He was the boss of a tech giant. Now he studies fish and rice. Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba Group Holding, appeared to have fallen out of favor with China’s leadership after a 2020 speech in which he criticized financial regulations. Ltd. has generally kept a low profile. The 58-year-old multi-billionaire, who resigned as … Read more
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. BABA 13.24% said it plans to split itself into six independently run companies that could seek separate IPOs, effectively breaking up the business empire that charismatic entrepreneur Jack Ma built over two decades, just as Tycoon re-emerged in China. The reorganization of one of China’s biggest private companies, … Read more
Sunday night’s premiere of the fourth and final season of HBO’s “Succession” drew 2.3 million viewers across television and streaming platforms, a new series high, the network said. Sunday’s premiere episode was the highest ever for “Succession,” surpassing the 1.7 million viewers who watched the season three finale in 2021. It was also 62% higher … Read more
Mickey Mouse has left a metaverse. Walt Disney C/o. DIS 1.64% has eliminated its next-generation storytelling and consumer experience unit, a small division that developed metaversal strategies, according to people familiar with the situation, as part of a broader restructuring that is expected to reduce staffing by about 7,000 people across the company. the next … Read more
TEL AVIV – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday suspended a controversial justice reform plan that has sharply divided the country. The move appeared to calm tensions after anti-government protests and strikes rocked the nation. Opposition leaders welcomed the announcement and said they were ready to negotiate, and the country’s largest union called off … Read more
Jack Ma, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company’s billionaire co-founder has returned to mainland China after spending about a year abroad, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Ma’s travels have come under close scrutiny as China’s leadership seeks to regain the confidence of entrepreneurs after years of regulations and Covid-19 pandemic measures have … Read more
The Pentagon is looking to get Silicon Valley startups to fund and develop new weapons technology and more nimble suppliers as the United States tries to keep pace with China’s military advances. The push to tap private capital comes amid concerns that the concentration of the U.S. defense industry has led to a reliance on … Read more
Mark Zintel, a retiree who lives near Tampa, Fla., is furious that a $700,000 annuity he bought from an insurer has been frozen for nearly four years. He is one of tens of thousands of people whose money became inaccessible as self-described billionaire Greg Lindberg’s empire slowly collapsed. Many may never get some of their … Read more
Concerns over TikTok in Washington are drawing new attention to how the Chinese apps have woven themselves into the lives of young Americans and what makes them so popular. Four of the five hottest apps in the US in March were counterfeited in China. Algorithms are often cited as the secret sauce. An often-overlooked point … Read more
BEIJING – Apple Inc.’s AAPL 0.83% Tim Cook took the stage Saturday at a Chinese government-sponsored economic conference in Beijing to deliver a rousing speech that was met with applause. The treatment his TikTok counterpart received a day earlier in Washington could not have been more different: hours of questioning by lawmakers over the short … Read more