Asian Stocks Rally on AI Spending Optimism as Middle East Tensions Push Oil to Six-Week High 
Domino’s Weighs Appeal After Australian Court Rules Workers Were Misled on Pay 
Gold Price Holds Weekly Gain as Middle East Tensions and Fed Rate Outlook Drive Market 
Elon Musk Fuels SpaceX-Tesla Merger Speculation After Earnings Call 
Oil Prices Rise as Houthi Attacks on Saudi Tankers Heighten Middle East Supply Fears 
Trump Administration Imposes New Forced Labor Tariffs on 60 Trading Partners 
Canada Opens Gordie Howe Bridge Without U.S. Officials as Trump Tariff Tensions Persist 
Oil Prices Pull Back After Two-Week Rally as Middle East Supply Risks Persist 
Trump Administration Monitors OpenAI Incident as Lawmakers Push AI Kill Switch Bill 
Scandinavian Tobacco Group Sells BREAK and Moro Brands to Japan Tobacco for €176 Million 
Wall Street Ends Mixed as Fed Decision, Earnings and Tariffs Keep Investors on Edge 
OpenAI Australia Data Center Switches Cooling Strategy After Recycled Water Plan Fails 
Nasdaq Drops as AI Earnings, Oil Surge and Middle East Tensions Weigh on Wall Street 
Rubio Rejects AI ‘Kill Switch’ Claims as U.S. Defends American Technology Abroad 
Coca-Cola Raises Diet Coke Prices in India as Iran Conflict Disrupts Can Supply 
India to Continue U.S. Trade Talks After Trump Imposes 10% Import Tariff 
Airbnb, the San Francisco, California-based company that operates an online marketplace for lodging, primarily homestays for vacation rentals and tourism activities, announced it would end its business in China. It will be closing down its listings in the region due to dismal tourism.
Airbnb cited the lockdowns related to COVID-19 as the cause of the slowing business as it is restricting tourism activities in the country. A source who has knowledge of the matter also said that the company sees no end to the lockdowns, so it made the decision to pull down its listings in China.
It has been two years since China started implementing the lockdowns, and up to now, the situation is still the same. Sometimes the situation is worse depending on the surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.
According to CNN Business, the vacation rental company made the decision since its business is not recovering and is instead on a decline. Even if it is operating in the second-largest economy in the world, there is no improvement in Airbnb’s business revenues, and it only incurs losses brought about by the costly operating expenses.
Thus, starting this summer, the company will be shutting down its listings and offers for hosted experiences. It is not just Airbnb that is experiencing a slowdown in profits, but a good number of multinational firms are also feeling the decline in China. Things are not improving, and the restrictions are forcing businesses to limit their activities.
The Chinese country is also pursuing the “zero COVID” policy, which further makes it harder for businesses to operate and thrive. This is because the lockdowns associated with the COVID policies stop people from leaving their homes, and businessmen are forced to close their stores as well.
Then again, BBC News reported that while Airbnb is pulling out its listings, its operations will not be entirely terminated in China. It will continue to hold an office in Beijing, but there will be big changes as to how it will operate from now on.
The company is expected to focus on Chinese resident travelers going overseas. It will also work on other global projects to keep the business going and avoid the laying out of its employees in China, which numbers to hundreds.
