Malaysia Top News

PUTRAJAYA: Being mindful of one’s words and actions and not questioning issues agreed upon by the nation’s founding fathers and spelled out in the Constitution are critical matters in race relations, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

PETALING JAYA, Sept 6 — An ex-airman charged with the theft of two air force F5-E jet engines today sought access to classified documents from the prosecution, papers which he claims would absolve him of the crime. The defence team of former air force sergeant N. Tharmendran made an application today asking for written correspondence between the ...

SYDNEY: Australia's top investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd warned investors on Monday, Sept 6 it would miss forecasts for the first half after weak markets took a toll on its trading and advisory business, sending its shares down as much as 8 percent to a 15-month low. Macquarie, dubbed the "millionaires' factory" for its senior bankers' hefty pay packages, said its first half net profit would fall by a quarter, following its two previous warnings that volatile markets were hurting its performance. Macquarie is not alone in suffering. Global rivals such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, investment bank units of JPMorgan and Credit Suisse have all shared grim outlooks. Globally advisory fees have fallen as deal flow slowed and trading volumes have thinned amid increased market volatility and fears of a double-dip recession. Equity capital market volumes have slid 10 percent and debt raising slipped nearly a fifth so far this year and have been unable to offset a 23 percent rise in mergers and acquisitions volumes, according to Thomson Reuters data. Macquarie's trading and advisory businesses make up nearly three-quarters of its revenue. "Its the cyclical factors that are battering them. The second half is  crucial for Macquarie. If markets come back they are well positioned to benefit," said Angus Gluskie, chief investment officer at White Funds Management, which owns Macquarie shares. "Activity levels have remained soft but there signs of a pick-up are emerging. If they do, Macquarie will return to more normalized profitability." At 0110 GMT, Macquarie shares had trimmed losses to 4.3 percent to A$35.43 in a slightly positive broader market. The shares had fallen as much as 8.1 percent to its lowest since June 2009. Its shares are down 27 percent so far this year and the stock has recorded just three annual falls in the past 14 years. "Conditions in most markets have continued to be weak," Deputy Managing Director Richard Sheppard said in a presentation to be given later in London. "Full-year result continues to be impacted by the cost of our continued conservative approach to funding and capital." Macquarie's prediction for a 25 percent first half profit fall compares with consensus expectations for 11 percent rise. Its guidance that 2011 full-year profit would be in line with the previous year is also worse than forecasts for 14 percent rise. Macquarie until recently consistently beat expectations with its model of buying and pooling assets, listing them on an exchange and charging fees for managing. But a migration to a more conventional investment banking model in the wake of the global financial crisis  has married its fortunes to the market. Macquarie, which gets almost half its revenue from Australia, is using its surplus to cash to expand in the United States and Europe. Macquarie, which has A$3.1 billion in surplus capital and A$29 billion in liquid assets, had twice earlier warned concerns about the global recovery had dragged down market activity to their lowest level since 2004, pushing analysts to cut forecasts. But this is the first time it has given a specific forecast and analysts are expected to slash forecast once again. - Reuters

SEREMBAN: Syarikat Air Negeri Sembilan Sdn Bhd (Sains) has drawn up a contingency plan to avoid the possibility of a water supply disruption during the Aidilfitri celebration between Sept 7 and 13.

Jakarta Globe
Indonesia, Malaysia to meet in Kota Kinabalu today
Jakarta Post
Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa is scheduled to meet Malaysian counterpart Datuk Seri Anifah Aman in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia on Monday to talk ...
RI, Malaysia set to face off over heated border rowJakarta Post
Malaysia - Indonesia Border RowGlobal Voices Online (blog)
Tension spikes between Indonesia and MalaysiaRadio Australia
Bernama -Jakarta Globe
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Vietnamese PM Vows To Facilitate Foreign Investments
Bernama
CAN THO, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has promised to create favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from the ...

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A GROUP of armed men entered the home of Makkal Sakthi factional leader A. Vethamurthy in Ipoh and told him to resign, the Tamil media reported.

POPULAR Malay cartoon characters Upin and Ipin may prove to be the best “ambassadors” yet to resolve the recent tensions between Malaysia and Indonesia, reported Berita Harian.

TAIWANESE pop queen Jolin Tsai has been criticised for her diva-like attitude, major Chinese dailies reported.

FOREX: Ringgit Opens At 13-year High On Strong Demand For Local Currency
Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- The ringgit opened 13-year fresh high against the US dollar in early trading on Monday on strong demand for the local ...

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Top striker Wayne Rooney had sex with a £1,000-a-night (RM 4,813) prostitute while his wife Coleen was pregnant with their son, UK's Sunday Mirror revealed in an exclusive story.

Hollywoodnews.com
Lambert coming to Malaysia
The Sun Daily
Jointly organised by Marctensia and Sony Music, the Adam Lambert Glam Nation Tour Live in Malaysia 2010 will take place this Oct 14. ...
Adam Lambert's world-wide tourFlecking Records (blog)

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ADELAIDE: Emergency crews across Australia were mopping up damage and responding to calls for help Monday following fierce weekend storms, while residents of at least two southeastern towns evacuated their homes due to rising floodwaters.

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Mudajaya rose in early trade on Monday, Sept 6 after CIMB Research maintained its BUY call and RNAV-based target price of RM7.94, which is pegged to an unchanged 20% discount to RNAV. At 10.29am, Mudajaya rose two sen to RM4.50 while Mudajaya-CB added 0.5 sen to 7.5 sen. The FBM KLCI was up 0.52 of a point to 1,436.19. Turnover was 238.47 million shares valued at RM244.12 million. There were 235 gainers, 193 losers and 214 stocks unchanged. CIMB Research viewed positively the indications from management on the status of the Securities Commission query on its Indian independent power producer IPP, which appears to be coming to a close. It said investors are likely to be encouraged by this as well as a local news report’s clarification on a previous article stating that there could be more queries. The appointment of a new chairman should add credibility to Mudajaya’s corporate governance and Indian IPP venture. A closure statement by the SC would be a bonus. We maintain our BUY call and RNAV-based target price of RM7.94, which is pegged to an unchanged 20% discount to RNAV. “Potential share price triggers include (i) the above positive developments (ii) likely closure by the SC, (iii) contract awards, and (iv) positive earnings surprises. This should extend the rebound of the stock which jumped 53 sen last Friday,” it said.

Malaysia Star
Five more RI fishermen arrested by Malaysia
Jakarta Post
They are now detained at Kampung Jawi Police Office, Malaysia," Riza Damanik, the secretary general of the People Coalition for Fisheries Justice (Kiara), ...
Malaysia tackles national woes with ad campaignLos Angeles Times
Malaysia, Indonesia Hope To Find Amicable Solution On Sea BoundariesBernama
Unholy marriage: Malaysian triad gang, Indian underworld in drug tradeMalaysia Star
Jakarta Globe -Middle East North Africa Financial Network -Boosh News (press release) (blog)
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KUALA LUMPUR: RHB Research maintains its Outperform call on Hartalega after its recent meeting with the management on the latest corporate developments. “Our ex-bonus fair value will be revised downwards to RM6.19 (cum= basis RM9.29) while the theoratical share price ex-bonus price based on Friday’s closing price of RM5.02, still provides an upside of some 23.3%. No change to our Outperform call on the stock,” it said on Monday, Sept 6. RHB Research said Hartalega’s growth strategy would include growing organically by building new production capacity; leveraging on its technical know-how; expanding its nitrile glove exports to more developed nations; and  developing human capital as well as improving its processes to enhance its competitiveness against its peers.

KUALA LUMPUR: Blue chips advanced in early trade on Monday, Sept 6, with CIMB and AMMB among the gainers as investors’ sentiment was galvanised by the firmer close on Wall Street as anxiety over a new recession eased. The broader market was firmer despite the some blue chips had given up some of their early gains. The FBM KLCI rose 1.32 points to 1,436.99. Turnover was 181.09 million shares done valued at RM173.33 million. There were 222 gainers, 135 losers and 191 stocks unchanged. Last Friday, Wall Street climbed as anxiety of a double-dip recession eased. The US Labor Department said non-farm payrolls fell 54,000 in August. Private employment, considered a better gauge of labour market health than government hiring, added 67,000 jobs after an upwardly revised 107,000 gain in July. At Bursa Malaysia, CIMB and AMMB rose nine sen each to RM7.98 and RM5.98 respectively. Nestle was the top gainer, up 40 sen to RM41 with 4,000 shares done. Mamee added 10 sen to RM3.46. High-end property developer Sunrise climbed 10 sen to RM2.09 with 1.3 million shares done. Talam was the most active with 25.92 million shares done, up 0.5 sen to 9.5 sen. Mudajaya-CB rose 0.5 sen to 7.5 sen while the shares eased one sen to RM4.47 and the Mudajaya-CA inched up one sen to 22 sen. The decliners were Petronas Gas, shedding 28 sen to RM10.42 with just 100 shares done. Bintulu Port fell 17 sen to RM6.82.

SHANGHAI: China plans to relax rules to allow smaller fund houses to launch overseas investment products, the Securities Times reported on Monday, Sept 6, citing an unnamed source.China may publish new rules governing its Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor (QDII) scheme this year that will no longer require a firm to have 20 billion yuan (RM9.16 billion) of assets under management in order to get a QDII license, the newspaper said.China will also lower the capital threshold for QDII, requiring that a fund house has at least 100 million yuan in net assets, compared with a minimum of 200 million yuan currently, the paper said.China launched the QDII scheme in 2006 to allow domestic funds to be invested abroad. — Reuters

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federation of Chinese Associations of Malaysia (Huazong) has taken up the task of helping the Government to recruit more Chinese into the civil service.

PESHAWAR (Pakistan): Volunteers with the Putera 1Malaysia Club humanitarian mission to Pakistan have distributed supplies worth RM3mil to 2,800 flood-displaced families since beginning its relief work here last week.