European stock markets forged ahead Friday on welcome news from the US that its economic recovery was finally producing strong jobs growth.
The British FTSE 100 index gained 1.24 percent to 4,465.6 points, the German DAX 30 rose 2.11 percent to 4,007.60 points and the French CAC 40 climbed 1.91 percent to 3,739.91 points.
The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 index of leading eurozone shares advanced 2.32 percent to 2,885.08 points.
The euro stood at US$1.2127.
In Paris export-oriented firms were among those posting strong gains as the euro fell against the US dollar, brightening hopes for increased sales abroad.
Aerospace group EADS soared 3.41 percent to 18.50 euros and the electronics company Thomson gained 3.10 percent to 15.94 euros.
The price of shares in troubled French computer group Bull surged by 11.9 percent to 0.94 euros when trading in the stock was resumed following the publication of results and the death of its chairman.
The death of Pierre Bonelli was announced on Thursday. Trading in the stock had been suspended for a day early on Wednesday before publication of the results.
Bull reported net 2003 earnings of 4.1 million euros (US$5.1 million) after a loss in 2002 of 548 million euros.
Reuters shares gained 2.25 percent to 409 pence in London despite the company saying it saw its share of the global financial information market decline by two percentage points to 37 percent in terms of revenue last year.
Reuters also reported a unspecified gain in the "premium" market to 28 percent by revenue.
In Frankfurt, Deutsche Bank shares added 2.25 percent to 70.74 euros on a broker upgrade from Smith Barney, while HypoVerinsbank gained 2.62 percent to 16.85 euros.
Lloyds TSB was up 1.5 percent to £4.2225 in London.
In Amsterdam, the AEX index gained 2.35 percent to 350.52, the Swiss SMI was up 1.19 percent at 5,784.6, in Milan the Mib 30 advanced 1.66 percent to 28,023, in Madrid the Ibex-35 closed 1.91 percent higher at 8,252.3 and in Brussels the Bel-20 finished the day with a gain of 1.18 percent at 2,441.08.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”