Business and finance news from the Asia-Pacific

Global stocks extended their tumble into Asian trading on Friday after heavy losses in US tech stocks and cryptocurrencies sapped risk appetite. Silver slid again, while Treasuries stabilized. Further denting sentiment, Amazon.com Inc. shares tumbled 10% in after-hours trading after the company said it plans to spend $200 billion on AI this year. The tech sector seems set for more losses with futures contracts for the Nasdaq 100 sliding 1%. For more on the global selloff, we spoke to Winnie Hsu, Bloomberg's Asia Equities Reporter.

Plus - Japan is preparing for a snap lower-house election that could reshape the country's political balance at a moment of economic strain and regional uncertainty. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — who has only been in the top job for just over three months — has set the election date for Feb. 8 to capitalize on soaring public support to shore up her coalition government. Takaichi has already made a mark by bringing forward an increase in defense spending, unveiling the biggest extra budget since pandemic restrictions were eased, and ruffling feathers in China over her comments on Taiwan. We get a preview from Bloomberg's Sakura Murakami. She covers politics in Japan.