ChinaLeaks + more news

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ChinaLeaks

ChinaLeaks: Exposé on Chinese elite’s offshore accounts comes at sensitive time | South China Morning Post – ChinaLeaks is a data set of some 22,000 documents received by the ICIJ that relate to members of China‘s political elites including relatives of Xi Jingping. The documents show how professional service firms helped them hide assets in offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands and Somoa. The ChinaLeak documents come from Singapore-based Portcullis TrustNet and BVI-based Commonwealth Trust Limited — that help clients create offshore companies, trusts and bank accounts. The unasked question is who leaked and what was their motive. Secondly, how would one know if the ChinaLeaks data is real or seeded with fake information alongside the real material? (paywall)

Business

Why Renault’s Low-Cost Cars are Driving the Company – WSJ – developed countries have gone past ‘peak car’

Brazil’s Offshore Oil: Abundant, and Expensive – WSJ – similar kinds of challenges to what the North Sea faced decades ago and a similar massive leap in technology

Culture

Sichuan cuisine should receive world heritage status, Lee Kum Kee chief says – according to the head of a Hong Kong food group.

Economics

Letting banks fail is key to public trust – and that’s from a banker

Herr Nein: The Bull in the Euro Zone’s China Shop – SPIEGEL ONLINE – Germany’s new finance minister is skeptical about the future of the Eurozone

Reshaping the world economy through reform, opening up and cooperation | The World Economic Forum – interesting essay from a Chinese government perspective on economic growth

China households elude taxman – and official GDP bean-counters | Reuters

Finance

China’s First Default Is Coming: Here’s What To Expect | Zero Hedge – nice Q&A document by Goldman Sachs

FMCG

Your Hipster Mustache Is Destroying Proctor & Gamble’s Profits – is it just me or does anyone else think that the excuse is a bit weak given that hipsters have been around for a while. I have a beard and it still needs trimming for instance. The volume of Braun shavers dropping during the Christmas period is alarming

Hong Kong

PLA drill in Victoria Harbour seen as warning to Hong Kong protesters | South China Morning Post – (paywall)

Ideas

Ignorance — Benedict Evans – technical singularity in terms of sectors rather than intelligence

Innovation

Boyd Multerer: Xbox’s father of invention – interesting profile. The ‘Yes we are innovative!’ messaging that underpins why the interview happened seems a bit desperate though

Luxury

Chinese 5-star hotels are asking for downgrades so they can still host officials – Swanky hotels in China have found a way around rules that are meant to stop officials from spending public funds—or ill-gotten gains—on luxury accommodations: lose a star

Marketing

China’s Baidu risks a backlash in Indonesia over photos of sexy girls  – a Baidu Indonesia representative said that the girls’ pictures are but one of many features that Baidu Browser offers in Indonesia.

Media

Facebook’s referral traffic share grew over 48% in Q4 2013, Pinterest was up 30%, but Twitter dipped 4% – The Next Web

Yahoo Acquires Virtual World Gaming Startup Cloud Party, Will Shut It Down | TechCrunch – interesting purchase, their skills in dynamic in-browser actions could also reinvigorate a lot of Yahoo!’s core desktop properties

Online

littleshedcollective – love some of the design on this

Goldman to restrict chat services | NYTimes.com – which severely affects productivity given the way traders use chat services

Pinterest Grows 150%, Reddit Climbs 83% | Chinwag – Europe is still a small part of the user base at some 8%

Retailing

Starbucks hit by migration to online shopping – San Jose Mercury News – which is interesting given that most of the high street in my parents home town has been replaced by tearooms and coffee shops

Singapore

Why you Singaporeans have no influence over Anton Casey’s employer | The Real Singapore – there are some non-social businesses left. Anton Casey is a wealth fund manager based in Singapore who posted on Facebook in a derogatory manner about normal people in Singapore. Commuters were poor people in his eyes, a taxi driver was described as a retard on his posts.

Software

South Korea rules pre-installed phone bloatware must be deletable | ZDNet

Amazon’s ‘schizophrenic’ open source selfishness scares off potential talent, say insiders • The Register – dicks

Technology

IBM sells Intel server business, company is doomed – I, Cringely – I recommend reading Bob’s earlier articles on the state of IBM, not pretty reading, but insightful

Telecoms

Net neutrality is dead, but it probably doesn’t matter – I, Cringely

Big Data and Business Decision Making | MIT Technology Review – credit scoring has been around for decades

Web of no web

Developer activates Apple’s upcoming iOS in the Car system, shows different interface | 9to5Mac – working out the right context for in-car usage

Wireless

Nokia Earnings Q4 2013: Smartphone sales growth collapses | BGR

I used Android for 6 months straight. : apple – interesting Reddit post