EZ News 05/09/23

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened marginally higher, rising 2-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 15,702 on turnover of 1.6-billion N-T. The market closed higher on Monday as buying was sparked by gains on Wall Street at the end of last week on the back of better-than-expected U-S jobs data for April. The bellwether electronics sector led the upturn in the wake of (在…之後) rising tech stocks on U-S markets, while buying was also seen among non-tech stocks, in particular in the electric engineering sector, to give additional support to the broader market. **Ko Wen-je Registers for TPP Presidential Primary ** Taiwan People's Party Chairman Ko Wen-je has registered for the party's presidential primary. Ko registered at the party's headquarters in Taipei accompanied by T-P-P Secretary-General Zhou Tai-zhu and former Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang. Speaking to reporters after registering, Ko said he has until September to find a suitable running mate and while he believes Huang would be a good choice, the party is still hoping to garner (收集) more input from its supporters. A spokesperson for Ko's office says the T-P-P is now scheduled to officially announce its presidential nominee on May 17. **MOTC Calls on Starlux to Review its Scheduling ** Transport Minister Wang Kwo-tsai is urging Starlux Airlines to review is scheduling amid concerns recent expansion has left the carrier overstretched. The call comes after flight delays due to bad weather and a mechanical issue with one of its aircraft left 308 passengers and two of Starlux's three A-350 planes stranded (被困住) overnight at Tokyo's Narita Airport. Starlux was also forced to postpone flights on its Taoyuan to Los Angeles route due to those delays. According to the transport minister, Starlux's recent expansion into North America has come despite the airline only having only three large A-350 aircraft and shows the company needs to enlarge its fleet and hire more staff, and also review how it schedules its flights. **US Welcomes SKoreaJapan Summit ** The US is welcoming a summit held over the weekend between its key Indo-Pacific allies South Korea and Japan. Leaders from the two countries met in Seoul for the first time more than a decade, in an effort to boost bilateral co-operation and thaw historical tensions. Chris Gilbert reports. **Australia Forecasts Balanced Budget ** The Australian government has forecast the nation’s first balanced annual budget in 15 years. Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced the forecasted surplus today before releasing the government’s economic blueprint for next year. Chalmers did not say how big the surplus will be, but media reported a $2.7 billion surplus was expected. High prices for commodities including iron ore, coal and gas plus income tax revenue helped deliver the surplus, which was also buoyed by an extraordinarily low jobless rate. The government's budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year aims to ease financial hardships of the most needy without stoking (煽動，激起) stubbornly high inflation. 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