WhatsApp has been blocked in China while other communication platforms like WeChat have been disrupted, as the country’s Communist Party Congress began on Wednesday. CNBC confirmed the blockage with two producers in Beijing, who said they could not send or receive messages on Facebook-owned WhatsApp. They were also unable to change their profile picture on […]
Read moreChinese President Xi Jinping said Wednesday that China supports an open world economy and pledged further liberalization of its market to foreign investors — even as he touted the benefits of a socialist system at opening of the 19th Communist Party Congress. In a three-and-a-half hour speech both retrospective and forward-looking, Xi discussed China’s progress […]
Read moreAkzo Nobel, the Dutch maker of Dulux paint, reported lower-than-expected third-quarter operating earnings of 383 million euros ($451 million) on Wednesday, citing “headwinds” at its marine coatings business and margin pressures from rising raw material costs. It said earnings before interest and taxes for the year would now be about flat from 2016 — its […]
Read moreBoeing Co said on Tuesday that Bombardier Inc’s CSeries jets could still be hit with high U.S. import duties, even if they are assembled in Alabama through an industry-changing deal with Airbus. The deal announced on Monday gives Airbus a majority stake in Bombardier’s troubled CSeries jetliner programme, securing the plane’s future and giving the […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
European shares expected to open on a positive note as earnings season picks up the pace
European markets are expected to start Wednesday’s session in the black, as investors turn their attention to the latest batch of earnings and data releases. Looking to the major bourses, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 is expected to open 23 points higher at 7,539, while the German DAX is set to start on a positive note, […]
Read moreU.K.-based InterContinental Hotels Group announced Wednesday it is planning to bring two of its hotel brands to China and Asia Pacific in an attempt to capture new breeds of consumers — the wellness enthusiasts and the wealthy. The new brands are Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, a luxury boutique chain that operates mostly in the United […]
Read moreDespite all that the Indian government has done to revitalize the country’s struggling banking sector, one crucial element remains missing from its effort: New Delhi isn’t forking over enough cash. The lack of liquid funds at a time when non-performing assets remain at high levels has incapacitated the banks’ ability to lend and spur investments […]
Read moreOnline micro-lending company Qudian is about to go public at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, and it’s set to be one of the largest U.S.-listed floats by a Chinese company this year. In its prospectus, Qudian said it was offering 37.5 million American Depository Shares with a float price range of $19-$22 per […]
Read moreMemo to the many places vying for Amazon‘s second headquarters: It ain’t all food trucks and free bananas. For years, much of downtown Seattle has been a maze of broken streets and caution-taped sidewalks. Dozens of enormous cranes tower overhead as double-length dump trucks hauling excavated dirt rumble past pedestrians and bicyclists. The crashing and […]
Read moreMobileye, the Intel subsidiary that makes cameras and sensors used in autonomous-drive cars, says automakers and tech companies need measurable and provable standards to make self-driving cars as safe as possible. Without those parameters, Mobileye CEO and co-founder Amnon Shashua says, “all the investment in AVs runs the risk of ending up as simply a […]
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