Long range plan: The Nikkei business daily said Toyota would set up a team in early 2017 dedicated to developing electric cars that can travel more than 300km on a single charge. — Reuters
MarketWatch: Major US stock indexes posted their largest drop so far in 2017 on Monday as investors worried that a curb on immigration ordered by Donald Trump was a reminder that some of the U.S. president's policies are not market-friendly. - Reuters
The DJIA fell 122.65 points, or 0.61%, to 19,971.13, the S&P 500 lost 13.79 points, or 0.60%, to 2,280.9 and the Nasdaq dropped 47.07 points, or 0.83%, to 5,613.71
Forex summary
*The ringgit at 44.4300 per US$
*It was flat at 4.7389 versus euro
*Up 0.02% to 5.5421 per pound sterling
*Down 0.46% to 3.1200 per Singapore dollar
*0.29% lower to 3.3528 per Aussie
*0.23% lower at 3.9024 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil prices fell on Monday as news of another weekly increase in US drilling activity had oil forecasters concerned that production cuts from other producing nations may not reduce the global supply glut as much as had been hoped. Global benchmark Brent crude oil prices settled down 29 cents at US$55.23 a barrel. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Toyota loses sales crown to Volkswagen: Toyota Motor Corp lost its crown as the world’s best-selling automaker to Volkswagen AG (VW), ending the Japanese company’s four-year reign, as they face challenges that range from the threat of trade barriers in the US to slowing demand in China after a tax increase. Worldwide sales for Toyota rose 0.2% to 10.175 million vehicles in 2016, the Japanese automaker said. That fell short of VW’s record 10.3 million cars, trucks and buses, a 3.8% gain. - Reuters
Sony to take US$1b writedown on movie business: Sony Corp said it will take a 112 billion yen (US$1 billion) writedown in its movie business after reviewing the future profitability of its operations. The company said it would book the charge in the fiscal third quarter and is examining how that will affect its forecasts. - Reuters
Allianz targets Australia's QBE with informal bid: Germany's Allianz has made an informal takeover approach to QBE Insurance, Australia's biggest insurer, but has not named a price, sources said on Monday. - Reuters
Germany talks to banks about Frankfurt move after Brexit: Germany's top regulators met about 50 envoys from foreign banks on Monday to explain how they could move business to Europe's biggest economy after Britain leaves the European Union, German financial watchdog Bafin said. - Reuters
Deutsche to pay US$425m to New York regulator over Russian 'mirror trades’: Deutsche Bank AG has agreed to pay US$425 million to New York's banking regulator over a "mirror trading" scheme that moved US$10 billion out of Russia between 2011 and 2015, the regulator said on Monday. In addition, Britain's Financial Conduct Authority is about to penalise the bank roughly US$200 million for the suspicious trades, a source said. - Reuters
US consumer spending bolsters economic outlook: US consumer spending accelerated in December as households bought motor vehicles and cold weather boosted demand for utilities amid a rise in wages, pointing to sustained domestic demand that could spur economic growth in early 2017. - Reuters
Top local stories
Mah Sing shifts gears: Property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd, which is at the last leg of a three-year transformation programme, is confident of hitting its sales target of RM1.8bil this year, similar to what it achieved in 2016, underpinned by launches of both new and phases of existing projects. It will launch a project in a new area in 2017 after a two-year hiatus. - StarBiz
Suiwah plans more outlets: Suiwah Corp Bhd is planning more stores, new products and fresh business initiatives to boost its growth in 2018. Group executive director Cynthia Hwang said the group planned to open three more convenience outlets on Penang island by mid-2017. It will also focus on initiating its business-to-business online platform after February. - StarBiz
Hua Yang stake buy in Magna paves way for more tie-ups: Hua Yang Bhd’s acquisition of a 10.84% stake in Magna Prima Bhd last week paves the way for more collaboration between both companies to develop property projects, an official said. The purchase of a stake is the first of many probable tie-ups between both groups to grow on each other’s strengths, said the official. - Reuters
PLB plans affordable housing project in Penang: Property and construction-based PLB Engineering Bhd plans to start a RM2.6bil affordable housing project in Paya Terubong in mid-2017 on a 113-acre site. The project would comprise 7,658 affordable units priced between RM300,000 and RM390,000. - StarBiz
Mieco to gain from high demand, prices of chipboard: Particle board maker Mieco Chipboard Bhd stands to benefit from the increasing demand and higher prices of particle boards in the coming months. Particle board prices will likely increase by over 10%, says industry observers and analysts, while stronger US dollar is expected to boost demand.
Astino sees more sales to Asean with new plant: Roofing product maker Astino Bhd
expects the completion of its RM60mil plant in Nibong Tebal in 2019 to help boost its production by 10% from 120,000 tonnes per year currently. The company also plans to increase contribution of its export sales to Asean countries. - StarBiz
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