Energy
Brent crude was up 2.43% to US$44.19 pre barrel at 2.29pm.
Forex
Ringgit was up 0.21% to 4.2370 versus the US dollar at 2.53pm.
Top foreign stories
China market chaos blamed on exodus of regulatory ‘turtles’: Chinese fund managers say the exodus top financial talents, or so-called “sea turtles” poached from overseas at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, left Chinese markets in the hands of people who don’t understand markets. That led to misguided, counter-productive policies like the crackdown on derivatives and “malicious” short-selling that some say only accelerated the selloff, says a senior Chinese derivatives trader at a foreign bank in Hong Kong. — Reuters
China looks to calm markets: China has been so surprised by the global reaction to its currency devaluation that it is likely to keep the yuan on a tight leash in the near term to head off a currency war that could spark a broader financial crisis, policy insiders say. — Reuters
Kuroda says China slowdown unlikely to hit Japan exports much: China’s economic slowdown should not harm Japan’s exports very much in coming years, and falling oil prices will not stop the Bank of Japan (BoJ) from hitting its inflation target, governor Haruhiko Kuroda said on Wednesday. “Already exports to China have been affected, but I do not think that Japan exports in coming years will be (very) negatively affected,” he told a seminar hosted by the Japan Society in New York. - Reuters
Panasonic to shut Beijing battery factory, cut 1,300 jobs: Japanese electronics giant Panasonic Corp on Thursday said it will stop making lithium-ion batteries at its factory in Beijing this month, cutting 1,300 jobs as part of a move to focus on higher-margin products such as electric car batteries. — Reuters
Indonesia to unveil policy package to help rupiah and economy: Indonesia is poised to unveil a policy package intended to prop up the rupiah, which hit another fresh 17-year low, and boost investment at a time South-East Asia’s largest economy faces its weakest growth in six years. — Reuters
Toshiba to tap Shiseido adviser as new head of board: Toshiba Corp is set to pick Shiseido Co adviser Shinzo Maeda to head its new board to improve corporate governance in the wake of a massive accounting scandal, sources said on Thursday. The Japanese conglomerate on Aug 18 proposed a fresh 11-member board with seven external directors, including Maeda, and left vacant the chairman post, previously held by president Masashi Muromachi. - Reuters
Top local stories
Maybank posts higher Q2 earnings: Malayan Banking Bhd
’s (Maybank) earnings rose 0.5% RM1.58bil in the second quarter on a 2% higher revenue of RM8.935bil. Earnings per share were 16.76 sen compared with 17.47 sen a year earlier. It a declared a dividend of 24 sen a share, similar to a year ago. - StarBiz
Central banks of Malaysia, Thailand set up local currencies framework: Bank Negara and Bank of Thailand plan to set up a framework to promote the settlement of bilateral trade and direct investment in their local currencies. Under the arrangement, both the central banks would boost their efforts to promote the use of Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht by the private sector to settle cross-border trades and direct investment. - — StarBiz
KPJ Healthcare reports higher Q2 earnings: KPJ Healthcare Bhd’s net profit rose 6.7% to RM36mil in the second quarter, boosted by higher revenue and contribution from the hospitals, The healthcare services provider said on Thursday revenue increased 7.8% to RM714.3mil while earnings per share rose to 3.59 sen from 3.38 sen year earlier. It proposed a second interim dividend of 1.75 sen per share for the quarter. - StarBiz
Strong earnings growth for QL Resources: Strong earnings growth from new ventures and capacity expansion in its main businesses are potential re-rating catalysts for agro-food manufacturer QL Resources Bhd, CIMB Equities Research said. It maintained its “Add” recommendation on QL, with an unchanged target price of RM4.93. QL’s core net profit of RM40.9mil for the first quarter ended June 30 was in line with expectation, accounting for 19% of the brokerage’s full-year forecast and 18% of consensus. - StarBiz
UEM Sunrise eyes up to RM500mil sales from campaign: Property developer UEM Sunrise Bhd aims to secure sales worth RM300 million to RM500 million during its two-month Signature Selection campaign, said managing director and chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib. The campaign, which runs from Sept 1 to Oct 31, offers customers property projects with a gross development value of RM800 million launched two years ago in Mont’Kiara in Kuala Lumpur, Cyberjaya and Nusajaya, Johor. — Bernama
PNB declares 6.40 sen dividend for ASW 2020: Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), announced a 6.40 sen dividend for a unit of the Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020 (ASW 2020) for the financial year ending Aug 31, 2015. The dividend, however, was 0.20 sen lower than the 6.60 sen declared last year, PNB chairman Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid said. - Bernama
Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.
