SYDNEY: Australia's central bank raised its cash rate by 25 basis points to 4% on March 2 and flagged further hikes ahead, saying a surprisingly strong recovery allowed it to move policy toward more normal settings.

(from left) Lim, Angela and Hijjas inspect one of the rooms

KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on March 2 the power vested in Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to terminate any contract awarded by the Penang Development Corp (PDC) at any time without giving any reason can be regarded as tantamount to abuse of authority.

KUALA LUMPUR: Plug and PlayTech Centre Silicon Valley is considering investing in technopreneur companies under the i-City Plug and PlayTech Centre Incubator programme (i-City PnP Incubator).

The programme aims to nurture and grow local entrepreneurs in Information and Communication Technology.

IPOH: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has given the go-ahead for the Perak government to implement a development master plan to make Perak a high-income state with a viable economy, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said here.

He said Najib had responded positively after the plan, dubbed Perak Amanjaya, was submitted to him in Putrajaya on March 1.

NICE, France: A Russian billionaire who failed to complete a deal to buy one of France's most beautiful houses also lost his deposit on March 1, to the tune of €39 million (RM180 million).

Mikhail Prokhorov had made several bids to buy the sprawling villa Leopolda de Villefranche-sur-Mer before owner Lily Safra accepted a price of €390 million in 2008.

SYDNEY: Australian retail sales rebounded sharply in January while approvals to build new homes continued to point to a boom in construction this year, adding to the case for a rise in interest rates later on March 2.

EDINBURGH: Luxury-home prices in central London jumped 17% in February from a year earlier, the biggest gain in almost two years, as more buyers competed for a dwindling number of properties, Knight Frank LLP said.

IJM Land Bhd
(March 1, RM2.10)

The Government is currently evaluating a proposal to build another highway linking the northern and southern parts of peninsular Malaysia, said The New Straits Times in a report today (March 2).

* Proposed highway is to complement the existing North-South Expressway (NSE) - currently owned and operated by PLUS Expressways Bhd.