MoneyGram has found that Euronet's cash offer of $15.20 per share, which was unveiled last week, could be expected to result in a superior proposal compared to a deal it agreed to in January to sell itself to China's Ant Financial Services Group for $13.25 per share in cash, the people said on Sunday.
MarketWatch: US stocks ended sharply higher on Tuesday, with financial and energy shares surging as data showed US consumer confidence soaring to a more than 16-year high. The DJIA rose 150.52 points, or 0.73%, to 20,701.5, the S&P 500 gained 16.98 points, or 0.73%, to 2,358.57 and the Nasdaq added 34.77 points, or 0.6%, to 5,875.14. - Reuters
Energy
Oil prices rose as much as 2% on Tuesday after a severe disruption to Libyan oil supplies and as officials suggested Opec and other producing countries could extend an output-cuts deal to the end of the year. Brent crude LCOc1 rose 58 cents, or 1.14%, to settle at US$51.33 per barrel. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.16% to 4.4205 per US$
*It rose 0.29% to 4.7827 versus euro
*Up 1.39% to 5.4836 per pound sterling
*Up 0.13% to 3.1636 per Singapore dollar
*0.54% lower to 3.3777 per Aussie
*0.15% lower at 3.9772 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Wells Fargo to pay US$110m to settle lawsuit over account abuses: Wells Fargo & Co said it agreed to pay US$110 million to settle a lawsuit by customers challenging its opening of accounts without their permission, a practice that led to a scandal that cost the bank's chief executive his job. - Reuters
US consumer confidence hits 16-year high in boost to economy: US consumer confidence surged to a more than 16-year high in March amid growing labour market optimism while the goods trade deficit narrowed sharply in February, indicating the economy was regaining momentum after faltering at the start of the year. The economy's strengthening fundamentals were underscored by other data on Tuesday showing further increases in house prices in January. - Reuters
Amazon clinches deal to buy Middle East online retailer souq.com: Souq.com will expand its workforce and operations after Amazon clinched a deal to buy 100% of the Middle East online retailer, executives from both firms said. Executives have not disclosed the value of the Amazon deal. - Reuters
MoneyGram bidder Euronet ramps up fight to stop Chinese rival's bid: Euronet Worldwide Inc ramped up its fight against China's Ant Financial Services Group in trying to acquire MoneyGram International Inc, urging the US government to closely scrutinise the rival Chinese bid saying it raises "significant national security risks.” - Reuters
Top local stories
East coast rail project kicks off: The East Coast Rail Line, estimated at RM55bil and the largest ever railway project to be undertaken by the private sector, is poised to kick off. Sources say some early specifications and breakdown of the tenders could be announced as early as next month. The feasibility study is complete and awaiting approval from the Land Public Transport Commission, a source said. - StarBiz
Malaysia may ease rules on short-selling of govt bonds: Malaysia is considering easing rules on the short-selling of government bonds to deepen domestic financial markets and revive interest in its debt. Bank Negara will allow companies and insurers to short sell sovereign bonds to help them manage their interest-rate exposure and generate more trading volume, says assistant governor Adnan Zaylani Mohamad Zahid. - Bloomberg
Bank Negara sees March inflation exceeding 8-year peak: Higher fuel costs probably pushed up Malaysia’s inflation rate this month to above the 4.5% rate posted in February, though there’s no evidence that price pressures are spreading more broadly in the economy, a Bank Negara official said. - Bloomberg
Econpile wins RM92.5m job to build diaphragm wall: Econpile Holdings Bhd unit Econpile (M) Sdn Bhd has clinched a RM92.5mil contract to build a diaphragm wall at the Kampung Baru North Station under the Mass Rapid Transit 2 project linking Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya. - StarBiz
Cypark wins three jobs worth RM28.5m: Cypark Resources Bhd has clinched three letters of award from the National Solid Waste Management Department totalling RM28.48mil for the operation of the leachate treatment plants for landfills in Negri Sembilan and Pahang. - StarBiz
Maybulk shares hit new high: Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd (Maybulk) shares rose to a new high as the company saw renewed trading interest with investors factoring in higher recent demand for dry commodities from China and improved global macroeconomic prospects. Bullish investors have also started to bet on a recovery in the demand for dry bulk vessels, as evidenced by the 340% increase the Baltic Dry Bulk Index over the past year. - StarBiz
VS Industry second-quarter net profit up 29%: VS Industry Bhd saw a 29% jump in net profit to RM35.51mil in the second quarter, driven by higher sales orders from key customers. Revenue was 52.4% higher at RM763.84mil. It declared a second interim, single dividend of 1.2 sen per share. - StarBiz
Perak Transit buys land for bus terminal: Perak Transit Bhd subsidiary The Combined Bus Services Sdn Bhd is buying two parcels of leasehold land in the Kinta district in Perak for RM7.97mil, on which it will build an integrated bus terminal complex. - StarBiz
United Malacca pre-tax profit rises: United Malacca Bhd’s pre-tax profit for the third quarter rose to RM39.44mil from RM16.17mil a year ago on a revenue that increased to RM75.77mil from RM50.04mil. - StarBiz
Astro upbeat about FY18: Astro Malaysia Holdings Bhd expects improved revenue and net profit in the current financial year ending Jan 31, 2018 (FY18) after a flattish FY17. Revenue in FY18 is projected to grow by 6% to 8%, and guided that net profit growth will be in the “mid to high” single digit range. Astro posted a net profit of RM623.7mil in FY17, up 1.3% from the previous year, on revenue of RM5.6bil. - StarBiz
Prestariang ties up with Thales for RM3.5bil job: Prestariang Bhd is tying up with Thales Communications & Security SAS and Thales Malaysia Sdn Bhd to undertake a RM3.5bil revamp of Malaysia’s national immigration system’s core applications and infrastructure under the Sistem Kawalan Imigresen Nasional. - StarBiz
Insurance sector likely to consolidate further: Further consolidation may be on the cards for the domestic insurance industry as measures are put in place to strengthen local insurers and make them more efficient and resilient, says Fitch Ratings. - StarBiz
Two-horse race for RM800m Kepong incinerator: It has come down to a two-horse race between a consortium made up of Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd, partnering South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem Co, against another one comprising DRB-Hicom Bhd
, teaming up with sister company Malako Corp Bhd and Japan’s Sumitomo Corp, to build the RM800 million, 1,000-tonne-per-day incinerator in Taman Beringin, Kepong, say sources. - Edge FD
Adventa sees double-digit growth in FY17: Despite a cut in the public healthcare budget, medical products maker Adventa Bhd expects double-digit revenue growth for the current financial year with contributions from its distribution and sterilisation businesses. For FY16 its revenue was down by 4.66% to RM39.93million. - Edge FD
Malaysia leads global sukuk market rebound: The global sukuk market witnessed a rebound in 2016 after three consecutive years of decline, with Malaysia continuing to be the main driver, said the Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre. Malaysia’s issuance totalled US$34.7 billion (RM153.03 billion) or 46.4% of total global issuances of US$74.8 billion, according to MIFC’s 2016 Global Sukuk Market report. - Edge FD
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