Energy
Brent crude was 2.85% lower to US$29.63 per barrel at 2.24pm.
Forex
Ringgit down 0.60% to 4.2950 versus the US dollar at 2.48pm.
Top foreign stories
Weak Singapore December factory output may lead to downgrade in Q4 GDP: Singapore’s industrial production in December suffered its biggest slump in eight months on a year-on-year basis, raising the prospect of the government revising down fourth-quarter economic growth from its initial estimate. - Reuters
China pours US0$67b into financial system before holiday: China’s central bank said on Tuesday it was injecting 440 billion yuan (US$67 billion) into the money market, seeking to ease tight liquidity ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday when demand for funds surges. — AFP
Sprint slashes 2,500 jobs to cut costs: Sprint Corp has axed at least 2,500 jobs across six customer care centres and its Kansas headquarters as part of its plan to cut US$2.5bil (RM10.72bil) in costs, a company spokeswoman said. — Reuters
S. Korea economy slows in 2015 as exports suffer: South Korea’s economic growth fell back to 2.6% in 2015, following a slow fourth quarter and the sharpest annual decline in exports since the global financial crisis. - AFP
Saudi, foreign firms sign MoU for new shipbuilding complex: National oil giant Saudi Aramco has signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a shipbuilding and repair complex in the kingdom, part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to diversify its economy beyond oil, the company said on Tuesday. — Reuters
LG Elec quarterly profit jumps on robust sales for TVs, appliances: South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc booked a 27% jump in fourth-quarter operating profit, as its high margin TVs and premium washing machines found favour with consumers. — Reuters
EU antitrust regulators to fine Japanese carpart makers: European Union antitrust regulators are set to punish Japanese auto parts makers for allegedly fixing prices of starter motors and accelerator modules, two people familiar with the matter said on Monday. — Reuters
China’s state media warns Soros on betting against yuan, HK dollar: China’s state media has warned billionaire investor George Soros against betting on falls in the value of the Chinese yuan and Hong Kong dollar, amid widespread worries over the health of world’s second-largest economy. — Reuters
Top local stories
SapuraKencana in JV bid for ONGC contract worth US$300m: SapuraKencana Petroleum and Petrovietnam Technical Services Corporation are jointly bidding for a construction contract off India’s west coast, AmInvestment said. Quoting a report by oil and gas magazine Upstream, the research house said on Tuesday the contract was potentially worth up to US$300mil for Oil & Natural Gas Corporation’s Neelam processing platform and other facilities, — StarBiz
Mosti plans 360 new products to be commercialised: The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (Mosti) is planning to produce 360 new products to be commercialised by 2020. “2016 will be what we call Malaysia Commercialisation Year,” said Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Madius Tangau. — StarBiz
Global palm oil output to be lower than forecast for 2016: Global palm oil production is expected to be lower in 2016 than forecast due to the El Niño phenomenon. — StarBiz
SC revokes dealer’s licence: The Securities Commission (SC) has revoked the Capital Market Services Representative’s Licence of Hon Sook Yin for manipulative securities dealing effective from Dec 18, 2015. Hon, who was formerly attached to Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd, was found to have engaged in improper business practices when trading in the shares of Notion VTEC Bhd
. — StarBiz
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