Fitch Ratings says it may downgrade the EU's €500bil bailout fund on concerns over France's economy - EPA Photo.
Energy
Brent crude was 0.20% higher to US$44.84 per barrel at 2.44pm.
Forex
Ringgit up 0.26% to 4.3305 versus the US dollar at 2.49pm.
Top foreign stories
After Trump and Brexit shocks, UK finance minister hopes to ease voters’ frustrations: Five months to the day after Britain voted for Brexit, its finance minister will outline how the government plans to cope with the economic fallout and voters’ frustrations which had echoes in Donald Trump’s US election triumph. Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, is due on Nov 23 to announce spending and tax plans until the end of the decade in his first budget update since taking office after the June vote to leave the European Union. — Reuters
Europe’s top truck makers could face US$110b cartel damages claim: Litigation management company Bentham Europe plans to fund a potential 100 billion euros (US$110 billion) damages claim against Europe’s biggest truck makers after they admitted to operating a 14-year price cartel. — Reuters
American Apparel to file for bankruptcy: American Apparel LLC plans to file its second bankruptcy in just over a year as soon as Monday, weighed down by intense competitive pressures facing US teen retailers and a rocky relationship with its founder, according to people familiar with the matter. — Reuters
US shale firms go back to work buoyed by Opec deal, Trump victory: US shale producers are redeploying cash, rigs and workers, cautiously confident the energy sector has turned a corner after Donald Trump’s election victory and Opec’s recent signal that it plans to curb production. — Reuters
Top local stories
Sime Darby explores potential listing of assets: Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd
has explored potential listings of its assets but the execution of these initiatives will hinge on market conditions and valuations. — StarBiz
Al-`Aqar Healthcare REIT selling Johor property for RM100m: Al-`Aqar Healthcare REIT is selling a hotel and a tower block in Johor Baru for RM100mil cash to Optimum Impress Sdn Bhd as it seeks to reduce its borrowings.It said on Monday the properties are the 27-storey Hotel Selesa and 31-storey office block – Metropolis Tower – or collectively known as the Selesa Tower. — StarBiz
Daibochi to invest RM29m to expand into Myanmar: Daibochi Plastic and Packaging Industry Bhd has inked a memorandum of understanding on a US$6.8mil (RM29mil) investment in a production facility in Myanmar via a joint venture with Myanmar Smart Pack Industrial Co Ltd to tap the growing consumer packaging market in that country. — StarBiz
Asia Plantation Capital gets CCM nod: Asia Plantation Capital Bhd has received the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s approval to market its agarwood plantation investment programme in Malaysia and overseas. — StarBiz
Fitch: Malaysian, Asian telcos to come under pressure in 2017: Intense competition and rising capital expenditure needs will put pressure on the credit profiles of most Asian telcos over the next year, says Fitch Ratings. The international rating agency has a negative outlook on the telecoms sectors in Malaysia, India, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. South Korea, Indonesia, China and Sri Lanka are all on stable outlook. - StarBiz
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