Jack Ma's net worth increased $2.8bn overnight as Alibaba forecast sales growth that topped every analyst's estimate, despite the fact that China's economy is slowing down.

    Mr. Ma, aged 52 this year, is now the richest person in Asia and 14^th wealthiest in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His net worth has climbed $8.5bn this year to $（4）8bn.

    The latest surge came after China's largest e-commerce company forecast 45 to 49 percent revenue(收入) growth in the year ending March, demonstrating how investments beyond online shopping are paying off. Shares in Alibaba, where Mr. Ma is chairman, rose 13 percent to a record high.

    Alibaba and Tencent, which dominate online shopping and social media, respectively have ventured(冒险) deeper into new areas from cloud computing services to streaming music and video as the country's economy slows. Alibaba is capturing more digital advertising spending by incorporating(合并) social elements such as video in its shopping sites.

    Alibaba is holding meetings with investors this week. On Friday, the former English teacher said he wasn't going to discuss corporate forecasts. He took the stage instead to describe how his company had become effectively the world's 22^nd largest economy—just after Argentina—in terms of transaction(交易) by never fearing to think big. Mr. Ma, who said Alibaba revises 10-year plans annually, foresaw the company becoming the fifth-largest eventually by 2036 by serving a burgeoning Chinese middle classes, taking advantage of global trade and making use of its valuable data.

    Ma's comments about the evolution of data-driven technology echoed Masayoshi Son, Chairman of Japan's SoftBank. SoftBank—Alibaba's largest shareholder—has invested billions in companies such as ARM with the intention of staking out a leading position in the future Internet of Things.

    “The Internet of Things is going to be big because in the past, machines drink electricity,” Mr. Ma told investors. “In the next 20 years, machines will drink data. In the future, no company, no country, no business can survive without data.”

Around the World by Wheelchair

    Rick Hansen was always an active kid and loved to fish. When returning in a truck one day from a fishing trip, he had an accident and suffered injuries to his spine (脊柱)，This 15-year-old young man awoke to find that he had lost the use of his legs. However, he didn't give up. Many months later he began to compete in wheelchair sports. At the age of 27, he decided to wheel around the world to raise awareness and money for spinal cord research. His tour took him through 34 countries around the world between 1985 and1987. In this Man of Motion World Tour, he wheeled 24,901.55 miles, which is equal to the distance around the earth.

    Bad weather and difficult, rocky roads often provided challenges for Rick, but he continued to push himself to complete the trip. He was determined to succeed. Even mountains did not stop Rick Hansen. He wheeled himself up the Rocky Mountains and several other major mountains in the world. He even wheeled himself along the Great Wall of China!

    “Never Give Up On Your Dream” was his motto and he hasn't given up yet. He completed his world tour raising $24 million. He continues to work to increase knowledge of spinal cord injury. He is a true Canadian hero who shows what determination can achieve.

    Ownership used to be about as straightforward as writing a cheque. If you bought something, you owned it. If it broke, you fixed it. If you no longer wanted it, you sold it or threw it away. In the digital age, however, ownership has become more slippery. Since the coming of smartphones, consumers have been forced to accept that they do not control the software in their devices; they are only licensed to use it. As a digital chain is wrapped ever more tightly around more devices, such as cars and thermostats, who owns and who controls which objects is becoming a problem. Buyers should be aware that some of their most basic property rights are under threat.

    The trend is not always harmful. Manufacturers seeking to restrict what owners do with increasingly complex technology have good reasons to protect their copyright, ensure that their machines do not break down, support environmental standards and prevent hacking. Sometimes companies use their control over a product's software for the owners' benefit. When Hurricane Irma hit Florida this month, Tesla remotely updated the software controlling the batteries of some models to give owners more range to escape the storm.

    But the more digital strings are attached to goods, the more the balance of control leans towards producers and away from owners. That can be inconvenient. Picking a car is hard enough, but harder still if you have to dig up the instructions that tell you how use is limited and what data you must give. If the products are intentionally designed not to last long, it can also be expensive. Already, items from smartphones to washing machines have become extremely hard to fix, meaning that they are thrown away instead of being repaired.

    Privacy is also at risk. Users become terrified when iRobot, a robotic vacuum cleaner, not only cleans the floor but also creates a digital map of the inside of a home that can then be sold to advertisers (though the manufacturer says it has no intention of doing so). Cases like this should remind people how jealously they ought to protect their property rights and control who uses the data that is collected.

    Ownership is not about to go away, but its meaning is changing. This requires careful inspection. Devices, by and large, are sold on the basis that they enable people to do what they want. To the extent they are controlled by somebody else, that freedom is compromised.

    I have received many Christmas gifts over the years. The best gift I ever received was presented to me by a stranger. I never even knew his name and I only had contact with him for less than 60 seconds. His Christmas present to me changed the way I had thought about people and Christmas.

    It was several years ago when my wife asked me to meet her at the local department store on Black Friday morning. They had advertised a child's bike that she wanted to purchase for our son. We stood with a very large crowd, waiting for the manager to blow the whistle. After a while, the whistle blew. It was like throwing a bucket of fish into a tank of sharks. I told my wife that if we obtained a bike, fine, but we did not, I was OK with that too,

    As the shelf of bikes began to gradually decrease in size, I saw my polite opportunity to wrap my hands around the corner of one of the boxes. I lifted it off the box and suddenly felt some mild resistance. I looked up to see one of the largest gentlemen I had ever seen in my life. Threat was not the word to describe his presence. He was decorated with numerous belts of metal pointed leather around both arms and even his neck. Tattoos(文身) were an obvious passion of his.

    I started to return anxiously the box but he gently pushed it back in my direction and back into my hands. He then directed it into my shopping cart. He look d at me, smiled, and said, “Merry Christmas. ”My wife and I went to the checkout, paid for the bike and went home. All the way home I was thinking that this moment was by far the best Christmas gift I had ever received. The kindness of a stranger that broke all previous views I may have had of stereotypes and prejudices. I will never forget the tenderness of a human heart in a simple act.

    You're in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater. You listen to their conversation: “I can't believe it—Lorenzo Bertolla! They are almost impossible to find. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome.”

    They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater. It's nice and the price is right. You've never heard of the brand of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls looked really stylish. Their clothes follow the fashion. They must know. So, you buy it. You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency. They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo Bertolla clothes to be heard by others.

    Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating. If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too. This is the secret of undercover marketing. Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it.

    Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising. This is particularly true of the MTV generation-consumers between the age of 18 and 34.It's a golden group. They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads.

    So advertising agencies hire young actors to “perform” in bars and other places where young adults go. Some people might call this practice misleading, but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative. “Look at traditional advertising. Its effectiveness is decreasing.” It is true, because everyone knows an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something. However, you don't know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance.

    Living abroad to study can certainly be an interesting experience but is that alone a good enough reason for spending years far away from home? To make the experience truly worthwhile, there has to be a goal behind the decision to study abroad. This may be a wish to perfect language skills in a foreign language environment, or a clever move in your career development. You must also consider the costs, not just of living and studying abroad, but of applying. Most universities now charge application fees for international students.

    If after considering these points you are sure that you want to apply to study abroad, your next step is to choose the right programme of studies. Research your choices and select carefully. You must do your homework well. Most universities have information online but you can also email and ask them to send you more details. You can find a lot of information on school ranking from education websites. But read carefully. Different universities emphasize different strengths. Don't just think about the university's reputation; look for the most suitable for your goals.

    Next, you must deal with a large pile of paperwork. This involves filling in application forms, preparing your school records, and getting reference letters. Reading the instructions and requirements of the universities carefully is of great importance. Sadly, many fine applicants get kicked out in the first round, simply because they don't follow the application procedure properly.

    Money is another important consideration. Some scholarships are provided by governments, others by schools and colleges. This information, again, can be found on the Internet. If you find a scholarship that is suitable for you, follow the application procedure carefully; the earlier you apply, the better your chance of getting it.