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1. UK to phase out hotels in asylum system reform
The United Kingdom's government plans to reform its asylum appeals process and reduce the number of immigrants staying in hotels while waiting for a ruling, the BBC reports. They intended to reduce delays with a new body composed of independent adjudicators.
Ministers have promised they'll end the use of hotels for asylum seekers during this Parliament, according to the article. Currently there are still 32,000 asylum seekers housed in hotels. It takes more than a year for an appeal to be heard, and there are 51,000 cases waiting for a decision.
2. Chinese real estate firm Evergrande delisted
Chinese real estate giant Evergrande has been delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange, a significant change in fortune for a company once valued at more than $50 billion, the BBC reports. The company had struggled to repay debts after the Chinese government put in place new rules on borrowing.
The firm had defaulted on some overseas debts after running into trouble making interest payments. The Hong Kong High Court issued a winding-up order for the company in January 2024, which suspended its trading.
"Once delisted, there is no coming back," said Dan Wang, China director at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, who added that the delisting is mainly symbolic but still a major milestone.
3. What geopolitical uncertainty could mean for US hotels
U.S. tariff policies, negative rhetoric toward other countries and other factors are combining to cloud the outlook for U.S. hoteliers, reports CoStar News Hotels' Trevor Simpson from the recent Hotel Data Conference.
Aran Ryan, director of industry studies at Tourism Economics, said that top-line international inbound demand has been troubled in recent months. Overseas visitor arrivals dropped 11.6% year over year in March, and that's excluding travelers originating in Canada or Mexico. Those figures improved in April, but by June, overseas arrivals to the U.S. declined by 3.4% compared to the same period of 2024.
"It's a sustained impact to U.S. inbound travel," he said, adding that it's not a scenario where the country experiences one bad year then makes up for negative numbers quickly.
"We've pushed this recovery timeline back to 2019 levels ... out to 2029, so we're anticipating a sustained setback as we go through the administration's policies," Ryan said.
4. Immigration drop changes US labor picture
The demand for workers is the U.S. has cooled in recent months, but the unemployment rate hasn't seen any drastic changes due to drop in immigration affecting the current labor supply, the Wall Street Journal reports.
"It means slumping labor demand won’t necessarily push up the unemployment rate, which at 4.2% is historically low," according to the article. "But in the long run it could limit the economy’s potential growth and generate larger budget deficits."
A net 917,000 people entered the U.S. annually from 2010 to 2019, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office. That increased to 3.3 million in 2023 and an estimated 2.7 million in 2024.
5. Closed Mirage resort to auction off iconic items
The closed Mirage resort in Las Vegas will auction off statues, pieces of its volcano and other items from around the property ahead of its conversion to the Hard Rock Las Vegas, the SF Gate reports. The auction of more than 300 pieces will begin Sept. 20.
Among the items going on the auction block are pieces of the volcano's facade, expected to go for $200 to $400, as well as two 650-pound bronze mermaid statues, expected to sell for $30,000 to $60,000.
The highest-priced item to be sold is the 14.5 foot by 16 foot Chihuly piece, a blown glass centerpiece displaced the the Mirage's high limit lounge in the casino. It's expected to fetch between $50,000 and $75,000.