GAMBLING
Macau casino revenue falls
Macau casino revenue fell to the lowest in more than four years amid China’s slowing economy and a graft crackdown that deterred high-rollers. A surprise easing of Chinese travel restrictions to the territory might bring some relief. Gross gaming revenue last month fell 36.2 percent to 17.4 billion patacas (US$2.2 billion), according to data released by Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau. The decline last month has eased for a fourth straight month since February, when gaming revenue plunged 48.6 percent for the worst monthly drop on record. The year-to-date drop is 37 percent.
ENTERTAINMENT
Cirque du Soleil to be sold
Canada on Tuesday approved the sale of the government-owned Cirque du Soleil to a US investment fund and its Chinese partners, according to officials. US private equity firm TPG and China’s Fosun International Ltd (復星國際) bought the Quebec circus juggernaut for an undisclosed sum in April as the carnival looks to expand in Asia. Canadian Minister of Industry James Moore said the sale would benefit the nation economically, adding that Canadians would remain in key positions within the company.
INTERNET
Google wins YouTube battle
Google Inc on Tuesday won a legal victory over German performing rights organization Gema, which had sought to make the company’s video-sharing service YouTube pay each time users watched music videos by artists it represents. A Munich court rejected Gema’s demand that YouTube pay 0.37 euros per view of certain videos. In its claim, Gema had picked out a sample of 1,000 videos, which it said would cost YouTube about 1.6 million euros. The Munich court ruling, which has not yet been published in full, might still be appealed by Gema.
TRANSPORTATION
Asciano given takeover offer
Australian ports and rail operator Asciano Ltd yesterday said it had received an A$8.8 billion (US$6.8 billion) takeover offer from Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure Group and was considering the proposal. Asciano said the cash and stock offer valued its shares at A$9.05. The proposal, subject to Brookfield’s due diligence, would be by scheme of arrangement, meaning only 50 percent of shareholders must support the deal for it to go ahead. It would also need the approval of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
AUTOMAKERS
Hyundai’s sales decline
Hyundai Motor Co’s sales fell for a third straight month, dragged down by a slump in overseas deliveries as unfavorable currency-exchange rates undermine its ability to compete against Japanese automakers. Deliveries fell 1.2 percent to 408,026 vehicles last month from a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. Overseas sales declined 2.2 percent to 345,224 units, while deliveries at home climbed 4.8 percent.
ECONOMY
Inflation rises in Indonesia
Inflation rose in Indonesia last month as tens of millions of Muslims observing the Islamic holy month spent extra cash on food, government data showed yesterday. The consumer price index rose 7.26 percent year-on-year, the government’s statistics agency said. Inflation in May was 7.15 percent. Despite inflation being higher than the previous month, last month’s figure was lower than that forecast by economists.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his
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