STOCKHOLM (May 13): Sweden said on Tuesday that it would propose that the European Union (EU) join a Pacific rim-based trading group, with the aim of forming the world's biggest free trade area to help counter the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariffs.

Sweden to propose EU membership of Pacific-rim free trade group CPTPP

President Donald Trump's approval rating rose this week as Americans worried less about his handling of the economy and prospects of a recession, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Tuesday.

Trump's approval rating rises to 44%; Americans worry less about recession

President Donald Trump kicked off his trip to the Gulf on Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the United States will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria, and a $600 billion commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the U.S.

The U.S. agreed to sell Saudi Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, according to the White House which called it the largest "defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.

Trump says US to lift Syria sanctions, secures US$600b Saudi deal

Indian officials denied that trade with the US was used as a bargaining chip in a just-concluded ceasefire between India and Pakistan, contradicting statements by President Donald Trump that the US offered to trade more with both countries if they stopped hostilities.

India denies Trump’s suggestion he used trade to secure truce

The burst of foreign interest in US jobs following the Covid-19 pandemic has all but vanished, a shift that threatens to exacerbate labour shortages in industries such as health care.

Foreigners’ interest in US job postings slumps in Indeed Data

Europe may be better prepared to absorb a seismic shift in global investment flows than many assume, as a number of regulatory twists are set to bolster euro market depth.

US President Donald Trump's unilateral redrawing of world trade rules is raising the question of whether giant US capital surpluses will have to unwind if tariff hikes succeed in squeezing America's persistent trade deficits.

Europe braces for Transatlantic capital reverse

Some of Asia’s richest families are cutting exposure to US assets, saying President Donald Trump’s tariffs have made the world’s largest economy much less predictable.

Asia’s super-rich rapidly scale back US exposure on trade war

US Treasuries sank as investors took job market data and a US-UK trade framework as reasons to embrace riskier assets and pare back their bets on interest-rate cuts.

Treasuries slide as Trump pushes investors toward riskier assets

Toyota Motor Corp said US President Donald Trump’s tariffs will result in a ¥180 billion (US$1.3 billion or RM5.33 billion) hit to operating income in just two months, with the Japanese carmaker joining a growing list of companies grappling with the fallout of trade turmoil.

Toyota sees US$1.3b profit hit in two months on tariffs

Donald Trump’s administration is set to shrink the ranks at the top US financial regulators by more than 2,300 workers, a group that includes bank examiners, criminal investigators and economists.

Trump cuts thousands of Wall Street cops while markets swing

HSBC Holdings plc is offering a new loan product to US companies struggling to cover the cost of President Donald Trump’s tariffs that have roiled international supply chains.

HSBC launches Trump tariff loan to cover clients’ import costs

The pharmaceutical industry estimates President Donald Trump’s new drug pricing proposal could cost drug companies as much as US$1 trillion (RM4.24 trillion) over a decade; its largest trade group is telling members of Congress.

Trump drug price idea could cost industry US$1 tril — lobbying group

Columbia University said on Tuesday it was laying off dozens of researchers whose work was funded by US government grants and contracts that President Donald Trump's administration cancelled in March, citing antisemitic harassment on and near campus.

Columbia University lays off nearly 180 researchers due to Trump funding cuts

When Washington announced higher tariffs and the axing of a de minimis rule that allowed for low-value packages from Hong Kong and mainland China to enter the US free of duties, Quinn Lai felt it was "game over" for his watch brand.

Hong Kong DIY watch brand sets sights on Europe amid Trump tariffs

U Mobile Sdn Bhd has confirmed the divestment of its stake in Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) to the remaining shareholders of the wholesale 5G network operator for RM100,000, as the company gears up for the rollout of the nation's second 5G network.

U Mobile confirms DNB exit, targets 80% population coverage in a year under second 5G network

Oriental Interest Bhd's (KL:OIB) residential brand Myra unveiled the first phase of Halaman collection in its RM1 billion Myra Tenuman master-planned development at the Myra Tenuman sales gallery in Alam Impian, Shah Alam on Wednesday.

Oriental Interest unveils landed homes at RM1 bil Myra Tenuman; teams up with RHB Bank for loan package

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the main manufacturer of iPhones and Nvidia Corp-powered artificial intelligence (AI) servers, cut its guidance for full-year revenue growth to reflect potential fallout from the US trade war.

Taiwan's Foxconn, manufacturer of iPhones and Nvidia-powered AI servers, tempers full-year sales outlook

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested three bank officers from two financial institutions in the federal capital for alleged involvement in money laundering and corruption linked to loan applications exceeding RM21 million.

MACC arrests three bank officers over RM21m loan fraud, graft

One of the most enlightening books that I read some two decades ago was Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat, a breakthrough piece of work way ahead of its time when first published in 2005. The central premise — that technological advancements and globalisation would increasingly level the competitive playing fields — resonated strongly and gave me glimpses of the future that has progressively become today’s reality.

Towards a Digital First Nation

Sony Group Corp offered an underwhelming forecast for the year ahead, with the burden of US tariffs wiping out expectations for an increase in operating profit. 

The entertainment-focused group said on Wednesday that it sees a ¥100 billion (US$700 million or RM2.93 billion) impact from US levies in the year to March and expects an operating profit of ¥1.28 trillion. Even without the tariffs, Sony’s projection falls shy of the average analyst estimate of ¥1.5 trillion and is essentially flat compared to the year concluded in March 2025.

Sony sees US$700m tariff hit on underwhelming outlook

Autonomous-driving company Pony AI Inc has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong listing to help raise capital to grow its business, according to people familiar with the situation.

Pony AI is said to confidentially file for Hong Kong listing

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) is set to raise at least US$4 billion (RM17.28 billion) in its Hong Kong share listing by pricing it at the top end of what it indicated, according to people familiar with the matter, thanks to strong demand for the stock.

CATL guides IPO price at top end in world's biggest listing of 2025 — Bloomberg

The Japanese government should cover out-of-pocket childbirth fees, an expert panel said, as the ageing nation seeks to reverse its declining population and shrinking pool of tax-paying workers.

Expert panel suggests Japan’s government make childbirth free

(May 14): NATO allies have started cobbling together an agreement to significantly boost defence spending in a way that may assuage US President Donald Trump’s demand to spend 5% of economic output on the military.

NATO is sketching out plan to meet Trump’s call for 5% of GDP on defence

The US Commerce Department issued guidance stating that the use of Huawei Technologies Co’s Ascend artificial intelligence (AI) chips “anywhere in the world” violates the government’s export controls, escalating US efforts to curb technological advances in China.

US warns that using Huawei AI chip ‘anywhere’ breaks its rules

Oil and gas services company Sapura Energy Bhd’s (KL:SAPNRG) external auditors have red-flagged the group’s ability to continue as a going concern, as its current liabilities have exceeded its current assets.&nbsp;

Auditors flag going concern risk in Sapura Energy's FY2025 accounts; regularisation plan submission by month end

Dubbed Malaysia’s largest listing exercise in seven months, Cuckoo International (MAL) Bhd is expected to revise its initial public offering (IPO) price lower to RM1.10 per share for both retail and institutional investors, down from the RM1.29 per share set previously, according to sources.

Cuckoo International said to be revising down IPO price — sources

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): A key witness to Lim Guan Eng’s Penang undersea trial told the Sessions Court on Wednesday that he had kept a portion of the RM79 million obtained from the late businessman Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng in a safe, after obtaining the sum following a land swap in 2016.

Zarul Ahmad: I kept a portion of RM79 mil obtained from Ewe in my office safe

Upstream oil and gas contractor Sapura Energy Bhd (KL:SAPNRG) has revealed its proposed regularisation plan to exit its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status, which could see the Ministry of Finance (MOF) owning up to 33% in the company following its RM1.1 billion capital injection in March.&nbsp;

MOF may end up with 33% in Sapura Energy with restructuring plan

MN Holdings Bhd’s (KL:MNHLDG) stock rose to a new all-time high on Wednesday as Maybank Investment Bank joined coverage of the utilities engineering services firm.

MN Holdings charts new record high as Maybank joins coverage with 'buy'

MSCI maintained the constituents of its main country index for Malaysia while deleting six stocks from its small-cap index following its latest review.

The indices are closely watched by fund managers and foreign investors. An exclusion from the indices can trigger outflows as passive investors sell the former constituent in their portfolios to mirror the benchmarks.

MSCI keeps Malaysia index constituents unchanged, deletes six stocks from small-cap index

Signature Alliance Group Bhd, a subsidiary of kitchen and wardrobe maker Signature International Bhd (KL:SIGN), has launched its initial public offering (IPO) on the ACE Market, aiming to raise RM161.2 million.

Signature Alliance Group's ACE Market IPO aims to raise RM161.2 mil at 62 sen per share

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) arrested three bank officers from two banking institutions in&nbsp;Kuala Lumpur over suspected involvement in money laundering and corruption regarding loan applications valued over RM21 million.

Three bank officers arrested for money laundering, corruption

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) shareholders can now continue focusing on infrastructure expansion and cost optimisation initiatives, after U Mobile Sdn Bhd exits DNB to become the sole shareholder of Malaysia’s second 5G network, analysts said.

DNB shareholders to focus on expansion, cost optimisation initiatives after U Mobile exit — analysts

Family-owned businesses worldwide continue to be a major driver of global economic growth. According to the 2025 EY and University of St Gallen Global 500 Family Business Index, the world’s 500 largest family businesses generated a total of US$8.8 trillion in revenue in its 2025 survey, up 10% from the last time the survey was released in 2023.

Revenue of 500 largest family businesses exceeds Germany’s GDP

SiCarrier, a Chinese chip equipment maker with close links to Huawei, has created a stir with the breadth of its planned product range.

Its efforts to become a one-stop shop for all tools needed to semiconductors illustrate how the sector — still relatively young in China — is responding to President Xi Jinping's call to reduce the country's reliance on foreign suppliers.

How China's chip equipment manufacturing sector stacks up

XOX Bhd’s (KL:XOX) managing director&nbsp;Datuk Kenneth Vun has been appointed as the chairman of Nexion Technologies Ltd, effective May 12.

XOX MD appointed as chairman of Hong Kong-based Nexion Technologies

Lai Pei-Si, the chief executive officer of GXBank, Malaysia’s first digital bank, will lead Singapore’s GXS Bank after current group CEO Muthukrishnan Ramaswami retires on May 31.

Change of guard at GXBank as CEO Lai Pei-Si moves to head Singapore’s GXS Bank

Tenaga Nasional Bhd or TNB (KL:TENAGA) and Malakoff Corp Bhd (KL:MALAKOF) are expected to benefit most from Malaysia’s first new gas power plant tender in nine years, as demand rises sharply due to data centres.&nbsp;

TNB, Malakoff front runners for Malaysia’s first new gas power plant tender in nine years — CGS International

KUALA LUMPUR (May 14): Wide-ranging unilateral tariffs imposed by the administration of the US President Donald Trump will cause short-term problems for certain sectors of the export-oriented states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) grouping, but will lose their bite over time considering the resilience of these countries, according to analysts.

US tariffs pose short-term threat, Asean resilience will prevail over long term — Xinhua

President&nbsp;Donald&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;kicked off his&nbsp;trip&nbsp;to the Gulf on Tuesday with a surprise announcement that the United States will lift long-standing&nbsp;sanctions&nbsp;on&nbsp;Syria, and a $600&nbsp;billion&nbsp;commitment from&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabia to invest in the U.S.

The U.S. agreed to sell&nbsp;Saudi&nbsp;Arabia an arms package worth nearly $142&nbsp;billion, according to the White House which called it the largest "defense cooperation agreement" Washington has ever done.

European stocks were little changed as markets took a breather after a strong rally on easing global trade tensions, while the dollar extended losses from the day before as relatively benign US inflation data kept Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cuts on the table.

European shares steady, dollar softens further on tariff truce, muted inflation

MOSCOW (May 13): The Kremlin on Tuesday rejected as biased a ruling by the United Nations (UN)&nbsp;aviation council, that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine in 2014 that killed all 298 passengers and crew.

Russia rejects 'biased' UN ruling on 2014 downing of MH17

BUTTERWORTH (May 14): Former Penang deputy chief minister II Dr P&nbsp;Ramasamy was charged in the Sessions Court here on Wednesday on 17 counts of criminal breach of trust (CBT)&nbsp;involving funds belonging to the Penang Hindu Endowment Board (PHEB) totalling RM859,131.29.

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