January, 2017

• 9 January

  Quest to make her run again

  

    Schwarzenbruck / DPA When Tanya Markova was just 12 years old, her life changed literally overnight when a rare disease of the spinal cord left her completely paralysed. “I woke up one day, wanted to get dressed and go to school,” says the Bulgarian-born student, who’s now 24. But suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her back and ...

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• 9 January

  Pairing off their offspring at China’s marriage market

  

    Beijing / DPA Sunday is market day at the Temple of Heaven Park in central Beijing, with lots of haggling and touting of wares. “Woman, born 1988, 168 centimetres tall, 55 kilograms, nurse,” reads one notice among a row of other A4 sheets laid out on the paved ground. One man who looks to be in his mid-50s appears ...

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• 9 January

  Trump’s trade deficit plan to hit Asian economy

  

    Bloomberg US President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to shrink a trade deficit with China through punishing tariffs wouldn’t just hurt the world’s second-biggest economy — it would also damage the rest of Asia too. That’s the increasing view of economists who say the risk of significant Trump-triggered trade tensions could slow growth in the world’s best performing region, which accounts ...

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• 9 January

  Samsung top executives to be quizzed by Korean prosecutors

  

    Bloomberg Samsung executives have been summoned by South Korean special prosecutors amid a widening influence-peddling scandal that brought about South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. Samsung Corporate Strategy Office Vice Chairman Choi Gee-sung and President Chang Choong-ki were asked to come in for questioning, Hong Jung-seok, a spokesperson for the special prosecutors office, told Bloomberg News via text message ...

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• 9 January

  Hong Kong seaside mansion purchased for $86mn

    Bloomberg A local buyer has purchased a mansion overlooking Hong Kong’s exclusive Repulse Bay using a method allowing him to avoid property taxes. The house may have fetched about HK$670 million ($86 million), based on the average square-foot valuation of similar properties in the Headland Road neighborhood, according to the agent that brokered the deal. Raymond Ho, deputy senior ...

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• 9 January

  Bird flu sends egg prices soaring in S Korea

  

    Bloomberg In a packed stall in one of Seoul’s traditional eateries, patrons feast on egg-rich Korean pancakes washed down with beer. Despite the booming business, the owner of the restaurant, Kim Kang-ock, looks on in dismay. “Soaring egg prices are driving me crazy as it’s about to kill my business,” the middle-aged South Korean street-food vendor says as she ...

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• 9 January

  Air Products bids for China’s largest industrial gas maker

  

    Bloomberg Air Products & Chemicals Inc. made an offer to buy China’s biggest producer of industrial gases as it seeks to compete with rivals such as Praxair Inc. in an industry marked by a wave of consolidation. The Allentown, Penn- sylvania-based maker of industrial and atmospheric gases said in a statement on Monday that it expressed preliminary, non-binding interest ...

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• 9 January

  Fiat Chrysler to invests $1bn in US amid Trump squeeze

  

    Bloomberg Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV will invest $1 billion toward making three new Jeep models in the US, plus a Ram heavy-duty pickup now built in Mexico, as President-elect Donald Trump pressures the auto industry to hire workers and produce vehicles above the border. The outlays planned by 2020 include retooling factories in Michigan and Ohio and adding 2,000 ...

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• 9 January

  Amazon shipments for independent merchants double

    Bloomberg Amazon.com Inc. said the number of items sold for independent merchants that use its logistics service more than doubled to 2 billion last year, evidence the online retailer’s stepped-up investments in warehouses are paying off with expansion into new areas like fashion and household goods. The world’s biggest e-commerce company has differentiated itself by offering fast, free delivery ...

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• 9 January

  Euro area heads for stronger growth as labour market recovers

  

    Bloomberg In the euro area, the course seems to be set for a pick-up in economic momentum. Unemployment in the 19-nation region remained at the lowest level in more than seven years in November, as Germany reported a second consecutive increase in industrial output and French business confidence improved. The data follow a survey of purchasing managers out last ...

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