International Business

Hangzhou, China - Alibaba.com is moving to put concerns about the reliability of its suppliers to rest. The global e-commerce platform is upgrading its trade assurance program to give small-to-mid-sized businesses peace of mind when buying from overseas suppliers.

San Jose, Calif. – PayPal Inc.’s first day of trading as an independent public company on the Nasdaq stock exchange was a good one. The digital payment platform closed at a price of $40.47 on Monday, July 20, up 5% from the opening price of $38.39.

In 2014, when it operated as a division of eBay Inc., PayPal processed $235 billion in total payment volume and generated more than $8 billion in revenues. The company serves more than 169 million active customer accounts in 203 markets around the world.

Wolverine Worldwide reported profit declines for the second quarter as the retailer shaved the number of stores it plans to close to 120.

Beijing – Pop star Taylor Swift has selected a Chinese e-commerce partner – and it isn’t Alibaba. Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com will be the first authorized seller of Taylor Swift merchandise in China.

The new JD.com store will be the official online source of Taylor Swift items, including a new fashion line the music superstar designed specifically for the Chinese market.

Tampa, Fla. – The U.S. is known as a melting pot, and now a major U.S. casual dining chain wants to turn the world into a melting pot of consumers of its food. The Melting Pot Restaurants Inc. has partnered with commercial real estate advisory firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) to support a long-term domestic and international expansion strategy.

San Jose, Calif. – July 20 will always be a huge day in the history of PayPal Holdings Inc. PayPal completed its separation from eBay Inc. on July 17, but as of today is trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol “PYPL” as an independent public company

Dublin, Calif. - Ross Stores has some big plans when it comes to opening new stores. Ross is opening of 19 Ross Dress for Less and eight dd's Discounts stores across 15 different states in July.

These new locations are part of the off-price retailer's 2015 expansion plans to add a total of approximately 90 stores during the year, including 70 Ross and 20 dd's Discounts. Ultimately, the retailer believes Ross Dress for Less can grow to 2,000 locations and dd's Discounts can become a chain of 500 stores

Houston – Francesca’ Holdings Corp. has appointed Martyn Redgrave as a member of the board of directors. Redgrave served as Limited Brands' executive VP and chief administration officer from March 2005 to August 2012 and also served as CFO from January 2006 to May 2007.

Hangzhou, China - Alibaba Group is providing the Chinese arm of a major global CPG company direct access to the Chinese consumer market. Alibaba and Unilever China are launching a comprehensive strategic partnership focused on areas including rural China penetration, cross-border e-commerce, Big Data-driven advertising, and supply chain optimization.

This agreement builds on a partnership that started five years ago with a single Tmall store. Through this strategic partnership, Alibaba Group and Unilever China will work together to:

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Yahoo Inc. has initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to spin off its remaining holdings in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. into a new public company called Aabaco Holdings Inc. Yahoo initially announced its plans to spin off its Alibaba stake in January 2015.