MONEY MASTER

  Shares Cool After Historic Surge Oracle Corp’s stock fell nearly 5% on Thursday, cooling from a record-breaking rally that had propelled the company’s market valuation to US$933 billion — its highest ever — and brought co-founder Larry Ellison within striking distance of Elon Musk on the global wealth leaderboard. If losses hold, Oracle’s valuation will ease to around US$890 billion. Fuelled by AI Cloud Deals The enterprise software giant’s meteoric rise was underpinned by a string of multi-billion-dollar cloud contracts, underscoring insatiable demand for computing power as companies race to scale AI infrastructure. On Wednesday, Oracle shares had soared  35.9% in a single session , one of the largest daily gains in its history. A  Wall Street Journal  report revealed that OpenAI signed a  US$300 billion computing power deal  with Oracle, among the largest in history, and a key driver behind the revenue surge. Market Reaction and Outlook Despite Thursday...

  Key Highlights Google's New AI Offering : Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental  integrates the ability to generate  text, images, and audio  within a single application. Aimed at developers, it opens up powerful tools for creating diverse media outputs. AI in Search Engine Innovation : Google’s AI tech will enable  AI-generated summaries  and a new feature called  Deep Research , offering detailed reports based on AI-augmented internet searches. Competitive AI Landscape Google's AI Push : This latest launch underscores Google's ambition to differentiate itself in the highly competitive  consumer AI space , challenging both established tech giants and emerging startups. Represents a direct response to the market dominance of  ChatGPT , OpenAI’s chatbot with  250 million weekly active users  as of October. Market Dynamics : OpenAI  recently launched its advanced  Sora technology , capable of generating  20-second videos , ad...

Grab Holdings Ltd shares jumped up to 15% in US trading after the Southeast Asian ride-hailing and delivery giant raised its full-year earnings forecast to $308-313 million Ebitda, surpassing its earlier projection of $270 million. Grab’s third-quarter Ebitda reached $90 million , outpacing analyst expectations of $66.2 million, with the company reporting its second net profit ever. The stock climbed to $5.04 in after-hours trading, recovering from declines since its 2021 public debut. Revenue for 2024 is now forecast to reach up to $2.78 billion , slightly above previous estimates. Grab’s 42 million monthly users still represent significant growth potential in Southeast Asia’s population of 650 million. With a focus on balancing profitability and growth amid regional competition, Grab remains optimistic about the region’s long-term prospects.

In response to growing scrutiny over its impact on teen mental health, Meta Platforms Inc. is introducing artificial intelligence to detect underage users on Instagram who lie about their age. By early next year, Meta’s AI-driven "adult classifier" will assess user data—such as follower lists and birthday messages—to determine if a user is likely under 18, regardless of their listed age. Key Points: AI-Powered Age Detection : The adult classifier will automatically place suspected underage users into restricted teen accounts with privacy settings that limit message access and content exposure. Enhanced Age Verification : Teens attempting to alter their age or create new accounts will need to provide proof, such as a driver’s license or video-selfie verification via third-party service Yoti. Privacy and Parental Controls : Users aged 16 and 17 can adjust restrictions, but younger teens require parental consent to disable protective settings. Industry Challenges : Meta's mo...

LG Energy Solution Ltd saw its operating profit for the third quarter tumble nearly 40% due to weak demand for electric vehicles (EVs) . The South Korean battery maker reported a profit of 448.3 billion won (US$323 million) for the three months ending Sept 30, which, while slightly higher than analyst estimates of 440.3 billion won, represented a steep drop from a year earlier. Excluding tax credits from the US Inflation Reduction Act , the company posted an operating loss of 17.7 billion won . Revenue also fell 16.4% to 6.9 trillion won , reflecting the global challenges the company faces amid the slowdown in EV demand. Global automakers are scaling back their electric ambitions as consumer interest in EVs declines , compounded by uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US presidential election . Former President Donald Trump has threatened to scrap the Biden administration’s EV policies, further clouding the market outlook. “ Competition in the global EV market is intensifying , as...

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) , the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported a forecast-beating 54% jump in Q3 profit , driven by booming demand for AI-related chips . The company expects sustained strong growth, forecasting fourth-quarter revenue of US$26.1 billion to US$26.9 billion , up from US$19.62 billion a year earlier. In Q3, TSMC's net profit hit a record T$325.3 billion (RM43.39 billion) , surpassing analyst predictions of T$300.2 billion . Revenue for the quarter rose 36% year-on-year to US$23.5 billion , above the company's previous estimates. TSMC, a key supplier for Apple and Nvidia , has been significantly investing in production capacity, forecasting capital expenditure for 2024 at over US$30 billion . The company is building three factories in Arizona , with the first expected to start production in 2025 and the second by 2028 . Despite challenges from rivals Intel and Samsung , TSMC remains a dominant player, and its shares have ...

South-East Asia is becoming a key region for data centres as global demand for AI-driven infrastructure and computing power surges. This trend is being fueled by the rise of artificial intelligence technologies like ChatGPT , which require significantly more processing capacity than traditional internet searches, driving the region’s data centre demand to grow by 20% annually for the next five to seven years, according to analysts at Maybank . Top technology companies , including Microsoft , Amazon Web Services (AWS) , and Google , are investing heavily in the region, attracted by lower costs, power availability , and geopolitical neutrality . These investments are creating skilled jobs and enhancing digital infrastructure , which will benefit both small businesses and large institutions by enabling local data storage, improving data sovereignty , and reducing downtime . Key players in the region include Malaysia and Singapore , both emerging as data centre hubs. Malaysia, in par...

  A selloff in major technology companies dragged down US stocks on Monday, as investors reacted to geopolitical concerns and adjusted bets on the Federal Reserve's next move , anticipating a smaller rate cut . The S&P 500 fell 1%, breaking a four-week winning streak. Alphabet Inc. sank 2.4% after a judge ruled it must lift restrictions on rival marketplaces competing with its Google Play Store. Meanwhile, Brent crude surged past $80 a barrel amid rising tensions in the Middle East . Friday’s stronger-than-expected US jobs report sparked a shift in market sentiment, dampening hopes for a larger rate cut from the Fed. Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield topping 4% . Chris Larkin from E*Trade noted that the jobs report not only lowered expectations for a significant rate cut in November but also raised the possibility of the Fed leaving rates unchanged if economic data continues to surpass forecasts. Energy stocks were one of the few sectors that gained, while t...

  Elon Musk's X has managed to bypass a Brazilian Supreme Court ban through an automatic software update, according to the Brazilian Association of Internet and Telecommunications Providers (ABRINT) . Access to the social media platform, formerly known as Twitter , unexpectedly returned for many users in Brazil after being blocked last month due to a legal clash with Musk. ABRINT explained that X changed its structure to utilize IP addresses associated with Cloudflare , a San Francisco-based cybersecurity company. This change made it difficult to block the platform because many of the IP addresses are shared with other legitimate services , such as banks and large internet platforms, complicating any attempts to enforce the ban without affecting other services. X stated that the restored access was "inadvertent and temporary," resulting from a shift in network providers after the platform's ban. The company expects the platform to be blocked again soon but express...

Meta Platforms has introduced enhanced privacy and parental controls for Instagram users under 18, in response to growing concerns over the negative effects of social media on young users. Under the new policy, all designated Instagram accounts for users under 18 will be automatically converted to "Teen Accounts," which will be set to private by default. Users with these accounts will only be able to receive messages and tags from accounts they already follow or are connected to, and the settings for sensitive content will be adjusted to the most restrictive level. For users under 16, changes to these default settings will require parental permission . Parents will also gain access to new tools that allow them to monitor their children’s interactions and limit their time on the app. This move comes in the wake of numerous studies linking social media use to increased rates of depression, anxiety, and learning disabilities among young people. It also follows a series of l...

Dell Technologies Inc. plans to continue reducing its workforce through the fiscal year ending February 2025 as it navigates challenges related to cost control, declining demand for personal computers (PCs), and the profitability of servers optimized for artificial intelligence (AI). Key Takeaways: Focus on Cost Management : Dell will limit external hiring, reorganize jobs, and take additional actions to further reduce its overall headcount. This comes as the company strives to manage costs amidst concerns over the slow rebound in PC demand and the lower profitability of AI-optimized servers due to high costs associated with expensive components, such as Nvidia's computer chips. Mixed Performance in Core Businesses : While Dell is expanding its high-powered server business for AI work, which has driven a 39% increase in its stock this year, the profitability of this new growth area is under scrutiny. In the most recent quarter, a higher mix of AI servers negatively impacted margins...

Asian share markets had a quiet start on Monday, with gains in select sectors amid low liquidity due to holidays in the US and Canada. Investors are cautious ahead of a busy week filled with economic data releases, including the US jobs report, which could influence the Federal Reserve's upcoming interest rate decision. Key Takeaways: Market Caution Ahead of Key Data : Investors are on edge as they await the US jobs report on Friday, which could determine whether the Fed's expected rate cut this month will be a standard 25 basis points or a larger 50 basis points. Futures markets are currently fully pricing in a 25-basis-point cut, with a smaller chance of a more significant cut. Mixed Performance in Asian Markets : Japan's Nikkei rose 0.5%, building on last week's gains, while South Korean stocks edged up 0.1%. However, Chinese blue-chip stocks dipped 0.6%, driven by losses in the real estate sector. The Caixin survey showed China's manufacturing PMI rose to 50.4 i...