TA Securities is maintaining its “buy” recommendation on Pantech Group Holdings

MORNING CALL: 18/4/24

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

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

KUALA LUMPUR (April 18): RHB Retail Research said Marine & General Bhd is set for an uptrend reversal after undergoing a bullish breakout above the 28 sen resistance yesterday on strong trading volume.

In a trading stocks note on Wednesday, the research house said that the stock has...

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

Micron Technology Inc, the largest US maker of computer-memory chips, is poised to get more than US$6 billion (RM28.7 billion) in grants from the Commerce Department to help pay for domestic factory projects, part of an effort to bring semiconductor production back to American soil.

Micron poised to get over US$6b in chips grants in announcement next week

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

KUALA LUMPUR (April 17): Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Wednesday:

IGB Real Estate Investment Trust (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

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EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

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.

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

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.

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

Former Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) president Tan Sri Joseph Kurup&nbsp;passed away on Wednesday night.

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.

Former PBRS president Joseph Kurup passes away

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

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

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.

Shell urges investors to reject shareholder group's climate demands

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

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

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.

ASML executives say they expect continuing strong sales in China

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&amp;P 500 and larges...

Stocks decline as interest rate uncertainty, earnings weigh

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

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.

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%.

Wall St slips as dour earnings, chip stocks weigh

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.

Germany, China sign joint declaration on car data sharing

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Gold drifts higher as Middle East turmoil lifts appeal

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

Turkish Airlines is set to sign an agreement with Rolls-Royce Holdings plc and Airbus SE for the domestic production of aircraft components valued at as much as US$20 billion (RM95.84 billion), part of its mega plane purchase announced last year.

Airbus, Rolls-Royce close to US$20b Turkish Airlines parts deal, Bloomberg reports

DiGi.Com Bhd
(April 10, RM6.25)
Maintain neutral with a target price (TP) of RM5.90: According to news reports, DiGi.Com Bhd (DiGi) will collaborate with Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) to offer TM’s Internet Protocol television (IPTV) services (HyppTV) for DiGi subscribe...

Mobile HyppTV for DiGi subscribers

Petra Energy Bhd
(March 12, RM1.45)
Maintain outperform with a target price (TP) of RM1.88: Petra Energy’s wholly-owned subsidiary Petra Resources Sdn Bhd has been awarded a topside maintenance execution services for the Gumusut-Kakap floating production system (FPS...

Petra Energy to benefit from potentially more jobs

Prestariang Bhd
(March 12, RM2.38)
Upgrade to outperform with a higher target price (TP) of  RM2.76 from RM1.98: Prestariang announced it received a new three-year contract to supply Microsoft software to all schools and colleges under the Educ...

Prestariang to supply Microsoft software to schools, colleges

AirAsia X Bhd
(Counter was suspended on Jan 30)
Maintain neutral with a target price (TP) of 69 sen: Following the announcement of fuel surcharge abolishment, we see a loss of revenue for AirAsia X (AAX). Based on our assumptions of 4.7 million passengers carried in...

Expect AAX to increase base fare to cushion declining yield

Kuala Lumpur Kepong Bhd
(Jan 7, RM21.80)
Maintain “neutral” with a lower target price (TP) of RM21.82 from RM23.27: Management guided that the manufacturing sector could be a drag on the company’s earnings given the weaker crude oil prices, while refining activities...

Manufacturing may dampen KLK’s earnings

IOI Corp Bhd
(Jan 5, RM4.72)
Maintain “neutral” with a target price of RM4.58: We recently came away from a meeting with IOI Corp Bhd’s management with a more positive guidance for financial year 2015 (FY15). Though crude palm oil (CPO) prices remain at a low level,...

IOI Corp remains positive

Plantation sector
Maintain neutral: The Cabinet approved the implementation of B7 biodiesel programme on Tuesday, to be carried out in stages beginning November, according to the Plantation, Industries and Commodities Ministry. This long-awaited development is certainly po...

Public Investment Bank Bhd

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