News Bits | 14 March 2013

IDEAS OF THE DAY

l  Quick Bites: IHH, SIME

l  On Our Radar: PWROOT

l  On Our Technical Watch: KOSSAN, POS

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

l  Sapura Industrial 4Q net profit plunges 50.5%

l  Bumi Armada boosts services with MPSV

l  Cheah raises stake in Sunway REIT

l  BHIC eyeing new site for O&G fabrication work

l  Petra Energy to raise up to RM123.3m from rights issue

l  Shareholding change in Scomi

l  KLB CEO resigns to pursue own business

l  Sanichi completes rights issue exercise

FOREIGN NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

l  SandRidge strikes deal that could lead to CEO's removal

l  BlackBerry says customer has ordered 1.0m phones

 

ECONOMIC NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (MACRO BITS)

Asia

l  An Energy Coup For Japan: ‘Flammable Ice’

USA

l  Sales At U.S. Retailers Advance By Most In Five Months

l  Budget Gap Narrows In February From Year Ago

l  Chief Executives In U.S. Grow More Optimistic About Economy

l  Business Inventories In U.S. Increase By Most Since May 2011

l  Import Prices In U.S. Climbed In February As Energy Costs Jumped

l  US Mortgage Applications Fell Last Week As Rates Spiked

Europe

l  European Parliament Rejects EU Budget Deal

l  Euro-Region Industrial Output Drops As Slump Persists

l  Ireland Wows Market With Bond Comeback

Currencies

l  Dollar Rises After Retail-Sales Data; Euro Down

Commodities

l  OPEC Sees 2013 World Oil Demand Downside Risk

l  Brent Crude Falls On Rising Inventories, Strong Dollar

l  Gold Falls On Optimism Over US Economic Improvement