January 2025: the month that closed loud
January 2025 saved its noise for the end. Jannik Sinner defended his Australian Open title on the 26th. One day later, the Chinese AI lab DeepSeek stripped a record $589 billion off Nvidia. It was the biggest one-day loss any company had ever suffered. Before all that, the month opened quietly enough. It ran 31 days from a Wednesday, across weeks 1 to 5. The year's first blank squares were waiting to be filled.
The shape of the month
The grid ran Wednesday to Friday. The middle of the week did the lifting: five Wednesdays, five Thursdays and five Fridays, against four of everything else. Count 23 business days and 8 weekend days, which is four full weekends. A month with five Fridays is generous to payrolls and mean to alarm clocks.
The moon kept a tidy schedule: first quarter on January 6, last quarter on January 21. Full came on Monday, January 13: the Wolf Moon. New followed on January 29. And the 13th landed on a Monday, so the superstitious had a quiet month.
A hard month
The news was heavy in places. Fires tore through the Los Angeles area from January 7. They were among the most destructive in California history. At least 30 lives were lost, with more than 16,000 homes and other structures destroyed or damaged.
On January 29, an American Eagle jet and an Army helicopter collided near Reagan Washington National Airport. All 67 aboard died, the deadliest US air disaster in more than two decades. A truck attack in New Orleans on January 1 had killed 14 people.
There was resolve too. Bulgaria and Romania joined Europe's Schengen zone in full on January 1. A ceasefire deal to pause the 15-month Gaza war was agreed in Doha on January 15. It took effect on January 19.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, died at 100 and was honored with a state funeral on January 9. Donald Trump took the oath as the 47th US president on January 20. Dangerous cold pushed the ceremony indoors, the first time since 1985.
The loud finish
January 16 was a 24-hour space double-header. Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket reached orbit on its first flight. It lost its booster at a sea landing attempt. Hours later, SpaceX caught its Super Heavy booster but lost the upgraded Starship upper stage over the Caribbean.
Nintendo, on the same day, showed the Switch 2 in a surprise teaser. It came with a first look at a new Mario Kart.
Then came the closing weekend. Sinner beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets on the 26th. A day earlier, Madison Keys upset world number one Aryna Sabalenka for her first Grand Slam title at 29.
On the 27th, DeepSeek's low-cost models triggered a global tech selloff and that record Nvidia loss. The month ended the way it had lived its last week: at full volume.
January 2025 ended loud and closed tidy, on a Friday. February answered with a month so balanced it almost apologizes for it.