China at risk of financial crisis, bankers warn January 8, 2015 CHINESE President Xi’s strategy of slower economic growth could be “lethal” for the country’s financial system, according to a report from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML). Analysts at the bank said they expect the Chinese market to be “choppy” in 2015, and warned of a heightened debt default risk. It also cautioned investors to [...]
Xiaomi: Everything you need to know about the world’s most valuable technology start-up and third-biggest smartphone maker January 5, 2015 Despite not having any products on sale in the UK, smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi can't keep out of our business headlines. Just a week after being named the most valuable technology company in the world, the Chinese company has announced a mammoth increase in sales in 2014. Xiaomi is now said to be the third-biggest [...]
City warns of triple threat to its future as European immigration tensions mount January 4, 2015 Boris Johnson and businesses across London are on a collision course with the government over European immigration, as a new report warns that turning away talented workers will hurt Britain. Increasingly harsh anti-immigrant and anti-EU rhetoric is putting talented European and global workers and entrepreneurs off coming to the UK, according to the report from [...]
Is China blocking Gmail? Chinese Google users reportedly cut off December 29, 2014 The Great Firewall could be blocking Gmail. China is famed for its internet censorship; it limits or prevents access to a range of websites and services, including Facebook and Twitter. Now it seems the new superpower is blocking Google's email service too. On Friday, thousands of Gmail addresses were cut off, according to [...]
China industrial profits fall by the most in two years December 27, 2014 More bad news for China's industrial sector: profits in the industry fell to 676.12 billion yuan (£69.8bn) in November, 4.2 per cent down on last year's figure and the biggest annual decline since August 2012, official statistics showed today. The National Bureau of Statistics put the fall down to a drop in sales, as well [...]
Alibaba has spent $160m weeding out counterfeits December 24, 2014 Recently-listed Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has admitted it's spent $160m (£103m) since the beginning of last year sniffing out counterfeit goods on its site. The company, which made the largest stock market debut in history back in September when it raised $25bn on its listing in New York, said today it is planning to increase [...]
How much of an effect did the North Korea DDoS attack actually have? Here’s what we know about internet access in the country December 23, 2014 Reports of a massive, nine-and-a-half hour internet outage after a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in North Korea – possibly by the US, possibly in revenge for the Sony hack – have raised eyebrows. The country famously censors its internet to the point of uselessness. So just how much of an effect did [...]
Kingfisher sells off loss-making B&Q business in China for £140m December 22, 2014 DIY GROUP Kingfisher said yesterday it had agreed to sell a 70 per cent stake in its loss-making B&Q China business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. The deal came after the retailer announced in March that it was searching for a strategic partner to help grow its B&Q business in China, which is made up [...]
Kingfisher sells off B&Q business in China for £140m December 22, 2014 Kingfisher has agreed to sell a controlling stake in its Chinese B&Q business to Wumei Holdings for £140m. The retail group had been looking for a “strategic partner” for its business in China in order to focus on the larger and more lucrative European market said newly installed Kingfisher chief Véronique Laury. B&Q first opened [...]
Buffett backed BYD plunges by one third December 18, 2014 BYD Auto, a Chinese mass producer of electric powered cars, has encountered its largest ever single-day drop since its 2002 listing, as it fell by as much as 47 per cent in afternoon trade in Hong Kong. The stock ended down 29 per cent. BYD, which is backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, lost [...]