Analysts: Consumers still cautious about spending

Petaling Jaya: Malaysians are likely to change their lifestyle and spending patterns given the uncertain impact of the global economic slowdown. Analysts said consumers would likely remain cautious next year. OSK Research said although the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index had reflected the US financial turmoil and the global economic slowdown, the full impact of a slowing economy had yet to hit the man on the street. “We believe the true impact will hit Malaysian shores by January as exporters clear off their previous order books and new orders are...

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The 2009 world outlook by region

By ELAINE KURTENBACH SHANGHAI, China (AP) - The debate is over. Slumping exports and surging unemployment, even in powerhouse China, have ended any question over whether Asia could shrug off the pain inflicted by the global financial crisis. But while the outlook for the first half of the year is gloomy, economists say the latter half of the year promises at least some recovery. China's 2008 is ending with a whimper, with fourth quarter growth forecast to drop to as low as 2 percent from nearly 12 percent in 2007 as exports stall. India, Asia's...

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Oil falls to 3-year low in Asia

SINGAPORE: Oil prices fell to a 3-year low below US$49 a barrel Friday in Asia as plunging stock markets, driven down by more bad U.S. economic news, battered investor confidence. Light, sweet crude for January delivery was down 95 cents to $48.47 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The December contract, which expired Thursday, fell overnight by $4.00 to settle at $49.62 after sliding to $48.50, the lowest level since May 18, 2005. "Sentiment is totally bearish, parallel to the stock market,''...

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MISC, Genting lift KLCI out of red

KUALA LUMPUR: Some buying interest in MISC and Genting nudged the 100-stock KL Composite Index into positive zone but trading was relatively thin and the broader market still weak. At 12.30pm, the KLCI was up just 0.69 point to 882.34. Turnover was 281 million shares valued at RM261mil. Decliners led advancers 232 to 132 while 164 counters were unchanged. Singapore’s Straits Times Index was 0.29% or 5.11 points lower at 1,754.03 but Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.41% to 13,598.84. Light crude oil was trading at US$56.08, down 96 cents while...

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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...

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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...

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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%....

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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...

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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,''...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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....

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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...

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Oil steady in Asia but risks seen in new storms

KUALA LUMPUR: Oil prices hovered around US$111 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as the threat of Hurricane Gustav dissipated but traders predicted further risks with new storms on the radar and concerns over slowing demand. Crude oil prices tumbled Monday as Gustav weakened more than expected and appeared to have caused little damage in New Orleans and surrounding areas. There was some disruption to oil supplies as oil companies shut down production and evacuated facilities ahead of the storm. Altogether, about 2.4 million barrels of refining capacity...

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July inflation rate highest in 27 years

PETALING JAYA: The consumer price index (CPI) jumped to 8.5% in July from a year earlier, the highest in nearly 27 years, fuelled by the increase in the price of petrol and electricity tariffs. CIMB Research head Lee Heng Guie said: “This exceeds our expectations. It clearly shows the impact of the increase in fuel and electricity prices and continued strong food prices.” He said inflation was likely to peak this month or next before easing in the final quarter. “We expect the inflation rate in 2009 to be much lower than this year’s, but it will...

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US stocks fall sharply amid financial sector concerns

NEW YORK: Wall Street slid Tuesday as downbeat news from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and other financial companies lifted the market's anxiety about the continuing impact of the credit crisis on the economy. The Dow Jones industrials fell nearly 140 points. The latest reminder of continuing troubles for banks and brokerages came when JPMorgan said late Monday it has incurred wider losses in its mortgage holdings so far in the third quarter than in the second quarter. The second-largest U.S. bank by assets said in a regulatory filing it lost $1.5 billion,...

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US stocks end higher, extending last week's gains

NEW YORK: US Stocks ended higher Monday but well off their peak after crude oil prices pulled off their lows and the Federal Reserve said more banks are tightening lending standards. The decline in oil since last month has eased investors' concerns about the drag of rising prices on the economy, but its move off its lowest levels Monday deflated a stock market rally that built upon steep gains last week. Light, sweet crude fell 75 cents to settle at $114.45 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after dipping to $112.72, its lowest price...

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Bank Negara to prevent fundamental slowdown

KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz says there would be a moderation of economic growth but the central bank will try to prevent the country from slipping into a “fundamental” economic slowdown. She said that a fundamental economic slowdown would occur when there was an increase in unemployment. Zeti said several central banks particularly in the developed countries have also highlighted the risk of its deepening economy slowdown. “The risk of slowing economic growth is real and must taken seriously,” she said after launching...

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Invisibility cloak one step closer, scientists say

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have created two new types of materials that can bend light the wrong way, creating the first step toward an invisibility cloaking device. One approach uses a type of fishnet of metal layers to reverse the direction of light, while another uses tiny silver wires, both at the nanoscale level. Both are so-called metamaterials -- artificially engineered structures that have properties not seen in nature, such as negative refractive index. The two teams were working separately under the direction of Xiang Zhang of...

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BCHB, Bursa lead blue chips higher

KUALA LUMPUR: BCHB and Bursa led blue chips higher in early trade on Monday but overall market sentiment was still cautious after last Friday’s decline and as investors awaited more corporate earnings this month. At 9.30am, the KLCI was up 3.9 points to 1,124.21. Turnover was 51.48 million shares valued at RM66.13mil. Light crude oil was trading at US$115.60 while the ringgit continued to weaken to RM3.31 against the greenback. Japan’s Nikkei 225 surged 1.85% or 244 points to 13,412.42 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index jumped 1.13% to 2,839.19...

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Ringgit falls below 3.30 against US dollar

PETALING JAYA: The ringgit fell below 3.30 against the US dollar for the first time in eight months, pressured by foreign sell down on local stocks and bonds. The ringgit fell as much as 0.7% to 3.309 to the greenback yesterday, and was at 3.3012 at 5pm. At yesterday’s level, the local unit was back to where it was at the start of the year. Economists expected further pressure on the ringgit, on the increasing likelihood that Bank Negara would keep interest rates at current levels as prices of crude oil and other commodities declined. The weak...

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Bursa Securities reprimands Haisan, KBES, Ta Win and KYM

KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd has publicly reprimanded four companies -- Haisan Resources Bhd, KBES Bhd, Ta Win Holdings Bhd and KYM Holdings Bhd --- for breaching the listing requirements. The regulator had on Thursday directed the companies to carry out a limited review on their quarterly report submission due to sharp variations in their results. Bursa Securities said the limited review “must be performed by the company’s external auditors for four quarters commencing from the quarter subsequent to the date of this announcement”....

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Govt and TM likely to seal broadband deal on Aug 14

AFTER over a month's delay, the much awaited signing of the RM11.3bil high-speed broadband (HSBB) agreement between the Government and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) is scheduled on August 14. Sources said the planning for the signing was well underway and “it is highly unlikely that there will be further delays”. TM and the Government were originally slated to seal the deal on July 1 but the signing was put on hold, as the Government then had not sorted out where the funding for its portion in HSBB will come from. “The funding part is resolved now...

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Malaysia set to become a major tuna player in Asia

VIGO (Spain): Malaysian International Tuna Port Sdn Bhd (MITP) has taken another step towards making Malaysia a major tuna player in Asia with the signing of a pact with an influential Spanish seafood industry organisation. Its Spanish collaborator is the National Fish and Seafood Canners Association (known by its Spanish acronym, Anfaco), which has over 190 member companies. MITP chief executive director Datuk Annuar Zaini Binyamin said this was...

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Axis shares plunge on heavy selling

KUALA LUMPUR: Axis Inc Bhd shares plunged on heavy selling as investors reacted to the company’s failure to meet the deadline to submit audited accounts for the financial year ended March 31. Coming out of Thursday’s trading suspension yesterday afternoon, the stock dropped to a low of 28 sen in the first half hour and closed at 30.5 sen, down 4.5 sen. In reply to a Bursa Malaysia query on July 31, Axis directors said its external auditor Messrs Horwath had disclosed in their draft financial statements full details of the material unresolved issues...

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Axis shares plunge on heavy selling

KUALA LUMPUR: Axis Inc Bhd shares plunged on heavy selling as investors reacted to the company’s failure to meet the deadline to submit audited accounts for the financial year ended March 31. Coming out of Thursday’s trading suspension yesterday afternoon, the stock dropped to a low of 28 sen in the first half hour and closed at 30.5 sen, down 4.5 sen. In reply to a Bursa Malaysia query on July 31, Axis directors said its external auditor Messrs Horwath had disclosed in their draft financial statements full details of the material unresolved issues...

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Al Rajhi Bank buys i-City offices for RM95m

KUALA LUMPUR: Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia) Bhd made its first foray into Malaysia’s real estate investment by proposing to acquire 36 office suites at i-City Cybercentre 1 in Shah Alam from I-Bhd for RM95mil. I-Bhd announced Monday that both parties had signed a sale and purchase agreement for the bank to purchase the 36 units at i-City -- a RM2bil integrated commercial development on 72-acres of freehold land along the Federal Highway in Section 7, Shah Alam. Al Rajhi Bank (Malaysia) chief executive officer Ahmed Rehman said this investment was a...

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Dominica invests in geothermal energy

ROSEAU, Dominica (AP) - The tiny Caribbean island of Dominica has signed an agreement with West Indies Power Holdings for the exploration of geothermal energy. Officials with the Nevis-based company say it will take 18 months and cost US$4 million to dig wells up to 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) deep just south of the island. They hope to find hot water and convert it to steam so it can be used to generate electricity. The project's second phase includes construction of a 15-megawatt plant that will cost US$45 million and take more than one year to...

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Govt urged to reduce sales tax on plastics

IPOH: The Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association wants the Government to reduce the sales tax on all plastic finished products from the current 10%. Its president Lim Kok Boon said the sales tax paid by consumers now had doubled from four years ago. “The drastic increase in the selling price of plastic finished products has resulted in a decrease in demand by 30%," he told reporters here on Tuesday. The sales tax reduction would also assist in stabilising demand for plastic products, he added. He said the price of plastic resin had more than...

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Market down in early trade, oil US$130

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips fell in early trade Friday as investors avoided most equities on concerns about the current political situation, rising inflation and slowing economic growth, despite the fact that oil had fallen to US$130 per barrel. The KL Composite Index fell 2.22 points to 1,118.95. Turnover was 24.22 million shares valued at RM60.14mil. There were 107 gainers, 65 losers while 102 counters were unchanged. Asian markets fared better. Shanghai’s A Share Index rose 1.73% or 48.7 points to 2,864.73, Singapore’s Straits Times Index added...

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Asian, European markets tumble as worries mount over US financial woes

LONDON: Asian and European stock markets fell sharply Tuesday as investor confidence in the U.S. financial system eroded further despite a government-backed plan to help beleaguered mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Financials were hit particularly hard as investors worried that trouble in the U.S. markets would spill over to Asia and Europe.By afternoon in Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 had fallen 2.55 percent to 5,165.20, Germany's DAX lost 2.60 percent at 6,039.20 and France's CAC-40 retreated 2.18 percent to 4,052.28.Fears of yet more...

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