Outstanding government and corporate bonds globally exceeded US$100 trillion (RM442.1 trillion) last year, the OECD said on Thursday, with rising interest costs leaving borrowers facing tough choices and needing to prioritise productive investments.

Global debt exceeds US$100 tril as interest costs keep rising, OECD says

Germany's top AAA credit rating could face pressure in the longer run if a vast spending effort is not offset by consolidation measures, or doesn't lead to a lasting improvement in growth, Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday.

Germany's AAA rating could face pressure in longer run without growth boost, Fitch says

Global shares edged higher and the dollar held near three-week lows on Wednesday (June 14) as traders were all but certain that the US Federal Reserve will refrain from hiking interest rates later in the session.

Stocks edge higher, dollar sags eyeing Fed pause

Shares of Lim Seong Hai Capital Bhd (KL:LSH) fell 17% on its first-ever trades on the ACE Market after the construction firm raised RM168.08 million as part of its transfer from the LEAP Market.

Lim Seong Hai Capital opens 17% lower on ACE Market debut

From the Philippines to Senegal, billions of people are finding it easier to feed their families now that rice prices have plunged off 15-year highs.

Rice price drop brings relief to billions, risk for farmers

Japan's core inflation hit 3.0% in February and an index stripping away the effect of fuel rose at the fastest pace in nearly a year, a sign of broadening price pressure that reinforces market expectations of further interest rate hikes.

Japan's core inflation hits 3% in February, keeps alive BOJ rate-hike bets

MORNING CALL: 21/3/25

Oil advanced after the US ramped up measures to hobble Iran’s crude exports, increasing pressure on Tehran amid a push for a new nuclear accord.

Oil advances as US ramps up sanctions against Iranian crude

The Bank of Thailand, which has long resisted interest-rate cuts despite immense political pressure, may end up having to embark on the region’s most aggressive easing cycle as a sluggish economy takes a turn for the worse, according to analysts.

Thailand may yet embark on Southeast Asia's most aggressive rate cuts

Asian equities were primed to track declines on Wall Street as traders weighed the impact of a trade war against robust US housing and jobs data.

Asian stocks poised to fall as trade fears return

Micron Technology forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, signaling strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI models, sending its shares up 2% in after-hours trading.

Micron forecasts upbeat quarterly revenue on strong AI memory chip demand

A fresh bout of instability gripped the stock market as concern around the potential impacts of a trade war outweighed the latest housing and jobs data showing the world’s largest economy is still holding up.

US stocks halt Fed-fuelled rally as trade fear lingers

Lloyd’s Register, the maritime society formed in a London coffee house in 1760, has put its modern glass headquarters up for sale as it prepares to move back into the property built to house it more than a century ago.

Lloyd’s Register to sell modern tower and return to Victorian HQ

THERE is no denying that the Employees Provident Fund’s (EPF) 6.3% dividend declared for both conventional savings and shariah savings for 2024 is nothing short of spectacular and would have been celebrated with more vigour — if not for the lingering questions surrounding its seemingly untimely s...

Special Report: Dispelling aspersions surrounding EPF’s impressive 6.3% dividend for 2024

Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (KL: CMSB) has initiated legal action against its deputy chairman Datuk Seri Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib over alleged breaches of trust and fiduciary duties in relation to a failed enterprise resource planning (ERP) system under the company’s digital transformation project.

Cahya Mata Sarawak sues deputy chairman Abu Bekir Taib, five others over failed project

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

Salcon, Scanwolf, Reservoir Link, Pharmaniaga, IJM, Lagenda Properties, Land & General, Hextar Global, Top Glove, Cahya Mata Sarawak, Iskandar Waterfront City

Iskandar Waterfront City Bhd (KL:IWCITY) has proposed a regularisation plan involving the issuance of new shares to settle outstanding debts, a private placement and a capital reduction in order to exit its affected listed issuer status.

Iskandar Waterfront City unveils regularisation plan to convert debt into equity, issue new shares  

Eco World Development Group Bhd (KL:ECOWLD) posted a 15.4% year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in net profit for the first quarter ended Jan 31, 2025 (1QFY2025) to RM80.34 million, driven by two major industrial land sales and stronger contributions from its projects in Johor.

Industrial land sales boost EcoWorld net profit in 1QFY2025; declares one sen interim dividend

Asian equities were primed to track declines on Wall Street as traders weighed the impact of a trade war against robust US housing and jobs data.

The Bank of Thailand, which has long resisted interest-rate cuts despite immense political pressure, may end up having to embark on the region’s most aggressive easing cycle as a sluggish economy takes a turn for the worse, according to analysts.

Nasdaq-listed Founder Group Bhd, a subsidiary of Reservoir Link Energy Bhd (KL:RL), has secured a RM11.6 million contract to build a rooftop solar generating facility in Malaysia.

Reservoir Link unit secures RM11.6m contract to build rooftop solar generating facility 

Oil advanced after the US ramped up measures to hobble Iran’s crude exports, increasing pressure on Tehran amid a push for a new nuclear accord.

US stock indexes dropped on Thursday, as worries about the repercussions of an ongoing global trade war resurfaced, a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rate steady but warned of an uncertain economic backdrop.

Wall Street trips as tariff concerns resurface; US Fed boost short-lived 

Scanwolf Corp Bhd (KL:SCNWOLF) has secured a RM42 million contract for sub-structure works on two commercial blocks in Jalan Ampang in a related-party transaction (RPT).

Scanwolf secures RM42 mil sub-structure contract for mixed-use project in KL in related-party deal

A fresh bout of instability gripped the stock market as concern around the potential impacts of a trade war outweighed the latest housing and jobs data showing the world’s largest economy is still holding up.

Apollo Global Management co-founder Marc Rowan will be called to testify for the defence in Charlie Javice’s trial on charges that she defrauded JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co in the bank’s US$175 million (RM775.75 million) acquisition of her student-finance startup, Frank.

Apollo’s Rowan to be first defence witness at Javice fraud trial

Apple is losing more than US$1 billion (RM4.4 billion) a year on its streaming service Apple TV+, the Information reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Apple losing over US$1b a year on streaming service — report

Lloyd’s Register, the maritime society formed in a London coffee house in 1760, has put its modern glass headquarters up for sale as it prepares to move back into the property built to house it more than a century ago.

Micron Technology forecast third-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Thursday, signaling strong demand for its high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in AI models, sending its shares up 2% in after-hours trading.

CoreWeave Inc, a cloud-computing provider that’s one of the hottest startups in artificial intelligence (AI), and some of its investors are seeking to raise as much as US$2.7 billion in an initial public offering (IPO).

AI cloud hosting firm CoreWeave launches US$2.7 bil IPO

A safety warning system went off in a Delta Air Lines regional jet before it landed and flipped belly-up at Canada's largest airport in February, indicating a fast rate of descent, the country's Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said on Thursday in a preliminary report on the accident.

Fast descent warning triggered on Delta jet that landed belly-up in Toronto

Brent crude futures are trading at a rare discount to Middle Eastern oil, with growing production in Europe and the Mediterranean heaping pressure onto markets for the high-quality oil that underpins the global benchmark.

Oil indicator flashes weakness in key Western crude markets

Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino said on Thursday that he didn't place any value on reports the US military is looking into options for ensuring full US access to the Panama Canal, since these reports came from unnamed sources.

Yoruk Bahceli