BY LAURIE BURKITT BEIJING—Fresh off what promises to be the biggest-ever purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer, property and entertainment tycoon Wang Jianlin plans to make similarly ambitious moves in global industries ranging from film to retail to hotels. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Wang said his Dalian Wanda Group Corp. hopes to invest in the luxury hotel business as well as in film production. He also said he hopes Wanda will become the world's largest retailer by space by 2015, reaching 25 million square meters (269 million square feet) from its current nine million. By ...BY LAURIE BURKITT BEIJING—Fresh off what promises to be the biggest-ever purchase of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer, property and ... Continue reading →

NEW YORK: 2 MAY 2012: The Financial Times today announces the appointment of Emily Steel as US media and marketing correspondent, covering content and distribution companies, digital media innovators and the wider marketing industry. Steel joins the FT from the Wall Street Journal, where she most recently served as a social media editor. Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, media editor of the Financial Times, commented: “Emily’s obvious skills, in 140 characters or the best of long-form investigative journalism, will be a powerful addition to the FT’s global media coverage. She brings deep knowledge of the forces in digital media and online advertising that are transforming content and distribution companies old and new. Her appointment underscores the FT’s commitment to producing the most competitive, prescient and valuable coverage, in ... Continue reading →

This article is by Deborah Grayson Riegel, president of Elevated Training Inc., a communication skills training and coaching company, and author of Oy Vey! Isn’t a Strategy: 25 Solutions for Personal and Professional Success. After 15 years of yo-yoing up 15 pounds and down 15 pounds, I finally realized that the long, slow, low-impact exercise routines I’d been suffering through weren’t working. I needed something different—dramatically different—and I found it: CrossFit. CrossFit is an intense strength and conditioning class that drives you to work at your maximum intensity for the minimum amount of time needed to get your workout for the day done. How long is that? On average, about 15 minutes. Most of the folks in my class are firefighters and police officers, which ... Continue reading →

The track and field events at the Olympic Games conjure thoughts of glory and glamour. But even for champions, endorsement contracts tend to be stingy. Most get by on running-shoe endorsements that are so meager that many of top U.S. track and field athletes earn less than $15,000 a year and have contracts that limit their sponsorship options and cut their income if they perform poorly. That may be about to change. Skechers USA Inc., known more for fashion sneakers than sports shoes, has signed a new contract with Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi that marks a shift in the way sponsors traditionally reward track and field athletes.Mr. Keflezighi, who first signed with Skechers in late 2011, will be allowed ... Continue reading →

Sheryl Sandberg leaves work at 5:30. Barbara Corcoran shuts off her phone for half the day. And that rascal Tim Ferriss somehow gets away with only working four hours a week (allegedly). But they're all superstars. Here's what normal people can do to set healthy work boundaries. "Bravo to Sheryl Sandberg of leaving work at 5:30," CNN applauded in a recent headline. That's just one of many headlines congratulating the chief operating officer at Facebook for leaving work at a reasonable hour to spend time with her kids. During our most recent episode of Work Flow, Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran shared her weekday ritual of turning off her phone from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. to focus on her family. For a few years now, ... Continue reading →

What’s next, a mile-high club?No-frills budget carrier Spirit Airlines capitalized on the Secret Service hooker scandal with a “More bang for your buck” promotion of $19.80 flights to Cartagena.“We do a variety of fun, cheeky ads to promote our ultra-low fares,” said Misty Pinson, spokeswoman for the Florida-based carrier infamous for its fees on everything from carry-on luggage to boarding passes.The online ad for the promotion, which expired last night, depicted a man wearing sunglasses and an earpiece with a finger to his lips, with bikini-clad women in the background. Continue reading →

Are you sure you want to delete your account?You'll lose everything, forever!Of course not!Yes, delete it! Continue reading →

By Melissa J. Anderson (New York City) “My advice for women is to know yourself,” said Julia Fuller, VP of Environment, Health and Safety at Thomson Reuters. She explained, “Focus on what are the things that you really hold dear as your core values. What are you really good at? Know your real strengths. Having that knowledge about your abilities is really powerful.” After growing her career at the Reuters Foundation and then becoming global head of corporate responsibility for Reuters, she shepherded the program through the 2008 merger with Thomson. Then Fuller turned her attention to women’s advancement. Fuller leads the UK chapter of the Women @ Thomson Reuters network, and also leads the London network Women on the Wharf, a multi-firm women’s networking ... Continue reading →