Offshore RMB makes biggest daily gain in a year

The offshore version of China's currency has had its biggest one-day gain in nearly a year, climbing from a record low, on speculation Beijing is examining new ways to curb capital outflows that have dogged the economy, the Financial Times reports.  In trading outside the mainland, the renminbi pushed the dollar back more than 1% to Rmb6.8824 in London hours on Wednesday, having traded at Rmb6.969 earlier in the Asian day. Analysts said reports of China introducing fresh curbs on capital outflows – and potentially even pushing state-owned groups to repatriate funds – reversed the bearish mood that prevailed on Tuesday, when the currency touched an all-time low offshore of Rmb6.9866. Recently, bets on further renminbi weakness have increased as it nears Rmb7 to the dollar.

Alibaba sues vendors over fake products

Reuters reports Alibaba has sued two vendors it says sold fake Swarovski watches on its Taobao e-commerce platform, its first legal action against counterfeiters amid persistent allegations that fake goods are widely available on its sites. The news of the lawsuit comes less than two weeks after the United States returned Taobao to its blacklist of "notorious marketplaces" known for the sale of counterfeit and intellectual property rights violating goods after four years off the list. Alibaba's lawsuit claims 1.4 million yuan ($201,671) in damages for contract and goodwill violations, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The statement did not name the vendors. Alibaba said the legal action would not be its last, and it had already compiled a list of counterfeiters against whom it would take similar actions.

China blasts Trump for 'Twitter diplomacy'

China's state media has lambasted Donald Trump for conducting foreign policy through Twitter, in a commentary reflecting Beijing's frustration with the US president-elect's unorthodox style of diplomacy after his tweets broached sensitive issues in Sino-US relations, the South China Morning Post reports.  State-run news agency Xinhua published the article, headlined "Addiction to Twitter diplomacy is unwise," late on Tuesday night, hours after Trump's tweet accusing China of refusing to help the United States contain North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The signed commentary cited American politicians and academics, including former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, in making its point that Trump was not wise in tweeting so much about foreign policy. Over the past few months, Trump has repeatedly infuriated Beijing by criticising Chinese policy on Twitter, which is banned in China.

China bans off-beat insurance policies

China's insurance regulator has banned several types of controversial policies that have been used by insurers to create hype, including those that covered losses from World Cup bets or from unplanned Valentine's Day pregnancies. Insurers are forbidden from selling several types of insurance products, including those that cover losses due to speculation or damages by rare events, according to a guideline issued by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission that came into effect on Sunday. Policies that attempt to "unfairly exploit" certain social issues such as severe air pollution or the rising rate of divorces in the country are also banned, according to Caixin. In recent years, Chinese property insurers have developed some eye-catching but misleading products to gain publicity, such as policies targeting married men that promise to offer compensation to their wives if the couple gets divorced due to an extramarital affair.

Apple removes NYT apps from China store

Apple has removed the New York Times from its app store in China, following a request from Chinese authorities. The withdrawal of both the English- and Chinese-language apps further curtails access to the Times in China. New York Times Co.'s sites have been blocked in the country's mainland since 2012, following the publication of a report detailing the wealth of China's top leadership and their families, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple spokesman Fred Sainz said the Times app hasn't been permitted to display to China users "for some time" because Apple was informed the app was in violation of local regulations. He declined to say specify those rules but said Apple would make the app available in its store when "this situation changes."