KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): Bursa Malaysia ended lower across the board, in tandem with regional peers, extending its losses for the sixth consecutive day, amid the negative sentiment surrounding the region. At 5pm, the benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) closed 14.15 points weaker at 1,509.71 from Wednesday’s close of 1,523.86. Total turnover decreased to 2.88 billion units worth RM2.06 billion compared with 3.26 billion units worth RM1.96 billion on Wednesday. Main Market volume decreased to 1.66 billion shares worth RM1.7 billion against 1.71 billion shares worth RM1.55 billion on Wednesday. ACE Market volume reduced to 923.57 million shares worth RM302.22 million from 1.01 billion shares worth RM317.92 million previously.

(pic)“Part of this involves having a fiscal charter – an overall debt limit that would capture all the debt such as government guaranteed debt. This would indirectly help keep the country’s debt in check by instilling some discipline in government expenditure, the forum heard. The bill will include efforts to broaden the country’s tax base by taxing the shadow economy as well as improving tax compliance and administration. Johan also said no new taxes would be introduced until the country’s economy has fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Maybank Investment Banking Group (Maybank IBG) said fund raising activities by the capital markets had remained strong.

As life continues to settle down, he said, the Federal Reserve (Fed) may find it easier to battle inflation. Fed officials are mum ahead of their meeting next week and the data calendar is light until tomorrow’s inflation report. While the US labour market remains tight, signs of normalisation can already be seen, said Dutta. Aggregated credit and debit card spending was up 9% year-over-year in May, with credit card spending higher by 16% and debit card advancing by 4%. “Our card data shows continued growth in consumer spending, but inflation is challenging households’ purchasing power,” Bank of America Institute senior economist David Tinsley said in a statement.

KUALA LUMPUR: Parents should brace for an increase of up to 40% in nursery and kindergarten fees with the new minimum wage in effect. The Putrajaya Nursery and Kindergarten Operator Association (Puspajaya) said while it supported the increase of the minimum wage to RM1,500, parents should also understand the need to increase fees in line with the rise in operating costs. ALSO READ: Health DG: 82,846 HFMD cases reported as of June 4A study conducted by Puspajaya predicted that the hike will be between 20% and 40%, Husna said. “We hope parents understand that the hike is to cover our operational fees, as well as food and ensuring their children's comfort," she said. “The RM180 subsidy per child should also be increased to RM300 given the costs that parents are bearing now,” she added.

In fact, most are not even able to find some time in the day to take a nap! To be honest, in my younger days, I was not aware of the importance of rest. But I realise the importance of that short rest now. So, one could safely say that young people these days are not resting enough not because they don’t want to but because they cannot! And for those who are struggling to make ends meet, please hang in there and practise self-care in whatever little but meaningful ways that suit your time, energy and money.

In The Adventures of the Copper Beeches, Sherlock Holmes bemoans to John Watson: “Data! Digital data does not just stop there, of course. And it is undeniable that all the digital data that we produce on a daily basis will continue to remain pervasive in our lives moving forward. That being said, while all of this digital data certainly opens all kinds of avenues for exploration, the methods or “combustion engine” that uses this data can also be used for other kinds of data. And to come back to Sherlock Holmes, perhaps with modern-day techniques, Holmes might not just be building bricks from clay — he may be building the digital version of St Peter’s Basilica.

“For perspective, 40% of our raw material cost is directly and indirectly impacted by oil prices. Peter, who founded the company in 1982, admits that the current headwinds of rising raw material prices and escalating shipping fees have eroded profit margins in the financial year ending May 31, 2022 (FY2022). Now, we have to closely monitor the Russia-Ukraine war because global crude oil prices are causing inflationary pressures. Higher oil prices will lead to higher raw material cost and higher logistics cost, that’s for sure, and that is something that we need to manage,” he says. “We have been communicating with our customers, telling them that the shipping costs and raw material prices have gone up, and we have little option but to increase our selling prices.

KOTA KINABALU: A letter of intent has been signed between Universiti Malaysia Sabah's Sustainable Agriculture Faculty and the Sabah Durian & Tropical Fruit Planters Association (Masda) to collaborate and develop agriculture in the state. Masda is a registered association of planters based in Kota Kinabalu, whose members comprise plantation owners across Sabah. The collaboration is expected to benefit faculty students through field work and industrial training at Masda member plantations. "The faculty aims to train human resources to help improve the country's agriculture field based on the three main principles of sustainability, awareness and high technology. "In line with that, working with industry members like Masda will ensure the agriculture industry of Sabah can be further boosted," he said in a statement on Wednesday (June 8).

US and allied economic sanctions against Russia for its illegal invasion of Ukraine have not achieved their declared objectives. Sanctions pushing up food pricesWar and sanctions are now the main drivers of increased food insecurity. Unsurprisingly, economic sanctions violate the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. Economic sanctions are the modern equivalent of ancient sieges, trying to starve populations into submission. No one seems likely to protect them against sanctions, today’s weapons of mass starvation.

Mak Lin Kum appeared for Serba Dinamik and its subsidiaries — SD Controls Sdn Bhd, Serba Dinamik Development Sdn Bhd, Serba Dinamik Group Bhd (SDGB), and Serba Dinamik Sdn Bhd (SDSB). "The financial institutions negotiated for safeguards like the appointment of monitoring accountants as well as independent financial advisers to oversee Serba Dinamik," they said. The creditors proposed Victor Saw Seng Kee, a licensed liquidator of PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services Sdn Bhd, to act as liquidator for Serba Dinamik, SDGB, SDSB and SDIL. The court documents said SDGB, SDSB and SDIL were named as the security parties under the syndicated term financing. Read also:Banks reach settlement with Serba Dinamik on scheme of arrangement

"Cracks began appearing in several parts of my unit soon after renovation work started. "Several areas stated leaking whenever it rained," he claimed, adding that he lodged a police report on the matter. His wife also claimed to have been affected emotionally since the renovation work started. Masri said anyone planning to do renovation work must get approval to ensure all safety aspects are adhered to and to prevent any issues for others. Nilai assemblyman J. Arulkumar, in a Facebook post reminded all house owners that they must get the approval from the local council before they can start renovation work.

(June 7): The World Bank cut its forecast for global economic expansion in 2022 further, warning that several years of above-average inflation and below-average growth lie ahead with potentially destabilizing consequences for low- and middle-income economies. “The world economy is again in danger,” President David Malpass said in the foreword of the latest edition of the lender’s Global Economic Prospects report released Tuesday. The world economy expanded 5.7% in 2021 after the Covid-19 pandemic triggered the deepest global recession since World War II. Accelerating inflation and slowing growth have raised World Bank officials’ concerns that the global economy is entering a period of stagflation reminiscent of the 1970s. With emerging and developing economies’ debt at multi-decade highs, “the associated rise in global borrowing costs and exchange-rate depreciations may trigger financial crises, as it did in the early 1980s,” the World Bank said.

KUALA LUMPUR (June 7): Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd said its subsidiary REPSOL Oil & Gas M Ltd (RML) has discontinued the payment of state sales tax (SST) imposed by Sabah, after its appeal against the tax enforcement was met with silence from the Sabah finance minister. RML, which has a production sharing contract (PSC) in the Kinabalu Oil Field, had been making SST payment since 2020 "under protest", said Hibiscus. "No processing of RML's crude oil [into other products] takes place at either the Samarang Platform or LCOT," Hibiscus said. It added that RML's crude oil is offloaded and sold via crude oil tankers through lifting operations at the LCOT Single Buoy Mooring (SBM), located 5km offshore from the LCOT facility. Shares of Hibiscus settled down one sen or 0.77% to RM1.29, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.6 billion.

KUALA LUMPUR: Dayang Enterprise Holdings Bhd has bagged a contract to provide maintenance, construction and modification of PM8E Seligi oil fields located 240km offshore Peninsular Malaysia. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Dayang said the contract was awarded to its wholly owned subsidiary Dayang Enterprise Sdn Bhd from Enquest Petroleum Production Malaysia Ltd.“The value of the contract is based on work orders issued by Enquest throughout the contract duration and shall include any or all other work and services generally related to the scope of works in the contract at a fixed schedule of rates,” it added.

GEORGE TOWN: Participants from South-East Asia and beyond are expected to throng the 11th Penang International Halal Expo & Conference (PIHEC 2022) at the SPICE Convention Centre here next month. "There is much to be discussed about how businesses should readjust and PIHEC 2022 is a timely platform to reconvene and discuss the future of the halal industry and forge greater business partnerships." State trade, industry and entrepreneur development committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain said Penang will witness a congregation of various business communities across South-East Asia and other parts of the world. "We would like to position Penang as the destination of choice for investment – not only for the high-tech industry, but also as an Asean trade and innovation hub, which includes the halal industry. There will be 161 booths representing various business sectors in the halal industry open to the public for free.