News from Malaysia

TOKYO (Feb 23): Asian shares and the euro fell on Thursday on concerns over a slowdown in the global economy,...

LONDON: British airport operator BAA posted a 17% rise in full-year profit as it squeezed more growth from London’s Heathrow even though it had to turn away airlines eager to fly to new markets from Britain’s busiest airport.

HONG KONG: Dragonair, a unit of Hong Kong’s dominant carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, says it plans to expand its fleet by 20% this year by adding six aircraft and will hire more staff to meet growing demand in Asia.       

PARIS: General Motors (GM) and PSA Peugeot Citroen are discussing a broad manufacturing alliance designed to stem losses in Europe and lower production costs elsewhere, according to sources with knowledge of the matter said.

SAN FRANCISCO: Dell Inc forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue below Wall Street’s expectations, stoking fears the personal computer (PC) industry has not fully emerged from its downturn and sending the company’s shares more than 4% lower.

SYDNEY (Feb 23): A senior Australian central banker on Thursday said it was crucial domestic banks not relax lending standards...

ATHENS: Fitch downgraded Greece on Tuesday to C from CCC, a move widely expected after the country said it might enforce losses on bondholders who did not voluntarily sign up to a debt swap plan accompanying its EU/IMF-approved bailout.       

MEXICO CITY: Europe’s debt crisis will dominate talks between Group of 20 (G-20) policymakers this weekend as the rest of the world looks for pledges that the eurozone will boost its crisis safety net.

PARIS: Europe’s largest hotel group, Accor, said it is confident a recovery in demand for hotel rooms would continue this year as it handed investors a higher-than-expected dividend on the back of forecast-beating 2011 profits.

BEIJING: A property sector downturn and slumping global demand may knock China’s economy into a hard landing in 2012, a senior government economist told Reuters, putting more pressure on Beijing to speed up economic reforms and to open up the market.

NEW YORK (Feb 22): U.S. stocks dipped on Wednesday, with the S P 500 stalled near a 10-month-old high...

NEW YORK (Feb 22):  Global stocks eased and the euro was little changed on Wednesday after data showed the euro...

SINGAPORE: Wilmar International Ltd posted a 57% jump in quarterly profit, boosted by a huge revaluation gain in its core palm oil business and from its enlarged sugar operations, but investors dumped shares on concerns about declining margins.       

NEW DELHI: Lenders to India’s Kingfisher Airlines have not agreed to extend further loans to the debt-crippled carrier, three banking sources said after reports that one state-owned creditor was close to offering a bailout loan package.       

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Feb 22): Ananda Krishnan, ranked by Forbes as Malaysia's second-richest man, has put his entire power portfolio up...

BANGKOK: Thailand’s the economy may grow by more than the forecast 4.9% this year, after a much weaker than expected performance in 2011 due to severe flooding, the country’s central bank said.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s initial public offerings (IPOs) have suffered their worst start since 2009, failing to ride a stock market rally and forcing bankers in Asia’s main centre for new issues to pin their hopes on a US$700mil oil sands company offering to throw open the floodgates.        

NEW DELHI: India’s economy is expected to pick up in the fiscal year starting on April 1 after growing at its slowest pace in three years in the current fiscal year, a government advisory panel said.       

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), which will start awarding concessions to retailers for KLIA2 in April, expects the concessionaires to help it achieve annual sales of RM1.6bil once the new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) runs at full capacity.

PETALING JAYA: Given Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering Holdings Bhd’s (MMHE) sluggishness in bagging new jobs, analysts are cautious about the company’s earnings outlook.