Electric air transport set to take off with air taxis, cargo deliveries

A model of a Wisk Aero LLC electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi during the Singapore Airshow in Singapore, on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024.  Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images SINGAPORE — Among displays of defense jets, passenger airliners and high-tech aviation equipment at the Singapore Airshow were electric air transport vehicles — … Read more

China’s central bank encourages local businesses to accept foreign payment cards

A coffee shop at Beijing Capital Airport shows customers can use Visa, Mastercard, the digital Chinese yuan and other payment methods. CNBC | Evelyn Cheng BEIJING — China is encouraging banks and local businesses to accept foreign bank cards and is considering other steps to make mobile pay for international visitors even easier, said Zhang … Read more

Baidu’s Ernie AI chatbot to power Samsung’s new Galaxy S24 smartphones

Samsung Electronics Co. Galaxy S24 smartphones during a media preview event in Seoul, South Korea, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. Samsung, the world’s most prolific smartphone maker, is leaning into artificial intelligence as the key to unlocking greater sales this year. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg via Getty Images SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images Baidu … Read more

Tencent’s Riot Games division cuts 11% of staff to ‘create focus’

Ma ”Pony” Huateng, chairman and chief executive officer of Tencent Holdings Ltd., speaks during the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Forum in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. In an unusual move, Ma has chosen to convene a summit of government academics and business chieftains in Hong Kong days before the 20th anniversary … Read more

Is China’s consumption story over? Here’s what experts are saying

A woman waits on her bicycle to cross an intersection outside a new shopping mall in Beijing, China, on Sept. 13, 2023. Kevin Frayer | Getty Images News | Getty Images After a year of uneven and disappointing post-pandemic recovery in 2023, China’s consumer sentiment may finally start to improve this year. Last year, the … Read more

Alibaba was once a Wall Street darling. What’s next?

Signage for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. covers the front facade of the New York Stock Exchange November 11, 2015. Brendan McDermid | Reuters BEIJING — It’s been a tumultuous 12 months for Alibaba, casting doubt on the future of the tech giant just as artificial intelligence is taking off. The company’s cloud computing unit was … Read more

Baidu says its ChatGPT rival Ernie bot has more than 100 million users

HANGZHOU, CHINA – NOVEMBER 23: People learn about Baidu’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot service ERNIE Bot during the 2nd Global Digital Trade Expo at Hangzhou International Expo Center on November 23, 2023 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. (Photo by Wang Gang/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images) China News Service | China News Service | … Read more

AI boom fails to propel China’s cloud market growth

An AI sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. Aly Song | Reuters BEIJING — Excitement over artificial intelligence isn’t yet fueling a boom in cloud services spending in mainland China. “The Chinese cloud services market remains conservative, relying heavily on government and state-owned enterprises to drive … Read more

Tencent, NetEase shares rebound after China regulator’s assurance on new rules

A mobile phone is displaying the screen of Tencent Games company’s stock plunge in Suqian, Jiangsu Province, China, on December 22, 2023. Costfoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images Chinese online gaming stocks rose Wednesday, recovering some losses from the previous session after the country’s top gaming regulator said it will “carefully study” the concerns of … Read more

Stock Markets: Inflation mission accomplished?

A customer shops for milk at a grocery store on December 12, 2023 in San Anselmo, California.  Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter … Read more