Social Responsibility

Shares of Chinese electric car makers started the new year on a downtrend, facing stiff competition and ongoing price wars that are eroding automakers’ profitability amid weak overall market sentiment. Hong Kong-listed shares of Nio and Xpeng have fallen more than 18% and 16%, respectively, while Li Auto has fallen 12% so far this year. BYD and Zhejiang Leapmotor have fallen nearly 2.5% and 12%, respectively, in 2024. Bernstein analysts noted in a recent report on China's electric vehicle industry: "We expect competition within the domestic market to remain intense, putting pressure on pricing and profitability." Morgan Stanley also highlighted…

On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) accused Microsoft of violating antitrust rules by "abusively" bundling its Teams and Office products together. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, has issued a statement of objection to Microsoft, saying it believes the company has violated EU antitrust rules by linking its communications and collaboration tool, Teams, with its popular productivity applications in Office 365 and Office 365. Microsoft 365 business suites. If, after examining the companies' responses, the Commission determines that an infringement has occurred, it has the authority to prohibit such conduct and impose fines of up to 10% of the…

Wan Gang, the visionary behind the rise of electric vehicles in China, sees European collaboration as a promising path forward. HEFEI, China — Wan Gang, widely recognized as the architect of China’s electric vehicle (EV) strategy, suggested Wednesday that Chinese investment in Europe’s EV industry could benefit both regions amid ongoing trade disputes. “I believe the governments of China and the European Union are now considering how, through negotiations, to combine investment with commodity trade,” said Wan Gang, current president of the China Association for Science and Technology. Wan made the remarks via an official English translation during a panel…

When French filmmaker Catherine Breillat was 40, her husband left her for a much younger woman. Soon after, she began dating a man 12 years her junior. “Men often dismiss their older wives, claiming that they can no longer be loved,” Breillat said in a recent interview, through an interpreter. “But that’s not true. I want to tell other women that there is no reason to despair.” In her new film Last summerhitting theaters Friday, explores this concept through a provocative plot. Since the 1970s, the acclaimed director, now 75, has focused on the troubled sexual awakenings of young girls,…

The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam will return a painting by Henri Matisse, which has been in its collection since 1941, to the heirs of its original owner, a German-Jewish textile manufacturer and art patron who sold it to finance his family's escape from the Netherlands occupied by the Nazis. The museum announced on Tuesday that it was returning the artwork, titled “Odalisque,” ​​following “binding advice” from the Dutch Restitution Commission, a government body that handles cases of Nazi-looted art. The heirs described the decision as symbolic justice. “Matisse made the same journey from Berlin to Amsterdam as our grandparents,” they…