Photo: Boao Forum for Asia A Chinese think tank leader has called for expanding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), urging that Hong Kong be prioritized for membership. Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, made the remarks on Wednesday at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026. The proposal comes as regional economies seek to strengthe...
Photo: Boao Forum for Asia A Chinese think tank leader has called for expanding the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), urging that Hong Kong be prioritized for membership. Chi Fulin, president of the China Institute for Reform and Development, made the remarks on Wednesday at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2026. The proposal comes as regional economies seek to strengthen trade ties and update rules under RCEP, against a backdrop of rising protectionism and renewed U.S. tariff measures.
ugis bralens/iStock via Getty Images Designer Brands Inc. ( DBI ) reported 4Q25 results . In my opinion, the quarter was not good. Comps remained negative (albeit improving), retail was still down, and while gross margins improved nicely, there was little in the release or the call that provides security regarding the durability of those gains in an (increasingly) strained consumer environment. Th...
ugis bralens/iStock via Getty Images Designer Brands Inc. ( DBI ) reported 4Q25 results . In my opinion, the quarter was not good. Comps remained negative (albeit improving), retail was still down, and while gross margins improved nicely, there was little in the release or the call that provides security regarding the durability of those gains in an (increasingly) strained consumer environment. The company still posted an operating loss and a net loss in the quarter, and for the full year, the business only reached breakeven on a GAAP basis. Based on the midpoint of 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $0.33 (non-GAAP) and the stock's current share price, DBI trades at about 17x adjusted earnings. On something closer to GAAP earnings, it is probably near breakeven. I do not find that attractive, especially in this context. Therefore, I maintain a Hold rating. 4Q25 results Q4 sales were flat year over year on a consolidated basis, with comps down ~2% (comps include both retail and brand DTC). Full-year sales fell ~4%, with comps down 4.3%. So even if the quarter was better than previous ones in the year, this was still a quarter and year of contraction. Retail sales were essentially flat in Q4, but comps were still down 1.7%. The company recast its segments, joining the US and Canada retail into a single segment (recasted financials in the release ). The recasted tables show retail comps down 7.5% in Q1, 4.5% in Q2, 2.1% in Q3, and 1.7% in Q4. That is, a sequential improvement across all quarters, but still down meaningfully. Management highlighted strength in boots (potentially driven by a particularly cold winter in the US and Canada). The brand portfolio grew 5% in Q4, helped by Topo, up 42%, and Jessica Simpson, up 17%. More importantly, segment operating profit turned positive in the quarter at ~$3.5 million versus a ~$4.5 million loss last year, and full-year segment operating profit rose to ~$11 million from ~$3 million last year. The improvement in the quarter was r...
Hong Kong authorities have extended the tender deadline for the next Kai Tak Cruise Terminal operator by a month, after bidders sought more time to prepare for new management requirements and key performance indicators. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said on Friday that the tender’s closing date would be extended from May 22 to June 26. “[The bureau] has decided to extend the tender closin...
Hong Kong authorities have extended the tender deadline for the next Kai Tak Cruise Terminal operator by a month, after bidders sought more time to prepare for new management requirements and key performance indicators. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau said on Friday that the tender’s closing date would be extended from May 22 to June 26. “[The bureau] has decided to extend the tender closing date in response to prospective tenderers’ requests to the government for more time to prepare the...
Hong Kong has reclaimed what many in the city would say is its rightful place at the apex of Asia’s culinary world, with the two highest prizes at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. The ceremony at the Kerry Hotel on Wednesday night was also a resounding victory for Chinese cuisine, with The Chairman taking top honors and Wing coming in second, and Bangkok’s Gaggan — a multiple winner, includi...
Hong Kong has reclaimed what many in the city would say is its rightful place at the apex of Asia’s culinary world, with the two highest prizes at the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Awards. The ceremony at the Kerry Hotel on Wednesday night was also a resounding victory for Chinese cuisine, with The Chairman taking top honors and Wing coming in second, and Bangkok’s Gaggan — a multiple winner, including in 2025 — third. The two restaurants share an address at The Wellington building in Central and represent two distinct visions of Chinese food: The Chairman rooted in preserving heritage Cantonese dishes and Wing reimagining China’s eight major culinary traditions through a French lens. Read More: The Best Restaurants to Book in Hong Kong Right Now All told, six of the top 10 spots went to greater China: Shanghai’s Meet The Bund and Ling Long , Chef Tam’s Seasons in Macau, and Hangzhou’s Ru Yuan all being recognized. Beijing’s Lamdre claimed the Highest Climber Award. The rest of the top 50 was dominated by restaurants from Bangkok, which had eight other entries after Gaggan. Fourth-placed Mingles led the pack of six Seoul eateries, with seven coming from Tokyo. Modern French restaurant Odette was named Singapore's best, along with Seroja , Born , Les Amis , Labyrinth , and Nae:Um . Hong Kong’s triumph adds to a sense of energy to the food and beverage scene. Bar Leone was crowned the world’s best bar last year and the Michelin Guide’s Hong Kong & Macau edition recognized 278 restaurants, with Hong Kong retaining all seven of its three-star restaurants, among them Amber , Caprice and Ta Vie , and added a pair of new two-star spots. But the night belonged to The Chairman. We managed to grab owner Danny Yip for his only exclusive interview after his restaurant was crowned. The last time The Chairman won was in 2021. What does winning for a second time mean to you? I get the chance to get on the stage and make a speech. We could not do that in 2021 [because of Covid-19]. It...
A short walk from the bustling Ealing Broadway shopping district in one of London’s most populous boroughs, a sign promising the construction of a sleek new apartment development has been quietly removed. Instead, the skeleton of a partly completed building sits abandoned. Work has been stalled for almost three years following the sudden collapse of the contractor, whose inability to cover its ris...
A short walk from the bustling Ealing Broadway shopping district in one of London’s most populous boroughs, a sign promising the construction of a sleek new apartment development has been quietly removed. Instead, the skeleton of a partly completed building sits abandoned. Work has been stalled for almost three years following the sudden collapse of the contractor, whose inability to cover its rising debts and soaring costs wiped out plans to build more than 100 new affordable homes in the area. London urgently needs more housing. The city’s population has increased by over half a million in the decade through 2023, bringing it to around nine million, yet homebuilding has fallen dramatically. Thousands of projects have been cancelled or indefinitely paused in the past half-decade, and ground was broken on only 5,547 residential homes last year — a drop of more than 75% from a decade earlier and the fewest in at least 15 years, according to Molior London , which tracks the sector. In coming years, the gap between supply and demand is only expected to grow. Read more: London Housebuilding Collapses 84% in a Decade as Sales Dive “Of all the markets, London is the most challenging in terms of getting things built,” said Gemma Kendall, head of living investment at broker JLL . London’s homebuilding crisis came about through a mix of economic and bureaucratic factors which accumulated over time, slowly scrambling the math for developers. Thanks to pandemic- and Ukraine-related supply chain shocks, which have driven up the prices of materials, and to Brexit, which has reduced the pool of available workers, construction costs have consistently risen for about six years. Meanwhile, as interest rates have crept higher, a bloated regulatory system has slowed building approvals and delayed home completions. “The housing sector has faced a perfect storm of national and global pressures,” said James-J Walsh , an elected local representative in Lewisham, a suburb of London, which ...
Winning two Grammys last month cemented the New Yorker’s transition from producer for the likes of Drake to guitar-soloing superstar. Now he has Stevie Wonder calling him up – though he’s conscious of living up to the greats Forget viral hits or sold-out shows: you know you’ve reached the big time when the godfather of funk gives you custom-made headgear. Last spring, Leon Thomas was backstage at ...
Winning two Grammys last month cemented the New Yorker’s transition from producer for the likes of Drake to guitar-soloing superstar. Now he has Stevie Wonder calling him up – though he’s conscious of living up to the greats Forget viral hits or sold-out shows: you know you’ve reached the big time when the godfather of funk gives you custom-made headgear. Last spring, Leon Thomas was backstage at California’s Coachella festival and due to join Ty Dolla $ign, his label boss, for a performance alongside George Clinton. The cosmic crusader said to Thomas: “‘You’re the kid who does the dog song, right? I made something for you,’” Thomas recalls. “He gave me this cool white hat with a foxtail on it.” Thomas wore it to play Mutt, his 2024 breakthrough single, followed by a rendition of Clinton’s 1982 P-funk anthem Atomic Dog. But not before Clinton hot-boxed the trailer. “I don’t really smoke weed any more, but I was in the dressing room with him and Ty,” says Thomas, 32. “They both were smoking so much – when I was on stage, I realised, ‘Ohhh, I’m a little buzzed right now!’” A spiritual baton had been passed. “We went up there and rocked the crowd,” Thomas continues. “It was like 12, 13,000 [people] out there, the energy was crazy. I don’t know if you can tell, I’m still buzzing.” Continue reading...
Donald Trump says the US has won its war with Iran. Iranian officials responded to this by mocking him. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about analysis suggesting Trump is losing his touch when it comes to sealing the deal, winning elections or just having the energy to run the White House Archive: NBC News, CNN, Bloomberg Television, ABC News, BBC News Conti...
Donald Trump says the US has won its war with Iran. Iranian officials responded to this by mocking him. This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Susan Glasser of the New Yorker about analysis suggesting Trump is losing his touch when it comes to sealing the deal, winning elections or just having the energy to run the White House Archive: NBC News, CNN, Bloomberg Television, ABC News, BBC News Continue reading...
It started with an obscure railway postbox that had been thrown in a skip – now my museum has pieces from Scotland, Ireland and Hong Kong Back in 1994, I went to north Wales to see the miniature steam trains – I was a fan of railways. On a platform at Rhyl station, I noticed the painted outline of a postbox – it was all that remained of one that had stood there since the late 1800s. It turns out i...
It started with an obscure railway postbox that had been thrown in a skip – now my museum has pieces from Scotland, Ireland and Hong Kong Back in 1994, I went to north Wales to see the miniature steam trains – I was a fan of railways. On a platform at Rhyl station, I noticed the painted outline of a postbox – it was all that remained of one that had stood there since the late 1800s. It turns out it had been vandalised, set alight and chucked in a skip. I asked the station manager if I could see it and he jokingly said: “Give me 20 quid and you can take it away with you.” Continue reading...
Drop into any of the French capital’s ‘third places’ and you’ll find food, culture, community – and an antidote to the disaffection extremists feed on Paris’s success in removing cars from its streets has been more widely praised than its progress in opening up mixed-use spaces . But the city’s enthusiasm for bringing what urbanists call “third places” to life is exactly why I found myself, just h...
Drop into any of the French capital’s ‘third places’ and you’ll find food, culture, community – and an antidote to the disaffection extremists feed on Paris’s success in removing cars from its streets has been more widely praised than its progress in opening up mixed-use spaces . But the city’s enthusiasm for bringing what urbanists call “third places” to life is exactly why I found myself, just hours after voting in the first round of Paris’s municipal elections, dancing in telecoms company Orange’s former offices in Ménilmontant , the “ seventh-coolest neighbourhood in the world”.. The building currently housing Print, a new pop-up, offers a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower, poised against the sunset – and, for now at least, it is an ephemeral temple to Millennial culture. It’s a five-storey space hosting photography exhibits, a coffee shop, sourdough pizza, two bars, a red-lit and mirror-adorned dance area and a sunset terrace. As well as pizza and fancy coffee, you can buy hoodies and art and design books – but most importantly, Print contains plenty of space where you can just be , without needing to spend a single euro. Alexander Hurst writes for Guardian Europe from Paris. His memoir Generation Desperation is out now Continue reading...