KUALA LUMPUR: Regional markets started the week cautious after Japan this morning said the country’s economy had contracted in the third quarter, confirming its first recession since 2001. Singapore is already in a technical recession, while Hong Kong had just last Friday (Nov 14) said its economy shrank 0.5% in the third quarter from the previous three months as exports slipped.

At 10am, however, stock averages in Japan, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taiwan were on positive grounds, outperforming peers in the region. The Nikkei 225 was up 98.80 points, or 1.17%, to 8,561.19 points at 10am, recovering from 8,218.82 points earlier in the morning. It was lifted by gains at chain casual clothing store Fast Retailing Co Ltd by about 20 points. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was also about 128.9 points, or 0.95%, higher at 13,671.56 points.

Australia’s S&P ASX 200 Index was down 83.4 points, or 2.23%, to 3,664.7 points, while Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 9.65 points, or 0.55%, to 1,768.79 points.
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By Ellis Mnyandu

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Monday, with the Dow diving 400 points to below 10,000 for the first time in four years, as investors feared the widening fallout from the credit crisis would drag the economy into recession.

Wall Street’s tumble was part of a global sell-off. But as severe as the U.S. losses were, they were still significantly less than the sharp declines across Europe and in emerging markets, such as Brazil where trading was halted after a 15 percent drop in its benchmark index.

The financial sector was again a main catalyst for the drop, but the turmoil quickly spread to energy and others.

Among financial services stocks, Bank of America fell more than 9 percent, putting the stock among the Dow’s top drags.

Persistent strains in the credit markets added to nervousness about the wider economic outlook, while a spate of bank rescues in Europe heightened concerns about the stability of global financial institutions. The S&P sub-index of financial companies fell 4.2 percent.

“The markets are incorporating in their view a recession that will take down profits,” said Subodh Kumar, chief investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto, Canada.

The Dow Jones industrial average slid 510.38 points, or 4.94 percent, to 9,815.00. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbled 63.52 points, or 5.78 percent, to 1,035.71. The Nasdaq Composite Index plunged 125.62 points, or 6.45 percent, to 1,821.77.
The Dow fell below 10,000 for the first time since October 2004.

~~Reuters~~

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By Neville D’Cruz

MELBOURNE, Aug 14 (Bernama) –- The Australia-Malaysia Business Council (AMBC) says Australian investments will continue to increase, especially after the recent visit to Kuala Lumpur by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

“The close and cordial relationships between Australia and Malaysia has provided a solid foundation for both countries to strategically and energetically continue the pursuit of mutually-beneficial business and investment opportunities,” AMBC national president Chan Wee Keat told Bernama.

He said in 2007, Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (Mida) approved 17 projects from Australia with investments valued at RM1.7 billion mainly in basic metal, chemicals, non-metallic minerals, fabricated metal products and machinery manufacturing.

“Malaysian investments in Australia have also been encouraging. In 2007, Malaysian investments in Australia totalled A$3.3 billion (A$1=RM2.85), an increase of 17.8 percent over the previous year.
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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian property stocks have fallen more than 30 percent this year due to domestic politics and inflation, but an imminent increase in interest rates is dashing any hopes of bargain hunting.

The country’s property sector has also underperformed peers across Southeast Asia, themselves hit by rising interest rates that have stemmed the flow of cheap money to finance a boom in the region’s fast-growing economies.

“If the (regional) interest rate is still going up there’s still some downside risk,” said Jason Chong, chief investment office of Kuala Lumpur-based OSK-UOB Unit Trust Management, which manages the equivalent of $1.15 billion.

More @ Reuters

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On Friday, Krispy Kreme (NYSE: KKD) announced it would open 20 retail shops in Malaysia within the next five years. The Winston-Salem company has entered into a franchise agreement with Berjaya Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Sdn Bhd, a 70 percent-owned subsidiary of Berjaya Corp. Berhad, or BCorp.

Berjaya Corp. Berhad is a Malaysian conglomerate that already owns the rights to Malaysian franchises of Starbucks, Wendy’s, Kenny Rogers Roasters and Papa John’s Pizza.

“We are delighted to enter into a franchise relationship with Krispy Kreme and be part of their international expansion in Asia,” Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Vincent Tan, CEO of BCorp., said in a statement. “Krispy Kreme is very popular in Japan, South Korea, and Philippines, and we expect Krispy Kreme to do well in Malaysia as well.”
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