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KL shares open mixed on mild profit-taking Posted: 10 Mar 2013 07:04 PM PDT Share prices opened mixed in early trading Monday on mild profit-taking in selected heavyweights, dealers said. As at 9.29am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) eased 0.49 of a point to 1,653.47, after opening 1.64 points lower at 1,652.32. HwangDBS Vickers Research Sdn Bhd said the benchmark FBM KLCI could break past 1,655 to move towards the next resistance threshold of 1,670 while awaiting the release of macro reports later today. "January external trade, industrial production index and February plantation statistics will be on investors' focus today," it said in a research note. On Wall Street, Major US stock indices made further gains of between 0.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent Friday amid optimism that the world's largest economy is showing visible signs of a sustainable recovery, it said. "This is expected to give investors a boost in confidence when Asian equities resume trading this morning," it added. Meanwhile, the Plantation Index slipped 8.07 points to 7,935.84, but the Industrial Index gained 0.03 of a point to 2,836.53 and the Finance Index added 12.59 points to 15,312.07. The FBM Emas Index shed 0.73 of a point to 11,290.42, the FBMT100 fell 2.01 points to 11,133.49, but the FBM Mid 70 Index rose 3.49 points to 12,464.93 and the FBM Ace Index advanced 26.76 points to 4,016.92. Gainers led losers by 130 to 92, 154 counters were unchanged, 1,256 untraded and 18 suspended. Turnover stood at 56.7 million shares worth RM74.3 million. Among actives, Tebrau Teguh added 0.35 sen to RM1.02, Padiberas Nasional and Puncak Niaga Holdings earned one sen each to RM3.68 and RM1.55, respectively, while Pan Malaysia Capital was flat at four sen. Among heavyweights, Maybank and Axiata earned one sen each to RM9.14 and RM6.43, respectively, while Sime Darby and CIMB were flat at RM9.21 and RM7.26, respectively.-- Bernama

Ringgit opens higher versus US dollar Posted: 10 Mar 2013 07:07 PM PDT The ringgit was traded lower against the US dollar Monday on lack of fresh leads, dealers said. At 9am, the ringgit was quoted at 3.1125/1150 for a US dollar against 3.1050/1080 at Friday's closing. A dealer said the market was still looking for fresh catalyst as Bank Negara Malaysia has left the overnight policy rate unchanged at three per cent last week, deeming the level as "appropriate" given the current outlook on inflation and growth. Against other major currencies, the ringgit was traded higher against the Singapore dollar at 2.4890/4926 from Friday's close at 2.4918/4944 but weakened against the yen to 3.2381/2424 from 3.2698/2747 last week. The local currency rose against the British pound to 4.6417/6457 from 4.6612/6670 at last week's close but strengthened against the euro to 4.0434/0473 from 4.0666/0709 Friday.-- Bernama

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Jeb Bush says he is not thinking about presidential bid - yet - Reuters Posted: 10 Mar 2013 09:53 AM PDT Former Governor of Florida Jeb Bush speaks while promoting his book ''Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution'' at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California March 8, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni By John Whitesides WASHINGTON | Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:49pm EDT (Reuters) - Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush appeared on five morning talk shows on Sunday to plug his new book on immigration, but said his heightened visibility does not mean he is re-entering politics or planning a White House run - not yet, anyway. The talk-show marathon capped a busy week of public appearances for Bush, one of several Republicans seen as potential contenders for the 2016 presidential nomination. Bush said it is too early to seriously ponder a bid for the White House. "I've decided to defer any consideration of it until the proper time ... which is out more than a year from now, for sure," Bush said on CNN's "State of the Union" show. "When I go through that process, I'll let you know." Bush's book tour has sparked a torrent of speculation about his political future, but he has shrugged off questions about his plans without definitively ruling out a presidential bid. "I'm not viewing this as a political re-entry," he told ABC's "This Week" of the media tour for his book. On NBC's "Meet the Press," he described the media as "crack addicts" obsessed with speculation about the campaign. Bush is one of a handful of potential Republican contenders in the public eye in recent months, a list that also includes Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Bush has come under fire for appearing to backtrack on his support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. A passage in his book proposes a path to legal residency for undocumented immigrants but tough conditions for citizenship. "I haven't changed," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation" show. "I support a path to legalization or citizenship so long as the path for people that have been waiting patiently is easier and costs less — the legal entrance to our country — than illegal entrance." Republicans have become more favorable to the idea of a path to citizenship since losing the Hispanic vote by a big margin in November, and Bush said he backs bipartisan Senate efforts to develop a comprehensive immigration plan led by a group including Rubio. "This is a very encouraging time, because if we can get immigration right, imagine, there's possibilities of cats and dogs living with one another in other policy areas as well," Bush said. While Bush's father and brother were both presidents, he said he did not believe he would carry any "Bush baggage" into a possible presidential bid. He said his brother George's unpopular 2001-2009 tenure in the White House will eventually be viewed more favorably. "I love my brother. I'm proud of his accomplishments. I love my dad, I'm proud to be a Bush and if I run for president it is not because of something in my DNA that compels me to do it," he said on "Fox News Sunday." (Editing by Eric Walsh)

Afghanistan's Karzai criticizes US, exposing tension - Reuters Posted: 10 Mar 2013 09:37 AM PDT By Mirwais Harooni and Phil Stewart KABUL | Sun Mar 10, 2013 12:36pm EDT (Reuters) - The top U.S. general in Afghanistan expressed dismay on Sunday at remarks by President Hamid Karzai, who suggested that Washington benefited from Taliban attacks on his country. Karzai's remarks, delivered during the first visit by new U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, further strained already fraught ties between Karzai and the Western allies who are fighting to protect his government from insurgents. The United States still has 66,000 troops in Afghanistan, down from almost 100,000 two years ago at the height of a surge ordered by President Barack Obama. Washington intends to withdraw most of them by the end of next year but wants to negotiate a continued, smaller presence. Speaking a day after two Taliban bomb attacks that killed 17 people, Karzai said the bombings served Washington's aim of trying to convince Afghans that U.S. forces were needed. "Those bombs that went off in Kabul and Khost were not a show of force to America. They were in service of America. It was in the service of the 2014 slogan to warn us if they (Americans) are not here then Taliban will come," Karzai said. "In fact those bombs, set off yesterday in the name of the Taliban, were in the service of Americans to keep foreigners longer in Afghanistan," he said in a speech. Karzai's remarks drew a rebuke from General Joseph Dunford, the head of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan. "We have fought too hard over the past 12 years, we have shed too much blood over the past 12 years, we have done too much to help the Afghan security forces grow over the last 12 years to ever think that violence or instability would be to our advantage," he told reporters. Of Karzai's remarks, he added: "I'll let others judge whether that's particularly helpful or not at the political level." Karzai has a history of making inflammatory statements that exasperate Washington. His comments have become increasingly bitter as the withdrawal date has approached. Karzai's government also alleged on Sunday that U.S.-led forces and Afghans working with them were abusing and arresting university students. Karzai issued an executive order banning foreign troops from entering all education institutions. The United States helped install Karzai in power in 2001 after driving the Taliban out of Kabul in a bombing campaign, in retaliation for the Taliban shielding al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. U.S. troops have fought since then to help prevent the Taliban from returning, but many in Afghanistan resent the presence of foreign forces and question their aims. The Taliban have for years demanded the withdrawal of foreign forces and have never suggested that they should stay. ALL TALK ABOUT DIALOGUE The issue of U.S. troop levels after most U.S.-led NATO combat troops withdraw by the end of 2014 will be one of the main subjects on the agenda at talks between Karzai and Hagel, who is making his first foreign trip as Pentagon chief. A joint news conference that had been scheduled for them was cancelled because of security worries, a U.S. official said. One of Saturday's bombings, a suicide attack which killed nine people, took place outside the defense ministry where Hagel's meetings with his Afghan counterpart were supposed to take place. A U.S. official said the venue for Hagel's meetings with Afghan officials had been changed. Among many sources of friction, Hagel's visit coincides with the passing of a deadline imposed by Karzai for U.S. special forces to leave the province of Wardak, after Karzai accused them of overseeing torture and killings in the area. U.S. forces have denied involvement in any abuses and a NATO official said on Saturday that U.S. special forces were still operating in Wardak. Hagel has sounded hopeful that a deal could be reached on their continued deployment. Karzai also said the Taliban and the United States had been holding talks in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar on a "daily basis", further fuelling his suggestion that Washington and the militants were working at common purposes. The militant group and Washington both denied they had resumed efforts on dialogue, which stalled a year ago. The U.S. government has said it is committed to political reconciliation involving talks with the Taliban, but progress would require agreement between the Afghan government and the insurgents. "This is simply incorrect," said a U.S. official, who declined to be identified, when asked about Karzai's remarks about the talks. The Taliban spokesman in Afghanistan, Zabihullah Mujahid, also denied that negotiations with the United States had resumed and said no progress had been made since they were suspended. "The Taliban strongly rejects Karzai's comments," he said. The Kabul government has been pushing hard to get the Taliban to the negotiating table before foreign troops withdraw. Afghan officials have not held direct talks with the militants. U.S. diplomats have been seeking to broaden exploratory talks with the Taliban that began clandestinely in Germany in late 2010 after the Taliban offered to open a representative office in Qatar. Regional power Pakistan indicated a few months ago that it would support the peace process by releasing Afghan Taliban detainees who may help promote the peace process. But there have been no tangible signs the move advanced reconciliation. (Additional reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Writing by Michael Georgy and Jeremy Laurence; Editing by Peter Graff)

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