TAIEX falls on Bernanke speech
Stock prices pulled back yesterday amid lingering concern over the global economy, in particular after US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a gloomy assessment of the US’ economic fundamentals at a senate hearing, dealers said.
US chipmaker Intel Corp’s cutting of its revenue estimates for this year, citing weakening demand for PCs in the US and Europe, also jolted investors and placed the tech sector under pressure, they said.
The weighted index closed down 77.95 points, or 1.09 percent, at 7,049.05, after moving between 7,046.09 and 7,132.65, on turnover of NT$55.46 billion (US$1.85 billion).
CAL to lease three new planes
China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空), the nation’s largest carrier, said yesterday it had entered into a leasing agreement with International Lease Finance Corp (ILFC), a wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group Inc, on three new Boeing 737-800s.
CAL said in a statement it expects to receive these aircraft in the second quarter of next year to improve its services for customers.
ILFC said in the same statement that it aimed to support its Asia-Pacific customers after establishing new offices in Singapore and Beijing recently.
AUO panels eco-efficient
Flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) said on Tuesday two of its panel products have gained the world’s first verification for eco-efficiency launched by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
The 46-inch TFT-LCD TV panel and BenQ Solar’s EcoDuo PM240P00 solar panel were given the ISO 14045 verification for being energy-efficient, the company said in a press release.
BenQ Solar is a division of AUO that makes solar-powered products.
The ISO 14045 verification was introduced in May and emphasizes that corporations can include evaluations of environmental resources and protection when considering product value to further increase business performance and competitiveness.
University to work with GM
National Chung Cheng University has become the first school in Taiwan to cooperate with US automobile giant General Motors (GM), university officials said on Tuesday.
The university’s Advanced Institute of Manufacturing with High-Tech Innovations submitted a cooperation proposal to the firm on March 23 and a GM representative visited the school to discuss the plan with institute researcher Lin Yu-ting (林郁庭) on July 3.
The cooperation deal will allow students from the university to conduct research at GM for six months to one year in fields related to the development of robots, human-machine interface and virtual and green manufacturing, the university said.
China biotech experts to visit
More than 100 biotechnology specialists from China will arrive in Taiwan later this month to share their experiences in developing the Chinese market, a local biotech industry representative said yesterday.
The Chinese healthcare specialists will attend three major conferences aimed at discussing cross-strait business opportunities and challenges from Tuesday to Sunday next week, said Johnsee Lee (李鍾熙) of the Taiwan Bio Industry Organization, the organizer.
NT dollar retreats
The New Taiwan lost ground against the US dollar yesterday, declining NT$0.014 to close at NT$30.002 on turnover of US$649 million.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
FUTURE PLANS: Although the electric vehicle market is getting more competitive, Hon Hai would stick to its goal of seizing a 5 percent share globally, Young Liu said Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), a major iPhone assembler and supplier of artificial intelligence (AI) servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s chips, yesterday said it has introduced a rotating chief executive structure as part of the company’s efforts to cultivate future leaders and to enhance corporate governance. The 50-year-old contract electronics maker reported sizable revenue of NT$6.16 trillion (US$189.67 billion) last year. Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), has been under the control of one man almost since its inception. A rotating CEO system is a rarity among Taiwanese businesses. Hon Hai has given leaders of the company’s six