Day: October 20, 2025

Apple’s new iPhone 17 outsells previous generation by 14% in US, China

Media Library

Apple’s latest generation of iPhones is off to a faster start than usual, with its most basic model surging in popularity in the US and China. Advertisement The iPhone 17 series outsold the iPhone 16 range by 14 per cent over their respective first 10 days on sale in the US and China, according to Counterpoint Research. The data, giving the first quantified indication of consumer response in Apple’s top two markets, shows the standard iPhone 17 is in much higher demand than the corresponding US$799 model last year. Counterpoint’s…

Chinese scientists caught neurons ‘kissing’ each other with cutting-edge tech

Media Library

Chinese scientists have captured the “kiss-shrink-run” process of neuronal communication using the world’s first camera with nanometre resolution and a millisecond-scale imaging speed. Advertisement This cutting-edge cryogenic electron microscopy development enables the team to freeze moments of neurotransmission in time and clearly observe the complete dynamic process of the synaptic vesicle – a tiny, membrane-bound sac in a neuron that stores neurotransmitters. Their findings have also helped to resolve a key scientific debate that has plagued neuroscientists for half a century. This achievement – led mainly by biologists from the…

China’s economic growth slows as trade tensions with US flare up

Media Library

China’s economic growth slowed in the three months to the end of September as trade tensions with the US flared up. The world’s second-largest economy grew by 4.8% compared to the same period in 2024, its weakest pace in a year, official figures released on Monday show. The data comes after China imposed sweeping controls on its exports of rare earths – minerals essential for the global production of electronics, a move that rocked its fragile trade truce with the US. The third quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth will…

The Beijing courier who went viral: how Hu Anyan wrote about delivering parcels – and became a bestseller

Media Library

Hu Anyan is not a fan of online shopping, but, as he discovered during the months he spent as a courier in Beijing, plenty of people are. Not long into the job, he was assigned to delivering parcels to a large construction site. He didn’t have to deliver that many – 10 to 20, most days – but getting them to their rightful owners wasn’t always easy. There was a crane driver who was often in the air when Hu arrived. He would ask him to come again the next day,…

Rare earths shares soar as US and China battle over export controls

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Investors are racing to back rare earth companies, sending their shares to record highs, as Donald Trump’s attempt to break China’s stranglehold on the supply of critical minerals electrifies the once sleepy sector. The White House is pursuing increasingly radical steps to kick-start the production of rare earths outside China, which has long dominated the supply of minerals used in smartphones, electric vehicles and fighter jets. Shares of US-listed companies…

Chinese scientists discover secret to healthy ageing in naked mole-rat DNA

Media Library

The remarkable longevity and disease resistance of naked mole rats are linked to a version of a protein involved in DNA repair that is also found in humans, Chinese scientists have discovered. Advertisement The team led by researchers from Shanghai’s Tongji University found that introducing this modified protein in flies and mice reduced the genetic damage associated with ageing and helped to extend lifespan, according to results of their study published earlier this month. Their findings suggest that the longevity of naked mole rats could inspire a new therapeutic anti-ageing…

Hedge funds return to Hong Kong listings

Media Library

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Global hedge funds are participating in Hong Kong listings at the highest rate since 2021 as the so-called “smart money” returns to the Chinese market after an extended slowdown. Millennium, Qube Research & Technologies and Oaktree are among the asset managers that have participated as early investors in Hong Kong initial public offerings this year. They have helped drive the proportion of listings with a hedge fund as a cornerstone…

China’s investment push in Europe hits a wall

Media Library

In Hungary’s second-largest city Debrecen, workers are putting the finishing touches to a vast battery factory built by China’s CATL to supply BMW, Mercedes and other European car brands. The mile-long plant is part of a wave of Chinese investment that mushroomed across central and eastern Europe immediately after the Covid-19 pandemic, focused on building battery and electric vehicle factories. But nearly three years after CATL announced the €7.3bn “greenfield” project, weaker than expected EV demand in Europe is forcing a review of its size. The project’s first phase has…