French protests largely died down after authorities rolled out tougher security measures, including targeted curfews, following cost-of-living protests over the weekend that degenerated into violence, vandalism and looting.

French unrest tapers off after tougher security measures

(Oct 20): Data-centre infrastructure company Elice Inc plunged in its trading debut in South Korea, dragged down by swirling concern about the outlook for the industry.

Data centre firm Elice plunges 33% in debut sunk by AI worry

WASHINGTON (Oct 19): US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during an unannounced visit to Israel on Monday, Axios reported, citing two sources with knowledge.

Hegseth meets Netanyahu in unannounced visit to Israel, Axios reports 

The Registrar of Societies on Tuesday decided to deregister Perikatan Nasional, citing the coalition’s inadequate response to a show-cause notice issued last month.

Registrar of Societies deregisters Perikatan Nasional

(Oct 20): Two former JPMorgan Chase & Co wealth management partners have left the bank to launch their own firm managing US$18.6 billion in client assets, instantly making it one of the country’s biggest registered investment advisers.

JPMorgan wealth advisers create firm overseeing US$18.6 bil

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Malaysia is considering a waiver of export tax on crude palm oil as a way to boost shipments and whittle down record-high inventories, Bloomberg reported.

Malaysia considers waiving palm oil export taxes to clear glut — Bloomberg

Asian stocks dropped on Tuesday, breaking with a chip-led rally on Wall Street that helped the Nasdaq 100 recover from its worst week since the tariff turmoil of April 2025.

Asian stocks decline in break from US chip rally

JAKARTA (Oct 20): The Indonesia Stock Exchange on Tuesday cut the lower auto-rejection limit to one rupiah from 7% for stocks in the 11 rupiah-to-14 rupiah price range, aiming to tame a selloff after MSCI threatened to remove Indonesia from its global indexes.

Indonesia Stock Exchange cuts lower limit for more stocks to cool volatility

BENGALURU (Oct 19): Anthropic and Elon Musk have laid out sharply different blueprints for sharing some of the spoils of the AI boom, a split that may shape how the technology's financial windfall reaches the public.

Musk, Anthropic outline duelling approaches to AI-era philanthropy

LONDON (Oct 19): Britain risks becoming a "high-value AI customer" rather than a country able to shape the technology unless it ​takes urgent action to build domestic capabilities, the government's top ‌science advisers said on Monday.

Governments around the world are racing to bui...

UK risks becoming 'AI customer' rather than creator, advisers warn

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Monday: 
&nbsp;

Zetrix AI, Toyo Ventures, Mi Technovation, IHH Healthcare, Duopharma, LYC Healthcare, KIP REIT, GDB, MMAG, Jati Tinggi, Cosmos Technology, Eonmetall

Nearly RM11 billion in Sumbangan Tunai Rahmah (STR) and Sumbangan Asas Rahmah (Sara) assistance had been disbursed to eligible recipients as of September 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).

MOF: Nearly RM11b in STR, Sara aid disbursed as of September 2026 

BENGALURU (Oct 20): Oil prices fell on Tuesday as markets weighed an executive order from US President Donald Trump that waived some sanctions and tariffs tied to Russian energy exports, while attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen kept fears of Middle East supply disruptions in view.

Oil eases as markets assess potential waiver on Russian energy, Middle East supply risks

The benchmark S&amp;P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite gained on Monday, as AI-related stocks rebounded from last week's sharp sell-off, with easing oil prices providing additional support ahead of key earnings reports this week.

S&P 500, Nasdaq climb as AI-linked stocks recover ahead of earnings

Former Taghill Holdings Bhd (KL:TAGHILL) chief executive officer and executive director Ng Wai Hoe has ceased to be a substantial shareholder in the construction outfit after disposing of 30 million shares.

Taghill’s former CEO Ng Wai Hoe ceases to be substantial shareholder 

Asian stocks dropped on Tuesday, breaking with a chip-led rally on Wall Street that helped the Nasdaq 100 recover from its worst week since the tariff turmoil of April 2025.

The Registrar of Societies on Tuesday decided to deregister Perikatan Nasional, citing the coalition’s inadequate response to a show-cause notice issued last month.

The government is refining proposals to improve the national haze action plan, particularly regarding school closure directives and the Ministry of Education's (MOE) early preparations to ensure learning can continue if schools are forced to close.

Putrajaya fine-tuning national haze action plan, says PM

White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett said prices have been falling for items such as beef and eggs, though consumer price data for September shows overall inflation continues to need policy attention. 
&nbsp;

Hassett says CPI data shows inflation needs ‘some work’

Here's a heads up on what to look out for today.

YOUR DAY AHEAD: Oct 20, 2026 

Lumut Naval Shipyard Sdn Bhd (Lunas) remains committed to delivering the first littoral combat ship (LCS1) to the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN), with the target for physical delivery revised to April 2027.

Lunas ready to hand over LCS1, targets physical delivery in 2027

Amazon.com is introducing a new tool that allows its custom AI chips to run code written in the most popular AI coding language without modification, seeking to erode the advantage that underpins Nvidia's dominance in the AI computing market.

Amazon says its AI chips will work with popular coding language, challenging Nvidia

A rebound in chipmakers buoyed the stock market as dip buyers emerged on bets the artificial-intelligence (AI) investment boom will continue to support solid earnings.

Nasdaq 100 climbs on AI trade revival after rout

KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 20): Malaysia is considering a waiver of export tax on crude palm oil as a way to boost shipments and whittle down record-high inventories, Bloomberg reported.

(Oct 19): CoreWeave's&nbsp;mounting debt is raising fresh concerns about the AI boom, as investors question whether demand can justify the billions being borrowed to build data centres.

Why CoreWeave's troubles are rattling the AI boom

Confidence among US homebuilders this month slumped to a 14-year low as mortgage rates above 7%, labour shortages and elevated supply costs batter the housing market. 
&nbsp;

US homebuilder sentiment drops to 14-year low on depressed sales

French protests largely died down after authorities rolled out tougher security measures, including targeted curfews, following cost-of-living protests over the weekend that degenerated into violence, vandalism and looting.

NEW YORK (Oct 19): OpenAI is racing to secure investor commitments before rival Anthropic's expected public market debut in mid-November, in an unusually fast fundraising that could value the ChatGPT maker at over US$1.4 trillion, according to two ​people familiar with the matter.

The r...

OpenAI seeks to accelerate fundraising ahead of Anthropic IPO — Reuters

JAKARTA (Oct 20): The Indonesia Stock Exchange&nbsp;on Tuesday cut the lower auto-rejection limit to one rupiah from 7% for stocks in the 11 rupiah-to-14 rupiah price range, aiming to tame a selloff after MSCI threatened to remove Indonesia from its global indexes.

WASHINGTON (Oct 19):&nbsp;US President Donald Trump said on Monday he is open to three-way arms-control talks with the leaders of China and Russia as soon as next month, ​raising the prospect of an unprecedented meeting and a major diplomatic gambit for the US president.

"We would have ...

Trump open to idea of joint meeting with Xi, Putin next month

Last Updated: 6:14pm, Jun 18, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): Time's up for Lynas, said Himpunan Hijau chairman Wong Tack, announcing that a civil movement this Sunday plans to shut down the controversial rare earth plant for good.

"We have given Lynas six months to shut down and get out of Malaysia. This time the people will not compromise anymore," he said.

The organisation is expected to be joined by representatives from opposition parties, civil society and other environmental NGOs.

Wong Tack calls for Malaysians to gather outside the gates of the Lynas plant at Gebeng, Kuantan and block the plant's access roads, in the hope that logistical blockage will stall the daily operations.

more to come


For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.

Himpunan Hijau: Shut down Lynas on June 22

KUALA LUMPUR (June 18): YTL Power International Bhd said it is withdrawing from participating in the RM3 billion power plant project in Johor (Project 4A) to “dispel any misgivings over the government’s commitment to transparency and good governance”.

In a media statement, the company said: “In view of the misconception over the project, YTL Power has decided not to participate in the project under the present arrangement.”

The statement was issued after mounting criticism on the way the contract was awarded by the Energy Commission (EC) to a consortium, in which YTL Power is a member, through direct negotiation instead of competitive bidding.

Recently, YTL Corp Bhd Managing Director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh came under fire after he said Malaysia needed to do away with “crony capitalism”, although he was widely seen as a crony of former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.


more to come...

#Update* YTL Power backs out of RM3b power project “to dispel misgivings”

Last Updated: 6:06pm, Jun 11, 2014

GEORGE TOWN (June 11): Penang's state executive councillor for Islamic Affairs, Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim, today apologises for the "insensitive" manner in which the state Islamic authorities took away the body of alleged Muslim convert Teoh Cheng Cheng recently.

"As the executive councillor and on behalf of the Penang Islamic Affairs Department, I apologise to the family of the deceased, on the incident that occurred on June 9," he said after having offered condolences to the family following a state executive council meeting today.

He admitted the action of the JAIPP officer who led the operation lacked sensitivity towards the cultural practice, religion and feelings of Teoh's 64-year-old mother Tan Mah Suan and the rest of the family in their moment of grief.

Teoh, 38, had died in her apartment at the McCallum Street Ghaut area on June 7.

He said the officer should have taken into account the family's feelings and gotten the views of relevant parties suchg as the department's director, its enforcement division, the state Mufti and the district religious officer before taking action.

"This is the considerate practice observed by JAIPP while handling such cases before this," he said, reading from a prepared statement.

Malik also expressed regret that as the executive councillor, he only found out about the incident from reporters about 5pm,  after it had occurred earlier in the afternoon. Malik was then in a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"Even more regretful is that the relevant JAIPP officers whom I contacted did not know about the case clearly," he added.

"I promise and will ensure that such an incident does not happen again."

He added that the officer when queried about the matter said he was pressured by time and the police had insisted that he act on the matter immediately.

The department had received a call from an unidentified person about Teoh's supposed Muslim status at about 12.30pm.

"Pressure of time is not an excuse for not consulting his peers, seniors and for not consulting me," Malik said when asked to elaborate the matter.

He explained that the officer in charge of conversions had then looked up Teoh's name and found the document relating to her conversion. This document was later shown to her family, in the presence of the police, who then allowed her body to be taken away, thereby stopping the funeral.

Malik said in previous cases, the department had always exercise tact, sensitivity and professionalism when dealing with the family to reach an acceptable conclusion.

"The officer explained to me and apologised... But his good intention was spoiled by his action," Malik said, adding that the state is ready to extend compassionate aid to the family.

The state executive council had earlier in its meeting expressed sadness and disappointment over the way the matter was handled.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was present, said it has embarrassed the state government and brought negative impact on a multi-racial society in which people have mutual respect for each other.

He added that the family has the right to seek compensation according to the law.

"We must respect the decision of the court," he said.

Meanwhile, Teoh's family is expected to arrive at the Penang High Court later this afternoon to file for a legal case against JAIPP.

more to come

 

For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.

#Update* Exco apologises to Cheng Cheng's family over 'insentitive' JAIPP action

Last Updated: 3:38pm, Jun 11, 2014

KUALA LUMPUR (June 11): Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar's suggestion to keep children caught in custody battle following conversion of their parents at child care centres was "wrong and unacceptable", according to Ipoh Barat MP, M Kulasegaran.

He said as an enforcer of law, IGP should not overstep his boundaries in superceding the decisions made by the judiciary.

Kulasegaran is one of the lawyers for kindergarten teacher M Indira Gandhi currently embroiled in a custody battle with her estranged husband, Muslim convert Mohd Ridzuan Abdullah.

"The IGP is a law enforcer within the meaning of law. He cannot and should not question the Court's process," said Kulasegaran.

Yesterday, the IGP said that he will not enforce the respective court rulings but rather to ensure fairness, the children in the custody battles will be placed in child care centres so both parents could visit them.

IGP said following the differing judgements meted out by the Syariah and the civil courts on child custody in the case where one parent had converted to Islam.

Kulasegaran went on that IGP should seek Attorney-General's advise on how to move forward as it was not his place to make the call over the legal battle.

"If he is unsure of what to do, he should get legal advice from the AG. For the IGP to suggest that the children to be kept in welfare home will not only be laughable, it is also beyond the duties and obligation of a law officer," he told reporters here today.


More to come

 

For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.

Kula: IGP not acting like law enforcer in custody battle case

Last Updated: 2:46pm, May 21, 2014

GEORGE TOWN (May 21): About a dozen people gatecrashed into the Penang state assembly today demanding explanation from RSN Rayer (DAP-Seri Delima) who yesterday riled up the opposition Barisan Nasional backbenchers by calling 'Umno celaka' (Damn Umno).


more to come


For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.

Uproar in Penang state assembly as mob enters hall

KUALA LUMPUR (May 12): Malaysia’s April 2014 palm oil stocks rose 4.6% month-on-month to 1.766 million tonnes, from March’s 1.688 million tonnes as output rose and exports slowed.

The total stocks level of the commodity was higher than market expectations.

While production rose 3.9% to 1.556 million tonnes from March’s 1.497 million tonnes, exports climbed only 1.18% to 1.260 million tonnes from March’s 1.245m tonnes.

More to come…

#Update* Malaysia’s April palm oil stocks, output higher than expected; exports lower than forecast

Last Updated: 5:07pm, Apr 30, 2014

PETALING JAYA (April 30): DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng today slammed PKR's Tian Chua for claiming that Pakatan Rakyat, including DAP had agreed to PAS's plan to implement hudud.

Calling Tian Chua a liar, he said it was wrong and unethical for the PKR vice president to claim that DAP had agreed to the implementation of hudud only in Kelantan and Terengganu but not other states.    

"DAP considers it irresponsible, wrong and unethical for Tian Chua to drag the party into adopting his stand of supporting PAS in implementing hudud within both states.

Following Tian Chua's statement, Guan Eng said he had personally spoken to Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the matter and conveyed DAP top leaderships' anger "at the lies spread by Tian Chua".

He said Anwar reaffirmed DAP's stance on hudud.


more to come

For more stories, go to www.fz.com, the website for freedom of expression and fairness in articulation.

Guan Eng: Tian Chua spreading lies

KUALA LUMPUR (April 25): New property player Eco World Development Bhd today announced a major corporate exercise that will turn it into an important property player in the sector.

The corporate exercise announced via Bursa Malaysia involves buying development rights of eight projects from the subsidiaries of its major shareholder, Eco World Sdn Bhd, with gross development value of RM30 billion.

The corporate exercise also involves:
• Proposed subscription of shares in EcoWorld Bhd by shareholders of EcoWorld Sdn Bhd to partially fund the acquisitions and ensure continuity of ownership.

• Proposed rights issue with warrants and up to 20% proposed private placement to raise funding for the acquisitions and as working capital for EcoWorld Berhad’s development activities.

Eco World Development Group, controlled by the son of SP Setia’s president/CEO Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, was formerly known as Focal Aims Holdings Berhad.

 

More to come….

#Highlight* Eco World announces major corporate exercise to turn it into a huge property player

KUALA LUMPUR (April 16): Shareholders of Kian Joo Can Factory Bhd are frustrated for not getting satisfactory answers to their queries at the company's on-going annual general meeting (AGM).

Several shareholders told reporters of The Edge Financial Daily that many questions had been raised pertaining to the valuation of properties in Kian Joo's books but answers given were not satisfactory.

"The property valuations are outdated and do not reflect the actual valuations. Why is the fair value not being used?" said one shareholder, who requested to stay anonymous, outside the AGM hall.

"The board was going in circles without actually addressing our queries," he added.

In addition, some shareholders also spoke up against the RM3.30 per Kian Joo share offer from Aspire Insight Sdn Bhd. However, this matter could only be addressed in the extraordinary general meeting on May 23.

At noon, matters or resolutions on the re-election of directors at the AGM today have yet to be addressed.

Interestingly, Chee Khay Leong, the chief operating officer cum executive director of Kian Joo, was not present at today's AGM and Box Pak's AGM yesterday.

The absence of this central figure, who has offered to take over Kian Joo, has puzzled many shareholders.

"Why is he not here at the AGM?" asked one.

In November last year, Aspire Insight Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between Chee and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), made an offer to acquire the assets and liabilities of Kian Joo for a total of RM1.47 billion, valuing each share at RM3.30 each.

The EPF owns around 10% in Kian Joo and has been a long time shareholder of the company.

But some of the minority shareholders, such as the See family who is the founder, are not happy.

More to come…

#Hot AGM* Kian Joo's shareholders frustrated for not getting satisfactory answers from board

KUALA LUMPUR (Apr 15): AirAsia Bhd said that it has made all necessary preparations to move into klia2, and will be moving into the new low cost airport terminal by May 9, 2014.

“Although there are still a few outstanding commercial issues, this should not hold back our operations at klia2 as planned,” said the low cost carrier in a statement today.

The group added that it is currently going through discussions with the relevant authorities, and hoped that the government would provide necessary mediation should any negotiations could not be concluded.

more to come....

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