<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">SINGAPORE (Dec 26):&nbsp;Isetan (Singapore), which runs a chain of department stores, has said that “it shall likely” stop its retail operations of its Wisma Atria outlet from the second half of 2015 onwards.</span></p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">What Isetan plans to do, is to lease out its 104,732 sq ft space within Wisma Atria to other retailers and food and beverage business operators. </span></p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">“While the Company endeavours to lease out all floors of the premises, there is no assurance that it would be able to achieve full tenancy due to market conditions or commercial reasons,” the company states. Thus, Isetan may continue to run its own retail operations until tenant are found progressively.</span></p></div><div class=inPageAd id=div-gpt-ad-inpage></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">Starhill Global REIT is the majority owner of Wisma Atria, a landmark mall along Orchard Road, with a 74.23% share.</span></p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">Meanwhile, Isetan will continue to run its own department store operations in the Orchard Road shopping belt via its Isetan Scotts Store in Shaw House. There are also four other outlets at Parkway Parade, Tampines Mall, nex, and Westgate. The company says it is “committed to its long term purpose of running department stores and supermarkets.”</span></p></div>

<div class=newsTextDataWrapInner><p><span style="color:rgb(72,72,72); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11pt">Isetan (Singapore) closed flat at $4.58 today.</span></p></div>


SINGAPORE (Dec 26): Isetan (Singapore), which runs a chain of department stores, has said that “it shall likely” stop its retail operations of its Wisma Atria outlet from the second half of 2015 onwards.

Isetan to close down Wisma Atria store

TOKYO/LONDON (Jan 30): Global shares rose as investors digested earnings from Microsoft and Meta, in the wake of this week's rout in technology stocks, while the dollar was steady against most other currencies after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged.

Stocks gain as megacap earnings land; dollar firm after Fed pause

WASHINGTON (Jan 29): A US trade tribunal sided with Juul Labs on Wednesday and ordered a ban on imports of vaping devices and cartridges made by Altria's — at least some of which are made in China and Malaysia — in a patent dispute over e-cigarette technology.

Juul wins order banning US imports of Altria vaping devices from China and Malaysia

PUTRAJAYA (Jan 30): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is integrating blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations and investigations to combat increasingly sophisticated corruption tactics.

Azam Baki: MACC integrates blockchain tech, AI in investigation and operation

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 30): The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is temporarily closing its Bintulu office starting Thursday until further notice, following power shutdown in the building as a safety precaution due to rising floodwaters in the area.

EPF: Temporary closure of Bintulu office due to floods

BENGALURU (Jan 30): Shell on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$3.66 billion (RM16.06 billion), missing estimates, on lower refining margins and lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading, while saying it would buy back shares worth US$3.5 billion.

Shell's 4Q profit falls to US$3.66b; sets US$3.5b share buyback plan

BENGALURU (Jan 29): Tesla said it was on track to roll out new, cheaper electric vehicle (EV) models in the first half of 2025, and would start testing a paid autonomous car service in June, enthusing investors and overshadowing quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations on Wednesday.

Tesla commits to cheaper cars in first half, sees autonomous vehicles 'in the wild' in June

NEW YORK (Jan 29): Global arabica coffee prices hit record highs above US$3.60 per lb (pound) on Wednesday as Brazil, by far the world's largest producer, has few beans left to sell, and as worries over its upcoming harvest persist.

Coffee prices surge to record highs above US$3.60 per lb

Pre-war shophouses in Malaysia add a certain charm and depth to its cityscapes. In Kuala Lumpur, many of them are concentrated around the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers, where the town is said to have started and grown in the mid-19th century as a trading post, spurred by tin mining.

Preserving KL’s pre-war commercial streets

KUCHING (Jan 30): Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas said the safety of residences at hillside areas will be discussed at the state Disaster Management Committee (JPBN) meeting in the near future.

Uggah: Sarawak committee to discuss hillside residential safety in upcoming meeting

FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week agreed with the prosecution that The Edge Media Group chairman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong had alerted him to Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) pilfering of 1MDB funds. Tong’s visit, Najib said, had increased his misgivings about the flamboyant businessman ...

1MDB-Tanore Trial: Najib agrees with DPP that The Edge chairman Tong alerted him to Jho Low’s scamming of 1MDB 

<p>IN the name of “US national security and economic strength”, the Biden-Harris administration on Jan 13 released an Interim Final Rule on Artificial Intelligence Diffusion. This rule imposes new restrictions on the export of US-developed chips that power artificial intelligence (AI) systems. The a...

Cover Story: Is Malaysia’s chip sector prepared for the storm?

<p>Pre-war shophouses in Malaysia add a certain charm and depth to its cityscapes. In Kuala Lumpur, many of them are concentrated around the confluence of the Klang and Gombak Rivers, where the town is said to have started and grown in the mid-19th century as a trading post, spurred by tin mining.</...

<p>(Jan 30):&nbsp;Trump administration officials are exploring additional curbs on the sale of Nvidia Corp&nbsp;chips to China, according to people familiar with the matter, who emphasised that conversations are in very early stages as the new team works through policy priorities.&nbsp;</p>


Trump officials discuss tighter curbs on Nvidia’s China sales — Bloomberg

<p>(Jan 29): Microsoft Corp and OpenAI are investigating whether data output from OpenAI’s technology was obtained in an unauthorised manner by a group linked to Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek, according to people familiar with the matter.</p>


Microsoft probing if DeepSeek-linked group improperly obtained OpenAI data — Bloomberg

<p>(Jan 30): SoftBank Group Corp&nbsp;is in discussions to invest as much as US$25 billion (RM109.75 billion) in OpenAI, in a move that would potentially make it the artificial intelligence (AI) startup’s biggest backer.</p>


SoftBank in talks to invest up to US$25b in OpenAI — Bloomberg

<p>KUALA TERENGGANU (Jan 30): A&nbsp;vegetable trader lost RM214,700 after being duped by a fraudulent investment scheme advertised on Facebook.</p>


Woman loses over RM200,000 to fake investment scam

<p>BENGALURU (Jan 29): Tesla said it was on track to roll out new, cheaper electric vehicle (EV) models in the first half of 2025, and would start testing a paid autonomous car service in June, enthusing investors and overshadowing quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street expectations on Wednesday.</p>


<p>(Jan 30):&nbsp;Stocks slipped and short-dated bond yields rose, though both pared bigger moves as early concern that the US Federal Reserve was growing more worried about inflation got tamped down by chair Jerome Powell.</p>


Stocks fall on Fed day as tech mixed in late hours

<p>US-China tech rivalry has catalysed significant shifts in supply chains, creating openings for Southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia to attract foreign investments under the China Plus One (China+1) strategy amid the AI boom. The race for semiconductor supremacy is not just about business, tho...

Cover Story: Redefining Malaysia’s role in the semiconductor supply chain

<p>NEW YORK (Jan 29): Global arabica coffee prices hit record highs above US$3.60 per lb (pound) on Wednesday as Brazil, by far the world's largest producer, has few beans left to sell, and as worries over its upcoming harvest persist.</p>


<p>FORMER prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak last week agreed with the prosecution that The Edge Media Group chairman Tan Sri Tong Kooi Ong had alerted him to Low Taek Jho’s (Jho Low) pilfering of 1MDB funds. Tong’s visit, Najib said, had increased his misgivings about the flamboyant businessman ...

<p>WASHINGTON (Jan 29): A US trade tribunal sided with Juul Labs on Wednesday and ordered a ban on imports of vaping devices and cartridges made by Altria's&nbsp;— at least some of which are made in China and Malaysia — in a patent dispute over e-cigarette technology.</p>


<p>PUTRAJAYA (Jan 30): The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is integrating blockchain technology and artificial intelligence (AI) into its operations and investigations to combat increasingly sophisticated corruption tactics.</p>


<p>KUCHING (Jan 30): The number of flood victims in Sarawak almost doubled as of 8am on Thursday, when 5,385 people from 1,505 families sought shelter at temporary relief centres, compared to 2,981 people from 862 families on Wednesday night.</p>


Sarawak floods: Number of victims almost doubles to 5,385

<p>Microsoft&nbsp;on Wednesday forecast disappointing growth in its cloud computing business, sending its shares down more than 5% as investors worry about big spending, elusive artificial intelligence revenue and growing competition from cheaper AI models from China.</p>


Microsoft shares slide as cloud forecast, AI spending disappoint

<p>MEXICO CITY (Jan 29): Meta Platforms on Wednesday said it has agreed to pay about US$25 million (RM109.75 million) to settle a lawsuit by President Donald Trump over the company's suspension of his accounts after the Jan&nbsp;6, 2021, attack at the US&nbsp;Capitol.</p>


Meta to pay US$25m to settle Trump's 2021 lawsuit over suspended accounts

<p>Being a top banker in the nation’s most important government-owned bank is a privileged position. Doors open as one wanders through the corridors of power, gourmet lunches served as the inner workings of politics and business are laid bare. A nod, a smile or the calculated silence — what more a s...

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<p>Meta&nbsp;Platforms&nbsp;META.O&nbsp;beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter revenue on Wednesday but predicted sales in the current first quarter may not meet forecasts, sending mixed signals about how its bets on pricey artificial intelligence-powered tools are paying off.</p>

<p>The Facebook and Instagram parent company expects first quarter revenue between $39.5 billion and $41.8 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $41.72 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.</p>


Meta sends mixed signals as quarterly sales beat estimates but outlook muted

<p>BENGALURU (Jan 30): Shell&nbsp;on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit of US$3.66 billion (RM16.06 billion), missing estimates, on lower refining margins and lower liquefied natural gas (LNG) trading, while saying it would buy back shares worth US$3.5 billion.</p>


<p>Who knows what will befall mankind by 2034? Donald Trump will be gone; the planet will be warmer and probably whackier. As for football, Saudi Arabia will stage the Fifa World Cup final on a lofty perch some 350m above ground. Players will have chips implanted and VAR will be reading their minds....