Semiconductor and chip-related stocks on Bursa Malaysia retreated on Thursday, following Wall Street's decline, as the semiconductor index lost over US$500 billion (RM2.33 trillion) after reports of potential US export curbs on advanced semiconductor technology to China.

Semicon and tech-linked stocks fall on fresh US export curb jitters

A rally in the world’s largest tech companies lifted stocks at the start of the first full trading week in 2025. The dollar trimmed losses as President-elect Donald Trump said his tariff plan won’t be scaled back.

US stocks advance as Nvidia closes at all-time high

Europe is burning through gas reserves more quickly than at any point in the last seven years as cold weather ramps up heating needs, with temperatures expected to drop again this week.

The region’s vast underground storage sites — which act as a buffer against tighter flows — are just over 70% full compared with about 86% a year ago.

European gas storage sites dwindle at fastest pace since 2018

The US Defense Department said on Monday it had added Chinese tech giants including gaming and social media leader Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL to a list of firms it says work with China's military.

US adds Tencent, CATL to list of Chinese firms allegedly aiding Beijing's military

Brazil's government said in a statement on Monday that Indonesia is formally joining BRICS as a full member, further expanding the group of major emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Indonesia joins BRICS bloc as full member, says Brazil 

Canada's Barrick Gold said on Monday it would suspend operations in Mali if the country does not lift restrictions on gold shipments within the coming week, as mining companies face an increasingly hostile operating environment in West Africa.

Barrick threatens to freeze Mali operations in row over rules

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is resigning after more than nine years leading Canada, bowing to sagging approval numbers and a rebellion within his political party.

Trudeau, 53, currently the longest-serving leader of any Group of Seven (G7) country, announced on Monday he plans to step down as head of the governing Liberal Party. He will remain as prime minister until a new leader is selected, and parliament has been suspended until March 24 while that process is underway.

Trudeau resigns after nine years in power as Liberals force him out

Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court to stop his hush money sentencing set for Jan 10 while the US president-elect tries again to overturn his guilty verdict ahead of his inauguration.

Trump asks New York appeals court to stop hush money sentencing

Electricite de France SA (EDF) is simplifying the design of its small modular nuclear reactors (SMR), targeted to replace coal-fired power plants. 

The SMR “will rely on well-known and perfectly mastered technological building blocks within the nuclear sector,” EDF said in a post on Linkedin on Monday.

EDF to simplify small nuclear reactor after design setback

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Monday night hosted a dinner in honour of visiting Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong at Rumah Tangsi here.

Anwar hosts dinner for Singapore PM

Nvidia Corp investors have high hopes that Monday’s speech from CEO Jensen Huang will spark a fresh breakout in the chipmaker’s shares, which have plateaued since November after roaring higher for much of 2024.

Nvidia investors look to Huang CES speech to spark next breakout

Gateway Development Alliance (GDA), the consortium proposing to privatise Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) (KL:AIRPORT), has extended the closing time and date for the acceptance of its takeover offer to 5pm on Jan 17, 2025, from 5pm on Jan 8, 2025, previously.&nbsp;

Khazanah-EPF consortium gives MAHB shareholders seven more working days to accept takeover bid

Here is a brief recap of some business news and corporate announcements that made the headlines on Monday.

MAHB, Oriental Kopi, Kerjaya Prospek, Kumpulan Kitacon, T7 Global, Aizo, Keyfield, Citaglobal, D&O

Aizo Group Bhd (KL:AIZO), formerly known as Minetech Resources Bhd, has been selected to develop a 99.99MW large-scale solar photovoltaic plant in Kampar, Perak.

Aizo selected by EC to develop 99.99MW solar plant in Perak

US President-elect Donald Trump denied a Washington Post report that his aides are considering narrowing his tariff plan so that it would only apply to limited specific critical imports.

Trump says his tariff policy won’t be pared back

Proton Holdings Bhd, in which DRB-Hicom Bhd (KL:DRBHCOM) owns a 50.1% stake, concluded 2024 with 152,352 cars sold, retaining its second-place position in the local market for the sixth year running.

Proton's annual sales up less than 1% in 2024, defends second spot for sixth year

Citaglobal Bhd (KL:CITAGLB) has acquired&nbsp;a 55% equity stake in&nbsp;Germany’s LAWI Engineering GmbH (LAWI Germany), as part of a partnership to provide advanced waste-to-energy (WTE) technology and engineering solutions for waste management projects.&nbsp;

Citaglobal acquires 55% stake in waste-to-energy partner LAWI Germany for undisclosed value

<div class="ceonothumb mx-auto pb-5">
<div>
<div class="iframe-w100-wrapper"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="500" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wBWnvitrSOM?si=EJn8MQBYV-CAV27h&amp;rel=0&amp;autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="840"></iframe></div>
</div>

E...

EVENING 5: Five things you need to know today

Oil and gas services firm Keyfield International Bhd (KL:KEYFIELD) is acquiring a five-year-old platform supply vessel for US$17.6 million (RM79.2&nbsp;million).

Keyfield acquires platform supply vessel for US$17.6 mil

US President Joe Biden is indefinitely blocking offshore oil and gas development in more than 625 million acres (252.93 million hectares) of US coastal waters, warning that drilling there is simply “not worth the risks” and “unnecessary” to meet the nation’s energy needs.&nbsp;

Biden bars offshore oil drilling in US Atlantic and Pacific

Handal Energy Bhd (KL:HANDAL) announced on Monday that its joint venture (JV) agreement with Kazakhstan-based Hadid Oil and Gas LLP for joint involvement in an early oil production field development programme has been called off.

Handal Energy says JV deal with Hadid Oil terminated

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Monday night hosted a dinner in honour of visiting Singapore Prime Minister&nbsp;Lawrence Wong at&nbsp;Rumah Tangsi here.

Toyo Ventures Holdings Bhd (KL:TOYOVEN) has issued a notice of dispute to Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) over the termination of the Song Hau 2 thermal power plant project by the Vietnamese government.

Toyo Ventures issues dispute notice to Vietnamese govt over power plant termination

Service provider Telegram has been granted an Application Service Provider (ASP) C Licence to operate in Malaysia, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.

He said Telegram obtained a licence from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) on Jan 2, making it the third service provider to be licensed under the licensing requirements for Internet messaging and social media service providers.

Social media licensing: Telegram becomes third provider to receive licence — Fahmi

Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong arrived in Malaysia on Monday to begin his two-day official visit in conjunction with the 11th Malaysia-Singapore Leaders’ Retreat on Tuesday.

He arrived with his delegation at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 at 6.15pm on a commercial flight and then was given a guard of honour by the First Battalion Royal Ranger Regiment under the command of Captain Iskandar Dzulkarnein Doa Hassan at the Bunga Raya Complex here.

Singapore PM arrives in Malaysia for two-day official visit

The US&nbsp;Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued&nbsp;a unit of&nbsp;Warren Buffett's&nbsp;Berkshire&nbsp;Hathaway on Monday, accusing it of&nbsp;pushing borrowers into&nbsp;unaffordable&nbsp;loans to buy homes from Clayton Homes,&nbsp;Berkshire's manufactured housing business.

US regulator sues Buffett's Berkshire unit over risky home loans

The Centre for Market Education (CME), a think tank, is arguing that Malaysia’s housing market may be mispriced, as homes deemed “affordable” based on conventional metrics might actually be deemed “expensive” when assessed from a social affordability perspective.

Think tank proposes new way to measure housing affordability, saying current method overlooks critical elements

The US Defense Department said on Monday it had added Chinese tech giants including gaming and social media leader Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL to a list of firms it says work with China's military.

Brazil's government said in a statement on Monday that Indonesia is formally joining BRICS as a full member, further expanding the group of major emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Ecobuilt Holdings Bhd (KL:ECOHLDS) said its external auditor HLB Ler Lum Chew PLT has expressed a qualified opinion on the group's audited statements for the financial year ended Aug 31, 2024 (FY2024), as well as flagged a material uncertainty that cast doubt on the group's ability to continue as a going concern.

Ecobuilt's auditor flags going concern doubt as it expresses qualified opinion on FY2024 statements

China's WuXi Biologics said on Monday it will sell its vaccine facility in Ireland to Merck for about US$500 million.

WuXi had previously said it was planning to sell some of its operations as the company, along with other Chinese firms, has been at the center of new US laws aimed at restricting their businesses in the United States due to national security concerns.

Surin Murugiah & Syafiqah Salim

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

Surin Murugiah & Syafiqah Salim

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌

‌
‌