Economy

US: Labor market slowing as job openings, hiring fall. US job openings and hiring fell in June, suggesting that demand for labor was cooling in tandem with a slowing economy, which could provide another reason for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again next month. The report from the Labor Department on Tuesday came against the backdrop of an escalation in the trade war between the US and China, which caused a sharp sell-off on Wall Street on Monday and sent US Treasury 10-year yields tumbling to the lowest since Oct 2016. Job openings slipped by 36,000 to a seasonally adjusted 7.3m in June, the government said. (Reuters)

US, China: US slap duty on USD4.4bn of China cabinets amid trade war . Add USD4.4bn in imported cabinets to the long list of Chinese goods slapped with US levies in the escalating trade dispute between Washington and Beijing. The Commerce Department said Tuesday it will ask the US Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of the wooden cabinets and vanities from China based on subsidy rates of as much as 229%. Commerce issued a preliminary determination in response to a petition filed earlier this year by the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance, alleging at least USD2bn in harm from the Chinese shipments. Commerce is scheduled to issue a final determination in December and the US International Trade Commission by Jan. 30, according to the statement. (Bloomberg)

US, China: Trump hints at more trade aid for farmers in US-China trade war. President Donald Trump said he’s prepared to deliver more aid to farmers hurt by the trade war with China, but concerns are growing that the US agriculture industry could suffer a long-term loss of market share as other countries rush in to fill Chinese orders. The president responded with assurances of continued assistance to farmers in a tweet Tuesday morning, suggesting he would add to the USD28bn in trade aid he has approved for farmers over the past two years. (Bloomberg)

EU: German factory orders recover on non-Eurozone demand . Germany's factory orders rebounded in June driven by strong demand from non-euro area economies, data from Destatis showed. Factory orders grew by a more-than-expected 2.5% on a monthly basis in June, offsetting a revised 2% drop in May. The expected pace of growth was 0.5%. June's increase was driven by a 5% rise in foreign orders. New orders from the euro area were down 0.6%, while new orders from other countries grew 8.6%. On the other hand, domestic orders decreased 1% in June. Excluding big ticket orders, overall orders received in June was down 0.4% from the previous month. (RTT)

EU, UK: Trade blame over talks as no-deal Brexit risk grows . Michael Gove, the minister in charge of planning for a no-deal Brexit, blamed the EU for failing to engage on a new agreement, deepening the diplomatic standoff between the two sides less than three months before the UK is due to leave the bloc. “We will put all our energy into making sure that we can secure that good deal, but at the moment it is the EU that seems to be saying they are not interested,” Gove told the BBC on Tuesday. “They are simply saying ‘No, we don’t want to talk.’ I think that is wrong and sad. It is not in Europe’s interests.” (Bloomberg)

China: Central bank tells foreign firms yuan won’t keep falling . Senior People’s Bank of China officials reassured foreign companies that the currency won’t continue to weaken significantly, after the yuan fell below 7 per dollar for the first time since 2008. The central bank held a meeting with a number of foreign exporters in Beijing Tuesday, at which officials also said that companies’ ability to buy and sell dollars would remain normal, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg. The PBOC didn’t name the officials or the companies that attended the meeting. The yuan gained in offshore trading following the news, halting a four-day slump. (Bloomberg)

Japan: Leading Index lowest in nearly 9-1/2 years. Japan's leading index fell to the lowest level in nearly nine-and-a-half years in June, preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed. The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, fell to 93.3 in June from 94.9 in May. The expected score for June was 93.5. This was the lowest since February 2010, when the score was 92.5. The coincident index that reflects the current economic activity decreased to 100.4 in June from 103.4 in the previous month. (RTT) 

Markets

TNB (Neutral, TP: RM14.12): Loses RM3.2m in Kuantan to bitcoin miners. Tenaga Nasional (TNB) raided 33 premises around Kuantan suspected of interfering with the electricity distribution board in a bitcoin mining operation, resulting in a loss of RM3.2m to the utility company. Investigations showed the premises had been mining bitcoin for six months. TNB collected evidence that 23 premises were running bitcoin mining activities while the other 10 premises were aware this time around and destroyed the evidence. The raiding operations involved 30 special team members and five personnel from the TNB Security Service Department. (The Edge)

Lotte Chemical Titan: Indonesian plants faced 12-hour power outage. Lotte Chemical Titan Holding announced that three of its Indonesian plants PE1, PE2 and PE3 underwent an unplanned shutdown on Sunday (Aug 4) due to a 12-hour power outage. Electricity supply to these plants has since been fully restored and it is now working to restore operations of these plants to normal. The plants are located in Merak, Cilegon, in the Banten Province of Indonesia, and the power outage had occured in certain parts of Java. (The Edge)

Parkson: Closes store 18 months after opening. Parkson Corp which shut its 20-year-old store in Suria KLCC earlier this year, has shut another store the Parkson M Square Mall in Puchong, Selangor. The store, which shuttered on June 30, was operational for a mere 18 months. A spokesperson from Parkson who confirmed the closure said sales were below expectations. The spokesperson also pointed out that despite the very difficult and challenging market conditions in a shrinking disposable income market, Parkson managed to achieve same store sales growth for the department store category in excess of 5% in the 9M ended March 31, 2019. (The Edge)

Barakah: Sues Petronas for RM1bn over licence suspension. Barakah Offshore Petroleum said wholly owned unit PBJV Group SB is suing Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) for RM1.02bn. The PN 17 Company said PBJV has issued a notice of demand and dispute on Aug 5 to both Petronas and Petronas Carigali SB after the company's licence was suspended by Petronas for three years. The suspension, issued on July 8, was based on grounds of adverse reports of PBJV’s performance under a contract referred to as provision for underwater services for Petronas Carigali. (StarBiz)

Mah Sing: Buys land from JL99 for RM378m condo project. Mah Sing Group is acquiring an approximately 1.81ha (4.52-acre) land along Jalan Wangsa Melawati 1 here for RM61.97m to develop two blocks of condominiums with an estimated GDV of RM378m. Mah Sing signed the conditional sale and purchase agreement with JL99 Property SB. The tract is a leasehold land expiring on Jan 21, 2117. Based on preliminary plans, the project, to be named M Adora is planned for a fully residential condominium development. (The Edge)

F&N: 3Q net profit rises to RM115m. Fraser & Neave Holdings’ (F&N) net profit for the 3QFY19 rose to RM114.9m from RM104.5m the same period last year. Revenue increased 10.9% to RM1.1bn from RM961.9m a year ago with higher contribution from the F&B segment from Thailand and Malaysia. It said the overall domestic market for F&B Malaysia is expected to remain challenging, given the intense competition, especially in the canned milk segment. 

Market Update

US benchmarks rebounded as some semblance of calm returned to markets after China’s central bank indicated it plans to keep its currency at levels stronger than investors’ worst fears, easing concerns that Beijing was retaliating against the US’ latest tariff salvo. The Dow Jones Industrial Average clawed back more than 300 points on the day to end 1.2% higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were 1.3% and 1.4% higher. On an apparently more conciliatory note, National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said overnight that the Trump administration was still open to a trade deal between the US and China that would lead to flexibility on tariffs. European markets were less convinced however, with most key benchmarks ending lower. Better industrial data out of Germany which showed a 2.5% month-on-month growth in June failed to lift sentiment. Germany’s DAX fell 0.8% as UK’s FTSE 100 and France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.7% and 0.1% respectively. Asian markets pared early losses though still ended lower on the day, this coming back of the People’s Bank of China taking steps to stabilize the Yuan after the country was tagged it a currency manipulator. Investors are nonetheless starting to grasp the potential for a protracted conflict between the US and China, with a Treasury-market recession indicator hitting the highest alert since 2007.The Shanghai Composite Index and Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.6% and 0.7% as the Straits Times Index fell 0.8%. Thailand’s SET Index and our FBM KLCI bucked regional trends however, both with respective gains of 0.3% and 0.1%.

Barakah Offshore Petroleum is demanding RM1.02bn as compensation from Petronas and Petronas Carigali, over what it claims to be an unwarranted suspension notice. Mah Sing Group is planning to acquire a 4.52-acre plot of land in Setapak for RM61.9m, with an approved development order for residential development already procured. Estimated gross development value is RM378m PN17 company Malaysia Pacific Corporation will resume trading of its shares today after having been suspended for a year pursuant to a winding up order filed by RHB Bank which had just recently been terminated.

Source: PublicInvest Research - 7 Aug 2019