New chairman: Wan Abdul Aziz set to assume his role as Sime Darby group chairman
MarketWatch: US stocks fell on Wednesday as energy sector shares dropped for a fourth straight session, tracking crude prices, while a late run-up was thwarted by concerns over the passage of a tax revamp after Republican senators were critical of the proposal. The DJIA fell 138.19 points, or 0.59%, to close at 23,271.28, the S&P 500 .SPX ended down 0.55% at 2,564.62 and the Nasdaq dropped 31.66 points, or 0.47%, to 6,706.21. - Reuters
Energy
Oil prices fell for a fourth session on Wednesday after the US government reported an unexpected increase in crude and gasoline stockpiles, but an increase in refining runs and a drawdown in distillates helped prices bounce off session lows. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were down 19 cents at US$62.02 a barrel, having fallen by 1.5% on Tuesday, its largest one-day drop in a month. - Reuters
Forex summary
*The ringgit lost 0.06% to 4.1768 versus the US$
*Up 0.56% to 4.9207 versus euro
*Up 0.27% to 5.5017 per pound sterling
*Up 0.02% to 3.0789 per Singapore dollar
*Down 0.08% to 3.1755 per Aussie
*Up 0.03% to 3.6973 per 100 yen
Top foreign stories
Mattel snubs Hasbro's latest acquisition approach: Mattel Inc has rebuffed Hasbro Inc’s latest takeover approach, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, casting uncertainty over the potential combination of the world’s two largest toy companies. Mattel has informed Hasbro its proposal undervalues the company and does not take sufficiently into account the potential for regulators to reject the deal based on antitrust concerns, the sources said. - Reuters
Amazon scraps bundled video service: Amazon.com Inc has scrapped plans to launch an online streaming service bundling popular US broadcast and cable networks because it believes it cannot make enough money on such a service, people familiar with the matter said. - Reuters
US government approaches 18 states to fight AT&T-Time Warner deal: The US Justice Department has approached 18 state attorneys general to try to win their support for an antitrust lawsuit to block pay TV and wireless powerhouse AT&T Inc’s US$85.4 billion deal to buy media and entertainment company Time Warner Inc, a person briefed on the matter said on Wednesday. - Reuters
Fox shareholders reject proposal to abandon dual-class shares: A shareholder proposal calling for Twenty-First Century Fox Inc to do away with its dual-class share structure was rejected on Wednesday, based on preliminary results announced at the media company’s annual meeting. - Reuters
Australia's Santos target of proposed US$8b takeover bid: A consortium of global energy investors has approached Australian oil and gas major Santos Ltd with a proposal for an all-cash takeover worth A$11 billion (US$8.34 billion), the Australian Financial Review reported on Thursday. Indicative pricing for the bid was expected to be around A$5.30 per share, a 21% premium to Wednesday’s closing price of A$4.38. - Reuters
BBC looking at 500 million pound bid for UKTV: The BBC’s commercial arm is considering a 500-million-pound (US$658.55 million) bid for full control of broadcaster UKTV, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reported, citing sources. BBC Worldwide is in talks with advisers about borrowing hundreds of millions of pounds from private investors to buy out the half of UKTV it does not already own, the report said. - Reuters
Top local stories
Potential listings for foreign insurers: The insurance industry might be primed for a series of listings on the stock exchange or mergers and acquisitions, as the June 2018 deadline for foreign insurers to meet a 30% local shareholding ruling draws closer. Malaysia’s life insurance sector is dominated by foreign players, mainly AIA, Great Eastern and Prudential, with a total market share of 81.7% in 2016. data from CIMB Research shows. StarBiz
BHIC third-quarter earnings down to RM7.8m: Boustead Heavy Industries Corp Bhd (BHIC)’s net profit for third-quarter almost halved to RM7.75mil from RM14.88mil a year ago. Revenue was lower at RM64.26mil from RM64.31mil a year earlier. The company declared an interim dividend of two sen per share. - StarBiz
Nakamichi faces risk of delisting on Nov 27: Nakamichi Corp Bhd is facing a risk of being delisted from the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia on Nov 27 after the exchange rejected the company’s regularisation plan. Nakamichi has till Nov 22 to appeal against the delisting. - Bernama
Palette MD blames ‘investor’ for share plunge: Palette Multimedia Bhd chairman and managing director Eg Kah Yee said a former investor who issued an “unconventional” public statement to explain his exit from the company is to be blamed for the recent plunge in the Palette’s share price. - StarBiz
THHE and units ordered to propose scheme of arrangement within 60 days: TH Heavy Engineering Bhd (THHE) and its subsidiaries have been ordered by the court to propose a scheme of arrangement to their secured and unsecured scheme creditors within 60 days. - StarBiz
New Sime Darby board to take over from Dec 1: Conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd announced that Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah and Jeffri Salim Davidson will assume their roles as group chairman and chief executive officer effective Dec 1. The announcement came as the group is scheduled to split and list its plantation and property arms come Nov 30. - StarBiz
TNB, Indonesia’s PLN to build power plant: Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) and Indonesia’s state-owned utility company, PT PLN, will jointly develop a 2x200 MW coal-fired power plant in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which would supply and export electricity to Sabah. - Bernama
Bina Puri plans RM500m property launches: Bina Puri Holdings Bhd aims to launch projects worth about RM500mil next year as the outlook for the market remains positive. Bina Puri has ongoing property projects worth RM3.16bil in gross development value, which would sustain its earnings until 2020. - StarBiz
Malaysia Q3 GDP growth seen unchanged at 5.8%: Malaysia’s third quarter economic growth is expected to match the brisk pace set over April-June, highlighting resilience in the manufacturing sector and strong private consumption. The median forecast in a Reuters poll is for growth to come in at 5.8% for July- September. - Reuters
