Given recent market turmoil, it would easy to overlook the upcoming IPO of Niu Technologies, a Chinese manufacturer of electric mopeds. The $95 million the company plans to raise is a pittance compared to the billions burnt by Tesla Inc. But, the technologies developed by Niu and other pioneers of electric two-wheel vehicles will transform transportation as much as anything ...

Bloomberg The staggering growth of cloud computing can’t go on forever. And reports from tech companies that make data-center hardware and sell the services suggest the industry’s expansion is cooling. Western Digital Corp., a maker of memory chips, neatly listed everything that is suddenly wrong with the technology industry when it gave a disappointing forecast. A boom in spending by ...

Bloomberg In Haidilao International Holding Ltd.’s hotpot restaurants, robots are replacing chefs and waiters. Asia’s biggest listed restaurant chain by market value is partnering with Japan’s Panasonic Corp. to open what the two companies say is the world’s first eatery with a fully automated kitchen on October 28 in Beijing. At the new Haidilao restaurant, robots will take orders, prepare ...

Bloomberg The only person in a kimono at a recent Japanese government meeting on flying cars was Kotaro Chiba, a former online-game executive turned fina- ncier of a very specific kind. For Chiba, 44, who wears the kimono on special occasions to show his pride in Japanese culture, is gathering money for what he calls the Drone Fund. It invests ...

Bloomberg Mario Draghi defended the independence of central banks hours after Italian populists blamed him for adding to market tensions that threaten the health of the nation’s banks. “Credibility hinges on independence,” the European Central Bank president said in a speech in Brussels. “The central bank should not be subject to fiscal or political dominance and should be free to ...

Bloomberg India’s central bank wants more independence to regulate state-run banks as it seeks to clean up the country’s banking system, which has one of the highest stressed loan ratios among major economies. In a speech in Mumbai, Viral Acharya, deputy governor in charge of monetary policy, said the central bank has limited powers to discipline errant government-owned banks as ...

Bloomberg Russia’s central bank kept borrowing costs unchanged, pausing despite persistent inflation risks after a surprise hike last month. The key interest rate will stay at 7.5 percent, according to a statement. The decision was forecast by 39 of 41 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with the rest predicting an increase to 7.75 percent. “Holding the rate unchanged is a good ...

Bloomberg Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc set aside 100 million pounds ($128 million) to reflect greater uncertainty aro-und Brexit, the first British bank to do so this quarter, as Chief Executive Ross McEwan said big companies are pausing investment as the talks drag on. While McEwan said his meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May alongside other CEOs last week ...

Bloomberg Airbus SE has a mighty challenge ahead of it, one that seems to be getting tougher. The European planemaker is targeting deliveries of around 800 commercial aircraft this year, an 11 percent jump from 2017. To do it, Airbus needs to hand over some 300 jets in its final quarter, which would be a record. But delays with engines ...

Bloomberg The airline industry should prepare for chaos if no trade agreement is signed in the coming weeks for the UK’s planned split from the European Union, the head of the sector’s trade body has warned. The International Air Transport Association detailed its concerns in a report on Brexit. These include airline landing rights in the UK, pilot licenses and ...