Bayerische Motoren Werke said Thursday that its first-quarter profit increased 18 percent as China surpassed the United States as the carmaker’s largest market, helping it defy the economic crisis in Europe.

China’s Bright Food has bought a controlling stake in Weetabix, which owns the breakfast cereal brand as well as Alpen and Ready Brek.

Bright Food will take a 60% stake in Weetabix in a deal that values the company at £1.2bn.

General Motors Co. will open 600 Chinese dealerships this year, almost 10 percent of which will be for the Cadillac brand, CEO Dan Akerson said Monday.

With over 1.3 billion people and a rapidly developing middle class, China’s current internet population of 500 million is expected to expand in the years ahead and strengthen further financially.

The size of China’s luxury boom is absolutely incredible. Here are some facts based on a UBS report.

What’s General Motors’ biggest market?

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that the answer is “China,” at least in terms of sales volumes. GM’s total vehicles sold in China outpaced its U.S. sales for the first time last year.

With shoppers cutting back in the UK, Argos has turned to China as part of its drive to revive its flagging fortunes.

The catalogue business is setting up a £45 million joint venture with Chinese manufacturing giant Haier in a bid to tap into the country’s buoyant economy and current spending boom.

Chinese tourists are visiting New York City in droves, and bringing with them a “spend, spend, spend” mentality that’s been a huge boon to retailers.

Affluent consumers in the U.S. and much of the world are pulling back on their spending and attitude toward luxury. However, in China, affluent consumers are choosing luxury in every aspect of the lives, according to a seven-country survey of households earning at least $150,000.

China is to invest up to nearly £400bn over the next decade to overcome a huge water shortage that threatens the country’s economic growth following years of below-average rainfall and plummeting water-tables in urban areas.