The Star Online: Business
The Star Online: Business |
- Europe uneasy in IMF spotlight as Tokyo meetings start
- Harrisons falls over RM91.75m duties payment concerns
- CIMB, Axiata dip in early trade
| Europe uneasy in IMF spotlight as Tokyo meetings start Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:08 PM PDT TOKYO: Greece, Spain and the euro zone's slow progress toward debt reform take centre stage at IMF meetings on Friday despite Europe's best effort to remove itself from the spotlight. The International Monetary Fund recommended that some of Europe's debt-burdened countries take a bit more time to reduce budget deficits, arguing that moving too fast is counter-productive because it hurts the economy. But Germany, Europe's largest creditor country and the key to any lasting fiscal reforms, pushed back against that advice and said reversing course on promised deficit reductions would only weaken credibility. "The euro zone does not lack the financial wherewithal to stem the crisis. What it lacks is the political will," former IMF official Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, wrote in the International Herald Tribune. While the IMF has advocated a slower approach to debt reduction, it urged swifter policy action, both in Europe and the United States, to remove economic uncertainty and help lift anaemic global economic growth. "We expect action, courageous and cooperative action on the part of our members," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, spelling out her expectations for the twice-yearly meetings that start on Friday. In Europe, the IMF wants to see more progress toward promised reforms that would create a tighter fiscal and banking union. In the United States, the IMF has sounded the alarm over the "fiscal cliff" of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that take effect early next year unless Congress acts. European officials insist they are on track to deliver reforms, and want to see closer scrutiny of the U.S. fiscal issues instead. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Washington has a window of opportunity to address the fiscal cliff after the November 6 presidential election. Both topics will be on the agenda, along with the IMF's own internal reform efforts, which have stalled. The Fund was supposed to have completed by the Tokyo meetings a set of voting reforms that would give fast-growing emerging markets greater say in the international lender and vault China to the No. 3 spot. But U.S. presidential politics got in the way. The Obama administration is reluctant to seek congressional approval for additional IMF funding when the budget deficit is such a hot-button election issue. Without U.S. support, the IMF reforms lack sufficient votes to pass. - Reuters |
| Harrisons falls over RM91.75m duties payment concerns Posted: 11 Oct 2012 07:06 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of Harrisons Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd fell on Friday as the deadline for it to pay RM91.75mil to the Customs Department loomed. At 9.52am, it was down six sen to Rm2.83. Turnover was 1,600 shares. The FBM KLCI was unchanged at 1,655.47. Turnover was 141.73 million shares valued at RM85.58mil. There were 152 gainers, 120 losers and 202 counters unchanged. On Wednesday, the company said the Customs Department rejected its unit Harrisons Trading (Sabah) Sdn Bhd's (HTSB) request for an extension of three weeks over payment for RM91.75mil. The Customs had advised HTSB to settle the RM91.75mil on an urgent basis. To recap, on Sept 20, the Customs Department ordered HTSB to pay RM91.75mil for duties and sales tax not paid for allegedly breaching the Customs Act 1967. HTSB was given 14 days to pay, failing which the department would propose civil and criminal action be taken against HTSB. HTSB had then maintained its stand that it was not liable to pay the amount demanded nor had it breached any provisions of the Customs Act 1967 nor and by extension, a provision of the Anti-Money Laundering And Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001(AMLA) as alleged or at all. |
| CIMB, Axiata dip in early trade Posted: 11 Oct 2012 06:54 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of CIMB and Axiata dipped in thin trade on Friday in the absence of strong domestic corporate news to attract fresh buying interest while the weaker economic data also weighed on sentiment. At 9.36am, the FBM KLCI fell 2.39 points to 1,653.08. Turnover was 111.53 million shares valued at RM59.18mil. There were 130 gainers, 93 losers and 174 counters unchanged. Asian stocks rose, with the regional benchmark index heading for its first advance in five days, after U.S. jobless claims fell, boosting the earnings outlook for the region's exporters, according to Bloomberg. Another news reported said the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits slid last week to the lowest level in more than four and a half years. CIMB fell six sen to RM7.66, RHB Cap five sen to RM7.30 and Public Bank four sen to RM14.52. Axiata fell six sen to RM6.52 but CIMB Equities Research advised investors to stay invested in Axiata, where India contributes only 6% of its target price versus 18% for SingTel. The research house said on Friday it does not expect cash calls by SingTel and Axiata's associates Bharti and Idea from India's proposed imposition of a one-time fee for their existing 2G spectrum. Pharmaniaga fell five sen to RM8.25 after the recent rebound following a positive analyst report. Harrisons fell five sen to RM2.84 after the Customs Department rejected its unit's request for an extension of three weeks over payment for RM91.75mil. Dutch Lady was the top gainer, up 80 sen to RM49.30, Apex Healthcare jumped 21 sen to RM3.52. United Plantations rose 30 sen to RM25.30 and KL Kepong 20 sen to RM21.52 while Scientex added 15 sen to RM2.85. |
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