Janet Yellen, chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve, speaks during the annual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S., on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2015. Yellen said the U.S. central bank is on track to raise interest rates this year, even as she acknowledged that economic "surprises" could lead them to change that plan. Bloomberg
MarketWrap: Healthcare and materials stocks pulled Wall Street lower on Tuesday in a second straight day of quiet trading as investors cautiously awaited news from the US Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting. - Reuters
The DJIA ended up 22.4 points, or 0.13%, at 17,251.53, the S&P 500 lost 3.71 points, or 0.18%, to 2,015.93 and the Nasdaq dropped 21.61 points, or 0.45%, to 4,728.67.
Forex summary
*The ringgit was down 0.15% to 4.1433 per US$
*It fell 0.04% to 4.5984 per euro
*Up 0.52% to 5.8570 to the pound sterling
*0.04% up to 2.9996 per Singapore dollar
*0.06% lower to 3.0919 per Aussie
*Down 0.19% to 3.6622 per 100 yen
Energy
Oil settled 2% lower on Tuesday as the market yielded to technical pressure and worries that US crude stockpiles were still growing amid falling output and refinery maintenance. Brent LCOc1 settled down 79 cents at US$38.74 a barrel, a 2% drop similar to Monday's. - Reuters
Top foreign stories
Fed seen holding US rates for now, leaving door open for June hike: US Federal Reserve policymakers are seen leaving short-term interest rates unchanged at a two-day policy meeting that began Tuesday, but also to signal that a rate hike is not too far off as long as the job market and inflation continue to improve. The meeting began at 1pm EDT (1700 GMT), a Fed spokesperson said. The Fed is due to issue a statement at the conclusion of the meeting on Wednesday at 2pm EDT (1800 GMT), and Fed chair Janet Yellen will hold a news conference at 2.30pm. - Reuters
Drugmaker Valeant faces debt default risk: Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc's shares plunged 50 percent on Tuesday after the company said a delay in filing its annual report put it in danger of a default on its US$30 billion in debt. - Reuters
US law firm says will pursue VW claims in Europe: US law firm Hausfeld said it will pursue claims of European customers harmed by Volkswagen's emissions scandal, adding to the German automaker's mounting legal challenges. - Reuters
US CEOs less gloomy on economy, but only slightly: For the fourth consecutive quarter, US chief executives had a glum outlook on prospects for the world's largest economy despite a slight uptick from the previous quarter, a survey shows. The Business Roundtable CEO Economic Outlook Index - a composite of CEO projections for capital expenditures, sales and job creation over the next six months - rose to 69.4 in the first quarter from 67.5 in the last quarter of 2015. Despite the increase, the index remains near three-year lows. - Reuters
China's Anbang wins US security panel nod to buy Fidelity & Guaranty: China's Anbang Insurance Group, which is looking to buy US hotel operator Starwood, has won approval from a US national security panel to buy US annuities and life insurer Fidelity & Guaranty Life, Fidelity said on Tuesday. - Reuters
China's Zoomlion sweetens offer for US crane maker Terex: China's Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co Ltd has raised its bid for US crane maker Terex Corp, sources said, as it challenges Terex's merger with Finland's Konecranes. Zoomlion has increased its offer to more than USUS$3.4 billion by adding a special dividend for Terex shareholders of $1 per share to its previous US$30 per share cash offer, the people said. Terex has responded by asking for US$32.75 per share in cash to terminate its merger agreement with Konecranes and agree to sell itself to Zoomlion, the sources said. - Reuters
Top local stories
Acid test for Sona: The next few days will be crunch time for Sona Petroleum Bhd as it rallies its investors to give the green light for its qualifying acquisition (QA) of Stag Oilfield in Australia for US$25mil, which will be voted on at an EGM on March 30. Managing director Datuk Seri Hadian Hashim is urging shareholders to vote in favour of the deal, saying it is immediately profitable and investors are buying an asset right at the bottom of the oil price cycle. - StarBiz
* Cayman Islands-registered Pacific Alliance Asia Opportunity Fund L.P. has raised its stake in Sona to 9.73%.
Producers to ramp up CPO exports: Crude palm oil (CPO) producers are set to ramp up exports this month ahead of the imposition of a 5% export tax in April, say industry players. This is because higher prices means exports will likely remain taxable going forward due to industry requirements, impacting the margins of companies that derive the majority of their revenue from CPO exports. - StarBiz
Prasarana won’t cancel contract with Scomi based on earlier notices: Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which operates the monorail line in the Klang Valley, will not rely on its two earlier notices to Scomi Transit Projects Sdn Bhd – sent prior to its “notice to remedy” dated March 8 – to terminate the Kuala Lumpur Monorail expansion contract given to Scomi. - StarBiz
Kwasa Land awards RM268.9mil contract to TSR Bina: Master developer Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd has awarded a RM268.9mil infrastructure contract to TSR Bina Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia-listed TSR Capital Bhd
. The two-year contract is for the construction of common infrastructure works for work package contract WPC1B for the Kwasa Damansara township. - StarBiz
Mobius: Ringgit ‘grossly undervalued’: The ringgit, which has fallen by more than 15% against the US dollar since January last year, has made Malaysia very attractive, says Mark Mobius. “It (ringgit) is 28% undervalued, which is why we have been buying local stocks,” the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group said. - StarBiz
Pos Malaysia to complete KLAS purchase by July: Pos Malaysia Bhd expects to complete its acquisition of KL Airport Services Sdn Bhd (KLAS) the latest by July, said Pos Malaysia Group chief executive officer Datuk Mohd Shukrie Mohd Salleh. He said the acquisition of KLAS for RM749.35mil is expected to help Pos Malaysia improve its postal services especially e-commerce. - StarBiz
SMTrack MD quits, sells shares: Yow Lock Sen is resigning as managing director of track and trace solutions provider SMTrack Bhd, citing “health reasons.” He has also sold off some 25 million shares, equivalent to an 8% stake, March 14. - StarBiz
Extension could allow Mah Sing to renegotiate terms for golf course: There could be an opening for property developer Mah Sing Group Bhd to renegotiate more favourable terms after the company extended for six months the proposed acquisition of Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Golf Course. - StarBiz
SGX listing a boon for Top Glove: Glove maker Top Glove Corp Bhd’s secondary listing on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) is expected to enhance the company’s reach and enable it to tap into the diverse investor base at SGX, a global financial hub. - StarBiz
Number of super rich Malaysians slides: The number Malaysian ultra-high net-worth individuals slid by 15% in 2015, while globally the drop was 3% (about 6,000 people) since the 2008 global financial crisis, according to Knight Frank 10th edition of The Wealth Report 2016. The ultra-rich are defined as those with mini- mum US$30mil in investable assets. - StarBiz
BLDP buys Pekan Semangat for RM155.2mil: BLD Plantation Bhd (BLDP) is acquiring Pekan Semangat Sdn Bhd, whose 70% owned subsidiary owns 5,442ha of plantation land in Sarawak, for RM155.22mil. The company said of the total land area in Stungkor at least 5,000ha had been developed into oil palm plantation. - StarBiz
Miti to form two committees for TPPA: The International Trade and Industry Ministry will form two committees - one to oversee the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and the other to gather feedback and assess the impact of the TPPA. Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said a national committee, tasked to monitor, facilitate and oversee the implementation of the TPPA, will comprise representatives from the ministries and government agencies involved with the trade agreement. - StarBiz
Gaming tax next to go up?: Following the recent series of sin tax hikes, Hong Leong Investment Bank (HLIB) Research has brought up the possibility that gaming tax may be next on the card for a review. The last time there was a raise in gaming tax for casinos was 18 years ago, in 1998, and six years ago, in 2010, for number forecast operators, said HLIB Research analyst Sia Ket Ee in a note on Tuesday. - Edge FD
HLT Global, Perak Transit bound for ACE Market: HLT GLobal Bhd, a glove-dipping lines designer and fabricator, and Perak Transit Bhd, which is a public transportation services provider, are both eyeing to float their companies on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysia. - Edge FD
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