Energy
Brent crude was up 1.05% to US$48.06per barrel at 2.267pm
Forex
Ringgit was up 0.89% to 4.1940 versus the US dollar at 2.50pm.
Top foreign news
China jitters, globalisation bode ill for Fed's inflation goal: Wild swings in world financial markets this week have shown how events in China can potentially disrupt the Federal Reserve's carefully scripted policy plans. The turmoil, triggered by a rout in Chinese markets, also flagged a broader risk that the US central bank may struggle to meet its inflation target until the rest of the world plays along. Policymakers might have to rethink a basic assumption that solid economic growth and swelling payrolls at home are enough to do the job even as the world's second-largest economy stutters. - StarBiz
China aluminium shake-up planned in state reform push: China is trying to push its two biggest aluminium businesses together as part of a planned shake-up of state-owned enterprises, industry sources said, a move that would create the world's largest aluminium maker. State Power Investment Corp is in talks to hive off its aluminium assets to Aluminum Corp of China, allowing the former to focus on power construction and generation, three industry sources said. - Reuters
US retailers prod China for lower prices after devaluation: US retailers including Toys R Us are starting to negotiate with their Chinese suppliers to take advantage of lower manufacturing costs after China devalued the yuan, with many saying they want to be ready if currencies in China and other Asian countries drop more against the dollar. - Reuters
Falling prices drag on China July industrial profits: Profits at Chinese industrial companies in July slid 2.9% from a year earlier as falling prices eroded earnings, official data showed on Friday, underlining weakness in the world's second-largest economy. Profits were down 1% in the first seven months of the year to 3.3 trillion yuan (US$516.4 billion), compared with the same period a year ago. In July alone, profits stood at 471.6 billion yuan. - Reuters
Top local stories
RHB Capital posts lower quarterly profit: RHB Capital Bhd’s earnings fell 5.7% to RM524.59mil in the second quarter from RM556.51mil a year ago. It said the better profit was mainly due to higher impairment writeback on loans, advances and financing, partially offset by higher operating expenses and lower other operating income. Revenue rose 7.6% to RM2.64bil and earnings per share were 20.30 sen compared with 21.90 sen a year earlier. - StarBiz
TH Plantations earnings down on lower CPO prices: TH Plantations Bhd earnings fell 74.6% to RM5.14mil in the second quarter due to the adverse weather conditions and lower crude palm oil (CPO) prices. Revenue fell 16.9% to RM110.18mil, earnings per share were 0.58 sen compared with 2.29 sen a year earlier. The company said prolonged dry weather in the first half of last year and adverse wet weather at the end of 2014 have brought upon deeper effects on production than initially expected, impacting the overall earnings of the group. - StarBiz
Datasonic Q1 earnings slump 55%: Datasonic Group Bhd
’s earnings fell 55.4% to RM12.36mil in the first quarter ended June 30, 2015 from RM27.70mil a year as its revenue shrank. Revenue fell 24% to RM54.36mil, of which about RM48.93mil came from the supply of smart cards, data pages, consumables and personalisation solutions. Earnings per share were 0.92 sen compared with 2.05 sen a year earlier. - StarBiz
EPF Q2 investment income rises to RM11.4bil: The Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) investment income rose 9.73% to RM11.41bil in the second quarter from RM10.40bil a year earlier. For the first half, its investment income rose 14.6% to RM22.04bil. Equities, which make up 43% of the fund’s total investment assets, remained the main contributor at RM6.97bil, or 61.05% of the total. EPF’s total investment assets stood at RM667.21bil. - StarBiz
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