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☆ Sotheby's to auction world's largest ruby in New York in June
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Jessie Pang | Thomson Reuters | Jessie Pang Joined Reuters In After An Internship. She Covers Hong Kong With A Focus On Politics | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] An employee shines a light at the 55.22 carat "The Estrela de Fura" ruby, the largest in the world and expected to fetch up to $30 million in an upcoming New York auction, during a preview at Sotheby's, in Hong Kong, China April 17, 2023. REUTERS/Lam YikHONG KONG, April 17 (Reuters) - The largest ruby in the world to come to auction will be offered by Sotheby's in New York in June, the auction house said at a preview in Hong Kong on Monday, and is estimated to achieve more than $30 million. That would probably make the 55.22-carat gem, known as the Estrela de Fura, the most expensive ruby ever sold at auction, said Uni Kim, a specialist in Sotheby's jewellery department in the Asian financial capital. The current world record for a ruby sold at auction was set in May 2015 by "Sunrise Ruby," a 25.59-carat Burmese stone that fetched $30.3 million at Sotheby's in Geneva. "We estimate Estrela de Fura to be sold in excess of $30 million," Kim added.

"Most luxury retailers don't think Hong Kong will return to the dizzy levels of 2014 when the market here peaked," said Simon Smith, Savills' senior director of research and consultancy in Hong Kong. Morgan Stanley (MS.N) forecast Hong Kong visitor numbers this year will reach just 70% of 2018 arrivals. It estimates retail sales will grow 15%, holding at around 80% of retail trade from the pre-COVID year. That outstripped total Hong Kong retail sales from a peak hit in 2013 at HK$494.5 billion ($63.0 billion), according to the city's statistics department. ($1 = 6.8510 yuan)($1 = 7.8498 Hong Kong dollars)Reporting by Farah Master, Jessie Pang, Anne Marie Roantree, Angel Woo and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong, Sophie Yu in Beijing, and Mimosa Spencer in Paris; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Tom HogueOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hong Kong unveils budget, promising 'abundant opportunities' as city recovers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sumathi Bala | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Pedestrians pas stores in Hong Kong, China, on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022. Hong Kong wants to become an international center for virtual assets as the city seeks to bolster its status as a global financial hub following the disruptions caused by the pandemic. "I believe that Hong Kong's economy will visibly recover this year, and I remain positive," Chan said during his budget speech. Hong Kong's economy is expected to see a rebound of 3.5% to 5.5% in 2023, after shrinking 3.5% in 2022, Chan said. Hong Kong closely followed China's strict zero-Covid policy until the middle of 2022 when the city began to ease some of the restrictions.

☆ Macau casino revenues surge in Jan after COVID rules lifted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Farah Master | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Still investors took cheer, sending shares in Macau casinos up between 3% to 5%, while executives and analysts said it was an encouraging sign of a solid recovery to come. A special administrative region of China, Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from the mainland since Jan. 8 after the territory dropped all COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound travellers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. January's revenues were the first for Sands China (1928.HK), Wynn Macau (1128.HK), MGM China (2282.HK), Galaxy Entertainment (0027.HK), MGM China (2282.HK) and SJM Holdings (0880.HK) under new 10-year contracts. Visitors pose for photos outside the Grand Lisboa casino operated by SJM Holdings during Lunar New Year in Macau, China, January 24, 2023. REUTERS/Lam Yik/File PhotoThe new contracts, with more government oversight and control, were struck after COVID-19 restrictions decimated Macau's gambling revenues and sent net debt soaring.

☆ Hong Kong is criminalizing CBD as a ‘dangerous drug’ alongside heroin
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hong Kong CNN —Two years ago, cannabidiol was booming in Hong Kong. CBD cookies at the Found cafe in Hong Kong on August 11, 2022. And while CBD products could avoid this trace amount by using a pure form of CBD, most manufacturers mix other compounds for higher potency. From 2019 to early 2022, Hong Kong authorities launched nearly 120 “operations” seizing and testing CBD products from restaurants and shops to warehouses, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said last year. Now “there’s less choice for consumers in Hong Kong.

☆ Tourists swarm gambling hub Macau over Lunar New Year after COVID curbs dropped
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Macau has seen a resurgence of tourists from mainland China since Jan. 8 after the special Chinese administrative region dropped all COVID-19 testing requirements for inbound travellers from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Macau welcomed more than 71,000 visitors on Monday, the highest single day record since the pandemic, its government said in a statement late on Tuesday. It was lifeless during lockdown and not very good," said a man surnamed Lam, who travelled to Macau from Jiangmen in nearby Guangdong province in southern China. More than 94% of visitors to Macau over the first three days of the Lunar New Year, Jan. 21-23, came from mainland China and neighbouring special administrative region Hong Kong. Local residents said they hoped the rise in visitors would bring a permanent boost to the city's beleaguered economy.

☆ China consumer inflation accelerates in Dec; PPI falls with soft demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Lam YikBEIJING, Jan 12 (Reuters) - China's annual consumer inflation rate accelerated in December, driven by rising food prices even as domestic demand wavered amid restrained economic activity during the month. The consumer price index (CPI) was 1.8% higher than a year earlier, rising faster than the 1.6% annual gain seen in November, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday. The producer price index (PPI) showed an annual drop for a third straight month. In December it was down 0.7% from a year earlier, falling less than an annual contraction of 1.3% seen in November. read moreReporting by Liangping Gao, Joe Cash and Liz Lee; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Hong Kong to allow import of hamsters after year-long COVID ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pedestrians walk past a closed pet shop in Mong Kok district after a hamster cull was ordered to curb the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, China, January 19, 2022. The government aims to "resume commercial imports of hamsters around mid-January," it said in a statement to Reuters. In January 2022, Hong Kong ordered a hamster cull amid an outbreak of Delta variant cases in humans that was traced back to a pet shop worker in the Chinese special administrative region. Hong Kong's pet rodent clampdown had echoed the mainland's zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19. Little Boss, the operating company which owned the pet shop at the heart of Hong Kong's hamster cull last year, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried Chucks the Crisis Communications Playbook
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Nat Ives | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

The interviews could be a case study in what not to do in a crisis, some communications executives said. “He’s basically breaking every rule that somebody in the crisis communications field would advise,” said Andrew Gilman, president and chief executive at CommCore Consulting Group, a public relations and communications firm. Asked at the DealBook conference whether his lawyers thought it was wise for him to be speaking, Mr. Bankman-Fried said no. If Mr. Bankman-Fried is determined to say something now, Mr. Gilman said he would have advised putting a statement online and declining to take questions yet. But Mr. Sitrick said he couldn’t fully gauge the results of the mini-media tour because he didn’t know Mr. Bankman-Fried’s goals.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried ‘Wasn’t Even Trying’ to Manage Risk at FTX, He Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Richard Vanderford | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

“I wasn’t even trying, like, I wasn’t spending any time or effort trying to manage risk on FTX,” Mr. Bankman-Fried said in an interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that was broadcast Thursday on “Good Morning America.”“I don’t know what to say,” he said. A lawyer for Mr. Bankman-Fried didn’t respond to a request for comment. Risk issues weren’t seen as a “core business driver” at FTX, Mr. Bankman-Fried said in Thursday’s interview, adding that he did a “pretty incomplete job” at oversight. Mr. Stephanopoulos questioned Mr. Bankman-Fried about speculation that he might ultimately spend time in prison in connection with the problems at FTX and Alameda. Mr. Bankman-Fried said that a lot of things worry him right now, but that he would let regulatory and legal processes play out.

☆ FTX Hires Ex-Regulators to Investigate Firm’s Collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Mengqi Sun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose recent collapse has led to questions about lacking regulatory oversight, has hired a fitting team to help untangle the mess: former senior U.S. regulators. FTX said this week it has been in contact with investigators, The Wall Street Journal previously reported. FTX, which is based in the Bahamas, also has hired Nardello & Co., an investigations firm that specializes in anti-corruption and fraud cases, Mr. Bromley said in court Tuesday. The name of the cybersecurity company wasn’t disclosed because of concerns over continuing cyberattacks on FTX, he said. The collapse of FTX has set off the largest crypto-related bankruptcy ever, and court filings are already shedding light on what went wrong and how complicated things could get.

☆ Before his epic fall, Sam Bankman-Fried was hailed as a crypto genius. Some clients saw smoke and mirrors.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Gretchen Morgenson | Gretchen Morgenson Is The Senior Financial Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. A Former Stockbroker | She Won The Pulitzer Prize In For Her | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +14 min

Until a few days ago, Sam Bankman-Fried was the king of crypto. “I’m sorry I didn’t do better,” Bankman-Fried said Tuesday in a message to investors reviewed by NBC News. The contentions of the people who spoke with NBC News are echoed in a 2019 lawsuit brought in federal court against FTX Alameda, Bankman-Fried and other executives. But the crypto market does not have the protections or price transparency found in listed stock markets, for example. FTX and Alameda, as a major crypto exchange and market maker, attracted crypto developers to list their projects for trading.

☆ Insana: The manic speculation behind the fall of FTX is as old as the markets themselves
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Ron Insana | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sam Bankman-Fried, co-founder and chief executive officer of FTX, in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, May 11, 2021. Lam Yik | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesWith a nod to Gertrude Stein, "there's no there there," in the world of cryptocurrencies. Whether it's manias in Sumerian grain markets, Dutch tulip bulbs, railroad bonds and everything from internet service providers to digital currencies, leveraged speculation is as old as markets themselves. Digital assets that don't exist in reality have been used as collateral to buy and sell other non-existent assets with a heavy dose of borrowed money. This creates a daisy chain of interlocked digital tokens that have no inherent value except what people are willing to ascribe.

☆ A new social media app for high schoolers has dethroned TikTok and BeReal in the App Store rankings — and is surprisingly not toxic
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A new app for high schoolers is ranked #1 in the app store right now, beating out BeReal and TikTok. The app "Gas" lets users send anonymous compliments to their friends and classmates through polls. Gas app screenshotsAnonymous social media apps for teenagers have a history of burning up in flames. "Gas" app screenshotsCurrently, the app is fighting a different kind of controversy: a rumor spreading across TikTok and Snapchat that it's involved in human trafficking. Right now, "is gas a sex trafficking app" is a top Google Search query related to the app.

☆ Asia hedge fund losses grow in Q3, poised for worst year since 2008
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( Summer Zhen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

“It’s a very painful third quarter for (Asia) hedge fund managers’ performance. Repeated lockdowns in many Chinese cities, a risk-off mode ahead of the party congress and geopolitical risks affected market sentiment. The magnitude of central bank policy moves and frequent macro headlines created profitable trading opportunities for macro hedge funds globally, analysts said. The HFRI Asia ex-Japan Index tracks funds that target more than 50% of their investments in the Asia ex-Japan region. Japan-focused hedge funds fared relatively well, with the HFRI Asia index that includes Japan, down just 3.3% in September and 3.9% this year.

☆ HSBC extends Chinese private banking network to lure new digital millionaires
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Selena | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians wearing face masks following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a HSBC bank branch in Hong Kong, China February 22, 2022. HSBC sees robust demand for wealth management in Chengdu, capital of the western province of Sichuan with more than 21 million people. The bank has already launched private bank services in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. “As a new class of HNW and ultra HNW individuals emerges from the vigorous development of Hangzhou’s digital economy, demand for international wealth management has also grown significantly,” Jackie Mau, head of global private banking at HSBC China, said in a statement. Beijing launched in late 2020 a crackdown that effectively halted Ant’s initial public offering that could have created more millionaires keen for wealth services.

☆ University of Utah student arrested in alleged threat to detonate school's nuclear reactor if football team lost, officials say
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( Antonio Planas | Antonio Planas Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The 21-year-old student posted the threat on the social media application Yik Yak, according to a university statement. “She acknowledged posting the statement and was arrested and taken to the Salt Lake County Jail and booked for making terroristic threats,” officials said. The University of Utah’s nuclear reactor, Hinojosa said, is secured and alarmed and police have unique protocols for managing any breach of the facility. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the University of Utah is one about 25 universities with a nuclear reactor. Fans watch at the Utah Utes and the San Diego State Aztecs football game in Sept. 17, 2022.

☆ HSBC to raise best lending rate to 5.125% after HK rate hike
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterPedestrians wearing face masks following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walk past a HSBC bank branch in Hong Kong, China February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Lam YikHONG KONG, Sept 22 (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings (0005.HK), said on Thursday it raised its best lending rate in Hong Kong by 12.5 basis points to 5.125% effective Sept. 23 after the city's central bank raised the base rate charged through its overnight discount window by 75 basis points. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority earlier on Thursday raised the base rate charged through its overnight discount to 3.50% from 2.75%. read moreHong Kong tracks U.S. interest rate moves because its currency is pegged to the U.S. dollar, although local banks have some leeway to lag U.S. moves when setting prime rates. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Donny Kwok and Selena Li; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Asia shares gain ground, hefty Fed rate hike seen priced in
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Julie Zhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Even more so than the Ukraine war or corporate earnings, the actions of the U.S. central bank are driving market sentiment as traders position themselves for a rising interest rate environment. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) was up 1.2 % while Australian shares (.AXJO) climbed 1.2%. Markets are priced for rates to climb as high as 4.5% by early 2023, compared with the Fed's current 2.25%-2.5% policy rate range. It is not just in the United States that interest rate rises are expected. read moreChina's central bank went its own way though, cutting on Monday a repo rate by 10 basis points to support its ailing economy.

☆ Hong Kong Police Seize Statue Commemorating Tiananmen Massacre
▼ + stars: | 2021-06-04 | by ( Austin Ramzy | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Students observed a minute of silence in front of the ‘Pillar of Shame’ statue at the University of Hong Kong on June 4, 2021. Photo: LAM YIK/REUTERSHONG KONG—A statue in Hong Kong commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, one of the more potent symbols of the city’s pro-democracy movement, was seized by police on Friday, the sculptor said. The statue, “Pillar of Shame,” is a 26-foot-tall depiction of piled bodies signifying those killed during the Tiananmen crackdown. It had been on display at the University of Hong Kong since the late 1990s before it was removed in 2021.

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