Djokovic, Murray show expected form in Davis Cup action |
- Djokovic, Murray show expected form in Davis Cup action
- Fed rate anxiety dampens week of milestones for US stocks
- NS Matrix snatch Premier League top spot from JDT II
- Brazil names top politicians in Petrobras graft scandal
- France pledges €8b to Juncker investment plan
- Microsoft Office 2016 preview available to Mac users
| Djokovic, Murray show expected form in Davis Cup action Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:57 PM PST
Djokovic despatched Mate Delic in three sets and Viktor Troicki came through in five against Borna Coric to put 2010 champions Serbia 2-0 up against a Croatia team struggling without US Open champion Marin Cilic. "Mate is a talented player with a lot of potential to reach the top in the tennis world, but I'm happy with my performance and that I managed to win," Djokovic said. Murray, like Djokovic, opened for the British against the United States in Glasgow, the world number five dominating Donald Young 6-1, 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. The packed house in Murray's hometown were then treated to some gripping Davis Cup theatre as James Ward pulled off a thrilling 6-7 (4/7), 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 15-13 win over John Isner to make it 2-0 to the hosts. Ward, ranked 111 in the world, looked destined for defeat as he lost the first two sets against the big-serving Isner. Isner, the man who triumphed in the longest tennis match in history at Wimbledon in 2010, saved five match points in an epic final set, but Ward eventually prevailed after the world number 20 hit a backhand into the net. After four hours and 57 minutes of action, Ward said: "That was by far the best atmosphere I've experienced in the Davis Cup. "I'd prefer not to play these five-set matches but the crowd were incredible and really helped me through." Over in Liege, holders Switzerland, missing big guns Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, were all square 1-1 with Belgium. Unheralded Henri Laaksonen gave the defending champions the perfect start with a surprise 1-6, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Ruben Bemelmans. Steve Darcis then got the Belgians up and running with a one-sided win over Michael Lammer. Beaten 2014 finalists France were fully in control of their clash with Germany after wins for Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils over Jan-Lennard Struff and Philipp Kohlschreiber respectively. Australia were in a similarly comfortable position in Ostrava against the Czech Republic. Teenager Thanasi Kokkinakis stunned the Czech's top player Lukas Rosol 4-6, 2-6, 7-5, 7-5, 6-3, with Bernard Tomic then seeing off Jiri Vesely 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). "I hung in there, kept digging. I was a break down in the fifth but I felt good. I'm so happy with that win," said Kokkinakis. "When my back's against the wall I usually can find a way to get it done," he added. In Almaty, Kazakhstan and Italy were level at 1-1. The two other ties are between Canada and Japan, and Argentina against Brazil. — AFP  |
| Fed rate anxiety dampens week of milestones for US stocks Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:56 PM PST
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index capped a sixth year of the bull market, the Nasdaq Composite Index topped 5,000 for the first time in 15 years and Apple Inc, the world's largest company by market value, gained admission to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. None of that stopped benchmarks from notching their worst week since January, as concern mounted that the monetary stimulus that helped equities triple from March 2009 will soon end, after a surge in hiring fuelled speculation the Fed will raise borrowing costs this year. The S&P 500 lost 1.6 per cent in the five days, trimming its gain in 2015 to 0.6 per cent, worst among 24 developed-nation markets. "It's definitely been a week of milestones," Russ Koesterich, the New York-based chief investment strategist at BlackRock, said in a phone interview. "People are obviously taking a pause as valuations aren't cheap. This is all about rates. The ultra-dovish view that it won't happen until next year is much less likely." The S&P 500 tumbled 1.4 per cent in the final session of the week after data showed employers added 295,000 workers to payrolls in February, more than forecast, and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 per cent, the lowest in almost seven years. The jobless rate has now reached the Fed's range for what it considers full employment, keeping policy makers on course to raise interest rates this year as persistent job growth sets the stage for a pickup in wages. Sixth anniversary Three rounds of Fed bond-buying and near-zero interest rates have helped the S&P 500 rally more than 200 per cent since its bear-market low on March 9, 2009. The current bull market, lasting almost 2,200 days, is about two months away from overtaking the 1974-1980 run as the third longest since 1929. The gauge hasn't had a 10 per cent drop since 2011. The S&P 500 trades at 18.5 times earnings, compared with an average of 16.9 since 1936, data compiled by Bloomberg and S&P show. The index has posted more than 50 record closes in the past year, with the latest coming on March 2. The gauge tumbled 2.2 per cent in the following four days. "If you're a believer that part of the reason the equity markets have done so well is driven largely by the Fed's easy money policy, then your interpretation is that a rise in interest rates could slow down the equity markets," Randy Frederick, managing director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab Corp, said by phone from Austin, Texas. "I don't think this will end the bull market, I do think this could cause a correction." The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.7 per cent in the week after jumping above 5,000 on March 2. Nine straight quarters of gains led by a 70 per cent surge in Apple lifted the index within 1 per cent of its all-time high of 5,048.62 reached March 10, 2000. Apple, Dow Apple slipped in the five days, paring declines yesterday on news that it will be added to the Dow average on March 19. AT&T Inc is being kicked out after falling 4.5 per cent in 2014. The 30-stock gauge dropped 1.5 per cent in the week, erasing gains on the final day after closing at a record on March 2. The dollar rallied the most since 2011 yesterday as the jobs report bolstered the case for higher rates at the same time that global central banks from Japan to China and Europe embrace monetary stimulus to spur growth. Japanese shares rose, with the Topix jumping 1.1 per cent to close at a seven-year high. The gauge has gained for seven weeks, the longest streak since February 2013. Stocks in Europe capped a fifth straight weekly advance as the European Central Bank said it will begin its 19-month programme of asset purchases aimed at thwarting the threat of deflation. The Stoxx Europe 600 climbed 0.5 per cent in the five days. The measure has rallied 15 per cent in 2015, on pace to outperform the S&P 500 for the first time in three years. Policy diversion "You're seeing a bit of transition from US to international equities," Anwiti Bahuguna, the senior portfolio manager of Columbia Management's global asset allocation team, said by phone. "We're seeing this clear policy diversion among central banks. Other countries that are big competitors for investment flows will start to see that rotation." All of the 10 main S&P 500 groups retreated, led by a 4.2 per cent plunge in utility stocks. Selling picked up in the industry on the final day as the rate on 10-year Treasury notes spiked 12 basis points to 2.24 per cent, the highest this year. The group's dividend yield of 3.7 per cent is the second-highest in the index. Newmont Mining Corp tumbled 12 per cent for the second- worst performance in the S&P 500. The gold miner sank after the metal erased its gain for the year as speculation for higher rates damped its appeal. Gold generally offers returns through price gains. Merger, buyback Pharmacyclics Inc surged 18 per cent after AbbVie Inc. agreed to buy the drugmaker in a US$21 billion (RM73 billion) deal to expand cancer therapy. AbbVie lost 8 per cent, the biggest weekly decline since April. AbbVie won the sought-after maker of the drug Imbruvica with an offer of US$261.25 a share — more than double the company's share price at the start of the year. Best Buy Co rose 4.2 per cent on the week. The world's largest electronics chain said it will offer a special dividend of 51 cents a share, or US$180 million, and increase its quarterly payout 21 per cent to 23 cents. The company also said it will repurchase US$1 billion in shares over the next three years. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index surged 14 per cent, the most since the last week of January. The fear gauge known as the VIX spiked 8.3 per cent yesterday. It sank 36 per cent in February for the biggest decline on records going back to 1990. "During February, some of the risk factors that were evident in January seemed to abate — some people may have read that as an all clear," Steve Sosnick, equity risk manager at Timber Hill, the market-making unit of Greenwich, Connecticut-based Interactive Brokers Group Inc, said by telephone. "Now there's a new set of worries." — Bloomberg |
| NS Matrix snatch Premier League top spot from JDT II Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:43 PM PST
The squad under K. Devan opened scoring in the very first minute via Sharizal Mohd Saad, before import striker Francis Forkey Doe added another goal in the fifth minute. The hosts pulled one back in the eighth minute through Milan Purovic but Forkey sealed the match for the visitors with a goal in the 71st minute. Meanwhile, Penang capitalised on their homeground advantage to edge Kuala Lumpur 1-0 at City Stadium. The solitary goal was scored by Kedah-born striker Mohd Faiz Subri in the 39th minute. Last week's league leaders, Johor Darul Ta'zim II (JDT II) failed to hold on to the top spot when they lost 1-3 to T-Team at the Sultan Nasiruddin Shah Stadium in Kuala Terengganu. T-Team opened scoring in the 44th minute via Uzbek import, Farhod Tadjiyev from a penalty before he added another goal four minutes later. The Southern Tigers' only goal was netted by Argentine midlfielder Leandro Velazquez in the 71st minute but Norhakim Hassan added another goal for the hosts in 88th minute. At the Likas Stadium, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah blasted SPA Putrajaya FC 4-1 with goals from Zuraindey Jumai in the 29th minute, Leopold Alphonso Otong (31st) Eamon Zayed (48th) and Izuan Salahuddin (64th) while the visitors' lone goal was scored by Raja Mohd Hafillah Raja Mahat in the 65th minute. Earlier, Selangor PKNS FC had beaten Kedah 2-1 at the Petaling Jaya Municipality Stadium this evening. Selangor's goals came from Farderin Kadir in the 12th minute and Arip Amiruddin in the 89th minute before Syafiq Ahmad reduced the deficit for Kedah in the 90th minute. UiTM FC failed to use their homeground advantage when they lost 1-3 to DRB Hicom FC at UiTM Stadium in Shah Alam. The three goals for the visitors were contributed by Aris Zaidi in the eighth minute, Fakhrullah Rosli (22nd) and Croatian import, Ivan Babic (65th) while the only goal of the host team was netted by Abdi Kassim Sadallah in the 32nd minute. — Bernama |
| Brazil names top politicians in Petrobras graft scandal Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:43 PM PST
Not under investigation is President Dilma Rousseff, who was Petrobras board chair during much of the decade-long period when politicians allegedly benefited from huge kickbacks via inflated contracts struck between the oil giant and dozens of companies. "Launching investigations was considered viable as there are indications of illegality," a court statement read. Around three dozen politicians were named, many of them allies of the leftist Rousseff's ruling coalition. — AFP |
| France pledges €8b to Juncker investment plan Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:30 PM PST
"To create an effect of leverage, the Juncker plan must attract other contributions — public contributions and private contributions — and I have announced that France, through the Caisse des depots and the Public Investment Bank, will put in eight billion euros," Hollande said on a visit to Luxembourg. EU leaders last December approved the broad outline of Juncker's €315 billion investment plan, intended to kick-start growth in Europe by financing hundreds of projects. Germany has committed €15 billion to the plan and Spain €1.5 billion, but other EU member states have been slower to react. But European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen welcomed the French contribution and said: "The plan is progressing fast with the commitment of Member States, and we are confident that the results will start to be visible this summer." — AFP |
| Microsoft Office 2016 preview available to Mac users Posted: 06 Mar 2015 04:27 PM PST
The 2016 version of Microsoft's Office for Mac still includes the Office ribbon, but the rest of the interface has been radically revamped. The idea is to bring this version more in line with Office for Windows, all while optimizing display on Apple's high-definition Retina screens. All of the programmes (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook) can easily be synced with the OneDrive cloud storage service. The test version lasts 60 days, including free updates. Previously, the latest version of Office for Mac available was from 2011. Microsoft's suite is in direct competition with Apple's iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote), which is now offered entirely free of charge. The three main applications in the new Office — Word, Excel and PowerPoint -- are already available for download in Windows 10 for users who have installed the test preview of the forthcoming OS. Dedicated versions for Windows 10 smartphones and tablets are expected to be available later this spring. Optimized for use on touchscreen devices, without a keyboard or mouse, the new apps have the same design and layout regardless of the Windows 10 device used to access them. Windows Phone devices come with a pre-installed Microsoft Office "hub," and the suite is also available for Android and iOS. Office is used by over one billion people worldwide, according to Microsoft. More information click here. — AFP-Relaxnews |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Malay Mail Online | All To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
