In 1984, with only $25,000 in Chinese government funding and a dusty 20-square-metre bungalow as their headquarters, a small group of scientists in Beijing founded a firm called New Technology Developer Inc.

Thirty years later, the tech company -- which went on to become Legend and later, Lenovo -- is the world's biggest personal computer maker, and has just completed two major deals with IBM and Google that analysts say will help it to diversify away from the sagging PC market and boost its expansion overseas.

Lenovo's $2.3 billion purchase of IBM's low-end server business and its $2.91 billion acquisition of Motorola from Google are evidence of the Chinese tech giant's "global ambitions", said Jean-Francois Dufour at DCA Chine-Analyse.

"Just as iPhones and iPads have overtaken Macs in commercial importance for Apple, smartphones and tablets are expected to replace PCs in part for Lenovo," said Dufour, who called the firm "the pioneer of Chinese companies' global offensive".

 

 

The back-to-back deals are all the more significant because of their timing, coming just as US President Barack Obama noted in his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday that "for the first time in over a decade, business leaders around the world have declared that China is no longer the world's number one place to invest; America is".

With Chinese investment in the US doubling to $14 billion in 2013, a larger and larger share of that capital is coming from America's rival across the Pacific -- a fact unmentioned by Obama in his speech.

From its humble beginnings, Lenovo has charted an impressive course in the personal computer market. Under its earlier name, Legend, it secured the biggest share in China's domestic market in 1996 and in the Asia-Pacific region three years later.

Its 2003 decision to change the name of its PC brand from Legend to Lenovo in a bid to boost its sales abroad marked the beginning of its ascent to global preeminence.

That move was followed by a successful 2004 bid to serve as the exclusive computing technology provider for the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics and the 2008 Beijing Games, making it the first Chinese firm to become a major Olympic sponsor.

 

But it was Lenovo's 2005 acquisition of IBM's PC division for $1.75 billion that cemented its rise, setting it on track to unseat Hewlett-Packard as the world's top PC vendor last year.

Lenovo now has PC products in more than 160 countries and has worked to build its global brand by recruiting celebrities such as basketball star Kobe Bryant and Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher, who the company named a "product engineer" for its new Yoga Tablet device.

With its Motorola purchase, Lenovo hopes to replicate its PC market success in the smartphone universe. The deal "will immediately make Lenovo a strong global competitor in smartphones", Lenovo chairman and chief executive officer Yang Yuanqing said.

As it did after the 2005 IBM deal, however, it faces tough odds.

 

 

 

Banking giant HSBC announced on Monday a 15.5-percent rise in annual net profit to US$16.2 billion (11.8 billion euros).

The company's performance in 2013 compared with profit after tax of $14.03 billion in 2012.

That was when HSBC had been hit by high fines and other one-off provisions, the British bank said in an earnings statement.

 

 

 

 

Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever said on Sunday it has bought a majority stake in Chinese water purification company Qinyuan in its biggest investment in the country in a decade.

"We are delighted to be making this strategic investment –- a majority stake in Qinyuan -– our biggest acquisition in China for more than 10 years," Unilever chief executive Paul Polman said in a statement.

Rotterdam-based Unilever, which last year clocked up a net profit of 4.84 billion euros ($6.56 billion), declined to put an amount on the deal or disclose the size of its stake.

Qinyuan last year made almost 140 million euros in sales in China's rapidly-expanding water purification market, which has grown more than 20 percent a year over the last three years, Unilever said.

 

 

 

 

Manuel Pellegrini insists his Manchester City side will not be distracted by their Champions League tie against Barcelona when they take on FA Cup holders Wigan on Sunday.

Pellegrini's team trail Barcelona 2-0 ahead of Wednesday's last-16 second leg, but before turning their attention to the Catalan giants, City must focus on an FA Cup quarter-final revenge mission against the Latics at Eastlands.

City suffered a shocking 1-0 loss against Wigan, who were then in the Premier League, in last season's FA Cup final, a defeat which proved to be Roberto Mancini's final match in charge.

Pellegrini's men have struggled on occasions against second tier opposition in the cups this season.

They were taken to a replay by Blackburn in the FA Cup and trailed 2-0 to Watford in the early stages of their fourth round tie.

 

But Pellegrini, whose side won the first leg of a potential domestic treble with their League Cup final success over Sunderland last weekend, is not concerned about City taking Uwe Rosler's Championship side lightly.

"We are just thinking about the game against Wigan," Pellegrini said.

"We know it is a tough game, it is not an easy game, they are playing very well, they win all their last matches so when we finish on Sunday the FA Cup we will just start thinking about Barcelona.

"I am looking to every competition with the same importance. On Sunday we have to play FA Cup, so we are thinking about FA Cup.

"When we finish that we will try to make a good match against Barcelona to try and have our revenge and continue in the Champions League.

"Maybe it is not easy for us to play against different teams in the way we always want to do it but it is very important to try to continue the way we want to do it."

 

 

 

 

Samsung Electronics promised better shareholder returns, dismissed fears over smartphone market saturation and signalled a more aggressive acquisitions policy Wednesday at a rare analysts' briefing to boost its flagging stock price.

Addressing the first such event for eight years, the company's top executives talked up its growth potential and offered some guidance on how it plans to spend a $50 billion cash pile.

President and chief financial officer Lee Sang-hoon said Samsung would "put more emphasis on shareholder return" and would target a dividend yield this year of 1.0 percent of the average share price.

The company will review its shareholder return policy every three years to reflect changes in business conditions, he added.

The current dividend yield is around 0.5 percent, a return that has seen some shareholders accuse the world's largest technology company by revenue of hoarding cash.

Samsung's share price trading at 1,460,000 won at midday, down 1.68 percent from Tuesday's close.

The firm has posted record profits in six of the past seven quarters -- largely due to its growing dominance of the global smartphone market -- but its stock price trades at a significant discount compared to its rivals.

At one point this year, it was down as much as 20 percent.

Wednesday's briefing for 350 invited analysts and institutional investors at a Seoul Hotel, was a rare event for a company renowned for its relative lack of transparency.

Samsung's massive net cash balance is equivalent to more than 20 percent of its market capitalisation, and some analysts have predicted it could grow to $100 billion over the next two years.

Lee denied the amount was excessive, and said that -- along with the increased dividend yield -- it would be used to fund significant investment in research and development, particularly in software, to help secure future growth.

 

 

 

 

Three former employees of banking giant Barclays have been charged in connection with the Libor interest rate-rigging scandal, Britain's Serious Fraud Office said in a statement on Monday.

 

 

Roger Federer's performance in reaching the semi-final of the Australian Open last month is the first step in a mini-revival of tennis' great legend. This week could see the second.

That is the scenario Federer intends pursuing when he returns to the ATP Tour and tries to win back the title at his adopted second home at the Dubai Open.

Victories over Andy Murray and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Melbourne will be followed by a chance to challenge Novak Djokovic, the top-seeded titleholder, here.

Although the formidable Serb is seeking a record fifth Dubai title, Federer has a better record against Djokovic than against Rafael Nadal, the man who halted him last month, and he feels encouraged by his performances in the first Grand Slam of the year.

 

"I think it has been a very good start to the season for me overall, " Federer said.

 

"I have played some really good tennis. I still feel my best tennis is ahead of me right now.

"So I'm looking forward to the coming months, and how they're going to play out, and hopefully by April I feel like I'm going to be a hundred percent again."

Federer believes his moderate 2013 results were caused partly by fitness problems, triggered by a persistently troublesome back, and that he is in significantly better shape this year.

 

 

 

 

 

The world's oldest known Holocaust survivor, the subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary, has died in London aged 110, her family announced.

Alice Herz-Sommer, originally from Prague, spent two years of World War II in Czechoslovakia's Terezin concentration camp, where she entertained inmates by playing the piano.

Her grandson, Ariel Sommer, explained: "Alice Sommer passed away peacefully this morning with her family by her bedside. Much has been written about her, but to those of us who knew her best, she was our dear 'Gigi'.

"She loved us, laughed with us, and cherished music with us. She was an inspiration and our world will be significantly poorer without her by our side. We mourn her loss and ask for privacy in this very difficult moment."

 

 

 

Veteran Jenny Jones made history on Sunday as she won Britain's first ever Winter Olympics medal on the snow.

Jones, 33, claimed bronze in the women's slopestyle snowboarding competition after a second run score of 87.25, behind Jaime Anderson (95.25) of the US in gold and Finland's Enni Rukajarvi (92.50).

 

 

16% admit their cars are insured in a parent's name and 3.5% are driving without arranging any cover at all

Nearly 20% of the UK's 17 to 19 year old drivers are flouting the law by committing insurance fraud or driving without an insurance policy.

New research commissioned by comparison website Gocompare.com has revealed that 16% of 17 to 19 year old drivers have their cars insured in a parent's name because they could not afford to insure the car themselves. The practice, known in the industry as ‘fronting', is fraudulent, invalidates a policy and could land in court those who knowingly try to fool insurers into charging lower premiums.

A further 3.5% of the UK's youngest drivers admit to driving without any insurance at all. Driving a car on a road or in a public place without at least third party insurance is illegal. The consequences of driving without insurance include a fixed penalty of £300, six penalty points and the risk of having the car seized and destroyed. If the case goes to court the driver could receive a fine of up to £5,000 and be disqualified from driving.

• 24% of 17 to 19 year old drivers struggle to afford to run their car

• 30% get financial help from parents

• Average annual running costs are estimated to be £1,753.34, or 22% of income

• 16% estimate they pay over £3,000 a year keeping their car on the road

• 16% are ‘fronting' their car insurance

• 3.5% are driving uninsured

• 20% were sure they'd be covered for driving someone else's car by the vehicle owner's policy

Nearly a quarter (24%) of 17 to 19 year olds said that they often struggle to afford to keep their cars on the road with 30% saying their parents help out with the costs. They estimate that it costs them an average of £1,753.34 a year in running costs which constitutes approximately 22% of their income. And 16% of 17 to 19 year olds estimated that it cost them over £3,000 per year, or more than £250 per month, to run their cars.

In the survey, 33% of 17 to 19 year old drivers said that they do not own their own car but instead use their friends', parents', or other relatives' cars when necessary. However, just 20% of drivers in the same age group were sure they would be covered in the event of having an accident whilst driving someone else's car.