Annual growth of both the M1B and M2 monetary aggregates fell for the third consecutive month last month because of slowing growth in bank credit and a higher base effect, the central bank said yesterday.
M1B, a narrow measure of money supply that includes currency held by the public and deposits, last month rose 21.57 percent from a year earlier, the lowest increase in eight months, central bank data showed.
However, despite subdued annual growth in M1B, “there was still abundant liquidity on the market,” Chen E-dawn (陳一端), deputy chief at the central bank’s economic research department, told a media briefing.
Chen said the average daily amount of M1B exceeded NT$10.5 billion (US$333.8 million) last month.
The broader M2 monetary gauge, which includes M1B, time deposits, time savings deposits, foreign currency deposits and mutual funds, rose 4.58 percent year-on-year last month, compared with 5.1 percent in February, the report said.
As the central bank continued to absorb excess liquidity to curb soaring housing prices, Chen said excess reserves last month dropped to NT$23.1 billion, the lowest in 19 months.
The central bank also said the stock market performed well last month, with the balance of securities accounts topping NT$1.1 trillion, an increase of NT$47 billion from February.
In terms of direct and indirect finance, total outstanding loans and investments by major financial institutions rose 1.40 percent year-on-year last month, compared with 1.97 percent growth in February, the central bank said.
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
The battle for artificial intelligence supremacy hinges on microchips, but the semiconductor sector that produces them has a dirty secret: It is a major source of chemicals linked to cancer and other health problems. Global chip sales surged more than 19 percent to about US$628 billion last year, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association, which forecasts double-digit growth again this year. That is adding urgency to reducing the effects of “forever chemicals” — which are also used to make firefighting foam, nonstick pans, raincoats and other everyday items — as are regulators in the US and Europe who are beginning to
NEXT GENERATION: The company also showcased automated machines, including a nursing robot called Nurabot, which is to enter service at a Taichung hospital this year Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) expects server revenue to exceed its iPhone revenue within two years, with the possibility of achieving this goal as early as this year, chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said on Tuesday at Nvidia Corp’s annual technology conference in San Jose, California. AI would be the primary focus this year for the company, also known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), as rapidly advancing AI applications are driving up demand for AI servers, Liu said. The production and shipment of Nvidia’s GB200 chips and the anticipated launch of GB300 chips in the second half of the year would propel
RSS