BLEAK FUTURE?A financial survey shows little consumer confidence in the economy after the announcement of lowered GDP growth expectations and next year’s election

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 21, 2015
By: Ted Chen  /  Staff reporter

Beset by discouraging economic data such as exports and manufacturing output, people have a dismal view of the nation’s economic prospects this month, compared with the generally neutral outlook of last month, according to a survey released yesterday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控).

About 30.8 percent of respondents said they expect the economy to see a moderate decline over the next six months and 18.9 percent said the economy would worsen seriously over the period, Cathay Financial said.

In this month’s survey, the economic optimism index dropped to minus-46.6, compared with minus-10.5 last month, while the index measuring economic optimism over the next six months slid from minus-10.5 to minus-33.3, representing the most severe decline since the capital gains tax on securities transactions was introduced in 2012.     [FULL  STORY]