Top foreign and local stories at 3pm

Energy

Brent Crude was 0.77% higher to US$48.54 per barrel at 2.36pm.

Forex

Ringgit was 0.13% lower to 4.3798 versus the US dollar at 2.59pm

Top foreign stories

Japan consumer prices fall in blow for Tokyo’s deflation war: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s faltering bid to conquer years of deflation received a fresh blow on Friday as official data showed consumer prices fell for the first time in over two years. The 0.1% fall in so-called core inflation - not including volatile fresh food - was the first since April 2013, and underlines Tokyo’s struggles to turn around years of stagnant or falling prices that have weighed on the world’s No. 3 economy. — AFP

BoJ governor: No particular requests on policy from PM Abe: Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Friday he received no particular requests on monetary policy during his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Speaking to reporters after his meeting with Abe, Kuroda also said Japan’s price trend remained firm when excluding the effect of slumping oil costs. — Reuters

Businesses, not government, to spur consumption in China: Alibaba’s Ma: China’s slowdown is an opportunity for a “real market economy” to flourish, and it will be entrepreneurs, not the government, spurring consumption that will drive growth, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd executive chairman Jack Ma said. “Consumption is not done by government. Consumption is done by entrepreneurship and (a) market economy. So I think people like us have a great opportunity. Now it’s our turn. Not the government’s turn,” Ma said in a videolinked talk at the Stanford Business School in California. — Reuters

Nike sprints ahead as China sales defy economic slowdown: Nike Inc’s first-quarter profit outpaced expectations as surprisingly steep China growth boosted the world’s largest sportswear maker, despite fears of a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy. The US firm’s global profit rose 23% in the three months to Aug 31 as sales in Greater China jumped by nearly a third and earnings before interest and taxes soared 51%. — Reuters

Japan August factory output seen up: Output at Japanese factories is expected to have risen in August, and domestic consumption measures also probably improved, but analysts say firms may keep a lid on production as China’s economic slowdown begins to crimp global demand. — Reuters

Top local stories

Pestech gets RM134mil Tenaga contract: Pestech International Bhd has secured a RM134mil contract from Tenaga Nasional Bhd to build the backbone main intake substation in Yong Peng East, Johor. The company said on Friday its unit Pestech Sdn Bhd had received the letter of acceptance from Tenaga for the project, involving the construction of the 500/275kV Yong Peng East (2x1050 MVA) backbone main intake substation. — StarBiz

RAM Ratings sees strain in Mukah Power’s debt servicing ability: RAM Rating Services expects Mukah Power’s debt-servicing ability to be strained over the remaining tenure of the RM665mil senior sukuk mudharabah programme (2006/2021). It said Mukah Power’s operational expenses continue to be exposed to cost fluctuations due to the absence of an operations and maintenance agreement. — StarBiz

EcoWorld: MBI could be referring to separate parcel of land: Eco World Development Bhd believes that the Selangor Menteri Besar Inc could be referring to a separate piece of land north of the site which it was buying in Kuala Selangor for RM1.18bil. - StarBiz