KLSE Market | Malaysia News for 2010-02-07

  The Star

Plenty of gas, but what to do with the foul byproduct?
HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania: A drilling technique that is beginning to unlock staggering quantities of natural gas underneath Appalachia also yields a troubling byproduct: powerfully briny wastewater that can kill fish and give tap water a foul taste and odor.


  Boeing: 76-meter long 747-8 plane to make first flight Mon
SEATTLE: Boeing Co.’s giant 747-8 freighter should make its first flight Monday after performing well on taxi tests and reaching a top speed of about 103.5 mph (166.5 kph), the company said.

Toyota to announce action soon for Prius hybrids
TOKYO: Toyota said Sunday that it will soon announce plans to deal with braking problems in its prized Prius hybrid amid reports it has decided to issue a recall for the vehicle in Japan, a possible new embarrassment for the world’s biggest automaker.

Another redesign for Facebook on 6th birthday


Slower growth for Penang industrial product makers
GEORGE TOWN: Some companies in the industrial product manufacturing sector in Penang are experiencing slower pace of growth in the first quarter, while consumer product manufacturers have been raising their output in the same period.

Southeast Johor gets RM46bil FDI boost
PASIR GUDANG: Johor’s plans to develop Southeast Johor as the new regional hub for oil and gas (O&G) are getting a RM46bil boost in foreign direct investment (FDI) into the sector.

Athletes may face hardship if they have no retirement plans
FORMER national badminton player and coach Datuk James Selvaraj is very passionate about life after sports. He is especially concerned about what our athletes will do after they are no longer in the limelight.

New CEO to further promote Iskandar
JOHOR BARU: Iskandar Regional Development Authority’s (Irda) new chief executive officer, Ismail Ibrahim, has pledged to continue with the good work of his predecessors to ensure the success of Iskandar Malaysia amid an uncertain economic environment.

Shamsul an adequately qualified successor at Petronas
KUALA LUMPUR: Following the footsteps of a successful CEO is certainly a tough act. Datuk Shamsul Azhar Abbas should expect such comparisons would be inevitable, especially since he was picked out of retirement to helm the country’s largest and most influential corporation Petronas.

Abx Express plans M&As
KOTA KINABALU: Abx Express (M) Sdn Bhd, a courier service company, is open to merger with a bigger group, domestic or international, so as to further strengthen its market position.

2010 could be challenging year for M’sian stock market
KUALA LUMPUR: The local stock market can expect a 10% correction in the first half-year amid concern that global economic growth is faltering, said Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd chief investment officer Richard Lin.

25 M’sian stocks that are expected to outperform the FBM KLCI
Standard & Poor’s recently issued a comprehensive report on Malaysia and the 25 top stocks it was looking to outperform the market in the Year of the Tiger. Below is an excerpt of that report.

Recovery and debt woes to hound US stocks
NEW YORK: US stocks face more turbulence that could send indices spiraling through key levels next week as doubts about the pace of the global recovery persist and fears over Europe’s sovereign debt woes rattle sentiment.

Pekema Sarawak asks for review of AP vehicle policy
KUALA LUMPUR: The Association of Malay Importers and Traders of Motor Vehicles Malaysia (Pekema) Sarawak branch has called on the Federal Government to review the policy to end the Approved Permit (AP) system for vehicles in December 2015.

McDonald’s plans 30 outlets outside Klang Valley
KUALA TERENGGANU: McDonald’s Malaysia, the operator of McDonald’s fast-food chain, has targeted to open 30 more branches nationwide within the next three years.

The power of voluntarism
WHEN I see what other countries around us are doing, what their best and brightest are striving for, and then look at this nation’s agenda and attention, a cold chill runs down my spine.

CIMB chief: There is an urgent need to re-energise and transform the Asean agenda
MUCH has been learned from the global financial crisis – capitalism is not infallible, Wall Street is not that clever, integrity is more important than intelligence – are some that come to mind. And lessons will continue for years to come. And so will reaction; central bankers haven’t gotten very far with new rules at all and the world financial architecture remains by and large the same.

Delivering on service promise
I REFER to the Monday Starters article “Good service is about personal touch” (StarBiz, Feb 1) and beg to differ with the writer’s opinion that good service means going the extra mile.

Israel on schedule to inaugurate electric car grid
RAMAT HASHARON, Israel: The developers of a new electric vehicle say Israel is on schedule to inaugurate a revolutionary electric car grid by next year, with dozens of recharge stations and thousands of cars on the road.

Geithner says US credit rating safe despite debt
WASHINGTON: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the U.S. government “will never” lose its sterling credit rating despite big budget deficits and a newly increased debt limit that now tops $14 trillion.

Australia to end crisis measure of bank guarantees
CANBERRA: The government announced Sunday it will end its guarantee of bank deposits and wholesale funding for Australian banks – measures introduced at the height of the global financial crisis.

  The Malaysian Mail

Flat trading in Euro stocks
LONDON: European stocks ended mixed yesterday amid concerns on Greece’s debt crisis and the stability of Austrian banks, as well as investor speculation on a possible early hike in US interest rates.. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 0.56 per cent at 5,285.77 points while in Paris the CAC 40 inched up 0.10 per cent to 3,834.09 and the Frankfurt Dax rose 0.16 per cent to 5,811.34.. Zurich was up 0.10 per cent, Brussels rose 0.08 per cent and Amsterdam gained 0.83 per cent, but Milan fell 0.15 per cent and Madrid was down 0.25 per cent.


  Wall Street ends lower
NEW YORK: Wall Street stocks retreated yesterday with investors turning skittish in the face of mixed economicnews and as a two-day Federal Reserve meeting on monetary policy got underway.. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 49.05 points (0.47 per cent) to close at 10,452.00, a day after the blue chip index’s highest close since October 2008.. The technology-rich Nasdaq composite lost 11.05 points (0.50 per cent) to 2,201.05 and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 6.18 points (0.55 per cent) to close at 1,107.93.

Fed likely to maintain stimulus
WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting today expected to pledge ongoing stimulus for a recovering US economy.. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is widely expected to keep its near-zero interest rate policy and a range of programmes to flood the financial system with money to restore credit flows.

Dream comes true for Boeing (finally)

BIZ BRIEFS: AirAsia to expand India routes

Colourful chips in the market

QMS launches hub in KL
KUALA LUMPUR: Qatar Media Services (QMS) aims to be a leading regional media partner leveraging on several platforms such as outdoor, print, online and television in countries like Australia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea, Japan and Malaysia in areas of media representation, media buying and consultancy services.. Trademarked as Q.media, the media representative for the Al-Jazeera Network and numerous other global and regional media networks, it launched its Asia Pacific hub here this morning.


  The Edge Malaysia

G7 talk on Greece fails to soothe investors, euro dips
TORONTO/HONG KONG: The euro and growth-linked currencies fell on Monday, Feb 8 as investors unwound risky trades amid growing worries about eurozone’s debt problems, dismissing assurances from Europea….

Ho family’s power network
Macau tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun’s living room could double as a mini mainland political consultative conference in the future.Chan Un Chan (also known as Chan Yuen-chun), Ho’s third wife, made it six….

#Update* Genting Singapore confirms RWS gets casino licence
KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Singapore PLC has confirmed that Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd (RWS) was issued a casino licence by the Singapore government.Managing director Justin Tan Wah Joo said on Monda….

Asian markets in the red
KUALA LUMPUR: Most key Asian markets kicked off the new week on Monday, Feb 8 in the red, with Japan and Hong Kong’s benchmark indices below their psychological levels as worries about fiscal problems….

Nikkei at 2-month low, below 10,000
TOKYO: The Nikkei average hit its lowest in two months below 10,000 on Monday, with exporters such as Sony Corp hurt by a stronger yen, while anxiety over fiscal problems in Europe continued to dent i….

HDBSVR maintain buy on Sunway Holdings
KUALA LUMPUR: Hwang DBS Vickers Research is maintaining a Buy on Sunway Holdings with a sum-of-parts target price of RM1.95.HDBSVR said on Monday,Feb 8 the upside for Sunway Holdings is the cheap valu….

Inter-Pac Research maintains Genting Plantations at TP RM6.64
KUALA LUMPUR: Inter-Pacific Research is maintaining its Neutral on Genting Plantations on Genting Plantations at the current price of RM6.09 and target price of RM6.64 following the inclusion of the K….

Genting Bhd up after Resorts World at Sentosa gets casino licence
KUALA LUMPUR: Genting Bhd shares bucked the cautious market in early trade on Monday, Feb 8 after Resorts World at Sentosa (RWS) was awarded its casino licence over the weekend.At 9.14am, it was up 14….

OSK Research upgrades CSC Steel, TP RM2.22
KUALA LUMPUR: OSK Research has upgraded its forecast upwards by 30.8% for FY10 and arrive at a new target price of RM2.22 after adding its projected net cash per share for FY10 to its 6.0 times FY10 E….