■ Powerchip's rating upgraded
Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶), Taiwan's largest memory-chip maker, was upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" by Credit Suisse First Boston analyst Wang Wanli (王萬里).
"Powerchip is our favorite company at the downturn of the cycle," Wang said yesterday. He said he expects Powerchip to make a profit in the first half of next year, when supply of memory chips will exceed demand. However, Wang cut his target price for Powerchip to NT$24 from NT$28.
Wang also cut his target price for Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), Taiwan's second-largest memory-chip maker, to NT$22.8 from NT$32, but didn't change his "outperform" rating on the stock.
■ More part-time jobs on offer
A total of 25,000 temporary part-time positions were available online as of the start of the month, up 40 percent from a year ago, the 104 Job Bank said yesterday.
The online service provider said a computer show set to open today will require a large number of temporary salespeople. Most of these positions offer an hourly wage of NT$85 to NT$100.
The industries in which most part-time positions are available are restaurants (18 percent), schools and educational institutions (14.8 percent), and retail (13 percent), it said.
■ NT dollar gains ground
The New Taiwan dollar gained ground against its US counterpart yesterday, rising NT$0.033 to close at NT$33.530 on the Taipei foreign-exchange market. Turnover was US$898 million.
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