Archives for November 2015

As of 9:26pm Beijing time, sales totaled 81.3 billion yuan (almost $13 billion). According to the company, the top-selling items are baby-related and nutritional products, Nike sneakers and Levi’s jeans.

The Singles’ Day shopping event is the biggest in the world held on a day touted as an ‘anti-Valentine’s Day’ in China. Alibaba has been holding sales since 2009. On November 11, 2014, it clocked up more than $9.3 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV), compared to the $2.4 billion sold on Cyber Monday, the biggest online sales day in the US.

“The whole world will witness the power of Chinese consumption this November 11,” promised the company’s chief executive officer, Daniel Zhang.

He certainly delivered on his promise.

Alibaba has been giving sales updates since the event kicked off on Wednesday midnight. The $1-billion benchmark was passed in the first eight minutes. The first 90 minutes generated $5 billion. Halfway through the day the previous year’s record was eclipsed. 

This year, mobile sales are a key driver for Alibaba. Mobiles accounted for 73.9 percent of total GMV in the first hour, compared to 45.7 percent during last year’s sale. The company will be pleased as previously it had struggled to compete against other online giants such as Tencent in the mobile domain.

The shopping event is also a test for Alibaba’s capability to process large amounts of commercial transactions.

“On each 11.11, Alibaba’s infrastructure is put to the test and our technological capabilities are taken to the next level,” said Zhang. “Last year, we handled a record-breaking 80,000 orders per second at peak. This year, we expect to handle 120,000 orders and 60,000 payments at peak per second. It will be a proud achievement for us.”

The Singles’ Day sale goes in line with the policy of the Chinese government, which wants to transform the country’s economy to a more sustainable consumption-driven track. The office of the Chinese premier, Li Keqiang, phoned Alibaba’s chairman, Jack Ma, hours before the promotion started, the company said.

Alibaba’s e-commerce competitors have launched their own 11.11 sales events in recent years, trying to capitalize on the shopping bonanza. But the giant leads in whipping up the media hype. It uses cameos from celebrities, including Kevin Spacey, who promoted the event playing his role as Machiavellian US President Frank Underwood from the hit Netflix series “House Of Cards.”

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/321546-alibaba-sale-beats-record/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

“We are providing this goodwill package as a first step towards regaining our customers’ trust,” said Michael Horn, the head of VW’s US operations.

Under the program, VW car owners will get a $500 Volkswagen Prepaid Visa card. They will also get another card worth $500 which can be spent only on purchases or services at VW or Audi dealerships and free 24-hour roadside assistance for the next three years. The customers who want to claim the $1,000 in gift cards will have to do so by 30 April 2016.

The move comes as the manufacturer tries to manage fixing some 500,000 cars that failed to comply with the US emission standards. It’s the first time the scandal-hit company has compensated people who own or lease VW diesel cars.

The owners, however, do not seem satisfied with the auto maker’s compensation program.

“I personally feel insulted by their peace offering,” Nevada resident Dave Thompson, who owns a 2010 diesel Jetta sportswagon, told CNN. He clarified that VW customers paid a $5,000 premium to get the diesel engine and the better fuel economy with the promise that it was also good for the environment. “That trust is gone,” he added.

“I believe that if VW really wanted to make things right with their diesel owners…they’d buy back the cars,” said Brian Witkin, who owns a 2014 Jetta diesel.  “I’ll never forget them telling me what great resale value the diesels have over the long run,” he said, adding that the car has lost half its original value.

On the webpage, launched by Volkswagen on Monday under the headline “We’re Working to Make Things Right”, the company wrote that it had apologized to the customers for the emissions issue in recent weeks. “As we work tirelessly to develop a remedy, we ask for your continued patience,” Volkswagen said.

The company had already admitted that about 11 million cars worldwide have deceptive software. This followed revelations from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September that VW cars had been equipped with software designed to fool emissions tests. The EPA reported the device allowed VW vehicles to pollute 10 to 40 times over the legal limit.

The biggest scandal in Volkswagen’s 78-year history has seriously damaged its reputation. Rating agencies Fitch and Moody’s have earlier downgraded Volkswagen, with Fitch citing the possibility of further problems to be still uncovered by the company’s internal investigation.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/321441-volkswagen-compensation-card-scandal/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The change has been proposed by a member of the State Duma committee for defense, Igor Zotov, and a member of the Presidential Council for Civic Society and Human Rights, Yana Lantratova, Russian daily Izvestia reported on Tuesday.

They sent a letter to Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, recommending putting together a list of foreign companies that oppose anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the US and EU last year. The initiative has been suggested by business leaders from Russia, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Montenegro “who are ready for economic association and to voice public support for Russia.”

“We find it reasonable and timely to step up efforts of Russian government organizations to support the businessmen who publicly call for lifting of the sanctions against Russia,” Izvestia cited Zotov and Lantratova.

They also asked for Kremlin support for the International Association of Economic Partnership “European Union – Eurasian Union” project, which is meant to advance a common agenda in relations between the two leading associations of the continent.

According to their letter, “private companies and businesses which for a long time have supplied products to the Russian market and cooperated with Russian manufacturers had become hostages of the anti-Russia policy of the US and a number of EU countries.”

Business communities in Germany, Italy, Greece and other countries of the European Union have publicly expressed protest against the continuation of sanctions against Russia, according to the letter.

READ MORE: 365 days without camembert: Russian food embargo enters 2nd year

Representatives of the Polish-Eurasian Economic Council, as well as businessmen from the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Hungary and Montenegro, joined the initiative.

Last year, Moscow imposed a one-year ban on agricultural produce, food and raw materials on countries that joined anti-Russian sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine. In June, Moscow extended the embargo for another year in response to EU’s extension of sanctions against Russia.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/321412-russia-companies-sanctions-business/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS

The regulator which was created by the G20 countries in the aftermath of the crisis, on Monday published its plan for tackling banks seen as “too big to fail”.

“As a consequence, the financing capacity to the real economy is being rebuilt and significant retrenchment from international activity has been avoided,” Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said in a letter to G20 leaders ahead of their summit next week.

The FSB’s new rules will apply to the world’s top 30 banks, such as HSBC, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank. FSB called those banks the most systemically important lenders.

Under the new rules, banking giants will have by January 2019 to hold a financial cushion of at least 16 percent of their risk-weighted assets in equity and debt that can be written off. The minimum total loss absorption capacity (TLAC) requirement will gradually increase; it will reach 18 percent of assets weighted by risk by January 2022.

READ MORE: IMF weakest global growth outlook since 2009 crisis

Last November the regulator was suggesting the minimum TLAC requirement should be as high as 20 percent. A leverage ratio requirement will also be imposed, rising from six percent initially to 6.75 percent.

The measures are said to allow big banks to fail without collapsing markets as was the case with Lehman Brothers in 2008. In the worst case scenario, the banks would have to issue a total of $1.18 trillion in bonds.

“TLAC is crucial,” said US Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs Nathan Sheets. “It’s a very important step forward toward addressing concerns about too big to fail, giving large financial institutions additional buffers that can be drawn on in extremis to protect the taxpayer from having to bail out these institutions.”

READ MORE: World Bank chief warns of ‘Lehman’s moment’ for Europe

Some banks like UBS, Credit Suisse, Bank of America and Citi said they already meet or will comfortably meet the TLAC rules. The EU is also to apply similar requirements on all the banks within the 28-country bloc.

The FSB is still assessing the risks to financial stability from the activities of big asset managers and may publish recommendations in the first half of 2016.

Article source: https://www.rt.com/business/321317-banks-rules-fund-crisis/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS