Breakfast briefing: Friday, July 1

The statement said:

MarketWrap: Wall Street rolled to a third straight day of gains on Thursday as Britain's central bank raised the prospect of stimulus and consumer staples shares gained on news of Mondelez International's US$23 billion bid for Hershey.

The DJIA rose 235.31 points, or 1.33%, to 17,929.99, the S&P 500 gained 28.09 points, or 1.36%, to 2,098.86 and the Nasdaq added 63.43 points, or 1.33%, to 4,842.67.

Forex summary

*The ringgit gained 0.80% to 3.9965 per US$

*It was 0.88% higher at 4.4410 per euro

*Up 1.79% to 5.3343 to the pound sterling

*0.56% higher to 2.9697 per Singapore dollar

*0.53% up to 2.9814 per Aussie

*Up 0.69% to 3.8777 per 100 yen

Energy

Oil prices dropped more than 3% on Thursday, pressured by returning Nigerian and Canadian crude output from outages and as traders booked profits at the end of the best quarter in seven years. Brent futures LCOc1 for August delivery, which expired on Thursday, settled down 93 cents, or 1.8%, at US$49.68 a barrel. The more active Brent contract for September delivery LCOc2 settled at US$49.71, down 3.1%. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

Oracle ordered to pay HP US$3b in Itanium case: A California jury ordered Oracle Corp to pay Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Co US$3 billion in damages in a case over HP's Itanium servers, an Oracle spokeswoman said on Thursday. Oracle said it would appeal the verdict. - Reuters

Hershey rejects US$23b Mondelez takeover offer: Hershey Co said on Thursday it had rejected a US$23 billion preliminary offer by Mondelez International Inc that would seek to expand the latter's limited US footprint and create the world's largest confectioner. - Reuters

Visa, MasterCard US$7.25b settlement with retailers thrown out: A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out a US$7.25 billion antitrust settlement reached by Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc with millions of retailers that accused the card networks of improperly fixing credit and debit card fees. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said the accord was unfair to retailers that stood to receive no payments and, in the court's view, little or no benefit at all. - Reuters

Disney to buy stake in MLB's video unit for US$3.5b: Walt Disney Co has agreed to buy 33% stake in the video unit of Major League Baseball's digital arm MLB Advanced Media in a deal valued at about US$3.5 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. - Reuters

China's Postal Savings Bank files for potential US$10b IPO: State-owned Postal Savings Bank of China, the country's largest bank by number of branches, has filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) seeking to raise as much as US$10 billion, Thomson Reuters IFR reported on Thursday. - Reuters

Top local stories

Smaller packages for Immigration job: A planned multi-billion ringgit project to upgrade the country’s immigration system and tighten national border security may now be repackaged into smaller portions, say industry sources. Instead of awarding the full 12-year contract, which could be valued at close to RM6bil, the Government may opt to kick-start the security upgrades by awarding it in smaller work packages, they said. - StarBiz

EPF eyes substantial stake in MQREIT: MRCB-Quill Real Estate Investment Trust (MQREIT) is placing out new units to parent Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to raise funds for the RM640mil acquisition of Menara Shell in KL Sentral. - StarBiz

Two big challenges for new MAS chief: Newly-appointed Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer Peter Bellew’s two most challenging tasks will be to ensure (MAS) does not ever bleed again and put in place a mechanism for succession planning so that the next CEO after him will be a Malaysian. - StarBiz

Yeoh: Be honest and transparent: Mobile Internet providers should to be more transparent about their offerings as users are technology savvy, YTL Communications Sdn Bhd managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh said after unveiling Yes 4G long-term evolution (LTE) plans and the Yes Altitude 4G LTE smart-phone.- StarBiz

UEM Sunrise, WCT and Jubilant abort RM3bil JV: UEM Sunrise Bhd has called off a joint venture with WCT Holdings Bhd and Jubilant Courtyard Sdn Bhd to develop a RM3bil township in Serendah, Selangor. - StarBiz

Mieco gets cash takeover offer from Ng: Mieco Chipboard Bhd said it has received a cash takeover offer from Datuk Seri Ng Ah Chai to acquire all the shares in the company for 90 sen each. The mandatory general offer by Ng was triggered after he acquired a 56.76% stake in the company from BRDB Developments Sdn Bhd. - StarBiz

Muda allocates RM50mil to expand Kajang plant: Muda Holdings Bhd, a leader in the local paper milling industry, will invest RM50mil to expand its corrugated carton box plant in Kajang to cater to increasing demand. - StarBiz

Bank Negara ready to take ‘proactive measures’: Bank Negara will work with the Financial Market Committee members and take “proactive measures” to counter any economic fallout arising from the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. - StarBiz

Berjaya Corp set to open Four Seasons Kyoto: Berjaya Corp Bhd is set to open the Four Seasons Hotel and Hotel Residences Kyoto (Four Seasons Kyoto) in Japan by the end of this year. The group said that the total investment pumped in for the Four Seasons Kyoto was about US$380mil, inclusive of land cost. - StarBiz

CCM sells firms, exits fertiliser business: Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd (CCM) is selling its fertiliser units for RM48.5mil cash, as the group seeks to exit the loss-making business and focus on key pharmaceuticals and chemicals divisions. - StarBiz

George Kent eyes jobs in UK and Europe: George Kent (M) Bhd is eyeing opportunities from the UK and Europe to participate in rail road projects. Chairman Tan Sri Tan Kay Hock said it was still in the early stages but hoped to secure some projects there. - StarBiz

Malaysia GDP to grow 4.4% in 2016: In its Economic Monitor Report, June 2016, Bank Negara said Malaysia’s growth remained resilient although its gross domestic product (GDP) was expected to slow down to 4.4% in 2016 from 5% last year. GDP is expected to grow at 4.5% in 2017 and 2018. - StarBiz

Ministry investigating Astro on ‘hidden charges’ complaint: The communications and multimedia ministry is probing claims that Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd is imposing hidden charges on its subscribers. Minister Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak said his ministry had discussed the issue with Astro, and is currently investigating the matter. - Edge FD

Salcon ventures into Australia with planned A$230m residential project: Salcon Bhd is buying a plot of freehold commercial plot in Australia, together with a carpark and a two-storey office building erected on it, for A$37.88 million or RM112.55 million, cash, to redevelop it into a high-rise res- idential development with an estimated gross development value of A$230 million or RM683.38 million. - Edge FD

‘Steel King’ to hand over reins to China partner?: Tan Sri William Cheng will take a back seat in the business that earned him the moniker “Steel King of Malaysia” once an agreement with a strategic partner in China is finalised as part of an ongoing group-wide restructuring at Megasteel Sdn Bhd that still requires creditors’ buy-in. “We’re looking at a 50:50 partnership, hopefully in two to three months (a deal) can be finalised,” he said. - Edge FD

Aeon Credit’s Q1 net profit up 7.7%: Aeon Credit Service (M) Bhd’s net profit for the first quarter grew 7.7% year-on-year to RM62.73 million from RM58.24 million. Revenue rose 12.6% to RM261.64 million from RM232.44 million previously. - Edge FD