Online shoppers in China broke last year's record for money spent during the country's Singles Day, an annual consumption binge now entering its 10th year.

Consumers seemed undeterred by the challenges besetting the world's second-largest economy, buying more than $30 billion (€26.5 billion) from the e-commerce giant Alibaba during the 24-hour online retail frenzy. The shoppers shattered last year's record of $24 billion in sales during the annual event.

Alibaba recorded roughly $10 billion in sales in the first hour after midnight, as shoppers snapped up hot items including iPhones, furniture and milk powder starting pre-dawn.

The figures indicate that a tariff war with the United States, a stock-market slump and a growth slowdown across the economy have done little to blunt consumer appetite in the country.



Environmental concerns

Singles Day, which began in the 1990s as a spoof event celebrated by Chinese university students without romantic partners, has been co-opted by e-retailers who offer large discounts on products to bring about an annual profit windfall. The event is also known in Chinese as Double 11 because of the November 11 date.

In 2015, Singles Day beat the sales made on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined, two of the largest shopping days in the US.

The event is of great concern to environmental activists, who criticize the huge amounts of waste produced by the packaging of the products bought.

Pledges by Alibaba and its rival JD.com to use "biodegradable" packaging to reduce waste have been met with skepticism by environmental organization Greenpeace, which says many plastics described in this way will break down only under high temperatures at a limited number of special facilities in the country.

Read more: Ending plastic waste with big promises?

Top 7 risks to global economy 1. High debt levels Since 2008,the world's aggregate debt has increased by 60 percent. There's a hole of $182 trillion (€158 trillion) in public and private coffers to be plugged. People are wondering whether there are any funds left to soften the impact of a potential economic downslide.

Top 7 risks to global economy 2. Reeling emerging economies Emerging markets account for about 40 percent of global economic output, but they are highly vulnerable. Many of these nations crank up their economies with the help of foreign, mostly dollar-denominated funds. But when US interest rates go up, that system is on shaky ground amid capital outflows. Argentina knows what we're talking about, so does Turkey.

Top 7 risks to global economy 3. US economy to peak soon US President Donald Trump is still able to make the American economy boom with tax breaks and trade barriers. But many companies are increasingly reluctant to make big investments with all the uncertainty around. The IMF believes that from next year on, economic expansion will slow after reaching a peak in 2018.

Top 7 risks to global economy 4. Trade conflict Meat and vegetables from the US — Steel, textiles and technology from China. Washington and Beijing have slapped tariffs on each other's products worth $360 billion. According to the IMF, that's already shaving 0.9 percent of GDP off the United States' output and 0.6 percent off China's GDP. Should the bilateral trade conflict escalate, global trade volumes would decrease by 17.5 percent.

Top 7 risks to global economy 6.Failing banks Shadow banks engage in financial dealings outside the regular banking sector. ECB President Mario Draghi says such shadow banks account for 40 percent of the financial system in the EU. Even many regular lenders sit on buffers too small to weather a financial crisis. Some tend to ignore the lessons from the collapse of Lehman Brothers some 10 years ago.

Top 7 risks to global economy 6.Hard Brexit Time's running out, but there is still no agreed plan as to the modalities of Britain's exit from the EU in March 2019. Without a free trade agreement,German firms alone would have to pay over €3 billion in tariffs annually. Border checks would jeopardize "just-in-time" production. Carmakers such as Nissan,Toyota and BMW would likely need to close down factories in the UK.

Top 7 risks to global economy 7. Italian government policy Will we see a eurozone crisis reloaded? Populist parties in Rome are pushing for a universal income and a lower retirement age, despite the country logging the EU's biggest debt at around €2.4 trillion. Italy's government debt-to-GDP ratio stands at a troubling 130 percent. Former problem child Greece has only just returned to capital markets and is aiming to rid itself of toxic credits. Author: Paul-Christian Britz (hg)



ap, tj/rc (dpa, AP, Reuters)

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