Your morning cup of coffee may get your motor running, but it could also add some fuel to your gas tank — literally! Behold the Carpuccino, a £400 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco that has been retrofitted to run on coffee grounds. This caffeinated car gets a jolt of juice from every cup of joe, averaging about 56 espressos per mile.

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China recently announced that it is planning to reduce its carbon intensity by 40-45% (from 2005 levels) and generate 15% of its electricity from renewables by 2020. According to Zhang Guobao, head of the National Energy Administration, the country will be launching a multi-billion dollar program investing in wind, solar and nuclear power some time in the near future.

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YTL Corporation Bhd is entering into an agreement with several parties which will ultimately see the company participating in one of Japan's finest ski resort destination. The conglomerate, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, YTL Hotels and Properties Sdn Bhd (YTLHP), will acquire 496,184 shares, representing 100 per cent of the equity interest in Niseko Village from PC One Y.K (PC One), a Japanese limited liability company. It has also entered into an agreement to undertake full repayment of outstanding amounts owned by Niseko Village to Citigrop Financial Products Inc. YTL also entered into an agreement to purchase certain properties, owned by Kinki Investments Corporation Y.K., a wholly-owned subsidiary of PC One. "The proposed acquisition at 6,000,000,000 Japanese yen, will result in Niseko Village becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of YTLHP and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of YTL Corp," it said in a statement today. Niseko Village owns Niseko Village Resort, located at the foothills of Mount Niseko An'nupuri and has the potential to be developed into a world class four season resort through luxury residential development and mountain retail development. YTL Corp said the proposed acquisition was not expected to have an immediate material effect on the earnings, net assets and gearing of the group for the current financial year. "However, the proposed acquisition is expected to improve the earnings of YTL Corp Group in the longer-term," it explained. -- Bernama

Permaju Industries Bhd plans to acquire 70 per cent equity interest in Hardie Development Sdn Bhd (HDSB) for RM33.680 million. The group has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with two vendors, Datin Pang Fook Kyun and Sim Men Kin @ Andrew Sim, and HDSB to facilitate the purchase. The 70 per cent equity interest represents 70 ordinary shares of RM1 each in HDSB, Permaju said in a statement today. The proposed acquisition will provide Permaju an opportunity to diversify its business activities into property development, the group said. It will also enhance the group's overall profitability via HDSB which will become a subsidiary of Permaju after the completion of the proposed acquisition, it said. The RM33.680 million to be paid for the purchase was arrived after taking into account a piece of leasehold land in Sepangar, Kota Kinabalu, which was valued at RM64.620 million on Dec 22, 2009. "The purchase consideration will be financed via cash, partly via internally generated funds and partly from borrowings, the breakdown of which has yet to be determined," Permaju said. -- Bernama

Asian Finance Bank Bhd (AFB) will raise its base financing rate to 5.75 per cent, from the current 5.5 per cent, effective March 9. Its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Mohamed Azahari Kamil, said the increase was in line with the 25 basis points hike in overnight policy rate to 2.25 per cent. Demand for financing would not be dampened as the economic recovery was firmly established as shown in the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures, he said in a statement today. He also said Bank Negara's move should be seen as part of a "normalisation" process and not as a "tightening" cycle. "AFB was committed to offer financing to good rated customers and financing approved by the bank, to-date, had surpassed RM1 billion. "We are more selective now as we are entering the second phase of the bank's assets growth," he added. -- Bernama

Business Room. Excluding breakfast. Located along the busy streets of Chinatown in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Replica Inn provides affordable accommodation for travellers on a budget with easy access to transport links. Rooms are cosy and comfortable and come with an en-suite bathroom. They are also fitted with all the basic amenities needed for a pleasant stay that include individually controlled air-conditioning. Replica Inn also offers several guest services to make your stay more enjoyable. Laundry and dry cleaning services are available, as well as car rental. If you're looking for more information on sight-seeing and tours, just enquire with the friendly staff. The hotel also has a casual cafe for meals and internet access is available in the lobby. Replica Inn Chinatown is close to several eateries, shops and entertainment options. It is also within walking distance from Puduraya Station and Plaza Rakyat LRT station, which makes travelling easy and cost effective.

Hong Leong Bank Bhd and Hong Leong Islamic Bank Bhd will raise their base lending rate (BLR) and Islamic financing rate (IFR) to 5.8 per cent from 5.5 per cent effective this March 10. Its group managing director, Datuk Yvonne Chia today said the change supports Bank Negara Malaysia's decision to increase the overnight policy rate (OPR) by 25 basis points. In a statement here, she said the bank would also continue to work closely with its customers to address all their financing needs. Last Thursday, the central bank said the decision to raise the key interest rate was made amid an improved economic outlook. Following its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, Bank Negara added that the adjustment to the OPR was towards normalising monetary conditions and preventing the risk of financial imbalances that could undermine the economic recovery process. -- Bernama

Bursa Malaysia's benchmark index hit a two-year high today, fuelled by strong interest in banking stocks which surged following last week's announcement of the overnight policy rate (OPR) hike, analysts said. The FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) closed at 1,324.22, its highest since March 2008, with the key index having touched an intra-day high of 1,325.69. Jupiter Securities Sdn Bhd's head of research Pong Teng Siew said the market reacted to the OPR hike to 2.25 per cent as well as the rally on Wall Street last Friday. He said the the announcement of OPR hike benefited the heavyweights, particularly the banking sector which comprised a large portion of FBM KLCI by weightage. Maybank rose 12 sen to RM7.52, Public Bank went up 62 sen to RM11.94, CIMB Group gained 40 sen to RM14.12 and AMMB Holdings added 15 sen to RM4.95. "Going forward, the index should hold above the 1,300 level," said TA Securities' senior technical analyst Stephen Soo when asked whether the FBM KLCI could sustain the level. "The market is positive and the volume has increased. These are the criteria that contributed to the index going upward," he said. "Bit by bit, our Malaysian stock market could be pushing its way up and plot fresh highs since the rally started in mid-March last year," said HwangDBS Vickers Research. To keep the momentum going, investors will check on domestic sources for possible leads, even though overseas trend will still play a major influence on sentiment, the research firm said. "For instance, there may be a sense of excitement in the run-up to several significant events, like the launching of the New Economic Model and the hosting of the Invest Malaysia 2010 conference scheduled at the end of this month," HwangDBS Vickers said. "But coming up first this week is a high-profile forum -- Palm and Lauric Oils Conference to be held from Monday through Wednesday (March 8 to 10) -- where industry experts will talk about their crude palm oil (CPO) price forecasts as well as supply-demand outlook," it said. Their rhetoric could set the direction for CPO price (and plantation shares) as three-month forward CPO price (after climbing to almost RM2,700 per tonne currently) remains boxed inside a range of between RM2,000 and RM2,800 per tonne over the past 11 months, HwangDBS Vickers said. "Next on the calendar is the Industrial Production Index data for January, to be out on Thursday (March 11), which will give us more clarity on whether the economic recovery has carried over to early 2010, as signalled by the robust percentage increase in January exports (+37 per cent year-on-year) and imports (+31 per cent) released last week," it said. Riding on the positive market sentiment, the key market barometer is likely to move towards its next resistance target of 1,340. -- Bernama

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd recorded a 51 per cent increase in profit before zakat and tax to RM158.1 million for the six months ended Dec 31 2009. This was achieved on the back of a strong net financing growth of 8.2 per cent or RM796.1 million to RM10.5 billion. "The mild recovery in business conditions during the period under review and the slightly more aggressive approach to growing new businesses helped deliver all round growth in revenue," Managing Director Datuk Seri Zukri Samat said in a statement today. Bank Islam's total income rose RM58.9 million to RM684.5 million compared to the same six months in the previous year, with non-fund based income continuing to grow strongly, increasing 36 per cent over the corresponding period to RM85.7 million. Deposits from customers, excluding Negotiable Islamic Debt Certificates, grew by RM1.0 billion or 5.7 per cent to RM19.1 billion. The bank's Return on Equity was maintained at 16.4 per cent despite an increase in its equity through the injection of RM540 million in Islamic Convertible Redeemable Non-Cumulative Preference Shares in December 2009. Its Return on Assets improved from 0.9 per cent to 1.2 per cent. "The strong results reflected the positive impact of the bank's Sustainable Growth Plan (SGP), launched in June last year, after the successful completion of the Turnaround Plan," Zukri said. SGP is a corporate roadmap designed to move the bank into a high growth mode, to achieve operational excellence and deliver sustainable profits in pursuit of its goal to be the global leader in Islamic banking. -- Bernama