After a dinner in London the other week, with younger acquaintances, I unexpectedly experienced the fresh wind of progress.

The finance affiliate of Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba is understood to be planning a $3.5bn flotation on Shanghai’s main exchange in what could be China’s highest IPO valuation since 2010.

Carol Bartz was fired as Yahoo's chief executive nearly three years into a tenure in which the company fell short of the turnaround she was charged with leading.