TAIEX slides below 8,000
The TAIEX retreated from the crucial 8,000 point mark for the second time in a week as strong technical resistance at that level prevented share prices from rising further, dealers said.
Investors turned cautious, in particular after Washington reported overnight lower-than-expected existing home sales for last month, with selling in the local market focusing on large-cap high-tech and financial stocks, which have made a significant showing since the beginning of the year, they said.
The weighted index closed down 64.38 points, or 0.80 percent, at 7,937.30, on turnover of NT$124.36 billion (US$4.20 billion).
FSC fines Standard Chartered
The Financial Supervisory Commission yesterday fined Standard Chartered Bank NT$4 million (US$135,153) for negligence in internal oversight that led to financial disputes valued at NT$9.89 million.
Two employees at the UK banking group’s local unit moved customers’ investment funds without securing their approval beforehand in violation of banking rules, the FSC said in a statement.
Gamania moves in-house
Gamania Digital Entertainment Co (遊戲橘子), one of Taiwan’s high-profile game makers, yesterday said it aims to develop one game per quarter in-house this year, to be in tune with its goal to make half of its titles internally developed by 2015.
The company posted NT$7.05 billion in revenue last year, up 20.42 percent from 2010.
Chungwa Telecom to hire 1,030
Chungwa Telecom Co (中華電信), the nation’s top telecoms carrier, yesterday said it planned to hire 1,030 new workers in its first wave of recruitment this year.
The company needs more staff to deal with an expansion of broadband coverage, construction of new cloud-computing technology services and expansion of its retail network.
Taiwan, EU have synergy
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Sheng-chung (林聖忠) said on Wednesday in Brussels that the economies of Taiwan and the EU are highly complementary and an economic cooperation agreement (ECA) would benefit both sides.
The financial service industry in the EU, in particular, is interested in signing an ECA with Taiwan, Lin said after meetings with officials and representatives of various industries in Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt and Brussels.
He said the EU service sector and automotive industry were also optimistic about an economic agreement with Taiwan.
Budget airlines fly Taipei-Seoul
South Korea has assigned the new direct route between Taipei and Seoul airports to two low-cost airlines, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced yesterday.
South Korean carriers Eastar Jet and T’way Air will operate three and four weekly flights, respectively, between the cities’ airports, the ministry said. Starting in March, each country will operate seven weekly flights on the Taipei-Gimpo route, using aircraft that seat a maximum of 200 passengers.
NT dollar follows region down
The New Taiwan dollar fell against the US dollar yesterday, down NT$0.014 to close at NT$29.596, in reflection of the weakness of most currencies in the region, dealers said.
Rising concerns over global economic fundamentals put downward pressure on currencies in the region after recent manufacturing activity data in China and Europe pointed to a slowdown, dealers said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last