Morning Brief

While the US economy ended 2021 with its GDP expanding at a healthy 6.9% in the fourth quarter, the momentum has slowed significantly amid a surge in Covid-19 infections at the start of the year, disrupted supply chains and soaring inflation. All eyes are on the pace of Federal Reserve monetary tightening this year. We discuss the economic scenarios with Preston Caldwell of Morningstar. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

PWC has recently released the findings of their Act Now to Recover (“ANTR”) survey, that was conducted between June and July last year, which revealed how the pandemic has impacted business owners in Malaysia and how they have navigated through the challenges of recovery. So, what are the biggest issues that keep business leaders awake at night and are the concerns still primarily cash conservation? Surendran Seelan, Deals Director (Business Restructuring Services) at PwC Malaysia tells us more.

Come April 1st, Malaysia begins its transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19, leading to much uncertainty over exactly what this entails. Associate Professor Dr Farhan Rusli, Public Health Medicine Specialist & Director, Selangor Task Force (COVID-19) Operation, shares his insights into the matter. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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For the first time this year, a big tech giant won the coveted Best Picture award at the Oscars with the film CODA distributed by Apple TV+. The pandemic and speed of digitalization has elevated streaming platforms and the balance of power in the movie industry seems to be shifting in favour of the disruptors. We discuss the trends in the media industry with Geetha Ranganathan of Bloomberg Intelligence. Image credit: EPA-EFE

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Come April 1st, Malaysia begins its transition to the endemic phase of Covid-19, leading to much uncertainty over exactly what this entails. Associate Professor Dr Farhan Rusli, Public Health Medicine Specialist & Director, Selangor Task Force (COVID-19) Operation, shares his insights into the matter. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

For the first time this year, a big tech giant won the coveted Best Picture award at the Oscars with the film CODA distributed by Apple TV+. The pandemic and speed of digitalization has elevated streaming platforms and the balance of power in the movie industry seems to be shifting in favour of the disruptors. We discuss the trends in the media industry with Geetha Ranganathan of Bloomberg Intelligence. Image credit: EPA-EFE

BNM has released 3 reports yesterday namely The 2021 Annual Report, The Economic and Monetary Review 2021, and the Financial Stability Review for Second Half 2021. Economists and analyst are reviewing these reports keenly. Firdaos Rosli, Chief Economist of Malaysian Rating Corporation Berhad (MARC) unpacks the data rich report for us. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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The MySejahtera saga continues with uncertainty over the ownership of the app. Foong Cheng Leong, Intellectual property and information technology lawyer helps us untangle this complex web, reminding us of the importance of contracts. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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Gary Ng from Natixis helps us unpack the latest economic challenges that China is facing as Shanghai, its major financial and trading hub, faces a staggered two-phase eight day lockdown for its 25 million citizens. Image credit: Unsplash.com

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With PKR having set their elections for May, calls for reformation within the party have been louder especially as GE15 is just around the corner. Although former Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli has announced that he intends to run for the deputy president role, he'll be going head-on with several other candidates who are also eyeing for the same position. What should we expect out of the May polls? Dr. Hamidin Abdul Hamid, Senior Fellow at Ilham Centre shares his thoughts with us. Image credit: Shutterstock.com

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