As the luxury sector eyes a long‑anticipated rebound from the pandemic slump, executives and investors are warning that recovery will be anything but smooth. From abrupt currency swings in key tourism hubs to looming U.S. import duties, shifting consumer tastes and mounting cost pressures, high‑end maisons face a complex web of headwinds that threaten to…
Alibaba, JD.com and Meituan are doubling down on their ultrafast “instant retail” ventures, collectively committing nearly 200 billion yuan in subsidies over recent months, even as Beijing’s market regulators publicly admonish price wars that could stoke deflation and waste. Company insiders and independent analysts say these aggressive investments are driven by an existential imperative: securing long‑term…
Over the past quarter, Puma accelerated shipments of footwear and apparel from its Southeast Asian manufacturing hubs to the United States in a bid to beat looming tariff hikes. This front‑loading strategy, intended to shield margins, instead created a glut on retailer shelves as demand softened. By the end of Q2, Puma’s inventory pile had…
Meta Platforms will halt all paid political, electoral and social‐issue advertising across its European Union services from early October, citing the complexity and uncertainty introduced by the bloc’s forthcoming Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation. The decision underscores growing tensions between Big Tech and Brussels as the company grapples with fresh operational hurdles,…
The recent pullback from green hydrogen projects worldwide is casting a long shadow over efforts to meet critical emissions reduction targets. Once celebrated as a cornerstone of decarbonizing hard‑to‑abate sectors, green hydrogen—produced via electrolysis powered by renewable electricity—has suffered a wave of cancellations and delays. Without the anticipated scale‑up of low‑carbon hydrogen production, industries such…
Tesla’s latest quarterly results laid bare a convergence of obstacles that have dented its once‑meteoric growth trajectory. Reporting a second consecutive drop in revenues and a sharp pullback in vehicle deliveries, the Silicon Valley automaker under CEO Elon Musk acknowledged that the road ahead looks “rough,” with experts warning that a complex mix of market,…
Goldman Sachs and BNY Mellon have joined forces to introduce digital tokens that represent shares in money market funds, aiming to overhaul longstanding settlement processes and enhance the utility of cash‑equivalent assets for institutional investors. By recording fund ownership on a blockchain ledger while preserving the underlying funds within traditional custodial frameworks, the collaboration seeks…
Equity markets in Asia, Europe and the United States climbed on news of a landmark trade agreement between Washington and Tokyo, yet corporate profit reports painted a much darker picture. Companies spanning semiconductors, automotive, steel and technology sectors delivered underwhelming results for the second quarter, highlighting how tariffs, supply‑chain snarls and shifting consumer behavior continue…
Indian authorities have launched formal proceedings against Myntra Designs Pvt. Ltd.—the fashion‑ecommerce arm of Flipkart owned by Walmart—accusing the company of flouting foreign‑investment regulations by masquerading retail sales as wholesale operations. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a complaint before an adjudicating authority, alleging that Myntra declared itself a wholesaler to secure \$192 million in overseas…
Global luxury giants—from LVMH to Kering—are struggling to reignite consumer passion as customer enthusiasm sags under relentless price hikes, economic headwinds and evolving preferences. Quarterly sales declines at marquee houses reflect deeper structural challenges: an erosion of perceived value, the growing appeal of secondhand markets, and the fallout from trade‑policy uncertainty. Even as these heavyweights…
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