News

Buoyant Zara Owner Inditex Invests in Tech and U.S. Expansion

Zara owner Inditex’s spring-summer 2023 collection has flown off the shelves over the past six weeks, the fast-fashion retailer said on Wednesday, in a sign that sales are keeping pace after a strong 2022. Inditex has extended its lead over Swedish rival H&M, in part thanks to a less price-sensitive customer base. As the cost […]

China to Create Powerful Financial Watchdog Run by Communist Party

China will set up a financial watchdog run by the Communist Party, state media reported on Thursday, as part of a broad reorganisation of governing bodies set to give the ruling party direct control and supervision over financial affairs. The creation of the Central Financial Commission will see the dissolution of the state-run Financial Stability […]

Putin Urges Russia's Billionaires to Invest in Face of "sanctions war"

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday urged Russia’s billionaires and business elite to invest in new technology, production facilities and enterprises to help Russia overcome what he said were Western attempts to destroy its economy. Putin also said Russia had so far defied those attempts, and that the Western firms that had decided to stay in […]

TSMC's Germany Chip Plant Talks Hone in on Govt Subsidies - Sources

Taiwan chipmaker TSMC’s talks with the German state of Saxony about building a new factory are at an advanced stage and are now focused on government subsidies to support the investment, two people familiar with the matter said. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and Asia’s most valuable listed company, flagged in 2021 that it […]

Putin Urges Business Leaders to Build New Russian Economy

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday called on Russia’s billionaires and business elite to invest in new technology, production facilities and enterprises to help Russia overcome what he said were Western attempts to destroy its economy. Putin said Russia had so far defied those Western attempts, and that Western firms that had decided to stay in […]

ABB Invests in US Robot Factory as Reshoring Trend Hots up

ABB is expanding its main US robot factory as its customers there in the automotive, packaging and machinery industries confront a tight labour market as they bring production back home. The Swiss engineering company, which competes with Japan’s FANUC and Germany’s Kuka, is spending $20 million boosting capacity at its Auburn Hills site in Michigan […]

EU to Unveil Plans for Leadership in Green Industrial Revolution

The European Commission on Thursday will present the centrepieces of its strategy to ensure its industry can compete with the United States and China in making clean tech products and accessing raw materials required for the green transition. The EU executive’s Net-Zero Industry Act and Critical Raw Materials Act, part of its Green Deal Industrial […]

China's Answer to ChatGPT? Baidu Shares Tumble as It Unveils Ernie Bot

Chinese search engine giant Baidu on Thursday unveiled its much-anticipated artificial intelligence-powered chatbot known as Ernie Bot, giving the world a glimpse of what could be China’s strongest rival to U.S. research lab OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The popularity of ChatGPT, backed by Microsoft, has triggered a frenzied rush among Chinese tech giants and startups alike to […]

TikTok Says US Threatens Ban if Chinese Owners Don't Sell Stakes

The Biden administration has demanded that TikTok’s Chinese owners divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a possible U.S. ban, the company told Reuters on Wednesday. The move is the most dramatic in a series of recent steps by U.S. officials and legislators who have raised fears that TikTok’s U.S. user data […]