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 [...]
China’s Baidu confirms Uber investment plan December 17, 2014 CHINESE internet giant Baidu confirmed yesterday it is buying a stake in fast-growing international car-hailing service Uber as the pair chase growth in one of the world’s largest transportation markets. The companies did not disclose how big a stake Baidu is taking, nor how much it is paying for the investment, announced jointly in Beijing. [...]
After a volatile week for global markets, is there still time for a Santa Rally? December 17, 2014 Adrian Lowcock, head of investing at Axa Wealth, says Yes. The so-called Santa Rally relates primarily to the last two weeks of the calendar year – the weeks of Christmas and New Year. In this two-week period, the FTSE 100 has put in its best performance of the year every year since 1986. A major [...]
Nicola Horlick: What effects will the fall of oil prices actually have? December 17, 2014 The precipitous fall in the oil price has resulted in sharp declines in share prices around the world, but the long-term effect of a lower oil price is to reduce the amount of cash in the pockets of oil producers and increase the amount available to consumers to spend. Overall, this is positive for markets [...]