Business

Senior managers from Shein and its rival Temu were summoned to the UK’s parliamentary business and trade committee to answer questions about their labour rights compliance and how they sourced their products. ADVERTISEMENT Executives representing fast-fashion giant Shein have refused to answer questions from UK politicians about whether the products the company sells contain cotton from China. The senior managers …

China’s leaders are bracing for shocks to the economy from higher tariffs threatened by US President-elect Donald Trump once he takes office. Millionaires, meanwhile, are relocating. ADVERTISEMENT China’s ruling Communist Party is rolling out a slew of measures to get Chinese consumers and businesses to spend more money and counter a slump in the Chinese currency and stock prices in …

ADVERTISEMENT Volkswagen managers will take pay cuts worth over €300m by 2030, according to comments published Wednesday from Gunnar Kilian, a VW human resources board member. Volkswagen’s board would lose a larger proportion of their salary than the rest of management or the workforce, Kilian told local paper Braunschweiger Zeitung. Kilian declined to give further details. Volkswagen reached a deal …

Crude oil prices rose to a three-week high amid mounting concerns over supply disruptions and increasing demands. However, technical analysts caution that oil markets may be over-bought. ADVERTISEMENT Crude oil prices extended gains in the Asian session on Wednesday, with the Brent futures up 0.35% to $77.32 per barrel, and the WTI futures rising 0.50% to $74.61 per barrel at …

Nvidia’s shares dropped more than 6% on Tuesday amid a broad-based selloff in technology stocks, following a record high reached the previous day after the unveiling of its new AI chips. ADVERTISEMENT Nvidia’s shares slumped 6.2% on Tuesday after reaching a record high a day ago when the company unveiled a series of new AI chips to power its growth …

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, appears to be making moves to improve relations with president-elect Donald Trump. ADVERTISEMENT Meta has appointed three new members to its board of directors, including Dana White, the president and CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The social media company, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is also adding car tycoon John Elkann and tech investor …

The German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz continues to struggle with a lacklustre auto market and weakening demand. ADVERTISEMENT Mercedes-Benz is expected to cut its passenger car business profit expectations for the mid-term, following the market seeing an ongoing decrease in demand, according to reports.   The target is expected to be adjusted by mid-February, when the company’s capital markets day will take …

The long-running strike action, sparked by Tesla’s refusal to sign a collective bargaining agreement, has been labelled “insane” by CEO Elon Musk. ADVERTISEMENT A California-based Tesla director has blamed trade unions for holdups at charging stations in Sweden over the weekend. Local Swedish media reported that queues stretched out several hundred metres in Malung, a town near to popular ski …

Although the UK experienced record electric vehicle sales in 2024, this also came at a considerable cost, in the form of steep manufacturer discounts. ADVERTISEMENT The UK bagged Europe’s top electric vehicle (EV) market spot for the first time. This was following soaring EV sales as net zero laws tightened in the UK.  Approximately 381,970 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) were …

Despite the rise in inflation, markets continue to anticipate aggressive ECB rate cuts in 2025, with a 25-basis-point reduction expected this month. ADVERTISEMENT Inflation in the eurozone climbed to 2.4% year-on-year in December, according to preliminary data released by Eurostat on Tuesday, matching economists’ forecasts and marking an increase from 2.2% in November.  On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose by 0.4%, reversing November’s 0.3% …