Selasa, 12 Mac 2013

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Business Times : latesthttp://www.btimes.com.my enWednesday, March 13, 2013, 01.42 PMMIDF raises semiconductor to 'positive'http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313112157/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313112157/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:21:57 +0800MIDF Research upgraded Malaysia's semiconductor and technology sector to 'positive' from 'neutral', citing robust demand from smartphone makers, which will be the key driver for growth in 2013. "There will also be other sectors of growth such as optoelectronics," the research house said in a note today. "Malaysia's recent export numbers for the electrical and electronic sector suggests that the semiconductor sector is on the mend," MIDF added. The research house has 'buy' calls on Unisem (M) Bhd with a target price of RM1.25 per share and Globetronics Technology Bhd with a target price of RM1.96 per share. "We continue to like Globetronics for its resilience and the fact that it has exposure in high growth subsectors such as optoelectronics and sensors," it said. For semiconductor company Unisem, MIDF said it was expecting an earnings recovery in 2013. As of 10.03am, shares of Globetronics were down 4.95 per cent at RM1.73 per share and Unisem shares were 0.55 per cent lower at 90 sen a share. The technology index declined 0.84 per cent.-- Reuters China imports RM62m local F&B in 2012http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313110932/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313110932/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:09:32 +0800China imported food and beverages (FandB) worth RM62.38 million last year as a result of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade)-Parkson Beijing collaboration. Matrade said this accounted for 20 per cent increase against 2011. "Currently, about 360 Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) Malaysia's FandB products are sold in Beijing Parkson's supermarkets, supplied by 19 suppliers, comprising mostly local Chinese importers and distributors. "Many Malaysian FandB brands are now available in Beijing as a result of this collaboration over the past six years," the national trade promotion agency said in a statement today. Matrade said its Beijing office is currently supporting initiatives by some of Parkson's suppliers to also distribute Malaysia's FandB products to local and foreign-owned hypermarkets and convenient stores such as 7-Eleven and Jia Hue Supermarket. It said efforts are also being made to assist importers and distributors to penetrate north China through a series of events and promotional activities. "We encourage local manufacturers and exporters to venture into China's rapidly-expanding consumer market," it added. Food and beverages imported from Malaysia include biscuits and cookies, snacks, confectioneries, pudding, jelly, frozen seafood, coffee and tea.-- Bernama Short-term rates to remain stable http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313111331/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313111331/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:13:31 +0800Short-term rates are expected to remain stable Wednesday, as Bank Negara Malaysia continues to intervene to absorb excess liquidity from the financial system, dealers said. The central bank has estimated today's surplus at RM17.02 billion in the conventional system and RM2.6 billion in Islamic funds. Bank Negara will call for a RM5 billion range maturity auction for five to 92 days and a RM100 million Commodity Murabahah Programme for 21 days. It will also conduct a RM200 million repo tender for 92 days and an Al-Wadiah tender for RM500 million for seven days. At 4pm, Bank Negara will conduct up to RM12 billion conventional overnight tender and RM2 billion Al-Wadiah overnight tender.-- Bernama KL shares remain negative mid-morninghttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313095812/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313095812/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:58:13 +0800Share prices on Bursa Malaysia remained in the negative territory as at mid-morning trading Wednesday in sync with the weaker performance on regional stock markets, dealers said. As at 11am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) shed 9.67 points to 1,646.87. It opened 3.07 points weaker at 1,653.47 earlier. The Plantation Index lost 34.26 points to 7,940.72, the Industrial Index dipped 10.54 points to 2,828.38, and the Finance Index sank 71.9 points to 15,372.64. The FBM Emas Index dwindled 64.09 points to 11,258.96, the FBMT100 slipped 63.58 points to 11,100.82, and the FBM Mid 70 Index erased 64.12 points to 12,482.56, but the FBM Ace Index rose 6.65 points to 3,984.94. Losers led gainers by 298 to 128, with 219 counters unchanged, 987 untraded and 18 others suspended. Turnover stood at 241.4 million shares worth RM310.31 million. Actives, Patimas Computers and Asia Bioenergy Tech earned half sen each to four sen and seven sen, respectively, Asia Media Group gained one sen to 15 sen while GPRO Technologies was flat at 11 sen. Heavyweights, Maybank, Sime Darby and Axiata lost one sen each to RM9.19, RM9.19 and RM6.41, respectively, and CIMB declined eight sen to RM7.17.-- Bernama Ringgit opens higher on export boosthttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313105743/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313105743/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:57:43 +0800The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar in early trading Wednesday following signs of improvement in the US economy, boosting Malaysia's export outlook. At 9.06am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.1020/1040 from yesterday's close at 3.1075/1105. A dealer said the US job data showed the fewest workers on record were fired in the world's largest economy in January and job openings rebounded in the country, the fourth biggest importer of Malaysian goods last year. Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded higher against the Singapore dollar at 2.4886/4914 from Tuesday's 2.4892/4918 and strengthened against the yen to 3.2289/2313 from 3.2296/2344 yesterday. The local currency rose against the British pound to 4.6232/6274 from yesterday's 4.6299/6356 but eased against the euro to 4.0416/0448 from 4.0394/0440 Tuesday.-- Bernama US stocks eke out 6th record highhttp://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313074907/Article/ http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20130313074907/Article/Wed, 13 Mar 2013 07:49:07 +0800NEW YORK: US stocks closed mostly lower Tuesday in quiet trade, but the Dow squeezed out a sixth straight day of record-high closings. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 2.77 points (0.02 per cent) to 14,450.06, an all-time peak. The broad-market SandP 500 fell 3.74 points (0.24 per cent) to 1,552.48, snapping a seven-session winning streak. The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite dropped 10.55 points (0.32 per cent) to 3,242.32. "The record-breaking winning streak for the Dow continued, eking out a very modest gain, while technology stocks kept the other major indexes lower," Charles Schwab and Co. said in a market note. But stocks overall remained "close to the flatline, as the markets lacked any hint of a catalyst from either the economic and equity fronts." The Dow kept up its eight-day winning streak lifted by a 3.2 per cent rise in the shares of pharmaceutical giant Merck after it won regulatory approval to continue its clinical study of the cholesterol drug Vytorin. Also helping the blue-chip index was Boeing, up 1.5 per cent amid reports Irish airline Ryanair will announce an US$18 billion order for up to 200 aircraft. Dow oil major Chevron slipped 0.4 per cent after saying it was on track to meet its target for a large increase in oil and natural gas output in 2017. Tech heavyweight Apple tumbled 2.2 per cent to US$428.43 after a price target cut from analyst Jefferies, to US$420. Google dropped 0.9 per cent after agreeing to pay a US$7 million fine to settle a US Wi-Fi privacy lawsuit. Hewlett-Packard shed 1.8 per cent. BlackBerry gave back 2.9 per cent from Monday's 14.1 per cent gain after it announced the US launch date for its new Z10 smartphone, March 22. Yum Brands gained 1.3 per cent after the restaurant giant reported same-store sales fell about 2.0 per cent in China in February, not as much as analysts expected. -- AFP
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Troubled Church starts conclave to find new pope - Reuters

Posted: 12 Mar 2013 09:49 AM PDT

Cardinal Angelo Sodano leads mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican March 12, 2013. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

VATICAN CITY | Tue Mar 12, 2013 12:44pm EDT

(Reuters) - Red-robed cardinals retreated behind the heavy wooden doors of the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday at the start of a conclave that will elect a new pope to tackle the strife and scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church.

Latin chants and organ music accompanied the cardinals as they processed into the room, with Michelangelo's depiction of Christ delivering the Last Judgment on the back wall and his image of the hand of God giving life to Adam on the ceiling.

Laying their own hands on the Gospels and speaking in Latin, they took a vow of secrecy not to divulge anything about the ballot, which was expected to start with an initial round of voting later in the afternoon.

No conclave in the modern era has chosen a pope on the first day, and some cardinals speculated earlier this week that it might take up to four or five days to pick the man to replace Pope Benedict, who unexpectedly abdicated last month.

The doors were shut at 5.34 p.m.(12.34 p.m. ET), and the master of ceremonies, Guido Marini, said "Extra Omnes" (Latin for "Everyone Out"), asking all those not associated with the gathering to leave the room, dominated by Michelangelo's 16th century fresco masterpieces.

Maltese Cardinal Prosper Grech, who at 87 is too old to participate, remained inside to give a sermon to remind the 115 cardinal electors of the gravity of their responsibility, before he and Marini were to be the last outsiders to leave.

Smoke from a chimney on the chapel roof will announce the outcome to the outside world. Black smoke means an inconclusive vote and white smoke signals the election of a pontiff.

The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five.

Earlier, on a day rich in ritual and pageantry, Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano called for unity in the Church, which is beset by sex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and the rise of secularism.

"My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart," Sodano said in his homily at a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica ahead of the conclave.

POSSIBLE PONTIFFS

No obvious front runner has emerged since Benedict's departure, with some prelates calling for a strong manager to control the much criticized Vatican bureaucracy, while others want a powerful pastor to promote their faith across the globe.

Italy's Angelo Scola and Brazil's Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible front runners. The former would return the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland's John Paul II and the German Benedict; Scherer would be the first non-European pope since Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.

However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also been mentioned as "papabili" - potential popes - including U.S. cardinals Timothy Dolan and Sean O'Malley, Canada's Marc Ouellet and Argentina's Leonardo Sandri.

Large crowds are expected to gather in St. Peter's Square, despite glowering grey clouds and regular rain showers, awaiting their new pontiff and hoping for positive changes.

"He must be a great pastor with a big heart, and also have the capacity to confront the Church's problems, which are very great," said Maria Dasdores Paz, a Brazilian nun who attended the Mass in Rome. "Every day there seem to be more."

In the past month, the only British cardinal elector excused himself from the conclave and apologized for sexual misconduct.

Signaling the divisions in Catholic ranks, Italian newspapers reported on Tuesday an open clash between prelates in a pre-conclave meeting on Monday.

The newspapers said the Vatican hierarchy's number two under Benedict, Tarcisio Bertone, had accused Brazil's Joao Braz de Aviz of leaking critical comments to the media.

Aviz retorted to loud applause that the chatter was coming from the Curia, the Vatican's central administration, which has been criticized for failing to prevent a string of mishaps, including leaks, during Benedict's troubled, eight-year reign.

All the prelates in the Sistine Chapel were appointed by either Benedict XVI or John Paul II, and the next pontiff will almost certainly pursue their fierce defense of traditional moral teachings.

But Benedict and John Paul were criticized for failing to reform the Curia, and some churchmen believe the next pope must be a good chief executive or at least put a robust management team in place under him.

Vatican insiders say Scola, who has managed two big Italian dioceses without being part of the central Vatican administration, could be well placed to understand its Byzantine politics and introduce swift reform.

The still influential Curia is said by the same insiders to back Scherer, who worked in the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops for seven years before later leading Brazil's Sao Paolo diocese - the largest in a country with the biggest national Catholic community.

With only 24 percent of Catholics living in Europe, pressure is growing to choose a pontiff from elsewhere in the world who would bring a different perspective.

Latin American cardinals might worry more about poverty and the rise of evangelical churches than questions of materialism and sexual abuse that dominate in the West, while the growth of Islam is a major concern for the Church in Africa and Asia.

The cardinals will retire to a Vatican guesthouse for the night before returning if necessary to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday, where they will vote four times a day until they choose the man they believe to be the vicar of Christ on earth.

As in mediaeval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating with the outside world. The Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy in the 21st century, including electronic jamming devices to prevent eavesdropping.

(Additional reporting by Naomi O'Leary and Tom Heneghan; Editing by Barry Moody, Alastair Macdonald and Peter Graff)

Rep. Ryan unveils $4.6 trillion plan to cut the deficit - USA TODAY

Posted: 12 Mar 2013 09:16 AM PDT

WASHINGTON — House Republicans unveiled a budget Tuesday that would balance the nation's books in 10 years without raising taxes but by eliminating President Obama's health care law, revamping Medicare for future retirees and creating just two tax brackets for individuals -- 10% and 25%.

By cutting $4.6 trillion in current spending over the next decade, the budget would achieve balance between what the government spends and what it collects in revenues by 2023.

"For the third straight year, we've delivered," House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday at a news conference. Since taking control of the House in 2010, the GOP has approved a budget each year. The House is scheduled to approve Ryan's budget next week. The GOP budget is non-binding and does not have the force of law, but it serves as a philosophical document on the party's views on the size and role of the federal government.

The conservative blueprint stands no chance of gaining traction with Senate Democrats or Obama, but the plan is a starting point for renewed debate about how to balance the budget. Senate Democrats, for the first time since 2009, will unveil a competing budget Wednesday.

Senate Democrats will call for raising $1 trillion in new revenues while cutting $1 trillion in federal spending, but they have not offered any specifics ahead of Wednesday's release. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., will preview the budget to her Senate Democratic colleagues at a Tuesday meeting that Obama is scheduled to attend on Capitol Hill. The 50/50 ratio of taxes to cuts is on par with the president's call for "a balanced approach" for deficit reduction.

Key elements of the GOP budget include:

  • A balanced budget achieved in a decade by not allowing the government to spend more than it collects in revenue, which Republicans set at 19.1% of gross domestic product. By their measure, the federal government will spend $4.6 trillion less over the next decade that the government is currently on track to spend.
  • A 3.4% annual increase in spending each year, but Republicans estimate the economy will grow by a faster margin to help balance the books.
  • Cuts the growth of the public debt to an estimated $14.2 trillion by 2023 instead of the nearly $20 trillion estimated by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
  • Authorizes construction of the 1,700-mile Keystone XL oil pipeline and estimates it would create 20,000 new jobs.
  • A full repeal of Obama's health care law.
  • Support for new laws to limit medical malpractice liabilities.
  • A fundamental overhaul of the Medicare system for future retirees. Starting in 2024, seniors would be given a federal subsidy to purchase health care from the private market, instead of the guaranteed benefit system that currently exists. It also calls for wealthy seniors to pay more for premiums.
  • Ryan's plan also keeps in place $716 billion in Medicare cuts in payments to providers included in the president's health care law to achieve balance. As a vice presidential candidate in 2012, Ryan opposed these cuts and attacked Obama for it in his convention speech.
  • A transfer of power to states to determine how Medicaid and other funds should be spent on programs, including food stamps.
  • An increase in defense spending over current law.
  • A plan to transform the tax code to simplify it from seven individual tax brackets to two, as well as a repeal of the Alternative Minimum Tax.
  • A 25% corporate tax rate.
  • A requirement that the president and Congress offer respective proposals for the long-term solvency of Social Security.

The outline is similar to the two previous budgets offered by House Republicans. Ryan acknowledged that their Medicare proposal is politically sensitive.

"The other side will demagogue this issue. But remember: Anyone who attacks our Medicare proposal without offering a credible alternative is complicit in the program's demise," he wrote in a column published in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.

In a statement, the White House criticized the Ryan plan as one that would disproportionately hurt the middle class and protect the wealthy. The White House also made clear they would oppose Ryan's Medicare overhaul. "This budget would turn Medicare into a voucher program undercutting the guaranteed benefits that seniors have earned and forcing them to pay thousands more out of their own pockets," they said. "The president still believes it is the wrong course for America."

Senate Democrats are likewise on track to vote on their budget next week. The president has not yet sent his budget request to Congress. It is not expected until early April.

The two chambers are unlikely to reconcile the competing budget plans, but approval in the House and Senate by April 15 will ensure that lawmakers can still collect their paychecks.

A law passed earlier this year mandated that lawmakers approve a budget by the April deadline or their salaries would be held in escrow until a budget was passed or the current Congress ended in January 2015.

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