Macau COVID Outbreak Hits More Than 900 As Infections Spread

Miss Universe Olivia Molly Rodgers shares two angles of her... Former Miss Universe Australia model Olivia Molly Rogers... 'It was the straw that broke the camel's back': Miss... She woke up like this! Olivia Molly Rogers shows off her abs...

HONG KONG, July 11 (Reuters) - Macau shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years on Monday as authorities struggle to contain the worst coronavirus outbreak yet in the world's biggest gambling hub.

After a dismal first half of the year, U.S.
stocks started July on an upbeat note, however, market participants fear that upcoming quarterly results could trigger another selloff, with earnings potentially falling short of estimates.

Only Macau's casinos have been allowed to stay open in an effort to ensure job security. The government relies on the industry for more than 80% of its tax revenue with most of the population employed directly or indirectly by the casino resorts.

Excluding money set aside for rebidding - $600 million - SJM has about one month left in cash reserves if casinos remain closed, according to DS Kim, analyst at JP Morgan in Hong Kong, who expects the company to tap its parent STDM for a HK$5 billion ($637 million) loan.

Not legally required to pay staff during a mandated closure, casinos have nevertheless continued to do so.
Operators have also tried to burnish their social responsibility credentials by supporting local businesses and offering use of their hotel rooms for quarantine.

July 11 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday, bracing for the start of the earnings season which could see profits come under pressure at a time of growing fears of an economic downturn due to aggressive interest rate hikes.

HONG KONG, July 6 (Reuters) - Macau has locked down one of the city's most famous hotels, the Grand Lisboa, after more than a dozen COVID-19 cases were found there on Tuesday, with infections spreading rapidly in the world's biggest gambling hub.

The government has been hesitant to close casinos due to its mandate to protect jobs.
The industry employs most of the population directly and indirectly and accounts for more than 80% of government revenues.

HONG KONG, July 5 (Reuters) - Macau reported 89 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, taking the total to more than 900 infections since mid-June, as authorities in the world's biggest gambling hub race to contain its largest outbreak since the pandemic began.
casino operators Las Vegas Sands, Wynn Resorts and Melco Resorts fell between 4.6% and 5.7% after Macau shut all its casinos for the first time in more than two years in a bid to contain the spread of COVID-19. (Reporting by Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

The Grand Lisboa is the second casino hotel to be locked down in recent weeks.
Owned by SJM Holdings, which was started by former Macau kingpin Stanley Ho, the Lisboa is one of the city's best known landmarks.

parent companies. They are also trying to showcase their role in society in Macau, where the industry accounts for more than 80% government tax income, by not firing tens of thousands of staff with no gamblers to deal cards to or otherwise serve.

The report, which signaled a still strong labor market helped alleviate some fears about an immediate recession, but added to worries about more aggressive monetary policy tightening by the Fed to stamp out soaring inflation.

Having invested billion in Macau over the last two decades, they are soaking up losses as they prepare to bid for new licenses by next month in a business that generated $36 billion in revenue in 2019, the last year before COVID curbs slammed the sector.

"Even if the outbreak in Macau gets under control, it will likely be another few weeks before Macau-Zhuhai can remove quarantine requirements," said Terry Ng, analyst at Daiwa Capital Markets in Hong Kong.

"It's a geopolitical, national security issue, because the situation where Americans dominate 50% of Macau's primary industry is probably an unacceptable national security risk," said Ben Lee, founder of gaming consultancy IGamiX.

The city's more than 30 casinos, along with other non-essential businesses will shut for one week and If you loved this post and you would like to obtain additional information pertaining to Slot Machine App kindly browse through our web site. people were ordered to stay at home.
Police will monitor flows of people outside and stringent punishments will be imposed for those who disobey, the government said.

The closely watched casino licence rebidding process comes amid Macau's worst coronavirus outbreak, with the government shutting down casinos for the first time on Monday in more than two years and locking down the city.

But Sands China, Wynn Macau , MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings and Melco Resorts face zero revenue for the near future in locked-down, Chinese-ruled Macau - and their operators' contracts expire at the end of this year.