Why do some colonial experiences leave lasting prosperity while others leave stagnation or worse? Today's Chinese New Year celebrations are a good time to reflect on the experience of one of the world's most boisterous economies – a land where increased domestic and international tourism reflects such prosperity.

Cable & Wireless Communications yesterday said it is in talks to sell its stake in its Macau operation in a deal which could raise £400m.

The King of Vegas?

Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) shares yesterday tumbled more than 16 per cent after the emerging-markets telecoms firm warned that its business in Panama "has not progressed as planned".

The urge to hold power is so incomprehensible to those of us who aren't possessed of it. I'm always at a loss as to why the likes of Mubarak and Gaddafi didn't just cash in their chips and head off for the luxury villas that surely could have been theirs; the only explanation can be that if you're the sort of person who wants to be in charge of things, that need never leaves you, and the more human concerns that would come first for the rest of us simply don't figure. And so they choose dismal, humiliating incarceration or death over a cheery teatime pina colada. Like I said: incomprehensible.

To us, the empire may have been about power, commerce and occupation. To many British people at the time it was more a matter of escape – from poverty, family or creditors. For the artist George Chinnery, it seems to have been a combination of all three.

Britain was one of the few growth markets for casinos and online gambling in 2010, driven by the popularity of gaming machines, although the global industry is set to rocket by almost 10 per cent a year, figures suggest.

Axis-Shield is not for turning. At least not yet. Last week, the medical diagnostics company, which makes machines to test for conditions such as diabetes, published details of why it had said no to an offer from its American rival Alere Inc.

Another week, another listing on the Alternative Investment Market (Aim). This time it is the Hong Kong-based MoneySwap, which is preparing for its admission this Wednesday. The online money-exchange platform, which allows businesses and individuals to use the Swift banking system to transfer funds across different regions, is raising just over £3m with the listing, which is expected to value the firm at about £20m.

Lady Luck has always had a soft spot for Macau. The former Portuguese colony is the only place on Chinese soil where gambling is legal, and the industry's leading lights in the once-sleepy enclave are making even more money than they do in Las Vegas.

We all cheered when Steve Whiteley won £1m-plus for a £2 stake last week. Tim Lott investigates a nation's often jubilant obsesssion with probability

Cable & Wireless Communications said yesterday its Caribbean operations were suffering amid continuing economic woes, but it still expected broadly to meet forecasts for the year.

The former Portuguese colony is the Las Vegas of the East – but you can bet that's not all the territory offers. By James Palmer

The 'King of Macau' is ceding control of his vast gambling empire – so who will replace him? Clifford Coonan on a dynastic battle