Morning Brief

As widely expected, Bank Negara raised the overnight policy rate yesterday by 25 bps, bringing the OPR rate to 2.75%. But with the Fed warning of a higher peak Fed Funds Rate, can BNM continue its gradual increase in interest rate or does it need to adopt a more aggressive stance? We discuss implications of monetary policy tightening with economist Firdaos Rosli.   Image credit: Shutterstock...

Pakatan Harapan launched its manifesto for GE15 with 10 key objectives with a focus on improving livelihoods and eradicating corruption. We speak to Fahmi Fadzil, Communications Director, PKR as to whether it's too idealistic and whether their promises will be kept. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia has produced 5.5 million graduates from higher education institutions to date. But are universities producing graduates with the skills and critical thinking to thrive in our economy? We speak to Dr Sharifah Munirah Alatas, Senior Lecturer at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia on much-needed reforms in higher education. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inform...

The US mid-term elections act as a temperature check for the President in power, and historically the mid-terms tend to favour the party in opposition to the government. The Democratic Party stands to lose their control of both Houses of Congress as a wave of discontent over the economy sours opinions on Joe Biden. How might the outcome of these polls shape the direction of US policy moving forwar...

Both Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional announced the bulk of their candidates for GE15 in parallel events last night. What does the candidate line-up tell us about their respective strategies for the elections? We discuss the emerging political trends with Dr Bridget Welsh, Honorary Research Associate at University of Nottingham Malaysia.   Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/...

Bread and butter grievances like rising inflation, unemployment and stagnant wages continue to be voters’ main concern as we head into GE15. Even though Malaysia witnessed an 8.9% growth in GDP for the second quarter of this year, we continue to see the weakness of our currency as between January and September this year, the ringgit has depreciated by 10.2% against the US dollar. And with the glob...

The China property market appears to be in a perfect storm. Monthly National sales decline continued to decline by 15.3% year-on-year in September 2022, narrowing from a 20.8% year-on-year decline in August. Developers' liquidity will also remain under pressure. But the Chinese government introduced new stimulus measures in late September to encourage homebuyers to purchase new properties. Will th...

A recent Merdeka Center survey points to a decline in Barisan National’s popularity. We ask Ibrahim Suffian, programme director of Merdeka Center, on the reasons for this and who stands to benefit.   Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Covid-19 pandemic experience underscored the importance of prioritising healthcare issues in government policy. In addition to over 30,000 lives lost to the virus, the pandemic revealed the gaps in Malaysia's creaking public healthcare infrastructure. What should the next government be looking to prioritise in public health policy? Azrul Mohd Khalib of the Galen Centre gives us his election ma...

Brazil’s next president will be Luis Inacio Da Silva, commonly known as Lula, after he won the run-off race by a majority of less than 2%. Both candidates represent the ends of the left and right spectrums and are controversial characters in the country, and these elements spilled over into the long campaign. We discuss what to expect next with Clara Ferreira Marques of Bloomberg Opinion.   I...

As Nomination day looms nears, we examine the candidates named so far with Adib Zalkapli, Director at BowerGroup Asia. We also take a closer look at the hot seats like Gombak and Ampang which are currently held by MPs who defected to Bersatu after the Sheraton Move. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With the global IPO market falling off a cliff in 2022, we discuss the outlook for IPOs with Kevin Chew, Senior Executive Director, Strategy and Transaction, Ernst & Young and whether it will rise from the ashes in 2023. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the retail sector saw a rapid recovery since the economic reopening, most retailers are bracing for a gloomy 2023. This is after two surveys were conducted by the Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SAMENTA) on the mid-term of SMEs and retailers’ outlook for next year. SAMENTA said most respondents were far less optimistic, with two out of three retailers expect a drop in both sales va...

News on seat allocations of the different political coalitions have started to trickle in as we approach Nomination Day on 5 November. We discuss the candidate announcements coming from PKR, DAP, Umno and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) with political analyst Dr Azmi Hassan. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past year, Malaysia has witnessed more natural disasters stemming from extreme weather patterns, which has put the spotlight on how government authorities have been managing environmental resources as well as what they’re doing to mitigate climate change consequences. Will political parties and coalitions take this opportunity to prioritise environmental issues in their campaign? We speak...

Apple, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Alphabet reported numbers which disappointed the street. Punishment was swift with share prices coming under pressure but is it time to bottom fish? Daniel Ives, Managing Director at Wedbush Securities tells us if he is still a tech bull or bear. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This GE15 will see 14 days of intense campaigning by the various political parties and candidates before Malaysians make their decisions that they will have to live with for the next 5 years, on November 19th. This time around we can expect the same mud-sling between the warring parties as they also talk up the plans they have for the nation if they win. Tai Zee Kin, Digital Political Communicatio...

Out of 222 seats in Parliament, women fill fewer than 15% of seats - only 33 MPs are women. This is despite the often cited rhetoric that politicians support the target of 30% women in decision-making roles. With GE15 Nomination day less than 2 weeks away, there is a resounding call from civil society for political parties to actively champion women candidates and to support incumbent MPs for re-e...

The government is working on enacting a Consumer Credit Act to provide better protection for credit consumers, including the growing number of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) customers. How are industry players engaging with authorities as the regulations take shape? We get an overview of how the BNPL industry is developing from Arvin Singh of hoolah, now known as ShopBack PayLater. Image credit: Shutter...

As GE15 heats up, both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan are vying for East Malaysia support by dangling the deputy prime minister position as an incentive. How significant is this role in the government line-up and will this actually strengthen East Malaysian representation in the corridors of power? We discuss this with Dr. Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University. Image credit: Shutterstock See o...

We all saw the reports of how flight ticket prices for the weekend of GE15 surged as soon as the Election Commission announced the dates of when that will happen. In response, Putrajaya tasked the Malaysian Aviation Commission with regulating the prices of flight tickets to ensure that airlines don't hike up prices arbitrarily. Is that within their powers, though? Pushpalatha Subramaniam, Director...

China’s third quarter GDP came in better than expected at 3.9% growth, but this has not buoyed market sentiment for Chinese stocks. In fact, Chinese markets fell sharply following the announcement on Sunday that President Xi Jinping would serve a third term. China’s overall economic recovery also remains bleak amid Covid zero and a looming property crisis. Are the days of booming growth and outper...

GE15 in Sabah is shaping up to be a fight between the two major coalitions: Barisan Nasional and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah on one end, and Pakatan Harapan on the other. Meanwhile, homegrown party Warisan will be looking to retain its stronghold in the eastern part of the state. How might these dynamics play out? We discuss the possible scenarios with political expert Dr. Oh Ei Sun. Image credit: Shutt...

Legacy media outlets have long been viewed as the mouthpiece of the ruling government, while online news portals are often seen as the other end of the spectrum. How do these dynamics impact news reporting during general elections? We discuss the trends to watch and measures to strengthen media independence with Prof Zaharom Nain of the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Image credit: Shutterstock...

Recent rate hikes and a sharp decline on the prices of securities has had an impact on the balance sheets of central banks globally. Brian Coulton, Chief Economist at Fitch Ratings tells us why this is important, and what does this mean for their relationship with their respective governments. Image credit: Shutterstock See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.