☕️ Government to launch base medical insurance to address affordability

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

A copy of the rare Action Comics No 1, the comic that introduced Superman to the world, has been sold to an anonymous collector for USD15 mil (RM60.56 mil). This sale also shatters the previous record for the sale of a comic book, when a pristine copy of Superman No 1 fetched USD9.12 mil at auction in Nov 2025. This particular copy of Action Comics also once belonged to actor Nicolas Cage. The actor bought the comic for USD150,000 in 1996, a record at the time. Making this copy even more iconic is that it shares a similar history like the Mona Lisa - it was stolen before. The comic was stolen from his home in 2000, and was only found in a storage unit in 2011. The actor and the comic were reunited, with Cage selling the copy for USD2.2 mil six months later.

The UK Treasury is set to insure the Bayeux Tapestry against damage for an estimated GBP800 mil (RM4.34 bil) while it is on loan to the British Museum this year. The 70m-long embroidery, which depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings, will be travelling to London as part of a deal between the UK and France. Its time spent in transit, storage, and on display will be covered under the Government Indemnity Scheme. There have been concerns raised about the move, with some French art experts suggesting that the nearly 1,000-year-old work was far too delicate to be transported. However, these concerns were denied by French officials. The Bayeux Tapestry will be displayed in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum from Sept 2026 to July 2027.

The trend of carrying a Trader Joe’s tote has inflated the price of the grocery bag in online marketplaces, with some eBay listings going as high as USD50,000 (RM202,000). The original price as sold in the US? USD2.99. But what was the appeal in this particular grocery bag? According to a lecturer at the Yale School of the Environment, the bags are only available in the US, which imparts scarcity, turning them into a status symbol, especially in today’s era of easily accessible overconsumption. However, even in the US, the bags sell out quickly, as the company’s logo has avoided the oversimplification process that many other companies have. This gives the logo a perceived distance from the ‘ultra-capitalist, consumerist’ side of the US, making it appear more homegrown and liberal. Trader Joe’s, as a corporation, has distanced itself from the resale phenomenon and is doing all it can to stop the practice.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

C for Corruption
Two more military officers to be charged with corruption
I guess all military men should sing their last goodbyes, especially to those who have been ‘naughty’. According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), two more armed forces officers with the title of Datuk are expected to be charged next week in connection with investigations into procurement irregularities under the Defence Ministry. MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki said that his agency will double down on bringing down corruption by dispatching four additional officers to the Defence Ministry for a six-month exercise aimed at identifying loopholes in procurement processes. Azam added that the Defence Ministry is not the only ministry on MACC’s list, as several ministries are currently on its radar over procurement-related issues.

Okay, fine, the RM42 mil funds were not a Saudi donation, says Najib Razak
During former PM Najib Razak’s RM42 mil civil suit by SRC International and its subsidiary, Najib conceded that the RM42 mil funds deposited to his personal bank accounts were unrelated to any Saudi donation. Najib’s acknowledgement is now consistent with the findings of recent 1MDB verdicts, where judges had ruled there was no documentary evidence to support his ‘Saudi donation’ defence.

Even a Tan Sri title cannot shield you from being nabbed by MACC
Azam Baki announced that two individuals have been arrested by the anti-graft body for their alleged involvement in a RM300 mil investment fraud scheme. One of the people arrested bears the ‘Tan Sri’ title, is in his late 60s, and is a well-known figure. Under his alleged investment scam, many investors had suffered losses to the tune of RM4 mil. The case has been classified as an economic crime.

RM6.65 bil seized in relation to the MBI Group Ponzi scheme
Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong told Parliament that thanks to the Bukit Aman-led anti-money laundering operation dubbed ‘Op Northern Star’ which started last year, a total of 23 individuals have been arrested with RM6.65 bil in assets seized, in connection with the MBI Group Ponzi scheme. On top of that, authorities are working hard to forfeit another 642 properties and bank accounts owned by the children of MBI founder Tedy Teow Wooi Huat, valued at more than RM1.25 bil. The MBI Group Ponzi scheme, which operated between 2012 and 2018, was once the largest financial fraud in the region, scamming up to 11 mil people globally. PSA: if you think you are being scammed, please call the hotline 997, which will link you to the National Scam Response Centre.

Rapid Rail, rapid losses
Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd, the operator of six transit lines in Klang Valley, recorded a RM603 mil operating loss in 2025 on revenue of RM721.5 mil, even though the wholly-owned unit of Prasarana Malaysia Bhd operates high-traffic transit lines such as the Kelana Jaya Line, Ampang Line, Sri Petaling Line, MRT Kajang Line, MRT Putrajaya Line, and the KL Monorail. To be fair, this year is the first time Prasarana has revised the fare price since 2009. Globally, transit operators are known to be cash incinerators, as the main purpose of building a transit line is for the national agenda and not profit, so increasing the fare price is a political decision and not a business one. However, transit operators can be profitable. The key is to focus on non-farebox revenue, such as real estate development around the station (Japan, Singapore) and advertising (Thailand). For Rapid Rail, its non-farebox revenue in 2025 only accounted for about 3.7% of its total revenue.

New base medical insurance to be launched by the Government
Putrajaya will launch a new medical and health insurance/takaful (MHIT) plan next year, which will provide coverage for Malaysians until the age of 85. The indicative monthly premiums under the standard plan range from RM80 to RM120 for those aged 31 to 35, RM280 to RM350 for those aged 61 to 65, and RM500 to RM780 for those above 75. For the standard-plus plan, with a higher deductible (paid by policyholders) and coverage limit, premiums are estimated at RM50 to RM70, RM220 to RM280 and RM400 to RM660, respectively. The insurance plan will adopt a two-tier co-payment structure; basically, policyholders need to pick up a portion of the hospital bill, where the quantum depends on which plan they subscribed to. Read the white paper here.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Trump serves TACO again
Finally, the Greenland episode has somewhat calmed down after Trump said on Wednesday that he would not go ahead with his planned 10% tariffs on the European nations that refused to let the US have Greenland. Could this be yet another TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) moment for Trump? He also ruled out the use of force to seize the territory, saying that he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte have agreed on a ‘framework’ for a future deal involving Greenland and the Arctic region. He also added that discussions were underway about his plans for the ‘Golden Dome’, a proposed missile defence shield, and the territory. No further details about the framework were given. NATO said the negotiations would focus on ensuring that Russia and China never gain a foothold – economically or militarily – in Greenland. However, an international relations professor at the University of Copenhagen expressed doubt that Trump’s framework would be anything more substantial than a face-saving ‘pretend’ deal, and believes that US–European relations will not return to normal, regardless of any breakthrough on Greenland. Sounds more possible than attacking Greenland.

US set to exit WHO with unpaid dues
Jan 22 marked the day that the US quit the World Health Organisation (WHO), as per Trump’s notice on the first day of his presidency in 2025. Under US law, a country has to give one year’s notice and pay all outstanding fees before departure. However, the WHO said that the US has not yet paid the fees it owes for 2024 and 2025, which amount to USD260 mil (RM1.05 bil). The US State Department did not respond to questions about whether the US could leave without paying its fees. How does this affect the WHO? The departure of the US has sparked a budgetary crisis that has seen the organisation cut its management team in half and scale back work, reducing budgets across the agency. Washington has traditionally been by far its biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. Its departure could also weaken the systems and collaborations the world relies on to detect, prevent, and respond to health threats. Sadly, the WHO will also shed around a quarter of its staff by the middle of 2026.

Tech updates
Apple to revamp Siri into a chatbot named Campos
Apple Inc is planning to revamp Siri by turning the digital assistant into the company’s first artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot named Campos. The chatbot will be deeply embedded into the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems and will replace the current Siri interface. The feature is a central piece of Apple’s turnaround plan for the AI market, where it has lagged behind Silicon Valley peers. Apple plans to unveil the technology in June at its Worldwide Developers Conference and release it in September. Campos, which will have both voice- and typing-based modes, will be the primary new addition to Apple’s upcoming operating systems and integrated into iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS27. Like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, it will allow users to search the web for information, create content, generate images, summarise information and analyse uploaded files. Embracing the chatbot approach represents a strategic shift for Apple, which has long downplayed the conversational AI tools popularised by OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft Corp.

Vimeo is laying off staff globally after its USD1.38 bil sale to Bending Spoons
Video platform Vimeo is trimming its global staff this week, a few months after it was acquired by Bending Spoons for USD1.38 bil (RM5.58 bil) in November 2025. This would be Vimeo’s second round of layoffs since September, when the company cut 10% of its full-time workforce in an effort to ‘ensure focus and efficiency’. Milan-based Bending Spoons owns a collection of software companies, including Evernote, Meetup, and WeTransfer, and has a history of making job cuts after buying up companies. The firm has leaned heavily into mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to grow, closing its purchase of Vimeo in November and announcing in October that it would buy AOL for USD1.5 bil. It raised USD4 bil in debt financing in 2025 to support its AOL acquisition and future M&A activity. Vimeo is not the only tech company to trim staff this year. Others, including Meta and TikTok, have let workers go as they’ve sought to restructure or trim down certain business lines.

Lemonade launches AI-powered insurance for self-driving Teslas.
Digital insurance company Lemonade has launched a new AI-powered insurance product designed specifically for self-driving vehicles, beginning with the Tesla Full Self-Driving (FSD). The Lemonade Autonomous Car insurance offering introduces a different pricing model for autonomous driving, cutting per-mile rates by approximately 50% when FSD is engaged. The price is also expected to drop as FSD gets safer in the future. This was developed following a technical collaboration between Lemonade and Tesla, which gave Lemonade access to vehicle data that the insurer integrated into its usage-based risk prediction models. This enabled the company to distinguish between autonomous and human driving. Lemonade said the launch aligns with its broader strategy of applying AI to improve operational efficiency and pricing accuracy, with the intention of passing savings directly to customers. The company has stated its ambition to become the lowest-cost, best-experience insurance provider globally, positioning Lemonade Autonomous Car insurance as a step toward that goal.

Shorts:

1. Torrential rain triggered landslide at holiday hotspot in New Zealand

   Climate change continues to batter continents around the world with extreme weather. In New Zealand, a deadly landslide triggered by days of torrential rain struck yesterday morning at a campground in the tourist hotspot of Mount Maunganui on the east coast. Several people, including a child, are believed to be missing. The search and rescue operations are ongoing at the time of writing. The days of record-breaking rain also led to local states of emergency being declared in five regions across Northland and the East Cape. Tauranga, the closest city to Mount Maunganui, received 295mm of rain in the 30 hours to 6AM, before the landslide hit around 9.30AM.

2. Toronto man fakes pilot badge for hundreds of free flights

   A Canadian man, Dallas Pokornik, has been arrested for faking his identity as both a pilot and a flight attendant of US airlines, which allegedly enabled him to ride on hundreds of free flights over 4 years. His scheme is said to bear a striking resemblance to the 2002 Catch Me If You Can film (starring Leonardo DiCarpio), in which a charming teenager running from the FBI impersonates a pilot to jet around the world. He was arrested in Panama and then extradited to the US for wire fraud charges. If convicted, Pokornik faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to USD250,000 (RM1.01 mil), according to the Department of Justice. Couldn’t help but to picture Leonardo DiCaprio while reading this news.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Weekend Money Lessons

1. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has stepped down from his role as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Here’s a recent interview special with CNBC. Part 1 below - part 2 here. Maybe his next path = podcaster?

2. Understand why Sunway is so keen on IJM despite the controversies surrounding the latter. A crash course in infrastructure and development planning.

3. The rich get richer, but why? The Cantillon effect explains. TLDR: those nearer to the source of money (i.e. banks) extracts most of the benefits first. Read more here.