GAMBLING
Top-end punters boost Macau
Gaming revenue in Macau rose for the first time in three years last year as high-end punters’ appetite for gambling recovered after a protracted government campaign against shows of wealth among public officials and slowing economic growth. Figures from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination bureau yesterday showed revenues for last year rose 19 percent to 265.7 billion patacas (US$33.13 billion). Analysts had expected full-year growth of 18-20 percent to US$33 billion to US$34 billion. Macau is clambering back after revenue plunged to five-year lows in 2014, but revenue is still far off the highs hit ahead of 2014, hovering only around monthly tolls seen in 2011, data from Thomson Reuters Datastream showed. Monthly gambling revenue last month was up 15 percent to 22.7 billion patacas.
COMMODITIES
Cotton streak set to continue
The longest winning streak in two decades propelled cotton to last year’s biggest increase among crop commodities, and hedge funds are ready for more gains this year. Of the nine components tracked by the Bloomberg Agriculture Subindex, only cotton and wheat contracts posted gains last year. The fiber led the way with an 11 percent advance as demand grew for US exports. Prices capped last year with 10 straight weekly gains, the best streak since 1998. Cotton was also one of the few crops about which hedge funds became more positive during the course of the year. Money managers held a net-long position, or the difference between bets on a price increase and wagers on a decline, of 102,402 futures and options as of Dec. 26, up from 76,052 at the end of 2016, according to US Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday.
ENTERTAINMENT
Bar offers bitcoin party
A Singapore bar that bills itself as the world’s highest cryptocurrency club offered a New Year’s Eve package that included a limousine pick-up and butler service — but it cost a whole bitcoin. Skyline, on the 45th floor of a skyscraper overlooking the waterfront, promised a luxury-filled night out, with Champagne and oysters and caviar, but it was not cheap, with the price of bitcoin hovering around US$13,000 on Sunday. The party at Skyline is called “Bianco,” with revelers dressed in white enjoying a night of drinking and dancing before watching the New Year’s fireworks display over the waterfront. While the club has run the night before, it was the first time it offered a bitcoin deal, and customers could also pay in regular cash.
SINGAPORE
Growth beats estimate
Singapore’s economy expanded 3.5 percent last year, more than double the initial government forecast as the country benefited from the global economic upswing, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) said in his New Year message on Sunday. Lee said the city-state would press on with economic restructuring and infrastructure projects such its fifth airport terminal as well as review healthcare policies to prepare for an aging population. “All these are essential investments in our future. They require time and resources, and will stretch way beyond this term of government. We have to plan well ahead for them,” Lee said in a statement released by his office. Singapore’s growth comes at the top end of the most recent trade ministry prediction of 3 to 3.5 percent and compares with the median 3.3 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey. The government is to release preliminary GDP figures for the fourth quarter today.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
PLANS: MSI is also planning to upgrade its service center in the Netherlands Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) yesterday said it plans to set up a server assembly line at its Poland service center this year at the earliest. The computer and peripherals manufacturer expects that the new server assembly line would shorten transportation times in shipments to European countries, a company spokesperson told the Taipei Times by telephone. MSI manufactures motherboards, graphics cards, notebook computers, servers, optical storage devices and communication devices. The company operates plants in Taiwan and China, and runs a global network of service centers. The company is also considering upgrading its service center in the Netherlands into a
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
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