☕️ Rumour of Jho Low's pardon from Trump gets louder

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

USD50,000 (RM204,775) – Two football fans, Kevin Akoto and Austin Franklin, are being paid that amount each by US broadcaster Fox Sports to watch all of the 104 World Cup matches. The catch? They have to watch the matches in full view of Times Square. They have a custom-built glass cubicle, fitted with recliners, a matching brown leather sofa, two large-screen televisions, a foosball table, and all the merchandise and snacks to turn it into a proper fan’s space. Of course, the duo is also being paid to create content for fans over the course of the World Cup. Thankfully, they don’t have to sleep in the box.

58 goals – Kylian Mbappé is now France’s all-time top scorer with that number of goals across his career. The previous record was held by Olivier Giroud. Other notable statistics about Mbappé include him having scored three hat-tricks for France, with the first in 2021 in a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan. He also holds the record of most consecutive matches with at least one goal for France with a streak of 7 matches, which ran from early June last year to late Mar this year. In the cartoon world, he also scored goals - more below.

GBP116 mil (RM630.95 mil) – Manchester City has agreed to a deal with Nottingham Forest to sign midfielder Elliot Anderson for that amount with no bonuses attached, marking a club record, according to City sources. Other sources claim the deal is worth up to GBP130 mil, which would represent a British record fee, eclipsing the GBP125 mil Liverpool paid Newcastle for striker Alexander Isak last summer. The City-Forest deal comes after the Nottingham club rejected two previous bids, as it was holding out for a higher fee for Anderson. The midfielder made his first-team debut in 2021 for his boyhood club Newcastle, making 55 appearances before being reluctantly sold to Forest. Anderson recorded the most touches (3,300), won possession most often (306 times), won the most duels (297), and drew the most fouls (80) in the 2025–26 Premier League season.

Toxoplasma - yes, ain’t numbers but thought it is interesting to feature it somewhere. It’s a parasite that makes a rat love a cat. Rats infected with toxoplasma loses its natural response to cat urine and no longer fear that smell. It gets worse for male rats - the parasite increases activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for sexual behaviour which normally activates after exposure to a female rat. The worst combination when dealing with a natural predator - lack of fear and sexual attraction - all for the wrong reasons.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Public transport shenanigans in Malaysia
Private money alone is not enough to fund Johor’s E-ART
Transport Minister Anthony Loke told the Parliament that Putrajaya will provide funding for the RM10 bil Autonomous Rapid Transit (E-ART) project in Johor Bharu, but the initial phase will still be borne entirely by the appointed consortium. At the moment, the federal government is formulating how much it needs to fork out to fund the project, and the repayment mechanism during the concession period.

The project received approval from the Cabinet last month, and the next step is to issue the Letter of Acceptance to the chosen consortium. From there, it would take another four years of construction. Designed to run along three main corridors — Skudai, Tebrau and Iskandar Puteri — the trackless smart tram system will also connect with the upcoming Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link. You know MRT, LRT, BRT - but what is ART:

NOW the Selangor government wants to ‘turun padang’
Following their ‘turun padang’ session, Selangor Local Government and Tourism Committee chairman Ng Suee Lim said that Shah Alam has instructed Prasarana Malaysia Bhd and developers to urgently complete missing pedestrian infrastructure around newly operational LRT3 Shah Alam Line stations. He found out that Prasarana was unable to complete the missing pedestrian link due to permit issues.

Ng also instructed the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) to monitor progress closely. So, basically, Ng is telling MBSA to monitor Prasarana, who will complete the missing link, which Prasarana was unable to before because they were having difficulties in getting permits issued by MBSA. Seems rather convoluted, yes?

No advance payment made for the axed Norway missiles
Defence Minister Khaled Nordin told Parliament that the RM571.9 mil payment made to Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace for the naval strike missile (NSM) system was done according to the contractual milestones, after all the missile systems had been completed, passed tests conducted by the navy, and were ready for delivery to Malaysia.

It was not an advance payment, and Khaled also slammed on allegations that the contract lacked adequate provisions to protect the government. Norway’s decision to revoke the export licence for the missile system was beyond the control of both the Malaysian government and the supplier.

In related news, Navy chief Admiral Zulhelmy Ithnain stated that more than 60% of the Royal Malaysian Navy's (TLDM) assets are now over 40 years old, resulting in rising maintenance costs. TLDM struggles to maintain an ageing fleet as it still needs to deploy at least six ships every day. To illustrate the condition of the fleet, Zulhelmy said all four Combattante-class vessels, which entered service 53 years ago, remain in the TLDM inventory but now serve as patrol vessels after their missile-launch capability was retired due to obsolete systems.

So, we are using pre-1980s tech to defend the country today in the 2020s.

Lim Guan Eng urges PM Anwar to return RM2.8 bil to Penang
Former Penang chief minister and finance minister Lim Guan Eng has called upon PM Anwar Ibrahim to return the state’s RM2.8 bil shortfall in federal allocations between 2023 and 2025. Between 2023 and 2025, Penang contributed RM10.7 bil and received RM7.9 bil, while Selangor contributed RM43.6 bil and received RM15 bil, Johor contributed RM14 bil and received RM16 bil, and Kedah contributed RM3.7 bil and received RM9.5 bil. Both Selangor and Penang received less than their financial contributions to the federal government.

To be fair, Putrajaya collects revenue so that the richer states could contribute more to the less developed states. If everyone keeps asking for their fair share in proportion to their contributions, the gap between states will widen. Make it make sense. Plus, for Penang, Putrajaya has approved the funding for multiple projects such as the Light Rail Transit Mutiara Line, the expansion of the Penang International Airport, and the Juru–Sungai Dua Traffic Dispersion Project.

Shorts

1. Trump to pardon Jho Low?
   According to a report by The Atlantic, Jho Low is suspected to be among the 250 names on the pardon list, in conjunction with the US’s 250th birthday. The White House did not respond to the magazine's reporting before publication. However, after the story was published, a White House official disputed the report, saying: "While the President is the final decision maker on all pardons, these individuals (including Jho Low) are not on the radar of the pardon team." At the moment, Low remains a fugitive and is wanted by Malaysian and US authorities over his alleged role in the 1MDB scandal.

2. A fifth of our time devoted towards unpaid household chores
   Chief Statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that Malaysians spend 21.7% of their day doing unpaid domestic and care work, such as cooking, cleaning, childcare and elderly care. Malaysians also spend more time on unpaid domestic and care work than the average in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). On average, we spend five hours and 12 minutes per day on unpaid work, and those aged 45 to 54 devote the most time to it. This reflects the greater domestic and caregiving responsibilities typically borne by people in the middle stages of life.

3. Berjaya Food exits its Paris Baguette Malaysia JV
   Still not done dealing with the fallout from the Starbucks boycott, Berjaya Food Bhd has now bailed out of its 50:50 joint venture with Paris Baguette Singapore Pte Ltd (PBS), for a nominal RM1. As part of the transaction, Berjaya Food was required to settle RM3.91 mil of the joint venture’s liabilities. Since its launch in Jan 2023, the joint venture has been loss-making, accumulating an unaudited loss after tax of RM67.09 mil and recording net liabilities of RM33.41 mil. Berjaya Food had invested RM20 mil in the joint venture since its incorporation. Berjaya Food, which is listed on Bursa, has been recording 10 consecutive quarters of losses totalling RM371.3 mil.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

The winner of the Middle East war goes to….China
Talk about losing the battle, winning the war. A report by geopolitical consulting firm Asia Group has concluded that China is the sole winner in Asia from Trump’s war in the Middle East, as it has managed to weather the global commodities crisis resulting from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and also stood to gain from the economic and geopolitical trends sparked by the wider conflict.

China’s large oil stockpile and the ambitious rollout of renewable energy mean it has been less exposed to the energy shock than other countries. The country has long maintained strategic reserves of energy, and last year took advantage of low prices to build up even bigger stockpiles. Analysts say that its crude imports grew from 11.1 mil barrels a day to 11.6 mil in 2025, with over 80% of that increase being sent to stockpiles.

China has also been building massive amounts of renewable energy infrastructure in recent years. Last year it installed 315GW of new solar capacity, more than half of the world’s new solar. The year before, it added 277GW. Beijing is aiming for half of China’s energy to come from non-fossil sources by 2030, with the share from wind and solar reaching 30%, up from 22% in 2025. China has also benefited from other countries reacting to the crisis by accelerating its clean energy buildout.

Oil prices fall to pre-war figures
Oil prices have finally fallen to levels not seen since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran, with Brent crude falling to below USD71 (RM289.70) a barrel, returning the international benchmark to pre-war prices. The slide came after Qatar, a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, said that US and Iranian officials had made “positive progress” in indirect talks aimed at resolving issues related to their memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war. Let's all hope that this stays that way.

Couple arrested after getting engaged atop Empire State Building
Infamous rooftoppers Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus have successfully scaled the antenna of the New York Empire State Building on Jul 1, albeit illegally, before being taken into custody by the New York authorities. During the stunt, Beerkus was seen proposing to Nikolau, who said yes and unfurled a banner that says "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace". Check out Nikolau’s IG here - watching her videos shot mostly on top of the modern world gives me chills.

Originally from Russia, the couple is well known for rooftopping - the practice of climbing skyscrapers and other tall structures without authorisation and posting their feats on Instagram. They were the subjects of the 2024 Netflix documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story and have previously scaled landmarks including Malaysia's Merdeka 118 and China's unfinished Goldin Finance 117 skyscraper.

Biz:
OpenAI proposes giving US government a 5% stake
OpenAI has reportedly begun preliminary discussions about giving the US government a 5% stake in the ChatGPT developer, as part of a broader arrangement that might include Anthropic and listed sector leaders Google and Meta Platforms. CEO Sam Altman argues that giving the public a slice of his company was the best way to share returns from the AI boom.

The discussions also come amid growing pressure from the Trump administration on major US AI firms. Calls for profit sharing have escalated in recent months as fears grow that AI will replace jobs, while a handful of companies – including OpenAI and Anthropic – prepare for potentially trillion-dollar initial public offerings.

South Korea’s answer to Uniqlo, Musinsa plans Asia store push ahead of IPO
South Korean fashion retailer Musinsa Co. is rolling out an aggressive physical store expansion in China and Japan, aiming to challenge Uniqlo and prepare for its closely watched initial public offering (IPO). With a valuation of up to KRW 10 tril (about USD6.4 bil or RM26.11 bil), Musinsa’s listing would be one of the largest IPOs in recent years.

The company is banking on its private-label Musinsa Standard - which it sees as its answer to Uniqlo - to scale beyond Korea, where it has become the dominant fashion platform for young shoppers. The company targets 100 stores in China by 2030 and flagship locations in Japan.

Shorts:

1. Taiwan police bust USD300 mil World Cup betting ring
   Police in Taiwan have seized more than USD300 mil (RM1.22 bil) in World Cup bets after busting an illegal online betting ring. Eight people were arrested, with computers, mobile phones, ledgers and cash seized from a house they have rented for the period of the tournament. The outfit had allegedly raked in nearly TWD 10 bil (USD313 mil) in bets on World Cup matches. Although not qualified for the World Cup, many people on the sporting-mad island are football fans.

2. Vietnam unveils “baby bonus”
   Vietnam is now offering a “baby bonus” to encourage its people to have more children, a year after lifting its long-standing two-child limit. The one-off cash bonuses go up to USD228 (RM930) — two-thirds of the monthly average salary — for mothers who meet certain criteria. Maternity leave has also been extended from six to seven months for mothers having a second child, as well as financial assistance. Vietnam is among the fastest-growing economies in Asia, but it is still relatively poor, with a GDP per capita around USD5,000. The country now faces declining birth rates and risks becoming an old nation before getting rich.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

Minion Madness Special
The seventh and latest movie in the Despicable Me and Minions franchise, Minions & Monsters, is now out in cinemas. Perhaps the best movie in the franchise, with a 89% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes. For the past 16 years, the yellow characters have raked in USD5.6 bil at the global box office. Family outing this weekend perhaps?

1. Warm up first - final trailer of Minions & Monsters.

2. Messi promotes Spider-Man. Minions? They got Mbappé.

3. All minions, voiced by one man - the co-creator of Minions, Peter Coffin.

4. Done with the good stimulation and excitement. Now on handling public meltdown - it’s not a behavioural issue, it’s a nervous system overload. Kids are too young to understand ‘calm down’. Saw a kid screaming in public and the parent angrily told the kid to stop - it clearly didn’t work. A Montessori teacher advises how to handle a meltdown - embed not working well, so watch it here.

Happy weekend folks!