TAIEX closes higher
Share prices closed 0.91 percent higher yesterday with investors waiting for vice president-elect Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), who is attending an economic forum in China, to outline a new blueprint for Taiwan’s economic development, dealers said.
The weighted index closed up 80.18 points at 8,909.58, after moving in the range of 8,840.04 and 8,937.12, on turnover of NT$203.18 billion (US$6.71 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,236 to 982, with 330 stocks unchanged. A total of 29 stocks closed limit-up, while 14 were limit-down.
In the week to yesterday, the weighted index closed up 313.24 points or 3.64 percent at 8,909.58 after a 0.31 percent decline a week earlier. Average daily turnover stood at NT$147.43 billion, compared with NT$136.61 billion a week ago.
FAT shareholders want NT$3.16
Shareholders at Far Eastern Air Transport Co (FAT, 遠東航空 ) yesterday approved a private placement proposal to help improve its financial strength.
At an extraordinary shareholder meeting held yesterday, Far Eastern Air shareholders demanded that its management sell a big tranche of securities to the interested investors at a price of no less than NT$3.16 per share.
Shareholders criticized the management for planning to sell the company too cheap, as the board of directors had earlier proposed selling new shares to potential investors at a price of no less than NT$1 per share.
But management expressed concern that the NT$3.16 offer might not work to attract new investors, as the company reported a net value of only NT$1.597 as of the end of February.
Realtek shares plummet
Realtek Semiconductor Corp’s (瑞昱半導體) share price yesterday fell the most in almost two months after the chip designer lost a patent lawsuit to 3Com Corp, prompting Goldman, Sachs & Co to cut its investment rating on the stock.
Realtek slid by the daily limit of 7 percent, the most since Feb. 12, to close at NT$89.20 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
The Hsinchu-based company was ordered to pay 3Com US$45.3 million after a federal jury in San Francisco found on April 9 that Realtek willfully infringed three 3Com patents.
Goldman downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy” and lowered their 12-month share-price estimate to NT$90 from NT$118.
THSRC expects new milestone
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) said yesterday that with passenger volume continuing to rise, it is now expecting the 23 millionth passenger, a number equal to the nation’s total population.
THSRC officials said that, as of Thursday, the company had sold 22,873,331 high speed rail tickets, and they think that it will see the 23 millionth passenger in the next few days.
To celebrate yet another milestone in the system, the officials said they were preparing to present the 23 millionth passenger with 23 business-class tickets as well as high speed rail memorabilia.
The passenger volume and revenues reached 2.31 million and NT$1.903 billion last month, both setting records in a single month.
The passenger volume broke the threshold of 1 million on Jan. 22 last year; 10 million on Sept. 18 last year, and 20 million on March 7.
NT dollar loses ground
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the greenback after the central bank and oil firms bought US dollars, dealers said.
The NT dollar dropped NT$0.011 to close at NT$30.319 on the Taipei Foreign Exchange yesterday. A total of US$1.342 billion changed hands during the day’s trading.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Meta Platforms Inc offered US$100 million bonuses to OpenAI employees in an unsuccessful bid to poach the ChatGPT maker’s talent and strengthen its own generative artificial intelligence (AI) teams, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said. Facebook’s parent company — a competitor of OpenAI — also offered “giant” annual salaries exceeding US$100 million to OpenAI staffers, Altman said in an interview on the Uncapped with Jack Altman podcast released on Tuesday. “It is crazy,” Sam Altman told his brother Jack in the interview. “I’m really happy that at least so far none of our best people have decided to take them
As they zigzagged from one machine to another in the searing African sun, the workers were covered in black soot. However, the charcoal they were making is known as “green,” and backers hope it can save impoverished Chad from rampant deforestation. Chad, a vast, landlocked country of 19 million people perched at the crossroads of north and central Africa, is steadily turning to desert. It has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover since the 1970s, hit by climate change and overexploitation of trees for household uses such as cooking, officials say. “Green charcoal” aims to protect what
RSS