Why Alibaba could be China's next $100 billion IPO

Alibaba has yet to reveal detailed finances, but if it can time stock market, technology and China cycles, number-crunching suggests a twelve-digit valuation isn't out of the question.

By John Foley, Reuters Breakingviews

FORTUNE -- Could Alibaba be China's next $100 billion stock market listing? The Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant continues to be coy over when it will take the plunge. But sooner or later founder Jack Ma will need to offer some kind of exit for his backers, not to mention employees, and an initial public offering is the most likely solution. Now is a good time to start asking how the company should be valued.

Yum Brands faces chicken troubles in China By Shelley DuBois, writer-reporter Fortune.com

The fast-food franchise owner has reeled from one PR disaster to another in China. How the company can bounce back.

FORTUNE -- Chinese consumers feel a bit betrayed by Yum Brands -- the Kentucky-based quick-service king, owner of restaurants KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. Yum is huge in China and has benefited there for its reputation as a transparent, upstanding Western food company.
But at the end of 2012, Chinese food investigators discovered that suppliers linked to Yum had fed their chicken more antibiotics than permitted. This past Monday, Yum (YUM) faced another PR disaster when reports suggested Chinese regulators started investigating a mutton supplier possibly tied to the company's hot pot franchise Little Sheep.

Ginni Rometty reveals the future of Watson By Jessi Hempel, writer Fortune.com

IBM's CEO told Fortune what the future holds for the talking supercomputer.

FORTUNE -- On May 15, Fortune senior writer Jessi Hempel interviewed IBM (IBM) CEO Ginni Rometty as a keynote for the National Venture Capital Association's 40th anniversary conference, Venturescape. What follows is an edited version of their conversation.
Fortune: IBM was once about mainframes, and then PCs and printers. Now IBM is about services, software, Watson. How do you think about the company?
Rometty: Two years ago, IBM had its 100th anniversary, which is when people asked that question the most. And I think one of my biggest learnings has been, never define yourself by a product. I would like us to be thought of as an innovation company. The only way you survive is you continuously transform into something else. It's this idea of continuous transformation that makes you an innovation company.

Morgan Stanley's happy Facebook anniversary By Stephen Gandel, senior editor Fortune.com

FORTUNE -- Nearly a year ago, James Gorman sat in a chair on his firm's trading floor, clipped on a microphone and stared into a camera. For Morgan Stanley's CEO, it was Facebook judgment day.
Next to him was CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. Gorman had agreed to the interview weeks before, back when the Facebook IPO still looked like it was going to be blockbuster, not the bust it turned out to be. But Gorman decided to go ahead with the interview anyway. From the moment it started, though, it was apparent he shouldn't have. The lighting was bad. Gorman looked uncomfortable. He was unapologetic and combative. Gorman called individual investors who had lost money on the IPO "naive." Never mind the fact that Morgan Stanley and Facebook (FB) had made a killing on the deal.
But it wasn't just the fallout from Facebook that was dogging the CEO. Gorman was also facing a looming credit downgrade, an increasingly bitter fight with Citigroup (C) over the price of his Smith Barney acquisition and a growing revolt among the brokers that he was now being bullied into paying up for. A number of observers predicted Gorman would be out within a few months.

Father of Assad spokesman Mekdad kidnapped in Syria

 

Faisal Mekdad is deputy foreign minister

 

Gunmen in Syria have abducted the elderly father of Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, one of the most powerful voices in the government.

The man was seized in the southern province of Daraa, government and opposition sources said.

No group said they had carried out the abduction but rebels have targeted the families of officials in the past.

Australia, home to the world's largest camel herd

 

By Sarah Bell BBC News

 

Farmer Ian Conway shows Simon Reeve how to catch a camel

 

Australia is famous for its wildlife - kangaroos, koalas and numerous species of snakes and spiders - but it is also home to the world's largest herd of camels. There are about 750,000 roaming wild in the outback and they cause a host of problems.

Camels were imported to Australia in the 19th century from Arabia, India and Afghanistan for transport and heavy work in the outback.
But when the internal combustion engine came along and they were no longer needed, several thousand were released into the wild.

Pakistan politician Zahra Shahid Hussain killed in Karachi

 

 

The BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi says the timing of the killing will cause tensions ahead of a highly-contested vote

A senior female Pakistani politician has been shot dead in the southern port city of Karachi.

Zahra Shahid Hussain was the senior vice-president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice party (PTI), led by former international cricketer Imran Khan.

Cold comfort: Lawyer says Sanjay Dutt comfortable in cell, has no complaints IT

    

Representational picture.

 

 

Sanjay Dutt is comfortable in his cell and has no complaints, the Bollywood star's lawyer said on Saturday, a day after he urged that the actor be shifted to another cell since he was feeling suffocated in current cell meant for hard-core criminals in Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail.

Indian Prefixed League: Bowlers bicker during face-off, police hunt for clues in laptop and four cities

India Today. New Dehi     

Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan.

 

Investigators on Saturday drilled deeper into the IPL spot-fixing scandal with Delhi Police questioning three arrested Rajasthan Royal players S. Sreesanth, Ajit Chandila and Ankit Chavan in each others' presence and conducting raids in four other cities to track the graft trail and Mumbai Police looking for incriminating data from Sreesanth's laptop and mobiles.

During interrogation, the cricketers confessed their crime but blamed each other for dragging them into spot-fixing, police sources said.

Afghan parliament halts debate on women's rights law

 

Hundreds of people have been jailed under the current law to prevent violence against women

A debate by Afghan MPs about beefing up a law to prevent violence against women has been halted amid angry scenes.

Parliament's speaker ended the debate after 15 minutes after traditionalists called for the law to be scrapped.

Afghans are wary of Nawaz Sharif - but should they be?

 

By Dawood Azami BBC World Service

Nawaz Sharif's victory in Pakistan's general elections is being seen with some alarm in Afghanistan, where some fear it may mean more instability.

The fact that the Pakistani Taliban held off attacking Mr Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N), and the comments he made during the election campaign, reinforced the perception in Afghanistan that Nawaz Sharif is a "representative of the Pakistani establishment" which Afghans blame for most of their troubles.

Russia reveals Moscow CIA station chief's identity

 

This handout photo from the Russian FSB shows a man named as Ryan Fogle, arrested on suspicion of spying

Russia has named the alleged US intelligence chief in Moscow - a move seen as breaching diplomatic protocol.

It follows Moscow's decision to expel US diplomat Ryan Fogle, who was accused of trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer as a spy.
Mr Fogle, a purported CIA agent, was arrested on Tuesday while wearing a blond wig and was briefly detained.

Saudi woman makes history by reaching Everest summit

 

It took a lot of persuading before Raha Moharrak's Saudi family agreed to let her climb

A Saudi woman has made history by reaching the summit of the world's highest mountain.

Raha Moharrak, 25, not only became the first Saudi woman to attempt the climb but also the youngest Arab to make it to the top of Everest.

Arms dealers thrive in India as foreign firms find complexity in process By Sruthijith K K, ET Bureau |

NEW DELHI: Imagine for a moment that you grow tired of your life one day. You want more money, excitement, adventure, foreign vacations, fancy cars and suchlike. Nothing could help you achieve your dreams better and faster than becoming an arms dealer. Who owns a certain five-star hotel in Lutyens' Delhi? An arms dealer. Which Indian was among the largest donors to the Liberal Democrats in Britain? An arms dealer. Who has enough clout to influence domestic politics in Slovakia? An Indian arms dealer.

SootSwap: An app to monitor adoption of clean cooking technologies Nidhi Singal BT

The SootSwap app being tested in a village

Qualcomm in collaboration with Nexleaf, TERI, Project Survya and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) has produced a mobile application called SootSwap, to monitor and incentivise the use of clean cooking stoves.