<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>TOKYO (Jan 22): U.S. crude futures fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, giving up almost half the gains from the previous session, after OPEC defended its decision not to intervene to stop a collapse in oil prices since the middle of last year.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>FUNDAMENTALS</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* NYMEX crude for March delivery was down 50 cents, or 1.05 percent, at $47.28 a barrel by 0003 GMT.</p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* NYMEX rose more than 2 percent on Wednesday on optimism for a recovery as energy companies cut production investment to alleviate a supply glut that has wiped out more than half crude's value since June.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* London Brent crude for March delivery was untraded, after rising $1.04 to close at $49.03 on Wednesday.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* OPEC defended on Wednesday its decision not to intervene to halt the oil price plunge, shrugging off warnings by top energy firms that the cartel's policy could lead to a huge supply shortage as investments dry up.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* French oil and gas company Total will cut spending on ageing North Sea fields and on U.S. shale production after the recent plunge in oil prices, its chief executive said on Wednesday.</p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p>* Losses from lower oil exports should sap up to $300 billion from economies in the Middle East and Central Asia this year, as countries in the region adjust to falling crude prices, the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday.</p></div>

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TOKYO (Jan 22): U.S. crude futures fell more than 1 percent on Thursday, giving up almost half the gains from the previous session, after OPEC defended its decision not to intervene to stop a collapse in oil prices since the middle of last year.

FUNDAMENTALS

* NYMEX crude for ...

U.S. crude falls more than 1 pct after OPEC defends inaction

Juventus are reviewing a decision made by an arbitration court which ordered the club to pay former striker Cristiano Ronaldo around €9.8 million (RM50 million) in owed wages, the Serie A side said on Wednesday.

Juventus review ruling as club ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.8m

EU antitrust regulators have concluded that Microsoft's US$13 billion (RM62.2 billion) investment into OpenAI is not an acquisition, sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, signalling the deal will avoid a formal European probe that could have led to onerous remedies for the US tech giant.

Microsoft-OpenAI deal set to dodge formal EU merger probe — Reuters

Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger scored the decisive penalty to lift his team to an edge-of-your-seat 4-3 shootout victory over holders Manchester City after their Champions League quarter-final tie finished 4-4 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw in the second leg on Wednesday.

Real Madrid dispatch holders City in Champions League quarter-final shootout

United Airlines said on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement with Boeing on compensation of financial damages incurred in the first quarter due to the grounding of 737 MAX 9 aircraft.

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

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.

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

Russia is working to undermine US support for Ukraine ahead of the 2024 election, while Chinese influence campaigns aim to divide Americans and undercut their faith in democracy, according to new research from Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft sees slowing in Russia, China efforts to sway vote

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.

Benchmark US Treasury yields and the dollar eased back from multi-month highs, ...

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

NEW YORK (April 18): US stocks fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance and a batch of soft earnings early in the financial reporting season.

Travelers tumbled 7.41% and was among the biggest drags on the S&P 500 and larges...

Stocks decline as interest rate uncertainty, earnings weigh

The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and current G20 president Brazil said on Wednesday there had been significant progress on global debt issues in recent months, citing new agreements on desired timelines and comparability of treatment.

IMF, World Bank cite significant progress in debt restructuring cases

Tesla will lay off 285 employees in Buffalo, New York, as part of its plans to trim 10% of its global workforce, the electric-vehicle maker said in a legally mandated notice on Wednesday.

Tesla layoffs include 14% of Buffalo workers, notice shows

<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>Tesla Inc&nbsp;asked shareholders to vote again on the same US$56 billion (RM268.35 billion) compensation package for chief executive officer Elon Musk that was voided by a Delaware court early this year.</p>


Tesla asks investors to approve Musk’s US$56b pay again

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EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

<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>Excel Force MSC Bhd said Chinese national Chen Hui had ceased to be a substantial shareholder after he disposed of 30 million shares or a 4.9% stake in the company for RM10.2 million.</p>


Chinese national Chen Hui ceases to be substantial shareholder of Excel Force

<p>Former Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup&nbsp;passed away on Wednesday night.</p>

<p>This&nbsp;was confirmed by an officer&nbsp;to his son, Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, who is the current&nbsp;PBRS president and the deputy agriculture and food security minister.</p>


Former PBRS president Joseph Kurup passes away

<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, ...

<p>Shell&nbsp;on Wednesday urged shareholders to vote against an&nbsp;independent resolution, co-filed by a group of 27 investors, urging the energy company to set tighter climate targets.</p>


Shell urges investors to reject shareholder group's climate demands

<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>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>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>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>Wall Street's main indexes fell in choppy trading on Wednesday with chip stocks among the top losers, while downbeat earnings reports from some industry majors, including insurer Travelers, added to the losses.</p>

<p>All three indexes pared initial gains as chip stocks were pressured, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dipping 1.7%. AI giant Nvidia lost 1.7%.</p>


Wall St slips as dour earnings, chip stocks weigh

<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>Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Wednesday spent some time meeting with human rights activist Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri and his family at the Seri Perdana Complex.</p>

<p>The Prime Minister, in a post on Facebook, said he and his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, were delighted to see Muhammad Nadir and his family now in good condition, after enduring a tough period in the Gaza Strip.</p>


Anwar, Wan Azizah meet human rights activist Muhammad Nadir Al-Nuri and family

<p>NEW YORK (April 18): US stocks fell in choppy trading on Wednesday as investors assessed the Federal Reserve's interest rate stance and a batch of soft earnings early in the financial reporting season.</p>

<p>Travelers tumbled 7.41% and was among the biggest drags on the S&amp;P 500 and larges...

<p>Germany and China have signed a joint declaration to cooperate on autonomous and connected driving which Germany hopes will enable carmakers to transfer data from China to Germany, a contentious topic for foreign businesses in China.</p>


Germany, China sign joint declaration on car data sharing

<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>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>
