Every smoke cloud has a silver lining

Chinese connoisseurs are sparking a boom in imported Cuban cigars with trendy lounges and bars springing up in major cities here

Facts and figures

Cuban cigars are usually divided into two basic forms. Straight cigars are known as Parejos. They come in different sizes, including the Robusto, Churchill, Corona, Lonsdale, Panetela and Cigarillo. They have round or conical heads. Different shaped cigars are known as Figurados and include Perfecto, Pyramid and Culebra.

Revamp at Lenovo mobile

The head of Lenovo Group Ltd's mobile business has stepped down amid the personal computer giant's continued struggles to stay ahead of rivals like Xiaomi Corp and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

Tradable CDs 'key step' toward market reform

The People's Bank of China said on Tuesday that it will allow the issue of large-denomination, floating-rate tradable certificates of deposit to individuals and companies, a key step forward in interest rate liberalization.

Cruise firms see little impact from tragedy

Enthusiasm for cruises is unlikely to be dampened after a ship with 458 people on board sank in the Yangtze River in Hubei province on Monday.

Russia bets on inland plants

Russia's state-owned nuclear giant Rosatom said on Monday that it hopes to help build inland nuclear power plants in China, and one of its subsidiaries is already holding talks to build fast-breeder reactors in the world's largest energy user.

Riding the winds of change in China

When I held my four-year-old daughter onto the back of a tethered pony at an equestrian club in suburban Beijing last weekend, she could not help crying: "I am scared, mummy. I don't want to do this!"

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Governments and policies

Quotes of the day

'Lehman moment' unlikely in China, according to former Fed head

"The main task for China in the next decade would be the transformation of the growth model. It is still in the very early stage, but the Chinese have shown great capability to make such transitions," Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, said at the World Business Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

FTA signed with Seoul

China signed its largest bilateral free trade agreement in terms of volume on Monday, with close neighbor South Korea.

Pact will attract cosmetic surgeons

Medical and cosmetic surgery services from South Korea are expected to become more widely available in China as a result of the bilateral free trade agreement signed on Monday.