Shares of Big Hit Entertainment more than doubled their Initial Public Offering (IPO) price on debut.  Big Hit is the management agency for BTS, the massively popular seven-member K-Pop group.

The debut is the biggest in three years on Korea’s Kospi exchange, and will make Big Hit’s Chief Executive a billionaire. The band members will also become multi-millionaires.

It comes despite concerns the band will soon have to do military service.

Big Hit shares opened at 270,000 Korean won ($235; £180), giving the company a valuation of $8.38bn at the opening bell.

BTS is one of the world’s biggest acts, and many investors feel it’s a safe bet that they will continue to make money for Big Hit. Even in the age of digital streaming, their album sales are strong, and their shows sell out within minutes.

They also have a large number of advertising partnerships for products ranging from cars to cosmetics. They recently had their first number one hit on the US Billboard charts.

Only 20 predominantly non-English tracks have ever cracked the Billboard top 10 in its 60-year history. Three of those are from BTS. Their first Billboard number one, Dynamite, was sung in English.

Perhaps more significant in 2020 are their statistics on digital mediums. They were the number one act on Billboard’s Social Media fifty for more than 200 weeks.

In August, its single Dynamite became the first video to amass more than 100 million views in a day on YouTube. BTS is Big Hit’s biggest money maker by far, generating 88% of Big Hit’s revenues so far this year.

But some are worried that the company’s greatest strength is its greatest vulnerability.

Despite stalled stimulus talks, stocks extended gains midday Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average now up 300 points as Apple (AAPL) stock rallies. 

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that coronavirus aid stimulus talks have stalled. She called the White House’s $1.8 trillion proposal “wholly insufficient” in a letter to House Democrats.

The Dow Jones index, which wrapped up September with a 2.3% loss, has climbed back above its 50-day moving average. On Sept. 30, the IBD stock market outlook was upgraded to “confirmed uptrend” from “market in correction.”

Apple gapped up and leapt nearly 5% to move well off its 50-day moving average, ahead of Tuesday’s expected launch of its 5G iPhone. Shares are about 60% extended from a 72.15 buy point of a cup with a handle. They are now working on a new consolidation with a 136.08 entry, according to MarketSmith chart analysis.

Other blue chip winners included Intel (INTC), Microsoft (MSFT), Goldman Sachs (GS) and Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), up more than 1.5% apiece. Intel is still 23% off its 52-week high and remains below its 200-day moving average.

Microsoft, which retook its 50-day line on Friday, is working on the right side of a new shallow base with a 232.96 buy point. The software giant is an IBD Leaderboard and IBD Long-Term Leader stock.

Automakers, software and internet stocks led the upside among IBD’s 197 industry groups. But solar, hospital and oil and gas stocks lagged.

Microsoft has told staff that they will have the option of working from home permanently with manager approval.

The move mimics the US tech giant’s rivals Facebook and Twitter, which have also said remote work would be a permanent option.  It follows a rapid shift away from office working prompted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Microsoft said some roles will continue to require an in-person presence, such as those needing access to hardware, the firm added. But many staff will also be able to work from home part-time, without needing formal approval from their managers.

“Our goal is to evolve the way we work over time with intention—guided by employee input, data, and our commitment to support individual work styles and business needs while living our culture,” a Microsoft spokesperson said of the new guidance, which she said would apply to UK staff as well.

Many employers hailed the shift initially as being surprisingly productive. But as the months have passed, some of the drawbacks have emerged. For example, at a conference this month, Microsoft’s own chief executive Satya Nadella said the lack of division between private life and work life meant “it sometimes feels like you are sleeping at work”.

As companies look beyond the pandemic, Prof Bloom said many are eyeing policies that combine two days a week at home with three days of office time, which will remain important for meetings, building company culture and loyalty and basic mental health.

“The radical extremes – so, full-time in the office or full-time at home – are not ideal for most people,” said Prof Bloom.

Singapore’s Changi Airport has warned of a “daunting period” ahead as the impact from the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of abating.

Changi has suspended operations in two terminals as flights have dropped to the lowest levels in its history. It has also suspended the construction of a fifth terminal for at least two years.

“The battle with Covid-19 has only just begun,” Changi Airport Group said in its annual report. “The future does appear daunting with the situation showing no signs of abatement.”

Last year, Changi Airport opened Jewel, a shopping and entertainment complex covering 1.5m square feet (14ha). It includes stores and attractions including a rainforest, hedge maze and the world’s highest indoor waterfall.

This new complex has helped cushion the blow from the downturn in visitors, boosting revenue 2.6% to S$3.1bn. “Jewel is a new icon for Singapore and has redefined what it means to be an airport,” Changi Airport Group added.

But the group still paints a grim picture of the international travel hub and says the recovery is “highly dependent on how countries around the world manage border controls, the relaxation of air travel requirements and the development of viable medical treatments for the virus.”

Last week, US airlines began laying off thousands of workers after efforts to negotiate a new economic relief plan in Congress stalled.

And this month the aviation trade body, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), downgraded its 2020 traffic forecasts, after “a dismal end to the summer travel season”.

Aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled plans for what it hailed as the first commercial zero-emission aircraft.

The company said its hydrogen-fuelled passenger planes could be in service by 2035. The concept of emissions-free aviation relies heavily on finding ways to produce large quantities of hydrogen from renewable or low-carbon sources.

Analysts point out that it is not the first time that hydrogen has been touted as the saviour of modern air travel. Its use in aviation goes back to the days of airships in the early 20th Century, but the Hindenburg disaster in 1937 brought that era to an end.

More recently, from 2000 to 2002, Airbus was involved in the EU-funded Cryoplane project, which studied the feasibility of a liquid hydrogen-fuelled aircraft. After that, the idea fell out of favour again – until now.

Unveiling its latest blueprints, Airbus said its turbofan design could carry up to 200 passengers more than 2,000 miles, while a turboprop concept would have a 50% lower capacity and range.

A third, “blended-wing body” aircraft was the most eye-catching of the three designs. All three planes would be powered by gas-turbine engines modified to burn liquid hydrogen, and through hydrogen fuel cells to create electrical power.

The new Airbus designs are the fruit of a joint research project that Airbus launched with EasyJet last year to consider hybrid and electric aircraft. The airline’s chief executive, Johan Lundgren, said: “EasyJet remains absolutely committed to more sustainable flying and we know that technology is where the answer lies for the industry.“

Facebook said on Wednesday (Sep 30) it would start replacing the direct messaging service within Instagram with a version of its Messenger app, the first major step in its plan to tie together messaging across its suite of apps.

The move enables users of each service to find, message and hold video calls with contacts on the other without needing to download both apps.

It also introduces features like custom emojis and themes that have been mainstays on Messenger but were not previously available in Instagram’s minimalist messaging product, along with new features like disappearing messages.

If users accept the update, the messaging icon in Instagram will change to the Messenger logo. As on Messenger, Instagram users – who have not been able to forward messages – will be able to do so to a maximum of five people at a time. 

An initial launch will begin on Wednesday in a few unspecified countries and then be rolled out globally soon.

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg first announced a vision for cross-app messaging early last year. The company eventually aims to integrate WhatsApp and extend end-to-end encryption across all three services.

The move is likely to figure in antitrust deliberations over Facebook’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, which are the subject of several probes. Antitrust experts have raised concerns that weaving the services together could make it more difficult for regulators to break up the company.

A businessman who spun his wealth from bottled water and vaccines has usurped tech tycoon Jack Ma as China’s richest man, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showed Thursday (Sep 24).

Nongfu Spring founder Zhong Shanshan’s net worth has hit US$58.7 billion after a massive listing by the bottled water company in Hong Kong earlier this month.

This makes him US$2 billion richer than previous number one, Alibaba founder Jack Ma, the wealth index said.

Zhong’s Nongfu Spring, which claims to be number one in China’s massive bottled water market, is ubiquitous across a country where most people shun tap water for health reasons.

The company raised nearly US$1.1 billion in its initial public offering.

Zhong is also the chairman of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy, a vaccine manufacturer that listed on the mainland in April.

It is developing a COVID-19 vaccine nasal spray in conjunction with a prominent university.

Zhong, a 66-year-old former reporter from Zhejiang who state media say was also once a construction worker, is often referred to by Chinese media as a “lone wolf” for his rare public appearances and reluctance to be interviewed.

He founded Nongfu in 1996, just as China’s bottled water market began to take off.

It used to be that if you loved—or hated—an Apple product, you could leave a review and rating on the company’s online store to gush, vent, and rave for the world to see. Not anymore. It appears that Apple has deleted and disabled customer reviews and ratings over the weekend from its U.S., UK, and Australian stores.

The news was first spotted by AppleInsider. It’s true that, right now, if you look at product pages online you won’t find any ratings or reviews. However, you only need to take a peek at the WayBack Machine to find that they did seemingly vanish overnight sometime between the evening of November 16 and the next morning. Take this Apple Pencil product page from the 16th—the reviews are still there. But if you take a look at the same page from the 17th, that section is completely gone.

It’s highly unlikely that the disappearance is a site glitch—especially not as the homepage is currently telling you to “Make someone’s holiday” by shopping for Apple gifts. What’s more likely here is that Apple isn’t keen on negative reviews embedded in the “Buy” sections of its products turning away potential customers during the holiday season. Gizmodo reached out to Apple for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.

It’s hard to tell if this is a policy that will be rolled out across all of Apple’s offerings. You can still leave reviews and ratings for content in the iTunes Store, but comments and ratings were never an option with Apple TV, including its original content. While everyone knows that you should tread user review or comment sections with caution, but it is cowardly of a company to arbitrarily shut them down without providing any reasoning. In those instances, it often looks like a company is afraid of valid criticism or feedback from a loyal user base. Just sayin’.

Louis Vuitton owner LVMH will use its perfume production lines to start making hand sanitiser to protect people against the coronavirus outbreak.

The luxury goods maker says it wants to help tackle a nationwide shortage of the anti-viral products across France.

“These gels will be delivered free of charge to the health authorities,” LVMH announced on Sunday.

France has now seen 120 deaths from the coronavirus as the pandemic spreads.

“LVMH will use the production lines of its perfume and cosmetic brands… to produce large quantities of hydroalcoholic gels from Monday,” LVMH said in a statement.

The factories normally produce perfume and makeup for luxury brands like Christian Dior and Givenchy.

The French luxury conglomerate also owns well-known brands such as champagne maker Moet & Chandon, watchmaker Tag Heuer and jeweller Bulgari.

“LVMH will continue to honour this commitment for as long as necessary, in connection with the French health authorities,” the company said.

France has closed its restaurants, cafes and non-essential stores in an effort to combat the virus, which has infected an estimated 165,000 people and killed more than 6,000 worldwide.

Governments across the world have called on manufacturers to help make products that are running low during the virus outbreak.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to ask UK engineering firms on Monday to shift production to build ventilators for the NHS.

In China, at the peak of its coronavirus outbreak in February, electronics giant Foxconn switched some of its production from Apple iPhones to make surgical masks.

Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has grounded the entire global fleet of its 737 Max aircraft. The move follows last week’s fatal Ethiopian Airlines crash. That was the second time in five months a 737 Max has crashed. Last October, a plane from the Indonesia-based carrier Lion Air crashed in what aviation experts are saying are similar circumstances. Investigators have recovered the black boxes from the crash site in Ethiopia and will study the data in them to ascertain the reason for the aircraft falling from the sky. Dan Elwell, a spokesman from the USA’s Federal Aviation Administration, said: “It became clear…that the track of the Ethiopian Airlines flight was very close and behaved very similarly to the Lion Air flight.”

Boeing has huge hopes for the 737 Max and views it as a key part of its future. The Max started flying commercially in 2017. Boeing has received over 5,000 orders for the aircraft and has delivered 371 to date. News of the grounding has been disastrous for Boeing’s finances. The company’s market value has plummeted by nearly $26 billion since the crash in Ethiopia. Boeing president, chief executive and chairman Dennis Muilenburg said: “We are doing everything we can to understand the cause of the accidents (in partnership with the investigators), deploy safety enhancements, and help ensure this does not happen again.” Boeing said that it “continues to have full confidence in the safety of the 737 Max”