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CIMB Research maintains Outperform on My E.G, ups target price to RM1.74

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:20:37 +0800

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#Highlights* Gapurna rejected PKNS offer

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:18:54 +0800

KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said the state government was prepared to pay a better price than Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) to acquire Nusa Gapurna Development Sdn Bhd’s (NGD) 70% stake in PJ Sentral Development Sdn Bhd. NGD has proposed to dispose of the 70% stake as part of a bigger corporate exercise valued at RM729 million.

#Market Open* KLCI dips 0.05%, tracks global markets’ retreat

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:14:48 +0800

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Actor James Gandolfini, star of 'The Sopranos,' dies in Italy

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:10:03 +0800

By Piya Sinha-Roy and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - James Gandolfini, the burly actor best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a conflicted New Jersey mob boss in the acclaimed HBO cable television series "The Sopranos," died on Wednesday while vacationing in Rome, the network said. Gandolfini, 51, who began his career in theater in New York, making his Broadway debut in a 1992 revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire," died of a possible heart attack, HBO spokeswoman Mara Mikialian told Reuters. ...

Yahoo rejects fears hackers will exploit old user IDs

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:48:51 +0800

By Alexei Oreskovic SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Yahoo Inc on Wednesday downplayed concerns that its plans to recycle inactive user IDs could leave users exposed to hackers, saying only 7 percent of those IDs are tied to actual Yahoo email accounts. The Internet company, which announced last week it would release user IDs that have been inactive for more than 12 months so that other people can claim them, was pressed to defend the plan after critics warned that hackers who take control of inactive accounts could also assume the identities of the accounts' previous owners. ...

Affin IB Research maintains Neutral on Automotive sector

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:44:43 +0800

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Actor James Gandolfini, star of 'The Sopranos,' dead in Italy

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:54:29 +0800

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor James Gandolfini, best known for his Emmy-winning portrayal of a conflicted New Jersey mob boss in the acclaimed HBO cable television series "The Sopranos," has died while vacationing in Rome, the network said on Wednesday. Gandolfini, who was 51, died of a possible heart attack, HBO spokeswoman Mara Mikialian told Reuters. (Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Sao Paulo, Rio revoke transport fare hikes as protests continue

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:21:20 +0800

By Asher Levine and Tatiana Ramil SAO PAULO/FORTALEZA, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil's two biggest cities agreed on Wednesday to revoke an increase in public transportation fares that set off demonstrations that have grown into nationwide protests against poor public services, inflation and corruption. The decisions, made separately in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, followed another day of protests across Brazil, which also included a march by demonstrators around a major international soccer game in the northeastern city of Fortaleza. ...

115K expected at Electric Daisy Carnival in Vegas

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:16:58 +0800

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Up to 115,000 partiers are expected each night this weekend for a dusk-to-dawn sensory salad of electronic dance music, lights, partying and mingling at a sprawling speedway complex outside Las Vegas.

Analysis: Sprint should raise Clearwire bid to avoid Dish tension

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:16:50 +0800

By Sinead Carew and Liana B. Baker NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp should consider raising its offer price for Clearwire Corp or risk being saddled with a contentious relationship with Dish Network Corp, controlled by feisty billionaire Charlie Ergen. Shareholders of Clearwire, already majority owned by Sprint, will vote on June 24 on Sprint's $3.40-a-share offer to buy the rest of the company. But Clearwire's board has recommended shareholders instead accept a higher, $4.40-a-share tender offer from Dish. ...

Microsoft reverses position on Xbox One Internet, game sharing

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 06:55:40 +0800

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday that users of its forthcoming Xbox One game console will be able to play games offline without establishing an Internet connection, and will be able to lend or sell used disc-based games. The announcement reverses the company's position when it unveiled the console in May, causing consternation among hardcore gamers. ...

Brazil's protests: Not quite a 'Tropical Spring'

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:42:13 +0800

By Brian Winter SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's blossoming protest movement is a coming-of-age for what had been one of Latin America's most politically disengaged youth populations, but does not appear to constitute a major threat to governability or established political parties. The protests, which gathered steam last week and saw some 200,000 Brazilians demonstrate in a dozen cities on Monday, are unlikely to go away anytime soon. ...

Greek coalition signals state TV deal near, to meet again

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:36:17 +0800

By Lefteris Papadimas and Renee Maltezou ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's ruling party leaders have signalled they are moving towards a compromise on the restart of state TV broadcasts and pledged to resolve a political standoff by Thursday. A court ruling on Monday ordered the public broadcaster ERT back on air, but its screens were still black or showing colour bars after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's surprise decision a week ago to pull the plug at a few hours' notice to save money. ...

Microsoft talked with Nokia about buying devices unit-report

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:27:31 +0800

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp recently talked with Nokia about buying the Finnish phone maker's devices unit, but the discussions faltered and are not likely to be revived, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday in its online edition. The Journal reported that "advanced discussions" on a deal happened as recently as this month, according to unnamed sources it said were familiar with the matter. Microsoft rejected a deal because of price and Nokia's loss of market share to rising Asian competitors, the report said. Representatives of both companies declined comment. ...

Micron profit beats estimates as chip prices climb

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 05:23:54 +0800

By Sruthi Ramakrishnan (Reuters) - Micron Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit due to higher prices for its memory chips used in personal computers, mobile handsets and tablet devices. The company said average selling prices of its dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, mostly used in PCs and which accounted for 39 percent of revenue last year, rose 16 percent during the quarter. Memory supply constraints have driven up prices this year, with DRAM prices more than doubling, Jefferies & Co analysts said in a pre-earnings note. ...

Finisar profit beats Street estimates, shares jump

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:44:07 +0800

(Reuters) - Network equipment maker Finisar Corp reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' expectations as demand for its fiber optic products rose. Finisar shares rose 10 percent in trading after the bell. The stock closed at $14.52 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. Net profit attributable to the company fell to $3.9 million, or 4 cents per share, in the fourth quarter from $18 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. Operating costs rose 38 percent, mainly due to impairment charges of $7.6 million. Excluding items, the company earned 20 cents per share. Revenue rose 1. ...

ANALYSIS - Putin basks in isolation over Syria as Obama's charm falls flat

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 04:12:52 +0800

By Guy Faulconbridge and Timothy Heritage ENNISKILLEN, Northern Ireland/MOSCOW (Reuters) - At the end of a tense two-hour meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama - slumped over and serious - tried to lighten the mood with a joke about their favourite sports. "And finally, we compared notes on President Putin's expertise in judo and my declining skills in basketball," the U.S. president told reporters at the G8 summit, after the two men gave formal statements emphasising their common ground rather than their sharp differences on how to end the Syrian crisis. ...

Paris tackles rudeness to tourists with new manual

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:54:20 +0800

PARIS (Reuters) - One of the world's most visited cities but also famous for its rudeness, Paris has embarked on a campaign to improve its reputation and better cater to the needs of tourists. Waiters, taxi drivers and sales staff in the French capital all too often come off as impolite, unhelpful and unable to speak foreign languages say local tourism chiefs, who are handing out a manual with guidelines on better etiquette. ...

BlackBerry shares fall as analyst downgrades stock ahead of earnings

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:51:45 +0800

TORONTO (Reuters) - BlackBerry shares fell 4 percent on Wednesday after a Bernstein Research analyst cut his rating on the stock to "underperform" ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release next week. While Bernstein's Pierre Ferragu said he expected disappointing results from the smartphone maker, other analysts have bullish expectations, pointing to an even more volatile run for a generally volatile stock. ...

Nvidia's stock jumps on license plan; Wall Street eyes Apple

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 03:17:13 +0800

By Noel Randewich (Reuters) - Shares of chipmaker Nvidia surged nearly 6 percent on Wednesday after the company said it plans to license its graphics technology, opening the door to new business with Apple, Samsung Electronics and other mobile device makers. Chief Executive Officer Jen-Hsun Huang told the Reuters Global Technology Summit in San Francisco on Tuesday that licensing graphics cores and visual patents would help Nvidia take greater advantage of the booming market for smartphones and tablets and tap markets it could not reach through selling its own chips. ...

Vince Flynn, author of Mitch Rapp thriller series, dead from cancer

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:51:54 +0800

By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Vince Flynn, the best-selling author of the Mitch Rapp series of political thrillers that includes "American Assassin" and "The Last Man," died on Wednesday at age 47 after a battle with prostate cancer, his representatives said. Flynn, who turned to writing as a way of fighting his dyslexia, died at a hospital in his hometown of St. Paul, Minnesota, said David Brown, spokesman for Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster that publishes the author's novels. Flynn's most recently published book was "The Last Man" in 2012. ...

JAL starts compensation talks with Boeing over 787

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 02:41:38 +0800

Japan Airlines (JAL) has started talks with US aviation giant Boeing over losses stemming from the grounding of its troubled 787 Dreamliner, a company spokesman said Wednesday.

Softbank closer to acquiring Sprint after Dish abandons bid for now

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:59:07 +0800

By Sophie Knight and Sinead Carew TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp cleared a major hurdle in its attempt to buy U.S. wireless provider Sprint Nextel Corp, as rival bidder Dish Network Corp declined to make a new offer after SoftBank sweetened its own bid last week. SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son is now a step closer to sealing the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company in history, after winning support from a key shareholder by raising SoftBank's offer to $21.6 billion from $20.1 billion last week. ...

Singapore's air turns "hazardous" as Indonesian fires rage

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:50:25 +0800

By Kevin Lim and Eveline Danubrata SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's air quality deteriorated to "hazardous" levels late on Wednesday as smoke from slash-and-burn land clearing in Indonesia enveloped the city-state, inflaming tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Singapore, a major financial centre, will send a delegation to Jakarta on Thursday to discuss the smog that has turned its usually clear skies grey, Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told a news conference. ...

FINRA reviewing brokerages' use of social media

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:49:14 +0800

By Ashley Lau (Reuters) - Wall Street's Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is looking at how brokerage firms supervise their use of communication outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, the industry-funded regulator said. FINRA, which conducts periodic "sweeps," or targeted checks on Wall Street brokerages, sent out letters to firms earlier this month requesting information about their use and monitoring of social media communications for the companies and individual employees. ...

Cyber threats and leaks spur increased security focus

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:48:07 +0800

By Andrea Shalal-Esa PARIS (Reuters) - Increased cyber espionage by China and recent leaks by a contractor working at the National Security Agency have put a sharp focus on cyber security for aerospace and defense companies showing off their wares at this year's Paris Airshow. "We, like others, are constantly being bombarded by people who are trying to get into our systems," said Mark DeYoung, chief executive of U.S. rocket engine and ammunition maker Alliant Techsystems (ATK). ...

China 'may resume IPO approvals in July'

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:28:28 +0800

China's stock regulator could resume approving new stock offers as early as July after an eight-month suspension, state media said Wednesday.

Microsoft offers hefty bounties to thwart hackers

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 01:08:44 +0800

By Jim Finkle BOSTON (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp is looking to recruit computer geeks in its ongoing efforts to protect Windows PCs from attacks, offering rewards of as much as $150,000 to anybody who helps identify and fix major security holes in its software. Microsoft unveiled the rewards program, one of the most generous in the high-tech industry to date, on Wednesday as it sought ways to prevent sophisticated attackers from subverting new security technologies it has introduced in the latest versions of the Windows operating system. ...

Rolling Stones release back catalogue on iTunes

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:38:52 +0800

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones released a career-spanning digitally re-mastered back catalogue on Apple Inc's iTunes Store on Wednesday as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. The new iTunes release chronicles the British group's entire oeuvre, from their introductory 1963 cover of Chuck Berry's "Come On" to last year's Greatest Hits collection "GRRR!", their record label Universal Music said on Wednesday. The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts - emerged alongside the Beatles in the early 1960s. ...

India's Tata Motors revamps 'world's cheapest car'

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:32:34 +0800

India's top automaker Tata Motors unveiled a new version of what was once billed as the world's cheapest car Wednesday, in a bid to reverse a slump in sales.

Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:29:08 +0800

MILAN (AP) — A Milan court on Wednesday convicted the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion.

China firm forays into British yacht, hotel markets

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:23:55 +0800

Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group announced Wednesday it will invest nearly $1.6 billion to acquire British yacht maker Sunseeker and build London's tallest residential towers.

Cisco to invest in Israeli venture capital funds

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:22:30 +0800

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Cisco Systems will invest $15 million in Israeli venture capital funds as part of a broader plan to expand its operations in Israel and outside the United States, the company said on Wednesday. The investment will be made in funds that support integration of Israelis and Arabs and the development of innovative security technologies. ...

Gold import curbs may have adverse impact: Trade lobby

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:18:07 +0800

Bhubaneswar, June 19 (IANS) A trade body Wednesday said the restriction on import of gold imposed recently by the government may bring short-term benefits but warned it would do more harm than good for the nation in the long run.

Sri Lankan-born author Kretser wins top Australia literary prize

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:15:23 +0800

(Reuters) - Sri Lankan-born author Michelle de Kretser won Australia's top literature prize on Wednesday, awarded the Miles Franklin award for her novel "Questions of Travel" that follows two people on separate journeys. She was chosen from a shortlist of five writers, all of whom were female, to win the A$60,000 ($57,000) prize. Also on the shortlist were Romy Ash, Annah Faulkner, Drusilla Modjeska, and Carrie Tiffany. Richard Neville, one of five judges, said all of the novels were at a surface level about families. ...

Two degree rise in temperature will hit India's agriculture: Report

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:07 +0800

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) An expected two degrees Celsius rise in the world's average temperatures in the next few decades would make India's summer monsoon unpredictable, affecting crop production, a World Bank report said Wednesday.

Tata Coffee opens extraction unit at Tamil Nadu's Theni

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:40:07 +0800

Bangalore, June 19 (IANS) Asia's largest plantation firm Tata Coffee Wednesday unveiled its premium extraction plant at Theni near Madurai in Tamil Nadu to process the beans into freeze dried powder for exports to global markets.

SC to hear PIL for curbing official work on private internet providers

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 23:38:06 +0800

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday agreed to hear a PIL seeking direction to central government to prosecute the heads of the nine cyberspace giants for endangering the country's sovereignty and security by sharing data on Indians with American intelligence agencies.

Eurocopter, Ramco Systems ink deal for chopper maintenance software

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:50:07 +0800

Chennai, June 19 (IANS) City-based enterprise solution provider Ramco Systems Ltd Wednesday announced the signing of a deal with the Franco-German-Spanish Eurocopter Group to provide maintenance software for helicopter operators.

Court refuses CBI probe into Saradha scam

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 22:46:08 +0800

Kolkata, June 19 (IANS) The Calcutta High Court Wednesday refused to order a CBI probe into the multi-crore Saradha Group chit fund scam but kept the matter pending and directed the state investigating agency to submit monthly reports of the probe's progress to the court.