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This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 10, 2022 - January 16, 2022. (Photo by Suhaimi Yusuf/The Edge) - A + A AS a technocrat, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz knows fiscal reforms are painfully overdue. He felt the financial strain firsthand as the government’s cash needs skyrocketed in the past two years due to the necessary spending to save lives and livelihoods hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. The ex-investment banker also knows Malaysia — whose direct debt burden will cross the RM1 trillion threshold this year — needs debt to be more productive in order to expand the economic pie and sustain growth towards the desired high-income status. As it is, interest payments on direct government debt alone take away more than RM18 out of every RM100 the government earns. This and the fact that RM49 out of every RM100 earned goes to paying civil servants’ salaries and public pension obligations are clear signs that the … [Read more...] about Cover Story: Making the right but unpopular moves

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on January 10, 2022 - January 16, 2022. The government has discussed flood mitigation plans and will have to come up with a long-term solution (Photo by Mohamad Shahril/The Edge) - A + A Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz looks none the worse for wear after two years in the political hot seat of overseeing the country’s finances. The former investment banker knows tough measures need to be made fast but admits that changes to the status quo will not be easy to push through. Below are excerpts from his interview with The Edge’s Cindy Yeap and Esther Lee. The Edge: It’s been only two months since the tabling of Budget 2022 but so many things have happened that it looks like you need to redo the budget or table a supplementary budget. Zafrul : Every year, there is a supplementary budget but, yes, only just now I told the cabinet that we have to relook and reprioritise to make … [Read more...] about Cover Story: Ensuring fiscal sustainability

Denzel Washington portrays one of William Shakespeare's most famous characters in The Tragedy Of Macbeth, a new adaptation of the 400-year-old play the Oscar winning actor says he had never seen staged before. The Hollywood star plays the titular role in Joel Coen's black and white film version of the tragedy about a Scottish general who, spurred on by his wife, commits murder to access the throne. Fellow Oscar winner Frances McDormand plays Lady Macbeth in the stage-like movie. "It just so happens as fate would have it I've never seen it. I wasn't avoiding it. I just hadn't seen it," Washington said. "I was fortunate in that Joel and Fran and myself got together close to a year out from shooting and we started reading scenes together. We got to get into the material and ask questions and bounce off of each other and act a little bit and see how we all work together." From Peter O'Toole and Ian McKellen to James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, a long list of actors have … [Read more...] about Denzel Washington on the pressure of acting in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’

Guests are invited to a collaborative four-hand, five-course dinner at Praça on 31st January, followed by authentic ear seeding on 1st February, as time-honoured traditions fuse with contemporary style Chinese New Year is a time to come together with loved ones and honour the past, whilst also looking ahead to an exciting future. To celebrate the dawn of the “Year of the Tiger”, The Standard, Hua Hin’s newest and coolest beach resort, has unveiled a series of sensational festive occasions that fuse the rich traditions of the past with cutting-edge cuisine and timeless mid-century sophistication. Praça, the upbeat beachside bar and Thai izakaya, will prove that four hands are better than two this Chinese New Year, with a creative culinary journey by two award-winning chefs: Peter Lai, an expert in the art of Cantonese cuisine, and Prasertchai “Jacky” Trongvanichnam, a former Iron Chef champion and master of Thai gastronomy. Previously a teacher and student, Chef Peter and Chef Jacky … [Read more...] about THE STANDARD, HUA HIN CELEBRATES CHINESE NEW YEAR WITH CREATIVE CUISINE AND ANCIENT HEALING

In this episode, Vince and Jason sit down with Georgia candidate for Governor Vernon Jones to discuss his campaign, Biden’s divisive Georgia speech, election issues, crime, vaccine mandates, and climate change. (RELATED: Vernon Jones Will Challenge Georgia Gov. Kemp In 2022 Republican Primary) “Vince & Jason Save The Nation” is a political debate show that grapples with America’s most pressing questions. The show features intelligent, brutally honest conversations between Vince Coglianese and Jason Nichols, two nationally renowned political commentators who come from opposite sides of the political divide but share a profound love of country. Enlisting the support of their fascinating and talented guests, Vince and Jason tackle the existential issues confronting America and set out on their quest to Save the Nation. Subscribe to Save The Nation on Apple Podcasts: https://rb.gy/mletxb Subscribe to Save The Nation on Spotify: https://rb.gy/jd7gdx … [Read more...] about Black Conservative Running For GA Gov Flipped From Dem To Republican | Guest Vernon Jones | Vince & Jason Save The Nation

Biotech stocks haven't been at their best of late. The SPDR S&P Biotech Exchange Traded Fund ( NYSEMKT:XBI ) has lost more than 30% of its value over the prior 12 months. The XBI is thus bumping up against its 52-week low as of this writing. Investors have been backing away from biotech stocks over the past year for many reasons, including inflationary pressures, the risk of rising interest rates, the threat of fundamental drug pricing reform in the U.S., and the appeal of other high-growth asset classes like cryptocurrency. All isn't lost, however. Biotech, as a whole, is still going through an unprecedented period of innovation. As a result, scores of untapped, high-value therapeutic markets are starting to open up, a fact that bodes well for the industry's long-term fortunes. Savvy investors, in turn, would be wise to take advantage of this broad selloff in biotech. Which biotech stocks are the most attractive buys amid this turmoil? Here are my top three biotech … [Read more...] about My 3 Top Biotech Stock Picks for 2022

What happened Shares of Meta Platforms ( NASDAQ:FB ) , the parent company of Facebook, tumbled on Tuesday, declining as much as 4.1%. As of 11:30 a.m. ET, the stock was down 3.9%. The stock's decline was likely primarily driven by a rough day in the overall market on Tuesday -- especially for tech stocks like Meta Platforms. But an analyst's move to slightly reduce his 12-month price target for the stock may also be weighing on shares. Image source: Getty Images. So what J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth reiterated an outperform rating for Meta Platforms stock on Tuesday. But he lowered his 12-month price target from $390 to $385, citing the tough year-ago revenue comparisons the company will face in 2022. The note to investors, however, was more focused on the positives; he views the shares as a top pick. Supporting his bull case, he thinks Meta Platforms is doing a good job managing recent ad-tracking changes from Apple 's iOS and he believes that the new … [Read more...] about Why Meta Platforms Stock Fell Sharply on Tuesday

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The last time the Federal Reserve tried to taper its money-printing ways, the S&P 500 dropped 20% in 11 weeks. I’m not sure if the sequel is going to be any kinder to “America’s ticker,” the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) SPY . It’s time to prepare. The best time to sell speculative, profitless positions was last week. The second-best time is probably now, with Jay Powell set to stop his bond buying and start raising rates in the next couple of months. I know many dividend investors are feeling smug, and rightly so. We made a bunch of money from Powell’s printing, and now our dividend darlings appear set to attract “basic” investors from the land of crypto and tech. But not all dividend payers are safe today. Some are anything but, and will be washed out alongside the speculative junk. (We’ll name two of these dangerous dividends below.) But first, a toast. Powell Has Been Good to Us One day we may raise a … [Read more...] about 2 Dangerous Dividends That’ll Be Wiped Out In ’22

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Want half a share of Apple, or bitcoin alongside protective puts? The investing, trading and wealth management firms on Forbes’ Fintech 50 2019 offer more than just the services once exclusive to big banks and traditional financial firms. They’re tapping into markets by merging new tricks with the old. Take, for example, the maturing roboadvisor market as it embraces the human side of advising. Pioneer Betterment added human advisors to its mix in 2017 and last year introduced the ability for investors to tailor their automated portfolio allocations. Further evidence of the hybrid-advisor appeal: Digital wealth management platform Personal Capital returns to the Fintech 50 list after announcing an Atlanta office in September to bulk up its team of more than 200 financial advisors, and its free online financial dashboard now claims almost 2 million users. Meanwhile, the new generation of online brokers, … [Read more...] about The Future Of Investing: Fintech 50 2019