经理暨营运长陈冠州指 出，AI对算力、功耗与系统整合的高度需求，正全面推升先进制程与先进封装的重要性，联发科持续 深化与台积电合作，在2纳米及A14制程都是首批采用客户。先进封装部分亦在COUPE（紧凑型通用 光子引擎）平台助攻下，持续推进3.2T硅光子引擎。 AI已从早期的感知型应用，快速进入生成式与自主式阶段，未来两至三年将进一步迈向结合自驾车与 机器人的Physical AI。陈冠州分析，这样的演进，使得芯片在相同功耗与面积限制下，必须整合更 多运算单元，单靠制程微缩已不足以应付需求，必须同步导入小芯片（Chiplet）架构与先进封装， 才能持续放大算力。 原文链接 https://www.ctee.com.tw/news/20260207700059-430502 （来源：工商时报 ） 联发科长期与台积电维持高度互信的合作关系，为台积电2纳米制程首波采用客户之一，陈冠州透 露，相关产品预计于今年底推出；而在下一代A14制程，联发科同样为早期导入名单。对于外传是否 考虑美系晶圆代工之封装， ...