Energy
Brent crude was 0.16% higher to US$51.54 per barrel at 3.35pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.08% to 4.1700 versus the US dollar at 3.45pm.
Top foreign stories
Hyundai Motor executives to take voluntary 10% cut in wages: Executives at South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group plan to take a voluntary 10% cut in wages from this month, the first such move since 2009, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday, citing an unidentified high-ranking group official. — Reuters
‘Siri, catch market cheats’: Wall Street watchdogs turn to AI: Two exchange operators have announced plans to launch artificial intelligence tools for market surveillance in the coming months and officials at a Wall Street regulator tell Reuters they are not far behind. — Reuters
Netflix CEO gives conditional approval of AT&T-Time Warner deal: Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said he was in favour of AT&T Inc’s planned US$85.4bil acquisition of Time Warner Inc, provided that his popular media streaming company continued to be treated fairly. — Reuters
China’s HNA Group buys US$6.5b stake in Hilton, extends hotels push: China’s aviation and shipping giant HNA Group extended its push into hotels and Chinese tourism on Monday, paying US$6.5 billion to buy a 25% stake in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc from biggest shareholder Blackstone Group LP. — Reuters
Syngenta says ChemChina deal to stretch into 2017: Syngenta, the world’s largest pesticides maker, on Tuesday moved to reassure investors that the planned US$43 billion takeover by ChemChina will go ahead even though it will miss the original forecast for the deal to close this year. — Reuters
Study: Brexit likely to knock 0.25 point off German growth in 2017: The impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will shave around 0.25 percentage point off growth in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, in the coming year, a study quoted in a regional German newspaper suggested on Tuesday. — Reuters
JR Kyushu surges on debut, helped by fat dividends and tourism prospects: Shares in Kyushu Railway Co jumped 12% in their market debut on Tuesday, helped by fat dividends and hopes the company will benefit from its real estate business and increased tourism to Japan. — Reuters
Singapore central bank sees subdued GDP outlook, modest prices pressures: A subdued growth outlook for Singapore’s trade-reliant economy is expected to keep inflationary pressures modest, the central bank said on Tuesday, highlighting a bumpy road ahead for the city-state amid lingering weakness in global demand. — Reuters
Top local stories
Softer Q3 earnings for Nestle on higher input cost, intense marketing: Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd said third-quarter earnings were down 10.2% to RM160.71mil, mainly due to higher input cost, and intense marketing and promotional activies. Revenue rose 4.5% to RM1.262bil, while earnings per share were 68.53 sen compared with 79.40 sen a year ago. It declared an interim dividend of 70 sen a share. — StarBiz
More must be done to help pensioners, says report: Malaysia ranked second in Asia with an overall score of 55.7 in the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index. Malaysia’s score, equivalent to Grade C, was lower than Singapore and Australia’s but in the same league as Poland and South Korea. Grade C indicates Malaysia’s pension system has some good features, but also has major risks or shortcomings that must be addressed. — StarBiz
Exim Bank beats target, gives out RM10b loans: The Export-Import Bank of Malaysia Bhd (Exim Bank) has disbursed about RM10 billion in loans year-to-date, exceeding its target of RM7.5 billion for 2016, said president and chief executive officer Norzilah Mohamed. — Bernama
Business confidence in Malaysia remains steady in Q3: Business confidence in Malaysia outperformed that of Singapore and other regional trading partners in the third quarter of the year. The performance was in tandem with the improved confidence in China, shows the latest Global Economic Conditions Survey by two accounting bodies. - Bernama
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