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☆ Long before rescue talks, Country Garden struggled to build homes, pay bills
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/3] The company logo of Chinese developer Country Garden is pictured at the Shanghai Country Garden Center in Shanghai, China August 9, 2023. "Nobody believed that Country Garden would fail. Country Garden declined to comment. In July, only weeks before it skipped debt payments, Country Garden launched a campaign on its WeChat channel titled “Beautiful Delivery”, showcasing newly built apartments and happy homeowners. Country Garden did not respond to questions about the payment or delivery disputes.

Persons: Aly, Ping, COVID, Economist Intelligence Unit's Xu Tianchen, EIU’s Xu, it’s, ”, Qiao Jingjing, Qiao, Clare Jim, Liangping Gao, Amy Lv, Laurie Chen, Antoni Slodkowski Organizations: Shanghai Country Garden, REUTERS, Rights, China's, Garden, Ping An, Economist Intelligence, Reuters, Observers, Jujiang, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, HONG KONG, Beijing, Chongqing, Xinzheng, Henan Province, Lincoln

Stock prices fell in Hong Kong, Bangkok and Mumbai and rose in Tokyo, Seoul and Shanghai. U.S. futures slipped and oil prices edged higher. American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines were also toward the front of the market, each gaining more than 2% as oil prices continued to drop and ease the pressure on fuel costs. A recent sharp drop in oil prices has relieved some inflationary pressure, raising the likelihood the Fed might hold rates steady instead of raising them further. The price for a barrel of U.S. crude oil has fallen from above $90 to back to where it was in July, and it dropped another $2.04 to settle at $75.33 on Wednesday.

Persons: ” Robert Carnell, disinflation, ”, Hang Seng, Fumio Kishida, Eli Lilly, Jerome Powell, Brent Organizations: ING Economics, Nikkei, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Warner Brothers Discovery, Federal, New York Mercantile Exchange, Brent, U.S Locations: BANGKOK, Asia, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Mumbai, Tokyo, Seoul, Shanghai . U.S, China, Shanghai, Australia, Israel

☆ China's SMIC sees lower Q4 gross margin, lifts annual capex forecast
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A logo of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) is seen at China International Semiconductor Expo (IC China 2020) following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Shanghai, China October 14, 2020. REUTERS/Aly Song/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 9 (Reuters) - Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (0981.HK) on Thursday lifted its annual capital expenditure forecast to around $7.5 billion and said it expects lower fourth-quarter gross margins. SMIC expects a gross margin of between 16% and 18% in the fourth quarter, compared with 19.8% in the third quarter. Revenue for the third quarter fell to $1.62 billion from $1.91 billion a year ago, but the company expects a sequential increase of 1% to 3% in the fourth quarter. SMIC had previously said it expects capital expenditure in 2023 to be roughly flat compared with 2022, which came in at about $6.35 billion.

Persons: Aly, TSMC, Germany's, SMIC, Nausheen, Devika Organizations: Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, China International Semiconductor, REUTERS, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp, HK, SMIC, Revenue, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Bengaluru

☆ China health sector sees better sentiment from anti-graft drive - execs
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Andrew Silver | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, Nov 9 (Reuters) - Business activities in China's healthcare sector are returning from a sudden near freeze that began in July when Beijing kicked off a year-long anti-corruption campaign, two foreign industry executives said. The campaign targets the bribing of doctors in drug and medical equipment sales and marks a sharp escalation of an anti-corruption drive in the sector that started years ago. The latest campaign has sent a chill through the sector, pummeling healthcare stocks and prompting some firms to cancel IPOs. The anti-graft drive initially caused huge business disruptions and many multinational pharmaceutical firms lost engagement with hospitals, executives said. China is one of the biggest healthcare markets for global healthcare companies but their business sentiment has turned fragile this year due to factors including the anti-graft drive.

Persons: We’ve, Larry Merizalde, Merizalde, Andrew Silver, Miyoung Kim, Robert Birsel Organizations: Beijing, Reuters, South, AstraZeneca, National Health Commission, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shanghai

☆ Exclusive: Geely's Zeekr edges closer to US IPO, to make filing public this week - sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The EV brand will publish its prospectus and its shares could start being traded on the bourse within weeks of the announcement, the sources said. Zeekr confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering last December, aiming to raise more than $1 billion, Reuters has reported. However, the company is likely to raise less than the targeted amount from the IPO, one of the sources said. It offers four EV models in China, with its 001 crossover priced from 269,000 yuan ($36,927.22) as its best-selling EV. ($1 = 7.2846 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Zhang Yan in Shanghai and Scott Murdoch in Sydney.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Zeekr, Zeekr confidentially, Didi, Amnon Shashua, Andy, Zhang Yan, Scott Murdoch, Kane Wu, Kim Coghill Organizations: bourse, underwriters, U.S, Reuters, Mobileye, Intel Corp, Tesla, Zhejiang Geely, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, New York, China, United States, Beijing, Zhejiang, Zeekr, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Shanghai, Sydney, Hong Kong

☆ Morning Bid: Oil and bond yields try to find toehold
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The Wall Street sign is pictured at the New York Stock exchange (NYSE) in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 9, 2020. The supply picture for U.S. crude, which is now down more than 20% from late September's peaks, has also weighed on energy prices. Crude inventories increased by 11.9 million barrels over the week to Nov. 3, sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures. With senior Fed officials on Wednesday side-stepping guidance on the central bank's next policy steps, attention focuses squarely on Powell's latest speech. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Carlo Allegri, Mike Dolan, Jerome Powell's, Powell, Jerome Powell, Thomas Barkin, Raphael Bostic, Kathleen O'Neill Paese, Christine Lagarde, Janet Yellen, Becton Dickinson, Emelia Sithole Organizations: New York Stock, REUTERS, Federal, American Petroleum Institute, Walt Disney, ABC, Warner Bros Discovery, Richmond Fed, Atlanta Fed, Louis Interim, European Central Bank, . Treasury, News Corp, Wynn Resorts, U.S, Treasury, Thomson, Reuters Locations: Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Europe, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Washington, St, Brussels, Mettler, Toledo, TransDigm

Toy figures of people are seen in front of the displayed Disney + logo, in this illustration taken January 20, 2022. For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, Disney reported adjusted per-share earnings of 82 cents, topping an average forecast of 70 cents, according to LSEG data. The company said it added nearly 7 million Disney+ streaming subscribers in the quarter, with the inclusion of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar together boast 150.2 million subscribers, ahead of Visible Alpha's estimate of 147.4 million. "Our results this quarter reflect the significant progress we've made over the past year," Iger said in a statement.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Walt Disney, Bob, Kevin Lansberry, Iger, Disney, Nelson Peltz, Trian, Paolo Pescatore, Paul Verna, Verna, We've, Dawn Chmielewski, Lisa Richwine, Chavi Mehta, Peter Henderson, Sayantani Ghosh, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, ABC, Disney, Guardians, Trian, Management, Warner Bros Discovery, SAG, Insider Intelligence, Hulu, ESPN, Shanghai Disney, Walt Disney, Disney's Entertainment, Star, Big Ten, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, Hong Kong, Florida, India, Los Angeles, Bengaluru

The price valued the company at $223.5 billion, about 26% lower than a valuation a year earlier, the Reuters report said. Last year, ByteDance was valued at $300 billion in a buyback program offered to its non-U.S. employees. The latest $160 price is higher than the $155 price set in an earlier April buyback, the person added. A ByteDance spokesperson confirmed the share buyback plan for employees outside the U.S., saying it aimed to provide liquidity options for staff through such programs. Buybacks allow employees to cash in shares without waiting for the company to list on the stock market.

Persons: Aly, ByteDance, Brenda Goh, Josh YE, Mark Potter Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights SHANGHAI, HONG KONG, United States, U.S, Hong Kong

☆ Polestar cuts its guidance as it retools its business plan for lower EV sales, higher profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( John Rosevear | In Jrosevear | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

At the time of its initial public offering last year, Polestar was targeting annual sales of about 290,000 vehicles by the end of 2025. For 2023, Polestar now expects to deliver "approximately 60,000" vehicles, at the low end of its previous guidance range, with a positive gross margin of about 2%. The company had previously guided to deliveries of between 60,000 and 70,000 vehicles in 2023, with a gross margin of 4% for the year. Polestar's gross margin was 1.1% in the first nine months of 2023 and 4.9% in 2022. Production of the Polestar 4, a smaller crossover SUV, will begin in China next week as planned, the company said.

Persons: Polestar, Thomas Ingenlath, Volvo — Organizations: Shanghai International Automobile Industry, National Exhibition, Convention Center, Geely Automobile, Geely, Volvo, Revenue Locations: Shanghai, China, Swedish, United States

Gloom over worse-than-expected export data offset any positive momentum from an upgrade to China's growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund. It raised its GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 5.4% from 5% but forecast that growth will slow next year. Earlier in the summer, a swift rise in Treasury yields sent the stock market reeling. High rates and yields hurt stock prices, slow the economy and raise the pressure on the entire financial system. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar edged up to 150.69 Japanese yen from 150.37 yen.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, Janet Yellen, Korea’s Kospi, Australia's, TripAdvisor Organizations: TOKYO, Economic Cooperation, White, Treasury, APEC, International Monetary Fund, Nikkei, Moody’s, Service, Big Tech, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Emerson, Federal, Federal Reserve, New York Mercantile Exchange, Brent, U.S Locations: China, U.S, Asia, San Francisco, Shanghai, Japan, Israel

☆ China's truck industry is buying more driver-assist technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Huanqiu.com | Visual China Group | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China's truck industry is finding more reasons to buy vehicles with assisted-driving technology. The companies trying to sell trucks to fleet operators are including driver-assist tech as a way to make the vehicles more attractive, Gui said. In addition, Chinese authorities require all newly manufactured trucks since 2022 to come with basic driver-assist tech for warning against forward collision and lane departure, Gui said. The startup claims its trucks cost about 5% less than traditional options, on top of safety and environmental benefits. PlatooningOther startups are testing out different forms of driver-assist trucks in China.

Persons: Gui Lingfeng, Gui, Julian Ma Inceptio, Inceptio, Julian Ma, That's, Ma, Didi, Junqing Wei Organizations: Visual China, Getty, BEIJING, Kearney, it's, Industry, SF Holdings, CNBC's East Tech West Locations: Shanghai, China, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Nansha, Guangzhou

☆ Disney is in trouble. Bob Iger has 5 big problems to solve
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Last quarter, Disney’s linear television revenue continued to slip, declining 7% compared to the same quarter last year. Disney World angstIt may not be all bad news for Disney, though. However, Disney World Resort in Florida has struggled with declining attendance in recent months. Over the summer, Disney World parkgoers experienced shorter-than-expected ride wait times and fewer crowds. Nearly one year ago, Iger unexpectedly came out of retirement to take over the role of Disney CEO once again after the board unexpectedly fired his successor, Bob Chapek.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Bob Iger, Hugh Johnston, Christine McCarthy, Iger, ” Iger, I’ve, expansively, Indiana Jones, Reynaud Julien, Bank of America’s Jessica Reif Ehrlich, Ehrlich, Jason Bazinet, Disney, Disney isn’t, ”, Vijay Jayant, underperformance, Bob Chapek, Johnston Organizations: Los Angeles CNN, Disney, Republican, Gov, Warner Bros, CNN, Media, YouTube, ESPN, Wall Street, PepsiCo, ABC, Disney Channel, Geographic, “, Destiny, Cannes Film, APS, Bank of America’s, Citigroup, Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland Locations: Florida, Refinitiv, Cannes, France, Canada, Hulu, Shanghai, Hong, Central Florida

☆ China property rescue? Who are Ping An Insurance Group and Country Garden?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Julie Zhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Ping An, based in the southern tech hub of Shenzhen, vies with China Life (601628.SS) for the title of the country's biggest insurance group by market value. Country Garden has said repeatedly that "home delivery" is its top priority. WHY HAS BEIJING PICKED PING AN TO RESCUE COUNTRY GARDEN? Ping An was a natural choice because it is based in Guangdong and has been a major Country Garden shareholder, said the sources. Ping An said after the Reuters report that it no longer holds Country Garden shares.

Persons: Ping, Ma Mingzhe, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Yang Huiyan, Alex Ren, Julie Zhu, Kim Coghill Organizations: Ping An Insurance Group, HK, Reuters, WHO, China, Lufax, Ping An Healthcare, Technology, HSBC, Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co, Central Huijin Investment, Charoen Pokphand, CP, China Evergrande, Evergrande, Regulators, BEIJING, Authorities, Garden, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Shenzhen, vies, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangdong

☆ Apple is not passing on costs of climate goals to consumers, exec says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People stand outside an Apple Store as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China, in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023. "I want to do it in a way that other businesses can say this isn't because they’re Apple," said Jackson, referring to Cook's direction. Critics say it is easier for a tech company like Apple to meet such goals than it would be for corporations in more energy-intensive industries. Jackson also said Apple is working with smaller processing companies to recycle rare earths and other materials. "That's somewhere Apple can invest and then help to scale and bring (other) businesses along," she said.

Persons: Aly, Lisa Jackson, Alessandra Galloni, Jackson, Tim Cook, Jackson nodded, Jeffrey Dastin, Kenneth Li, Ross Kerber, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Apple, REUTERS, Reuters NEXT, Reuters, U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, Apple Watch, Thomson Locations: China, Shanghai, New York, California, U.S, Boston

☆ Exclusive: Baidu placed AI chip order from Huawei in shift away from Nvidia -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Baidu ordered 1,600 of Huawei Technologies' 910B Ascend AI chips - which the Chinese firm developed as an alternative to Nvidia's A100 chip - for 200 servers, the source said, adding that by October, Huawei had delivered more 60% of the order, or about 1,000 chips, to Baidu. Baidu, alongside Chinese peers such as Tencent (0700.HK) and Alibaba (9988.HK), is known to be a long-time client of Nvidia. Baidu was not previously known to be a AI chip customer of Huawei. Huawei's website says it has since 2020 collaborated with Baidu to make its AI platform compatible with Huawei hardware. Baidu has developed its own line of Kunlun AI chips, which the company says supports large-scale AI computing, but the company has mainly relied on Nvidia's A100 chip to train its LLM.

Persons: Aly, Baidu, Ernie, Yelin Mo, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Josh Ye, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Baidu, Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, Rights, HK, Huawei, U.S ., Nvidia, Huawei Technologies, U.S, HUAWEI, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, SHANGHAI, U.S, Beijing, Hong Kong

☆ IMF upgrades China's 2023, 2024 GDP growth forecasts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People wait to board trains at the Shanghai Hongqiao railway station ahead of the National Day holiday, in Shanghai, China September 28, 2023. GDP growth could slow to 4.6% in 2024 because of continued weakness in China's property sector and subdued external demand, the IMF said in a press release, albeit better than its October expectation of 4.2% in the IMF's World Economic Outlook (WEO). The combination of the downturn in the property sector and local government debt crunch could wipe out much of China's long-term growth potential, economists say. Local debt has reached 92 trillion yuan ($12.6 trillion), or 76% of China's economic output in 2022, up from 62.2% in 2019. China should also develop a comprehensive restructuring strategy to reduce the debt level of local government financing vehicles (LGFVs), she said.

Persons: Aly, IMF's, Gita Gopinath, Gopinath, LGFVs, Joe Cash, Ryan Woo, Edmund Klamann, Christopher Cushing Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Monetary Fund, China's, Communist Party, Thomson Locations: Shanghai Hongqiao, Shanghai, China, Rights BEIJING, Gopinath

REUTERS/Nick Oxford/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 7 (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped by 1% on Tuesday, erasing most of Monday's gains, as mixed economic data from the world's second largest oil consumer China and winter demand worries offset the impact of Saudi Arabia and Russia extending output cuts. Both benchmarks gained about 30 cents on Monday after top exporters Saudi Arabia and Russia reaffirmed their commitment to extra voluntary oil supply cuts until the end of the year. Expectations of crude run reductions by China-based refiners between November and December may limit oil demand and exacerbate price declines. Looking ahead on the supply side, markets are waiting to see how long Saudi Arabia and Russia are ready to rein in production. Moscow also announced it would continue its additional voluntary supply cut of 300,000 bpd from its crude oil and petroleum product exports until the end of December.

Persons: Nick Oxford, Leon Li, Kelvin Wong, Trixie Yap, Yuka Obayashi, Jamie Freed, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Midland , Texas U.S, REUTERS, Brent, U.S, West Texas, Markets, ING, Thomson Locations: Midland , Texas, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Shanghai, OPEC, Moscow, Singapore, Tokyo

☆ Kazakh President: Forming Multi-Polar World Painful, but Reason Will Prevail
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

(Reuters) - The formation of a base for a multi-polar world order is proceeding with extreme difficulty amid conflict in different parts of the world, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in an interview published on Wednesday. But Tokayev, interviewed by the Russian daily Izvestia, said he believed world tensions would subside and be replaced international cooperation focusing on a reformed United Nations. "As we see, the formation of the architecture of the modern multi-polar world is proceeding extremely painfully," Tokayev told the daily ahead of a visit to Kazakhstan this week by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Tokayev told Izvestia the U.N. would play a central role in international relations once tensions eased. "The many crises in different parts of the world have exposed the U.N.'s vulnerability in its attempts to resolve them."

Persons: Kassym, Jomart Tokayev, Tokayev, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Lidia Kelly, Ronald Popeski, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, United Nations, Pravda, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Commonwealth of Independent, Security Locations: Kazakh, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, Commonwealth of Independent States, Eurasia, Melbourne, Winnipeg

Dozens of international and private schools in China are closing or merging, industry executives said, weighed down by tighter regulation, a slowing economy and dwindling foreign student numbers. A rapid expansion prior to the COVID-19 pandemic drove a surge of privately run bilingual schools in China offering a western exam curriculum. Dulwich College operates nine schools in China including bilingual schools catering to Chinese nationals that have been hit hardest by regulatory changes. It mandated that Chinese compulsory education be taught in private schools, aligning the curriculum more closely to public schools and making parents question the need to pay private school fees when their children can attend free government schools. Authorities have also moved to control the number of private schools.

Persons: Aly, Julian Fisher, Fisher, Dulwich, Xi, It's, Frank Feng, Jimmy Chin, Nicholas Burns, Mathias Boyer, Casey, Roxanne Liu, Dorothy Kam, Muralikumar Organizations: REUTERS, Dulwich College, Venture Education, Strategic, Education, Motion, Dulwich, British, Authorities, Dulwich's, Victoria Kid House, Western International School of, Everpine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, University of Science, Technology of, International School of Beijing, Casey Hall, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, HONG KONG, British, Asia, China's, Beijing, Dulwich, Singapore, South Korea, U.S, Britain, Canada, Lucton, Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen, Eton, Guangzhou, Western International School of Shanghai, Xi'an, Technology of China, Anhui, Hong Kong

☆ Fitness gym collapse kills 3 in China's Heilongjiang province
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Bernard Orr | Thomson Reuters | Bernard Orr Is A Veteran Journalist With Over Years Of Experience. He Reports On Breaking News Mainland China | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Three people were killed and one injured after a structural collapse at a fitness club in northeast China's Heilongjiang province, local officials said on Tuesday. According to a local resident, the collapsed gymnasium is a basketball arena where youth basketball training is held, Global Times reported late Monday. The venue where the accident occurred belongs to the New Sunshine Fitness Club in Huanan County, according to the county government. 34 Middle School gymnasium collapsed in July," said a netizen on China's Weibo social media platform. Another gymnasium collapse occurred in three months."

Persons: Bernard Orr, Ella Cao, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Government, Global Times, Sunshine Fitness, New Sunshine, Authorities, Weibo, Thomson Locations: BEIJING, China's Heilongjiang, Jiamusi city, Huanan County, Shanghai, New, Heilongjiang, China's Qiqihar

☆ Asia stocks snap winning streak, Aussie slips
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 1.2% following a three-day rally that lifted the benchmark by nearly 6%. South Korean shares (.KS11) fell 3% as traders unwound some of Monday's surge on the reimposition of a short-selling ban. Treasuries were broadly steady in Asia, having unwound a little of last week's rally on Monday. Ten-year yields hovered at 4.92% - about 10 basis points above where they closed on Friday, but below where they were a week earlier. "It was a dovish hike...it's not pointing to any immediate need for a follow-up," said RBC Capital Markets rates strategist Rob Thompson on the phone from Sydney.

Persons: Kim Kyung, Nicholas Chia, it's, Rob Thompson, Alan Ruskin, George Saravelos, Gold, bitcoin, Ankur Banerjee, Lincoln Organizations: Tokyo Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Rights, Reserve Bank of Australia, South, Japan's Nikkei, Shanghai, Nasdaq, Standard Chartered, Fed, Capital Markets, U.S, Deutsche Bank, Brent, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Japan, Rights SINGAPORE, Australia, Asia, Pacific, Sydney, Taiwan, East, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore

☆ China's ByteDance to overhaul VR arm Pico as global demand declines -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Josh Ye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The ByteDance logo is seen at the company's office in Shanghai, China July 4, 2023. The meeting did not specify how many jobs would be cut as a result, but the three people said "hundreds" of Pico staff were expected to be affected globally. In China, it has become the leading VR producer by total shipments and globally it trails only Meta. But two of the people said ByteDance had pared back efforts to develop Pico as a brand in recent months as the outlook dimmed. ByteDance said last month it remained committed to the VR industry in the long term following media reports that it planned to gradually wind down Pico.

Persons: Aly, Pico, ByteDance, Josh Ye, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Pico, Reuters, VR, Meta, IDC, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Pico, HONG KONG

The orchestra first visited China in September 1973, marking a thaw in U.S.-China relations just as the two nations began normalizing ties after Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit China’s mainland. “This constant 50-year connection with China has been really very deep and very wonderful,” Booth on arriving at Beijing’s Capital International Airport. The ensemble will be performing with the China National Symphony Orchestra at the National Centre for the Performing Arts, starting Friday. Political Cartoons View All 1234 ImagesThe ensemble’s visit coincides with the American Ballet Theatre’s tour in China, which started in Shanghai last week. Until now, the Philadelphia Orchestra had visited China 12 times, most recently in May 2019, before the pandemic.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi, Richard Nixon, Davyd Booth, ” Booth, Antony Blinken, Janet Yellen, Gina Raimondo, Biden Organizations: BEIJING, Philadelphia Orchestra, Beijing’s Capital International Airport, China National Symphony Orchestra, National Centre, Performing Arts, American Ballet, Economic Cooperation Locations: Beijing, China, China’s, Tianjin, Suzhou, Shanghai, United States, U.S, Washington, Asia, San Francisco

The company's shares cost more than $400 two years ago but now cost less than $1. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.3% to 6,977.10 after the central bank raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 4.35%. Elsewhere in Asia, shares rose in Taiwan but fell in Bangkok and Mumbai. Last week, the Federal Reserve held its main interest rate steady for a second straight time, leaving it at its highest level since 2001. It’s jacked up its federal funds rate from nearly zero in hopes of getting high inflation under control.

Persons: Korea’s Kospi, WeWork, Australia's, RBA, It’s, Brent Organizations: —, Tokyo's Nikkei, Reserve Bank of Australia, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, Treasury, Federal Reserve, Fed, New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S Locations: BANGKOK, Asia, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, China, it's, Seoul, Taiwan, Bangkok, Mumbai, U.S, Saudi Arabia, Russia

☆ Private Schools Rethink China Future After Flunking Growth Test
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

Dozens of international and private schools in China are closing or merging, industry executives said, weighed down by tighter regulation, a slowing economy and dwindling foreign student numbers. Dulwich College operates nine schools in China including bilingual schools catering to Chinese nationals that have been hit hardest by regulatory changes. Strategic plans for growth of its high schools in China were "scaled back in light of changing government regulations", Dulwich said in its 2022 annual report. Authorities have also moved to control the number of private schools. Dozens of schools, from kindergartens to high schools, have shut or stalled in the past two years.

Persons: Farah Master, Kane Wu, Julian Fisher, Fisher, Dulwich, Xi, It's, Frank Feng, Jimmy Chin, Nicholas Burns, Mathias Boyer, Casey, Roxanne Liu, Dorothy Kam, Muralikumar Anantharaman Organizations: Reuters, Dulwich College, Venture Education, Strategic, Education, Motion, Dulwich, British, Authorities, Dulwich's, Victoria Kid House, Western International School of, Everpine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, University of Science, Technology of, International School of Beijing, Casey Hall Locations: Kane Wu HONG KONG, British, China, Asia, China's, Beijing, Dulwich, Singapore, South Korea, U.S, Britain, Canada, Shanghai, Lucton, Greater Bay Area, Shenzhen, Eton, Guangzhou, Western International School of Shanghai, Xi'an, Technology of China, Anhui, Hong Kong

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