For Buffett, Best Suits Are Made in China

Apparel company will open first store there next year

(NEWSER) - With its US business stagnating, Gap is hoping to find a few some new customers—1.3 billion of them. The largest American apparel company is opening its first store in China next year, alongside a new push in international online sales, reports the Wall Street Journal. After booming in the 1990s, Gap suffered heavy losses due to lackluster collections and a sense of ubiquity, which won't be the case overseas. China is "a market that is only going in one direction, in terms of its size," the CEO said. More»

Designer Paul Smith dishes on T-shirts and tailor-made suits

(NEWSER) - Natty British designer Paul Smith outlines his do's and don'ts for the 21st-century gentlemen in a cagey Details interview. Cologne lovers, beware:

1. T-shirts seem easy, but they're a big no-no; go with a collar.
2. A good, bland haircut is better than a failed stylish one.
3. Women first! Don't ignore them in favor of a pal at dinner.
4. Dress for the occasion, but chuck the bow tie if no one else is wearing.

Relatives of top leaders enjoy 'Red Nobility'

(NEWSER) - The wealth of Bo Xilai's family members was no anomaly. Known as "princelings," close relatives of many Chinese leaders are on a fast track to fortune and power, the New York Times reports. The president's son used to head a company with a security-scanner monopoly; the prime minister's son runs a state-owned satellite communications firm that claims it will soon be the biggest on the continent; the son-in-law of another elite official was key to a deal behind the record-breaking IPO of a state-operated bank. More»

Chief exec Jeff Bezos swears he won't undercut retailers

(NEWSER) - Anxious retailers are watching Amazon penetrate its next big market: high-end, designer clothing. Having already scarred publishers and lowered prices in electronics, Amazon is making a "significant" investment in fashion and wooing designer brands, says Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "It's Day 1 in the category," he tells the New York Times . The megasite has long sold clothing, but now shoppers can find brands like Vivienne Westwood and Jack Spade on Amazon's MyHabit website . More»

Eavesdropping expanded to include party bigwigs

(NEWSER) - Another twist in the scandal shaking China : Bo Xilai was ousted as Chongqing party chief not just for his link to the murder of a British businessman, but for eavesdropping on a scale that would shame British tabloids, reports the New York Times , citing Communist Party insiders. The wiretapping program apparently involved the phones of almost every high-ranking party official to visit the city, and President Hu Jintao himself detected a wiretap when he called a senior anti-corruption official visiting Chongqing, the sources say. More»