EZ News 01/16/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened up 71-points this morning from Friday's close, at 14,895 on turnover of 3.5-billion N-T. The market moved higher on Friday, but faced stiff technical resistance ahead of 15,000 point mark. Friday's rise was led by a rally by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which finished at or above the 500 N-T per share mark for the for the first time since August of last year. Tomorrow is the is the Tai-Ex's final trading day before the Lunar New Year holiday - and it will reopen on January 30 . **VP William Lai Elected as DPP Chairman ** Vice President William Lai has been elected the D-P-P's new chairman - after winning the party's uncontested (無競爭的) election. Lai won with 41,840 votes, or 99.65-per cent of the total cast. According to the D-P-P's Acting Secretary-General Sidney Lin, turnout for the ballot was 17.59-per cent. However, that was slightly higher than the D-P-P's party previous chair election in 2019, which stood at 16.9-per cent, when Zhuo Rong-tai was elected. Speaking after being formally announced the winner, Lai said will officially take up the post on Wednesday during a D-P-P central standing committee meeting. His tenure will run until May 20, 2024, when Taiwan's next president will be inaugurated. **43% of TRA Tickets for LNY Holiday Sold ** The Taiwan Railways Administration says some 43-per cent of tickets for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday have so far been sold. The rail operator is laying on a total of 499 additional train services to meet the expected increase in passenger volume over the holiday period. Those additional (額外的) trains will run until January 30. According to the railways administration, the additional train services mean that some 450,000 more seats will available - increasing capacity by 12-per cent from last year. Tickets for January 19, 20, 28, and 29 are sold out. But the rail network says tickets for other days of the Lunar New Year holiday are still available. **US Cali Preps for More Rain and Snow ** The US state of California is preparing for more rain and snow after a severe (嚴重) storm killed at least 19 people and left millions of others under a flood watch. Our US Correspondent Jagruti Dave reports. **Oxfam Recommends Solidarity Tax On Wealthiest ** Anti-poverty group Oxfam says companies making big profits as inflation surges (急遽上升) should face windfall taxes to help cut global inequality. That's one of the recommendations in a report the group released today as the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting of political and business elites gets underway in Davos. Oxfam also says that over the past two years, the world’s super-rich 1% have gained nearly twice as much wealth as the remaining 99% combined. Meanwhile, at least 1.7 billion workers live in countries where inflation is outpacing their wage growth. That's even as billionaire fortunes are rising by $2.7 billion a day. To combat these problems, Oxfam urged higher taxes on the rich, through a combination of measures including one-time “solidarity” taxes and raising minimum rates for the wealthiest. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____. -- Hosting provided by SoundOn