Morning Brief – Details, episodes & analysis

With under 2 months before Americans vote for the next president of the United States, campaigning has already been marred by two assassination attempts on the Republican candidate, Donald Trump. John Zogby, the founder of political survey companies John Zogby Strategies, shares his views on how heated campaigning has become as a result of rhetoric and how both the Harris and Trump teams might adjust their strategies in the final lap.

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The US Federal Reserve has kicked off a historic easing cycle with a 50 basis point cut in its benchmark interest rate. What does this mean for the outlook of the US economy  and how will this factor into the subsequent trajectory of Fed monetary policy as we head into the final quarter of the year? Olu Sonola, Head of US Economic Research at Fitch Ratings gives us his analysis.

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After the US debate, it appeared that Kamala Harris had the upper hand. But what were the economic policies of both candidates? Vasu Menon, Managing Director, Investment Strategy, OCBC weighs in and also tells how volatile markets will be until polling day on November 5th.

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Water pollution is a continuous issue in our country. Most recently, residents in Selangor experienced unscheduled water cuts caused by water contamination and a new case of illegal waste dumping is also causing odour pollution in Johor. We speak to Dr Zaki Zainudin, Water Quality and Water Quality Modeling Specialist about the legal framework on water pollution in Malaysia, and what can be done to stem this problem.

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The government recently agreed to amend both the Trustee Act and the Trustee (Incorporation) Act to prevent the misappropriation of funds by established trustees for purposes such as religious, social, and welfare activities. Given past cases of public fund misuse, including in the Aman Palestin scandal, are these legal reforms the way forward for enhanced governance? Alliff Benjamin Suhaimi, Partner at Thomas Philip, offers his perspective.

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This new law offers better protection for platform workers like private hire drivers and freelance delivery workers, by creating a new legal category between employees and the self-employed. Dr. Walter Theseira, Associate Professor of Economics, Singapore University of Social Sciences explains the details of this bill and how it impacts the future of platform work.

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The Ministry of Education has identified 28% of Year 1 pupils are lagging in 3R skills i.e. reading, writing and arithmetic, and require additional support. What kind of interventions would work best to shore up the basic skills needed by primary students? Shahnaz Al-Sadat of LeapEd gives us her insights. 

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According to the government’s National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), there was the highest property sales growth since 2019 during the first half of 2024, increasing by 23.8% year-on-year to approximately RM105.7 billion. Chan Ai Cheng, Immediate Past-President of the Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents tells us if this positive momentum can be sustained for the rest of 2024 and what are the key trends to watch for.

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Vice President Kamala Harris of the Democratic party and Republican contender former President Donald Trump face off in a historic presidential debate for the first and likely only time in this election campaign. We discuss expectations for the debate with Bryan DeAngelis of Penta Group. 

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The issue of statelessness and undocumented residents in Sabah is particularly acute and complex. Last week, the Sabah state government announced that it will set up an inter-agency special committee and a task force to address these issues. What are the key challenges that need to be addressed? Suriani Kempe of Family Frontiers weighs in. 

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