News Bits | 18 April 2013

IDEAS OF THE DAY (SEE SEPARATE REPORTS FOR DETAILS)

l  Company Update: TM

l  Quick Bites: KPJ

l  On Our Radar: PIE

l  On Our Technical Watch: CENBOND, SUPERMX

l  Economic Viewpoint: Malaysia Inflation Rate March ‘13

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

l  Zhulian 1QFY13 up 5.0% on higher investment profit

l  MUI Prop units sell stake in George Kent

l  MARC downgrades Perwaja Steel's RM400.0m Islamic debt rating

l  BAT expects good performance in 2013, with right strategies

l  Paramount to acquire more land

l  Ekovest plans new development projects worth RM2.0b

l  AirAsia Indonesia to go public in fourth quarter of 2013

FOREIGN NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

l  Dish's USD25.5b Sprint bid may force others to act

l  EBay’s sales miss estimate as PayPal revenue growth slows

ECONOMIC NEWS HIGHLIGHTS (MACRO BITS)

Malaysia

l  Inflation For March Edged Up To 1.6% YoY

l  Rubber Sector Contributes Rm36bil To Country’s Exports

Asia

l  Fund Managers Say Goodbye China, Hello Japan

USA

l  Fed Says ‘Moderate’ Growth Across U.S. Was Led By Housing

Europe

l  European Car Sales Fall Again In March

l  IMF Sees Some Corporate Debt Unsustainable In Parts Of EU

l  UK Unemployment Rises To 2.56 Million

l  Russian Economic Growth Slows Sharply

Currencies

l  U.S. Dollar Rises As Traders Seek Safe Haven

Commodities

l  Brent Slips Further Below $100

l  Gold Up On Physical Buying But Seen Vulnerable