PETALING JAYA: The newly-launched Jeffrey Cheah Foundation will see the transfer of equity ownership  worth approximately RM700 million of the not-for-profit Sunway Education Group, made up of Sunway University College, Monash University Sunway campus, Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Sunway International School.

KUALA LUMPUR: The feasibility of Malaysia as a business centre and a sourcing location for automotive equipments, parts, components, accessories, technologies and services has attracted a lot of international buyers to the local automotive industry.

Such is the observation from the Auto Malaysia 2010, a bi-annual international automotive components exhibition which started today at the Matrade Exhibition and Convention Centre here.

LONDON: European stock markets wobbled yesterday on investor unease over ineffectual EU efforts to resolve a debt crisis gripping Greece. European markets lost ground "as investors continued to fret over Greece's sovereign debt problems," said City Index analyst Joshua Raymond.

The London FTSE 100 index slipped 0.04 per cent to close at 5,642.62 points after having at one point risen to a 20-month high.

The Paris CAC  40 fell 0.50 per cent to 3,938.18 while the Frankfurt Dax lost 0.20 per cent to end the session
at 6,012.31 points.

TOKYO: Japanese land prices fell at the fastest pace for five years in 2009, as the nation's weak economy struggles with another bout of deflation, official data said yesterday.

Costs across the country fell 4.6 per cent on average, the land ministry said in its annual land price survey, the
biggest drop since 2004, when they fell by five per cent. The country's core consumer prices also logged the 11th straight month of decline in January, as the country continues to be dogged by deflation.

KUALA LUMPUR: Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) is poised to launch its next generation high-speed  roadband
(HSBB) retail service on March 24 at Dataran Merdeka. The grand event will unveil a HSBB showcase and interactive exhibitions to demonstrate the HSBB lifestyle to the public.

The launch venue will be open to the public from 7pm onwards and the HSBB showcase and interactive exhibitions will remain at Dataran Merdeka until the following evening (March 25).

SANA'A: The government is confident that the Malaysia-Yemen Festival 2010 (MYF2010) being held here will be a catalyst for the expanding trade relations between Yemen and Malaysia, said Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.

There are still vast opportunities within the Yemen market for Malaysian businessmen to tap into and make
Yemen a gateway for the bigger and growing East African and Arabian Peninsula markets, the minister said
in his message in the MYF2010 trade booklet distributed here.

NEW YORK: US stocks posted modest gains yesterday after a tame inflation report eased fears of interest rate hikes a day after the Federal Reserve issued a slightly better economic outlook.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.69 points (0.45 per cent) to 10,733.67 at the market close. The Nasdaq composite rose 11.06 points (0.47 per cent) to 2,389.07 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500index added 6.65 points (0.57 per cent) at a provisional close of 1,166.11.

NEW YORK: Blockbuster shares plunged nearly 30 per cent yesterday after the heavily indebted movie rental chain said it may be forced to declare bankruptcy. Shares in Blockbuster, which has been struggling to keep pace with rivals Netflix and Amazon, shed 29.18 per cent on Wall Street to close at 28 cents.

Blockbuster at one time operated as many as 7,200 stores in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia but has been forced to close hundreds in recent years as consumers moved to other options such as online or on-demand film rentals.

PETALING JAYA: Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Honda Malaysia) clarifies that the recent recall related to possible
defective vehicle stability assist (VSA) in the Odyssey and the Element 2007 YM and 2008 YM, does not  concern units sold in Malaysia.

The recall was issued due to the lack of VSA modulator air tightness in the affected models. A possible reaction that could arise from this condition involves air suction into the modulator circuit, where air would gradually remain in the brake circuit.

SERI KEMBANGAN: There will soon be a new feature on the local Internet Yellow Pages (www.yellowpages.com.my) which will allow visitors to make free calls to advertisers.

LONDON: Britain's Labour government on Tuesday came under fire from opposition Conservatives as a leaked European Commission report suggested that its huge public deficit needs cutting faster than anticipated.

The Tories leapt on excerpts from the report, due to be published today, suggesting that current plans were not ambitious enough. "This is a heavy blow for Gordon Brown's credibility," said George Osborne, who would become Britain's finance minister if the Conservatives win a general election expected on May 6.

NEW JERSEY: Avaya has introduced the release of the new Avaya IP Office — the company's flagship communications solution for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Avaya IP Office 6.0 features new unified communications capabilities that delivers an enhanced user experience to employees in any location.

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Islamic Bank has been given recognition for its continuous growth in the Islamic banking arena yet again, this time at the Euromoney Islamic Finance Awards 2010 held in London recently.

CIMB Islamic Bank was voted Best Islamic Bank in Asia by the magazine. CIMB Islamic was also presented  with the Best Sukuk Deal award for its RM20 billion Islamic CP/MTN programme for Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd, the largest sukuk issuance in Malaysia in 2009.

CAIRO: The Saudi billionaire with the largest individual stake in Citigroup Inc yesterday ruled out boosting his investment firm's holdings in the US banking giant at present, but predicted its best days are yet to come.

Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns a 95 per cent stake in the Saudi Arabiabased Kingdom Holding Co, also reiterated his support for Citigroup's chief executive, saying he believed Vikram Pandit is "doing great".

KUALA LUMPUR: Boeing has added the fourth 787 Dreamliner to its flight-test fleet with the completion of the first flight of ZA003.

The airplane departed Paine Field in Everett, Washington, at 10:55am (Pacific Time) and landed at 2:01pm
at Boeing Field in Seattle today. Captains Ray Craig and Mike Bryan piloted the airplane on its three hour- and-six-minute flight. ZA003 is the final 787 with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines to enter the flight-test
programme.

KOTA KINABALU: The year started on a promising note for 30 homes here when they were picked to enjoy
free broadband service, thanks to four companies – broadband service provider, REDtone International Bhd;
premier applied research centre in frontier technologies, MIMOS Bhd; Pernec Corporation Bhd and Nadi-Ayu
Technologies Sdn Bhd.

The first project of its kind in the state, the 30 homes whose residents have minimum to zero PC knowledge as one of the criteria for selection, do not have to pay any charges for their broadband access for six months.

KUALA LUMPUR: Xpax customers can now reload their Xpax prepaid through Pernec PayPoint's Helo payphones nationwide. The new prepaid reload channel, named "Helo Xpax Reload", was introduced this morning by Celcom Axiata Bhd in partnership with Pernec PayPoint, a subsidiary of Pernec Corporation Bhd.

SINGAPORE: Citigroup aims to win a larger share of Asia's equity capital markets and to expand in Indonesia
by getting a stockbroking licence, its Asia Pacific head said today. Citi has been extending its reach and hiring people across Asia even as it streamlines its North American operations and sheds businesses that it no longer considers as core.

KUALA LUMPUR: Hong Leong Bank (HLB) recently launched the new Hong Leong Online (Business), the  enhanced business online banking which marks the beginning of HLB's journey in innovating and strengthening its Cash Management Services that is offered to its valued customers.

This launch will see the following important Account Management functions incorporated into the Hong Leong Online (Business); current account, foreign currency accounts, loan accounts and fixed deposits balance inquiries, transaction history, statement download and cheque status inquiries.