Good morning. It's 10 o'clock .... and I'm ... w/ the top of the hour news
.....

The Tai-Ex opened up 97-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 10,933
on turnover of $3.81-billion N-T.

The market closed little changed Thursday as investors opted to pocket early
gains.

Analysts say although select tech heavyweights posted modest gains, the
upturn was muted on the back of lingering investor caution over the current
earnings season.

Meanwhile....

The Taiwan Futures Exchange is currently trading at 10-thosuand-773. Trading
volume stands at 91-thousand-258 .

----------------

Tai-Power says high temperatures pushed peak electricity consumption across
the island to an all-time high for July on Thursday - when usage levels
reached 36.705-million kilowatts.

The record high usage for the month was reported at 1:50PM.

And Tai-Power say it surpassed the previous highest for July of 36.46-million
kilowatts, which was set on Wednesday of this week.

Thursday's usage level was the third highest daily consumption ever recorded.

July and August are traditionally peak periods for electricity usage.

-------------------

The government is set to hold a new round of discussions next week on a
proposal to digitize National Health Insurance information in order to cut
down on the need to use a physical plastic card.

According to Minister without Portfolio Audrey Tang, the idea is for the
public to have their medical information stored on their cellphones or other
devices.

Tang says previous talks saw government officials seeking opinions from some
30 people of various ages and from different parts of Taiwan as well
employees at major hospitals and small clinics.

Tang also says the plan is not to force all National Health Insurance members
to go digital but simply to offer such a service to those who want to use it.

------------------

And ....

Delegates at the Digital Innovation Forum in Taipei say the public needs to
learn to embrace artificial intelligence and work towards shaping a world
where humans and robots interact to make it a better place.

The two-day APEC Business Advisory Council-sponsored forum is co-hosted by
Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.

And it invites international business leaders and digital innovators to offer
experience and insights into digital innovation and its implications for the
global economy, digital governance and cyber-security.

The world's first robot to be given citizenship is also attending the event.

Sophia is the world's first android citizen and was declared an national of
Saudi Arabia in 2016.

US President Donald Trump is now saying no to an offer from Russian President
Vladimir Putin.

The AP's Ed Donahue reports.

Canada's government is warning the Trump administration that it will hit back
if the U.S. imposes tariffs on imports of Canadian automotive products.

Canada's deputy ambassador spoke at the US Commerce Department , saying that
Canada will be ``forced to respond in a proportional manner'' if the U.S.
imposes auto levies.

The department is investigating whether duties should be applied based on the
premise that auto imports pose a national security risk to the U.S.

Jordan's House of Representatives has given a vote of confidence to a new
government that was formed after nationwide protests.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz's cabinet received a 79-42 vote after five days of
deliberations by parliament's lower house.

Widespread protests over a plan to increase the country's income tax toppled
the previous government last month.

Razzaz, a former World Bank official, must defuse public anger over economic
policies while attempting to meet reform demands from financial donors.

Looking at the weather across Taiwan ...

We can expect ....

Mostly cloudy skies in the north- w/ a high of 33 in Taipei.

Partly cloudy skies and occasional afternoon thundershowers in the center and
south - w/ a high of 33 in Taichung and a high of 32 in Kaohsiung.

And partly cloudy skies in the east - w/ a high of 32 in Hualien.

Current Temperatures ....

Taipei -- 31

Taichung -- 30

Gaoxiong -- 30

Hualien -- 30

That was the I-C-R-T news at 10 .... w/ me ...