Market opens on weak note, TMI falls

KUALA LUMPUR: The market opened on a cautious note Monday, with some blue chips continuing to lose ground from last week, including TM International, despite some mild window-dressing activities. At 9.30am, the KL Composite Index was down 6.01 points to 1,184.53 points. Turnover was 30.91 million shares valued at RM86mil. There were 47 gainers, 182 losers and 90 counters unchanged. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 9.19 points or 0.07% to 13,553.55 and Singapore’s Straits Times Index added 0.48% to 2,970.09. Shanghai’s A Share Index fell 32.48 points or...

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Genting launches online casino in Britain

PETALING JAYA: Genting International Plc has launched its first online casino brand, CircusCasino.com, in Britain. CircusCasino would be run by unit Genting Stanley Alderney Ltd (GSAL) and would offer over 100 casino, card and table games, Genting International said in a statement yesterday. TA Securities analyst James Ratnam said the online business would complement the company's existing business. “A lot of young people are also more interested in utilising online services as opposed to going to physical casinos. It will probably be good for...

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Brazil state oil company to pump Nigerian field in July

SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) - Brazilian state oil company Petrobras will start pumping oil from a Nigerian field on July 21, company officials said Saturday. Petroleo Brasileiro SA expects to begin producing oil "of the highest quality'' in the offshore Agbami field in partnership with French oil company Total SA and California-based ChevronTexaco Corp., Petrobras' Nigeria manager Rudy Ferreira told the Agencia Brasil state news service. The company plans to immediately pump 100,000 barrels a day from the field and will boost output to 250,000 barrels...

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Big money in oil sector

KUALA LUMPUR: The oil and gas sector and the information technology industry saw the sharpest increases in salary, a survey has shown.According to outsourcing and consulting group Kelly Services, which conducted the 2007/08 survey, base salary in both sectors increased by 30% followed by the engineering sector at 28%.“Commodity-based companies like oil and gas and oil palm are able to absorb the salary increase as there is continued demand for their products and by-products,” said consulting director Anthony Devadoss at the launch of the Malaysia...

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Bernas expects price of rice to soften soon

KUALA LUMPUR: Padiberas Nasional Bhd (Bernas) sees the price of rice falling as major rice-producing countries are projected to have a bumper harvest from August.The company has also struck a deal with a rice mill in Thailand to secure the supply of rice and sees more of such arrangements with other mills in the country.“We think the price of rice will soften and are cautious about the Government entering the market now to buy a big block (of rice),'' managing director Bakry Hamzah said after the company AGM yesterday.Bakry's caution comes as the...

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Team up with varsities in R&D, private firms urged

JOHOR BARU: Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin has called for private corporations to collaborate with local universities in carrying out research and development (R&D) programmes. He said such partnership was common in foreign countries. "We do have it here but it is not satisfying. The companies should be more involved in forming such collaborations with the universities,” he said. "Through R&D we would be able to come out with products of higher quality for us to compete in the international arena," he said. He...

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House prices up 30%

HOUSE prices need to be raised by 30% due to the hike in building materials and petrol prices, Nanyang Siang Pau reported.Master Builders Association of Malaysia president Patrick Wong said middle-range house prices had been increased from RM150,000 to RM190,000.“The developers have no choice but to raise the price as the cost of building the houses has increased. The price of houses was adjusted two weeks ago,” he said.New Era College management in the dark over the staff requirementChina Press reported that the New Era College management was...

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G-8 ministers urge oil-producing nations to boost output

OSAKA, Japan (AP) - Finance ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized nations urged oil producers to boost output to help stabilize record-high oil and food prices, calling the situation a serious threat to global economic growth. "Elevated commodity prices, especially of oil and food, pose a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide,'' the G-8 ministers said in a joint statement Saturday at the conclusion of two days of talks in Osaka in western Japan. The fundamental factor driving oil prices is the imbalance between rising global demand...

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