Why Apple plunked 1 billion into Chinese ride-hailing

Apple new 1 billion investment in the Chinese ride-hailing service Didi Chuxing is as much about currying favor with regulators as directly expanding its own business, analysts said. Apple might need the help; it faces slowing iPhone sales and tougher restrictions on its services in the country. The investment -- one of Apple's largest to date -- could serve other purposes as well. It helps the company put some of its giant overseas cash hoard to work without incurring taxes by bringing it back to the U.S. It might also inform Apple's own interest in the automotive business; several reports suggest it has begun work on its own self-driving car. "It kills two or three birds with one stone," said Patrick Moorhead, principal analyst with Moor Insights & Strategy.