13 Nov (PART 2): mySPR Data Breach, US CPI falls to 7.7%, Equity Markets Rally - Premium Newsletter

Note: This is part 2 of our weekly newsletter. Click here to read the full issue of part 1 for free.

Top Headlines:

i) mySPR data breach: Selfies and myKad images of 800,000 Malaysians are being sold online at a well-known database marketplace.

ii) A new rule from mySPR urges Malaysians to surrender their phones during GE15.

iii) October CPI in the US fell to 7.7%, significantly lower than market expectations of 7.9%. Markets rallied in response.

Scroll down for the details.

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Selfies of 800,000 Malaysians are being sold online - why is this not a national issue?

-> mySPR, a website which allows Malaysians to register themselves as voters online, has recently been accused of a massive data breach.

-> At a well-known database marketplace, a seller is offering 67 GB of personal information of Malaysians for $2,000.

-> As covered in our recent thread which went viral, the file includes 1.6 million KYC images. Details such as full name, IC number, e-mail addresses, hashed passwords, full address, etc. are all being sold.

-> We tried to reach the mySPR officials to resolve this matter. Many Twitter users tagged government authorities in our thread to redirect their attention, but there has been no response from them so far.

-> This just goes to show the attitude of our government toward handling important matters. It should be a national issue that must be dealt with immediately.

Here's what you can do:

i) Send mySPR an email at: [email protected]

ii) Tweet or post about this issue and tag @sprgovmy.

The best course of action is to make this matter even more viral so our government can no longer turn a blind eye on it.

Do not bring your phones to GE15! Seal your charging/USB ports if you insist on bringing them.

-> Recently, mySPR released a new infographic on the polling steps and how to vote:

-> Based on steps 5 to 6 from the infographic, you are required to surrender your phones after receiving the ballot paper. Once your vote has been cast, you need to place the ballot paper into the ballot box. Only then are you able to pick up your phone from the officer.

-> The SPR officials have not explained why they decided to implement this new policy.

-> Some Malaysians are warning voters that their phones may be hacked during the process and urging them to seal their USB/Charging ports with tape before surrendering them.

US CPI falls to 7.7%, significantly lower than analysts' expectations of 7.9%. Markets rallied in response.

-> On Nov 10, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest CPI data for October.

-> The reading showed 7.7%. In September, inflation was at 8.2%, and August 8.3%.

-> The recent figure is much lower than analysts' predictions of 7.9%. This is the first time in months that CPI numbers came in better-than-expected.

-> On a month-on-month basis, CPI registered a 0.4% increase, economists were expecting 0.5%.

-> Stripping out food and fuel, core inflation rose by 6.3% y-o-y and 0.3% from the prior month. Expectations were at 6.5% and 0.5% respectively.

-> The US equity market rallied hard in response, with the SNP and Nasdaq posing 6% and 10% gains respectively.

-> Bitcoin, meanwhile, took a slight upswing from $16,400 to $18,000, before tunneling back down to $16,800 at the time of writing. This is not surprising since the crypto market is still suffering from the FTX debacle, as covered in our previous issue.

What a lower-than-expected inflation reading really means.

-> While CPI has came in much cooler than the previous months, we need more consistent data in order to have conclusive evidence that inflation is trending downwards.

-> What's crystal clear is the Fed's current stance: they will not pause or lower interest rates as long as inflation remains above their target goal of 2%.

-> A lower inflation reading could give the Fed some leeway to lower rate hikes. This is why investors are looking at the Fed to deliver a 50 basis point hike during its next meeting in December rather than 75 basis points. Imagine driving a car at 120 km/h and lowering it to 100 km/h. This is what the Fed means.

Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor. This newsletter is based on my own analysis and research. Do not take any of it as financial advice.

*This newsletter was written at 2.00 PM on 14th November 2022 and completed at 4.45 PM the same day.

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