- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
Alibaba says profit fell 74% in 'volatile' environment
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba on Thursday said profit in the October-December period fell 74 percent, the company's third straight quarterly drop as it faces myriad challenges including a government crackdown, slowing sales growth and intensifying domestic competition.
Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group cited a "complex and volatile market environment" in announcing net income of 20.43 billion yuan ($3.2 billion), a fall of 74 percent on-year.
Revenue grew just 10 percent to 242.6 billion yuan, the smallest percentage increase reported by the company since it went public in 2014, according to Bloomberg financial news.
Alibaba's Hong Kong and US-listed shares have lost half their value over the past 12 months due to the company's troubles, headlined by a wide-ranging crackdown by Chinese regulators on alleged anti-competitive practices by Alibaba and other domestic tech giants.
The scrutiny, which kicked off in late 2020, caused a record-breaking planned IPO by Alibaba's digital-payments affiliate Ant Group to be pulled at the last minute and Alibaba was hit with a record $2.75 billion fine for the alleged unfair practices.
Other tech giants also were hit with fines and various business restrictions.
The government has taken aim at allegations of abuse of user data and monopolistic business practices, and authorities have signalled concern that Ant Group's foray into online lending could fuel worrisome debt levels in the economy.
But the crackdown also appears motivated in part by the wider perception that Chinese Big Tech had become too powerful and under-regulated.
The pressure comes as Alibaba's days of massive jumps in sales and earnings growth appear numbered.
The quarter is highlighted by China's annual "Singles' Day" shopping spree which climaxes on November 11.
The world's biggest shopping festival, it was patterned on -- but now dwarfs -- the "Black Friday" promotions in the United States.
But sales this latest time around, while still a record, grew at a slower-than-usual pace.
The 10 percent quarterly increase in revenue reported by Alibaba was well down from its past years of growth in excess of 40 percent.
Analysts say Alibaba is facing sales headwinds as China's zero-tolerance approach to Covid -- which can include targeted lockdowns, business closures and other draconian measures -- disrupts consumer spending, and as competition intensifies from rivals such as JD.com and Pinduoduo.
The government pressure shows little sign of abating.
Chinese regulators have ordered the country's biggest state-owned firms and banks to initiate a new round of checks on their financial exposure and other links to Ant Group and its subsidiaries, according to a Bloomberg report earlier this week.
D.Sawyer--AMWN