TAIEX recoups early losses
The TAIEX recouped early losses yesterday after bargain hunters emerged in late trading, but sentiment about the global economy remained cautious, preventing the market from making further gains, dealers said.
Many investors preferred to stay on the sidelines amid concerns over the debt crisis in Europe.
Turnover remained low as fears ran deeper that the European financial crisis would continue to drag down the world’s economic fundamentals, they said.
The TAIEX closed up 26.26 points, or 0.38 percent, at 6,922.57, after moving between 6,860.39 and 6,926.09 on turnover of NT$61.21 billion (US$2.02 billion).
ITC delays decision on HTC
HTC Corp (宏達電), the largest smartphone vendor in the US, said a decision on Apple Inc’s bid to stop some of HTC’s imports has been delayed a second time.
The International Trade Commission (ITC) was set to announce a ruling in Washington yesterday on whether HTC infringed patents owned by Apple. Publication of the verdict was delayed until Monday, HTC said in an e-mailed statement.
The ITC originally scheduled the announcement for Dec. 6, before postponing it a first time. No reason was given.
Acer to streamline its brands
Acer Inc (宏碁), the world’s No. 4 PC manufacturer, yesterday said it plans to streamline its brands and product lines in a move to consolidate resources amid strong competition in the PC industry.
The Central News Agency quoted chairman J.T. Wang (王振堂) as saying that it would cut its number of PC models by two-thirds and also phase out some brands during the next three years.
Acer — whose PC brands currently include Acer, Gateway, Packard Bell and eMachines — enjoyed robust sales in the past by rolling out many models, but a rapidly changing market means it now has to focus resources on selected products to better position itself against the competition, Wang said.
DBS planning to upgrade
DBS yesterday announced plans to recruit more management associates this year to help it upgrade its Taiwan branch to a subsidiary, the Sinagpore-based banking group said in a statement.
Europe’s sovereign debt crisis will not affect the Asia-focused lender’s plans to strengthen its presence in Greater China, including Taiwan, where there will be no headcount reduction plans, DBS said.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern International Bank (遠東國際商銀), the banking arm of Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), has completed its acquisition of ING Securities (安智證券), the lender said in a statement.
The move is the lender’s attempt to boost its standing in the domestic wealth management market, enabling it to expand its product line to mutual funds, bonds, equities and other products to better serve its customers, the statement said.
Swiss tax deal comes into effect
An agreement on the avoidance of double taxation between Taiwan and Switzerland came into effect on Tuesday, further cementing bilateral economic ties between Taipei and the landlocked European country.
The agreement “is set to offer Taiwanese investors an interesting gateway to Europe and to further facilitate access to the Taiwanese market for Swiss companies,” the Trade Office of Swiss Industries in Taipei said in a statement.
NT falls against greenback
The New Taiwan dollar fell against its US counterpart yesterday, declining NT$0.03 to close at NT$30.290.
Turnover totaled US$516 million during the trading session.
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