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Posted: 19 Mar 2013 07:00 PM PDT

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Affin Investment Bank downgraded UMW Holdings Bhd to 'reduce' from 'add', with an unchanged fair value of RM12.40 per share, saying the automotive-to-oil and gas conglomerate is fully valued now and offers less compelling risk-reward. "We continue to like management's drive and handle of the company, and this tactical downgrade is predominantly in reference to valuations as opposed to operational issues," the research house said in a note on Wednesday. Affin said the risk-reward of UMW is less compelling now given potential earnings headwinds as the automotive sector faces intense competition. It said investors have priced in the listing of the oil and gas division with an estimated market capitalisation of RM1.5 billion. "All in, we opine that our street-centric earnings is already embedded with a positive analyst bias and as such, there may be limited scope for potential earnings surprises in 2013," it added. Shares of UMW rose 85.17 per cent over the past one year, while the benchmark stock index climbed 3.18 per cent. The counter remained unchanged at RM13.24 per share, outperforming the benchmark stock index's 0.17 per cent drop.-- Reuters

KL shares open easier on mild selling

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 07:09 PM PDT

Share prices on Bursa Malaysia opened easier Wednesday on mild selling in selected heavyweights, tracking the losses on Wall Street, dealers said.

As at 9.17am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) was 4.03 points lower at 1,621.43 after opening 2.51 points lower at 1,622.95.

Dealers said renewed concerns on eurozone debt crisis after the Cyprus parliament rejected a bank deposit levy needed to secure European bailout funds were dampening global risk appetite.

HwangDBS Vickers Research said for the time being, the selling pressure on Malaysian equities seemed to have eased off.

"Still, beyond the short-term relief, downside risk persists on our local bourse with the benchmark FBM KLCI likely to face immediate resistance at 1,635 before resuming its negative trend towards the first support line of 1,615," it said in a research note today.

Some news flows that can likely signal current economic condition will be Bank Negara Malaysia's 2012 Annual Report to be released later in the day and the US Federal Reserve meeting outcome.

On the chart, the Finance Index rose 0.76 of a point to 15,218.62.

The Plantation Index, however, fell 35.16 points to 7,806.28 and the Industrial Index slipped 19.63 points to 2,809.47.

The FBM Emas Index eased 21.6 points to 11,104.44, the FBMT100 was 23.09 points lower at 10,940.85 and the FBM Mid 70 Index shed 9.07 points to 12,360.87.

However, the FBM Ace Index gained 10.67 points to 3,952.57.

Losers beat gainers 85 to 75, with 104 counters unchanged, 1,377 untraded and 24 others were suspended.

Turnover stood at 54.027 million shares worth RM50.273 million.

Actives, Alam Maritim and Land & General were flat at 93.5 sen and 42 sen, respectively, while Mulpha International gained 1.5 sen to 40 sen.

Heavyweights, Maybank was flat at RM9.07, but CIMB Group rose two sen to RM7.13.

Sime Darby lost four sen to RM9.11, Axiata Group shed one sen to RM6.31 and Petronas Chemicals eased five sen to RM6.20.-- Bernama

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7 Marines Killed in Nevada Training Exercise - New York Times

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 08:45 AM PDT

By TIMOTHY WILLIAMS

Published: March 19, 2013

Seven Marines were killed and several others were injured in an explosion during a training exercise in western Nevada on Monday night, the military said Tuesday.

The blast occurred about 10 p.m. Monday at Hawthorne Army Depot, about 140 miles southeast of Reno, said Capt. Binford Strickland, a Marine Corps spokesman.

The Marines were members of the Second Marine Division, an expeditionary ground combat unit based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The depot, situated on 150,000 acres in the Nevada desert, is one of the sites the used by the military to store conventional ammunition, according to the depot's Web site.

"We send our prayers and condolences to the families of Marines involved in this tragic incident. We remain focused on ensuring that they are supported through this difficult time," Maj. Gen. Raymond C. Fox, commanding general of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force, said in a statement. "We mourn their loss, and it is with heavy hearts we remember their courage and sacrifice."

Nine Marines were taken to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. Of those nine, one later died, while three are in serious condition and five are in fair condition, said Mark Earnest, a hospital spokesman. The injuries include penetrating trauma, fractures and vascular injuries, he said.

The military said the cause of the accident was under investigation.

On the Senate floor on Tuesday morning, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, announced news of the accident to his colleagues, saying: "My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives. And my sympathies are with their fellow Marines, who are also grieving this loss."

Marc Santora contributed reporting from New York.

Francis' New Papal Style: A Comparison with Benedict - TIME

Posted: 19 Mar 2013 08:30 AM PDT

Alessia Giuliani / CPP / Polaris

Pope Francis arrives in Saint Peter's Square for his inaugural mass at the Vatican, on March 19, 2013.

Pope Francis began his address during the March 19 ceremony marking his installation to the papacy as he has nearly every other public speech since his election just under a week ago: with a passing reference to his predecessor Benedict XVI. "We are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude," said Francis. But even if hadn't, the comparisons would be inevitable. At 76, Francis walks with a limp and needs help navigating the stairs outside St. Peter's Basilica. But his presence at the pulpit projects far more strength than what the 85-year-old theologian who came before him was able to muster.

In February, Benedict became the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the papacy, ending a pontificate under which the Vatican was rocked by scandal and internal divisions. Francis, by contrast, in his every public word and repeated gestures of humility seems to offer the promise of renewal of the Church's badly damaged image. "One of the great hopes that everyone has is that this will be the Pope who will get people to like the church again," says Alexander Lucie-Smith, a parish priest in the United Kingdom and a writer for the CatholicHerald. "If he can change the mood music, that will be an incredibly important achievement."

(MORE: The Pope and Argentina's President: Friends at Last?)

Before the mass began, the Pope had toured St. Peter's square in an open-air jeep for nearly half an hour, waving to the cheering crowds. At one point he dismounted, and walked to bless a disabled man held up by his friends by the barrier. The rain that had poured almost without stop since Francis' election the week before had given way to a bright Roman sun. Unlike in many of his previous public appearances, Pope Francis didn't go off script. But his prepared remarks—delivered as the homily in a mass held before more than 150,000 people—reinforced what has become the central message of his early papacy: the Church must protect the weak. "Certainly, Jesus conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it?" Francis said. The task Christ asked of his disciple was clear: feed my lambs. "Only those who serve with love are able to protect," he concluded.

Francis seems less skilled in delivering prepared remarks than speaking off the cuff or leaning forward to offer a joke to the person in front of him. But his words were chosen carefully. In attendance were delegations from 132 countries and religious organizations, including U.S. Vice President Biden; Cristina Kirchner, president of Francis' native Argentina; the German Chancellor Angela Merkel; the Zimbabwean despot Robert Mugabe; Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians; and dozens of other dignitaries. "It was a remarkable homily," says Jason Berry, author of Render Unto Rome, a book about about financial impropriety in the Catholic Church. "He's calling the leaders of the world to a moral agenda in a fashion that we have not seen in a many years. No disrespect to Benedict, but he became so compromised by the sex abuse crisis and by the Vatileaks scandal that his stature as moral statesman on the global stage was compromised."

Francis may be on the way to changing the tune in the Catholic Church. The question is whether he will be able to get the rest of the Vatican to follow. Benedict came into the papacy loaded with hopes for reform, only to get bogged down the spreading sex abuse scandal and viciousinfighting within the Vatican. On March 19, the morning before Francis spoke, the Washington Post published an article claiming that as an Argentine archbishop Francis may have moved too slowly to stop priests under his authority from abusing children. It was a reminder of the challenges the new Pope will have to overcome if he is going to succeed. "The Pope cannot be a champion of human rights and an advocate for the world's poor if he is continuously trailed and followed by the sexual abuse crisis," says Berry. It was only appropriate, that Francis ended his homily with another one of his common refrains. "Pray for me," he said.

PHOTOS: Catholics in Latin America Rejoice Pope Francis

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Selasa, 19 Mac 2013