ANN/THE STAR – The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar yesterday morning on weaker manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) flash estimates for advanced economies, said an analyst.
At 9am, the local note rose to 4.6410/6455 against the greenback from 4.6575/6610 at Wednesday’s close.
The latest manufacturing PMI prints for the United States (US), Europe and the United Kingdom (UK) remained below the 50-point demarcation line at 47.0, 43.7 and 42.7 points, respectively.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist and Social Finance Head Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said businesses need to contend with the rising cost of borrowing and wage pressures, particularly those in advanced economies.
“The US dollar index (DXY) was down by 0.14 per cent to 103.419 points with major currencies such as euro, pound and yen strengthening against the greenback. “Having said that, we expect USD/MYR to move in a tight range of between MYR4.65 and MYR4.66 today as market participants are wary about the US rate outlook ahead of the Jackson Hole Symposium this week,” he told Bernama.
PHOTO: ENVATO
US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s speech during the symposium today is expected to provide clues on the US future monetary policy decision, said Mohd Afzanizam.
In the meantime, the ringgit was traded lower against a basket of major currencies.
The local note declined against the Japanese yen to 3.2051/2084 from 3.2026/2052 at yesterday’s close, weakened versus the euro to 5.0443/0492 from 5.0348/0385 and edged down against the British pound to 5.9029/9086 from 5.8880/8924 previously.
At the same time, the local note traded mixed against other ASEAN currencies.
It was lower against the Singapore dollar to 3.4322/4358 from 3.4309/4340 and depreciated vis-a-vis the Thai baht to 13.3171/3361 from 13.2813/2970 at Wednesday’s close.
Meanwhile, the ringgit appreciated against the Indonesian rupiah to 303.3/303.8 from 304.4/304.8 yesterday and increased against the Philippines’ peso to 8.20/8.21 from 8.21/8.22 on Wednesday.
Police on guard in Bariloche, Argentina. PHOTO: AP
AFP – Argentina has been hit by a wave of looting that has ratcheted up political tensions ahead of October elections as the country grapples with 113 per cent annual inflation.
Since last Friday, groups of people, sometimes dozens at a time, have forced their way into supermarkets and other stores, fuelled by calls on social media, authorities say.
Around 200 people, many of them minors, have been arrested for what locals call ‘piranha attacks’ – from the outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires, to the Patagonian city of Bariloche and the Mendoza region.
Images of ransacked shops have sparked memories of Argentina’s 2001 financial meltdown, when a huge debt default and collapse of the banking system led to desperate scenes of looting.
But while some attribute the plundering to the current economic crisis, others see it as an orchestrated effort to destabilise the country ahead of October 22 elections.
Poverty levels in Argentina stand at 40 per cent, and adding to inflation woes, the government devalued the peso by 20 per cent earlier this month, prompting businesses to raise prices even further.
Police on guard in Bariloche, Argentina. PHOTO: AP
Raul Castells, leader of one of Argentina’s piquetero social protest movements, said he encouraged the looting and that the real offense was the price of food.
“If people can’t find food, let them take what they find, even if it means exchanging it afterward for food,” he told the Cronica television channel.
Right-wing politicians have called for his arrest.
The looters have taken not only food but anything they can find, such as cigarettes, clothes, and other items. One supermarket in Moreno, whose shelves were emptied, was set on fire.
On Tuesday, Cabinet Chief Agustin Rossi said many of those arrested had criminal records, rejecting the idea that the crimes were a social reaction.
Security Minister Anibal Fernandez said, “this is not about people looting to feed their families,” adding that some of those involved had “almost-new” cars.
He said, “the looting was not spontaneous, it is not a coincidence. But we don’t have reliable information to attribute it to anyone.” The raids come a little over a week after a presidential primary showed that brash political outsider Javier Milei was the current presidential frontrunner ahead of the elections in October. The result shook the nation and highlighted widespread discontent with traditional parties.
“Tragic to see the same looting images as in 2001, 20 years later. Poverty and looting are two sides of the same coin,” Milei wrote on social media.
“Argentina can no longer bear this impoverishing model.”
A spokeswoman for the centre-left presidency, Gabriela Cerruti, told Futurock radio that social media accounts belonging to Milei supporters had been agitating in favor of the looting.
She said Milei and right-wing candidate Patricia Bullrich had built their public discourse based on the longing they have for democracy to crack and destabilise.
ATLANTA (AFP) – Tiger Woods is already making an impact in only two weeks on the PGA Tour policy board as it considers the PGA-LIV deal, fellow board member Rory McIlroy said on Wednesday.
The 15-time major champion was added to an expanded policy board, the tour announced on August 8, a day after 41 players requested the move in a letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.
The move was to add transparency and ease tensions of players unhappy at secrecy around the LIV-PGA merger framework unveiled in June by Monahan and Yasir al-Rumayyan, the head of LIV’s backers, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
As a result of Woods becoming the sixth player on the policy board, players are the majority of the panel that must approve the PGA’s framework agreement with the PIF by the end of the year for its approval.
“Tiger being on the board, it’s meaningful that he’s on it, that he’s engaged,” McIlroy said. “He has certainly been spending more time on it than I have.
“He has been talking to a lot of people. He’s really engaged in just trying to get the best outcome for the players on the PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods. PHOTO: XINHUA
“I think his difference has been felt already. I think it will only continue to grow as we head towards that December 31st deadline.”
The deal would create a for-profit entity involving the upstart LIV Golf League, the PGA and the DP World Tour.
Details of the plans under discussion have not been revealed, although Monahan said on Tuesday he was confident an agreement would be struck by the end of the year as required under terms of the tentative pact.
Among issues to be settled is the fate of LIV and how players who jumped for record prize money and guaranteed deals might be able to return to the PGA Tour should they desire.
McIlroy said not all the players on the board must vote to approve the final deal.
“I don’t think all the player directors have to be unanimous,” he said. “I don’t think it has to be a unanimous vote. It just has to be a majority.”
McIlroy said the role of dealing with LIV issues had an impact on his golf performance but he stepped back from such a hands-on role in April and has finished in the top 10 in his past nine events, winning the Scottish Open and placing second at the US Open.
“Last year I was probably energized by everything that was going on in the world of golf. I felt like we were maybe in a bit more of a state of flux,” McIlroy said. “I feel like everything’s a little more settled.
“The stuff that’s going on right now, I’m on the board and I have to be involved and whenever something’s brought to the table I’ll vote on it yes or no. But maybe just not as emotionally engaged.”
PGA Championship winner Brooks Kopeka of LIV Golf was edged out of an automatic qualifying spot on the US Ryder Cup team that will defend the trophy against Europe next month in Italy.
British Open champion Brian Harman says Koepka would be a worthy player but will leave the picks to US captain Zach Johnson, who announces his six choices on Tuesday.
“Brooks, he’s right there. I think he would be a pretty good addition to the team,” Harman said.
“I’m not totally familiar with his record in Ryder Cups, but the experience would certainly help, especially considering there’s probably going to be a fair amount of rookies over there.
“Whoever Zach thinks can help us win the Ryder Cup I think needs to be on the team.”
The European team won’t be able to have LIV players on the team under DP World Tour rules but McIlroy didn’t see any problem with that.
“No, I don’t think it would make a difference for us,” McIlroy said.
AP – Global markets mostly rose yesterday after Wall Street rallied to its best day since June as pressures from the bond market relaxed a bit.
France’s CAC 40 added 0.9 per cent in early trading to 7,314.49. Germany’s DAX gained 0.8 per cent to 15,859.15. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent to 7,349.46.
U.S. shares were set to trade mixed with Dow futures slipping less than 0.1 per cent to 34,510.00, while S&P 500 futures gained 0.6 per cent to 4,475.25.
Oil prices fell. Asian benchmarks rose.
Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.9 per cent to finish at 32,287.21.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.5 per cent to 7,182.10.
PHOTO: AP
South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.3 per cent to 2,537.68.
The Bank of Korea’s Monetary Policy Board left the base rate unchanged at 3.50 per cent.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 2.1 per cent to 18,212.17, while the Shanghai Composite rose 0.1 per cent to 3,082.24.
A major event of the week for markets is a speech later in the day by United States (US) Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell.
He is speaking at a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, event that’s been the setting for major policy announcements by the Fed in the past.
The hope among traders has been that the Fed has already hiked rates for the final time this cycle and that it will begin cutting rates early next year. But such hopes have been diminishing with each stronger-than-expected report on the economy that’s come in recently.
Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF plays against FC Cincinnati. PHOTO: AFP
MIAMI (AFP) – Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami to come back from 2-0 down to beat Cincinnati on penalties after their thrilling US Open Cup semi-final ended 3-3 after extra-time in Ohio.
Miami, who won the Leagues Cup on penalties against Nashville on Saturday, are now one win away from their second trophy since Messi joined the club last month.
The US Open Cup is American soccer’s oldest and most important knockout competition, dating back more than a century to 1914 and is similar to England’s FA Cup or Spain’s Copa del Rey.
Miami will host the Houston Dynamo in the final on September 27 after the Texan side beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 after extra-time.
A month ago Cincinnati, who are top of Major League Soccer’s standings while Miami are bottom, would have been clear favourites. But the Florida team are now a very different side to the one which was winless in their 11 league games before the arrival of the Argentine.
In the intense heat, with temperatures over 38 degrees Celsius at kick-off, Miami’s unbeaten run since the signing of Messi and Spanish pair Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba looked to be coming to an end.
Lionel Messi of Inter Miami CF plays against FC Cincinnati. PHOTO: AFP
Inter trailed 2-0 with 22 minutes remaining before the Argentine delivered two perfect assists to striker Leonardo Campana to take the game into extra-time.
Messi’s compatriot Luciano Acosta had put Cincinnati ahead in the 18th minute and American striker Brandon Vazquez doubled the home side’s lead with a fine strike from the edge of the box in the 53rd minute.
In the 68th minute, Messi whipped in a free-kick from the left which was headed home by Campana to breathe some life into what had been a tired display from Gerardo Martino’s side.
Cincinnati thought that they had made it 3-1 but Yuga Kubo’s effort was ruled out for handball.
In the seventh minute of stoppage time Messi, from deep on the left, swung in a ball to Campana at the back post and again the Ecuadoran forward found the net to force extra-time.
Miami went ahead in the first period with Benjamin Cremaschi sliding an excellent pass into the path of Josef Martinez and the Venezuelan made no mistake with a precise finish.
But Cincinnati bounced back in the second period with Japanese winger Kubo firing a right-foot shot into the far corner past the diving Drake Callender.
The teams were at 4-4 in the shoot-out when Callender saved Nick Hagglund’s penalty for Cincinnati and Cremaschi converted the next to book Miami’s place in the final.
The 18-year-old Miami-born Cremaschi, whose parents are Argentine, was congratulated by Messi after his match-winning spot kick.
“I’m living a huge dream,” he told CBS Sports, “Sometimes I sit down and really think about the position that I’m in and it’s incredible, I never believed I was going to be in the spot I am in now,” he said.
There was a more sober view from Martino, whose team must now begin their 12 game attempt to climb from last in the Eastern Conference to the playoff positions.
Martino suggested he may be forced to rest some of his players, including Messi, after an intense eight-game spell.
“Both Leo and many other players are reaching an important physical limit and from today we will evaluate how we approach the next three matches,” he said.
“The fatigue is overcome with all the enthusiasm … I hope the team in the future could play better, but it’s very difficult to do that when you almost can’t rest.”
Houston took the lead on the stroke of half-time through Mexican international Hector Herrera but Salt Lake levelled with a Julio Anderson goal in the 64th.
Panamanian midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla fired in a fine solo goal in extra-time before Luis Caicedo wrapped up the win at the death.
LONDON (AFP) – Bernardo Silva will stay at Manchester City until at least 2026 after the Portugal midfielder signed a new contract with the Premier League and European champions.
Silva had been linked with a transfer window move from the Etihad Stadium, with Spanish giants Barcelona long reported to be interested in the 29-year-old.
But he has now ended any lingering speculation about his future by agreeing a new contract with last season’s treble-winners – City also lifted the FA Cup – after his previous contract was due to expire in 2025.
“I’ve had six incredible years at Manchester City and I’m delighted to extend my time here,” Silva told the club’s website.
“I am going into my seventh season at City. Since I arrived, I can only remember one season where we weren’t successful, so to be here until now meant trophies, meant winning a lot and I like to win. It is a very good feeling and I wanted to keep it that way.”
Silva joined City in 2017 and has scored 55 goals in 308 appearances while amassing an impressive haul of silverware for Pep Guardiola’s side that includes five Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups and the Champions League.
“Bernardo has been exceptional during his time at the Etihad, so we’re delighted that he has signed a contract extension with the club,” said City director of football Txiki Begiristain.
“His quality and technical ability is fantastic – and alongside his hard work and professionalism, he has become one of the best players in the world.
“Bernardo was so important in our treble-winning season and we are sure he can help deliver even more trophies in the next few years.”
Silva has missed City’s last two matches with a minor injury but is expected to return for the league match away to Sheffield United tomorrow.
Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice coffee is displayed at a store in New York, United States. PHOTO: AP
The seasonal drink that made pumpkin spice a star is turning 20. And unlike the autumn days it celebrates, there seems to be no chill in customer demand.
Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte went on sale yesterday in the United States (US) and Canada, as it does each year when the nights start getting longer and the fall winds gather.
It’s the coffee giant’s most popular seasonal beverage, with hundreds of millions sold since its launch in 2003. And it has produced a huge – and growing – industry of imitators flecked with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove.
In the year ending July 29, US sales of pumpkin-flavoured products reached USD802.5 million, according to Nielsen. That’s up 42 per cent from the same period in 2019.
There are pumpkin spice Oreos, protein drinks, cereals and even Spam. A search of pumpkin spice on Walmart’s website brings up more than 1,000 products. A thousand products that smell or taste like, well, pumpkin pie.
For better – and, some might say, for worse – the phenomenon has moved beyond coffee shops and groceries and into the larger world.
Great Wolf Lodge is featuring a Pumpkin Spice Suite at five of its resorts this fall, decked out with potpourri, pumpkin throw pillows and bottomless pumpkin spice lattes.
Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice coffee is displayed at a store in New York, United States. PHOTO: AP
It has also spawned a vocal group of detractors – and become an easy target for parodies.
Comedian John Oliver once called pumpkin spice lattes the coffee that tastes like a candle.
There’s a Facebook group called ‘I Hate Pumpkin Spice’ and T-shirts with slogans like ‘Ain’t no pumpkin spice in my mug.’
The haters, though, appear to be in the minority. Last year, Starbucks said sales of its pumpkin spice drinks – including newer offerings like Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew – were up 17 per cent in the July-September period. And in a 2022 study of 20,000 social media posts mentioning pumpkin spice, just eight per cent were negative, according to researchers at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
BEFORE THE LATTE: WHAT PUMPKIN SPICE WAS
It wasn’t always this way.
Canned pumpkin and pie spices were relegated to the baking aisle when Starbucks began experimenting with an autumn drink that would replicate the success of the Peppermint Mocha, which took the winter holidays by storm in 2002.
Customer surveys suggested chocolate or caramel drinks, but Starbucks noticed that pumpkin scored high for uniqueness. That would turn out to be prescient.
In the spring of 2003, a team gathered in a lab in Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters, bringing fall decorations to set the mood.
They sipped espresso between bites of pumpkin pie, figuring out which spices most complemented the coffee. After three months, they offered taste tests; pumpkin spice beat out chocolate and caramel drinks.
Starbucks tested the Pumpkin Spice Latte in 100 stores in Washington, DC, and Vancouver, British Columbia, that fall. The company quickly realised it had a winner and rolled it out across the US and Canada the following fall. And in 2015, a watershed: The company added real pumpkin to the recipe.
These days, Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte has its own handle on X – formerly known as Twitter – with 82,000 followers, and a Facebook fan group called the Leaf Rakers Society with 43,000 members.
And it has fans like Jon McBrine, who drinks black iced coffee for most of the year but eagerly awaits the latte’s return each fall.
“I love the flavour and I love the subculture that has evolved from this huge marketing campaign,” said McBrine, a graphic designer and aspiring author who lives in the Dallas area.
It’s hot through the end of October where he lives, so McBrine typically orders his with ice.
But at least once a year, he gets a hot latte, savouring memories of the autumns of his childhood in Delaware. “It’s part of getting into the season,” he said. “It’s almost like a ritual, even if you’re just waiting in the drive-thru.”
THE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE AS SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Assistant professor Jason Fischer at Johns Hopkins University who studies human perception through sight, sound and smell, said odour and flavour have a more direct route than other senses to the area of the brain that processes memories.
That’s due to evolution; humans needed to remember which foods were safe to eat. But it means smells and memories are closely linked.
Still, he said, people’s sense of smell can be malleable. In experiments, subjects have taken a sniff of something and described it in many different ways.
But when they’re shown a label for that smell – say pumpkin spice – their perceptions shift and their descriptions become more similar.
“Odours and sights go with certain places, like the aroma of pine and the crunching of needles beneath your feet,” he said. “They’re associated with a certain kind of experience. And then marketing taps into that, and it’s a cue for a product.”
Pumpkin spice doesn’t conjure happy memories for everyone.
Kari-Jane Roze, who lives in Fredericton, Canada, loves many things about autumn, including back-to-school routines, changing leaves and hockey.
But she’s not a fan of pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread – and she has a particular dislike for pumpkin spice lattes.
“The artificial flavour is disgusting,” said Roze, who works at New Brunswick Community College. “The only thing I do not like about fall is seeing everyone obsess over PSLs. Makes me want to shut off social media for a month.”
The limited-time nature of the product is another thing that keeps customers hooked, marketing experts say.
Last year, Starbucks’ holiday-themed drinks arrived on November 3. And then, for devoted fans, the wait begins anew. – Dee-Ann Durbin
Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
ANN/THE STRAITS TIMES – Max Verstappen can equal Sebastian Vettel’s record nine wins in a row this weekend as Formula One ends its August break and heads for the Dutch seaside dunes of Zandvoort.
The 25-year-old Red Bull driver can count on a capacity crowd cheering him all the way at the Dutch Grand Prix as he returns home more dominant than ever.
The double world champion is favourite to complete a hat-trick, after winning the two races held at the circuit since it returned to the calendar in 2021, and has a 125-point lead over Mexican teammate Sergio Perez after 12 of 22 rounds.
Red Bull are, meanwhile, chasing a 14th successive win, and 13th of this season, with the run dating back to Abu Dhabi last November.
Germany’s Vettel, now retired, is the only driver to have won nine races in a row during a single campaign and he did it for Red Bull on his way to a fourth title in 2013.
“I’m excited to get going with the second half of the season now and what better way to start than in the Netherlands. It’s an amazing track and of course, the fans are incredible there, so I’m definitely excited to get back on track,” said Verstappen.
Red Bull’s Dutch driver Max Verstappen. PHOTO: THE STRAITS TIMES
“It looks like the weather could be temperamental there but I don’t mind either way, wet or dry, we’ll do our best to make sure we score maximum points.”
The battle to be best of the rest promises to be more exciting, with Mercedes, Aston Martin, Ferrari and McLaren all ready to pounce if Red Bull have a shock off day and drop the ball.
Ferrari came closest at the previous round in Belgium, with Charles Leclerc finishing third behind the two Red Bulls, and the Monegasque also started on the front row at Zandvoort in 2022.
“We have a group with Mercedes, Aston, McLaren and sometimes Alpine able to fight for the first rows which means that its an exciting challenge and situation,” said Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur.
“Its quite impossible to predict who will be in good shape at Zandvoort or Monza,” added the Frenchman, saying much depended on track conditions, set-up, how teams managed the weekend and drivers making the difference.
Ferrari’s Israeli reserve Robert Shwartzman will take Carlos Sainz’s place for first practice as part of team obligations to run a young driver in two sessions over the year.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, who was second in Zandvoort in 2022, would also be recharged and ready.
“We will push hard in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship. We will also be driving development forward for 2024,” said the Austrian.
Renault-owned Alpine, under new management after the departure of principal Otmar Szafnauer, will also be hoping for a strong weekend.
“Clearly, the weeks leading up to the break were not easy for everyone at the team,” said Alpine’s interim principal Bruno Famin.
By command of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, it is hereby announced that His Majesty has consented to the recommendation of Majlis Mesyuarat Adat Istiadat to strip the membership of the Privy Council and title of Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar which has been bestowed to Haji Awang Mohd Nawawi bin Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar Haji Awang Mohd Taha as well as stripping all state decorations and medals bestowed upon him.
The date of stripping his membership and title including all state decorations and medals took into effect yesterday.
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam has consented to send a congratulatory message to Prime Minister of Thailand Srettha Thavisin on the occasion of his appointment as the new Prime Minister of Thailand.
