TAIEX recovers from sell-off
Taiwan share prices closed 1.47 percent higher yesterday amid a recovery in Asia following a big sell-off earlier in the week, dealers said.
Investors hunted for bargains but the upside was capped by domestic political uncertainty, they said. Taiwan's Cabinet was due to resign later yesterday before the new legislature opens next week.
The TAIEX closed up 108.65 points at 7,517.05, after trading in a range between 7,412.97 and 7,653.08. Turnover was NT$144.22 billion (US$4.45 billion).
Risers led decliners 1,029 to 886, with 407 stocks unchanged. A total of 19 stocks closed limit-up, while 73 were limit-down.
"Stocks responded positively to the US market performance overnight and Asian markets' gains in the morning," said Michael Hsu (許派一), an assistant vice president of Taiwan Life Asset Management (台壽保投信).
He said companies with large real estate holdings outperformed. Property prices are expected to benefit from any thaw in Taipei-Beijing relations.
NY Life Insurance to be fined
The Financial Supervisory Commission said in a statement yesterday it would fine New York Life Insurance NT$3 million (US$92,000) for violating the Insurance Law (保險法).
The commission said NY Life had disregarded its clients rights by revising the contents of five types of insurance policy application forms without prior approval from the financial regulator.
Although insurance policy application forms were made a part of the insurance contract in September of last year so that amendments are permitted, insurers are still required to submit changes to the FSC for approval, the statement said.
CPC expects unit capacity
State-owned CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) expects the No. 2 crude distillation unit at its Taoyuan plant to reach full capacity next Tuesday after the completion of scheduled maintenance that began on Dec. 14, a company official said.
CPC is making adjustments after restarting the facility last Tuesday, the CPC official said, asking not to be identified because of company rules. The refinery has two crude distillation units and each is able to process 100,000 barrels a day.
The Taoyuan refinery typically conducts maintenance during the winter, when northeast winds make it difficult for oil tankers to dock. CPC's three refineries have a combined capacity of 720,000 barrels a day.
Ford loses billions in Q4
Ford Motor Co said yesterday it lost US$2.7 billion in the fourth quarter and US$2.8 billion for the year as gains in worldwide markets outside the US were dragged down by continued weakness in North America.
Ford lost US$1.30 per share in the fourth quarter, narrower than a loss of US$2.98 per share in 2006. The full-year results, which resulted in a loss of US$1.35 per share, were significantly better than in 2006, when Ford lost US$6.72 per share.
Dearborn-based Ford reported revenue of US$44.1 billion for the fourth quarter, up from US$40.3 billion in the year-ago quarter. The company reported full-year revenues of US$172.5 billion, up from US$160.1 billion in 2006.
Excluding special items, Ford lost US$0.20 per share for the quarter and US$0.19 per share for the year, in line with Wall Street's expectations.
NT dollar gains again
The NT dollar rose for a second day yesterday, advancing NT$0.053 to close at NT$32.352 against the US currency, according to Taipei Forex Inc. Turnover was US$1.29 billion.
HORMUZ ISSUE: The US president said he expected crude prices to drop at the end of the war, which he called a ‘minor excursion’ that could continue ‘for a little while’ The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait started reducing oil production, as the near-closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz ripples through energy markets and affects global supply. Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) is “managing offshore production levels to address storage requirements,” the company said in a statement, without giving details. Kuwait Petroleum Corp said it was lowering production at its oil fields and refineries after “Iranian threats against safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.” The war in the Middle East has all but closed Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the open seas,
Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday said the DRAM supply crunch could extend through 2028, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom has led the world’s major memory makers to dramatically reduce production of standard DRAM and allocate a significant portion of their capacity for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The most severe supply constraints would stretch to the first half of next year due to “very limited” increases in new DRAM capacity worldwide, Nanya Technology president Lee Pei-ing (李培瑛) told a news briefing. The company plans to increase monthly 12-inch wafer capacity to 20,000 in the first half of 2028 after a
Taiwan has enough crude oil reserves for more than 100 days and sufficient natural gas reserves for more than 11 days, both above the regulatory safety requirement, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday, adding that the government would prioritize domestic price stability as conflicts in the Middle East continue. Overall, energy supply for this month is secure, and the government is continuing efforts to ensure sufficient supply for next month, Kung told reporters after meeting with representatives from business groups at the ministry in Taipei. The ministry has been holding daily cross-ministry meetings at the Executive Yuan to ensure
RATIONING: The proposal would give the Trump administration ample leverage to negotiate investments in the US as it decides how many chips to give each country US officials are debating a new regulatory framework for exporting artificial intelligence (AI) chips and are considering requiring foreign nations to invest in US AI data centers or security guarantees as a condition for granting exports of 200,000 chips or more, according to a document seen by Reuters. The rules are not yet final and could change. They would be the first attempt to regulate the flow of AI chips to US allies and partners since US President Donald Trump’s administration said it rescinded its predecessor’s so-called AI diffusion rules. Those rules sought to keep a significant amount of AI
RSS