☕️ The World (and also the US) vs Trump

1. MARKET SUMMARY 📈

2. NUMBERS AT A GLANCE 🔢

The Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) warns that US President Donald Trump’s tariffs could eliminate up to 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, with Penang, Johor, and the Klang Valley hardest hit. Key export sectors like electronics, gloves, and automotive parts face production contractions, disproportionately affecting SMEs. MICCI president Christina Tee also cautioned the tariffs may stagnate wage growth, compounding economic pressures on Malaysia’s trade-dependent industries.

Fears over President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Asian imports triggered a 14% plunge in Nike’s stock, as analysts warn of 10-12% price hikes on shoes made in Vietnam (50% of Nike’s production). With most of Nike’s remaining output coming from China and Indonesia, the iconic Air Jordan 1—synonymous with American basketball—now faces supply chain risks that could squeeze margins and consumer demand. UBS projections underscore the tension between globalised manufacturing and protectionist trade policies.

S&P500 slid almost 6% on Friday following China’s retaliatory tariffs against the Trump tariffs — with an additional levy of 34% on all American imports. reaching its lowest level in nearly a year. The index has shed USD5.4 trillion (RM23.94 trillion) in value in the two days since Mr Trump’s announcement. Goldman Sachs, in a note, said that hedge funds unwound positions in single stocks on Friday at the largest amount in over 2 years, with activity comparable to the early days of the pandemic in Mar 2020.

3. IN MALAYSIA 🇲🇾

Putra Heights’ gas blast update:

From the police: Selangor Police Chief Hussein Omar Khan indicated that the authorities may need additional time to publish the full report on the incident as the ground where the blast happened requires about 10 days to be stabilised before the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) can begin their technical investigation. Omar Khan added that the area remains highly unstable due to the explosion and was further obstructed by recent heavy rainfall.

However, based on the police's initial investigation, he did confirm that there were excavation activities to replace the sewerage pipes 30 meter from the blast site. The installation of the sewerage pipe was halted on March 30, merely two days before the blast. Two heavy machineries were involved, namely a backhoe and an excavator and the latter is believed to be sunken under the debris. Despite the excavation activities, Omar Khan said that based on the police preliminary inspection, there was no apparent physical damage to the gas pipe, as the sewerage pipe was installed 2.1 meter from the ground level and the gas pipe was laid 5.6 meter from the ground level.

From Selangor Menteri Besar: In response to the criticisms of his earlier statement that denied the existence of any excavation work prior to the gas blast, Selangor MB Amirudin Shari refuted the allegations that he was trying to protect certain developers and claimed that some factions misunderstood his statement. Quoting him - “No one will escape, and every party involved will be investigated. I have entrusted the investigation team, led by Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan, to act impartially based only on the truth, without fear or favour.”

From the industry: The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) stated that the 20-day gas supply hiatus prompted by the gas blast is likely to affect about 200 companies. This situation will pose significant operational and business continuity challenges. As a mitigation step, FMM is working together with the industries to arrange temporary solutions such as liquefied natural gas delivery by tankers. Gas supply to these companies is only expected to resume at 6 pm on April 20.

UK acknowledges 1948 Batang Kali Massacre
In a rare omission, the United Kingdom has finally acknowledged the 1948 Batang Kali massacre where British troops from the Scots Guard rounded up villagers in Batang Kali, Selangor and shot dead 24 unarmed villagers. This deadly incident happened in an anti-insurgency operation during the Malayan Emergency. The omission by the UK Government was made via a letter from the UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West, in response to a petition submitted by the Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre during the 75th anniversary of the killings in December last year. In the letter, the UK expressed deep regret for the incident that had caused deep suffering to the victims. Prior to the letter, the UK Government consistently denied the massacre, claiming that the villagers were insurgents trying to escape.
Watch: In Cold Blood - The Truth of Batang Kali Massacre

Shorts

1. Ronny Chieng - now an American
   Legendary actor and comedian Bill Murray surprises Malaysian-born Ronny Chieng on the latter’s workplace — The Daily Show’s set, to celebrate Ronnie’s ascension to becoming a US citizen - watch here. Born in Johor Bharu, Chieng was raised in Singapore and later in the United States. Chieng joined The Daily Show in 2015 as a senior correspondent, known for tackling social and political issues with biting comedic flair. He also appeared in major films including Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). By becoming a US citizen, he indirectly has to let go of his Malaysian citizenship as Malaysia does not permit dual citizenship.
   However, according to this law firm here, there is no law in Malaysia by which a Malaysian citizen must renounce his or her citizenship of Malaysia when becoming a resident or citizen of another country. 

2. UM now in Shandong
   Malaysia’s oldest and highest-ranked university, Universiti Malaya (UM) will be opening its first overseas branch next year in Shandong province, China. According to UM's vice-chancellor, Prof Dr Noor Azuan Abu Osman, the establishment of the new campus is to leverage China’s economic and technological strengths. Shandong province was chosen among many other locations because of the fact that Shandong was among the top three provinces in China that had the highest GDP in 2024 and the Shandong provincial government is committed to providing financial and infrastructure support in creating the new campus.

4. AROUND THE WORLD 🌎

Israel admits its fault in killings of medics in Rafah on Mar 23
The Israeli military has apparently admitted making a “mistake” in the killing of a medical entourage on Mar 23 in Rafah, which resulted in the deaths of 15 United Nations and Palestinian Red Crescent emergency workers. The Israeli military initially said that their soldiers “did not randomly attack” any ambulances and insisted that they were firing on “terrorists” approaching them in “suspicious vehicles”. It also said they opened fire on vehicles that had no prior clearance to enter the area and were driving with their lights off.

However, new evidence of the killings had emerged from an almost seven-minute video, which the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said was recovered from the phone of Rifat Radwan, one of the men killed, seemingly filmed from inside a moving vehicle. It shows a red fire engine and clearly marked ambulances driving at night, using headlights and flashing emergency lights. The bodies were found buried in Rafah in what the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) described as a mass grave.

The World (and also the US) vs Trump 

TikTok deal put on hold after China indicated it would reject it over tariffs
China has said no to the deal that is supposed to spin off the US assets of TikTok, following US President Donald Trump’s tariffs announcement this week. Sources have said that it would have spun off TikTok’s US operations into a new company based in the US and majority-owned and operated by US investors. ByteDance would hold a position of less than 20%. The deal had been approved by existing investors, new investors, ByteDance and the US government.

Sweden's Klarna pauses US IPO plans as tariffs roil markets
In Scandinavia, Sweden's fintech Klarna has reportedly paused its plans for a US initial public offering (IPO) following Trump's sweeping tariffs that rattled global markets. However, Klarna could reassess its plans if market conditions stabilize. Klarna was aiming to raise more than USD1 bil at a valuation exceeding USD15 bil, according to media reports. It had 93 mil active customers on its platform and operations in 26 countries as of 2024 end, according to its IPO filing.
Read: Trump’s tariffs could have major ripple effects on startups and venture capital

California to ask countries to exempt it from any retaliatory tariffs on the US
Bearing the brunt of Trump’s administration tariffs are also its own people. California Governor Gavin Newsom is set to announce that the state will begin “strategic” partnerships with countries imposing retaliatory tariffs against the US, in hopes of shielding California-made products from the impact. Officials are especially concerned about the state’s almond industry, which could lose billions of dollars in agricultural exports when countries like China, India, and members of the European Union impose a counter-tariff. Almonds are California’s top agricultural export, accounting for roughly 20% of its USD23.6 bil in overseas food sales and 2.5% of total state exports, according to the California Department of Food & Agriculture. The state produces about 80% of the world’s almond supply and exports most of it.

Anti-Trump protests held in cities across the US
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities across the US, with the "Hands Off" protest planners aimed to hold rallies in 1,200 locations, including in all 50 US states. It is the largest nationwide show of opposition since the president took office in January. Most of them participated to show grievances with Trump's agenda ranging from social to economic issues. In Boston, some protesters said they were motivated by immigration raids on US university students that have led to arrests and deportation proceedings. Gatherings were also reported outside the US, including in London, Paris and Berlin following Trump’s announcement that the US would impose import tariffs on most countries around the world.

Shorts

1. South Korea’s President Yoon officially removed from office

   South Korea’s Constitutional Court has dropped their verdict over President Yoon Suk-yeol declaration of martial law late last year, in which they unanimously voted to remove him from office. The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Dec 14, but they needed the approval of the Constitutional Court to formally expel him. The government now has 60 days to hold a presidential election. Acting president Han Duck-soo will remain in his position until then.

2. ‘Skyrocketing’ demand for matcha raises fears of shortage in Japan

   Thanks to social media, the love for matcha has grown abundantly in the past few years. As demand rises all over the world, reports of a shortage emerged last autumn in Japan, prompting tea companies in Kyoto to impose unprecedented purchase limits on the brilliant green powder, which has been consumed in Japan since the 12th century. Funny that while consumption of matcha is declining in Japan, the rest of the world can’t get enough, with the global market in matcha alone expected to surge from USD2.8 bil in 2023 to about USD5 bil by 2028.

5. FOR YOUR EYES 📺

1. He totally made vibe coding uncool. Microsoft just can’t pull off the pirates vibe.

2. Following the Trump tariffs, Singaporean PM Lawrence Wong warned that the global calm and stability that once existed “will not return anytime soon”. You can also watch PM Anwar addressing this issue here.

3. A crash course by Ray Dalio (founder of the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates) on the rise and fall of empires. The full video, ‘Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order’ here.