The Other Credit Risk to Watch in China: Fintech-Fuelled Debt
Nowhere are the large potentially huge benefits of fintech – and longer-term risks – clearer than in China. – May 30 / Sydney Morning Herald
Chinese Buyer Pays $50 Million for Bob Diamond’s Penthouse
A Chinese buyer has plunked down $50 million to buy the 15 Central Park West penthouse that belonged to former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond. This deal is a unique case considering the restrictions by Chinese authorities on capital outflows. – May 29 / Jing Daily
UBS: Rich and Powerful Women in Asia More Philanthropic
More women across the world are accumulating wealth and power, particularly in Asia, making them a key market for private bankers, said an executive at Swiss bank UBS. – May 29 / The New Paper
Banks Losing Battle in Image Repair, Leaked Documents Reveal
Leaked documents, which include agenda papers from several Australian Bankers Association meetings, plus a new battle plan drawn up in April by the ABA's public relations consultants, Newgate, highlight an acute awareness inside the sector about its image problem. – May 26 / Financial Review
Fidelity's CEO Abigail Johnson Talks 'Love' For Bitcoin
Abigail Johnson, chair and CEO of Fidelity Investments, went public with her enthusiasm for blockchain technology, bitcoin, ethereum and what the future holds for both open-source, public blockchains and more private alternatives. – May 25 / Coindesk
McKinsey: What Makes a CEO ‘Exceptional’?
Consulting firm McKinsey assessed the early moves of CEOs with outstanding track records; some valuable lessons for leadership transitions emerged. – May 24 / McKinsey Quarterly
$110 Million Basquiat Sold by Family Who Bought It for $19,000
Jean-Michel Basquiat’s painting of a skull sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby’s in New York, setting an auction record for American artists and providing a windfall for the daughter of two collectors who purchased it for $19,000 in 1984. – May 23 / Bloomberg
Take a 360-Degree Video Tour of Two Mega-Million Superyachts
To view 360-degree video, use Chrome or Firefox. (Sorry, Safari users.) If you're using a mobile device, click through to your YouTube app. – May 23 / Bloomberg
Bernie Madoff’s Closest Prison Chum? Colombo Crime-Family Boss
Madoff, who cooked his books to the tune of a $65 billion fraud, wanted to do something finance related. He volunteered to keep the prison’s books, but the supervisor just laughed. «I don’t think so,» he said. – May 22 / MarketWatch
Jack Ma's Ant Financial Eyes More Deals in Global Expansion
Over the past two years, Ant Financial has unveiled investments in countries including India, Thailand, South Korea and France, and is currently negotiating to acquire MoneyGram International. – May 19 / Bloomberg
Henderson Pays $3 Billion For World’s Costliest Land Plot in Hong Kong
The developer, owned by Hong Kong’s second-wealthiest family, beat out eight competitors to buy the first piece of prime commercial land offered for sale in Central in two decades. – May 17 / South China Morning Post
What Finance And Accounting Staff Really Earn at Hong Kong Banks
If you’re a banking sector accountant in Hong Kong what sort of salary you should be aiming for. – May 16 / efinancialcareers
Caribbean Bank Wants Chinese Money No One Else Will Touch
The idea for Bank of Asia was cooked up over dinner in Hong Kong in 2014, when Carson Wen met with visiting BVI Prime Minister Orlando Smith. The new Bank of Asia will be online-only. – May 15 / Bloomberg
Singapore Has a Vending Machine For Supercars
Boasting a display of dream cars such as Bentleys, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Porsches, what looks like a toy car dispenser is actually the world's largest and most expensive «vending machine» for real, life-sized luxury cars. – May 12 / AsiaOne
WeChat, WhatsApp, Facebook: Where Asia's Business Deals Are Being Done
Line,WeChat, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger have become the new platforms for business communication in Asia in a way that email and phone calls could not. – May 11 / Forbes Asia
China Is Building a Disney World for Wine
At Chateau Changyu Reina, honey-colored brick towers enclose wide cobbled courtyards, and vast, wood-beamed halls, at first glance, the Italianate castle and winery could have been built hundreds of years ago, in Italy's Tuscan hills. Spoiler: It wasn’t. – May 10 / Bloomberg
Why Hong Kong is a City in Decline
Despite the government’s ability to keep piling up record surpluses, there is a feeling in the community that Hong Kong’s economy peaked in 1997. Twenty years on, many people share the feeling, says lawmaker Regina Ip. – May 8 / South China Morning Post
Is This the Most Valuable Car in the World?
One of the most coveted cars in the world, the 1964 Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale could well be the world’s first car to break the $100 million mark, provided it finds its way to the auction block. – May 5 / Bloomberg
Eagles Sue Hotel California for Trademark Infringement
The Hotel California in Baja may indeed be a lovely place, but the Eagles are not amused by its name. The legendary band is suing the establishment for trademark infringement, claiming it's trying to capitalise on the name of the famous song. – May 4 / The Hollywood Reporter
Larry Fink on the Future of Financial Advice
BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink is bullish on active management and the need for financial advisors. – May 2 / WealthManagement.com
John Paulson’s Fall From Hedge Fund Stardom
John A. Paulson is one of the best-known names in the hedge fund industry. But these days, Mr. Paulson is having more success in the political realm than he is managing his business. – May 2 / Dealbreaker
These Guys Quit Their Banking Jobs to Deliver Hawker Lunches
They took the plunge to quit their cushy banking jobs in August 2016 to work on WhyQ full-time, officially launching the service in February this year. The response at launch was overwhelming. – May 2 / AsiaOne
What Countries Are the Best and Worst Places to Inherit a Family Business?
Two countries in Europe have the highest inheritance tax rates for family business owners in the world, which is also stifling entrepreneurial activity in these countries, according to a new report. – May 1 / Family Business
