Consumer prices in China rose 4.9% in January when compared with the same month a year earlier, the government reported Tuesday, as inflation remains a worry in the fast-growing major economy. The rise in prices was less than expected, but economists said that could have been a result of a move by the statistics bureau to give diminished weight to food prices, the New York Times reports.The buzz over Silicon Valley start-ups became even more frenzied yesterday, with the latest sky-high valuation emerging for a three-year old internet company that makes millions from selling objects that do not exist. Zynga, which sells "virtual items" to millions of players of games such as FarmVille and CityVille, has been valued at between $7bn (£4.4bn) and $9bn. The price tag comes after discussions with potential investors for a new funding round thought to be worth about $250m, the Times reports.Barclays will face a backlash from shareholders today when the high street lender reveals that it awarded bankers three times as much in bonuses last year than it paid investors in dividends. Shareholders raised concerns ahead of the results yesterday about the "disproportionate" share of rewards going to staff over those "who bear the risk capital". "The challenge to the board is to explain why the structure is in the best interests of shareholders," said David Paterson, head of corporate governance at the National Association of Pension Funds, the Telegraph reports.Barclays has been forced to adapt its plans to pay bonuses for staff with a new financial instrument that has been hailed by regulators as a key tool for rebuilding the capital strength of banks. Under the plans, Bob Diamond, the UK bank's new chief executive, had hoped to use the new contingent convertible capital notes - known as coco bonds - to pay as much as half of the deferred pay element of the bonuses. Barclays also would have liked to launch a new issue of coco bonds, which are designed to convert to equity at a pre-agreed level of financial stress, into the market at the same time, the FT reports.The head of the European Union's new banking authority has warned that he plans to use the "true power" of a single set of rules to impose more uniform oversight on banks. The move potentially emasculates national regulators in EU member states, such as the UK's Financial Services Authority. Some bankers fear it may harm innovation and competitiveness. Andrea Enria, chairman of the European Banking Authority, said the financial crisis had highlighted the weakness of consensual efforts to co-ordinate banking regulation in Europe, the FT reports.Vince Cable has been accused of creating difficulties for the Bank of England after branding a rise in interest rates as "potentially very difficult", ahead of figures today which are expected to show inflation running above 4%. The Business Secretary's comments come ahead of the release of economic data today which are expected to show UK inflation climbing to over 4%, more than double the Bank of England's target level, the Telegraph reports.A Wikileaks cable has revealed the depth of distrust and paranoia at the heart of BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company, as it attempts to do business in China. The leaked memo from the US reveals the espionage fears of Marius Kloppers, the chief executive of Anglo-Australian mining company BHP Billiton, who reportedly once offered to trade intelligence with Washington on China. The memo relates to a phase in relations between Anglo-Australian mining companies and China that represented the peak of mutual distrust and manipulation, the Times reports.Cash-for-gold companies have been ordered to change their business practices after customers complained that their jewellery had been melted down before they had agreed a final price. A year-long Office of Fair Trading investigation found that a number of businesses sent a payment to consumers who had posted in their gold. If this was not rejected and returned within a restrictive time period, the jewellery was melted down. The OFT said that CashMyGold, Cash4Gold and Postal Gold have all pledged to change the way they conduct their business, the Times reports.A round of applause rang around Southwark Crown Court on Monday after a bankrupt conman dubbed a 'Mini Madoff' was jailed for eight years for what the judge described as "one of the most serious crimes of its kind. Around 25 out of 335 investors swindled by Terence Freeman, 63, of King's Place, King's Road, Horsham and formerly of Whitehall Lane, Buckhurst Hill, Essex joined in the applause as he was led away to start his sentence, the Telegraph reports.A wave of employee rights laws will cost British business nearly £23bn in red tape over the next four years, it was claimed yesterday. The British Chambers of Commerce has totted up the cumulative costs of employment law changes from far-reaching pension reforms and increases in the minimum wage to allowing workers time off to train or be a parent and determining when people can be compelled to retire, the Times reports.One of Britain's largest windscreen repair companies collapsed into administration yesterday without enough cash to pay its 1,100 workers. Auto Windscreens ran out of money after negotiations with potential saviours fell through. Staff were called to several meetings across the company and told to "cease work and await the outcome" of emergency talks with creditors and customers, the Times reports.Chevron, America's second biggest oil company, has been ordered to pay an $8.2bn (£5.1bn) fine it has described as "fraudulent", after losing a 20-year lawsuit in Ecuador. Chevron is charged with causing environmental damage in the Amazon River basin more than 20 years ago through Texaco - a company Chevron acquired in 2001, the Telegraph reports.More than one in seven retail stores across the UK are empty and in some small towns the number of boarded-up shops is nearly as high as two in five. Worse still, a "growing" North-South divide is set to increase the overall vacancy rate to more than one in six shops over the next 18 months, as the Government's austerity measures take their toll. Matthew Hopkinson, a director of the Local Data Company, which compiled the figures, said: "The sad reality is that the number of vacant shops are increasing, with certain areas of the country severely impacted and unlikely to recover," the Independent reports.
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