TAIEX CLOSES UP0.67%
The TAIEX closed up 0.67 percent yesterday, backed by gains among large-cap stocks, with the benchmark index closing at 7,345.16 points, just 1.16 above the quarterly moving average of 7,344.
The local bourse opened up 39.26 points, boosted by gains on Wall Street last week after European leaders agreed to shore up troubled European banks, offering some relief to investors worried about a meltdown in the eurozone.
The index ranged between a high of 7,359.99 and a low of 7,318.22, before closing up 48.88 points at 7,345.16 on turnover of NT$68.12 billion (US$2.28 billion). A total of 2,349 stocks closed up and 1,591 finished down, while 443 remained unchanged.
FEWER WORKERS ON FURLOUGH
The number of workers reported to be on unpaid leave in Taiwan was down by 294 from two weeks earlier, the Council of Labor Affairs reported yesterday.
As of the end of last month, 1,073 workers from 17 companies had reached agreements with their employees to take unpaid leave, according to council statistics.
The number represented a decrease from June 15, when 1,367 workers from 19 companies were reported on furlough.
The council said it would continue to monitor the situation and assist local labor administrations on matters regarding workers’ rights. The council reminded employers affected by the slowing economy that they must follow the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) and related regulations when negotiating reduced work hours with their employees.
STUDENTS EXPECT NT$20,000
A recent poll asking college students how much they expect to make from part-time work during the summer vacation put the average at a little more than NT$20,000, according to the results of an online job bank poll released yesterday.
According to the 1111 job bank survey, 59.9 percent of those polled said they expected to make between NT$10,000 and NT$25,000 during the summer break, while 28.33 percent put their estimates at between NT$25,000 and NT$50,000.
However, 11.77 percent said they expected to make less than NT$10,000. The online job bank put the average at NT$20,709.
The survey, which collected 1,075 valid samples, was conducted from June 12 to Tuesday last week among students studying at colleges and other higher education institutions.
EURO INTEGRATION NEEDED: PERNG
Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) said on Sunday the proposed eurozone banking supervisory body was reassuring, but that the real answer to the troubles in the eurozone was deep political integration among the participating countries.
Perng said a fiscal union, banking union and structural reform will not be enough to solve the debt problem because European nations’ policies also involve issues relating to employment, wages, trade and industry.
In an article published on the bank’s Web site, Perng said the 17 nations in the eurozone need to have deep political integration and reach a form of political union in the long term to coordinate policies in different areas.
He said keeping the currency alive and stable was an important responsibility because the euro was not just a currency for the 17 nations, but also a major international currency and international reserve currency.
NT DOLLAR DOWN SLIGHTLY
The New Taiwan dollar lost ground against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.005 to close at NT$29.905.
Turnover totaled US$549 million during the trading session.
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
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