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HONG KONG — A key piece of a little-told chapter of World War II history almost ended up in a landfill. That diary is now believed to be the only known primary source documenting the involvement of Chinese naval officers in the D-Day landings at Normandy. The 24 British-trained Chinese naval officers were forced to choose between the two sides, with many of them going on to have distinguished careers in the Chinese or Taiwanese militaries. Instead he settled down in Hong Kong, a British colony at the time, where he worked as a merchant seaman until the late 1960s. A page from Lam’s journal on display at the Fringe Club in Hong Kong last month.

Persons: Lam Ping, Chiang Kai, Lam, “, ”, ” Lam, John Mak, Chiang, Mao Zedong’s, Peter Parks, Mak, Angus Hui, crackdowns, Lau Suk Yin, ” Hui, ” Mak Organizations: Pacific, U.S, Royal Naval College, Allied, Fringe Club, Getty Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Normandy, Indonesia, China, United States, Britain, France, Norwegian, Germany, Japan, Mao Zedong’s Communist, Republic of China, Taiwan, British, Brazil, AFP, Greater China

She misses that wok hei flavor more than anything. Wok hei, “the breath of the wok,” is one of the most rare and elusive flavors on Earth. As she told me: “Wok hei is so difficult to find in America. She was born in Guangzhou, China, and moved to Hong Kong as a teenager in the late 1960s. I don’t even like eating fried food that much, but it’s very Hong Kong style,” my mom told me.

Persons: Pamela, Wok hei, ”, teng, wok hei, dongs —, Sham Organizations: Australian Dairy Company Locations: America, Hong Kong, New York, Kowloon, sweatshops, Guangzhou, China, Lei, ”

☆ Millionaires are leaving Hong Kong, but its art scene is booming
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-11 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +13 min

Narration: Home to a host of financial institutions, Hong Kong is one of the world's wealthiest cities. The Hong Kong Art Gallery Association recorded a 27% increase in member galleries between 2021 and 2023. Nicolas Chow: Chinese art and ancient Chinese art is really at the genesis of Sotheby's Hong Kong when we came here. Angelle Siyang-Le: We firmly believe that Hong Kong is the best place to do art business in Asia, Hong Kong is a natural melting. Emily Tan: That's all from Hong Kong – join us next time in a new city as we explore 'The Art of Appreciation.'

Persons: –, Nicolas Chow, Emily Tan, we've, they've, It's, Emperor Chen, Chen, it's, I'm, who'll, she's, Mak2, Allison Cheung, Angelle, Hong Kong, they're, Emily, Hong Kong – Organizations: Hong, Hong Kong Art Gallery, Asia, Art, Basel, Art Basel Locations: Hong Kong, Asia, Art Basel, Sarthe, Hong Kong's, Swiss, Basel, Miami, Paris, Hong, US, Australia, Switzerland, France, Southeast Asia, Korea, Mak2, Sims

☆ A memorable bizcation requires a unique blend of work and play. Hong Kong is the perfect destination to make it happen.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When the sun sets in Hong Kong, the sprawling urban metropolis transitions from work to play. Arguably the world's best "bizcation" destination, Hong Kong offers endless activities once business travelers close their laptops for the day. Hong Kong Tourism BoardTo add a bit of mystery into your bizcation, consider exploring Hong Kong's speakeasies. Hong Kong Tourism BoardBut that's not the only attraction lighting up Hong Kong. A memorable bizcation requires a unique blend of work and play — and Hong Kong is the perfect destination to make it happen.

Persons: Hong, Chef Danny Yip, Vicky Cheng, it's, Chai, Noodle, speakeasies, that's, Luna Organizations: Network, Hong Kong's, Argo, Hong Kong Tourism Board, former Marine Police Headquarters, Hong Kong Tourism Board Hong, Insider Studios Locations: Hong Kong, there's, Hong, Wing, Victoria, Clearwater Bay, Tai Hang

☆ Bonds offer income and some volatility protection. Pick out the right bond fund for your portfolio
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-29 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

That said, in general, most investors would be best served buying a diversified bond fund, said Mulach. What to look for in bond fundsThere are several factors to consider when investing in a bond fund. Intermediate-core durations typically range between 75% and 135% of the three-year average of the effective duration of the Morningstar Core Bond Index. Top Morningstar Bond Funds Ticker Fund Morningstar Category Type 30-day SEC yield Adj. Aggregate Bond ETF can be a great option to simply replicate that index, he said.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, shouldn't, Morningstar, Mike Mulach, Chuck Failla, Failla, Mulach, You'll, Baird, BSBSX Baird, Morningstar's Organizations: Treasury, Federal Reserve, Sovereign Financial, Morningstar, SEC, Mutual, FLTB Fidelity, Fidelity, Hartford, Aggregate

☆ Turkish Opposition Disarray Lifts Erdogan's Hopes of Winning Back Istanbul
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( March | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

The alliance that helped propel Imamoglu to victory in Istanbul has since collapsed, and his nationalist and pro-Kurdish allies are fielding their own candidates this month. FRAGMENTED OPPOSITIONBut Imamoglu's hopes in Istanbul have been dented by the decision of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party and the Turkish nationalist IYI Party, whose voters supported him in 2019, to field their own candidates. Metropoll's latest survey showed support for Imamoglu among Kurdish voters had declined to 32% last month from 35% in January. Support among IYI party voters fell to 45% from 64%. Imamoglu has accused central government of hampering his delivery of services in Istanbul since 2019.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan's, Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan, Imamoglu, pollsters MAK, Murat Kurum, pollster Murat Gezici, Kurum, Sencar, pollsters Metropoll, Imamoglu's, Ertan Aksoy, Canan Sevgili, Daren Butler, Gareth Jones Organizations: Birsen Altayli, AK Party, CHP, AKP, DEM Party, Turkish, IYI Party, Aksoy Research Locations: Birsen, Birsen Altayli ISTANBUL, Istanbul, Turkey's, Israel, Gaza, Ankara, Turkish, Imamoglu's, Turkey

☆ AI poster child Altman back at OpenAI, may have fewer checks on power
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Aditya Soni | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/3] Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, arrives for a bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum for all U.S. senators hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., September 13, 2023. "Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. The board fired Altman last week with little explanation and attempted to move on by naming an interim CEO twice. "The fact that Summers and Taylor will join OpenAI is quite extraordinary and marks a dramatic reversal of fortunes in the company," Valle said. Sutskever, Altman and Taylor could not be immediately reached for comment.

Persons: Sam Altman, OpenAI, Chuck Schumer, Craig Hudson, Sam Altman's, Altman, Mak Yuen Teen, " Altman, Beatriz Valle, Bret Taylor, Salesforce, Larry Summers, Summers, Taylor, Valle, Jack Dorsey's, Tasha McCauley, Helen Toner, Ilya Sutskever, Adam D'Angelo, Sutskever, Sam, Gartner, Jason Wong, Aditya Soni, Mark Porter Organizations: Intelligence, Senate, U.S, Capitol, REUTERS, Microsoft, National University of Singapore Business School, Wall, Elon Musk's, Twitter, ., Harvard, Democratic, OpenAI, Georgetown's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Reaction to Sam Altman's return as OpenAI CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sam Altman, CEO of Microsoft-backed OpenAI and ChatGPT creator speaks during a talk at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel June 5, 2023. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Openai LLC FollowNov 22 (Reuters) - OpenAI said on Tuesday it had reached an agreement for Sam Altman to return as CEO days after his ouster, capping frenzied discussions about the future of the startup at the center of the artificial intelligence boom. THRIVE CAPITAL, OPENAI SHAREHOLDER"OpenAI has the potential to be one of the most consequential companies in the history of computing. "Sam Altman seems awfully powerful and it is unclear that any board would be able to oversee him. Altman and (Microsoft CEO) Nadella may have pushed to allow Altman a much freer hand."

Persons: Sam Altman, Amir Cohen, OpenAI, DANNI HEWSON, BELL, Altman, DANIELA HATHORN, Altman's, Greg, Brockman, ChatGPT's, would've, SUSANNAH STREETER, HARGREAVES LANSDOWN, Sam Altman's, KELVIN WONG, MAK, Nadella, hasn't, Supantha Mukherjee, Ankika Biswas, Bansari Mayur, Aditya Soni, Miyoung Kim, Nivedita Organizations: Microsoft, Tel Aviv University, REUTERS, BANK, OpenAI, MNC, OF, UNIVERSITY OF, UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE BUSINSS, Thomson Locations: Tel Aviv, Israel, UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE, OpenAI, Stockholm, Bengaluru

☆ Meet the Thai celebrities — and ‘boys love’ stars — becoming fashion’s newest power players
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( Tiffany Ap | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

(CNN) — Back in February, Nattawin Wattanagitiphat’s fans spared no expense in marking the Thai actor’s 29th birthday. Local media reported his birthday haul totaled 50 million Thai baht, or around $1.4 million. But more often than not, the Thai stars who are able to build international fan bases tend to be actors. “K-pop stars dedicated their lives training (from a young age) to be idols,” but Thai stars, she said, can be more relaxed. We don’t really keep the talent in a box like Korean companies do.”Another advantage some Thai celebrities have is their ability to resonate among Chinese audiences.

Persons: Nattawin, Christian Dior, Lefty.io, Karla Otto, TikTok, Kylie Jenner, Zendaya, Pascal Le Segretain, Dior, Tontawan Tantivejakul, Lalisa Manobal, Lisa, Celine, There’s, Pharrell Williams, Louis Vuitton, Davika Hoorne, Urassaya Sperbund, ‘, Calvin Klein, Bright’s, Metawin, ’, Nichapat, Sumettikul, “ KinnPorsche ”, Ralph Lauren, Kanawut, Suphap, It’s, “, ”, ” Suphap, Blackpink, Jisoo, Jennie, Rose, Evan Agostini, Dior womenswear, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Fatti, ” Laleh, ” Davika Hoorne, Michael Kors, Jamie McCarthy, Traipipattanapong, Gucci, Justin Shin, Krisda Witthayakhajorndet, Thais Organizations: The, Fashion, CNN, Thai, Rolex, Vogue, Mastercard, Bain & Company, American Vogue, Burberry, Prada, Venture Management, Gucci, MTV, Apo, South Locations: ’, Asia, India, Instagram, Thailand, North, South Asia, Thai, Southeast Asia, Pacific, Bangkok, Pee Mak, Norwegian, American, Vogue Thailand, Newark , New Jersey, Launchmetrics, Paris, Blackpink, Brooklyn , New York, Seoul, South Korea

Samsung's 11-year-old investment in ASML has been hugely lucrative. Over the past decade, ASML shares have delivered a whopping 25% annualised return to its shareholders. It's part of Samsung's ambitious $230 billion commitment to bolster South Korea's semiconductor and high-tech sectors over the next 20 years. Moreover, Samsung's cash is probably held in overseas affiliates and subsidiaries across different jurisdictions; its annual report lists hundreds of entities abroad. That should help ease Samsung’s vexing cash bind, but the company may still need to come up with some creative funding choices.

Persons: Taiwan's TSMC, ASML, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Samsung Electronics, Korean Economic, Intel, Samsung, HK, SFA Engineering, Apple, Korea Economic, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, KS, ASML, United States, Korea

A child plays the game "Honour of Kings" by Tencent at home in Dezhou, Shandong province, China July 2, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Aug 17 (Reuters Breakingviews) - China's economic woes have gifted Tencent (0700.HK) an unexpected silver lining. Revenue rose a decent 11% to 149 billion yuan ($20.4 billion), but fell slightly short of the average analyst forecast compiled by Refinitiv. That compares to the 151.7 billion yuan average analyst forecast of 21 analysts compiled by Refinitiv. Adjusted net profit, after excluding certain one-time and non-cash items, rose 33% to 37.5 billion yuan.

Persons: Tencent, Stringer, HONG KONG, Refinitiv, James Mitchell, pare, Alibaba, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, HK, Revenue, Tencent, Citi, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: Dezhou, Shandong province, China, HONG, Tencent, Hong Kong

☆ Sea sails recklessly into choppy e-commerce waters
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Singapore-based Sea Limited Chairman and CEO Forrest Li, speaks during an interview with CNBC following his company's IPO on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., October 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Acquire Licensing RightsHONG KONG, Aug 16 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sea's (SE.N) boss Forrest Li has picked a turbulent time to rock the boat. But Li's declaration on Tuesday that it's time to "ramp up" investments again risks wiping out the hard-earned investor goodwill. Despite Li's assurances that Sea will keep emphasising self-sufficiency and cost efficiencies, investors promptly erased some $10 billion, or 29%, in market value. In July, the latter injected $845 million into its Southeast Asian arm, signalling a price war may be on the horizon.

Persons: Forrest Li, Brendan McDermid, HONG KONG, Li, China's Alibaba, Robyn Mak, Exor’s Philips, Bain, BoE, Antony Currie, Thomas Shum Organizations: CNBC, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Reuters, HK, Twitter, FC Barcelona’s, Messi, Thomson Locations: Singapore, New York, U.S, HONG, York

HONG KONG, Aug 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong has lost some permanent appeal. The introduction of two sets of approvals was mandated three decades ago when foreign investors wanted additional protections to invest in the first wave of Chinese firms listing in Hong Kong. China's domestic securities laws have since developed and global investors can now directly buy shares onshore through various channels. That could lead to more onshore shares being issued relative to offshore shares, further diluting minority owners in Hong Kong. In 2020, Hong Kong shareholders vetoed the Bank of Zhengzhou's proposal to avoid such an outcome.

Persons: Hong Kong, HKEX, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Hong Kong Exchanges, HK, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Asia Securities Industry, Financial Markets Association, Corporate Governance Association, China Life Insurance, Wall, Hong, Bank of, Companies, Global, Hang Seng China Enterprise Index, Graphics Global, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong

☆ Bain puts Chindata minority owners out of misery
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, Aug 14 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bain Capital has just taught a refresher course in the perils of being a minority investor. On Friday the buyout firm agreed to take Chindata private in a deal that values the Chinese data centre operator it already controls at $3.2 billion. But those who bought in when the U.S. private equity firm took Chindata public in 2020 or were hoping for a bidding war – or both – have good reason to be disappointed. Second, a unit of state-owned conglomerate China Merchants Group countered Bain with a $3.4 billion deal, which Chindata took a month to acknowledge. And it has let investors holding another fifth or so of Chindata stock into the buyout group.

Persons: Bain’s, Bain, Chindata, Antony Currie, BoE, Robyn Mak, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, Bain Capital, China Merchants Group, China Merchants, Twitter, FC Barcelona’s, Messi, Siemens, Thomson Locations: New York

☆ Alibaba previews benefits of slimming down
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Aug 11 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Just months after announcing a six-way breakup, Alibaba's (9988.HK) corporate overhaul is off to a good start. Quarterly sales jumped 14% year-on-year in the three months to June and all its main business units are growing again. That should ease concern that Alibaba is losing market share to rivals like PDD (PDD.O). In logistics and digital media, both reported positive adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation in the recent quarter, versus losses a year ago. It’s early days but a more focused and less bloated Alibaba is starting to emerge.

Persons: It’s, Robyn Mak, Una Galani, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, HK, Twitter, Siemens, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG

☆ Bubble tea will test limits of China’s consumers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, Aug 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Bubble tea may be the new bellwether for the Chinese consumer. At least half a dozen boba-drink makers, including China’s largest chain by store count, Mixue Bingcheng, are planning initial public offerings in Hong Kong or the United States, Bloomberg reports. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Nayuki (2150.HK), the country’s only publicly traded bubble tea chain, have dropped 70% since their debut in 2021. Follow @t__shum on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAt least six bubble tea companies are looking to go public in either Hong Kong or the United States, Bloomberg reported on July 24 citing people familiar with the matter. In 2022, China’s biggest bubble tea chain by store count, Mixue Bingcheng, filed for a $918 million initial public offering in Shenzhen.

Persons: Mixue, Gen, Mixue Bingcheng, Robyn Mak, Katrina Hamlin, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Bloomberg, HK, KFC, Haidilao, Refinitiv, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, United States, Beijing, China, Shenzhen

HONG KONG, Aug 3 (Reuters Breakingviews) - South Korea’s dealmaking skeletons are back to haunt. Paul Singer's Elliott opposed a $9 billion union eight years ago of Samsung C&T (028260.KS) and Chiel Industries. South Korea’s successful prosecution of Lee, Park and a former minister that oversaw NPS, provided cause for Elliott to demand payback. Elliott sued in 2018 and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague in June awarded the U.S. fund over $100 million. Far from being the end of it though, President Yoon Suk Yeol’s government is contesting that award in a British arbitration court.

Persons: Samsung's Lee, Paul Singer's Elliott, Elliott, Jay Y, Lee, Park Geun, Yoon Suk, Hague, Yoon, Taiwan's TSMC, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Korea Inc, Samsung, Chiel Industries, National Pension Service, NPS, U.S ., Korea, Trade, Global, Samsung Electronics, Apple, Tokyo, Korea's Ministry, Justice, Elliott Investment, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S, Hague, Seoul, Korea, China, Beijing, Washington, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, United States

E-commerce app Temu is taking on the larger Shein by selling cheap Chinese-made goods to Western consumers. The company owned by $119 billion PDD (PDD.O) is more like an online dollar store. Moreover, Temu offers generous discounts and free or subsidised shipping to users. Parent company PDD, whose Pinduoduo e-commerce unit competes with Alibaba (9988.HK) and JD.com (9618.HK) in China, discloses little about its overseas business. Temu offers everything from home appliances to electronics to toys, making it more of a direct competitor to Amazon.

Persons: Shein, Breakingviews, Temu, PDD, Bernstein, Peter Thal Larsen, Aditya Munjuluru, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, United States, Wall Street, Temu, Bloomberg, HK, PDD, Thomson, & $ Locations: HONG KONG, Western, China, U.S, United States, Shein

☆ Walmart focuses India’s retail valuation debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MUMBAI, July 31 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Walmart (WMT.N) is bumping up its stake in Flipkart, India’s e-commerce giant, at a handsome valuation. The U.S. retailer is buying shares from Tiger Global for $1.4 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s a good deal for the seller as investors assess India’s hottest retail businesses. Reliance Industries’ (RELI.NS) retail unit might come sooner; analysts peg its valuation anywhere between $57 billion and $131 billion. How the market finally values India’s consumer will be closely watched.

Persons: India’s, Japan’s SoftBank, Robyn Mak, Pranav Kiran Organizations: Reuters, Walmart, Tiger Global, Wall Street, Reliance Industries, Twitter, BT boss’s, of Japan, Thomson Locations: MUMBAI, Flipkart, U.S, Una

“In the age of AI, where data is the new oil, China is the new Saudi Arabia”, venture capitalist Lee Kai-fu declared in 2018. Washington may soon tighten export restrictions to China by targeting AI semiconductors, according to the Wall Street Journal. A slowing economy and brutal price war in the fiercely competitive cloud market will only make monetising AI products harder. China’s AI moment has arrived, only with far less promise than initially hoped. China wants to become a world leader in AI by 2030, according to a 2017 roadmap released by the State Council.

Persons: Lee Kai, OpenAI's, Xi Jinping, Goldman Sachs, Robin Li, Baidu’s, Bernstein, SenseTime, Xi, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Saudi Arabia ”, OpenAI's ChatGPT, European Union, Baidu, HK, Nasdaq, Washington, Wall Street, Nvidia, AMD, Microsoft, CloudWalk Technology, Cyberspace Administration, China, State, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, China, Republic, Saudi Arabia, United States, Beijing, York, Shanghai

Risk factors usually flag uncertainties in how Chinese laws are interpreted and enforced as well as the government's "substantial oversight and influence" over businesses. Chinese regulators want those boilerplate disclosures dropped; if not, offshore listing applications could be denied approval. Trying to appease both American and Chinese regulators will get tougher. On Friday, Chinese regulators held a rare meeting with KKR (KKR.N), Blackstone (BX.N), Carlyle (CG.O) and others to ensure they can continue to invest in the country. China's new offshore listing rules came into effect on March 31.

Persons: Didi Global, underwriters Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Carlyle, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Global, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, underwriters, JPMorgan, KKR, Blackstone, Bloomberg, Communist Party, China Securities Regulatory Commission, SEC, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Beijing, Hong Kong, United States, New York, China

☆ TSMC’s awkward signalling opens up chip limbo
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, July 21 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Is the chip market bottoming out? On the other hand, executives struck an upbeat tone on artificial intelligence, and noted the company is adding capacity on that front. TSMC's lower full-year revenue guidance now casts doubt on a much-anticipated year-end or early-2024 rebound in demand for electronics that would reverse the industry supply glut. Even so, investors have no clearer insight into how fast global demand will pick up, nor how the AI frenzy will evolve. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: C.C, Wei, TSMC, Robyn Mak, whir, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, TSMC, Twitter, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG

☆ Commonwealth Games hit a financial wall
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MELBOURNE, July 18 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Anyone who signs up for a marathon soon hears about the metaphorical wall that exhausted runners often hit around three-quarters of the way through the race. Australia’s state of Victoria has just crashed into the financial equivalent, much earlier, in its preparations for hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Rio de Janeiro lost $2 billion hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, for instance. Andrews’ government, though, also wanted the Games to be hosted in several different cities – and added more sports, per the Commonwealth Games organising body. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Daniel Andrews, Andrews, Antony Currie, Robyn Mak, Thomas Shum Organizations: MELBOURNE, Reuters, Victoria, Games, Commonwealth Games, Twitter, Cathay, Thomson Locations: Australia’s, Victoria, Rio de Janeiro

It is an unexpected truce between Sony, which makes Playstation consoles, and its far larger U.S. rival. Details have yet to be disclosed, and it's not clear why Sony, which Microsoft earlier offered a 10-year contract, has had a change of heart. Sony's video-game division reported digital software and content sales of $11 billion in the fiscal year to March. Yoshida has been selectively snapping up smaller gaming studios to beef up Playstation content, including splashing out $3.6 billion for developer Bungie. Details were not disclosed, but a Microsoft spokesperson clarified with various media that the deal is for 10 years.

Persons: it's, Boss Kenchiro Yoshida, Yoshida, Phil Spencer, Una Galani, Thomas Shum Organizations: Reuters, Activision Blizzard, Sony, Activision, Microsoft, Nintendo, Nvidia, U.S, UK Competition, Markets Authority, Bungie, Nikkei, Federal Trade, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, U.S

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