Friday, September 30, 2022

EU grapples with runaway energy prices

Malay Mail

BRUSSELS, Sept 30 — The EU on Friday will seek urgent ways to bring down skyrocketing energy prices as winter looms, with “sabotage” of gas pipelines from Russia this week injecting drama into the effort.

Energy ministers will gather in Brussels to consider an emergency European Commission proposal that includes cutting power use in the bloc, imposing windfall levies on energy companies and discussing a price cap on wholesale gas supplies.

Europe has found itself over a barrel as fossil fuel deliveries from Russia dry up.

EU sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, which include shunning Russian oil starting in December, have prompted the Kremlin to retaliate by severely reducing supplies of natural gas.

Unexplained leaks on the undersea Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Germany — seen as “sabotage” by EU leaders, with suspicion falling on Moscow — have aggravated the situation.

Sky-high bills

Alarm is rising sharply among Europeans faced with climbing energy bills.

“It’s utterly impossible to pay,” Pascale Dumont, a baker in a Belgian town called Gedinne, told AFP after her business’s monthly electricity bill jumped tenfold, to €11,836 (RM53,308).

“If you work it out over a year, it’s how much a house costs!” she exclaimed.

Business Europe, an EU lobby, warned that “the current state of high gas and electricity prices bears the imminent risk of production losses and shutdowns of thousands of European companies”.

The EU country on the frontline of the energy crunch is Germany, the bloc’s export powerhouse which had long been dependent on Russian gas.

After recording a jump to 10 percent inflation, its government said it will borrow €200 billion to shield German households and businesses from “an energy war”.

That adds to various national initiatives across the European Union totalling many hundreds of billions of euros — a hefty bill added to the one run-up during the worst of the Covid pandemic.

The European Commission is trying to leverage the Covid-era cooperation to forge a common EU approach on energy.

“Europe is facing energy blackmail by Russia, and global demand for gas is higher than supply,” EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said.

“We need to work along the whole chain to tackle the challenge,” she said, adding that a price cap on the wholesale price of gas entering the EU “is possible” if other measures fail to bring results.

Price cap mooted

One core proposal with strong backing is a “cap” on non-gas electricity producers’ profits and a “contribution” from other energy majors.

The levies — the commission refuses to call them a “windfall tax” — are calculated to raise €140 billion which can be spent to cushion consumers.

Another is to encourage reduced energy consumption, for instance by turning off public lighting earlier, lowering thermostats to a maximum of 19 degrees Celsius (66 degrees Fahrenheit) and lower peak-hour power use.

The Bruegel think tank in Brussels, however, said those steps are “not sufficient”.

“A more comprehensive plan needs to ensure that all countries bring forward every available supply-side flexibility, make real efforts to reduce gas and electricity demand, keep their energy markets open and pool demand to get a better deal from external gas suppliers,” it said.

Fifteen EU countries, among them France, Italy and Poland, have written a joint letter calling for a price cap on all gas imports into the bloc — covering pipeline gas from Russia but also liquified natural gas (LNG) shipments from the US and elsewhere.

An EU official briefing journalists on condition of anonymity called that idea “radical”.

The “significant risks” it carried included a sudden shortfall in gas supplies to Europe, especially from LNG suppliers diverting ships to more lucrative buyers elsewhere in the world.

One possible solution would be a centralised EU buying for gas “but the complexity of such a mechanism is such that I think in a short timeframe it is difficult to address,” the official said.

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and his German counterpart Robert Habeck called Thursday in a joint newspaper column on the European Commission “to explore all other options which may lower prices while maintaining a secure energy supply and avoiding excessive consumption of gas.” — AFP




Source: Malay Mail

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Moody’s flags Oct 21 as crucial date for UK rating

Malay Mail

LONDON, Sept 30 — Moody’s top European analyst has flagged Oct. 21 as the next crucial date for Britain’s credit rating following the firm’s negative assessment this week of the government’s new debt-fuelled spending plans.

Rating firms set out when they intend to review European governments’ creditworthiness before the start of each year and by coincidence both Moody’s and S&P Global have scheduled Oct. 21 as their next UK dates.

Moody’s described the UK’s plans for sweeping tax cuts this week as “negative” for Britain’s creditworthiness but stopped short of actually changing the rating’s ‘outlook’ to negative as it did with Italy recently, a move that was also taken on the scheduled calendar date.

“In our normal course of business, that (Oct. 21) would be the point at which we would normally expect to update the market,” Moody’s Chief EMEA Credit Officer Colin Ellis told Reuters when asked whether it had considered cutting the UK’s Aa3 rating this week.

“The decision that we will have to take and the discussion we will have... is whether these actions are negative enough to warrant a rating action. And what form, if any, that rating action should take.”

Moody’s already rates the UK one rung lower than France despite a lower debt-to-GDP level. Its UK score is also lower than S&P’s equivalent AA although it is in line with Fitch’s AA-.

It estimates 72 billion pounds of additional spending in the UK’s new plans will keep the budget deficit above 6 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next two years and lift the debt-to-GDP ratio to 104 per cent from 100 per cent by 2026.

Since it put out that assessment out there has been more drama though with the Bank of England having to intervene in UK bond markets to arrest a sharp rise in longer-term borrowing costs that was causing issues for some pension funds.

That move is also likely to be part next month’s rating discussions, Ellis added. While it is positive that the UK has the BoE to step in, it also raises questions about why it had to do it in the first place.

“Having a lender of last resort, that recognises that (issue) and does it early is a really good thing. That’s a sign of an institution playing its role,” Ellis said.

“Obviously, there’s a counter argument, which is wouldn’t have been lovely if they never had to respond to this event in the first place”. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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83 New Shows and Movies on Netflix in October

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Are you getting your money’s worth out of your Netflix subscription? How do you know? The ever-popular streaming service has a dizzying array of comings and goings each month. Keeping tabs on the latest shows and movies can give you something to look forward to — or an excuse to save a few bucks by canceling until the arrival of a series worth checking out. Here’s a list of specials...



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Wall Street ends down sharply; investors fret over economy

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 30 — Wall Street ended sharply lower on Thursday on worries that the Federal Reserve's aggressive fight against inflation could hobble the US economy, and as investors fretted about a rout in global currency and debt markets.

With tech heavyweights Apple Inc AAPL.O and Nvidia Corp NVDA.O slumping more than 4 per cent, the Nasdaq sank to near its lowest level of 2022, set in mid-June.

The S&P 500 .SPX touched lows last seen in November 2020. Down more than 8 per cent in September, the benchmark is on track for its worst September since 2008.

A sell-off in US Treasuries resumed as Fed officials gave no indication the US central bank would moderate or change its plans to aggressively raise interest rates to bring down high inflation. US/

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said she does not see distress in US financial markets that would alter the central bank's campaign to lower inflation through rate hikes that have taken the Fed funds rate to a range of 3.0 per cent to 3.25 per cent.

Data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell to a five-month low last week as the labor market remains resilient despite the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes.

"Good news is bad news in that today's job number again reiterates that the Fed has a long way to go," said Phil Blancato, head of Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management in New York. "The fear in the marketplace is that the Fed is going to push us into a very deep recession, which will cause an earnings recession, which is why the market is selling off."

The most traded stock in the S&P 500 was Tesla Inc TSLA.O, with US$20.8 billion (RM96.4 billion) worth of shares exchanged during the session. The shares declined 6.8 per cent.

The yields on many Treasuries, which are considered virtually risk-free if held to maturity, now dwarf the S&P 500's dividend yield, which recently stood at about 1.8 per cent, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

The S&P 500 dropped 2.11 per cent to end the session at 3,640.47 points.

The Nasdaq declined 2.84 per cent to 10,737.51 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.54 per cent to 29,225.61 points.

Volume on US exchanges was relatively heavy, with 11.6 billion shares traded, compared with an average of 11.4 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.

All 11 S&P 500 sector indexes declined, led lower by utilities .SPLRCU, down 4.06 per cent, followed by a 3.37 per cent loss in consumer discretionary .SPLRCD.

Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 .AD.SPX by an 11.6-to-1 ratio.

Meta Platforms META.O ended down 3.7 per cent after Bloomberg reported the Facebook owner froze hiring and warned employees of more downsizing to come.

CarMax Inc KMX.N slumped nearly 25 per cent after the used-car retailer missed expectations for second-quarter results, hurt by consumers cutting spending amid inflation, rising interest rates and higher car prices.

General Motors Co GM.N and Ford Motor Co F.N fell more than 5 per cent each.

Airline carriers and cruise operators fell on canceled or delayed trips after Hurricane Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast with catastrophic force.

American Airlines AAL.O, United Airlines Holdings UAL.O and Delta Air Lines DAL.N each lost more than 2 per cent.

Cruise ship operators Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd NCLH.N dropped 5.3 per cent and Carnival Corp CCL.N fell 6.8 per cent.

The S&P 500 posted no new highs and 106 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 14 new highs and 518 new lows. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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13 Things Frugal People Never Do

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Frugality isn’t a monolithic concept. It’s more of a continuum, with different approaches for different people. You can be frugal even if you don’t sew all your own clothes, grow most of your food, make all your gifts and create all your own entertainment. Frugal people can – and do! – eat in restaurants, buy vehicles, take vacations, pay for streaming services and splurge on things they really...



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7 Scenic Road Trips for Enjoying Fall Foliage

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A road trip is perhaps the epitome of the American vacation, regardless of the route you take. But a road trip through the nation’s most scenic and colorful fall foliage displays? That’s the epitome of an autumn American getaway. The following drives — found in the Northeast, the Southwest and the mountain ranges in between — will immerse you in some of the best sights and experiences that the...



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Wall Street tumbles on growing concerns over economic growth

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 29 — US stock indexes slipped today as worries of a global economic downturn from aggressive central bank rate hikes and risks of potential contagion from a turmoil in UK markets turned investors risk averse.

Out of the 11 S&P sector indexes, six of them dropped more than 2 per cent. The Nasdaq fell over 1 per cent due to losses in megacap growth names such as Amazon.com Inc, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Meta Platforms Inc and Tesla Inc. They were down between 2.41 per cent and 4.12 per cent.

The calm brought about by the Bank of England’s decision yesterday to buy long-dated government securities to stabilise the turmoil in the markets caused by the government’s new economic plan was short-lived.

Sterling fell and bond prices slid, with the selloff in British assets spilling over to even safe-haven US Treasuries and top-rated German bonds.

In the previous session, the S&P 500 recorded its first gain in seven sessions. The benchmark index has lost about US$9.1 trillion (RM42 trillion) in market value this year and was last valued at US$31.2 trillion, according to Datastream.

Wall Street’s main indexes recorded hefty declines in the first hour of trading, poised to wipe out almost all of the previous session’s gains.

“You need to see the market beginning to stabilise and that’s not going to happen until it gets a sense of whether or not the Fed is done raising interest rates or earning season comes in better than expected,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut.

The yields on many Treasuries, which are considered virtually risk-free if held to maturity, now dwarf the S&P 500’s dividend yield, which recently stood at about 1.8 per cent, according to Refinitiv Datastream.

Meanwhile, comments from the Federal Reserve’s Cleveland President Loretta Mester echoed other central bank officials through the week, who have vowed more interest rate hikes to tame inflation.

Data showed the US labour market remained resilient as the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week, while gross domestic product fell at an unrevised 0.6 per cent annualised rate in the last quarter.

At 9.59am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 469.62 points, or 1.58 per cent, at 29,214.12, the S&P 500 was down 73.40 points, or 1.97 per cent, at 3,645.64, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 284.83 points, or 2.58 per cent, at 10,766.81.

Airline carriers and cruise operators fell on cancelling or delaying trips after Hurricane Ian hit Florida’s Gulf Coast with catastrophic force.

American Airlines fell about 3.84 per cent, while United Airlines Holdings, Southwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines fell between 3.54 per cent and 4.37 per cent.

Cruise companies Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd and Carnival Corp fell 4.10 per cent and 4.52 per cent.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 12.35-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and a 4.69-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded no new 52-week highs and 58 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded three new highs and 242 new lows. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Thursday, September 29, 2022

4 Sneaky Ways Companies Get You to Spend More Money

Cash in a trash can
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Advertising Disclosure: When you buy something by clicking links on our site, we may earn a small commission, but it never affects the products or services we recommend. Why would anyone need to overspend to get things they want? With access to price comparison sites, coupon apps, price-drop alerts and other money-saving tools, we should all be saving money. Right? Wrong. You might not even notice...



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Costco Just Released Dozens of New Deals for October 2022

Costco Wholesale exterior
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Costco has released its latest monthly deals — dozens of discounts worth thousands of dollars in savings. They’re available Sept. 28 through Oct. 23, although some of these deals are available in clubs only or online only. It's not the usual blah, blah, blah. Click here to sign up for our free newsletter. Here are some examples of the discounts available right now, just to name a few: $3 off a 3...



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10 Housing Markets Where Bidding Wars Are Disappearing

Tampa, Florida home
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During the last month of summer, the formerly red-hot U.S. housing market cooled considerably, causing bidding wars to disappear from coast to coast. Such bidding wars — meaning at least two people bid on a home — were the rule earlier this year and last year. But in August, just 44.6% of home offers written by Redfin agents nationwide featured bidding wars, down from 63.5% a year ago...



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Home Prices in 190 U.S. Metros Broke All Known Records in the Last Decade

Couple who made homebuying mistake
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Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Point2. With inflation and the Fed’s rate hikes affecting both rents and mortgage affordability, it seems as though there’s no end in sight for home seekers’ trials and tribulations. Now, even the tiniest hopes at homeownership — which looked attainable when mortgage rates were still low — are currently being crushed by the harsh financial reality...



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17 of the Best Things to Do When You Retire

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You wait and save and plan for retirement your entire life, it seems. And then, what? Retirees often find themselves, quite suddenly, with more free time on their hands than they’ve made a plan for. Here are some of the most rewarding, productive or stimulating ways for retirees to spend their time.



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6 Markets Where Home Values Fell the Most in August

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Another month, another slip in home values in key markets across the U.S. Nationwide, home values slipped 0.3% in August, the biggest monthly decrease since 2011, according to the latest market report from real estate marketplace Zillow. It was the second consecutive month that home values fell, coming on the heels of a 0.1% decrease in July. In markets where home values remain affordable...



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Dow, S&P 500 cling to gains on lower yields, Apple slides

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 28 — The Dow and the S&P 500 indexes gained in volatile trading today as easing Treasury yields gently lifted rate-sensitive growth stocks, while losses in Apple Inc after it dropped plans to boost iPhone production weighed on the Nasdaq.

Equity markets also got a boost from a Bank of England decision to restore financial stability by buying as many long-dated government bonds as needed. The move lifted British bond prices and pushed global benchmark yields lower.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury bill came off 12-year highs to hit the day’s low of 3.809 per cent by 10:02am ET, while Germany’s 10-year government bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone, fell after touching a 11-year high.

“Yields now are approaching the Fed’s desired target level of 4 and 4.5 per cent. So once that happens, we should see yields beginning to level off and that should boost equity prices,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist, Spartan Capital Securities LLC.

Investors will also pay attention to comments from a slew of Fed officials, including Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Shares of the world’s most valuable public company lost 3.94 per cent after Bloomberg reported that Apple told suppliers to curtail efforts to increase assembly of its iPhone 14 products by as many as 6 million units in the second half of this year.

Among the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes, technology was the sole decliner, down 1.2 per cent.

“Apple has got so many pieces and any weakness in Apple demand has big knock-on impacts on many spaces, so chips, processing and the outlook for retail sales even,” said Patrick Armstrong, chief investment officer at Plurimi Wealth.

Chipmakers Advanced Micro Devices, Qualcomm Inc Nvidia Corp and Micron Tech were down between 0.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent.

Apple’s production cut added fuel to investor worries about the US Federal Reserve’s push to aggressively increase borrowing costs to tame stubbornly high inflation even at the risk of slowing down economic growth.

At 10:02am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 75.70 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 29,210.69, the S&P 500 was up 8.09 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 3,655.38, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 12.06 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 10,817.44.

Helping cut some declines on the Nasdaq, Biogen shares surged 35.8 per cent after its Alzheimer’s drug, developed with Japanese partner Eisai, succeeded in slowing cognitive decline.

Eli Lilly & Co, which is also developing an Alzheimer’s drug, rose 7.7 per cent and was the biggest boost to the S&P 500 index.

The CBOE Volatility Index, also commonly known as Wall Street’s fear gauge, tested 34.88 points, its highest level since June 13.

In the previous session, Wall Street’s main indexes sank deeper into a bear market, with the S&P 500 recording its lowest close in almost two years on rate hike worries.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 3.55-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and by a 2.45-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded one new 52-week high and 29 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 16 new highs and 140 new lows. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Wednesday, September 28, 2022

S&P 500 ends near two-year low, bear market deepens

NEW YORK: Wall Street sank deeper into a bear market on Tuesday (Sept 27), with the S&P 500 recording its lowest close in almost two-years as Federal Reserve policymakers showed an appetite for more interest rate increases, even at the risk of throwing the economy into a downturn.

The benchmark S&P 500 is down about 24% from its record high close on Jan 3. Last week, the Fed signalled that high rates could last through 2023, and the index erased the last of its gains from a summer rally and recorded its lowest close since November 2020.

The S&P 500 has declined for six straight sessions, its longest losing streak since February 2020.

The S&P 500 touched a session low of 3,623.29, its lowest point on an intraday basis since Nov. 30, 2020. A late rally helped push the index off its worst level of the day, but the index still closed lower for a sixth straight session as it lost 7.75 points, or 0.21%, to 3,647.29 .

After the benchmark index fell more than 20% from its early January high to a low on June 16, which confirmed that the retreat was indeed a bear market, the S&P then rallied into mid-August before running out of gas.

That bear-market rally is now over.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43% to end at 29,134.99 points, while the S&P 500 lost 0.21% to 3,647.29.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.25% to 10,829.50.

Seven of 11 S&P 500 sector indices fell, with utilities and consumer staples each down about 1.7% and leading declines.

The energy sector index rallied 1.2% after Sweden launched a probe into possible sabotage after major leaks in two Russian pipelines that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea.

Tesla gained 2.5% and Nvidia added 1.5%, with both companies helping keep Nasdaq in positive territory.

Traders exchanged over US$17 billion worth of Tesla shares, more than any other stock.

The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield touched its highest level in more than 12 years amid the hawkish comments from Fed officials.

“As long as the Fed continues to raise rates, and investors don’t anticipate an end of the rate hikes, I think this market is going to continue to be weak,” said Tim Ghriskey, Senior Portfolio Strategist, Ingalls & Snyder, New York.

Speaking on Tuesday, St Louis Fed president James Bullard made a case for more rate increases, while Chicago Fed president Charles Evans said the central bank will need to raise rates by at least another percentage point this year.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s not a surprise,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “People are concerned about the Federal Reserve, the direction of interest rates, the health of the economy.”

Analysts at Wells Fargo now see the US central bank taking its target range for the Fed funds rate to between 4.75% and 5.00% by the first quarter of 2023.

Concerns about corporate profits taking a hit from soaring prices and a weaker economy have also roiled Wall Street in the past two weeks.

Analysts have cut their S&P 500 earnings expectations for the third and fourth quarters, as well as for the full year. For the third quarter, analysts now see S&P 500 earnings per share rising 4.6% year-over-year, compared with 11.1% growth expected at the start of July. – Reuters



Source: The Sun Daily

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US fines 16 Wall Street firms US$1.8b for talking deals, trades on personal apps

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 28 — US regulators yesterday fined 16 financial firms, including Barclays, Bank of America, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS, a combined US$1.8 billion (RM8.29 billion) after staff discussed deals and trades on their personal devices and apps.

The sweeping industry probe, first reported by Reuters last year and subsequently disclosed by multiple lenders, is a landmark case for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), marking one their largest collective resolutions.

From January 2018 through September 2021, the banks’ staff routinely communicated about business matters such as debt and equity deals with colleagues, clients and other third party advisers using applications on their personal devices such as text messages and WhatsApp, the agencies said.

The institutions did not preserve the majority of those personal chats, violating federal rules which require broker-dealers and other financial institutions to preserve business communications. That impeded the agencies’ ability to oversee financial markets, ensure compliance with key rules, and gather evidence in other, unrelated investigations, the agencies said.

Spokespeople for UBS, Morgan Stanley and Citi said the banks were pleased to have resolved the matter. Bank of America, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, Nomura and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

“Today’s actions — both in terms of the firms involved and the size of the penalties ordered — underscore the importance of recordkeeping requirements: they’re sacrosanct. If there are allegations of wrongdoing or misconduct, we must be able to examine a firm’s books and records,” said Gurbir Grewal, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.

The failings occurred across all 16 firms and involved employees at multiple levels, including senior and junior investment bankers and traders, the SEC said.

In a major victory for the agencies, the institutions admitted the facts and acknowledged that they violated federal laws, although Bank of America and Nomura neither admitted nor denied aspects of the CFTC’s investigative findings, it said.

The institutions, which cooperated with the investigation, have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures, the SEC said.

‘We delete convos’

Wall Street banks have for years struggled to stamp out the use of personal devices at work — often banning them altogether from trading floors — but the problem became acute as bankers and traders worked from home during the pandemic.

According to CFTC Commissioner Christy Goldsmith Romero, staff used personal apps to evade oversight, sometimes at the direction of senior executives who knew they were violating bank policies but wanted to obfuscate trading communications.

In one example cited by her office, Bank of America staff used WhatsApp, with one trader writing: “We use WhatsApp all the time but we delete convos regularly.” The head of a trading desk routinely directed traders to delete messages on personal devices and to use Signal, including during the CFTC’s probe.

In another example, a Nomura trader deleted messages, which included incriminating statements about trading, after the CFTC sent a request to preserve documents, her office said.

“Those choosing to participate in US financial markets are on notice: the era of evasive communications practices is over,” Goldsmith Romero said in a statement. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Wall Street keeps selling as world assets fail to recover

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 28 — US stocks gave up early gains to fall deeper into a bear market yesterday, while sterling showed scant movement a day after hitting a record low, as investors remained nervous about a potential global recession.

The pound was little changed at US$1.071 (RM7.88) after sterling collapsed to US$1.0327 on Monday on concern over the funding of recently announced UK tax cuts, which follow huge energy subsidies.

The Bank of England said late on Monday it would not hesitate to change interest rates and was monitoring markets “very closely.” BoE Chief Economist Huw Pill added yesterday that central bank was likely to deliver a “significant policy response” to last week’s announcement but it should wait until its next meeting in November before making its move.

The yield on five-year gilts about 0.1 per cent to about 4.6 per cent, holding its spike on Monday from just over 4 per cent.

US stocks mostly faltered after a morning bounce, with the S&P 500 hitting a two-year intraday low. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.42 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.20 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added just 0.25 per cent

The S&P benchmark index fell more than 20 per cent from its early January high to a low on June 16, confirming a bear market. The index then rallied into mid-August before petering out.

“We don’t see a quick retrenchment or a return to 2 per cent inflation, keeping the Fed in hiking mode. This implies more volatility and a need for caution and balance in equity allocations,” Tony DeSpirito, BlackRock’s chief investment officer for US Fundamental Equities, wrote in a note released yesterday.

Markets see a 65 per cent probability of a further 75 basis points move at the next US Federal Reserve meeting in November.

The Fed needs to raise interest rates by at least another percentage point this year, Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said yesterday, a more aggressive stance than he has previously embraced that underscores the central bank’s resolve to quash excessive inflation.

“Central bankers have been walking a tightrope trying to curb inflation while attempting to limit recessionary risks,” Bank of America strategists wrote in a note released yesterday.

“However, their recent tone and ‘jumbo’ rate hikes have reinforced that the foremost priority is controlling inflation, even at the potential cost of a recession.”

Global contagion

Spillover from Britain kept other assets on edge.

The MSCI world equity index reversed early gains yesterday, falling about 0.3 per cent to a near two-year low early yesterday afternoon. European stocks slipped 0.13 per cent.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia shares outside Japan hit a fresh two-year low and was flat on the day. Japan’s Nikkei gained about 0.5 per cent.

Bond selling in Japan pushed yields up to the Bank of Japan’s ceiling and prompted more unscheduled buying from the central bank, while euro zone government bond yields rose to new multi-year highs yesterday.

Benchmark US 10-year Treasury yields also rose to their highest in more than 12 years as investors braced for higher interest rates.

The dollar held gains yesterday in its relentless rally while sterling, the euro and Japanese yen regained little ground from multi-year lows after unusually volatile trading in recent sessions.

There was some good news. New orders for US-manufactured capital goods increased more than expected in August, suggesting that businesses remained keen to invest in equipment, and a survey showed consumer confidence rising for a second straight month in September.

Oil rallied after plunging to nine-month lows in the previous session, helped by supply curbs in the US Gulf of Mexico ahead of Hurricane Ian and by a slightly softer dollar.

Brent crude settled 2.6 per cent higher at US$86.27 a barrel, and US crude ended at US$78.50, up 2.3 per cent.

Dutch and British gas prices spiked on news that the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia to Europe had suffered damage, raising concerns over the security of the bloc’s energy infrastructure and triggering a sabotage probe.

Gold which hit a 2-1/2-year low on Monday, rose around 0.3 per cent to US$1,626 an ounce.

Bitcoin briefly broke above US$20,000 for the first time in about a week, as cryptocurrencies bounced. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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S&P 500 ends near two-year low as bear market deepens

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 28— Wall Street sank deeper into a bear market yesterday, with the S&P 500 recording its lowest close in almost two-years as Federal Reserve policymakers showed an appetite for more interest rate hikes, even at the risk of throwing the economy into a downturn.

The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX is down about 24 per cent from its record high close on January 3. Last week, the Fed signaled that high rates could last through 2023, and the index erased the last of its gains from a summer rally and recorded its lowest close since November 2020.

The S&P 500 has declined for six straight sessions, its longest losing streak since February 2020.

Speaking yesterday, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard made a case for more rate hikes, while Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said the central bank will need to raise rates by at least another percentage point this year.

“It’s disappointing, but it’s not a surprise,” said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth in Fairfield, Connecticut. “People are concerned about the Federal Reserve, the direction of interest rates, the health of the economy.”

Analysts at Wells Fargo now see the US central bank taking its target range for the Fed funds rate to between 4.75 per cent and 5.00 per cent by the first quarter of 2023.

Seven of 11 S&P 500 sector indexes fell, with utilities .SPLRCU and consumer staples .SPLRCS each down about 1.7 per cent and leading declines.

The energy sector index rallied 1.2 per cent after Sweden launched a probe into possible sabotage after major leaks in two Russian pipelines that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea.

Tesla gained 2.5 per cent and Nvidia NVDA.O added 1.5 per cent, with both companies helping keep Nasdaq in positive territory.

Traders exchanged over US$17 billion worth of Tesla shares, more than any other stock.

The benchmark US 10-year Treasury yield US10YT=RR touched its highest level in more than 12 years amid the hawkish comments from Fed officials. US/

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.43 per cent to end at 29,134.99 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 0.21 per cent to 3,647.29.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.25 per cent to 10,829.50.

Concerns about corporate profits taking a hit from soaring prices and a weaker economy have also roiled Wall Street in the past two weeks.

Analysts have cut their S&P 500 earnings expectations for the third and fourth quarters, as well as for the full year. For the third quarter, analysts now see S&P 500 earnings per share rising 4.6 per cent year-over-year, compared with 11.1 per cent growth expected at the start of July.

Volume on US exchanges was 11.7 billion shares, compared with an 11.3 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.25-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.03-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 146 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 502 new lows. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Twitter lawyer tells court Musk has not backed up claims of fake accounts

Malay Mail

WILMINGTON, Sept 28 — Elon Musk’s review of Twitter Inc TWTR.N accounts by his advisers did not back up the billionaire’s allegation that the number of fake users was “wildly higher” than 5 per cent as he claimed when he said he was ending the Twitter takeover deal in July, a Twitter lawyer told a judge yesterday.

Documents obtained from two data scientists employed by Musk showed they estimated in early July that the number of fake accounts on the platform at 5.3 per cent and 11 per cent, the Twitter lawyer told a Delaware judge.

“None of these analyses so far as we can tell remotely supported what Mr. Musk told Twitter and told the world in the termination letter,” said the lawyer, Bradley Wilson.

Musk and his attorney did not immediately respond for a request for comment.

Musk and Twitter are locked in a court fight and Twitter is seeking an order directing Musk to close the deal at US$54.20 (RM249.92) per share. Twitter’s stock ended Tuesday trading at US$42.09, up 1.4 per cent.

They are scheduled to go trial starting October 17 in Wilmington, in Delaware’s Court of Chancery.

Musk agreed in April to buy Twitter for US$44 billion but within weeks was complaining the number of bot accounts was much higher than Twitter’s estimate of less than 5 per cent of users.

On July 8 Musk said the actual figure was “wildly higher” and that Twitter had misled him, allowing him to walk away without penalty from the deal.

Wilson brought up the report by data scientists during a hearing at which both parties were asking the judge to order the other side to turn over more messages or documents, the process known as discovery.

Also yesterday, a court notice said Musk’s deposition was being rescheduled from this week to October 6-7.

Musk’s deposition is expected to be a key part of the litigation. In past testimony, he has been combative under oath.

Brian Quinn, a professor at Boston College Law School, said that the timing of depositions matter, and Twitter might be better off delaying the interview of Musk until after they have obtained his communications.

“You’re going delay your best witnesses for the end, as much as possible, so you have all the discovery,” Quinn said. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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9 Shopping Mistakes to Avoid at Costco

Costco warehouse club
Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com

Once a month, I fold down the seats of my minivan and head to that most magical of shopping meccas, Costco. The warehouse club has everything my family of seven needs and at prices that can almost never be beat. Giant bags of chips for the same price as a small bag at the supermarket? Yes, please. After years of shopping at Costco, I’ve fine-tuned my shopping strategies, but not before making a...



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Putin expects ‘record’ 150-million-tonne grain harvest in 2022

Malay Mail

MOSCOW, Sept 27 — Russian President Vladimir Putin said today his country expected a record-high grain harvest in 2022 as Moscow blames Western sanctions over Ukraine for preventing its exports, especially to poor countries.

“The preliminary estimate (for 2022) already stands at 150 million tonnes, including around 100 million tonnes of wheat. This will be a record in the history of Russia,” Putin said in televised meeting on agriculture.

According to Putin, “138.7 million tonnes of grain have already been harvested”.

Russia has for several weeks accused Western countries of hindering its exports of agricultural products, insisting the situation creates a risk for global food security.

“The delivery of our grain and our fertiliser abroad unfortunately remains... difficult,” Putin said.

“Sanctions against Russia risk leading to a further deterioration of the situation, to a global food crisis,” he added.

Putin has repeatedly criticised an agreement reached in July in Istanbul, which lifted a blockade on grain exports from Ukraine.

One of the world’s largest grain exporters, Ukraine was forced to halt almost all deliveries after Russia launched its military operation.

Putin insists the grain is mainly going to European countries, rather than poorer nations.

“Grain from Ukraine continues to bypass the poorest countries,” Putin said.

“As of September 23, out of 203 ships that left the ports of Ukraine, only four went to the poorest countries under the United Nations programme.”

Ukraine and European countries have refuted these accusations. — AFP




Source: Malay Mail

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Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Wall Street ends lower, Dow confirms bear market

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 27 — Wall Street slid deeper into a bear market on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Dow closing lower as investors fretted that the Federal Reserve’s aggressive campaign against inflation could throw the US economy into a sharp downturn.

After two weeks of mostly steady losses on the US stock market, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI confirmed it has been in a bear market since early January. The S&P 500 index .SPX confirmed in June it was in a bear market, and on Monday it ended the session below its mid-June closing low, extending this year’s overall selloff.

With the Fed signaling last Wednesday that high interest rates could last through 2023, the S&P 500 has relinquished the last of its gains made in a summer rally.

“Investors are just throwing in the towel,” said Jake Dollarhide, Chief Executive Officer of Longbow Asset Management in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “It’s the uncertainty about the high-water mark for the Fed funds rate. Is it 4.6 per cent, is it 5 per cent? Is it sometime in 2023?” Confidence among stock traders was also shaken by dramatic moves in the global foreign exchange market as sterling GBP=D3 hit an all-time low on worries that the new British government’s fiscal plan released Friday threatened to stretch the country’s finances.

That added an extra layer of volatility to markets, where investors are worried about a global recession amid decades-high inflation. The CBOE Volatility index .VIX, hovered near three-month highs.

The Dow is now down 20.5 per cent from its record high close on Jan. 4. According to a widely used definition, ending the session down 20 per cent or more from its record high close confirms the Dow has been in a bear market since hitting its January peak.

The S&P 500 has yet to drop below its intra-day low on June 17. It is down about 23 per cent so far in 2022.

In Monday’s session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI fell 1.11 per cent to end at 29,260.81 points, while the S&P 500 .SPX lost 1.03 per cent to 3,655.04.

The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 0.6 per cent to 10,802.92.

Ten of 11 S&P 500s sector indexes fell, led by 2.6 per cent drops in real estate .SPLRCR and energy .SPNY.

Gains in Amazon and Costco Wholesale Corp helped limit losses in the Nasdaq.

Shares of casino operators Wynn Resorts WYNN.O, Las Vegas Sands Corp LVS.N and Melco Resorts & Entertainment MLCO.O jumped between 11.8 per cent and 25.5 per cent after Macau planned to open to mainland Chinese tour groups in November for the first time in almost three years.

Volume on US exchanges was 11.9 billion shares, compared with the 11.2 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 5.37-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.31-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted no new 52-week highs and 120 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 16 new highs and 594 new lows. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Bank of England: Monitoring financial markets ‘very closely’

Malay Mail

LONDON, Sept 26 —The Bank of England said today that it was monitoring financial markets very closely, and would not hesitate to change interest rates if needed.

“The Bank is monitoring developments in financial markets very closely in light of the significant repricing of financial assets,” it said.

“The MPC will not hesitate to change interest rates as necessary to return inflation to the 2% target sustainably in the medium term, in line with its remit,” it added. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Qatar says inflationary pressures impacting oil and gas industry

Malay Mail

DOHA, Sept 26 —Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs said today that inflationary pressures have led to rising production costs, delays in investment decisions, and increased policy uncertainty in the oil and gas industry.

Minister Saad al-Kaabi said in a statement that the sector needs to help people recognise that demands to cancel hydrocarbons “are not only unrealistic but, as recent months have proven, are harmful to a realistic, accelerated transition”. — Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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29 Purchases That Can Save You Money Every Day

Woman on bicycle
Dean Drobot / Shutterstock.com

Many of us think the best way to save money is to squirrel it away. However, sometimes you have to spend money to save money. If you’re willing to front the money, some purchases can help you salt away more cash in the long run. Here’s a guide to a bunch of purchases that can help you save money, if you let them.



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Monday, September 26, 2022

Sterling collapses as investors fly into US dollars

Malay Mail

SYDNEY, Sept 26 — Sterling slumped to a record low on Monday, prompting speculation of an emergency response from the Bank of England, as confidence evaporated in Britain’s plan to borrow its way out of trouble, with spooked investors piling in to US dollars.

Broadening worry that high interest rates will hurt growth hit Asia’s currencies and equities too, with exporters from Japanese carmakers to Australian miners hit hard.

The pound plunged nearly 5 per cent at one point to US$1.0327, breaking below 1985 lows. Moves were exacerbated by thinner liquidity in the Asia session, but even after stumbling back to US$1.05 the currency is still down some 7 per cent in just two sessions.

“You’ve got to buy the dollar as a risk off-trade. There is nowhere else to go,” said Rabobank strategist Michael Every in Singapore.

“The BOE are going to have to step in today, surely, at which point everyone’s going to end up with massively higher mortgage rates to try and stabilise sterling.”

The collapse sent the dollar higher broadly and it hit multi-year peaks on the Aussie, kiwi and yuan and a new 20-year top of US$0.9528 per euro.

In stocks, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 1 per cent to a two-year low. It is heading for a monthly loss of 11 per cent, the largest since March 2020. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.2 per cent.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.5 per cent.

Last week, stocks and bonds crumbled after the United States and half a dozen other countries raised rates and projected pain ahead. Japan intervened in currency trade to support the yen. Investors lost confidence in Britain’s economic management.

The Nasdaq lost more than 5 per cent for the second week running. The S&P 500 fell 4.8 per cent.

Gilts suffered their heaviest selling in three decades on Friday and today the pound made a 37-year low at US$1.0765 as investors reckon planned tax cuts will stretch government finances to the limit.

Sterling is down 11 per cent this quarter.

Five-year gilt yields rose 94 basis points last week, by far the biggest weekly jump recorded in Refinitiv data stretching back to the mid 1980s. Treasuries tanked as well last week, with two-year yields up 35 bps to 4.2140 per cent and benchmark 10-year yields up 25 bps to 3.6970 per cent.

The euro wobbled to a two-decade low at US$0.9660 as risks rise of war escalating in Ukraine, before steadying at US$0.9686.

In Italy, a right-wing alliance led by Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party was on course for a clear majority in the next parliament, as expected. Some took heart from a middling performance by eurosceptics The League.

“I expect relatively little impact considering that the League, the party with the least pro-European stance, seems to have come out weak,” said Giuseppe Sersale, fund manager and strategist at Anthilia in Milan.

Oil and gold steadied after drops against the rising dollar last week. Gold hit a more-than two-year low on Friday and bought US$1,643 an ounce on Monday. Brent crude futures LCOc1 sat at US$86.29. ¬— Reuters




Source: Malay Mail

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Adapt to the environment that you are in

How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?

In my career so far, there was one period and a role which stand out and have taught me a lot. This was when I started and ran my own technology startup many years ago. Here I was – suddenly an entrepreneur, a leader, the sales manager, the technology manager, the HR manager and others as I tried to build the business.

I was still below 30 at that time and still had much to learn about running a business and had to accelerate my learning because of that. I learnt many skillsets of running a business, some which I apply today. It was a challenging time both from a business and a personal point of view as starting a business takes up financial and emotional resources. It built my character as it gave me experiences on how to deal with setbacks and challenges.

I’ve been in multiple roles and industries, and one learns from every role. A trait which I believe is important and that has helped me is that one must always be willing to learn and be adaptable to the environment that one is in.

What traits do you look for in talent, or how do you decide who is right for a job?

When hiring, it’s important to look at the role and also the level. At times, you are looking for the hard skills and experience so that he or she can hit the ground running.

In general, attitude is one of the more important traits. Having a positive and can-do attitude is something I look for. Other traits include the willingness to learn and help each other. This is because it’s important to have a good team whereby the team members are supportive of each other.

A job is sometimes a marathon although there will be spurts of initiatives. This means that it’s important that a talent also has the perseverance to drive for success. Sometimes, it depends on the company, too. For example, as Yoodo is a digital telco, I look for someone who is digitally savvy, has a lot of energy and someone that possesses the values of the company

How do you think the industry you are in will evolve?

From a technology perspective, we’re going to get more speed, lower latency and reduced error rate with 5G. Telecommunication companies are not just going to be serving communications between humans but also start seeing more human to machine (and vice versa) and machine to machine communications. This means we will start seeing the Internet of Things (IoT) sector having more opportunities to grow due to low-cost connectivity solutions. The increased bandwidth will also allow for better virtual reality and augmented reality experiences.

We will see a more consistent user experience as heavy data games and video content can be streamed effortlessly.

In terms of the consumer, the demands will evolve. We’re already starting to see the modern consumers wanting more say in what they buy. Customers will want more personalisation to the product and services they purchase, and we will see more requirements for the segment of one.

Consumers will be looking at the digital journey. They will want to be able to do everything online so it would be important to have a seamless app and web customer journey. Everything must be in their reach at anytime, anywhere.

Customer engagement will also evolve. If the industry is keen to get the younger generation of customers on board, we will have to be savvy in how we engage our customers. Customers will want to be serviced via channels that they are familiar with, for example via WhatsApp chat.

We all know about the industrial revolution, are we in for a technological revolution? Share your thoughts.

We’re already in the midst of the technological revolution. The Covid-19 pandemic has probably accelerated this as more and more advanced technologies are introduced that require minimal human intervention.

One area is the industrial IoT. We’re starting to see companies integrating devices, sensors and machines in their operations. This means their data is gathered and analysed is every area and in real time. This will definitely bring about improved productivity and efficiency in operations since issues can be detected quickly. The amount of data collected can also be used for improvements.

Another area that is growing rapidly is the aspect of a digital twin. A digital twin is a replica of a real-world asset and allows for integration between the physical and digital worlds. We’re seeing companies like Meta working on the Metaverse whereby, in the near future, one can seamlessly move between the physical form to the digital avatar. This means changes in how they interact with each other. It will allow for people to meet and interact more meaningfully, especially if they are not in the same location, thereby bringing more benefits to many industries.

In the area of 5G, we will see more human and machine interaction where there will be more robotics and automation. We are starting to see more big data and advanced analytics being applied to speed up production and service cycles.

How has mentorship made a difference in your professional life?

I’ve not had official mentors but have had a few leaders from whom I’ve learnt a lot and sought advice from. These are some leaders from whom I’ve been able to pick up valuable pointers. Things even as simple as how to run meetings, how they approach different people and how they cared for their employees.

I’ve seen how these leaders develop a strong team and have put some of these learnings into use. Some of the advice has shaped the person I am today. I hope I will be able to have a similar effect to my team at Yoodo.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever received on your career?

One piece of advice that I’ve taken to heart, and continue to use every day, is when building and managing my team, I need to focus on the strengths of a person. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but it helps when we identify a person’s forte and help develop it further. People can do wonders in their role when their supervisor is able to harness this strength both for the individual and the team.

Who is the business leader you admire the most?

A business leader whom I admire a lot is a previous supervisor of mine, Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim. Jamaludin is someone who has built companies. He is responsible for the growth of a local telco and helped it gained strong positioning in the market which has continued until today, and for building a strong regional telecommunications company, Axiata.

He is visionary, someone who is always thinking ahead and planning while still working on the present. He has a calm demeanour which rubs off onto the team. Telecommunications is a fast-changing industry, and there will be a lot of challenges cropping up all the time but he is able to take a step back and clearly identify the challenges. This helps his team focus and thus product results.

Jamaludin is also someone who cares about the development of team. He is a person who believes in cultivating good leaders and will spend resources to achieve that.

How do you stay abreast of issues affecting your industry?

To understand the needs and demands of consumers, and ensure that we are at the forefront of addressing them, Yoodo always needs to be in the know. To accomplish this, we have numerous teams dedicated to various target segments and social media platforms, staying alert for news and updates that are relevant to our industry.

I keep up to date with the on-goings of the industry via news, reading and networking with industry players. It helps also that when you are in the industry, there are many reports that are available. Interacting with people with different backgrounds helps me understand various perspectives about Yoodo and the telco industry in general.

At the same time I am active on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to get up to speed on the latest trends for Gen Z and millennials as they are Yoodo’s target segment. Their feedback is what drives us to continually innovate and offer new services and plans.

What man-made innovation confounds you? Why?

I don’t think it’s an innovation that confounds me, but it does impress me a lot. This innovation is the telephone. It’s quite amazing that even at the beginning of the telephone invention, two people were able to talk to each other as if there is no distance between, them even though they could be miles apart.

Now, we have the mobile telephone, which allows people to stay connected wherever they go.

Phones today are more like small computers on the go, with many things being able to be managed on the phone. Today, you don’t even need your wallet anymore as long as you have your phone in your pocket. You can make payments, verify your identity all through your phone. Moving forward, it’s likely that the humble telephone will continue to evolve and confound us.

A must-read for every business owner or manager is ...

One that I’ve liked due to the inspiring nature of the business, brand building and larger than life founder is Business Stripped Bare by Richard Branson. It’s a book that was written some time ago, but it still is one that can help form insights on building a business.

In this book, Branson talks about the theory of business. He touches on the many areas that a business owner or manager needs to focus on – people, brand, innovation, and leadership. His quote “find good people – set them free” is something that I’ve tried to incorporate in my role. I believe it’s important to find good people and they will be the ones generating good ideas and implementing them.



Source: The Sun Daily

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Netflix and Disney poised to shake up TV ad world

Malay Mail

NEW YORK, Sept 26 — With the launch of cheaper, ad-supported subscriptions, Netflix and Disney+ are expected to bite into the revenue of traditional television channels as the streaming services look toward continued expansion.

After having long-shunned the notion of advertising on its platform, Netflix this year accelerated work on just such an offering as inflation prompts consumers to spend less and competition in the streaming television market intensifies.

Netflix is expected to launch an ad-supported subscription tier in early November, about a month before rival Disney+ does the same, according to US media reports.

“These launches are going to create the biggest premium advertising space in more than a generation,” said analytics company Samba TV senior vice president Dallas Lawrence.

“It’s going to be a major moment for advertisers.”

The windfall for Netflix and Disney+ could be considerable. Market tracker Statista forecasts that spending on television ads globally will hit US$159 billion (RM729.4 billion) this year.

Insider Intelligence analyst Ross Benes estimates that advertising revenues from streaming could reach US$30 billion in two years in the United States alone.

Global video sharing and online television platform YouTube saw US$28.8 billion in ad revenue in 2021.

“Not long ago, everyone said subscriptions would kill ads,” said Kevin Krim, head of marketing analytics firm EDO.

“Now, we can see that is obviously not true.”

Some streaming television services such as NBCUniversal’s Peacock, Paramount+ and HBO Max already feature ad-supported offerings.

But Netflix and Disney+ — with 220 million and 152 million subscribers respectively — throwing their hats in the advertising ring could catch the attention of businesses interested in reaching television audiences, analysts said.

Netflix is looking to win over at least 40 million subscribers to its ad-subsidized tier by next year’s third quarter, according to an internal document cited by the Wall Street Journal.

When the time comes, Disney+ will transition its existing US$7.99-per-month subscription tier to the ad-supported version, and the ad-free option will go for US$10.99, the company has said.

Threat to old-time TV

Being able to reach Netflix or Disney+ viewers promises to help brands reconnect with audiences that have abandoned traditional “linear” television in favour of streaming entertainment, said nScreenMedia chief analyst and founder Colin Dixon.

“This actually gives advertisers access to people who they haven’t been able to reach in a while, in their most focused viewing time,” Dixon said

No matter when viewers with ad-based subscriptions choose to watch a show or film, the commercials will be there, waiting for them.

It will also afford advertisers the luxury placing ads directly with Netflix or Disney+ for viewers around the world, rather than having to negotiate numerous deals with channels or stations in various regions, Dixon added.

These new subscription tiers will put pressure on linear television service providers that have not yet entered into the streaming game, analyst Lawrence said.

Even major US studios such as CBS, NBC and Fox are expected to see TV ad money lured away by the prospect of matching marketing messages with winning content such as “Stranger Things” at Netflix or “Star Wars” at Disney+.

“When Netflix and Disney+ unlock that capability and allow advertisers to access the most premium inventory available on televisions, we’re going to go to a full stampede out of linear television and into streaming environments,” said Lawrence of Samba TV.

“It will probably drive down linear television advertising value.”

Along with reaching viewers wherever and whenever they stream television shows, ads on Netflix or Disney+ can provide marketers with more data than is available from what Samba called “old-fashioned TV,” he added.

Streaming television ads can also be targeted at individual viewers, noted Krim.

And, Netflix and Disney+ have a chance to create new advertising models, breaking long-held norms about advertising length or placement, and even involving partners in programme creation.

So far, streaming television services do not seem a threat to digital ad revenue for the likes of Amazon, Facebook, Google or TikTok, with marketers expanding their overall budgets for reaching people online, according to analyst Benes. — AFP




Source: Malay Mail

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