Breakfast briefing: Friday, April 8

MarketWrap: US stocks dropped on Thursday as oil prices slid and worries about the global economy resurfaced, dragging down the dollar against the yen and causing investors to flee riskier assets. The S&P 500 posted its biggest daily percentage loss in about six weeks, while the growth worries weighed especially on interest-rate sensitive financials, strategists said. The group fell 1.9% and was the biggest drag on the S&P 500. - Reuters

The DJIA closed down 174.09 points, or 0.98%, to 17,541.96, the S&P 500 lost 24.75 points, or 1.2%, to 2,041.91 and the Nasdaq dropped 72.35 points, or 1.47%, to 4,848.37.

Forex summary

*The ringgit falls 0.71% to 3.9435 per US$

*It drops 0.55% to 4.4834 per euro

*Down 0.56% to 5.5455 to the pound sterling

*0.40% lower to 2.9144 per Singapore dollar

*0.22% higher to 2.9625 per Aussie

*Down 0.19% to 3.6252 per 100 yen

Energy

Oil settled lower on Thursday after data showed higher weekly inventories at the US crude storage base despite a pipeline outage, but prices pared losses on short-covering, suggesting more volatility ahead. Brent futures LCOc1 settled down 41 cents, or about 1%, at US$39.43 a barrel, retracing losses from the session low that saw Brent down more than US$1, or nearly 3%. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

Yellen says US still on track for more rate hikes: The US economy is on a solid course and still on track to warrant further interest rate hikes, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen said on Thursday. Yellen said the labour market was "close" to full strength and that inflation was currently held back by temporary factors. - Reuters

Verizon plans bid for Yahoo and its Yahoo Japan stake: Verizon Communications Inc is ready to make a bid for Yahoo's web business, and hopes to make a merger more successful by also making an offer for a stake in Yahoo's Japan subsidiary, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing a source. - Reuters

US job market firming despite tepid economic growth: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting the labour market continued to strengthen despite tepid economic growth. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 267,000 for the week ended April 2, the Labor Department said on Thursday. - Reuters

Top local stories

PAC notes 1MDB auditor changes: 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) changed auditors twice in a space of two years due to varying opinions on its investments and assets, notes the Parliament Public Accounts Committee (PAC). - StarBiz

* The Government is exposed to a risk estimated at RM20.31bil, not including interests, 1MDB fails to pay off its debts.

Foreign investors buy Malaysian bonds at fastest pace in over a year: Foreign investors are buying Malaysian bonds at the fastest pace in more than a year, bolstering the ringgit, as their holdings of Government papers surged to all-time highs. Nomura Research said in a report that Malaysia’s debt markets experienced inflows of RM11.5bil (versus RM1.4bil of outflows in February). This is the largest monthly inflow since May 2014. - StarBiz 

Eco World International gets SC nod for listing: Eco World International Bhd (EWI) has received the Securities Commission’s (SC) approval for its initial public offering (IPO) to list on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia.

* The property company plans to make a bonus issue of up to 960 million free warrants on the basis of two warrants for every five shares held after the IPO. - StarBiz

Maybank to strengthen ops in Asean: Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) has outlined five strategic objec- tives for the group to strengthen its position in Asean and become the region’s leading financial services provider by 2020. The objectives are to become the top Asean community bank, the leading Asean wholesale bank linking Asia, the lead- ing Asean insurer, a global leader in Islamic finance and to be the digital bank of choice. - StarBiz

* Stricter lending rules imposed by banks over the past year for housing loan applications have not resulted in higher rejection rates, says Maybank group president and chief execu- tive officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias. - StarBiz

China to enjoy the Transformers Experience: Star Media Group Bhd-owned Victory Hill Exhibitions will host the Transformers Experience touring exhibition in China following a tie-up with Beijing Starclouds Entertainment Development Co Ltd. Starclouds will host and operate the exhibi- tions in Mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau) for two years on an exclusive licence. - StarBiz

Fernandes wants DCA to be more transparent on new fees: AirAsia CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes wants the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to be more transparent as to how it came out with the new fee structure and how the proceeds would be spent. He is also calling for more dialogues and consultations among airlines, DCA, airports and the aviation regulator. - StarBiz

Water revamp likely to be concluded by October: The Federal Government expects to conclude the last leg of the Selangor water industry restructuring by October and is discussing with the state government to provide financial assistance for the former to acquire Syarikat Pengeluar Air Sungai Selangor Sdn Bhd (Splash). - StarBiz

LPI net profit rises to RM65mil: LPI Capital Bhd posted a 14.3% gain in net profit to RM65.4mil for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with RM57.2mil a year ago. Revenue was 9.9% higher at RM320.6mil despite the slowdown in the Malaysian economy and the general insurance industry. - StarBiz

IOI Corp suffers another blow, loses big customers: IOI Corp Bhd has received another blow after a report saying three of the world’s major food and consumer products companies would drop the plantation major as their supplier. This follows the suspension of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification of IOI this month. - Edge FD

EPF outsourced RM98b to external fund managers in 2015: Funds outsourced by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to external fund managers rose 14% to RM98 billion last year from RM86 billion in 2014. EPF said the allocation was invested in both equity and fixed-income instruments, representing 14% of its total investment assets. - Edge FD

Bank Negara’s foreign reserves rise to US$97b: Bank Negara's international reserves rose 0.94% to US$97 billion (RM379) as at March 31, 2016, from US$96.1 billion as at March 15, 2016. - Edge FD

AGMs/EGMs

Connectcountry Holdings Bhd

Time: 10am

Venue: Function Room 2, Hotel Sri Petaling, No.30, Jalan Radin Anum, Bandar Baru Sri Petaling, Kuala Lumpur

* Connectcountry seeks shareholder approval a renounceable rights issue of irredeemable convertible preference shares on the basis of three preference shares for every ordinary shares held and free detachable warrants on the basis of one warrant for every 15 preference shares subscribed to.

* Increase the company's authorised share capital RM200 million.