The Grand Emperor hotel in Macau has ripped up and sold the gold bricks lining its lobby floor, earning nearly $13m (£9.6m) amid a rise in the metal’s value due to turbulent geopolitical conditions. The hotel, which opened in 2006, is known for its opulent decor including a “golden pathway” featuring dozens of gold bars in its entranceway. But the resort’s Hong Kong-based parent company, Emperor Entertainment Hotel Ltd, announced in a Wednesday filing that while the gold bullion had created a “sumptuous and resplendent atmosphere” in the hotel, “in…
Day: February 5, 2026
How can China react to Panama Canal ruling that boosts US push to counter its influence?
The recent court ruling giving the United States a win in a tussle for control of the Panama Canal is expected to prove an important “test case” for how China responds to the challenge to its interests and influence across Latin America. Analysts said there were a range of tools it could use, including diplomatic pressure on Panama, using its economic might to seek support from friendly countries and backing a legal challenge to the ruling. Advertisement In his inaugural address last year, US President Donald Trump vowed to regain…
What do Chinese gold traders want? Three more years of Trump
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The Chinese gold market embracing volatility — and three more years of Trump
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Volatility, claims Xu Xudong, is the key to making money in the gold business. And for this wholesaler, the past year has been an embarrassment of riches. “It takes volatility to heat the market up, otherwise it’s just flat,” he said, sipping tea in the Shuibei gold wholesale district of Shenzhen in southern China. The future, he added, was bright, at least for the remaining three years of US President…
Defiance inside China’s biggest gold market
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. Volatility, claims Xu Xudong, is the key to making money in the gold business. And for this wholesaler, the past year has been an embarrassment of riches. “It takes volatility to heat the market up, otherwise it’s just flat,” he said, sipping tea in the Shuibei gold wholesale district of Shenzhen in southern China. The future, he added, was bright, at least for the remaining three years of US President…
Takaichi taps Japan’s anxiety over foreigners
Days into an election campaign fought in large part over issues of immigration and economic anxiety, Japan’s government released data showing the number of foreigners working in the country hit a record 2.57mn last year. For thousands of businesses across the world’s fourth-biggest economy, the more than 10 per cent annual increase in the foreign labour force in recent years has been a lifeline amid a shrinking and ageing population. But for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and many other candidates across both mainstream and fringe parties, the arrivals pose a…
India’s stock market is failing to match growth in economy
This article is an on-site version of the India Business Briefing newsletter. To receive it in your inbox regularly, sign up if you’re a premium subscriber, or upgrade your subscription here. Good morning. Later today, the Reserve Bank of India will announce its interest rate decision. Most analysts expect the central bank to leave rates unchanged this time around; the repo rate has been cut by 125 basis points since February last year. However, inflation continues to be under control, so there is a sliver of possibility of a cut. We…
US-China orbital arms race is forging a trillion-dollar space economy
If the years 2020 to 2025 were defined by the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution – a period where algorithms helped create tech titans such as Nvidia, OpenAI and Oracle – then 2026 represents a far more exciting and expansive paradigm shift. We are now pivoting from the digitisation of the Earth to the capitalisation and domination of low-orbit space. The golden age of the space economy has arrived, signalled by last month’s announcement that SpaceX is preparing for a June initial public offering, with a projected US$1.5 trillion valuation and…
China rallies neighbours against Japan in rare meeting. Will it work?
In the days that followed Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi’s controversial remarks over Taiwan in November, Beijing convened a rare meeting with Southeast Asian envoys to rally regional support for its campaign against Japan – but that effort has so far gained little traction. Multiple sources familiar with the matter told the South China Morning Post that China had summoned most Southeast Asian ambassadors or their deputies late last year, framing the meeting as a channel to hear the region’s views on Takaichi’s comments. But at the meeting – chaired by…
We had sex in a Chinese hotel, then found we had been broadcast to thousands
What is clear is there are significant sums of money to be made. Based on channel membership and subscription fees, the BBC estimates AKA alone has earned at least 163,200 Yuan ($22,000, £16,300) since last April. The average annual income in China last year was 43,377 Yuan ($6,200, £4,600) according to China’s Bureau of Statistics. BBC