The Olympics are back

Wal-Mart, the gold medalist of world retailers, announced ethical and environmental standards of Olympic proportions for its 20,000 suppliers in China. The decathlon of events includes energy cutting, water conservation, pollution reduction, package-improvement and – the biggest event – fair treatment of employees. Meanwhile, two heavyweight contenders – China Railway Group and China Railway Construction – got knocked down in the share price arena Wednesday. Blame it on gambling – fears of massive losses from foreign-currency bets. Speaking of the Olympics, Baidu.com credits that big event as the reason its third-quarter profits pole-vaulted 91% to US$51.2 million. China’s leading internet search provider saw a sharp jump in usage during the Olympics, but the company’s shares have stumbled more than 20% this year. On the third lap of the year, Baidu was still leading the pack, with a 63.4% share of China’s search market – just a tad behind last year’s pace. Meanwhile, Beijing is feeling a bit of that us-versus them attitude it saw prior to the Olympics. No one is grabbing the torch this time, but Chinese officials say they are concerned about a revival in anti-China protectionism as major trading partners see their economies slow to a jog, or even stand still. This topic will be discussed at the annual Asia-Europe meeting of leaders from the two regions, which opens on Friday in Beijing. No word on whether Li Ning will scamper near the ceiling to start the event.