<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">Dirty dealings. Corporate battles. Consumer woes. Here are five things you need to know today.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">1. The Prime Minister’s Office has clarified that PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/pmo-dr-m-never-said-bribery-allegations-against-airasia-were-offset-payments" target="_blank">did not suggest </a>that the recent allegations of bribery against AirAsia Group Bhd were offset payments.&nbsp;</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">2. <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/westports-unit-buys-land-rm394m-undertake-rm10b-expansion" target="_blank">Westports Holdings Bhd’s</a> 4QFY20 net profit <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/westports-4q-net-profit-down-138-asset-writeoff-following-vessel-incident" target="_blank">dropped</a> 13.8% due to an asset write-off, even as revenue grew.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">3. The government has <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/govt-lowers-ron95-diesel-prices-first-time-year" target="_blank">dropped</a> the price of petrol and diesel for the first time in a year.&nbsp;</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">4. 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd says there are <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/7eleven-no-plan-merge-operations-caring-pharmacy" target="_blank">no plans</a> to merge its convenience operations with that of Caring Pharmacy Group Bhd.&nbsp;</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p dir="ltr">5. RAM Ratings says that Malayan Banking Bhd, CIMB Group Holdings Bhd and Public Bank bhd will <a href="https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/maybank-cimb-public-bank-will-comfortably-meet-dsib-requirements-%E2%80%94-ram-ratings" target="_blank">more than comfortably meet</a> the central bank’s new capital requirements.&nbsp;</p></div>

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Dirty dealings. Corporate battles. Consumer woes. Here are five things you need to know today.

1. The Prime Minister’s Office has clarified that PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad

EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today 

AFTER more than two years since Capital A Bhd fell into the Practice Note 17 (PN17) category — Bursa Malaysia’s classification for companies in financial distress — there appears to be hope for the aviation group that it will finally emerge from this category by leveraging the clean balance sheet...

AirAsia X-Capital A merger set to transform air travel again, says Fernandes  

The disruption to container shipping traffic in the Red Sea is expected to reduce the industry's capacity between the Far East and Europe by some 15%-20% in the second quarter, shipping group Maersk said on Monday.

Red Sea disruption cuts 2Q capacity by 15%-20%, Maersk says

Indonesia's economic growth in the first quarter beat expectations, buoyed by high public spending for the country's elections, but maintaining the strong pace will be challenging due to global developments and tight local monetary conditions.

Indonesia's 1Q GDP growth beats forecasts, but outlook's uncertain

Nearly 40% of graduates are having a hard time getting well-paid jobs that match their skillset due to factors such as wage stagnation and supply of skilled employment, said Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Chang Lih Kang.

Skill development critical to boost Malaysia's high-skilled talent pool, says minister

JERUSALEM (May 6): Israel's military said on Monday that it had begun encouraging residents of Rafah to evacuate the southern Gazan city as part of a “limited scope” operation, but did not immediately confirm media reports that this was part of preparation for a ground assault.

Israel military calls on Palestinian civilians to evacuate Rafah

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Labour Day announced a pay rise for civil servants, ensuring the public staff’s monthly salary will not be less than RM2,000 starting this December.

According to Anwar, who is also the finance minister, the overall minimum pay of civil servants...

Frankly Speaking: Funding the civil servant pay hike and higher pension

The eurozone’s economy is waiting for a resounding vote of confidence from its own consumers for its long-awaited rebound to finally take shape.

With employment at a record, wages rising steeply and inflation not far from 2%, the conditions are there for people to get out and spend.

Eurozone at turning point needs consumers to get out and spend

KUALA LUMPUR (May 6): Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is not the golden standard but a mere benchmark for the government to consider the actions that can be taken to improve the nation’s media freedom.

World Press Freedom Index not the golden standard, says Fahmi

On the face of it, QSR Brands (M) Holdings Bhd is suffering because of the boycott of US-based food franchises, resulting in its suspending operations of more than 100 KFC restaurants.

Frankly Speaking: Is KFC seizing an opportunity?

HAVING priced in the ongoing Middle East conflicts, Malaysia’s stock market has been on the rise with local institutions absorbing shares dumped by foreign investors. The FBM KLCI has risen 8% since the beginning of this year. The benchmark closed at 1,569.25 points last Thursday.

Fund ...

Local institutions give market a lift amid foreign selling 

<p>BMI, a Fitch Solutions company, said Malaysia's deepwater explorations are expected to accelerate as more investments are directed towards under-explored areas.</p>


BMI: Deepwater exploration in Malaysia gathers momentum

<p>The FBM KLCI’s uptrend has been relentless since mid-April as accumulation on blue chips&nbsp;by both local institutions and foreign funds continues, according to Rakuten Trade.</p>


Banks, construction to be in focus as FBM KLCI could test 1,600 soon, says Rakuten Trade 

<p>Fraser &amp; Neave Holdings Bhd (F&amp;N) shares surged to their highest in five years on Monday, as better-than-expected results buoyed investors' optimism, while analysts maintained their calls following a briefing.</p>


F&N surges to five-year high on better earnings, outlook

<p>Foreign buying of Malaysian equities surged 3.6 times to RM1.06 billion last week from RM292.2 million the prior week, as they net bought every day of the week.</p>


Foreign buying of local equities surged to RM1.06b last week, says MIDF

<p>The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has updated its Investor Alert List.</p>

<p>In an alert last Thursday, the commission said the following persons/entities were added to the list:</p>


SC adds six entities to Investor Alert List, four being potential clones

<p>Maybank Investment Bank (Maybank IB) on Monday began coverage of SAM Engineering &amp; Equipment (M) Bhd with a counter-consensus ‘buy’ call, betting on the cyclical recovery of aerospace and semiconductor sectors.</p>


Maybank IB joins coverage of SAM Engineering with counter-consensus ‘buy’ call

<p>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be having an online meeting with tech giant Google on Monday.</p>

<p>Without disclosing more details on the issues to be discussed, he said Malaysia has continued to receive interests from foreign investors.</p>


Anwar scheduled to have online meeting with Google on Monday

<p>Phillip Capital has initiated coverage on T7 Global Bhd with a “buy” rating at 53 sen and a target price of 68 sen.</p>


Phillip Capital starts coverage on T7 Global, target price 68 sen 

<p>Proton Holdings Bhd reported on Monday its car sales rose by 17.1% to 11,025 vehicles in April (including domestic and exports) compared to the 9,415 units sold last year.&nbsp;</p>


Proton records sales of 11,025 units in April, higher by 17.1% y-o-y

<p>President Xi Jinping has arrived in France to begin talks aimed at stabilising China’s relationship with Europe, as he tries to perform damage limitation on trade ties with the key bloc.</p>


Xi begins Europe tour in Paris as Macron seeks to reset ties

<p>Asian stocks rose to their highest in over a year on Monday on renewed bets that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would most likely ease rates this year, while the yen weakened after a strong surge last week from Tokyo's suspected currency intervention.</p>


Asia shares rally on China's gains, Fed cut bets; yen weakens

<p>Across much of the developed world, one of the most dependable drivers of economic growth is faltering.</p>

<p>For decades, the rapid inflow of migrants helped countries including Canada, Australia and the UK stave off the demographic drag from aging populations and falling birth rates.</p>


Global housing shortages are crushing immigration-fuelled growth

<p>Analysts have raised their earnings forecasts and target prices (TPs) for plastic packaging maker SLP Resources Bhd, after the group's latest financial results beat their expectations due to improved product mix and higher output.</p>


Analysts raise SLP Resources earnings forecasts, TPs after strong 1Q performance

<p>The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) will be objecting to Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq's leave application to take legal action against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government over RM730,300 in allocations meant for his constituency.</p>


AGC to object to Syed Saddiq's leave application over unpaid allocations

<p>Robusta coffee prices have climbed to the highest in 45 years, according to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), as a supply crunch intensifies for the variety used in espresso blends and instant drinks.</p>


Coffee variety priciest in 45 years in blow to instant brews

<p>NCT Group of Companies has signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with SMARTSEL Sdn Bhd and Mikro Sdn Bhd to scale up the capabilities of the NCT Smart Industrial Park (NSIP), while introducing advanced sustainability practices geared to positively impact its carbon footprint.</p>


NCT inks deal to integrate 4G and 5G networks at NCT Smart Industrial Park

<p>EQT AB agreed to buy technology consultant Perficient Inc in a deal valued at about US$3 billion (RM14.22 billion) including debt.</p>


EQT to buy tech consultant Perficient in US$3b deal

<p>LONDON (May 6): High Chinese tariffs on EU brandy would leave French companies with vast amounts of cognac that could be hard to sell elsewhere, according to Reuters' calculations, analysts, and investors who fear firms could be forced to discount.</p>

<p>China opened an anti-dumping investiga...

Chinese tariffs could leave cognac makers with too much brandy

<p>Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar and Raja Permaisuri Agong Raja Zarith Sofiah arrived in Singapore on Monday for a two-day state visit to the republic.</p>


King, Queen arrive in Singapore for maiden state visit

<p>theedgemalaysia.com highlighted one stock with positive momentum and five stocks with negative momentum at Bursa Malaysia's afternoon close on Monday. &nbsp;</p>
