NEW YORK: Shares in Goldman Sachs Group fell as much as 8% Tuesday after Wall Street's premier investment bank missed quarterly profit expectations, hampered by weaker trading revenues and rising expenses. However, the bank's global markets division, which houses its trading businesses, still accounted for more than a third of its revenues last year. Aside from the trading slowdown, Goldman was also handicapped by a 23% rise in operating expenses, mainly reflecting higher compensation and benefits costs. The bank expects to hold on to market share gains made by its trading business even as the market environment returns to normal, executives said. Goldman's profit fell to $3.8 billion in the quarter $4.4 billion a year earlier.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) wants authorities to go all out in their investigations into fake Covid-19 vaccination certifications and bring those involved to face the full force of the law. “It is shocking that more than 5,000 vaccination certificates were issued by the clinic located in Gombak to individuals without giving vaccinations. He said the MMA would support the sternest action taken against any medical practitioners found to be involved in such “irresponsible and criminal acts”. “For registered practitioners, their licence to practice can be revoked by the Malaysian Medical Council. He added that the MMA received a complaint on Monday from an individual on fake vaccination certificates and that it would lodge a police report, adding that the public could email complaints to secretary@mma.org.my.

In 2020, euro zone households spent an average of €1,200 on electricity and gas. This year was meant to see consumer spending drive growth after two years of Covid-19 lockdowns and layoffs. The European Central Bank said in December it expected the euro zone economy to expand by 4.2% in 2022, driven by a 5.9% surge in private consumption. "This would also be in line with previous episodes of higher energy prices, in which almost all countries saw other expenditures dropping," ING's economist Carsten Brzeski said. But these will offset only about a quarter of the 54% increase in energy bills from 2020, according to BofA estimates.

PUTRAJAYA: Tan Sri Azam Baki is thankful for the decision by the Securities Commission which “found that he did not commit any offence” over the shares trading account issue. “I have been informed by the SC that the inquiry into the matter has been concluded. “With that, I will continue my responsibilities as the chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to fight corruption in the country without fear or favour,” he said in a statement on Tuesday (Jan 18). The Securities Commission said it had not been able to establish that there was a breach of regulations with relation to the Azam’s shares trading account. Allegations recently surfaced that Azam owned a substantial number of shares in two companies between 2015 and 2016 when he was the MACC director of investigations.

An ASL allows the licence holder to conduct scheduled passenger and cargo services like those of Malaysia Airlines Bhd and AirAsia Group Bhd. Meanwhile, MYAirline's filing with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) revealed that it has two million shares at RM1 per share, amounting to RM2 million in paid-up capital. Financial backer linked to i-Serve Online MallAccording to sources, Goh is believed to be the financial backer of the new airline venture. Goh is also a 31.75% shareholder in i-Serve Online Mall Sdn Bhd, according to SSM filings. Subsequently, i-Serve Online Mall issued a statement via its lawyers three days later to request that BNM clarify its “vague and factually incorrect” statements.

PETALING JAYA: Highway customers who experience detection issues at the RFID lane need not worry as PLUS Malaysia Bhd personnel will be on hand to scan their vehicle RFID tags with a handheld device. “If the RFID tag still has detection issues after the test, TnG will replace it for free,” it added. It was reported on Monday (Jan 17) that highway users experienced traffic snarls on the North-South Expressway (NSE) stemming from detection issues with their vehicle RFID tags. “PLUS has doubled the teams assisting customers at toll plazas, and improved the visibility of directional signages to increase familiarity with RFID lanes,” it added. For information on locations for TnG RFID tag installation, visit the TnG portal at http://www.touchngo.com.my or download the RFID e-book from www.plus.com.my and social media platforms including Twitter PLUSTrafik, PLUS Malaysia Facebook as well as the PLUS App.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.9% to record its highest closing in nearly two years, with miner Glencore and energy majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell among the biggest boosts to the index. GlaxoSmithKline jumped 4.1% after it said over the weekend that it had rejected Unilever's offer for its consumer goods arm and would stick to its plan of spinning off the unit. A report said the company was in talks with banks for additional financing to make a potential sweetened offer. Analysts at Barclays said that Unilever's offer and the ensuing valuations are very complex to execute in normal times, let alone in the middle of a global pandemic. The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 0.6%.

PARIS (Jan 17): Pfizer will add a production facility for its antiviral Covid-19 pill in France as part of a plan to invest €520 million (US$594 million) in the country over the next five years, the US drug maker said on Monday. The decision is part of Pfizer's strategy to boost global production of the pill, paxlovid, which was found to be nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalisation and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness, according to clinical trial data. The investment will initially involve the production of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for paxlovid at a plant run by French pharmaceutical group Novasep, Pfizer said, noting that additional Novasep facilities will be added next year. The drug obtained emergency approval from the US drug regulator in December, and is being assessed for possible authorisation in the European Union. Part of the €520 million will also go into research in France, including partnerships with biotech firms there, according to Pfizer, which declined to give a breakdown of its investments in research and manufacturing in France.

Market liquidity is another factor to keep an eye on, as global markets may experience monetary tightening later this year. But I suppose if you are really underinvested, you may want to have exposure to technology stocks,” says Koh. The consensus target price for Inari is RM4.62, implying an upside of 17.9% over its closing price of RM3.92 last Thursday. Kenanga’s target price of RM3.50 for Dialog implies an upside of 31.1% over its closing price of RM2.67 last Thursday. The stock is also a top pick for MIDF Research, which has a target price of RM3.80.

KUALA LUMPUR: Senior citizens will be able to walk in to obtain their Covid-19 vaccine booster shots at four vaccination centres in the Klang Valley starting Jan 19,In a statement on Monday (Jan 17), the Health Ministry said the four centres are the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, Ideal Convention Centre in Shah Alam and the Sokka Gakkai Hall in Klang. Except for the Sokka Gakkai Hall in Klang which will open daily from noon until 4pm, the other three will operate daily from 2pm until 8pm, except on public holidays. More to come

We expect GDP (gross domestic product) growth to rise [to] 3.6% in 2021, before accelerating to 5.6% in 2022. "The lockdowns appear to have created a substantial backlog that we believe will drive Malaysia's export growth well into 2022. The OPR at 1.75% is the lowest on record, according to BNM data, which dates back to 2004 on the central bank's website. The OPR has been maintained at 1.75% since July 7, 2020, when BNM cut the rate from 2%, according to BNM. At the HSBC Asian Outlook 2022 virtual briefing on Monday (Jan 17), Frederic Neumann, who is HSBC co-head of Asian Economics, said that for 2022, HSBC expects BNM to raise the OPR by 50 basis points on domestic demand recovery.

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 17): Foreign investors turned net buyers for the trading week ended last Friday (Jan 14), with an inflow of RM397.85 million, said MIDF Research. It said as the market reopened last Monday, foreign investors and retailers bought RM36.82 million and RM5.41 million net of local equities respectively, while local institutions turned net sellers at RM42.23 million. It was the opposite for retailers, who turned net buyers except last Tuesday (RM3.92 million). Overall, for the second week of 2022, local institutions and foreign investors finished strong as net buyers at RM132.79 million and RM397.85 million respectively, while retailers were net sellers at RM530.64 million,” MIDF said. In terms of participation, retail investors, local institutions and foreign investors recorded weekly movements of 18.39%, 41.52% and 39.54% respectively in average daily trade value.

The largest collection of watercolours by Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, have gone on display in Britain. Visitors look at watercolour paintings by Britain's Prince Charles at an exhibition entitled 'HRH The Prince Of Wales's Watercolours' at the Garrison Chapel in London. London's The Garrison Chapel is where an exhibition of watercolours painted by Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is being shown. All profits from sales go to the Prince's Foundation, which organised the Garrison Chapel exhibition, said Alderton. Fifty of Charles' watercolours were previously exhibited at Hampton Court Palace in 1998 to mark his 50th birthday.

(Jan 17): Credit Suisse Group AG’s Chairman Antonio Horta-Osorio resigned after just nine months in the role, following a series of missteps including reported breaches of Swiss and UK quarantine rules that eroded confidence in his leadership. His departure follows an investigation commissioned by the board, Zurich-based Credit Suisse said in a statement on Monday (Jan 17). An apparent earlier quarantine break, in July 2021, emerged in the course of an internal investigation into the Swiss breach. But his departure may destabilise Credit Suisse further after he was brought in to work on the bank’s culture. Lehmann was elected to Credit Suisse’s board in October and had been serving as the chair of the risk committee.

Tan highlights that Shell Malaysia has also worked with parties such as Cleantech Solar and Porsche to drive its decarbonisation initiatives. He notes that Shell Malaysia has supported national efforts in accelerating vaccination/immunisation programmes through various measures. “As an initial and immediate action, Shell Malaysia has contributed RM100,000 to Mercy Malaysia to support the NGO’s efforts in helping impacted communities. Shell Malaysia enriches people’s lives via Shell NXplorers and LiveWIRE programmesOn the community development front, Shell Malaysia has developed a programme that encourages science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, called Shell NXplorers, which encourages students to look at things differently, see opportunities and build sustainable solutions to global issues. Meanwhile, Shell Malaysia seeks to support and develop Malaysian entrepreneurs via its Shell LiveWIRE programme.