A wide variety of news over the past week, I think the biggest business opportunity listed below is with elderly care and “old age” homes.  But that would probably be at the top of the market segment because most cannot afford it (even if they can culturally accept it).

Thanks to Kevin S and Sinocism for many of the links:

• Another Massive Photoshop Fail in China from Foreign Policy
• Girls, Girls, Girls: Alibaba’s Play for Mobile ‘Losers’ from The Wall Street Journal
• The coveted government jobs no one in China wants from South China Morning Post
• China Won’t Lose Its ‘Voice’ Despite New TV Restrictions from The Wall Street Journal (the policy makers can ban all they want, but the demand is still there and those looking for alternative will find it, likely online)
• With tough market at home, China’s heavy gear makers gain traction overseas from Reuters
• The Chinese Are In Love With Bitcoin And It’s Driving The Digital Currency’s Prices Into The Stratosphere from Business Insider (what about hong bao?)
• Beijing to Tackle Lack of Affordable Homes as Prices Soar from The Wall Street Journal (won’t work due to supply, demand and the interaction of subsidies)
• Media giant comes of age from China Daily
• China’s Baidu hiring in Thailand ahead of search engine expansion from Tech In Asia (how about fix your search engine so it can perform useful searches in English?)
• Chinese censorship goes global from The Economist
• Foreign Hedge Funds Warm to China from The Wall Street Journal
• Western Retailers See Online as Ticket to China from The Wall Street Journal
• Norway snub shows sharp edge of Chinese diplomacy from Associated Press (collectivism writ large)
• Human zoos and disappearing languages: The plight of China’s minorities from CNN
• Spike in divorces linked to tax loopholey from China Daily (i know of a few couples that have done this, is quite common in big cities)
• Chinese Show Global Real-Estate Appetite from The Wall Street Journal
• Caixin Explains: The Capital’s New Housing Rules from Caixin (paywalled)
• International students in China hit record high from Xinhua  (A total of 328,330 international students from 200 countries and regions studied in China in 2012, up 12.2 percent than 2011, according to the Ministry of Education on Thursday.)
• Tencent Has Invested $2 bn in Overseas Markets from Tech Node
• Duty exemptions for Shanghai FTZ imported equipment from Xinhua
• China’s influence over the media growing globally, says US think tank from South China Morning Post
• Is China Saying Goodbye to ‘Hello’? from Foreign Policy
• Li Na seeks more history in Istanbul semifinals from CNN
• Chinese doctor stabbed to death in latest hospital attack from Reuters (one of the worst professions in China for sure. a different stabbing occurred in Forbidden Palace recently too.)
• Experts: Yangtze ecology collapses from China.org.cn
• China Property Firms See New Market in Old Age Homes from The Wall Street Journal (huge opportunity for decades to come)
• Demand drives soybean imports from China Daily
• China’s Official Local Debt Could Exceed CNY14Trl, Some Hidden Debt Excluded from Caijing (that’s roughly $2.3 trillion)
• Report: only 13% of Chinese consumers will buy smartphones priced over $330 from Tech In Asia (very few can currently afford top shelf Samsung or Apple models)
• In China There’s Not One City Without Terrifying Stretches Of Empty Houses from Forbes (my apartment complex has 2 entire (new) buildings that have laid vacant for this past year)
• Shanda Jumps Into China’s Online Payments Sector from China Tech News (they do everything now it seems)