In today’s edition of Evening 5, PM Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has revealed the RM150 billion PEMULIH recovery plan that includes cash assistance, loan moratoriums and more money for vaccines. Meanwhile, Maybank announced that its CFO is leaving for more GLC-coloured pastures.</div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage>

EVENING 5: PM unveils RM150 bil PEMULIH recovery plan

US software giant Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it would invest US$2.2 billion (RM10.5 billion) over the next four years in cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in Malaysia.

Microsoft to invest US$2.2b in Malaysia over next four years on cloud, AI

Smart Asia Chemical Bhd, an industrial paint and coating manufacturer, on Thursday has begun taking orders from investors for its ACE Market initial public offering (IPO) that would raise up to RM37.4 million.

Smart Asia Chemical starts taking orders for ACE Market IPO to raise RM37.4 mil

Malaysia's air passenger traffic saw a significant increase year-on-year (y-o-y) in the first quarter of 2024 (1Q2024), rising 16.1% to 22.6 million passengers, nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom).

Malaysia's air passenger traffic rose 16.1% in 1Q2024, nearing pre-pandemic levels — Mavcom

Matrix Concepts has unveiled the second phase of Resort Villa in Bandar Sri Sendayan, Seremban.

NEWS: Matrix Concepts unveils phase 2 of Resort Villa

New York police officers arrested almost 300 people as they broke up escalating pro-Palestinian protests at two colleges amid an outpouring of anger over the Israel-Hamas war.

New York police arrests over 300 protesters in crackdown on college campuses

Oil and gas exploration and production outfit Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd is looking to leverage the economic boom in the Tok Bali area (in Kelantan) by using it as one of its operating hubs.

Hibiscus Petroleum looking to leverage local resources, infrastructure in Tok Bali

Back when investment firm New Forests Advisory Pty Ltd was established, sustainably grown timber was not common, and the focus on sustainability and environmental, social and governance factors was not as intense as it is now.

Founded by David Brand in Australia in 2005, the firm offere...

Investing: Sustainable forestry now an asset class

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the developing world has faced growing public-sector debt vulnerabilities. Interest-rate hikes and limited access to international capital markets have only exacerbated the problem — so much so that even solvent countries are now grappling with liquidity ...

The New Global Economy: The urgency of sovereign-debt restructuring

DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s chief executive officer Piyush Gupta expects another year of record profit after Singapore’s biggest lender delivered better-than-expected results thanks to strong lending and wealth fees.

DBS CEO Gupta sees another record year after posting better than expected 1Q earnings 

Shares of Duopharma Biotech Bhd surged more than 9% during early trade on Thursday following news of the pharmaceutical company securing supply contracts worth RM578.09 million in total.

Duopharma Biotech surges over 9% after RM578m contract news

Apex Securities Bhd has recommended investors to “subscribe” to ACE Market-bound Farm Price Holdings Bhd at an initial public offering (IPO) price of 24 sen and a fair value of 42 sen by pegging financial year 2025 (FY2025) forecast core earnings per share of 3.2 sen to price-earnings (PE) of 13 times (75% potential upside from IPO price).

Apex Securities advises investors to subscribe to ACE Market-bound Farm Price with fair value of 42 sen

US stocks closed mixed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve (Fed) left its key interest rate unchanged, as expected, and indicated that while its next move will likely be a rate cut, continued progress on inflation is not assured.

S&P 500, Nasdaq end lower after Fed rate decision, Powell press conference

Elon Musk’s latest cost-cutting victims: Summer interns.

Tesla Inc is rescinding offers just weeks before internships were set to start, prompting aspiring employees to take to LinkedIn to appeal to other employers to take them in.

Tesla interns say offers are getting revoked weeks before their start date

Shares of Duopharma Biotech Bhd surged more than 9% during early trade on Thursday following news of the pharmaceutical company securing supply contracts worth RM578.09 million in total.

Shares of Bursa Malaysia Bhd climbed to its highest in more than three years after the stock exchange operator reported better-than-expected results that prompted at least two analyst upgrades.

Bursa Malaysia climbs to over three-year high after above-view 1Q

Latest data signalled further downbeat trends across the Malaysian manufacturing sector at the start of the second quarter of 2024.

In a statement on Thursday, S&amp;P Global Market Intelligence said that while demand remained generally subdued, there were slight indications that firms were on an upward trajectory, as firms scaled back production at a softer rate amid a slower reduction in new order inflows.

Overall manufacturing conditions in Malaysia ease to lesser extent, says S&P Global

Luno, a digital asset exchange (DAX) licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia, expands its coin offerings with the launch of Cosmos (ATOM) and Polkadot (DOT).

Luno launches two new digital assets

A gauge of global stocks fell on Wednesday while the dollar weakened against a basket of peers after the Federal Reserve (Fed) left interest rates unchanged and indicated it is still leaning toward eventual rate cuts.

Stocks, dollar decline after Fed holds rates steady

Governments rarely correct deteriorating public finances until they meet some form of debt market disturbance, but the retreat of central banks from sovereign bond markets may eventually set the scene for a showdown.

Bond markets face struggle to surf 'Treasury tsunami'

Alphabet Inc paid Apple Inc US$20 billion (RM95.45 billion) in 2022 for Google to be the default search engine in the Safari browser, according to newly unsealed court documents in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Google.

Google’s payments to Apple reached US$20b in 2022, antitrust court documents show

Apple's plan to add generative artificial intelligence (AI) to its iPhones and revive sagging sales in the crucial Chinese market will be in focus on Thursday, when the tech giant is expected to report its biggest quarterly revenue decline in more than a year.

Apple set for big sales decline as investors await AI in iPhones

DBS Group Holdings Ltd’s chief executive officer Piyush Gupta expects another year of record profit after Singapore’s biggest lender delivered better-than-expected results thanks to strong lending and wealth fees.

ExecuJet MRO Services Malaysia, a subsidiary of luxury business aircraft maker Dassault Aviation, inaugurated its new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility at Subang Airport on Thursday.

Dassault Aviation's MRO unit ExecuJet expands in Malaysia with new facility at Subang Airport

Shares of Starbucks fell 15% to their lowest in nearly two years on Wednesday, after the coffee chain cut annual forecasts on persistent weak demand from inflation-weary US customers and a slower-than-expected economic recovery in China.

Starbucks shares hit two-year low as China, US demand clouds outlook

The US Federal Reserve (Fed) held interest rates steady on Wednesday and signalled it is still leaning towards eventual reductions in borrowing costs, but put a red flag on recent disappointing inflation readings that could make those rate cuts a while in coming.

Fed leaves rates unchanged, flags 'lack of further progress' on inflation

National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) said it will buy back up to A$1.5 billion (US$1 billion or RM4.77 billion) of its own stock as profit at the lender came in line with expectations.

National Australia Bank to buy back shares worth US$1b as profit dips

Over the last two years, Wall Street has convinced cautious equity investors to send billions of dollars into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that use options to goose yields.

Bank of America sounds warning on options-ETF boom as day traders plunge in

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is moving to prevent Huawei, ZTE and other foreign companies deemed to pose US national security concerns from certifying wireless equipment, officials told Reuters on Wednesday.

US moves to bar Huawei, other Chinese telecoms from certifying wireless equipment

Barclays has kicked off a fresh round of redundancies, cutting "a few hundred roles" at its investment bank as it ramps up efforts to tackle underperformers and reinvest in new talent, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Barclays moves to cut 'a few hundred' investment bank underperformers

New York police officers arrested almost 300 people as they broke up escalating pro-Palestinian protests at two colleges amid an outpouring of anger over the Israel-Hamas war.