☕️ It's official - Bahrain F1 to outsource to Malaysia

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

36,403,656 – That’s the number of Alphabet Class A shares that Greg Abel has purchased over the first six months of his time as the new Berkshire Hathaway CEO, which more than tripled Berkshire’s stake in Alphabet’s Class A stock. Berkshire also started a new position in Alphabet’s Class C stock with a 3,585,215-share buy, and agreed to buy a further USD10 bil (RM40.9 bil) of Alphabet’s shares in a private placement – USD5 bil each in Class A and Class C – effectively making Alphabet as Berkshire’s third-largest holding, replacing Coca-Cola. This has been part of Abel’s revamp of Berkshire’s USD336 bil portfolio to include more tech stocks, a shift away from former CEO Warren Buffett’s aversion to the sector, which Buffett did not understand very well.
Learn: The difference between share classes

21,285 – According to his annual financial disclosures, US President Donald Trump made that many stock trades in 2025, which is about 85 trades per trading day or roughly one trade every five minutes during market hours. Market data tracker Unusual Whales estimated that Trump’s equity portfolio, excluding his media company stake, would have returned 37.3% since his inauguration, outperforming the S&P 500’s 23.5%. However, this also marks Trump’s portfolio as the most actively traded among modern presidents. In comparison, Joe Biden reported 13 trades during his time as president, while Barack Obama reported 16, with neither former president trading in individual stocks. Trump’s current trading activity even dwarfs that of his first term, during which he made 431 transactions and traded only in index funds and other managed vehicles. A White House spokesperson has previously said that Trump’s assets are managed by independent third-party financial institutions in discretionary accounts with “no conflicts of interest”.

USD5 mil (RM20.45 mil) – Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently met former Sega CEO Shoichiro Irimajiri and game designer Yu Suzuki to thank them for an investment Sega made of that amount in 1995 that saved Nvidia from bankruptcy. In 1995, Nvidia launched its first graphics processor, the NV1, which used a different graphics rendering approach rather than the triangle-based method that is the current industry standard. However, Microsoft went with triangles for DirectX, leading to the NV1 losing relevance quickly and leaving Nvidia with only 30 days of cash remaining, with a follow-up graphics chip it had been developing with Sega cancelled. Huang met with Irimajiri and proposed converting the money Sega owed Nvidia under an existing contract into a USD5 mil equity investment. Huang said the investment would likely be lost, but would be Nvidia’s only chance to survive. Irimajiri convinced Sega’s board to approve the investment, giving Nvidia six more months to operate, leading to the development of the RIVA 128 graphics chip that marked the company’s turnaround. After Nvidia went public in 1999, Sega sold its stake for roughly USD15 mil.

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3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Sweet promises of state election

Barisan Nasional (BN) unveils manifesto
BN poster boy for the state election cum BN deputy chairman, Mohamad Hasan launched the coalition’s manifesto, ‘Hebatkan Semula Negeri Sembilan’ (Revitalising Negeri Sembilan), outlining nine key pillars - economy & development, people’s standard of living, welfare, education (including youth and women), agriculture & rural development, housing, tourism & environmental, religion & customs, sports and service delivery. Among the key highlights of BN’s manifesto was the offer of 50,000 job opportunities for the youth if they are given the mandate to govern Negeri Sembilan.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) hops on BN’s manifesto bandwagon, and more
As BN’s partner for the state election, PN has adopted BN’s manifesto as its joint election platform, supplementing it with 14 additional pledges. PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said that among the pledges are the Negeri Sembilan Blue Economy Plan, the establishment of a state talent corporation focusing on artificial intelligence and semiconductor manufacturing, transit housing for graduates and newlyweds, and expanded assistance for B40 and lower-income M40 households.

Bersatu, an unwanted member of PN, also launched its own manifesto
In the same weekend, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin also launched Bersatu’s manifesto dubbed ‘Bersatu Demi Nismilan’, where the party also echoes one of BN's key promises - to create 50,000 jobs within five years. Among the main economic pledges is the creation of jobs in high-technology agriculture, tourism, semiconductors, green energy, electric vehicles and artificial intelligence, including through Malaysia Vision Valley 2.0. The party is fielding 24 candidates across the state’s 36 seats, including two from Urimai, who are contesting on Bersatu tickets.

What’s an election without controversies, and this time around, we have Kedah MB and PN election director Sanusi serving it. Standard defence template - his remarks were twisted for political gain.

Bahrain Grand Prix: Edisi Malaysia
It’s official - it’s back to Sepang. Despite the war, the Bahrain Grand Prix will be outsourced to Malaysia. This is the first time in F1 history that a race has been relocated to another country after being cancelled. The event, taking place from Oct 2 to Oct 4, will proceed under its original title, the Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix, in Malaysia. Malaysia has been hosting the F1 race from 1999 to 2017 before the race dropped due to rising hosting costs and sanctioning fees. At RM300 mil per year with a 5-year commitment, it would cost RM1.5 bil to host the event.

Why the sudden urge to host a race in Malaysia? At the moment, after the cancellation of the four Middle Eastern races, it would take what had been originally scheduled as a 24-race calendar down to 20. F1 is keen to host at least 21 races, because any less than that would activate contractual clauses that could see the sport have to pay rights fees back to broadcasters. Apart from Sepang, initially Portimao in Portugal and Istanbul Park were mooted as the substitutes to replace the cancelled races, but both tracks are under construction work to prepare for the duo's introduction to the F1 calendar next year.

Malaysia now more different than Malaysia in 2017 - will the podium champagne shower still be on?

Shorts

1. Trump back with new tariffs

   After the rejection of his Liberation Day tariff by the US Supreme Court, US President Donald Trump is now using a new set of laws involving forced labour import allegations to impose tariffs of between 10% and 12.5% on 60 economies, including Malaysia. Malaysia was slapped with the lower end of the tariffs matrix, 10%, and the latest tariffs are effective 12.01 pm Malaysia time on Friday. View US tariffs for select economies here.

2. Khazanah Nasional is paring its shareholding in Tenaga Nasional

   Khazanah Nasional Bhd has offloaded RM1.39 bil worth of shares in Tenaga Nasional Bhd, at RM13.91 per share. No reasons were given by both Khazanah and Tenaga on the justification of this transaction, but it is part of a trend by Khazanah to reduce its stake in some companies and use the proceeds for working capital. Khazanah is the second-largest shareholder in Tenaga with a 17.7% stake. The Employees Provident Fund is the biggest shareholder with more than 21% stake.

3. Does eating durian increase your cholesterol levels?

   The answer is no. On the contrary, according to one study by Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysian, Thai, and Indonesian durian varieties showed that durian possessed numerous good effects, such as containing properties that lower your blood sugar level, anti-atherosclerotic (stops the thickening of your arteries) and has probiotic effects. Another question that you may ask is whether eating durian and drinking beer at the same time will kill you? The answer is also no, as there are no studies supporting the myth, but your liver does have to work extra hard to metabolise both the fats and sugars from the combination.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Wildfires force 267,000 to evacuate in France and Spain
The heat is turning up again in Europe. Already, 267,000 people are forced to evacuate the raging wildfires in France and Spain, and it has tragically claimed another life. French authorities evacuated 197,000 people from areas around Bordeaux, in what the interior minister described as the biggest peacetime evacuation the country has seen. The Bordeaux airport was closed, while a warning was issued against road or rail travel to the area. Meanwhile, in Spain, the wildfires have ravaged 10,000 hectares in the Madrid region and up to 15,000 hectares in Avila, leading to a national wildfire emergency to be declared for the first time. A total of 70,000 people were evacuated, as two separate wildfires have merged into a huge blaze in the Castilla y Leon region. A tractor driver was arrested, accused of sparking the wildfire using farm machinery.

Indonesia’s former graft prosecutor, arrested for money laundering
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”

An important passage from Friedrich Nietzsche. And this describes exactly what has happened to Febrie Adriansyah, an Indonesian former top graft prosecutor. He has been arrested on suspicion of money laundering as police uncovered USD26 mil worth of gold bars and cash at a house he owns. Adriansyah was deputy attorney general for special crimes before he resigned earlier in the month when the gold bars and cash were found. Curiously, the police transferred the case to the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), where Adriansyah used to work. Of course, this drew criticism as people are now questioning how AGO will investigate and prosecute its own top prosecutors. Adriansyah is a very important figure and can be considered its most powerful anti-corruption prosecutor. He oversaw high-profile investigations such as Pertamina, Gojek cofounder Nadiem Makarim, reclamation of millions of hectares of forest land from companies accused of unlawful use, and Prabowo’s free meals program. 

How do you investigate corruption and graft if you are suspected of being in bed with them too?

AI deals just got more mega - Samsung, SK Group sign USD950 bn in AI deals
At least it’s not a circular deal. But other than that, AI companies are going business as usual, thinking demand will just keep going up. SK Group, which houses SK Hynix, SK Telecom and SK Innovation, has signed USD750 bn worth of deals. This includes its USD500 bn deal with Nvidia, where SK Hynix will provide next-generation memory supply and jointly develop high-bandwidth (HBM) memory for AI. Additionally, SK Telecom plans to build a 2 GW data centre powered by Vera Rubin and SK Hynix chips, due to be completed by 2027.

Meanwhile, Samsung has signed a memorandum of understanding worth USD200 bn with Broadcom to develop its next-generation AI accelerator based on Samsung’s HBD technology and provide sub-two-nanometre foundry process and advanced packaging solutions. There is a supply shortage in the industry right now. And SK Chairman Chey Tae-won said, ‘I wouldn't be surprised if, the next time I see (Huang), he'll tell me those figures were too low and say, 'I want more’. He also said that Broadcom CEO Hock Tan told him that the company’s memory demand was likely to surpass available supply.

This was announced during an AI summit hosted by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in San Francisco, dubbing it the “San Francisco AI Declaration” which outlined South Korea’s AI ambitions for technological cooperation with the US.

Marvel’s new chapters - Ryan Gosling as Ghost Rider, and David Johnson as Black Panther
In our mind, Nicholas Cage was THE Ghost Rider. But Ryan Gosling to take up the mantle? That will be fine too. Ryan Gosling will play Ghost Rider in a standalone story, as the news was unveiled at the San Diego Comic-Con. His words, ‘Is this really happening?’ capture how iconic it is to be Ghost Rider. Shawn Levy, whose directing credits include Deadpool & Wolverine, Night at the Museum, and some episodes of Stranger Things, announced that the movie is due for a release in 2028. Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist, made a deal with a demon to save his father, turning him into the Spirit of Vengeance. Previously, Nicolas Cage played the character in the 2007 film Ghost Rider and its 2012 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Nicolas Cage will probably approve this. Meanwhile, David Johnson will play the new Black Panther and portray Prince T’Challa II, the son of Chadwick Boseman’s (RIP) T’Challa in Black Panther 3. Ryan Coogler will direct the movie, and the movie is slated for a release on 18 December 2028.

Why Como banned headers for its Youth football academy
Italian top-flight football club Como has officially banned headers for its youth academy for players up to its U11 level. Former Manchester United and Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane, who is on the club’s education board, said, ‘I have said several times how important it is to take head impacts in football seriously and to protect our children as best as possible.’ This is done to reduce the risk of avoidable head impacts, and the club will focus on long-term technical development instead. From U12 onwards, headers may be introduced carefully, initially with a light rubber ball.

According to Aakash Gupta, a study of 7,676 former professional footballers found defenders died of neurodegenerative disease at roughly 5 times the rate of the general population. From Varane’s own personal experience, he reported abnormal fatigue and eye strain after a heading-heavy match at Manchester United and missed the next game. He told his own son not to head the ball. Goalkeepers brains were unaffected, and came out matching a normal person.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. Aligning your mindset and perspectives to start the week.

2. The world’s hardest 400 m race - up a 37-degree incline ski slope at Sapporo Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium.

3. Ray Dalio on the US-Iran war, and how it is playing out just as history predicts it. “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it always rhymes” - Mark Twain.