Top foreign and local stories at 4pm

History together: Microsoft and Yahoo have longstanding search and advertising agreements.

Energy

Brent crude was 2.35% higher to US$45.67 per barrel at 3.20pm.

Forex

Ringgit down 0.17% to 4.0000 per US dollar at 3.45pm.

Top foreign stories

China April services sector expansion slows: Activity in China’s service sector expanded again in April, though the gains were slightly less robust than in March, a private survey showed on Thursday, as firms resumed adding staff after a rare decline the previous month. - Reuters

Australia’s Crown sells Macau gambling stake: Casino mogul James Packer’s Crown Resorts has offloaded part of its stake in Macau-focused Melco Crown Entertainment for US$800 million, as gaming revenue slumps in the Chinese territory. — AFP

Yahoo takes hit with loss of AT&T contract: Yahoo’s struggling Internet business took a hit on Wednesday with the loss of a long-time contract to manage the Internet portal and search for US telecommunication giant AT&T. AT&T confirmed that it is switching to Synacor to manage its att.net portal and applications including search, ending a business tie it had with Yahoo for 15 years. — AFP

Australian banks signal end of era of dividend growth: Australia’s major lenders this week signalled they are ready to forego some of the highest dividends in the banking world after seven years of rising payouts, putting investors like the US$1.5 trillion pension industry on notice of lower returns in future. — Reuters

BT to invest 6 billion pounds on broadband and mobile upgrades: BT said it would spend 6 billion pounds on rolling out superfast fibre and 4G mobile in the next three years, in a riposte to rivals and regulators who have demanded better coverage for homes and businesses across the country. — Reuters

Top local stories

Khazanah, Mitsui to take stake in US DaVita kidney care services JV: Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Mitsui & Co will take up a combined 40% stake in joint venture led by the New York Stock Exchange-listed DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc to expand kidney care services in the Asia-Pacific. — StarBiz

Genting gets Nevada nod to be publicly-traded corporation: Genting Bhd has obtained the Nevada Gaming Control Board’s approval to become a publicly-traded corporation to pursue its planned US$4 billion (about RM16 billion) Resorts World Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, quoting Genting officials and control board chairman  A.G. Burnett. — StarBiz

F&N to invest RM210m in new warehouse, UHT line: Fraser and Neave Holdings Bhd (F&N) will invest RM210mil in a new warehouse in Shah Alam and an ultra-high temperature processing (UHT) line in Kuching to meet capacity expansion and business growth projections. — Bernama

Vivocom secures RM160m Ipoh mixed development project: Vivocom International Holdings Bhd (formerly known as Instacom Enterprise Sdn Bhd) said on Thursday its subsidiary Vivocom Enterprise Sdn Bhd has inked a heads of agreement with De Facto Integrated Sdn Bhd to undertake a RM160mil mixed development project in Ipoh. — StarBiz