KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has reacted cautiously to Putrajaya’s move to review the levy on foreign workers as they waited for further details on the announcement.

MEF executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said higher levies on foreign workers would mean...

Employers want more details about foreign worker levy review

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia risks losing out on a slice of a US$194 billion (RM675 billion) pie if the Home Ministry maintains its tough stance on tourists from China, warned a tourism and travel association. The volume of international trips by Chinese travellers is expected to exceed 100 million in ...

Chinese tourist market at risk due to visa rules

KUALA LUMPUR: Social media was abuzz yesterday after a photograph of a “tilting” light rail transit (LRT) beam along the Federal Highway near Subang Jaya went viral.

A police spokesman told The Malaysian Insider that the incident occurred on Saturday afternoon, which prompted traffic di...

‘Tilting’ LRT beam causes online buzz

KUALA LUMPUR: Proof — or the lack of it — is holding back police from arresting Malaysians who return after fighting for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (Isis) militant group, a senior intelligence source said.

“These Malaysians have not been picked up immediately because the burden...

Returning Isis fighters free due to lack of proof, say police

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya is misleading the public on the actual state of the nation’s economy with manipulated and meaningless budget deficit figures, an opposition lawmaker said yesterday.

DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua said the actual state of Malaysia’s fiscal deficit was unkno...

Govt hiding real deficit figures, according to Pua

KUALA LUMPUR: The court martial of Major Zaidi Ahmad should be postponed until a full investigation is completed into the court’s presiding officer who was allegedly biased against the accused, election watchdog Bersih 2.0 said yesterday.

In a statement, it said the military court compr...

Bersih wants indelible ink trial judge investigated

KUALA LUMPUR: Muslims in Sabah and Sarwak are uneasy about Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s support of the call to burn bibles by Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali, a Sabah leader said.

“Telling Malaysians that it is right for Ibrahim to call for the burning of The Bible is not something Mus...

Muslims in Sabah, Sarawak uneasy about Dr M’s support for bible call

KUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan yesterday defended the suspension of Johor delegate Tan Lai Soon who said Malays were immigrants, saying the party had to set an example for other political parties to follow.

Party secretary-general Liang Teck Meng said they did not want leaders of other parties t...

Gerakan: Suspension over remark sets example for other parties

SHAH ALAM: Barisan Nasional, including Umno, rejects any form of extremism, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said, calling  political leaders to show the way by demonstrating moderation.

“Political leaders must set an example for the rakyat and reject any form of extremism,” the prime minist...

Barisan and Umno reject all forms of extremism, says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya will never repeal the Sedition Act 1948 if the public does not mount massive and sustained opposition towards the colonial-era legislation, said a former Internal Security Act detainee.

Senator Dr Syed Husin Ali said he believes the “repugnant” Sedition Act could...

Syed Husin: Sedition Act will only be repealed if public fights it

The Malaysian aviation industry may be badly impacted on passenger traffic and spikes in jet fuel prices if a full-blown war results from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research (Maybank IB).

Malaysia's aviation industry at risk amid full-blown crisis in the Middle East — Maybank IB

Alphabet Inc’s Google has put more than two dozen employees on immediate administrative leave after they were involved in protests against Project Nimbus, a US$1.2 billion (RM5.7 billion) joint contract with Amazon.com Inc to provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services.

Google suspends workers protesting US$1.2b Israeli contract   

Business confidence at big Japanese manufacturers and services sector firms slid in April from the prior month, dragged down by cost-of-living pressures and shaky economic conditions in major market China, a Reuters monthly poll showed.

Japan firms' business mood slips as weak yen squeezes households

Australian employment unexpectedly fell in March and the jobless rate rose, unwinding some of the huge upside surprise of the prior month and reflecting restrictive settings of monetary policy.

Australian employment drops, sending jobless rate up to 3.8%

Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook.

Asian stocks mixed as soaring dollar pauses

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

Bursa Malaysia opened slightly lower on Thursday but moved up thereafter.

Bursa turns positive in early trade after opening lower

Research analysts covering IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (IGB REIT) remained sanguine on the stock’s prospects after it reported a 4.79% jump in its net property income (NPI) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) to RM124.24 million, from RM118.55 million a year earlier, thanks largely to higher rental income.

Analysts remain sanguine on IGB REIT’s prospects going forward

Indonesia's economy was primed for monetary easing later this year, but an unwelcome plunge in its currency is complicating matters for Bank Indonesia and could force it to grudgingly raise rates as early as next week.

Indonesia's plunging rupiah twists the policy plot

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Asian stocks crept higher in a mixed session on Thursday, while the dollar took a breather and bond markets steadied as investors stepped back to assess the interest rate outlook.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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

S&P 500 suffers its longest slide since January

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Alphabet Inc’s Google has put more than two dozen employees on immediate administrative leave after they were involved in protests against Project Nimbus, a US$1.2 billion (RM5.7 billion) joint contract with Amazon.com Inc to provide the Israeli government with AI and cloud services.

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

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.

PM extends condolences to family of Joseph Kurup

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.

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.

Woman wheels corpse into Brazil bank to sign for loan

Research analysts covering IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (IGB REIT) remained sanguine on the stock’s prospects after it reported a 4.79% jump in its net property income (NPI) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024 (1QFY2024) to RM124.24 million, from RM118.55 million a year earlier, thanks largely to higher rental income.

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

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

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.

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.

Asia braces for unwanted, but unavoidable FX battle

RHB Retail Research said Marine &amp; General Bhd is set for an uptrend reversal after undergoing a bullish breakout above the 28 sen resistance on Wednesday, on strong trading volume.

Marine & General set for uptrend reversal, says RHB Retail Research 

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;

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

Indonesia's economy was primed for monetary easing later this year, but an unwelcome plunge in its currency is complicating matters for Bank Indonesia and could force it to grudgingly raise rates as early as next week.

Lee Shi-Ian of The Malaysian Insider

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Lee Shi-Ian of The Malaysian Insider

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