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MORNING CALL: 23/4/25

This year marks the 60th anniversary of bilateral relations between Malaysia and Singapore. Since the latter separated from the Federation of Malaya on Aug 9, 1965, trade, investment and tourism between the two countries have remained robust.

Six decades of strong ties between Malaysia and Singapore

(April 23) : It’s 8am and already sweltering at the Pomina Flat Steel JSC plant outside Ho Chi Minh City, as the night shift’s last pour of molten metal is shaped, cooled and cut into rods. Down the road, at a Vietnam Steel Corp facility, a long strip is uncoiled into an acid ...

In China’s backyard, steel buyer Vietnam is trying to stem a tide of cheap metal

Chinese corporate and government borrowers have pushed issuance of dollar and euro bonds to a record proportion of all such note sales in emerging markets this month, in one sign of resilience to the trade war.

The country accounted for 49% of such deals in April, set for its biggest monthly share ever, according to Bloomberg calculations.

Chinese foreign bond sales mark record share of EM total

The dollar advanced against its major peers after US President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The greenback climbed the most against the yen and Swiss franc as a rise in US stock futures damped demand for haven assets.

Relief rebound for dollar as Trump cools rhetoric on Powell

(April 23) : US equity futures surged and the dollar strengthened after President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and as optimism grew that trade tensions may be easing.

Both S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 c...

US futures, dollar rise on Trump’s Fed backtrack

The year 2024 marked the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Malaysia and the People’s Republic of China. In 1974, then prime minister Tun Abdul Razak Hussein cemented an official diplomatic relationship during a visit to Peking (now Beijing).

Ushering in another 50 golden years in Malaysia-China relations

The Trump administration is proposing an overhaul of the US State Department that would eliminate more than 100 offices including some working on war crimes and rights advocacy to ensure Washington's premier diplomatic agency is in line with President Donald Trump's "America First" priorities.

Trump administration proposes shake-up of US State Department

A slew of mergers and acquisitions among finance-related firms is defying the global slump in dealmaking amid market turmoil triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war.

US$50 bil finance deals defy global M&A gloom

Alphabet Inc pays Samsung Electronics Co an “enormous sum of money” every month to pre-install Google generative AI app, Gemini, on its phones and devices, according to court testimony, even though the company’s practice of paying for installations has twice been found to violate the law.

Google paid Samsung ‘enormous sums’ for Gemini AI app installs

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

MGB, Scanwolf, DPS Resources, Petronas Chemicals, Alpha IVF, Pentamaster, Southern Steel

United States (US) tech giants Intel and Oracle have raised concerns about the impact of the United States’ (US) tariffs on their operations in Malaysia, said Investment, Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.

Intel, Oracle raise concerns over US tariffs with PM — Zafrul 

Wall Street's main indexes recovered some ground on Tuesday as investors focused on corporate earnings after President Donald Trump's mounting criticism of Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell led to a sharp sell-off in the previous session.

Wall Street bounces back after sell-off as investors focus on earnings

After Singapore-based steel firm Green Esteel Pte Ltd’s emergence as the controlling shareholder of Southern Steel Bhd (KL:SSTEEL) earlier this year, the Malaysian group is now offloading a 55% stake in its steel wire mesh-making unit to Singapore-listed BRC Asia Ltd for RM61.05 million in cash.

Southern Steel to sell 55% stake in steel wire mesh unit to Singapore-listed BRC Asia

The treasurers of eight US states have written an open letter to Tesla Inc’s board of directors questioning the direction of the company and the level of attention Elon Musk is paying to its mounting challenges.

Tesla board gets an earful from state treasurers over Musk’s focus

West River Bhd, slated for listing on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia on May 5, saw 0.26 times oversubscription for the public portion of its new shares in its initial public offering.

West River’s IPO oversubscribed by 0.26 times

To break into the cryptocurrency mining industry, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr are teaming up with executives who previously founded a miner with the backing of investors implicated in an illegal penny-stock pump-and-dump operation.

Trump sons’ bitcoin mining partners had run-ins with regulators

The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday slashed its forecasts for growth in the United States, China and most countries, citing the impact of US tariffs now at 100-year highs, and warning that further trade tensions would slow growth further.

IMF cuts growth forecasts for most countries in wake of century-high US tariffs

Alphabet Inc pays Samsung Electronics Co an “enormous sum of money” every month to pre-install Google generative AI app, Gemini, on its phones and devices, according to court testimony, even though the company’s practice of paying for installations has twice been found to violate the law.

The Trump administration is proposing an overhaul of the US State Department that would eliminate more than 100 offices including some working on war crimes and rights advocacy to ensure Washington's premier diplomatic agency is in line with President Donald Trump's "America First" priorities.

Brazil and Argentina are emerging as early winners in the global trade war that’s upending agricultural markets.

From meat to grains, trade war is boon to Brazil, Argentina

(April 23) : It’s 8am and already sweltering at the&nbsp;Pomina Flat Steel JSC&nbsp;plant outside Ho Chi Minh City, as&nbsp;the night shift’s last pour of molten metal is shaped, cooled and cut into rods. Down the road, at a Vietnam Steel Corp facility, a&nbsp;long strip is uncoiled into an acid ...

Northrop Grumman Corp reported first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ expectations and cut its earnings forecast for the year as costs mounted for its next-generation B-21 stealth bomber.

Northrop Grumman cuts earnings outlook on B-21 Bomber costs

Along the Mekong River just outside Phnom Penh, Men Moeun and his neighbours live on land set aside for a massive China-backed infrastructure plan that could transform Cambodia’s economy, with some planting corn on the vacant fields to get by.

Trump’s tariffs risk pushing Cambodia further into China’s embrace

Economic gains from artificial intelligence will boost global output by around 0.5% a year between 2025 and 2030, outweighing the costs of rising carbon emissions by the data centres needed to run AI models, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday.

AI economic gains likely to outweigh emissions cost, says IMF

A slew of mergers and acquisitions among finance-related firms is defying the global slump in dealmaking amid market turmoil triggered by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has ruled out an imminent cabinet shakeup amid reports of a growing rift between her ruling party and its biggest coalition partner.

Thai PM rules out cabinet shakeup amid signs of coalition rift

The dollar advanced against its major peers after US President Donald Trump said he had no intention of firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.

The greenback climbed the most against the yen and Swiss franc as a rise in US stock futures damped demand for haven assets.

&nbsp;

(April 23) :&nbsp;US equity futures surged and the dollar strengthened after President Donald Trump said he had&nbsp;no intention&nbsp;of firing Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell and as optimism grew that trade tensions may be easing.

Both S&amp;P 500 and Nasdaq 100 c...