Bloomberg Target’s heavy discounting during the crucial holiday season squeezed fourth-quarter profits. But its trendy assortments and spiffed up presentations induced shoppers to spend more. The company, based in Minneapolis, also offered an upbeat outlook, sending shares more than 3 percent higher. The results show Target has made solid progress in reinvigorating its business and winning back shoppers. It initiated …

Beijing / Bloomberg Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group Co. is planning to invest billions of euros in a retail and leisure development outside of Paris, according to two people familiar with the matter. An announcement may come as soon as on Friday, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the project is confidential. Wang …

AFP As the world’s largest mobile phone fair hosts the “creme de la creme” in Barcelona, activists slam the dark side of a sector accused of ignoring rights abuses in Chinese factories and Congolese mines. “Behind this modern, progressive industry lurk dark themes like labour exploitation or minerals stained with blood that come from conflict zones,” says Alba Trepat, campaigns …