Why is fixed term parliament act significant

PETALING JAYA: Foreign flows into the local bond market returned to positive territory in May amid foreign investors’ flight-to-safety demand and Bank Negara’s hawkish pivot. Nevertheless, the magnitude was only a meager RM531mil, which did not completely offset the relative net foreign outflows of RM2.2bil in April. Total cumulative foreign holdings in the local bond market grew to RM911.1mil for the first five months of 2022, following the net foreign inflows. Notwithstanding this, they were significantly lower than the cumulative net foreign inflows of RM25bil from January to May 2021, according to MARC Ratings Bhd. Total Malaysian Government Securities/Government Investment Issues (MGS and GII) outstanding expanded by 11.1% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM947.3bil in May 2022 as there was no redemption of government bonds recorded. This is notwithstanding the reduced issuances in both the MGS (May: RM4.5bil; April: RM10bil) and GII (May: RM8bil; April: RM9.5bil) segments during … [Read more...] about Foreign flows into local bond market returns to positive territory

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 20, 2022 - June 26, 2022. - A + A ALL eyes are on RHB Banking Group’s newly minted group managing director (MD) and group CEO Mohd Rashid Mohamad as he steers the fourth-largest banking group by assets forward in a tough operating landscape. “It’s very challenging, especially now in a fast-changing market environment, and as we face potential risks such as geopolitical and inflationary,” acknowledges Rashid in his first exclusive interview as group MD/CEO. Competition has intensified, given new entrants into the market, which are not just new banks but also technology companies that compete for the same pie. Rashid adds that this has partly affected the profitability of the industry, along with many other factors. He notes that banks globally no longer see “high ROEs” as before. For RHB Bank Bhd, its return on equity (ROE) in the past 10 financial years hit a high of 13.4% in FY2012 before … [Read more...] about Cover Story: RHB’s Game Plan in ‘fast-changing’ new normal

Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America and a professor of practice at Arizona State University. His forthcoming paperback is " The Cost of Chaos: The Trump Administration and the World ." View more opinion on CNN. (CNN) The former commander of the US Special Operations Command in Europe, retired US Army Maj. Gen. Mike Repass, says the international community has to greatly increase its support for Ukraine if the embattled nation is ever going to be able to drive the Russians out. Repass has advised the Ukrainian military for the past six years on a US government contract. Last month he visited Poland and western Ukraine to get a better feel for the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. I spoke to him Friday and Monday. He says the Ukrainian supply chain for military equipment is inefficient and that additional military forces are required to drive the Russians out of Ukraine. To win the war in Ukraine, Repass … [Read more...] about Retired US major general: What it will take for the Ukrainians to win

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin It’s an open question whether Ghislaine Maxwell’s sentence of 20 years and her fine of $750,000 handed down by Judge Alison Nathan on June 28 will bring the longed-for end of the decades-long nightmare to Jeffrey Epstein’s and Ghislaine Maxwell’s many victims, both those who figured in Ms. Maxwell’s indictment and trial and the many dozens who did not. On the positive side for those victims, Maxwell’s sentencing does at least signal a resolution of this set of proceedings and provides an interregnum for assessing events thus far, as the convicted felon now begins the formalities of serving what remains of her sentence in her assigned federal facility in Danbury, Connecticut. But with Ms. Maxwell’s and her attorneys’ stated intent to appeal, it seems likely that, in a larger way, Ghislaine Maxwell’s own narrative of her years with Epstein and her quotient of guilt in the many civil and criminal matters that enveloped her … [Read more...] about Decoding Ghislaine Maxwell: By Way Of Apology At Sentencing, She Tries To Recast Herself As An Epstein “Victim”

In May, the employee was paid Rs 1.42 crore (165,398,851 Chilean pesos) instead of his salary of Rs 43,000 (500,000 pesos). (Representative Image) The rupee touched a record low, sliding near 79 to a dollar, on June 29 as foreign investors continued selling local equities and crude oil prices rose. Experts say the sharp fall of the rupee can be attributed to the strength of the greenback and lower forward premiums, among others. Moneycontrol explains the reasons for the rupee’s depreciation. How much did the rupee depreciate? The rupee opened at 78.85 per dollar and slid to 78.95, an all-time high, during intra-day trade on Wednesday. On a weekly basis, the currency has depreciated 1.2 percent. Close Why is the rupee in a free fall? Central banks led by the US Federal Reserve tightening interest rates globally, increases in crude oil and commodity prices, lower forward premiums and weakening forex reserves are some of the reasons experts cite for … [Read more...] about MC Explains | Will RBI let the rupee adjust to new lows?

Indian corporates may face an elongated receivable cycle, or even default on payments by Russian importers due to the sharp fall in Russian Rouble , bankers said. The Russian Rouble fell nearly 30% on Monday against the US dollar after the country’s premier Vladimir Putin on Sunday ordered his nuclear forces to be on high alert in view of the evolving Russia-Ukraine conflict . Separately, in view of the steep depreciation of its currency, the Bank of Russia on Monday decided to increase the key rate to 20% per annum from 9.50%, the sharpest rate hike since 2014, to compensate for the increased depreciation and inflation risks. “This is needed to support financial and price stability and protect the savings of citizens from depreciation,” the central bank said. Indian companies have a significant presence in Russia. As per data by Indian embassy in Russia, bilateral trade between the two countries between April 2020-March 2021 amounted to $8.1 billion. Indian exports … [Read more...] about Indian corporates brace for delay in receivables, defaults as Russian rouble tanks

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Rami Zeidan, founder and CEO of hospitality tech darling Life House , is a busy guy. With 60 independent hotels currently under management (and another 40 expected before year’s end), as well as five Life House-branded hotels welcoming guests (and another two slated to open in 2022), the company is harnessing travel’s triumphant return to drive its ambitious agenda. I recently spoke with Zeidan to learn more about what makes Life House tick, and what the future holds for the company post-pandemic. His responses have been edited for length and clarity. Q: How would you explain Life House and its mission to someone who knows nothing about technology? A: Life House’s mission is to make travel more accessible and reliable for all types of travelers. However, because hotels are pieces of commercial real estate owned by investors seeking a financial return, we focus on owner issues (i.e., profitability) rather than … [Read more...] about This CEO Won’t Stop Until He Reinvents The Hotel Management Business Worldwide

U.S. equity markets couldn't make it five days in a row of gains, closing flat-to-lower to end a tumultuous week. The tumult in the political arena did not spill over into the equity markets, which was unexpected. Volatility was tame. Investors had a pretty good sense of how this week would play out, and rushed into key areas of the stock and cryptocurrency markets with patriotic enthusiasm. Most global markets rose this week as well, as the planet may be ready to move on from this election. This article is an excerpt from our free The Market Sum newsletter. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox daily. At week's end, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq jumped 7.3% and 9%, respectively, while the Dow rose 6.9%. For the S&P 500, it was the biggest election week gain since 1932 for all you record keepers. Outside of the Capitol markets, the economy is still flashing red lights. The October jobs report was better than expected, but still shows how far it needs to go to get back to … [Read more...] about U.S. Markets Close Mixed But Post Huge Election Week