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Bloomberg When Starbucks Corp. took its American playbook to China two decades ago, that included a controversial chapter: grow extra fast and cannibalise your own stores’ sales. After snagging enviable 5% growth in the key country in the latest quarter, the coffee giant warned again that its China comparable sales could rise as little as 1% this fiscal year. The …

Bloomberg President Donald Trump signaled he would be willing to wait for another year before striking a trade agreement with China, casting doubt on the likelihood of a phase-one accord within weeks between Washington and Beijing. “I have no deadline,” he told reporters on Tuesday on London when asked if he wanted an agreement by year end. Stocks dropped in …

Bloomberg The European Union (EU) is gearing up for the world’s most ambitious push against climate change with a radical overhaul of its economy. At a summit in Brussels next week, EU leaders will commit to cutting net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero by 2050, according to a draft of their joint statement for the December 12-13 meeting. To meet this …

Bloomberg Opec+ is poised for a debate about lax implementation of oil-production cuts in Vienna this week, with Russia asking to discuss a rule change that would exclude some of its oil production from the group’s quota. Ministers from some of the world’s largest oil producers are gathering this week, and typically their discussions wouldn’t focus on a niche hydrocarbon …

Iwould like to enumerate what I’m thankful for in technology. I know, it sure doesn’t feel like there are many things to feel good about. Tech tools have allowed misinformation, bullying and social division to spread like a virus. They have empowered tyrants and monsters, and created an underclass of impossible jobs. Some days I want to do a Road …

Bloomberg Sky plans to build a major new studio in the UK, as the global streaming war forces media companies to secure more space for upcoming productions. Comcast Corp’s European pay-TV business will build 14 sound stages on a 32-acre (13-hectare) site north of London, the company said in a statement, without disclosing the cost. The development would be on …

Bloomberg Move over, Instant Pots. Robot vacuums are also now at the top of the most-sought after items this holiday season, according to Kohl’s Corp Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass. Their popularity was “a litttle bit more surprising,” Gass said in an interview. “We’re seeing a lot of demand this year for vacuums. There’s a lot of innovation, there’s a …

Bloomberg Meet Yona. She loves reading Margaret Atwood and articles about teenage life and sings about loneliness and relationships on her newly released track. If this sounds a bit scripted, that’s because it is: Yona’s not human. Yona has been created by London-based company Auxuman and trained using artificial intelligence (AI), fed on music and literature, and learning from reactions …

Bloomberg After five years of negative rates imposed by the European Central Bank (ECB), German lenders are breaking the last taboo: Charging retail clients for their savings starting with very first euro in the their accounts. While many banks have been passing on negative rates to retail clients for some time, they have typically only done so for deposits of …

Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand said it has many tools left to manage capital inflows to curb the local currency’s strength, which is hurting growth prospects in the Southeast Asian economy. The scope and speed of the baht’s appreciation is out of line with economic fundamentals such as the current-account surplus, Don Nakornthab, a senior director in the central bank’s …