Commodities
Congratulation is in order for voters who had voted for the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional in the recent Melaka and Johor state elections. In appreciation to both Barisan Nasional supporters (especially UMNO supporters) and non-supporters, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri has prepared a magnificent gift – RM100 cash aid for B40 households and RM50 for single individuals. […]
... written on Jun 23 2022After some uncertainties and U-turns, the White House has confirmed President Joe Biden’s first trip to the Middle East, including a stop in Saudi Arabia. The trip, scheduled from July 13 to 16, will see the U.S. Commander-in-Chief meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the same man the U.S. intelligence said is linked to […]
... written on Jun 19 2022Have you noticed the size of fried chicken at Kentucky Fried Chicken is smaller than usual? That’s because the chicken shortage has forced the poor birds to be slaughtered earlier in order to meet the local demand. Yes, Malaysia is currently facing the food crisis, and chicken is the latest candidate of food shortage that […]
... written on May 25 2022Dow Jones dropped 1,164.52 points on Wednesday (May 18) – the biggest drop since June 2020. In fact, at 31,490.07, the DJIA saw the lowest close since March 2021. Likewise, the S&P 500 plunged to its lowest drop since June 2020. The fact that this is the fifth Dow decline of more than 800 points […]
... written on May 19 2022Joe Biden hosted ASEAN leaders in Washington last week for a special summit to commemorate 45 years of US-ASEAN ties. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, founded in August 1967 and consisting of 10 nations, is an important political and economic union in the region as it covers a population of 660 million with a […]
... written on May 18 2022Crude oil hit more than US$130 a barrel after Russia launched its so-called special military operation in Ukraine. But crude oil was not the only commodity which skyrockets after the invasion. Sunflower oil, the world’s third most traded vegetable oil after palm and soybean oil, also hit the roof. Worse, Ukraine and Russia accounts for […]
... written on May 14 2022As expected, Bank Negara Malaysia (Central Bank of Malaysia) has finally raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points today (May 11). With the increase, the first since the rate reached a record low of 1.75% in July 2020, the effective OPR (overnight policy rate) is now 2.00%. However, at the same time, the […]
... written on May 11 2022Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, speaking during a news conference on May 4 to raise interest rate by 50 basis points, has signalled that the Fed could continue to approve increases of half a percentage point. Investors, however, spooked by earlier speculations that the rate could be up to 75 basis points, did not pay […]
... written on May 10 2022China has a huge problem – US$3.2 trillion foreign exchange reserve – the world’s largest reserves. In comparison, Japan, the country with the second largest foreign reserves, has only US$1.4 trillion (as of Feb 2022). China’s foreign assets included more than US$1 trillion in U.S. bonds and huge amounts of real estate, especially hotels and […]
... written on May 06 2022Vladimir Putin has finally made good on his threat to punish “unfriendly countries” that stubbornly and defiantly refused to pay for Russian natural gas in rubles. The first casualties – Poland and Bulgaria – saw their gas supplies cut on Wednesday (April 27), coincides with a sharp rise in tensions between Western powers and Russia as the war in Ukraine enters its […]
... written on Apr 27 2022