Goldman described commodity client activity as "muted" during the quarter.
MarketWatch: The rotation to cyclical sectors of the S&P 500 and away from defensive stocks could continue this week if Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen strikes a tone more welcoming to an interest rate increase later this year. Fed speakers this week, including the influential New York Fed President William Dudley, seemed to blaze the trail for Yellen and her upcoming Friday speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming as part of a global meeting of central bankers. - Reuters
Energy
Oil prices fell on Monday as analysts doubted upcoming producer talks would be able to rein in oversupply, saying that Brent would likely fall back below US$50 a barrel as August's over 20% crude rally looks overblown. International benchmark Brent crude oil futures LCOc1 were trading at US$50.43 per barrel at 0025 GMT, down 45 cents, or 0.88%. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Pfizer nears deal to acquire Medivation for close to US$14b: Pfizer Inc is in advanced talks to acquire US cancer drug company Medivation Inc for close to US$14 billion, as it seeks to boost its oncology portfolio, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. - Reuters
Goldman, South Korea fund to buy majority stake in cookware firm Happycall: Goldman Sachs Group Inc and South Korean private equity firm EastBridge Partners said on Sunday they have agreed to acquire a majority stake in cookware and kitchen appliances maker Happycall Co Ltd. Goldman and EastBridge did not disclose financial terms for the deal. - Reuters
Fed close to hitting job and inflation targets: Fischer: The Federal Reserve is close to hitting its targets for full employment and 2% inflation, the Fed's No. 2 policymaker said on Sunday in comments that did not address when the US central bank should next raise interest rates. - Reuters
Poll: Japan Inc unenthused over Abe's stimulus, BoJ easing: Japanese companies overwhelmingly say the government's latest stimulus will do little to boost the economy and the Bank of Japan should not ease further, a Reuters poll showed, a setback for policymakers' efforts to overcome deflation and stagnation. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe this month unveiled a 13.5 trillion yen (US$135 billion) fiscal package of public works projects and other measures. - Reuters
Top local stories
AWC
poised to ride on LoT wave: AWC Bhd is positioning itself to take advantage of the next wave of growth spurred by the Internet of Things (IoT). The engineering and facility services provider will also build up its talent management and improve productivity to seize the opportunities arising from the influx in high-rise buildings and the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. - StarBiz
RHB commercial bank in Indonesia likely: RHB Banking Group could likely be Malaysia’s third banking group to commence commercial banking operations in Indonesia in the wake of the recent bilateral agreement to allow banks greater access to each other’s jurisdictions. - StarBiz
Investors may have to compromise on P/B for banks to consolidate: For future consolidation to happen among local banks, shareholders might have to compromise on lower price-to- book (P/B) in view of lower return on equity (ROE), says Nomura Research. It said banks’ ROEs have come down from 15% to 10% due to lower profitability and higher capital base after recent capital-raising efforts. - StarBiz
CRRC plans to expand ops in Perak: China Railway Rolling Stock Corp (CRRC) plans to expand the operation of its rolling stock centre in Batu Gajah, Perak, as it is eyeing to capture opportunities in the Asean market . - StarBiz
Call for standard service charges at KLIA, KLIA2: Passenger service charges should be standardised between the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and KLIA2 as services and facilities offered by both terminals are comparable with a shared runway, says Andrew Herdman, the director-general of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines. - Bernama
Malaysia’s income growth falls short of ETP’s target: The growth in Malaysia’s gross national income per capita and gross domestic product has failed to meet the requirement as set out by the Economic Transformation Pro- gramme (ETP) despite having the Performance Management and Delivery Unit created to manage delivery against these targets, say economists. - Edge FD
Managepay braces for worst-ever revenue this year: Electronic payment solutions provider ManagePay Systems Bhd is bracing for a hard landing in the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2016 brought on by the slow roll-out from banks of the chip-and-pin payment card acceptance project. ManagePay managing director and chief executive officer Chew Chee Seng said the group is likely to post its worst-ever top line since its initial public offering on the ACE Market in2011, when it reported a revenue of RM6.48 million for FY10. - Edge FD
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