General

2022年熊市来临之际，不少国际市场里面很多公司都叫停了IPO，但马股去年IPO特别火热。根据马交所资料显示，我国有35家公司在去年上市，创下2016年以来最多的纪录。到底是什么因素让我国IPO市场蓬勃发展？公司上市以后，又应当如何与投资者保持良好的关系？

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Trump kicked off his campaign to reclaim the White House in 2024 last weekend, visiting two early-voting states, New Hampshire and South Carolina and brushed aside criticism that his run was off to a slow start. Also, an increasing number of elected officials have expressed concerns about Trump's ability to beat Democratic President Joe Biden, if he decides to run again. Will Trump be able to mount a successful comeback in time for the presidential elections? For answers, we speak to Robert Shapiro, Professor of Government, Columbia University.

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Recently, Minister for Local Government Development, Nga Khor Meng said that local council polls must take a backseat, until the government has managed to revive the economy and address the people’s problems first. We explore why governments of the day are so reluctant with Danesh Prakash Chacko, Director of Tindak Malaysia and the importance of it.

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US markets continued its strong trend seen in January and rallied further on news that the Fed has increased interest rates by a smaller quantum of 25bp yesterday. The statement by the Fed was quite hawkish but that the press conference was more dovish because Powell acknowledged it would take time for the full effect of rate rises to feed through to the economy. What will this mean for markets in 2023? For insights we speak to Tony Nash, CEO, Complete Intelligence.

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The winner of the 2022 Booker Prize, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, tells the story of the titular character, a 'war photographer, gambler, and closet queen'. Or more specifically, the story of Maali Almeida after his sudden death in Colombo in 1990, when he has seven moons to both investigate what happened to him, while also making some big decisions about his fate in the afterlife. Equal parts a murder mystery, a dark comedy, a metaphysical philosophical treatise, a historical novel - it's a deeply satisfying read, and one we explore with our guest Sharon Bakar. And then in Footnotes, Sharon gives us some other recommendations from the Booker 2022 Longlist. 

Described as a buddy comedy, You People is about a new couple and their families contending with cultural clashes, societal expectations and generational differences. It also boasts a stellar behind-the-scenes lineup (Kenya Barris and Jonah Hill co-wrote the script), and a pretty impressive ensemble cast, including Hill, Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny and Rhea Perlman. We discuss whether it lives up to all that potential.

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil spoke about the potential of our country’s soft power, referring to the '90s as the golden era of Malaysia's economy, arts and culture, keeping us culturally bound as a country. So we look into how exactly soft power can contribute to our happiness, and the economy. And then - what soft power do we have to export right now?

Image source: Fahmi Fadzil, Facebook

A tweet has pointed out the dilemma of having one's name mispronounced. We discuss.

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In December, the Ministry of Health announced that it will carry out a pilot project on the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medicine in several hospitals. Following that, the Selangor Mufti Department issued a prohibition of the administration of PrEP, saying that the consumption and distribution of the medication is only required for married couples, and that prescribing PrEP to those who ‘practice a homosexual lifestyle’, would be a form of complicity. We discuss his statement, and why providing PrEP to groups with an elevated risk of HIV is important.

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四天工作制，真的是好事？对西方世界一些国家来说，借试验得出的结果显示，这似乎可行；不过，也有雇主会担忧工作日数量递减，也就意味着生产力与雇员效率骤降。从工业革命以来，逾百年的双休制度究竟还能不能跟上自动化、数码化、后疫情时代的改变呢？我们一起来看看各国的实验有哪些结论、汇整各国相关的报道，告诉你：工时不能跟生产力绝对挂钩！