TODAY’s brief, Friday, Aug 5

Mahathir’s new party to be formally registered

The new party backed by former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, which aims to be a rallying point for disaffected members of the ruling United Malays National Organisation (Umno), will be formally registered on Friday. Mr Muhyiddin Yassin, the former deputy president for Umno, will submit an application to the Registrar of Societies on Friday. He will also be the president of the yet-to-be-named party. Dr Mahathir — who has accused Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak of corruption linked to state investment arm 1MDB and quit Umno earlier this year — said last month that he will be a founding member of the party that will ally with the opposition parties to ensure straight fights against ruling BN in the next general election.

US employment report

The United States Labor Department will release its employment report for July on Friday. Economists forecast non-farm payrolls in the world’s largest economy to ease to around 180,000 after June’s unexpectedly strong 287,000 surge, still reflecting solid labour market growth that will keep the Federal Reserve on its tightening path. The unemployment rate is forecast to dip a tick to 4.8 per cent, while the average wage is expectedly to grow 0.3 per cent to US$25.69 an hour.

Weather forecast

The weather is expected to be fair with temperatures ranging from 26°C to 34°C.