1. China published its slowest annual growth In 25 years. Its economy grew 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to 7.3 per cent a year earlier. The low figure met expectations but put pressure on Beijing to roll out more support measures as fears of a sharper slowdown panic investors.
2. Holland and Barrett, the health food retailer, has urged its suppliers to cut cost by 5 per cent to contribute proportionately to the growth of the business.
3. Nestle has agreed a partnership with Alibaba in China to grow online sales, build key brands and offer new products, the Swiss food group said on Tuesday.
4. Tech companies including Apple, Samsung and Sony are facing accusations of using child labour. Amnesty International said the companies failed to do basic checks to ensure minerals used in products are not mined by children, the BBC reports.
5. Prudential, a British insurer, posted a slightly above-forecast capital ratio under new European rules and appointed a UK head as it attempts to woo investors later on Tuesday.
6. Mining giant Rio Tinto on Tuesday reported surging iron ore production in 2015 and set higher targets for the new year, but still fell just short of expectations. With ore prices tumbling, Rio has bolstered output and set a production target of 350 million tonnes for 2016.
7. Renault is recalling more than 15,000 vehicles to make changes that will bring them in line with emissions standards, French energy minister Segolene Royal said.
8. Unilever, the consumer goods giant, has posted an 8 per cent slide in pre-tax profits for 2015 to €7.2 billion (£5.5 billion) at constant currency rates, despite underlying sales rising by 4.1 per cent. Chief executive Paul Polman says the company is preparing for tougher market conditions and high volatility this year.
9. WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum has explained in an interview why the company killed its $0.99-a-year subscription option.
10. HBO plans to take on Netflix in Spain with a stand-alone streaming service, Bloomberg reports.
