IT is just the second month of the year and the world is already reeling from the raging wildfires in Australia, the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant and the Wuhan novel coronavirus epidemic.

The coronavirus outbreak is said to be one of the biggest viral epidemics of the new mill...

Cover Story: Fear of losing Fernandes outstrips that of coronavirus for AirAsia investors

AN AirAsia executive chided a senior Airbus employee for not paying US$16 million he said was owed to him and demanded US$30 million in sponsorship before placing more aircraft orders, according to internal emails released by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Jan 31.

“I’m fed up. You...

Cover Story: AirAsia, Airbus & a failed F1 Racing Team

THE recent Airbus bribery scandal has once again put the spotlight on the 2017 settlement that London-listed Rolls-Royce plc made with authorities to avoid being prosecuted by anti-corruption investigators in the UK, the US and Brazil.

In the Rolls-Royce case, the aircraft engine maker ...

Cover Story: AirAsia’s dealings with Rolls-Royce in the spotlight again amid Airbus bribery scandal

BETWEEN 2009 and 2014, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes authorised the purchase of hundreds of aircraft from Airbus SE for the growth of AirAsia and AirAsia X. However, these purchases seem to have come with strings attached — Airbus had to provide millions of dollars in sponsorship to Fernandes’ personal ...

Cover Story: The deals and email trail behind the graft investigation

DOCUMENTS released by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) showed that there were concerns within Airbus that the sponsorship of the Caterham Sports Team was a problem. This was because the team was not owned by Air Asia Group Bhd (AAB) or Air Asia X Bhd (AAX). The racing team was owned privately by...

Cover Story: Airbus’ compliance concerns led to scrapping of sponsorship

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the underlying economy is healthy and there’s no reason for the US to see a recession, while rejecting the idea of assuring there cannot be a downturn.

Bessent sees no reason for recession, economic data ‘healthy’

Tencent Music Entertainment Group's revenue rose 8.2% in the fourth quarter, as China's biggest music streaming company registered its second straight quarter of growth after a year-long slowdown.

Tencent Music quarterly revenue climbs 8% on stronger streaming demand

Alphabet said on Tuesday it would buy Wiz for US$32 billion (RM142.2 billion) in its biggest deal as the Google parent doubles down on cybersecurity to sharpen its edge in the cloud-computing race against Amazon.com and Microsoft.

Alphabet to buy Wiz for US$32b in its biggest deal to boost cloud security

Apple Inc lost its fight at Germany’s top civil court to overturn a regulator’s decision to put it under tighter antitrust scrutiny alongside other US tech giants.

Apple loses top court fight over German antitrust crackdown

Volkswagen AG’s Audi will cut as many as 7,500 positions in Germany by 2029 as the automaker tries to shore up its flagging profitability.

Audi to cut 7,500 jobs in Germany to become more efficient

Indonesia’s veteran Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she will stay in her post, dispelling resignation rumours that helped drive the stock market to its biggest slump in three years.

Indonesia’s Indrawati says she is not quitting as finance chief

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) deputy director general (entrepreneurship) Datuk Zulfikri Osman has been appointed as the new Mara director general.

Zulfikri Osman appointed Mara director general 

Malaysia strongly condemned the killing of eight humanitarian workers from the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations (Mapim) in an airstrike in Gaza last Saturday.

Anwar condemns killing of Mapim humanitarian workers in Gaza 

Zero tolerance for intolerance is a crucial principle that must be firmly embraced in Malaysia, a country rich with cultural and religious diversity, said National Unity Advisory Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Lee Lam Thye urges zero tolerance for intolerance, return to core values of Rukun Negara 

Israeli airstrikes pounded Gaza, killing more than 400 people, Palestinian health authorities said on Tuesday, threatening the complete collapse of a two-month ceasefire as Israel vowed to use more force to free hostages held by Hamas.

Israeli strikes kill over 400 in Gaza, say Palestinians, threatening total truce collapse

An ultra-high net worth Chinese businessman is suing four former staff in Singapore for allegedly misappropriating S$74 million (US$56 million or RM248.9 million), underscoring the vulnerabilities of certain family office structures.

Rich Chinese alleges family office staff in Singapore misused US$56m

Grab Holdings Ltd is moving forward with its attempt to take over GoTo Group, according to people familiar with the matter, who said the Singaporean ride and delivery firm has begun due diligence on its Indonesian rival.

Grab said to move forward with talks to acquire rival GoTo

Indonesia will raise its palm oil export levy to between 4.5% and 10% of the crude palm oil reference price, up from 3% to 7.5%, to finance a mandated increase in the amount of the oil used in biodiesel, a plantation fund official said on Tuesday.

Indonesia to raise palm oil export levy to 4.5% to 10%, official says

A Road Transport Department (JPJ) personnel was sentenced to one year in prison and a fine of RM80,000 by the Ayer Keroh Sessions Court here on eight counts of corruption.

JPJ personnel jailed, fined RM80,000 over graft

CEOs in Malaysia see a lack of availability of skilled workers as being the biggest threat to their business in the year ahead, a PwC survey shows. The result raises questions as to how this might impact companies’ growth plans and hiring.

Interestingly, this particular concern about sk...

Shortage of skilled workers a top concern for Malaysian CEOs — PwC survey

Investors slashed exposure to US equities by the most on record in recent weeks as expectations of global economic growth worsened, according to Bank of America Corp.

BofA survey shows biggest ever drop in exposure to US equities

Police have recorded the statement of a 65-year-old man suspected of slapping a non-Muslim individual at a convenience store in a shopping mall on Sunday.

Johor police quiz man who allegedly slapped non-Muslim for eating during Ramadan

<h3>Banking</h3>

POSITIVE

MAYBANK IB RESEARCH (March 4): Banks ended 2024 on a decent note, with all banks under our coverage meeting expectations and AMMB Holdings Bhd (KL:AMBAN...

Brokers Digest: Local Equities - Banking, KPJ Healthcare Bhd, Guan Chong Bhd, Malakoff Corp Bhd

Indonesia’s veteran Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said she will stay in her post, dispelling resignation rumours that helped drive the stock market to its biggest slump in three years.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the underlying economy is healthy and there’s no reason for the US to see a recession, while rejecting the idea of assuring there cannot be a downturn.

DATUK Lim Kian Onn, co-founder and executive chairman of ECM Libra Group Bhd (KL:ECM), has emerged as a white knight for beleaguered Aseana Properties Ltd, a property developer whose listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) was pioneered 18 years ago by the Lai family that controlled Ireka Corp...

ECM Libra’s Lim emerges as London-listed Aseana Properties’ white knight

Thailand plans to halve the number of days it allows foreign tourists to stay without visas to 30 days as the Southeast Asian nation cracks down on travellers exploiting the waiver to engage in illegal businesses, according to Tourism and Sports Minister Sorawong Thienthong.

Thailand plans to cut tourists’ visa-free stays to 30 days

Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) deputy director general (entrepreneurship) Datuk Zulfikri Osman has been appointed as the new Mara director general.

Tencent Music Entertainment Group's revenue rose 8.2% in the fourth quarter, as China's biggest music streaming company registered its second straight quarter of growth after a year-long slowdown.

Malaysia strongly condemned the killing of eight humanitarian workers from the Malaysian Consultative Council for Islamic Organisations (Mapim) in an airstrike in Gaza last Saturday.

Xiaomi Corp hiked its 2025 delivery target for electric vehicles to 350,000 units after posting its fastest revenue growth since 2021, reflecting inroads into the Chinese EV market.

Xiaomi raises EV targets after sales grow fastest since 2021

Zero tolerance for intolerance is a crucial principle that must be firmly embraced in Malaysia, a country rich with cultural and religious diversity, said National Unity Advisory Council member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.

Apple Inc lost its fight at Germany’s top civil court to overturn a regulator’s decision to put it under tighter antitrust scrutiny alongside other US tech giants.

Meeting Datuk Tony Ling, the newly appointed CEO of IJM Land Bhd, is like catching up with an old friend. Greeting us with a warm smile and firm handshake, he exudes a calm confidence from his years in the industry.

Having only taken the helm of the property arm of IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM)...

Cover Story: Revitalising Pantai Sentral Park

Chinese ride-hailing company Didi Global reported on Tuesday a 7.1% rise in fourth-quarter revenue to 52.9 billion yuan (US$7.32 billion or RM32.5 billion), as the company's recovery from a regulatory overhaul of its operations gathered pace.

Kang Siew Li and Kamarul Azhar