Stocks slightly higher in cautious trade

KUALA LUMPUR: Stocks were slightly higher in early trade on Monday on some mild buying interest in stocks like KL Kepong, WCT and Muhibbah but the general mood was still cautious.

At 9.30am, the KL Composite Index was up 1.71 points to 895.66. Turnover was 125.13 million shares valued at RM117.75. There were 151 gainers, 54 losers and 112 counters unchanged.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 4.98% or 427.77 points to 9,010.77, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.04% to 1,864.21 while Shanghai’s A Share Index opened 2.27% higher at 1,877.73.

South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.19% to 1,136.65. Fitch Ratings had lowered the country’s rating outlook to “Negative” from “Stable” on concerns that the de-leveraging of the banking system might contribute to an erosion of the sovereign's external credit strengths.

On Sunday, China unveiled a US$586bil stimulus package to prevent the world's fourth-largest economy against the global financial crisis.

The Chinese government approved a plan to invest the money in infrastructure and social welfare by the end of 2010.

Oil prices jumped US$2.96 to US$64 while the ringgit was quoted at RM3.5345 to the US dollar as at 9.30am.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said it expected the KLCI to swing sideways with a modest upward bias.

It expected the KLCI to recover further, extending its cumulative gain of 92.7 points or 11.6% from a recent trough of 801.27, while wobbling to search for a stable footing simultaneously.

“This is not to say that there is no more tangible downside risk on our local bourse – as our medium-term bearish stance remains – though trading-oriented investors may be in the mood to take the risk for potential short-term gains,” it said.

The return of trading activity in speculative penny stocks, assuming it persisted, would hold up the overall market volume ahead, it added.

KLK rose 15 sen to RM8.35 while WCT added 13 sen to RM1.84, Parkson 12 sen to RM3.56 while Muhibbah added nine sen to RM1.15.

Genting added six sen to RM4.56, Sime Darby and Bursa five sen higher to RM6.25 and RM5.80.

IOI Corp rose four sen to RM3.16 in active trade, MRCB added three sen to 85.5 sen while KNM added 1.5 sen to 67 sen.

TMI was among the losers, down 14 sen to RM4.54 while Tanjong and Maybank fell 10 sen each to RM12.50 and RM5.55 respectively. BCHB lost five sen to RM6.10 and TM fours en to RM3.30.

Read More

US stocks rise after two days of heavy selling

NEW YORK: Buyers returned to Wall Street Friday after two days of heavy losses, mindful of the economy's growing problems but attracted by stocks' lower prices.

Analysts said the advance, which also came amid relief that a bad report on unemployment wasn't worse and followed dour third-quarter reports from Ford and General Motors, was to be expected as Wall Street experiences a rocky recovery from October's devastating selling.

The major indexes jumped more than 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which rose 250 points in light trading.

For the week, the Dow and broader benchmarks like the Standard & Poor's 500 index lost about 4 percent after surging 10 percent or more last week.

The market briefly came off its highest levels of the session after President-elect Obama reiterated that there is a great deal of hard work to be done to restore the economy to health.

Investors had optimistically sent prices higher, only to temporarily pull back when Obama underscored what they already know: that the economy's problems won't be easily solved.

The Dow rose 248.02, or 2.85 percent, to 8,943.81.

The broader S&P 500 index added 25.87, or 2.86 percent, to 930.75, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 38.70, or 2.41 percent, to 1,647.40.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 9.95, or 2.01 percent, to 505.79.

George Shipp, chief investment officer at Scott & Stringfellow in Richmond, Virginia, said Obama appeared to be trying to telegraph to the market not to expect too much immediately.

Obama, noting that he has until January before taking office, said he will work to support an economic stimulus plan and will seek ideas for helping the auto industry.

"My expectation is that he lowers the bar and buys the time,'' Shipp said.

"Certainly there is no reason to create any undue expectations right now.''

That afternoon blip upward, retreat and move higher was a mini-version of the market's performance over the past two weeks, with investors turning upbeat, then realizing there was little basis in reality for their resurgent confidence, then changing their minds again.

Hank Smith, chief investment officer at Haverford Investments said the market's turns aren't a surprise.

"I think it's absolutely part of the bottoming process,'' Smith said.

"The Oct. 10 low has been tested again a number of times.''

The blue chips hit an intraday low of 7,882.51 on Oct. 10.

Friday's economic and corporate news reminded the market that the country could be in for a deep and protracted recession.

The Labor Department said the nation's employers cut 240,000 jobs in October, hurtling the U.S. unemployment rate to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent.

The market had expected employers to cut 200,000 jobs and for the unemployment rate to rise 6.3 percent.

Meanwhile, Ford Motor Co. reported a $129 million third-quarter loss and announced plans to cut more than 2,000 additional white-collar jobs.

General Motors Corp. said it lost $2.5 billion in the quarter and warned that it could run out of cash in 2009.

The struggling automaker also said it has suspended talks to acquire Chrysler.

Although the day's news was on its face worse than expected, investors were drawn by prices beaten down the past two sessions and some relief that the reports weren't more grim.

"We're coming off of a very oversold market that had already braced itself for bad news out of Detroit and certainly bad economic data in terms of the labor report,'' said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.

The market is following the pattern of volatility that analysts warned would prevail for some time to come.

Obama's election to the White House was preceded by a big rally, during which the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index surged 18.3 percent in six sessions up through Tuesday.

This was followed by a two-day loss of about 10 percent in the major indexes, including a 929-point drop in the Dow, as investors turned their focus once more to the economy's woes.

"There are three factors that are driving this market: psychological, fundamental and technical,'' Smith said.

"The psychological is fear and panic. We've certainly seen that.''

The fundamental factor is investors don't know exactly how the current credit crisis is going to affect the economy.

And the technical factor that is playing in to the market is the forced selling from hedge funds and mutual funds that have to raise cash for redemptions, Smith said.

Nov. 15 is the cutoff for shareholders to notify fund managers of their intent to cash out investments before year-end, which means a sudden influx of "sell'' orders could force funds into dumping more investments.

Analysts expect this to continue to add to the volatility in the market.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a light 1.23 billion shares.

Read More

Asian markets lower on poorer Wall Street performance

PETALING JAYA: The benchmark index halted a two-day winning streak by opening lower Wednesday.

At 10am, the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) was down 5.2 points, or 0.6%, at 913 points. Losers led gainers 40 to 191, while 115 counters were unchanged.

Some 58.6 million shares changed hands, worth over RM99.4mil.

Regional bourses were also trading weaker Wednesday in line with the poorer performance on Wall Street Tuesday.

Nikkei 225 dropped 2.8%, Kospi fell 1.5%, Hang Seng Index declined 1.1% while Singapore Straits Times Index was down by 2%.

Sentiment turned cautious as several US companies missed earnings estimate in their financial results released, and a similar trend is expected in Asia and the rest of the world.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.5% while crude oil for November delivery settled at US$70.89 per barrel.

The KLCI was dragged by selling in blue chips including IOI Corp Bhd, MISC Bhd and Public Bank, which dropped 10 sen each to RM3.10, RM8.50 and RM8.80 respectively. Sime Darby was also down by 5 sen to RM6.30 in anticipation of weaker crude palm oil prices.

Read More

Asian markets rally, KLCI up nearly 19pts

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets rallied in early trade on Tuesday, as investors rushed back into equities, spurred by massive gains on Wall Street following the massive rescue plan for the European and US financial institutions.

At 9.30am, the KL Composite Index was up 18.58 points or 1.95% to 969.34. Turnover was 136.7 million shares valued at RM222.4mil. There were 327 gainers, 38 losers while 86 counters were unchanged.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 led the rally, surging 13.08% or 1,082 points to 9,359.08, Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 6.29% to 2,206.98 while Shanghai’s A Share Index opened 3.32% higher at 2,250.23.

Light crude oil rose US$1.86 to US$83.05 while the ringgit strengthened to RM3.484 against the US dollar.

Stocks on Wall Streets rallied last night as investors reacted positively to the US Government’s plan to buy stakes in banks and Federal Reserve’s US$700bil rescue plan for the troubled financial system.

Most of the European equity bourses also rebounded after the countries leaders promised to inject funds into the financial market, as the British Government pledged to pump US$63bil into the Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB.

“Following these positive vibes, investors in the regional bourses in Asia, including Malaysia may be cheered up and motivated to pick up their investment appetite again, especially on blue chips stocks which have been severely battered in the past one week,” said HwangDBS Vickers Research.

DiGi, Shell and Public Bank foreign rose 40 sen each to RM22.80, RM10.10 and RM8.80 respectively while Tanjong and PPB added 30 sen each to RM12.70 and RM8.20. BCHB and LPI gained 25 sen each to RM7.65 and RM9.55.

KNM was the most active with 16.3 million shares done, rising two sen to 98.5 sen. IOI Corp rose 12 sen to RM3.62 while AMMB gained five sen to RM2.57.

Read More

Oil rebounds in Asia Monday on Europe bank rescue plan

SINGAPORE: Oil prices rebounded from a 13-month low to rise above US$80 a barrel Monday in Asia on expectations that a pledge by European countries to keep banks from collapsing may stabilize a tumultuous global financial system.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was up US$2.76 to US$80.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.

The contract fell Friday $8.89 to $77.70, the lowest price since Sept. 10, 2007.

"The turnaround in oil today is due primarily to the European bank rescue plan,'' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

"It's a shot in the arm, though it's too early to know if this will restore confidence to the credit markets.''

At an emergency summit of leaders of the 15 euro-zone countries in Paris on Sunday, European governments agreed to guarantee new bank debt until the end of 2009, allowed governments to help banks by buying preferred shares, and vowed to rescue important failing banks through emergency recapitalization.

Individual governments will announce how they will implement the measures.

The plan follows Britain's US$88 billion plan to partly nationalize major banks and promise to guarantee a further US$438 billion of loans to shore up the banking sector.

U.S. lawmakers Sunday urged quick action by President George W. Bush on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has indicated the administration will use part of the recent US$700 billion bailout Bush signed Oct. 3 to have the government take ownership stakes in banks.

The administration has not indicated when it would announce its next steps.

"These rescue plans will not prevent a global economic slowdown, but they may ease the pain,'' Shum said.

"I expect further downward volatility in the oil market, though talk of US$50 or US$60 is extreme.''

Oil prices have fallen about 45 percent since soaring to a record $147.27 on July 11.

Investors are watching for signs that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production at an extraordinary meeting in Vienna next month.

Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari on Saturday called for stability in the oil market, saying the biggest challenge now was a decline in oil demand because of a global economic recession.

"There won't likely be any overt cuts, but there could be an informal tweaking of production that could provide support for prices,'' Shum said.

"It's politically unacceptable for OPEC to make cuts in the middle of a global deceleration.''

In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 6.02 cents to US$2.27 a gallon, while gasoline prices gained 5.60 cents to US$1.86 a gallon. Natural gas for November delivery rose 1.5 cents to US$6.55 per 1,000 cubic feet (28 cubic meters).

In London, November Brent crude rose US$2.18 to US$76.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Read More

Asian markets fall on US economy worries

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets started the new week on a weak note on Monday, with the local bourse also slightly lower in cautious trade as investors worried about the deteriorating fundamentals of the world’s largest economy despite the Congress approval for the US$700bil bailout.

At 9.30am, the KL Composite Index was down 3.19 points to 1,013.51. Turnover was 28.99 million shares valued at RM55.28mil. There were 54 gainers, 112 losers and 80 counters unchanged.

Asian markets fell with Shanghai’s A Share Index opening, after a week-long break, to down 2.36% or nearly 60 points to 2,351.912.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 3.5% to 10,554.95, Singapore’s Straits Times Index 2.4% lower to 2,242.09 while South Korea’s Kospi declined 3.54% to 1,369.45. Light crude oil fell US$2 to US$91.88 per barrel.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said despite showing resilience of late, we expect Malaysian stocks to drift downward ahead. It said the KLCI would probably back off from 1,020, which was the immediate resistance hurdle, although the KLCI might remain above the 1,000 threshold for the time being.

“This comes as investors’ focus in the US has shifted from the huge bailout package (which was finally passed by the lawmakers on Friday) to assessing the deteriorating fundamentals of the world’s largest economy. Reflecting the low confidence, major equity indices on Wall Street were down between 1.4% and 1.5% at the closing bell last Friday,” it said.

Plantation stocks fell, with Kulim down 30 sen to RM5.30, KL Kepong sliding 25 sen to RM8.80 and Tradewinds Plantations 11 sen to RM1.68 while United Plantations declined 10 sen to RM11.10 and Asiatic eight sen to RM4.40.

Puncak gave up part of its gains, down 14 sen to RM3.24 while Bursa, EON Cap and Tanjong fell 10 sen each to RM6.35, RM4 and RM13.40 respectively.

IOI Corp was the most active, down six sen to RM4.40. AirAsia rose three sen to RM1,.26 on news report that it could be privatised.

Kim Loong-WA rose 11 sen to 88 sen, Hai-O eight sen to RM3.54 while Hwa Tai added five sen to 50 sen.

Read More

Rejection of US bailout proposal hits world stock markets

PETALING JAYA: For those who predicted that the era of American dominance in the economic and political spheres was waning with the rise of China and India, the stream of bad news from Wall Street and its negative impact on major markets must surely come as a reality check.

It has put to rest ideas about decoupling — that emerging markets won’t be affected by a downturn in the United States. The ideas were bandied about by analysts and economists until the first half of the year when it became obvious a combination of US financial woes and high oil prices had begun to negatively impact investors’ confidence.

This has been made worse by the rejection by US lawmakers of a US$700bil bailout package for the country’s ailing financial services industry on Monday. The news caused the Dow Jones Industrial Average to plunge to a 21-year low of 10,365.45, losing 777.98 points or 6.98%, and wiping out US$1.2 trillion in value.

Standard & Poor’s North America Equity Research chief technical strategist Mark Arbeter said in a report that the market was close in time to “a major market bottom” although the level at which it would bottom out was still debatable.

Meanwhile, Citigroup Inc analyst Yiping Huang said the fading hopes for a speedy rescue plan would accelerate the downward spiral of the financial markets, not only in the United States but also in other countries as well.

“Rejection of the bailout plan in the US could set into new motion the vicious cycle between deleveraging and falling asset prices,” he said, adding that there was a possibility the Federal Reserve might shift its focus to an interest rate cut with the European Central Bank and the Bank of England following suit.

Asian bourses, which were closed when the measure failed to pass after a four-hour debate in the US House of Representatives, began yesterday’s trading firmly lower and were largely down except for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, which was up 135.53 points, or 0.76%, at 18,016.21.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed down 483.75 points, or 4.12%, to 11,259.86, Singapore’s Straits Times Index lost 2.43 points, or 0.10%, to 2,358.91 and Seoul’s Kospi Index fell 8.30 points, or 0.57%, to 1,448.06.

Singapore’s CapitaLand Ltd saw its share price drop 18% to S$2.66 in intraday trade on fears the continuing crisis in the United States might affect housing demand. It was the biggest one-day drop since Jan 9, 1998 for the South-East Asia’s largest property developer. City Developments Ltd, the island state’s number two developer, fell 15% to S$7.33, according to Bloomberg.

Manufacturers of big-ticket consumer items also felt the impact from the US with Japanese vehicle makers’ share prices tumbling. Toyota Motor Corp fell 4.6% to 4,380 yen while Honda Motor Co and Nissan Motor Co lost 3.7% and 4% respectively to 3,090 yen and 697 yen.

European bourses, which were down on Monday, pared their losses yesterday following speculation the US government’s bailout plan might be revived. Dexia SA, a Brussels-based firm that is the largest lender to local governments, saw its share price rise 15% in intraday trade as the Belgian and French governments put together a 6.4 billion euros rescue plan to help the company cope with the financial turmoil.

This followed a string of bailouts in Europe with Britain’s Bradford & Bingley Plc nationalised, Germany’s Hypo Real Estate Holding AG given a 35 billion euros loan guarantee to fend off bankruptcy and a 11.2 billion euros lifeline thrown to Fortis by the governments of Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.

Read More

KLCI opens below 1,000 level

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell sharply in early trade on Tuesday, sending the KL Composite Index below the key 1,000 level as sentiment was battered by weak regional markets and the tumble on Wall Street.

At 9.05am, the KLCI was down 23.86 points or 2.34% to 995.86. Turnover was 22.31 million shares valued at RM31.27mil. There were only nine gainers, 195 losers and 34 counters unchanged.

Major Asian markets which were opened for trading also fell sharply after the US Congress rejected the US$700bil bailout plan.

US markets plunged as the House rejected, by a vote of 228 to 205, the US$700bil measure to authorise the biggest government intervention in the markets since the Great Depression.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 778 points, or 6.98% to 10,365, the biggest point drop ever. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 8.4%, the most since Oct 26, 1987.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 4.78% or 561.07 points to 11,182.54, South Korea’s Kospi skidded 3.69% 1,402.65 while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 4.64% to 2,251.71.

Light crude oil fell 29 cents US$96.09 per barrel.

At Bursa Malaysia, Nestle fell RM1 to RM26, KL Kepong 45 sen to RM9.35 while down 40 sen each were Tanjong, BCHB and MISC foreign to RM13, RM7.35 and RM7.75 respectively. Genting and DiGi lost 30 sen each to RM5.05 and RM22.10 while Bursa Malaysia slipped 25 sen to RM6.15.

IOI Corp fell 24 sen to RM4.12 and Gamuda 13 sen to RM2.04.

Meanwhile, TH Group bucked the weak market, rising 12 sen to 69.5 sen after Tung Hup Holdings Sdn Bhd, which holds 53.26% of TH Group, proposed a capital repayment of 75 sen per TH Group share under its move to take it private.

CNI rose five sen to 33 sen while MAA added 2.5 sen to 62 sen while QSR edged up one sen to RM2.33.

Latest Financial Meltdown, NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

Read More

Deal reached on financial markets bailout

WASHINGTON: Congressional leaders and the Bush administration have reached a tentative deal on a bailout of imperiled financial markets that would cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.

The House could vote on it Sunday and the Senate on Monday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the accord just after midnight Saturday and said it still has to be put on paper.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson talked of finalising the deal but added: “I think we’re there.”

The plan would spend up to US$700bil, most of it on buying deeply devalued mortgages from the housing market’s collapse and other bad loans held by tottering banks and other investors.

The aim is to prevent credit from drying up and causing a meltdown of the US economy

Read More

KL, Asia stocks extend gains on proposed US bailout

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian and Asian markets extended gains Monday after the U.S. government proposed a US$700 billion plan to solve the world financial crisis by rescuing banks from billions of dollars in risky mortgage debt.

The benchmark Kuala Lumpur Composite Index stood at 1029.16 up 3.46 points or 0.34% at 11.56 am (0356gmt).

The losers at 236 led the gainers at 226. There were 198 counters unchanged and 2,509,618 lots were traded.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index was 1.7 percent higher at 12,123.54 points by midday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index added 1.1 percent.

The Shanghai Index has gained 132.39 points to 2,207.48 by midday Monday.

It had surged 9.5 percent on Friday - its biggest one-day percentage gain ever.

Several major banks have jumped by the 10 percent daily limit, including ICBC, Bank of China and Construction Bank of China.

The advances came after an another extraordinary rally on Wall Street on Friday.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 4 percent, buoyed by new rules banning all short selling following similar actions by regulators in the U.S. and Britain.

Asian markets had rallied Friday on news Washington was likely to announce a bailout plan, calming investors worried that losses from bad bets on mortgages could bring about the collapse of more companies, straining an already weakened financial system and global economy.

On Sunday the Bush administration continued to lobby lawmakers for authority to use US$700 billion to buy up a mountain of bad debt at the heart of the crisis.

While the proposed bailout lifted sentiment for the time being, there were still a number of uncertainties about the plan and the general health of financial firms that could further unsettle markets in the coming days, an analyst said.

"This should stem the bleeding, but the patient is still very fragile,'' said Thomas Lam, a senior economist at the United Overseas Bank in Singapore.

"The list of uncertainties is pretty long.'' In mainland China, the stocks gained on strong buying of financial shares after the government announced several moves to support the market, including plans to buy shares in major state-owned banks.

The Dow Jones industrials soared about 370 points, or 3.35 percent, to 11,388.44, giving them a gain of about 780 over two days.

In Japan, banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. climbed more than 5 percent, while leading Australian firm Macquarie Group Ltd. surged 8.5 percent.

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd, or ICBC, the country's biggest lender, was 2.5 percent higher in Hong Kong trading.

Light, sweet crude was exchanging hands at US$104.40 a barrel in Asian trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down about 15 cents.

The contract soared US$6.67 on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar fell to 106.51 yen, while the euro rose to US$1.4519.

Read More

Markets fall on US financial worries

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets fell in the morning session on Monday as investors worried about the US financial health, especially after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

At Bursa Malaysia, declining stocks beat advancers nearly six to one as political concerns further weighed down sentiment.

At 12.30pm, the KLCI had fallen 15.86 points or 1.52% to 1,028.17. Turnover was 126.92mil shares valued at RM250.13mil. There were 66 gainers, 385 losers while 149 counters were unchanged.

Asian markets fell, with Taiwan’s Weighted Index down 250.12 points or 3.96% to 6,060.56, Singapore’s Straits Times Index 2.91% lower at 2,495.84 and Thailand’s SET 1.25% lower at 646.13.

Light crude oil fell US$2.12 to US$99.06 while crude palm oil (CPO) futures fell RM71 to RM2,309.

At Bursa Malaysia, selling on Tenaga continued after the government said last Thursday it had put off the power purchase agreement talks with independent power producers. Tenaga fell 40 sen to RM6.80.

Plantation-linked counters fell, with Kulim down 50 sen to RM5.40, KL Kepong 30 sen lower at RM10.10, Kim Loong-WA 29 sen to 71 sen while Chin Tek lost 20 sen to RM6.15 and Glenealy 18 sen to RM3.72. BLD Plantations declined 16 sen to RM3.72.

Heavyweight plantation stock IOI Corp lost 10 sen to RM4.28 and it was the most active with 6.99 million shares. Sime Darby eased 15 sen to RM5.95.

Perwaja continued its descent, down 11 sen to RM1.56 and Kinsteel 4.5 sen lower at 68 sen.

M3Nergy rose 19 sen to RM1.15 in active trade while MISC added 10 sen to RM8.40 and Sindora eight sen to RM2.04.

Read More

Markets fall on US financial worries

KUALA LUMPUR: Asian markets fell in the morning session on Monday as investors worried about the US financial health, especially after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy.

At Bursa Malaysia, declining stocks beat advancers nearly six to one as political concerns further weighed down sentiment.

At 12.30pm, the KLCI had fallen 15.86 points or 1.52% to 1,028.17. Turnover was 126.92mil shares valued at RM250.13mil. There were 66 gainers, 385 losers while 149 counters were unchanged.

Asian markets fell, with Taiwan’s Weighted Index down 250.12 points or 3.96% to 6,060.56, Singapore’s Straits Times Index 2.91% lower at 2,495.84 and Thailand’s SET 1.25% lower at 646.13.

Light crude oil fell US$2.12 to US$99.06 while crude palm oil (CPO) futures fell RM71 to RM2,309.

At Bursa Malaysia, selling on Tenaga continued after the government said last Thursday it had put off the power purchase agreement talks with independent power producers. Tenaga fell 40 sen to RM6.80.

Plantation-linked counters fell, with Kulim down 50 sen to RM5.40, KL Kepong 30 sen lower at RM10.10, Kim Loong-WA 29 sen to 71 sen while Chin Tek lost 20 sen to RM6.15 and Glenealy 18 sen to RM3.72. BLD Plantations declined 16 sen to RM3.72.

Heavyweight plantation stock IOI Corp lost 10 sen to RM4.28 and it was the most active with 6.99 million shares. Sime Darby eased 15 sen to RM5.95.

Perwaja continued its descent, down 11 sen to RM1.56 and Kinsteel 4.5 sen lower at 68 sen.

M3Nergy rose 19 sen to RM1.15 in active trade while MISC added 10 sen to RM8.40 and Sindora eight sen to RM2.04.

Read More

Pollution and global warming very serious in the next 10 years

SINGAPORE: A global policy framework for renewable energy is needed in the world today and sustainable initiatives that focus on carbon tax should be developed.

This is necessary as over the next 10 years pollution and global warming are going to be very rapid.

“If nothing is done, they will kill our world,’’ Suzlon Energy chairman and managing director Tulsi Tanti said at the Forbes Global CEO Conference yesterday.

A carbon tax is an environmental tax on emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

But to develop renewable energy there is also an issue of supply and demand and, for now, nuclear and solar energy has failed to become a fast enough alternative.

Renewable energy is an alternative in view of the higher cost of oil and fossil fuels. The development of resources, innovation and technology are, therefore, vital for adoption of renewable energy.

Tanti said Malaysia should develop alternative sources of wind and solar energy.

“There is some potential but the Government has to do wind mapping before it can be implemented,’’ he said.

Solar and wind can make up to 20% of alternative energy sources in the world and the investment of wind turbines is US$1mil per kilowatt hour.

“No doubt the pace of growth in renewable energy has accelerated the past three years but it would take 15 years go put in these systems before we can see any shift,’’ SMR CEO Geoffrey P. Cowley said.

Imposing a feed-in-tariff to accelerate alternative energy was also not viable as consumers would not pay more for green energy, said Khosla Ventures operating partner Ford Tamer.

Suzlon may be one of the leaders in wind power but its turbines have cracked and the company faces some technical issues. To this Tanti said the issue was being handled and should to be seen as a failure.

“It is a normal phase of research and development. The company has set aside US$30mil to rectify the problem which involves 400 machines. Suzlon is also investing US$1bil over the next five years in technology investment to further improve cost and product enhancement,” Tanti added.

Read More

More broadband proposals surface

PETALING JAYA: Last year cable manufacturer Optical Communication Engineering Sdn Bhd (OCE) submitted a concept paper to the Government, suggesting a larger part of the existing infrastructure be used to roll out high-speed broadband (HSBB) in Peninsular Malaysia at a price tag of RM3bil.

OCE believed that a large part of the existing fibre infrastructure could be put to better use and help the country save billions of ringgit.

The price quoted was based on estimates that nearly half the equipment needed would be supplied by the company’s plant. The RM3bil did not include last-mile connectivity.

While OCE was in the midst of talks, the Government went ahead to announce that Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) would undertake the HSBB. This was done in September 2007 and it was via direct selection with no tender bid called.

OCE chief executive officer Robin Wong, when contacted, confirmed that such a paper was submitted.

“We are still waiting for a response from the relevant authorities. Our concept is about rolling out 3,000 points in the peninsula, each point able to link 1,000 to 8,000 customers,” he told StarBiz.

Today, Wong is still interested in participating in the building of a HSBB network.

He is not alone. Of late, many more proposals have sprung up despite TM being scheduled to sign the agreement (after two postponements) with the Government on Sept 16.

Two other hopeful parties are High Speed Broadband Sdn Bhd (HSBT), with a privately funded proposal to link 2.5 million lines at RM18bil, and Dr Mohamed Awang Lah, the CEO of Jaring, with his own proposal to wire up five million premises at RM5bil.

HBST was given a chance, which it bypassed, but now wants another shot.

TM’s proposal is to roll out HSBB to 1.3 million premises at RM11.3bil (from RM15.2bil earlier) and the Government will fork out RM2.4bil for the project.

“With a number of parties interested in playing a role and contributing to the social and economic development of the nation, the Government should perhaps give due consideration, open and objective hearing to their proposals.

“Why shut them out and painstakingly try to craft or pull out answers as if from the magician’s hat in support of the incumbent?” asked an industry expert.

Another expert suggested that it was about time the “Government reviews the whole process that was originally planned by the Malaysian Communications & Multimedia Commission (MCMC) – the open bidding process.

“The MCMC’s process of bidding by consultants in early 2007 was intercepted by TM’s own appointed consultant and that is why MCMC had to abort the exercise.

“The exercise was to come up with a plan for national broadband implementation for tendering out to licencees to submit their proposals. With abundant alternative offerings, perhaps it is a good time to revert to such process.”

All these parties believe there is room for a second network, which should be based on a open-access concept, versus TM’s HSBB privately-owned network, which observers say will offer limited access to other players.

“In a big country there can be multiple backbones, but we are a small country. There should be a common backbone which offers fair and equitable access to all players. The owners of the backbone should not compete at the service level,” Mohamed said.

Since StarBiz carried his story on Thursday on the RM5bil proposal, he said several service providers had voiced their interest.

Read More

US stocks plummet

NEW YORK: Dejected investors sent stocks plunging Thursday, hurtling the Dow Jones industrials down more than 340 points after retailers and the government added to a mountain of bad economic news and devastated hopes for a late-year recovery.

The market was already nervous as it waited for the government to release its August employment report on Friday.

So news from the major U.S. retailers that shoppers curtailed their spending last month due to higher gas and food prices came as a heavy blow.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, beat expectations because of its big discounts, but many teen retailers and luxury chains did poorly, a sign that consumers are spending mostly on essentials and putting discretionary buying on hold.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said new applications for unemployment insurance rose by 15,000 last week from the previous week.

That broadly missed expectations for a fourth-straight week of declines, heightening worries that the average American - already feeling the effects of the weak housing market - will have even less means to spend.

Furthermore, if the job market keeps deteriorating, it is tough for Wall Street to see a rebound in sight for the economy's biggest culprit: the tumbling housing market.

"You have to have a paycheck to pay that mortgage,'' said Craig Peckham, market strategist at Jefferies & Co.

The numbers released Thursday were a sign that despite some upbeat reports over the past month, the economy remains deeply troubled.

Investors are not expecting any promising news in the August jobs report, particularly after the ADP National

Employment Report said that private sector employment decreased in August by 33,000.

Economists are predicting the government will report the eighth straight monthly payrolls drop, and a rise in the unemployment rate.

The market was so disheartened that it showed little reaction when the Institute for Supply Management said the service sector grew unexpectedly in August for the first time in three months as new orders increased and inflation moderated.

The August reading of 50.6 was higher than the 50.0 expected, and the reading of 49.2 in July; but the sector's edging above the threshold between contraction and expansion was hardly a sign of a robust economy.

An economic recovery appears to be far off to investors - and with the Dow down more than 15 percent for the year so far, they don't appear to be holding out for a significant upturn in stocks, either.

"We're seeing nothing but sellers,'' said Ted Oberhaus, director of equity trading at Lord, Abbett & Co.

"In a bear market, you sort of really don't need an excuse to sell.''

The Dow fell 344.65, or 2.99 percent, to 11,188.23.

It was the worst drop for the blue-chip index since June 26, when it fell more than 358 points, or 3.03 percent.

Broader indexes also tumbled.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 38.15, or 2.99 percent, to 1,236.83.

The Nasdaq composite index dropped 74.69, or 3.20 percent, to 2,259.04.

All three indexes moved back into bear market territory, defined as a 20 percent drop from a recent peak.

The indexes were at highs, including a record 14,198.09 for the Dow.

As investors fled stocks, they turned to the safety of government bonds, sending Treasury prices higher.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.63 percent from 3.70 percent late Wednesday.

Not even another drop in oil could console investors.

After the government reported a lower-than-expected drop in U.S. gasoline and crude supplies, light sweet crude fell $1.46 to settle at $107.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude is about $30 below its July 11 high of $147.27. Gold prices also slid Thursday.

Toll Brothers Inc. CEO Robert Toll said he is seeing signs the housing market is stabilizing, but Ara Hovnanian - CEO of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. - said he sees no evidence yet of a market bottom.

The stock market appeared to agree with the latter sentiment on Thursday, sending homebuilder stocks sharply lower.

Toll Brothers performed better than its peers, even after posting a third-quarter loss; its shares rose 27 cents to $25.07.

But shares of Hovnanian, which on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss, sank $1.35, or 17.4 percent, to $6.40. Pulte Homes Inc. fell 86 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $12.05, and KB Home fell $1.22, or 5.7 percent, to $20.11.

The financial sector performed poorly on Thursday as well, particular after bond fund manager Bill Gross wrote in a commentary on his firm's Web site that the U.S. Treasury needs to provide funding to mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Freddie shares fell 30 cents, or 5.6 percent, to $5.08, and Fannie shares fell 65 cents, or 8.9 percent, to $6.67.

The biggest decliners among the 30 Dow components were three financial stocks: Bank of America Corp., which fell $2.36, or 7.2 percent, to $30.60; Citigroup Inc., which fell $1.31, or 6.7 percent, to $28.30; and American International Group Inc., which fell $1.36, or 6 percent, to $21.22.

Wal-Mart's stock ended down only a penny at $59.78, after it said sales of groceries and back-to-school products helped its August same-store sales rise 3 percent, above expectations.

But the discount chain's success was seen as the corollary of a cash-strapped consumer, and other retailers fell.

JCPenney Co. fell $2.07, or 5 percent, to $39.57, while Gap Inc. fell 83 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $19.14.

Wall Street found no solace in tumbling oil prices - if anything, the drop in commodities weakened the market further by sending the stocks of energy and mining companies lower.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 23.29, or 3.14 percent, to 718.62.

Declining issues outpaced advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.30 billion shares.
Latest NYSE, NASDAQ and other business news, pictures, videos, audios and charts from the AP-Wire

On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange:
http://www.nyse.com

Nasdaq Stock Market:
http://www.nasdaq.com

Tokyo Stock Exchange

Read More