SPACs, or special-purpose acquisition companies, were once all the rage. Since 2019, more than 1,060 “blank cheque” firms, or shell companies, have listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq bourse or its cross-town rival, the New York Stock Exchange, with the sole purpose of merging with a private company ...

Tech: Trump’s crazy, wild US$6 bil meme-SPAC ride

THE long-running saga of TikTok took a dramatic turn this past week. On March 13, the US House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that threatens to ban Chinese-owned viral short video app TikTok unless it cuts ties with its Beijing-based parent ByteDance Ltd.

All in, 197 Republ...

Tech: The battle for TikTok has only just begun

GLOBAL markets have more recently been about just one name: Nvidia Corp. “As goes Nvidia, so go the markets” became the common maxim. On Feb 22, the graphics processing chip behemoth reported its earnings for the quarter ended January 2024. Another blowout report and a hefty forward guidance rais...

Tech: Forget chips, software and ecosystem are powering Nvidia

SOME years ago, I bet with a friend in Asia that shares in the social media behemoth Meta Platforms Inc — then called Facebook — could easily double over the next three years. It was a fun bet, but one that I was sure I was going to lose. The stock was hovering around US$150 at the time. Within t...

Tech: The rise, fall and re-rise of Meta Platforms

OVER 10 years ago, in mid-2013, I wrote a fairly critical column about ­Microsoft Inc for The Edge. At the time, the software giant was in the process of acquiring Finnish cellular phone maker Nokia Corp for US$7.2 billion. It seemed comical that a fading software firm was betting that its fortun...

Tech: Microsoft’s extreme makeover as AI-focused giant

FOR months now, I have had a back-and-forth over instant messenger with a journalist friend in Asia. My argument: “Old media” or newspapers are bouncing back as they give up their reliance on the advertising-based model to focus on digital subscriptions. The advent of generative artificial intell...

Tech: Why AI is seen as the saviour of old media

IT was a memorable year for investors with exposure to American stocks. You didn’t have to be very smart to have made a lot of money in 2023. The US stock barometer, the S&P 500 index, closed at 4,769, up 24.7% for the year. Add in 1.7% in dividend yield and you have a total return of 26.4% f...

Tech: How Asian investors should look at US stocks in 2024

IN 2023, the technology world witnessed resilience and rebuilding, from garage start-ups right up to the mega-cap “Magnificent Seven” global tech giants — Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Amazon.com Inc, Alphabet Inc, Nvidia Corp, Tesla Inc and Facebook’s owner Meta Platforms Inc. The advent of artific...

Tech: Tech trends Asia should watch out for in 2024

ONLINE shopping platform Pinduoduo Inc, owned by listed PDD Holdings Inc, recently overtook e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd to become China’s No 2 internet player behind video gaming, music and messaging supremo Tencent Holdings Ltd with a market value of US$378 billion (RM1.78 trillio...

Tech: How Temu turned PDD into China’s internet king

LAST week, I wrote about the fast unfolding drama at OpenAI, an artificial intelligence start-up and one of the world’s largest unicorns, or private venture capital-backed companies worth more than US$1 billion (RM4.66 billion). OpenAI’s board, which included chief scientific officer Ilya Sutskev...

Tech: Why are we all freaking out about AI?

The Sultan of Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, has extended condolences to the family of former inspector general of police Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar, who died early on Saturday morning.

Selangor Sultan conveys condolences to Tun Hanif Omar’s family

Perikatan Nasional (PN) will hold a supreme council meeting on Monday (April 22) on the selection of candidate to contest in the Kuala Kubu Baharu state by-election on May 11.

Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election: PN to hold supreme council meeting on Monday

Next week’s earnings reports from some of the market’s biggest technology and growth companies could prove an important test for the US stock rally, which has flagged as expectations for interest cuts fade.

'Crowded' megacap trade in US stocks awaits earnings test

Elon Musk postponed a planned trip to India where he was to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing obligations at his Tesla automaker and saying he aimed to reschedule the visit for later this year.

Tesla's Elon Musk postpones India trip, aims to visit this year

Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), the operator of Malaysia’s 5G telecommunications assets, said the process in relation to the subscription of its shares by five mobile network operators (MNOs) in this country is ongoing.

DNB says process relating to subscription of its shares by five mobile network operators ongoing

Approved road transport logistics companies will obtain “fleet cards” from select fuel retailers to purchase subsidised fuel under the diesel subsidy rationalisation programme, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

Approved logistics players to get diesel fleet cards amid subsidy rationalisation

PKR Information chief Fahmi Fadzil said no specific names were discussed regarding the leadership of the Sabah PKR State Leadership Council (MPN) at a special meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Saturday.

No specific names discussed for Sabah PKR State Leadership Council head, says Fahmi

Efforts to reform the Bretton Woods institutions – the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank – are progressing, albeit slowly. In December, the IMF Board of Governors approved a 50% increase in member quotas, which will reduce its reliance on borrowed resources, and the World Bank has re...

The Frontiers Of Growth : How to Govern the Bretton Woods Institutions Better

A highly anticipated Bitcoin software update called the “halving” has been completed, dealing a potential blow to the companies that make money by ensuring that the digital currency functions smoothly and securely.

Bitcoin ‘halving’ cuts supply of new tokens in threat to miners

A Philippine freight railway project may be built with the support of the US and Japan, an official in charge of it said, as Manila seeks alternative financing deals after dropping funding talks with China.

Philippines wants US, Japan to take over rail deal eyed by China

Former inspector general of police Tun Mohammed Hanif Omar died at 2.15am on Saturday. He was 85.

Former IGP Tun Hanif Omar passes away

The long-awaited Energy Exchange Malaysia (Enegem) has finally been introduced, along with guidelines on cross-border electricity sales announced by the Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) last Monday for exports of green electricity from Malaysia to Singapore and Thailand.

Enegem: Malaysia edges closer to RE exports

A Philippine freight railway project may be built with the support of the US and Japan, an official in charge of it said, as Manila seeks alternative financing deals after dropping funding talks with China.

Attention this week will be on the March inflation rate, with the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) slated to put out Consumer Price Index (CPI) — the key gauge for inflation — data on Thursday.

Inflation edged up by a higher-than-expected 1.8% i...

The Week Ahead: Eyes on March inflation, US 1Q GDP and tech earnings

A highly anticipated Bitcoin software update called the “halving” has been completed, dealing a potential blow to the companies that make money by ensuring that the digital currency functions smoothly and securely.

Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), the operator of Malaysia’s 5G telecommunications assets, said the process in relation to the subscription of its shares by five mobile network operators (MNOs) in this country is ongoing.

Approved road transport logistics companies will obtain “fleet cards” from select fuel retailers to purchase subsidised fuel under the diesel subsidy rationalisation programme, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said.

The ringgit is likely to trade in the same range of around 4.78 against the US dollar next week, as the situation in the Middle East will continue to be under scrutiny by investors, said an analyst.

Ringgit likely to trade around 4.78 versus greenback next week

Shareholders of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed this week on the importance of addressing challenges faced by low-income countries, many of which are facing unsustainable debt burdens, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.

IMF concerned about debt, fiscal challenges facing low-income countries

Next week’s earnings reports from some of the market’s biggest technology and growth companies could prove an important test for the US stock rally, which has flagged as expectations for interest cuts fade.

Persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates were cited as key risks to financial stability in the Federal Reserve's (Fed) latest survey of US central bank contacts, with geopolitical troubles and the 2024 US presidential election also mentioned as "a potentially significant source of shocks".

Fed survey cites inflation, US election as key financial stability risks

The World Bank on Friday said that 11 countries have pledged to contribute over US$11 billion (RM52.62 billion) to new hybrid capital and portfolio guarantee instruments designed to expand the bank's financing capacity by US$70 billion over a decade to tackle climate change, pandemics and other global challenges.

World Bank wins US$11b in pledges to boost lending for climate, global crises