Energy
Brent Crude was 0.26% lower to US$48.95 per barrel at 2.43pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 1.11% to 4.3518 versus the US dollar at 3.09pm.
Top foreign stories
Dour China Sept flash factory PMI casts pall over global markets: Flagging demand dragged China’s giant factory sector into its sharpest contraction in 6-1/2 years in September, a private survey showed on Wednesday, triggering a flight to safety in Asian markets that analysts say could extend across the globe. — Reuters
Fed delay could spur more debt issues to fund share buybacks: A record year for debt-funded stock buybacks may soon become even more rewarding for shareholders. The Federal Reserve’s decision to delay raising interest rates will likely encourage companies to take out more debt to repurchase their own shares or issue special dividends before the end of the year, adding to the almost US$1 trillion that companies were already on pace to return to investors this year, fund managers and analysts say. — Reuters
More major US firms make renewable energy pledge: Major US companies including Wal-Mart, Starbucks and Nike vowed on Wednesday to move completely to renewable energy in the long term as part of a global effort against climate change. Consumer goods giants Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble, and investment banking titan Goldman Sachs also joined the year-old effort. - AFP
Swiss Re to buy Guardian Financial Services for 1.6bil pounds: Swiss Re, the world’s second largest reinsurance group, announced on Wednesday it plans to buy Guardian Financial Services for 1.6 billion pound (US$2.4 billion). The acquisition by Swiss Re’s business unit Admin Re from private equity company Cinven will boost the group’s presence in Britain, Swiss Re said. - AFP
India and US renew ever closer strategic partnership: The world’s largest democracies, India and the United States, agreed measures to deepen their security and economic cooperation on Tuesday, part of an ambitious drive to boost trade between them five-fold. After the talks, US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker admitted that the idea of increasing exchanges from US$100 billion to US$500 billion a year was “a big audacious goal,” but said the meeting had left her very optimistic. — AFP
Report: Chinese firms sign deal to buy 300 Boeing planes: US giant Boeing has signed deals with Chinese firms to sell 300 aircraft and open a completion centre in the Asian giant, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported, as President Xi Jinping began his first state visit to the United States. The report gave no immediate details of the models of the planes bought by a group of Chinese companies or the value of the sale. - AFP
China growth slowdown slams brakes on auto market: Chinese luxury auto dealer Sunfonda was in the fast lane to success as the country boomed but a slowdown in the world’s number two economy has slammed the brakes on the firm’s ambitions. The worst economic performance in a quarter century and a prolonged government crackdown on corruption have hammered luxury car sales in the country, and Sunfonda last month announced a 75% slump in first-half net profit. - AFP
Top local stories
1MDB shortlists bidders for power asset sale: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) has shortlisted bidders including Qatar’s Nebras Power QSC and Hong Kong-listed CGN Meiya Power Holdings Co for its energy asset sale, sources said. Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power International and Tenaga Nasional Bhd
were also picked to submit final offers for 1MDB’s power plants, They said said. The assets may fetch an equity value of as much as RM8bil(US$1.8bil), two of the sources said. — Bloomberg
Malaysia’s economy to grow at slower pace: Malaysia’s economy is expected to continue growing but at a slower rate in the months ahead based on the leading and coincident indices released by the Statistics Department. The leading index, which monitors the economic performance in advance, showed an increase of 0.9% to 118.6 points in July compared with 117.6 points in June, it said on Wednesday. The coincident index, which measures the current economic activity, declined 1.2% in July. - StarBiz
August inflation higher than expected: Malaysia’s inflation rate, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), for August 2015 was bigger than expected due to higher costs in most of the major groups. The Statistics Department said on Wednesday the CPI increased 3.1% to 113.9 versus 110.5 a year earlier. This was above a Bloomberg poll which forecast a 3% increase. — StarBiz
FGV exits Dow Jones Islamic market index: Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd (FGV) is no longer listed on the Dow Jones Islamic Market Malaysia Titans 25 Index. In a statement on Wednesday, FGV said it, however, would remain listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia. — Bernama
BornOil Q2 turnover surges: Borneo Oil Bhd (BornOil) put on another strong showing, posting a higher turnover of RM51.18 million for the second quarter compared with RM19.32 million a year earlier, thanks to better contribution from the group’s oil, gas, mining and related activities, as well as its fast food division.
Domestic F&B players strive to expand into Australia: The domestic food and beverage (F&B) sector is striving to expand into the high-value Australian market as reflected from the participation of 18 Malaysian exhibitors at the Fine Food Australia 2015. — Bernama
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