☕️ Najib Razak's semi-pardon summary

We apologise for the MIA content under the “For Your Eyes'' section last Friday. A bug robbed us from delivering the content, which we have shared again in the same section today! Please bear with us as we are still managing minor hiccups post-migration. If you are experiencing any issues, reply to this email and let us know.

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

SGDMYR = RM2.1772 — 18 years ago. On Friday, the MYR hit an all-time low of RM3.5418 against the SGD. The MYR has lost 38.5% of its value against the SGD since then. We wonder if the Najib news affected the MYR. Hmm.

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

In 2023, football clubs worldwide spent a record-breaking USD9.63 bil (RM45.4 bil) on international transfers, as per FIFA's Global Transfer Report. This figure marks a surge of nearly 50% compared to the previous year and is also more than USD2 bil higher than the previous record set in 2019. Notably, English clubs emerged as the highest spenders with a new high of USD2.96 bil. Guess which league took the second spot? Saudi Pro League — having spent USD970 mil in 2023.
Read: Global Transfer Report

USD700 mil (RM3.3 bil) — Alphabet’s budget for severance costs for 1Q2024, according to the company’s earnings report released last month. For 2023, the company spent USD2.1 bil (RM9.91 bil)on severance and related charges. When Google laid off 12,000 employees in January of 2023, CEO Sundar Pichai said the company hired for a different economic reality than the one it was facing. The rut isn’t over.

The fastest product on TikTok Shop Malaysia to hit RM1.2 mil in sales is Khairul Amin’s latest delicacy — Dendeng Nyet Berapi. It took only 3 minutes and 39 seconds for the product to finish selling. Khairul Amin shared the breakdown of his sales here.