
Malaysia to establish data centre framework to streamline policies
The
Malaysian Investment Development Authority
will be the main agency to approve all new data centre projects and investments, as well as the expansion of existing projects, the ministries said in a joint statement.
Malaysia has recently seen a boom in
data centres
, driven by growing demand for artificial intelligence, with technology giants like Microsoft, Nvidia, Alphabet's Google and ByteDance announcing billions of dollars of investments in the country since the beginning of last year.
Data centre facilities in the Southeast Asian country are projected to quadruple in the next decade from the current 18. The government's framework will ensure that policies are aligned with data centre planning in a way that will drive the growth of Malaysia's digital economy, the ministries said.
"Transparent and thorough policies are important to continue reassuring investors about the goals of sustainable growth in the country's digital economy for the benefit of the Malaysian people and business sectors," Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said in the statement.
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
The hidden recession: Job cuts, housing freeze, and fear grip US economy behind the AI boom and surging Wall Street
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Remove Ads US Stock Market Faces Possible Correction Outside Tech Boom FAQs While on the surface, America looks like it's riding high, with tech giant Nvidia just smashing records by becoming the first company worth over $4 trillion, more than Germany's entire economy, stock markets are near all-time highs, and the economy showed a solid 3% growth last quarter. Even US president Donald Trump proudly calls the US 'the hottest country anywhere in the world,' as per The Telegraph if you ask millions of everyday Americans, especially those outside the tech and finance worlds, the reality is very different. Behind the glamour of Wall Street's success, a quiet struggle is unfolding in the US as jobs are disappearing in manufacturing, construction, and transportation, while small businesses are squeezed by tariffs and uncertainty, according to The Telegraph. The housing market is stuck, with home sales dropping sharply, and worry is creeping in as people wonder if the country is heading toward a recession, as per the READ: Japan's population plunges by 900,000 in just 1 year — worst drop in modern history as birth rates hit crisis point Economists say about a third of the economy is already slipping into recession, and the hardest hit are the working-class communities that have been the backbone of Trump's support, as per The Telegraph report. Instead of the strong job market people hoped for, recent data showed far fewer new jobs than expected, and revisions revealed even more job losses than first thought, according to the Ajilore, the chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said that 'The biggest alarm bells are in the labour market,' and highlighted that the probability of a US recession in the next 12 months at 55%, saying 'It would be 100pc self-inflicted,' as quoted in The Telegraph to The Telegraph report, the US president has split the US economy in two, with Wall Street and Silicon Valley booming, while the rest of the country is suffering a redneck READ: WisdomTree: These 5 looming risks could send gold prices soaring into 2026 Much of the pain comes from the trade war and tariffs that have raised costs for American manufacturers who rely on imported materials like steel and aluminum, as per the report. This isn't just a small issue as factories have been cutting jobs since the start of the year, and small businesses, which don't have big financial cushions, are really feeling the pinch, according to The Arensmeyer, the chief executive of the Small Business Majority, an industry group, explained that, 'Small businesses are just being hammered by these tariffs. The tariffs themselves are cutting into their profit margins, but also it's the uncertainty,' as quoted in the top of that, the housing market has taken a hit, with new home sales falling in May, and while consumer confidence rebounded a bit in June, it's still nowhere near where it was before Trump took office, as per the wage growth for low-income workers has slowed, making it harder for many families to make ends meet, according to The Telegraph. The data from the Atlanta Fed found that the wage growth for the poorest quarter of earners has slowed to 3.7%, down from 4.8% just before Trump won the election, as reported by The the Federal Reserve has projected that the US economy will expand by 1.4% in 2025, experts point out that it may be driven by AI investment, according to the report. Jens Nordvig, the founder of Exante Data, has calculated that the current AI boom could grow the US economy by 0.7% in 2025, as reported by The as per Nordvig's numbers, the US economy's outlook would be gloomy without the AI surge, making the foundations of the US economy shaky and dependent on just one sector for much of its growth, according to the Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, highlighted that 'There are signs of investors getting ahead of themselves. I worry that the non-tech part of the market is vulnerable to a significant correction,' as quoted in The Telegraph warned that, 'Once investors start to see proof of the ill effects of tariffs and immigration policy, the risk is that we do see them kind of run for the hills. Markets are only OK until they're not,' as quoted in the and immigration policies have divided growth, boosting tech but hurting many working-class economists say there's over a 50% chance of a recession in the next year, largely due to policy decisions.


Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
India needs to seriously step up influence-building efforts in Mar-a-Lago/Washington, quickly
A key feature of Donald Trump's public outpourings is the alacrity with which he replaced China with India as the target of attack. The tariff on Chinese goods has slipped from 245% to 30% within three months. He has now passed an executive order that will double the tariff on Indian goods to 50% by August 28. Just one set of numbers would demonstrate the absurdity of the president's decisions. India's trade surplus against the US was $49.5 bn, about 1/6th of China's, in 2024. China is also the biggest buyer of Russian oil, followed by India. But Trump may be going easier on China on tariffs because, as author of The Myth of Chinese Capitalism Dexter T Roberts told me, he's trying to pull off a 'grand deal' with Xi Jinping in Beijing in the coming months. Taking a tough stance on China's oil imports from Russia could stymie those prospects. 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The second bout of tariffs shows that his angst towards India is driven by both business and personal has stood up to him on three counts - trade, refusal to stop buying Russian oil, and his claims about ending the India-Pakistan conflict. The last claim - repeated 27 times, so far - is tied to his pathological desire to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for resolving six different conflicts. Even his growing affinity towards Pakistan should be seen as getting back at India, and the line after concluding a deal with Islamabad last month, 'Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India some day!' a jibe. Could leaders of BRICS countries jointly come up with a plan to resist Trump's tariff policies? Brazil's Lula da Silva has already called for a meeting on the issue. Narendra Modi is expected to discuss it at the Tianjin SCO summit when he visits China end of this month. These are tentative moves, and one cannot pin much hope that BRICS countries will be able to challenge Trump's tariff policy within weeks. Each country has a different problem with the US. But China is likely to procure a fairly good deal because it enjoys monopoly control over rare earth resources, which the US defence industry needs needs to consider whether it will bite the bullet and offer a headline-grabbing deal for a phased reduction in the purchase of Russian oil. This is easier said than done. Sumit Ritolia of energy and shipping data and analytics platform Kpler, believes any forced shift away from Russian oil is not just a political challenge but a commercial one as well. 'Indian refiners have adapted their systems to accommodate Russian crude. If flows are disrupted, they would have to move to expensive and logistically tighter alternatives among other grades of crude,' he told the backdrop of Trump's latest tariff salvo, Modi publicly stated that India will 'never compromise on the interests of farmers... even though we will have to pay a heavy price for it', effectively rejecting Washington's desire for Indian purchase of US agriculture products. Experts argue that accepting US demand for purchase of GM seeds and crops would not only hurt Indian agriculture but also damage exports to the EU, since EU countries usually reject consignments of agriculture produce that come from GM stock. India could, though, allow certain specific types of products - like premium cheese, meat, edible oils, and fruit like blueberries - be imported for those who can afford them without hurting the regular Indian farmer. Such imports can create new markets and encourage some innovative farmers here in India to start producing them. 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Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
OpenAI launches GPT-5 in GitHub Copilot public preview —the biggest leap yet in AI coding assistants?
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GPT-5 is OpenAI's latest large language model (LLM), building on the capabilities of GPT-4 with significant improvements in code generation, reasoning accuracy, and context awareness. Developers using GitHub Copilot will now experience a more seamless coding assistant that not only understands code but can also reason through more complex tasks, suggest smarter edits, and deliver context-sensitive help. GPT-5 introduces better natural language understanding, more advanced multi-turn conversations, and a boost in developer productivity by helping reduce repetitive coding tasks. It's designed to assist whether you're debugging, refactoring, or building entire modules from scratch. This update is a direct answer to developer feedback and the growing demand for AI copilots that feel more like collaborators than tools. GitHub officially announced on August 7, 2025, that GPT-5 is now in public preview and available for users across all paid GitHub Copilot plans. This includes: Individual plans GitHub Copilot for Business GitHub Copilot for Enterprise Users don't need to wait anymore—GPT-5 is available right now through GitHub Copilot Chat, Visual Studio Code, and even on GitHub Mobile. However, enterprise and business organizations must opt in to access GPT-5. Admins can do this by enabling a new GPT-5 policy in their Copilot settings, offering fine-grained control over how and where the new model is used across teams. Microsoft, in collaboration with OpenAI, is also rolling out GPT-5 across all its Copilot offerings, including: Microsoft 365 Copilot Azure AI Copilot GitHub Copilot This integration is powered by a newly introduced 'Smart Mode', which intelligently switches between faster, lightweight models and the powerful GPT-5 model depending on the complexity of your request. For example, if you're writing a quick email in Microsoft Word, the system might use a smaller model for speed. But if you're asking for a deep analytical summary or writing an advanced Excel macro, GPT-5 kicks in for greater depth and accuracy. This hybrid model approach ensures a balance between speed and intelligence, tailored to what you need in real time—something that's already being hailed as a game-changer in enterprise AI applications. The new GPT-5 update brings a host of improvements to GitHub Copilot, especially when it comes to developer efficiency, code comprehension, and workflow support. Here's what you can expect: Smarter auto-completions : Code suggestions are now more relevant, less redundant, and better tuned to your coding style. : Code suggestions are now more relevant, less redundant, and better tuned to your coding style. Contextual understanding : GPT-5 can retain longer context, making it easier to work across large codebases and understand your intent. : GPT-5 can retain longer context, making it easier to work across large codebases and understand your intent. Refactor and edit support : You can now ask GPT-5 to restructure a messy function, rename variables consistently, or modernize legacy code. : You can now ask GPT-5 to restructure a messy function, rename variables consistently, or modernize legacy code. Multi-modal reasoning : GPT-5 can now analyze code, user prompts, and documentation more cohesively, offering holistic coding help. : GPT-5 can now analyze code, user prompts, and documentation more cohesively, offering holistic coding help. Natural conversation: Ask GPT-5 for help in plain English, and it responds with answers that are both technically accurate and easy to understand. These upgrades allow developers to spend more time on solving real problems and less time wrestling with boilerplate or documentation. If you're on a paid GitHub Copilot plan, GPT-5 is now automatically accessible on: (Copilot Chat) Visual Studio Code (Agent, Ask, and Edit modes) GitHub Mobile app For Business and Enterprise users, access to GPT-5 requires an admin to opt-in through GitHub's Copilot policy settings. This is a one-time setup that lets your organization take full advantage of the GPT-5 preview. To enable GPT-5 for your org: Go to your GitHub Copilot settings. Find the 'Model Policy' section. Enable 'Use GPT-5 (Preview)' and save changes. Instruct users to restart their IDEs to apply changes. Early users of GPT-5 in Copilot have reported substantial benefits: 'It's like pair programming with a senior developer who never gets tired.' 'Code explanations are clearer, and refactor suggestions are actually useful.' 'I asked it to explain my own code—and it did it better than I could.' With improved latency, response quality, and multi-language support, GPT-5 is being seen not just as a model upgrade, but a full-on transformation of how developers work with AI assistants. This update is part of a broader strategy by Microsoft and OpenAI to integrate GPT-5 across all key AI-powered tools. Whether you're writing in Word, analyzing data in Excel, querying data in Power BI, or deploying models via Azure AI Studio, GPT-5 will be your engine under the hood. This positions GPT-5 as the backbone of Microsoft's AI ecosystem, driving both personal productivity and enterprise-level AI adoption. The release of GPT-5 in public preview for GitHub Copilot is not just another software update—it's a milestone in the evolution of AI-powered coding tools. With smarter reasoning, deeper understanding, and more helpful interactions, GPT-5 sets a new standard for what developers can expect from AI copilots. Whether you're a solo coder, an open-source contributor, or leading a large development team, the combination of GitHub Copilot and GPT-5 gives you a reliable, intelligent, and fast coding assistant that keeps getting better. And with Microsoft's smart mode strategy, you get the perfect mix of performance and power—ensuring GPT-5 is used where it really counts. If you haven't tried it yet, now is the perfect time to explore what GPT-5 in GitHub Copilot can do for your workflow. Q: What is GPT-5 in GitHub Copilot and how does it help developers? A: GPT-5 brings smarter, faster code help to Copilot, making coding easier and more efficient. Q: How can I use GPT-5 in GitHub Copilot now? A: If you're on a paid plan, GPT-5 is already available—just activate it in your settings.