March 15, 2021 Biz in 60

China's industrial production and retail sales surge China's industrial output has surged sharply in the first two months of the year, underscoring the country's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Official figures show industrial production jumped 35-percent from a year ago, marking its biggest bounce in decades. Meanwhile, retail sales also rose nearly 34-percent in January and February, beating analysts' expectations. Stripe valuation soars to $95B after latest funding round Online payments technology provider, Stripe, has raised 600-million dollars in its latest funding round, boosting its valuation to 95-billion dollars. That makes Stripe the most valuable private company out of Silicon Valley. Stripe says it will use the proceeds to expand its business in Europe and beef-up its global payments and treasury network. Danone ousts Emmanuel Faber as chairperson and CEO Danone's board of directors has decided to oust Emmanuel Faber as chief executive and chairperson. The move comes after months of pressure from shareholders about the French food giant's underperforming share price. Gilles Schnepp, the former CEO of industrial group Legrand, has been appointed as new chairperson and will lead the search for a new CEO.