Public confidence in the nation’s economic outlook is slipping this month, weighed by noticeable increases in food costs, with inflationary pressures expected to heighten over the next six months, a Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) survey showed.
Almost 35 percent of the respondents held pessimistic views about the economy over the coming six months, outnumbering the optimism of 29.4 percent, the survey found, while 28.9 percent expect conditions to maintain their current standing.
The shift in sentiment comes after the consumer price index rose to a 13-month high last month on the back of double-digit percentage point increases in meat, vegetable and fruit prices over last year’s levels.
An overwhelming 85.6 percent expect consumer prices to climb higher in the next six months after having picked up for the past six months, the survey said. The survey questioned 27,873 Cathay customers between April 1 and April 7 via the Internet.
Meanwhile, 67.7 percent expect their wages to stay unchanged, with 15.4 percent looking at a pay raise and 16.9 percent anxious about lower income, the survey indicated.
Expectations of stagnant wages and higher living costs drive people to cut spending for nonessentials, as 38.2 percent expressed less interest in durable-goods consumption and 28.3 percent plan to lower their budgets for big-ticket items, the survey showed.
The survey also found that 55.1 percent of respondents intended to keep similar cash positions, 24.8 percent expressed lower interest in stock investment and 20.1 percent planned to increase equity investments.
Meanwhile, almost 50 percent said they would forfeit dividend payouts due to unfavorable income taxation terms.
Investors can declare just 50 percent of income taxes related to stock dividend payouts under the Ministry of Finance’s new tax reform plan.
Consequently, the public holds mixed views about the TAIEX’s performance going forward. About 32 percent think the index may rise while 29.1 percent believe otherwise, according to the survey.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Gudeng Precision Industrial Co (家登精密), the sole extreme ultraviolet pod supplier to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), yesterday said it has trimmed its revenue growth target for this year as US tariffs are likely to depress customer demand and weigh on the whole supply chain. Gudeng’s remarks came after the US on Monday notified 14 countries, including Japan and South Korea, of new tariff rates that are set to take effect on Aug. 1. Taiwan is still negotiating for a rate lower than the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs announced by the US in April, which it later postponed to today. The
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
RSS