Business News
Latest business news and updates
Total: 2072
Holiday Timing and an Oil Slide Keep China’s January CPI Tepid at 0.2%
China’s January CPI slowed to 0.2% year-on-year as the calendar shift of the Spring Festival and falling global oil prices weighed on headline inflation. Core inflation excluding food and energy rose modestly, while analysts say January and February should be read together because of the festival timing, with annual inflation likely to remain low.
Li Yapeng’s Livestream Resurgence Masks Liability Risks — Celebrity Sales Surge as Hospital and Company Face Legal and Financial Headwinds
Actor-turned-livestreamer Li Yapeng has seen a dramatic rebound in online sales and followers after publicising the financial distress of the Yanran Angel Children’s Hospital. The surge in donations and livestream revenue, however, sits alongside tax and court liabilities — including a RMB 6.34 million tax delinquency tied to a company he partly owns and an earlier judgment over overdue rent — exposing governance and regulatory risks in celebrity-backed ventures.
When the Renewal Prompt Feels Risky: Why Chinese Households Are Rethinking Sam’s Club Memberships
Recurring food-safety and service lapses have turned the simple act of renewing a Sam’s Club membership in China into a fraught decision for many households. The incidents expose structural vulnerabilities in last-mile delivery, high-touch prepared-food processing and assortment strategy, threatening the trust-based business model that underpins membership retail.
NIO’s First Lady Goes On Air: Podcasting, Personal Brands and Corporate PR in China
Wang Yizhi, wife of NIO founder Li Bin and a former CCTV anchor, has launched a documentary-style podcast focused on women’s stories. Her move echoes similar efforts by other high-profile business spouses and coincides with improving financial signals at NIO and the broader Chinese podcast boom, highlighting how personality-driven content is becoming part of corporate communications strategies in China.
Guangzhou’s Richest Unraveled: Cedar Holdings, a 20bn‑yuan Collapse and 6,800 Angry Investors
Zhang Jin, founder of Cedar Holdings and once Guangzhou’s richest man, is on trial for alleged fundraising fraud and related offences after the company’s wealth‑management products blew up into an estimated 20 billion yuan exposure affecting about 6,800 investors. The collapse highlights systemic risks in China’s supply‑chain finance and shadow‑banking practices, and will test regulators’ appetite for asset recovery and punishment of high‑profile private firms.
Paying for Piety: UU Delivery Withdraws '999‑Yuan Kowtow' Service After Ethics Outcry
A Chinese delivery app, UU Paotui, briefly offered a 999‑yuan service in which riders would perform three kowtows on behalf of customers, provoking public outrage and rapid removal. The incident highlights the commercialisation of intimate, symbolic labour in the gig economy and the reputational and regulatory risks that follow when platforms monetise cultural practices.
Trump’s Warsh Gamble: A Fed Nomination That Shocked the Dollar, Gold and Global Risk Appetite
President Trump’s January 30 nomination of Kevin Warsh as Fed chair jolted markets, sending the dollar higher, Treasury yields up and precious metals into steep declines. Warsh’s public scepticism of prolonged quantitative easing and his preference for shrinking the Fed’s balance sheet prompted investors to reprice liquidity and risk, with implications for global capital flows and asset valuations.
PBOC Keeps Policy Loose but Targeted: Cushioning Growth while Nudging Prices Up
The People’s Bank of China has reaffirmed a policy of moderate monetary easing, combining new measures with existing tools to support growth and a gradual rebound in prices. The bank is steering credit toward technology, small firms, green projects and consumption while monitoring liquidity through a wider lens that merges deposits and managed assets.
A‑share Holiday Dilemma: Historical Spring Rally Gives Investors Reason to Hold Stocks — With Caution
China’s A‑shares historically show a strong probability of rising in the first five to ten trading days after the Lunar New Year, prompting many analysts to recommend carrying a partial equity position through the holiday. Reduced pre‑holiday volumes and sector rotation toward defensive and consumer names temper the optimism, and the long market shutdown raises the risk of gap moves from unforeseen headlines.
Celebrity Comeback Meets Old Liabilities: Li Yapeng’s Livestream Surge Collides with Tax and Hospital Debt
Li Yapeng’s livestreaming revival has delivered blockbuster sales and renewed public attention, but emerging corporate and hospital debts complicate the picture. A shareholder firm tied to him owes about RMB 6.34 million in land use tax, and Yanran Hospital faces a court‑ordered rent liability that donations cannot easily cover under Chinese fundraising rules.
Joseph Tsai Says Jack Ma Once 'Fired' Him — and Signals Alibaba's New, Narrower Focus on AI and Cloud
At a Stanford Business School interview, Alibaba chairman Joseph Tsai revealed Jack Ma once removed him from an operations role early in Alibaba's history and described the company's renewed strategic focus: concentrate on e-commerce, expand AI and cloud (with an eye toward GPU demand), and deprioritize non-core assets. He framed these choices as pragmatic responses to market realities and the need for clear priorities.
From Baijiu to Bots: How China’s Spring Gala Became an AI and Robot Showcase
China’s 2026 Spring Festival Gala has pivoted from traditional sponsors such as baijiu brands toward AI assistants, robots and internet platforms. ByteDance’s Doubao and several robotics firms are using the national broadcast to seed user growth and investor interest, but the technology and commercialization behind the spectacle remain nascent.