Wall Street pulls stocks down
Shares closed 0.11 percent lower yesterday after Wall Street's flat performance overnight in response to the US federal reserve's economic outlook, dealers said.
The TAIEX closed down 9.62 points at 8,883.21 on turnover of NT$153.82 billion (US$4.69 billion).
Decliners outnumbered advancers 682 to 554, with 196 stocks unchanged.
For the week to June 29, the weighted index added 70.30 points, or 0.80 percent, after a 2.79 percent gain the previous week.
Average daily turnover stood at NT$157.44 billion, compared with NT$170.49 billion the previous week.
Sinyi to screen properties
Sinyi Real Estate Inc (信義房屋), the nation's largest real housing agent, announced yesterday it had budgeted more than NT$100 million per year to provide a screening service for sea sand houses and houses contaminated by radiation.
Properties commissioned to Sinyi Real Estate will be checked in its database to see if they were examined for high levels of chlorine ions or radiation, chairman Chou Chun-chi (周俊吉) told a press conference.
If properties offered by Sinyi Real Estate were found to contain chlorine ions or radiation exceeding safe levels, buyers would be compensated, with the property's original transaction price the highest possible compensation, Chou said.
The screening service is expected to reduce disputes resulting from housing transactions, Chou said.
The number of such disputes increased from 335 cases in 2002 to a five-year high of 1,283 last year, he said, citing statistics from the Ministry of the Interior.
China Steel elects Lin Wen-yuan
The China Steel Corp (中鋼) board yesterday elected former chairman Lin Wen-yuan (林文淵) as chairman and chief executive officer of the nation's largest steelmaker. Lin replaced Chiang Yao-chung (江耀宗), who was elected chairman of China Steel last Thursday as an institutional representative appointed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Chiang will now serve as a consultant, the firm said yesterday.
The government is the largest shareholder of China Steel, holding a 22.6 stake in the company.
Fitch downgrades Eastern
Fitch Ratings yesterday downgraded the ratings of Eastern Broadcasting Co (東森電視), tagging them Rating Watch Negative.
The decision reflected Eastern's weaker-than-expected operating performance and credit metrics. Its tightened liquidity profile reflects allegations of bid-rigging, embezzlement and fraudulent payments by the company and its affiliates' senior executives, which adversely affected the company's reputation and credibility, Fitch said.
China trade rises 12.7%
Bilateral trade between Taiwan and China in the four months to April rose 12.7 percent to US$30.14 billion, the Board of Foreign Trade said yesterday.
The figure accounted for 21.4 percent of Taiwan's total external trade in the period, compared with 20.2 percent a year earlier, it said.
Taiwan had a trade surplus with China of US$13.24 billion in the January-April period, up 9.6 percent as exports rose 11.7 percent to US$21.69 billion, while imports rose 15.2 percent at US$8.45 billion.
NT dollar rises
The New Taiwan dollar climbed NT$0.101 yesterday to close at NT$32.735 against its US counterpart on the Taipei Forex Inc as investors increased purchases of the nation's equities.
"The stock market is a factor outside of interest-rate hikes that's leading to a gaining Taiwan dollar," said Philip Wee, a senior currency economist for DBS Bank Ltd in Singapore.
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