Local manufacturers remained bearish about the economy last month in the face of sluggish global demand and a strengthening New Taiwan dollar, which might undermine exporters’ earnings, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院) said yesterday.
The latest survey conducted by the Taipei-based think tank showed that respondents who felt bullish about the current state of the economy fell 5.4 percentage points from a month earlier, while the number of those who were bearish rose 2.6 percentage points.
PEAK SEASON
“Although the global economy continued to recover and demand in emerging countries remained robust, the peak sales season of the manufacturing sector has passed with shipments starting to fall,” TIER president David Hong (洪德生) told a media briefing.
Many Asian countries have raised interest rates to fight inflation following the second round of quantitative easing measures launched by the US Federal Reserve, which has weighed on local manufacturers’ overseas investment, TIER said.
The business climate gauge for the manufacturing sector last month stood at 109.13 points, down 2.84 points from a revised 111.97 points in September, posting its third consecutive month of decline, the survey showed.
“Given the NT dollar’s rise, which is unfavorable to the nation’s exports, and uncertainty over a European and US recovery, downstream companies remained conservative on market demand,” Hong said.
As for the economic outlook over the next six months, 20.2 percent of respondents said they were “optimistic,” down from 22.7 percent in September, 67.5 percent felt “the same,” up from 51.5 percent the previous month, and 12.3 percent felt bearish, down from 25.8 percent, the survey showed.
Chen Miao (陳淼), director of the macroeconomic forecasting center at TIER, said that a cooling Chinese economy and reduced growth momentum in the US and Europe had shaken the confidence of local manufactures in near-term economic prospects.
SERVICE
In a separate survey, TIER said wholesale and retail businesses in the service sectors saw a slight improvement in sentiment last month compared with September as many stores launched anniversary sales.
The tourism sector saw a 15.9 percent jump in arrivals from the previous month, with hotels posting better revenues as the number of Chinese visitors to Taiwan increased 42.11 percent from a month earlier, TIER said.
As for financial businesses, with the TAIEX rising only 0.6 percent last month, the securities sector saw a 50 percent drop in profits. However, a steady economic growth managed to support the financial sector despite the uncertainty over global economic conditions, TIER 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
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
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
RSS