<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): CIMB IB Research has maintained its “Hold” rating on Axiata Group Bhd at RM4.43 with a lower target price of RM4.85 (from RM5) and said it expects Axiata to report a 2Q18F core net profit growth of 70-80% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q), mainly due to Idea turning profitable.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>In a note Aug 13, the research said that year-on-year (y-o-y), Axiata’s core net profit may be 4-9% lower.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“Celcom’s net profit could be flattish qoq as opex remains high &amp; depreciation rises.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“XL’s negative earnings contribution should widen, based on its reported 1Q18 results.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“Axiata’s 2Q18 reported net loss may widen substantially qoq due to a RM1.5 billion-3 billion non-cash technical impairment on Idea.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>“Maintain Hold with a 3% lower SOP-based target price of RM4.85,” it said.</p></div>


KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): CIMB IB Research has maintained its “Hold” rating on Axiata Group Bhd at RM4.43 with a lower target price of RM4.85 (from RM5) and said it expects Axiata to report a 2Q18F core net profit growth of 70-80% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q), mainly due to Idea turning profitable.

CIMB Research lowers target price for Axiata to RM4.85

The ringgit extended Wednesday’s gains to open higher against the US dollar on Thursday as the greenback retreated from multi-month highs after a pullback in US Treasury yields, said an analyst.

Ringgit extends gains against US dollar at opening

(April 17): Alphabet-owned Google is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.

The Google spokesperson said the layoffs are not company-wide and that affected ...

Google lays off employees, shifts some roles abroad amid cost cuts

Oil prices rose in early trade on Thursday, slightly paring the previous session's losses after the US said it would reinstate oil sanctions Venezuela, while the European Union talked of fresh curbs on Iran.

Oil inches up after US reimposes Venezuela oil sanctions

Shares of PIE Industrial Bhd extended its rally to a new all-time high on Thursday, after Kenanga Investment Bank flagged that the electronic services firm has secured a new client that will take up the entirety of its largest facility.

PIE Industrial extends rally to new all-time high as Kenanga flags new client

Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Loretta Mester said monetary policy is in a good place, adding that the central bank shouldn’t be in a hurry to cut interest rates.

Mester says US Fed can hold rates steady, not in a hurry to cut

United Airlines will receive compensation from planemaker Boeing for financial damages incurred in the first quarter due to the grounding of 737 MAX 9 aircraft, the carrier said on Wednesday.

United Airlines says Boeing to compensate for damages caused by MAX 9 grounding

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) remains the fuel of choice for lower-carbon shipping, despite the rise in orders for vessels equipped with dual-fuel methanol and ammonia engines, according to Oslo-based Rystad Energy.

LNG remains top choice for dual-fuelled vessels in shipping, says Rystad

US mortgage rates climbed to a four-month high last week, potentially signalling a bumpier recovery for the residential real estate market.

US 30-year mortgage rate rises to four-month high of 7.13%

Asian central banks’ need for assertive defense of their currencies is driving traders to turn less dovish on monetary policies in the region.

Slower US Fed pivot weakens rate-cut bets across emerging Asia

[Branded] Gamuda Land has always believed in building generational townships. For Gamuda Gardens, the developer has teamed up Skyline Luge to make a place where fun, community and the environment all harmoniously intersect.

A Community Affair at Gamuda Luge Gardens

<p>KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday:</p>

<p><strong>IGB Real Estate Investment Trust </strong>(IGB REIT) reported a 4.79% jump in its net property income (NPI) for the first quarter ended March 31...

IGB REIT, Affin Bank, Keyfield International, HeiTech Padu, Reservoir Link, LBS Bina, Menang, Excel Force and MFM

<p>US Federal Reserve (Fed)&nbsp;chair Jerome Powell is making life tougher for his peers around the world, as the prospect of higher-for-longer US interest rates reduces room for easier policy elsewhere.</p>


Powell's higher-for-longer US rate warning means headaches for rest of the world

<p>The Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council meeting agreed that the government must act firmly and not compromise against extreme actions that can jeopardise the country’s stability.</p>

<p>Unity Government Secretariat chief Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the matter was decided at Wednesday’s Unity Government Leadership Consultative Council meeting at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya.</p>


Unity Govt meeting: No compromise on extreme actions that can jeopardise country’s stability

<p>President Joe Biden called China “xenophobic” while highlighting the Asian nation’s economic woes, as he sought to make the case for US economic strength during a campaign stop in the swing state of Pennsylvania.</p>


Biden calls China ‘xenophobic’, ramping up 2024 campaign rhetoric

<p>NEW YORK (April 18): US stocks closed lower on Wednesday as crude prices tumbled and investors weighed cautious US Federal Reserve commentary and ongoing geopolitical strife against mixed quarterly earnings.</p>

<p>Benchmark US Treasury yields and the dollar eased back from multi-month highs, ...

US stocks end down, crude slides amid Fed, geopolitical crosscurrents

<p>Sabah has lost an experienced and exceptional leader with the passing of Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) founder Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, says Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.</p>

<p>Expressing sympathy and condolences to the late leader's family, Hajiji said he had worked alongside Joseph as an assistant minister in the Sabah Ministry of Industrial Development in 1994, earning a deep respect for the veteran Sabah leader.</p>


Sabah lost an exceptional leader with Joseph Kurup's passing — Hajiji

<p>The stock market saw its longest losing streak since January as a handful of big techs sold off — despite a slide in bond yields.</p>


S&P 500 suffers its longest slide since January

<p>The crude palm oil (CPO) futures contract on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives closed lower on Wednesday, owing to weakness in the soybean oil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade and lower crude oil prices.</p>

<p>Palm oil trader David Ng told Bernama that the weaker market sentiment, however, was limited by the expectation of a stronger demand in the coming weeks.</p>


CPO futures ends lower amid weaker soybean oil futures, oil prices

<p>Shares of PIE Industrial Bhd extended its rally to a new all-time high on Thursday, after Kenanga Investment Bank flagged that the electronic services firm has secured a new client that will take up the entirety of its largest facility.</p>


<p>Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) research said Cloudpoint Technology Bhd is well positioned to capitalise the burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions post-passage of the cyber security bill which was passed in Dewan Rakyat on April 3.</p>


HLIB: Cloudpoint well positioned to capitalise burgeoning demand for cyber security solutions

<p>Executives at Dutch computer chip equipment maker ASML on Wednesday said they expect demand from Chinese customers to remain strong, representing "in the ballpark" of 20% of the company's order backlog.</p>


ASML executives say they expect continuing strong sales in China

<p>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his condolences to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Securities Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup and his family on the demise of his father, Tan Sri Joseph Kurup on Wednesday.</p>


PM extends condolences to family of Joseph Kurup

<p>A woman brought a 68-year-old man in a wheelchair into a bank branch and tried to get him to sign for a loan, but he had been dead for hours, Brazilian police said on Wednesday.</p>

<p>Erika Vieira Nunes wheeled the cadaver into the bank in a Rio suburb on Tuesday and told the teller the man wanted a loan for 17,000 reais (US$3,250), security camera video showed.</p>


Woman wheels corpse into Brazil bank to sign for loan

<p>Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland president Loretta Mester said monetary policy is in a good place, adding that the central bank shouldn’t be in a hurry to cut interest rates.</p>


<p>Gold prices firmed on Wednesday as geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East spurred safe-haven demand, but fading US rate cut hopes capped further upside.</p>

<p>Spot gold rose 0.4% to US$2,391.10 per ounce, as of 9.40am ET (1340 GMT). Prices hit an all-time high of US$2,431.29 on Friday.</p>


Gold drifts higher as Middle East turmoil lifts appeal

<p>Asian countries probably don't want it and they certainly didn't cause it, but a 'beggar thy neighbour' wave of exchange rate depreciation may be about to hit the continent.</p>

<p>If not a full-blown currency war, then a series of skirmishes is looming as policymakers grapple with a resurgent US dollar, a fragmented G10 central bank policy path, and a staggering slump in the Japanese yen which appears to have Tokyo's tacit approval.</p>


Asia braces for unwanted, but unavoidable FX battle

<p>Asian central banks’ need for assertive defense of their currencies is driving traders to turn less dovish on monetary policies in the region.</p>


<p>United Airlines will receive compensation from planemaker Boeing for financial damages incurred in the first quarter due to the grounding of 737 MAX 9 aircraft, the carrier said on Wednesday.</p>


<p>Federal jurors in New York heard sharply contrasting arguments on whether a trader manipulated the Mango Markets cryptocurrency exchange to steal US$110 million (RM527.1 million) or executed a perfectly legal strategy that was permissible under the rules of the platform. &nbsp;</p>


Crypto trader’s US$110m manipulation case now with jury

<p>(April 17): Alphabet-owned Google&nbsp;is laying off an unspecified number of employees, a company spokesperson said on Wednesday, marking the latest cuts at the technology giant as it cracks down on costs.</p>

<p>The Google spokesperson said the layoffs are not company-wide and that affected ...