(March 10): Low-cost carrier AirAsia X Bhd (KL:AAX) is paying a steep price for its wrong-way bet on jet fuel. Management’s decision not to hedge when oil was cheap has backfired after the Iran war, and the company is now the worst-performing airline stock in the world. The stock rebounded around 13% on Tuesday after oil prices retreated from an earlier spike. The epicentre of the war is far away from AirAsia X, but the ripple effects on the industry are being felt globally. AirAsia X now consists of all aviation businesses from parent Capital A Bhd (KL:CAPITALA), merging the carrier’s short- and long-haul operations.

Departures and hiring had slowed in recent years as geopolitical tensions and weaker growth in major economies cooled opportunities. Representatives of UBS, Bank of America, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan all declined to comment and the individuals involved declined to comment or didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments. UBS is also losing Fergus Horrobin, a dealmaker recently based in Hong Kong, who is joining JPMorgan to run its international real estate investment banking business. The bank is actively managing its roster, which includes pushing out average performers while losing top-tier talent to more aggressive bidders, the people said. JPMorgan hired about a dozen senior investment bankers for Asia in the past six months, a person familiar with the matter said.

(March 10): Apple Inc increased iPhone production in India by about 53% last year and now makes a quarter of its marquee devices there, reflecting the US company’s efforts to avoid tariffs on China. Apple makes about 220 million to 230 million iPhones a year globally, with India’s share of the total increasing rapidly. The subsidies have helped offset some of the structural cost disadvantages that manufacturers face in India, including the lack of a China-like robust supply chain and logistics challenges. Cupertino, California-based Apple currently assembles all versions of the latest iPhone 17 line-up in India, including the high-end Pro and Pro Max models. Beyond manufacturing, Apple is targeting market share gains in a region where sales have surged past US$9 billion.

It appears the US and its ally Israel have not learnt the lessons of past attempts at forced regime change, particularly in the Middle East. Before the invasions, both Iraq and Libya, though run by dictators, were functioning countries with decent economic growth and political stability. Iran is no Iraq or Libya. This foreign aggression, by the number one enemy of Islam, could ironically rally the majority of Iranians to resist a US-led regime change. “So here we are, doing what Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he wanted to do for 40 years, which was to attack Iran.

(March 10): Palm oil futures in Kuala Lumpur fell as much as 4.3% at the open on Tuesday, tracking a slump in crude oil prices after US President Donald Trump said the war in the Middle East may end soon. That erased most of the gains on Monday, when futures finished 4.6% higher at 4,567 ringgit a tonne, the highest close since October. The market is now waiting for supply and demand data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board due later on Tuesday.

(March 10): Japan’s economy expanded in the final quarter of 2025 more than initially reported thanks to stronger corporate investment, as Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi urges further spending to develop key industries. Japan is attempting to keep its trade deal with the US intact following a US court ruling against President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Pressure on Japanese companies to invest in the US as part of the deal could discourage domestic spending. Even before strife erupted in the Middle East the premier was planning to offer companies incentives via her proactive spending measures so that Japanese companies would increase their domestic investment. “To support consumption, the Takaichi administration should actively implement measures to suppress gasoline prices,” Saito said.

(March 10): HSBC Holdings plc said customer-facing staff in Hong Kong, including traders and salespeople, must either be with clients or in the office five days a week, ending the pandemic era of work from home for frontline personnel in the city. The new demands, outlined in an internal memo that detailed the updated hybrid working approach, come into effect on April 1. “We ask you to role model the change with clear guidance.”A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the contents of the memo and said these practices are already embraced by many staff. HSBC is the biggest bank in Hong Kong and employs more than 20,000 staff in the Asian financial hub. The lender last year asked all managing directors to work in the office for at least four days a week to “set the tone from the top”.

KUALA LUMPUR (March 9): Malakoff Corporation Bhd’s (KL:MALAKOF) wholly owned subsidiary Prai Power Sdn Bhd has signed a four-year extension to its power purchase agreement (PPA) with Tenaga Nasional Bhd (KL:TENAGA) for the Prai Power Plant, effective April 1, 2026 and expiring March 31, 2030. According to the company, the extension follows the expiry of the plant’s original 21-year PPA on June 19, 2024 and a subsequent one-year short-term extension with the national utility company known as TNB until Aug 31, 2025, reflecting continued confidence in the plant’s operational stability and performance. “The PPA regulates and governs, inter alia, the rights and obligations of both parties for the generation and sale of electricity and the requirement to make generating capacity available from the Prai Power Plant to TNB,” the company said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday. The independent power producer said the PPA is expected to contribute positively to the company’s earnings and net assets.

(March 10): South Korean equities bounced back as risk sentiment recovered after US President Donald Trump signalled the Iran war may be ending soon. The gains tracked rebounds in US peers as Trump’s comments sent oil prices lower. After world-beating gains in Korean stocks over the past year due to the artificial intelligence boom, the market has had a bumpier ride than most over the past week. In Korea, “battered tech trade gets the most immediate oxygen as risk sentiment improves after the recent selloff”. Programme trading was briefly halted by the Korea Exchange to ease market volatility amid the steep rise.

(March 10): Bitcoin advanced along with global markets after US President Donald Trump signalled the US war on Iran could be ending soon. And also in part to “de-grossing from tradfi market participants closing out short exposure in Bitcoin". Earlier Monday, Bitcoin was outperforming equities as the spike in oil prices prompted some advocates to tout the digital asset as a potential inflation hedge. So far this month, Bitcoin has outperformed gold, which is widely recognised as an inflation hedge. Until last week, the trend in recent months had largely been the opposite, as bullion repeatedly hit record prices while Bitcoin tumbled.

They fought tooth and nail but minor errors at crucial moments saw the Koreans romp home to their second All-England title. “Wooi Yik and I still did well. The Koreans then caught up and kept their cool to go on and claim their second All-England title. We were aware of the situation but could not control it,” said Wooi Yik. Men’s doubles: Kim Won-ho-Seo Seung-jae (Kor) bt Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik (Mas) 18-21, 21-12, 21-19.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has conveyed its sympathies and support to Kuwait and Oman as both countries face challenges related to their sovereignty and national security arising from the ongoing developments in the Middle East. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he conveyed the message during discussions with Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi. Anwar said Malaysia also commended Oman for its efforts in facilitating mediation between the United States and Iran. He added that all parties agreed the situation should be addressed through peaceful means and that restraint must be exercised to avoid further destabilisation of the region. The situation in West Asia has been tense since Saturday (Feb 28), when Israel and the United States launched strikes on Iran, followed by Tehran's retaliatory attacks against US interests in Gulf countries.

With just the camera on your phone you can lodge a report against anyone smoking in a prohibited area at jomlapor.com. Some 4,396 cases of smoking in prohibited areas were reported at jomlapor.com between December 2024 and February this year. ALSO READ: Anti-smoking laws are nothing without enforcementThis made up more than half of the total offences recorded by the portal during this period (8,387 offences). The highest number of total offences were reported in Selangor (2,294) followed by Kuala Lumpur (1,818), Johor (868), Penang (506), Perak (452) and Sarawak (357). The ministry said that smoking in restaurants accounted for 62,978 of the 140,217 offences recorded under Section 16(2) of Act 852.

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Meanwhile, they expect the Fed to lower borrowing costs by a similar amount in that period. “The growth drag in the US” from the oil shock is “modest relative to Europe and the UK,” Shah wrote. At the start of the week, worries around the risk of a tandem threat from hotter inflation and softer growth roiled markets. Traders have consistently been pricing in Fed easing this year, in part amid signs of a cooling labor market. Shah also cautioned investors against taking the opposite side of recent market moves as some popular positions have begun to unwind.