Capital markets news | Mon 4 May 2026

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Private credit
Although defaults matter, many analysts see liquidity mismatches as the bigger systemic risk in private credit. The loans are long‑term and hard to sell, yet some vehicles let investors redeem capital periodically. If many withdraw at once, managers may need to gate redemptions, borrow, or sell loans at discounts. Similar liquidity pressures amplified instability during the Global Financial Crisis. While today’s structures differ, the core vulnerability — illiquid assets funded by redeemable capital — remains a central concern for regulators and institutional investors.

Equity

Azizan Abdul Aziz named Bursa’s Islamic capital market director Edge NST Star
Landmarks’ auditors flag material uncertainty amid losses, weak liquidity Edge
Cropmate auditors flag going concern uncertainty after accounts frozen Edge NST Star
REITs in a yield battle Star
Petronas signs deal for ENEOS’ re-entry into Malaysia LNG Tiga project Edge
South Korea stocks wrap up best month since 1998, up 30% in Apr Edge
Should SpaceX be valued at USD2t in Jun IPO? Edge
L3Harris confidentially files for missile unit IPO Edge
SoftBank to create and list AI firm Roze in the US Edge
S&P 500, Nasdaq on course for best month since 2020 despite Iran war risks Edge
Legendary investor says investors could see ‘negative 10-year returns’ Yahoo
Anthropic considering funding offers at over USD900b value Edge
Energy-saving AI startup eyes USD2.5b valuation Star
Spain seeks to block private firms from running hospitals Star

Debt

RHB Group’s AA1 rating outlook raised to positive RAM
Sinar Kamiri’s sukuk rating upgraded MARC
Govt’s SME support package timely to reinforce banks’ asset quality Edge
Gross credit growth steady in Mar, says BNM Edge
Alliance Bank lifts ‘green’ financing target to RM17b, rolls out ESG playbook for SMEs NST
Funding the power Star
Diversify your funding sources, says central bank Star
Credit gap persists for Vietnam’s vital SMEs Star
Asia bond bonanza Star
SoftBank’s USD40b OpenAI loan draws lenders Star
Japan signs first USD2.2b loan under USD550b US investment pledge Edge
Rating firm Fitch sees no near-term impact of UAE exit from Opec Edge
ADB launches USD70b plan for energy, digital infrastructure in Asia-Pacific Edge
Meta received USD96b of orders for its latest jumbo bond sale Edge
Yields ease as oil retreats from 4-year high Edge
Stress in private credit could spark ‘psychological contagion,’ Fed’s Barr says Edge
How the Iran war is quietly crushing Americans’ credit access Yahoo
Bank of Italy scrutinises smaller banks’ funding from online deposit platforms Edge

Commodities

Malaysia working to secure fuel supply beyond Jun, says economy minister Edge
Big Oil bosses warn energy is moving closer to cliff’s edge Edge
US warns shippers of possible sanctions if they pay Hormuz tolls Edge
Trump warns Iran blockade could last months, sending oil soaring NST
US seeks international help to reopen Strait of Hormuz as crude prices surge Edge NST
Trump says US to help some ships leave Hormuz starting today Yahoo
UAE exit strips Opec of clout Star
UAE exits Arab oil exporters alliance OAPEC following OPEC departure Yahoo
US is oil supplier of last resort as Hormuz disruptions worsen Yahoo
Trump administration weighing measures to soon increase US oil output Edge
US seeks to loan up to 92.5m barrels from Strategic Petroleum Reserve Edge
While Asia and Europe scramble for natural gas, the US glut has nowhere to go Mail

Digital assets

Iran’s largest crypto exchange founded by family tied to supreme leaders Cointelegraph
Bitcoin on US bank balance sheets is coming, just not yet Coindesk
New bitcoin quantum proposal offers Satoshi Nakamoto a way to prove control Coindesk
Crypto is at bottom of US voters’ priorities heading into elections Coindesk
Americans still prefer banks over crypto for financial access Coindesk
Coinbase says deal reached on key part of crypto market bill Edge
Crypto industry backs Clarity Act yield compromise Coindesk
US voters don’t trust Trump administration to oversee crypto sector Coindesk
DeFi can freeze stolen funds, but not everyone agrees it should Cointelegraph
USD292m crypto hack exposed DeFi’s weak spots Coindesk
New York forces Uphold to pay USD5m over fraudulent crypto scheme Cointelegraph
AI agent forms its own company, gets ready to trade crypto Coindesk
SEC clears Nasdaq proposal for prediction market options tied to benchmark index Edge
Brazil’s central bank bans stablecoin, crypto settlement in cross-border payments Coindesk
Czech banker says bitcoin may bolster reserves Star

M&A

From bargain shelf to potential buyout: 8 prime M&A targets on Bursa Edge
Jaycorp to take full control of green energy unit with RM15m buyout Edge Star
KPS buys freehold properties for RM45.4m in Rawang for investment Edge Star
GameStop makes unsolicited offer to buy eBay for about USD56b Yahoo
Tether proposes mergers involving bitcoin treasury company Edge
Apollo, Blackstone and KKR vie for Shell stake in LNG Canada Edge
EU eases merger rules to compete with US and Chinese giants Edge
Kone strikes USD34b deal to buy TKE and create world’s largest lift maker NST
Japan’s Sumitomo to divest stake in Madagascar nickel project Edge

Malaysia

BNM expected to keep rates at 2.75% in May, focus on inflation Edge NST Star
inflation edges up in Mar as fuel costs rise, trade growth moderates Star
Official reserve assets at USD126.6b as at end-Mar NST Star
Public Mutual declares distributions of over RM99m for 4 funds Edge Star
PMB Investment unveils income fund on rising demand for stable Islamic returns NST
SC’s training arm shutting down over unsustainable ops Edge
S&P Global Ratings sees economy growing 4.6%-4.9% over next 3 years Edge Star
Nearly 700k Malaysian workers at high risk from AI and automation Mail
RM710m employment package to strengthen national labour market announced Edge
Talent, not capital, key constraint for Malaysia’s deep-tech growth, says SkyeChip NST
The invisible M40 Star
SME Corp pushes digitalisation, automation to boost MSME productivity Mail Star
Top jobs to be filled at government-linked entities NST
Global supply crisis effects expected to be felt in 1-2 months Edge
Australia’s AirTrunk to invest RM12b on another 2 data centres in Johor Edge NST Star
JS-SEZ drawing interest ahead of Johor polls Star

Other markets

Prabowo launches USD7b natural resource projects Star
Indonesia jails former Education Ministry officials over Google laptop procurement Edge
Vietnam’s inflation accelerates in Apr, trade deficit widens Mail
Philippine central bank sees inflation rising to three-year high Edge
Asean economic ministers say Iran war could significantly slow regional growth Edge Star
IMF sees early signs of inflation comeback in China on oil shock Edge
China’s factory activity remains in expansion in Apr, PMI shows Edge Star
Beijing tells China firms to ignore US sanctions on refiners Edge
Chinese court rules firms can’t lay off workers on AI grounds Edge
Taiwan GDP surges 13.7% in 1Q2026, fastest growth since 1987 Mail
Core inflation in Tokyo slows, seen accelerating on energy shock Edge
Japan intervenes to counter currency weakness, sources say; yen surges Edge Mail NST
Japan warns yen speculators it stands ready to intervene again Edge NST Star
Citi’s Japan banking head seeks expansion despite talent crunch Edge
Japan’s factory activity growth hits 4-year high on stockpiling, PMI shows Edge Star
South Korean April exports rise 48.0% as chip boom extends Star
Toyota to build three assembly plants in India’s Maharashtra Edge
China’s Baosteel reevaluates investment in Saudi Arabia over Iran war uncertainty Edge
Taiwan economy grows fastest in nearly 4 decades in 1Q on AI demand Edge
Sri Lanka raises fuel prices as inflation spikes NST
Bessent says US is suffocating Iran with oil industry creaking Yahoo
Adnoc to speed spending post-Opec with USD55b in awards Edge
Saudi economic growth slows as Iran war hits oil exports Edge
Banks in Asia brace for complex cyber threats from frontier AI Edge
Australian banks warned frontier AI could create larger, faster cyber attacks Edge
ANZ says Australia likely to avoid recession; flags prolonged impact of Iran war Edge Star
Powell era ends with Fed hawks on the rise Edge Mail Star
Fed dissenters speak out: ‘The next rate change could be either a cut or a hike’ Yahoo
Fed should ditch rate-cut lean because of oil shock, policymakers say Edge
Kashkari says Iran war limits Fed’s ability to provide rate guidance Yahoo
Recent inflation data was ‘bad news,’ Fed’s Goolsbee says Edge
Kevin Warsh says he wants ‘messier’ Fed meetings Yahoo
US economy grows a solid 2%, boosted by surging AI investment Edge Star
US manufacturing sector holds steady in Apr; input costs hit 4-year high Edge
US jobs report to show resilience in wake of Iran war Edge
Google Cloud pulls ahead as Big Tech’s AI bet swells to USD700b Edge
Trump casts doubts on Iran peace proposal as details emerge Yahoo
Spirit Airlines shuts down, industry’s first Iran war casualty Edge Mail NST
After Spirit collapse, Duffy says no need for US budget airline bailout Edge NST
Trump administration cites national security to halt US wind farm projects Edge
Trump says he will raise tariff on autos from European Union to 25% Edge Mail
Bank of England holds rates, spells out inflation risks from Iran war Edge
ECB keeps rates unchanged in a possible last hold before Jun hike Edge
ECB policymakers make case for rate hike as inflation may linger Edge
US auto tariff hike may cost Germany EUR15b NST
French economy unexpectedly failed to grow as Iran shock hit Edge
Global inequality deepens as executive pay soars and real wages stagnate Mail