Morning Brief

With Donald Trump back in power, broadcasting and publishing companies in the US are expecting a different environment next year, including a more deregulated landscape. We speak to Geetha Ranganathan, Senior Media Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence on what 2026 will look like for these companies. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Securities Commission has released a consultation paper proposing a major update to Malaysia’s listing requirements for both the Main and ACE Markets. We ask Pankaj Kumar, Managing Director of Datametrics Research & Information Centre as to what these revisions means for capital markets and if it enhances Malaysia as a destination for IPOs. This episode of The First Look was brou...

Heavy rainfall has triggered widespread flooding across seven Malaysian states, displacing nearly 17,000 people. Dato’ Dr Ahmad Faizal Mohd Perdaus, President of Mercy Malaysia, shares his insights about the situation on the ground, ongoing relief efforts, and the challenges of cross-border evacuations. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COP30 in Belém, Brazil, which brought together 194 countries to discuss climate action, has concluded with the summit falling short of binding fossil-fuel reduction commitments. Climate change and sustainability expert, Dr Renard Siew, who was at the event, shares his take on whether or not the COP process is still effective in driving global climate solutions. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See o...

US President Donald Trump has posted that "something good may be happening" following news of a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine put forward by Washington and Moscow which requires a decision by Nov 27. Dr Sonia Mycak, a research fellow at the ANU Centre for European Studies discusses this along with a new counter peace plan suggested by Ukraine and European leaders. Image Credit: Shutterstock...

Crypto markets are seeing major developments as the Singapore Exchange (SGX) launches perpetual futures for Bitcoin and Ethereum today. At the same time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is easing its exam focus on crypto for 2026. We speak with Varun Mittal, Founder of Fintech Nation, on these developments and the outlook of cryptos. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.co...

The structure and independence of Malaysia’s legal profession have come under renewed national attention as the government has proposed amendments to the Legal Profession Act that would give the Law Minister new powers over the Legal Profession Qualifying Board. Anand Raj, Vice President of the Malaysian Bar Council explains why there are concerns over this and also the lack of transparency over J...

The annual G20 Summit was held in Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend. The event, meant to be a gathering of the world's biggest economies, was boycotted by the United States. Bunn Nagara, Director and Senior Fellow at the Renaissance Strategic Research Institute and Honorary Fellow of the Perak Academy, walks us through the events of the summit Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudi...

The halfway mark for the Sabah polls has been crossed with 5 days left till polling day on 29 November. We check in with Dr Oh Ei Sun, Principal Adviser, Pacific Research Centre for an update on the campaign strategies of the different parties and if policies matter more than loyalties and familial ties. This episode of The First Look was brought to you by Emirates. Fly better, fly Emirates Image...

Aluminum prices have surged to about 2,800 US dollars a ton since April, a 3-year high. What is driving prices and will this rally continue in 2026? For some insight into this metal, we speak to Michelle Leung, Head of Asia Metals & Mining, Bloomberg Intelligence Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COP30 is now entering its final stretch in Belém and while the summit remains anchored to the Paris goal like all previous COPs, this year’s summit has unfolded somewhat differently. We speak to Hong Jinghann, Adaptation Coordinator, Malaysian Youth Delegation on what is happening on ground and what the main points of contention are. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Seven KL MPs have submitted a Private Members’ Bill to amend the Federal Capital Act 1960 to allow for councillors to be appointed by MPs to effectively manage the KL. We ask, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, MP for Setiawangsa and also sponsor of the bill as to why there should be a revamp and the benefits of the councillor system. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

All unclassified documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case are now awaiting President Donald Trump’s final approval for release, after both the Senate and Congress overwhelmingly voted in favour of making them public. Dr Kathryn Robison, a lecturer in American Studies at the United States Studies Centre shares her thoughts on the impact this has on the Republican party. This episode of The Fir...

Deloitte’s latest report on Southeast Asia’s IPO markets shows that in the first 10.5 months of 2025, 102 IPOs across six exchanges have raised around US$5.6 billion. Wong Kar Choon, Capital Markets Services Partner, Deloitte Malaysia explains why capital markets were so active and if the pipeline remains strong in 2026. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for...

When cloud network services company, Cloudflare, crashed this week, there was a worldwide outage taking major websites offline and exposed the fragility of the internet. CF Fong, CEO of LGMS Berhad shares his view on what went wrong and how businesses can build stronger cybersecurity and infrastructure resilience. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malaysia is set to introduce the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system, allowing vehicles to pass tolls without stopping. To implement this, amendments to key transport laws are required, but challenges like technology reliability and highway operator cooperation remain. We delve into these and other developments with Transport Consultant, Wan Agyl Wan Hassan. This episode of The First Look was broug...

Erin Cook, a journalist covering Southeast Asian affairs, explains the massive Manila protest that drew up to 650,000 people over alleged multibillion-dollar kickbacks in flood-control projects and whether this unrest could spark a leadership shake-up. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1.8 million people will be voting in the Sabah elections, of which more than half a million will be under the age of 30. However, voter turnout for this segment is low at just 55%. We speak to grassroots movement HAI MANDAK, as to why this is the case and what are the issues facing young Sabahans. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Asia is in the middle of a rapid data centre boom, driven by accelerating digitalisation, cloud demand and the spillover from Singapore’s capacity constraints.  Malaysia has been a beneficiary of this but what are the bottlenecks we face?  Linda Zeng, Senior Power & Renewables Analyst, BMI gives us that answer and some solutions so we can stay ahead of the competition. Image Credit:...

EPF has just posted one of its strongest performances in years for the first nine months of 2025. With two-tier pension reforms, rising voluntary contributions, and the growing influence of social media and finfluencers, the investment landscape is shifting. Ng Tzu Hann, CEO of Tradeview Capital, joins us to unpack it all. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...

Dr Azmil Tayeb, Political Scientist at Universiti Sains Malaysia, discusses MIC’s potential exit from Barisan Nasional after nearly seven decades, where the party might head next, and whether it still holds relevance among Indian voters. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China and Japan are locked in a new confrontation, sparked by Tokyo’s comments on Taiwan and escalated by Beijing’s tourism bans, market pressure, and military moves near the Senkaku Islands. Professor Alexis Dudden, a visiting professor at the Department of Japanese Studies, National University of Singapore, helps us understand what's at stake. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/li...

Australian markets have been like a yoyo this year, dropping by 10% in April to 7,343 points to then recover and hit a year to date high of 9,094 points in late October. However recent selling of late has meant the ASX 200 year to date gains are currently just 5.3%. Matt Ingram, Senior Industry Analyst, Bloomberg Intelligence gives us the 2026 outlook and also if banks are the sector that will out...

Following the departure of Datuk Seri Dr Maimunah Sharif as Kuala Lumpur mayor, 9 months short of her 2-year term, questions abound as to why this has happened, especially as she has been one of the most qualified persons for this job. Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, MP for Setiawangsa, shares his thoughts on working with Maimunah and whether or not local council elections might be a feasible future solution...

Vietnam’s property market is entering a new phase as sweeping land and housing reforms reshape investment flows and urban growth. Trang Le, Country Head & Head of Research and Consulting at JLL Vietnam talks about where demand is rising, and how foreign developers are positioning themselves, and what lies ahead for the next property cycle. Image Credit: Shutterstock.com See omnystudio.com/list...