Breakfast Briefing: Friday, September 22

Breakfast Briefing: Friday, September 22 - US stock indexes slipped on Thursday as investors braced for a third interest rate hike this year and the United States ordered new sanctions against North Korea. The DJIA fell 53.36 points, or 0.24%, to 22,359.23, the S&P 500 lost 7.64 points, or 0.30%, to 2,500.6 and the Nasdaq dropped 33.35 points, or 0.52%, to 6,422.69. - Reuters

Energy

Oil prices settled nearly flat on Thursday, the eve of a meeting of major oil-producing countries in Vienna to discuss whether they will extend production limits that have helped reduce the global crude glut. Brent crude futures rose 14 cents, or 0.3%, to end at US$56.43 a barrel. - Reuters

Top foreign stories

HP Enterprise plans 5,000 job cuts: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co is planning to cut at least 5,000 workers as part of a broader effort to reduce costs amid mounting competition, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.  The reductions of about 10% of the company's total workforce of 50,000 are expected to start before the end of the year, the report said. - Reuters

S&P downgrades China, says rising debt is stoking economic, financial risks: S&P Global Ratings downgraded China’s long-term sovereign credit rating to A+ from AA- on Thursday, citing increasing risks from its rapid build-up of debt. - Reuters

Wall St regulator comes under fire over hack: Wall Street’s top regulator came under fire on Thursday over its cyber security and disclosure practices after admitting hackers had breached its database of corporate announcements in 2016 and may have used it for insider trading. - Reuters

National Bank of Canada says tech glitch may have exposed customer data: National Bank of Canada, the country’s sixth largest lender, said on Thursday a website glitch earlier this week may have exposed personal information of about 400 customers. - Reuters

Toshiba, keen to seal US$18b chips sale, wrestles with last-minute delays: Japan’s Toshiba Corp is locked in last minute discussions over “key issues” with the would-be buyers of its US$18 billion memory chip business led by US private equity firm Bain, potentially delaying a formal agreement on the sale. - Reuters

Top local stories

Maju open to extension of PLUS concession: Maju Holdings Sdn Bhd is open to an extension of the existing concession agreement for PLUS Malaysia Bhd’s highways – should it succeed in its endeavour to take over the toll concessionaire, said businessman Tan Sri Abu Sahid Mohamed, who controls Maju. - StarBiz

Great Eastern weighs options on stake: Singapore-based insurer Great Eastern Holdings Ltd said it is in preliminary stage of assessing possible options relating to a minority stake in Great Eastern Life Assurance (M) Bhd to comply with foreign ownership requirements. - StarBiz

Trading in Spritzer shares suspended pending placement news: Spritzer Bhd

image: https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/chart.png

’s shares have been temporarily suspended from trading from Thursday to Monday pending the company’s announcement on its private placement. The bottled water producer is expected to place out 15% or nearly 27.39 million shares at RM2.33 each to Tasik Puncak Holdings Ltd, raising RM63.81mil. - StarBiz

Singapore LTA forms unit for  HSR project: The Land Transport Authority of Singapore (LTA) has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary, SG HSR Pte Ltd, to implement the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project. SG HSR will be Singapore’s infrastructure company for the HSR project, and will build, own, fund and maintain the civil infrastructure in the country. - Bernama

Maybank sees minor impact on Lotte from fire at its plant: The recent fire at Lotte Chemical Titan Holding Bhd’s plant is expected to have a minor and contained impact on the company’s operations, says Maybank Investment Bank Research. The incident could lower Lotte’s product volume and earnings by 3% but retains its 2018 earnings forecast for the company, it said.. - StarBiz

Better Q4 earnings seen for auto firms in Q4: Maybank Investment Bank Research said the recent uptick in hire-purchase loan applications and bank approval rates, together with the recovering ringgit, were opportunities spurring recovery in both total industry volume and earnings in the fourth quarter of this year. 

FoundPac proposes 2-for-5 bonus issue: FoundPac Group Bhd has proposed a bonus issue of up to 148 million new shares, on the basis of two shares for every five held. - StarBiz

Buyers cite price of sustainable palm oil among deterrents when sourcing for CSPO: Regional palm oil buyers have cited the price of sustainable palm oil, lack of consumer awareness and demand for certified sustainable products as deterrents when sourcing for certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO), a report shows.

Tek Seng sees a better second half: Tek Seng Holdings Bhd

image: https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/chart.png

 expects its performance in the second half this year to improve over the first half. Group MD Loh Kok Beng said the company expects solar cell orders to increase by about 5%, although the demand for solar power has declined. - StarBiz

Leading index climbs 0.2% to 118.1: The Malaysian economy’s leading index registered a 0.2% growth to 118.1 points in July compared to June on an annual basis due to the 0.3% increase in expected sales value in the manufacturing sector as well as a 0.2% rise in real imports of semiconductors. - StarBiz

Mudajaya sets issue price of placement shares: Mudajaya Group Bhd

image: https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/chart.png

’s board has fixed the issue price for the placement of 53 million shares, or 9.84% of its capital, at RM1.15 per share. - StarBiz

Oldtown: Facilities not impacted by explosion: Oldtown Bhd

image: https://cdn.thestar.com.my/Themes/img/chart.png

 said the explosion at the central food processing centre at Subang Industrial Estate, owned by its subsidiary Emperor’s Kitchen Sdn Bhd, has not impacted its coffee and beverage manufacturing and warehousing facilities. - Bernama

Property developers: Extend PR1MA flexible end-financing scheme: Some of the biggest players in the property industry are urging the Government to extend PR1MA’s flexible end-financing schemes to all developments that meet the criteria to enable more people to benefit from the affordable housing scheme.