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Tai-Ex opening
The Tai-Ex opened down 79-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 18,673 on turnover of 4.9-billion N-T.
The market closed at a new high on Tuesday on the back of futures-led buying - as investors pushed up the spot market in a bid to profit in the futures market, where February contracts are scheduled to be settled later today.
Electricity Rate Hikes Yet to beFinalized Economics
Minister Wang Mei-hua says no final decision has been made on possible electricity rate hikes.
The statement comes as the Ministry of Economic Affairs' electricity price review committee is scheduled to meet next month to decide on rates for the next six months. According to Wang, her office is considering adjusting rates even for users of less than 330-kilowatt-hours a month, but large electricity users will bear the brunt (首當其衝) of the rate increase in order reduce the impact on the general public.
There have been reports claiming electricity rates could increased by more than 10-per cent for some users.
Shrimp Snack Removed from Store Shelves
Several local government have issued orders to remove a popular brand of spicy-flavored shrimp snack from store shelves. The move comes after it was confirmed that Yu Zong Foods had used a dye supplied by a Yunlin County-based food manufacturer that contains a carcinogenic (致癌的) dye.
The Kaohsiung Department of Health says it has ordered Yu Zong Foods to remove all packaged of its "Wei Hsien" spicy shrimp chips from store shelves that used red chili powder supplied by the Yunlin County-based food manufacturer.
A batch of chili powder from the company was recently found by the Yunlin Public Health Bureau to contain Sudan III, an industrial dye that is not allowed in food products.
US Two Charged with Murder in SuperBowl
Shooting Police in Kansas City have charged two people with murder following a mass shooting (大規模槍擊事件) at the Super Bowl celebration parade.
The violence last week left one person dead and almost two dozen injured.
US correspondent Nick Harper reports.
Russia FM Expresses Support for Venezuela's Maduro
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reaffirmed his government’s support for the administration of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during an hours-long visit to the South American country.
Lavrov on Tuesday expressed Russia’s commitment to strategic cooperation in numerous (很多的) sectors, including technology, energy and culture. His meetings with Venezuela's vice president and foreign minister in the capital, Caracas, took place as Venezuela’s government and a U.S.-backed faction of the opposition continue to negotiate conditions to level the playing field ahead of this year’s presidential election.
UK Bust Ransomware Syndicate
Law enforcement agencies say they have infiltrated and disrupted a prolific ransomware syndicate behind cyberattacks around the world.
Britain’s National Crime Agency says it led an international operation targeting LockBit, which provides ransomware as a service to so-called affiliates (附屬機構) who infect victim networks with the computer-crippling malware and negotiate ransoms.
The group has been linked to thousands of attacks since 2019.
Hours before the announcement, the front page of LockBit’s site was replaced with the words “this site is now under control of law enforcement." The operation aimed to steal all of LockBit’s data and then destroy its infrastructure.