What's going on?

All work and no play makes Jack a rich boy: Chinese conglomerate Alibaba reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on Thursday.

What does this mean?

Alibaba�s revenue from its main ecommerce business came in 29% higher than the same time last year. That�s down from last quarter�s 34%, sure, but it was still in line with analysts� expectations. Alibaba�s cloud computing business did well too, growing its revenue by 60% for the second quarter in a row � good news considering the company�s aiming to make the segment its biggest money-spinner in future. Still, it�ll take more than a few good results to distract Alibaba�s investors from what could�ve been: fintech giant Ant Group was supposed to start trading on Thursday, and Alibaba�s stake in the company was all set to become a whole lot more valuable (tweet this).

Why should I care?

For markets: Wuh-uh-oh, uh-uh-oh-oh.

Good thing Singles’ Day � the world�s biggest one-day shopping event � is just around the corner. The event�s a crucial one for Alibaba�s current quarter, with sales across its multiple shopping platforms hitting nearly $40 billion last year. The tech giant, then, might be stocking up on foreign brands to help it reach those dizzying heights: it�s expecting to see a major boost for the products would-be Chinese tourists usually buy overseas, but now � well, you know�

Zooming out: Party poopers.

It was China’s regulators that were behind Ant Group�s postponed initial public offering, and the Alibaba spin-off is in good company. US regulators � having concluded last month that Big Tech is just too big � recently filed a lawsuit against Google, while the European Commission is expected to announce new digital regulations in early December. It�s hoping they�ll make tech giants more responsible for the content posted on their platforms, as keep them from standing in the way of fair competition.