Oracle’s stock surged Monday after reports that China-based ByteDance has chosen it to be TikTok’s U.S. technology partner. A person familiar with the discussionsthat ByteDance picked the Oracle to be the U.S. partner of the popular social video app. Oracle also will take a significant stake in the business, the person said. Earlier Sunday, Microsoft said ByteDance had […] Read more
The U.K. and Japan on Friday agreed in principle to a trade deal, in a move that sees the U.K. strike its first major agreement post-Brexit. The announcement, which the U.K. hailed as a “historic moment,” comes as Britain struggles to secure an agreement with its closest trading partners in the European Union. Britain’s trade department […] Read more
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday it was still “processing” visa extension applications for several foreign correspondents affiliated with American media amid reports that more foreign journalists in China have been caught in the ongoing spat between Beijing and Washington. Hua Chunying, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ press department, tweeted in the afternoon […] Read more
Chinese developers are facing the biggest liquidity test in more than four years, exacerbating challenges brought on by stringent funding restrictions and a prolonged profitability drop. Cash reserves of the nation’s 50 largest-listed homebuilders were just enough to cover short-term debt as at June 30, the least since 2016 when China began deleveraging its economy, […] Read more
Amid Tesla’s record rise that has seen shares soar to new highs, the company said Tuesday that it will sell up to $5 billion in stock. The additional shares will be sold “from time to time” and “at-the-market” prices, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Banks will sell shares based on directives from Tesla. […] Read more
Walmart and Microsoft might seem like an unlikely partnership to acquire TikTok’s U.S. assets, but until very recently the retailer had other plans. Before teaming up with Microsoft in recent days, Walmart was part of a consortium put together by SoftBank Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure, which also included Google parent company Alphabet, according to people familiar with the matter. SoftBank’s Claure […] Read more
Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, has given the first look at its financials ahead of its highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO). The financial technology powerhouse, which is still controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma, reported profit of 21.9 billion Chinese yuan ($3.2 billion) on total revenues of 72.5 billion yuan in the first half of […] Read more
Walmart’s online shopping strategy is paying off in China, arguably one of the most developed e-commerce markets in the world. The giant discount retailer reported Tuesday that net e-commerce sales in China grew 104% from a year ago in the three months ended July 31. That’s a faster pace than the 97% growth posted for net e-commerce […] Read more
The U.S. and China will reportedly review the progress of their “phase one” trade deal later this week — roughly six months after the agreement came into effect. The deal paused a damaging trade war — involving retaliatory tariffs being slapped on billions of dollars worth of goods — between the world’s top two economies that started […] Read more
When the coronavirus pandemic forced restaurants to shut their dining rooms, many chains slimmed down their menus to make service smoother — and some of those changes may be permanent. States and cities across the country are easing restrictions, but menus are unlikely to snap back to their pre-pandemic status. Bloated menus can overwhelm customers, slow down […] Read more
