Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world Americas+1 212 318 2000 EMEA+44 20 7330 7500 Asia Pacific+65 6212 1000 Crypto: Michael Saylor has long noted that Bitcoin's volatility “is a feature, not a bug” when pitching his cryptocurrency accumulator Strategy Inc. Investors will soon see the downside of that, with the company likely to report a multibillion-dollar loss when it releases results for the just-ended fourth quarter. That would be a swing from a $2.8 billion profit in the previous quarter, reflecting an unrealized loss tied to the falling value of the company's roughly $60 billion Bitcoin stockpile.

Elon Musk's Grok chatbot blamed "lapses in safeguards" for the recent posting of artificial intelligence-generated sexualized pictures of children in response to user questions. In a social media post to X on Friday, Grok posted that it was "urgently fixing" the issue and called child sexual abuse material "illegal and prohibited." Grok also wrote that a company could face criminal or civil penalties if it knowingly facilitates or fails to prevent this type of content after being alerted. Users on X raised concerns in recent days over explicit content of minors, including children wearing minimal clothing, being generated using the Grok tool. A post from xAI technical staff member Parsa Tajik also acknowledged the issue. The team is looking into further tightening our gaurdrails," Tajik wrote in a post. Musk's xAI sent an autoreply to a request for comment: "Legacy Media Lies." The proliferation of AI image-generating platforms since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 has raised concerns over content manipulation and online safety across the board. It's also contributed to an increasing number of platforms that have produced deepfake nudes of actual people. While other chatbots have faced similar issues, Grok has repeatedly landed in hot water for misuse. In May, the company faced backlash for responding to user queries with unsolicited comments about "white genocide" in South Africa. Two months later, Grok posted antisemitic comments and praised Adolf Hitler. Despite the stumbles, xAI has continued to land partnerships and deals. The Department of Defense added Grok to its AI agents platform last month, and the tool is the main chatbot for prediction betting platforms Polymarket and Kalshi. CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this story. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Elon Musk's Grok chatbot blamed "lapses in safeguards" for the recent posting of artificial intelligence-generated sexualized pictures of children in response to user questions. In a social media post to X on Friday, Grok posted that it was "urgently fixing" the issue and called child sexual abuse material "illegal and prohibited." Grok also wrote that a company could face criminal or civil penalties if it knowingly facilitates or fails to prevent this type of content after being alerted. Users on X raised concerns in recent days over explicit content of minors, including children wearing minimal clothing, being generated using the Grok tool. A post from xAI technical staff member Parsa Tajik also acknowledged the issue. The team is looking into further tightening our gaurdrails," Tajik wrote in a post. Musk's xAI sent an autoreply to a request for comment: "Legacy Media Lies." The proliferation of AI image-generating platforms since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 has raised concerns over content manipulation and online safety across the board. It's also contributed to an increasing number of platforms that have produced deepfake nudes of actual people. While other chatbots have faced similar issues, Grok has repeatedly landed in hot water for misuse. In May, the company faced backlash for responding to user queries with unsolicited comments about "white genocide" in South Africa. Two months later, Grok posted antisemitic comments and praised Adolf Hitler. Despite the stumbles, xAI has continued to land partnerships and deals. The Department of Defense added Grok to its AI agents platform last month, and the tool is the main chatbot for prediction betting platforms Polymarket and Kalshi. CNBC's Lora Kolodny contributed to this story. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Shares of furniture retailers rose in Friday trading after President Donald Trump delayed higher tariffs on the sector. Instead, the duties on upholstered furniture will remain at 25% — the level Trump set in September. Before Trump's 11th-hour reversal, the levies for this furniture type were slated to rise 30% with the start of 2026. He pointed to ongoing trade discussions as the reason for pushing back tariff increases. Trump called tariffs an "overwhelming benefit" to the U.S. and said in a Friday morning social media post that the country losing its ability to place duties on others would be a "terrible blow." Furniture suppliers have been under Wall Street's scrutiny as Trump's focus on broad and steep levies on imports has raised concerns about rising costs. But stocks in the sector fared vastly differently as investors determined how trade policy changes and other variables would affect each business. Wayfair surged more than 125% in 2025 as value-focused retailers gained traction among consumers. On the other hand, West Elm and Pottery Barn parent Williams-Sonoma slid more than 3% last year. RH — whose chief executive garnered attention in April as he reacted live to the stock tanking — ended the year down more than 50%. "Oh, sh--," RH CEO Gary Friedman said on the California-based company's earnings call in April. "It got hit when, I think, the tariffs came out," Friedman added. "Everybody can see in our 10-K where we're sourcing from, so it's not a secret, and we're not trying to disguise it by putting everything in an Asia bucket." The Morning Squawk newsletter by Alex Harring is your rundown of five things to know before the stock market opens. Subscribe here to get access today. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox

Danish renewables giant Orsted, the world's largest developer of offshore wind farms, said on Friday that it had launched legal action against the Trump administration over the suspension of its $5 billion Revolution Wind project. Orsted said in a statement that it would seek a court injunction against the U.S. government's decision to halt its Revolution Wind project, located about 15 miles south of the Rhode Island coast. As a result, litigation is a necessary step to protect the rights of the Project," Orsted said. "Revolution Wind has spent and committed billions of dollars in reliance upon, and has met the requests of, a thorough review process," the company added. The pro-fossil fuel Trump administration suspended leases on Dec. 22 for five large offshore wind projects, including Revolution Wind, citing national security concerns identified by the Pentagon. The move marked the latest in a string of blows against offshore wind developers, with U.S. President Donald Trump having previously described wind turbines as "ugly" and an economic and environmental "disaster." Revolution Wind is a 50/50 joint venture between Orsted and Global Infrastructure Partners' Skyborn Renewables. In a filing last year, Orsted and Skyborn Renewables said they had already spent approximately $5 billion on the project. We want to hear from you. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.

Every time Aditi publishes a story, you'll get an alert straight to your inbox! By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Chinese leader Xi Jinping is pleased with his country's showing in the race for AI dominance. Apart from developments in AI, Xi also highlighted China's Tianwen-2 asteroid sampling mission and its latest electromagnetic catapult system-equipped aircraft carrier. He talked about China breaking ground on the construction of the world's largest dam in Tibetan territory, and its progress in developing humanoid robots and drones. Xi's end-of-year 2025 comments follow a strong year for the country, which saw it compete neck and neck with the US on AI advancements. The US's ban on exporting advanced AI chips has given a boost to China's homegrown chip producers, propelling their founders, such as MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai's cofounder Chen Weiliang, into the billionaire ranks. And Meta announced on Wednesday that it would acquire China-founded AI startup Manus in a deal reported to be worth more than $2 billion, making it one of the US tech's biggest acquisitions of an Asian AI company. Investors are taking note: Jason Draho, a UBS wealth management executive, told Business Insider in November that investors should consider AI stocks in China as a way to counterbalance US tech stocks.