Thorny issue: How much cooperation should private technology companies give governments?
MarketWrap: Wall Street ended less than 2% short of a record-high close on Wednesday as a rebound in oil prices added to optimism sparked by a raft of earnings reports. Driven 15% higher since mid-February by a recovery in weak oil prices and helped by a softer dollar, the S&P 500 stood less than 30 points below last May's all-time peak. - Reuters
DJIA rose 0.24% to end at 18,096.27 points, the S&P 500 gained 0.08% to 2,102.4 and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.16% to 4,948.13.
Forex summary
*The ringgit falls 0.16% to 3.8728 per US$
*It rises 0.26% to 4.3924 per euro
*Up 0.13% to 5.5510 to the pound sterling
*0.17% up to 2.8850 per Singapore dollar
*0.08% lower to 3.0220 per Aussie
*Down 0.18% to 3.5265 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices rose 4% on Wednesday after a smaller-than-expected build in US crude inventories offset glut worries stirred by the end of a Kuwaiti strike, and as oil bulls bet that major crude producers would meet again to try to curtail output. Brent's front-month contract settled up US$1.77, or 4%, at US$45.80 a barrel. It had fallen to a session low of US$42.81. - Reuters
Top foreign news
VW to offer to buy back nearly 500,000 US diesel cars: Volkswagen AG and US officials have reached a framework deal under which the automaker would offer to buy back almost 500,000 diesel cars that used sophisticated software to evade US emission rules, two people briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. - Reuters
Apple postpones reporting results by a day: Apple Inc will report its second-quarter results on April 26, a day later than scheduled, according to the company's website. The postponement was due to a memorial service for Silicon Valley veteran Bill Campbell, CNBC reported. - Reuters
Qualcomm profit forecast misses estimates as chip shipments drop: US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc forecast third-quarter profit below analysts estimates as it expects to ship fewer chips, including those for smartphones, its biggest business. Qualcomm said it expects chip shipments to fall 13%-22% to 175-195 million in the current quarter. - Reuters
Top local stories
Mueller stresses he is leaving MAS for personal reasons: Outgoing Malaysia Airlines Bhd CEO and managing director Christoph Mueller told a townhall briefing that he was leaving not because of any political pressure or that the task to turn around the airline was too big for him. He said his departure was due to personal reasons and described his decision as something that would hurt his credentials and bank balance. - StarBiz
Kian Joo may consider better offer: Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd, which recently turned down a RM1.47bil takeover bid by Aspire Insight Sdn Bhd, said it may consider an improved offer. Group chief financial officer Ooi Teik Huat said the company was open to new offers, provided they came with the right format and structure. - StarBiz
Southern Steel buoyed by better steel product prices: Southern Steel Bhd
, which has narrowed its net loss to almost RM9mil in the third quarter from RM35.5mil a year ago, expects to deliver improved results in the current year due to better selling prices of steel products in the region. - StarBiz
Public Bank’s profit rises despite headwinds: Public Bank Bhd saw its earnings rise 4.9% to RM1.229bil in the first quarter, from RM1.171bil a year ago, due to continued growth in retail earnings against a backdrop of economic headwinds. - StarBiz
CLIQ down to four directors: CLIQ Energy Bhd is down to four directors following the resignation of independent director Andrew Alexander Young from the board of the special purpose acquisition company. Young resigned on Monday, leaving CLIQ with inadequate number of directors of at least five under the listing requirement. - StarBiz
Road jobs spur PetDag sales: Higher spending on road construction projects is helping to boost sales and profits at Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag). - StarBiz
CPI rises 2.6% in March: Malaysia’s consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of inflation, rose at a slower pace of 2.6% from a year ago, lower than consensus estimates of 3.4% The Statistics Department said the March CPI increased to 113.8 compared with 110.9 a year ago due to increases in 10 major groups. - StarBiz
Weststar unit signs accord with italian helicopter firm: Global Komited Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Weststar Defence Industries, has teamed up with Italian-based Finmeccanica’s helicopter division. The agreement is for the promotion, marketing and distribution of Finmeccanica’s AW159 naval helicopters to the Malaysian Government. - Bernama
Crest Builder to jointly develop Jalan Ampang land with MRB: Crest Builder Holdings Bhd subsidiary Landasan Bayu Sdn Bhd, has entered into an agreement with the Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) for the development of the latter’s piece of land in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur. The mixed commercial project has a gross development value of RM1.33 billion. - Edge FD
E&O aborts UK unit’s planned listing: Eastern & Oriental Bhd (E&O) has cancelled the proposed admission of the securities of its indirect wholly-owned Eastern & Oriental Property (UK) Ltd to trade on the London Stock Exchange, citing unstable global market conditions and exchange rate volatility as the reasons.- Edge FD
GAB to hike prices after June: Guinness Anchor Bhd (GAB, is expected to raise prices after June, as the brewery could not mitigate all the increase in its operating costs following the goods and services tax. “We are looking at ways to possibly increase our price after end of June. But we will keep it as limited as possible,” said managing director Hans Essaadi. Edge FD
AGMs/EGMs
UOA Real Estate Investment Trust
Time: 10am
Venue: Prism Room, Level 3A, Connexion@Nexus, Nexus, Bangsar South City, Jalan Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd
Time: 11am
Venue: Sime Darby Convention Centre, Ballroom 2 & 3, Jalan Bukit Kiara 1, Kuala Lumpur
Malakoff Corporation Bhd
Time: 11am
Venue: Mahkota II, Hotel Istana, 73, Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur
Media Prima Bhd
Time: 10am
Venue: Topaz Ballroom (Level G), One World Hotel, First Avenue, Bandar Utama City Centre, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Century Logistics Holdings Bhd
Time: 10am
Venue: Function Room 1, Mezzanine Floor, Setia City Convention Centre, Shah Alam, Slinger
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