Europe's main stock markets closed higher on Friday, shrugging off the double danger of the record high euro and surging oil prices.
Investor sentiment has been bolstered this week by a deep US interest rate cut, which has helped offset concerns about a global credit squeeze and problems with crisis-hit British bank Northern Rock.
Lower borrowing costs in the United States, the world's biggest economy, are regarded as beneficial to companies because they cut loan repayments and boost consumers' disposable incomes.
The London FTSE 100 index closed up 0.43 percent to 6,456.70 points, in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.21 percent to finish at 5,700.65 points while in Frankfurt the DAX gained 0.77 percent to 7,794.43 points.
The DJ Euro STOXX 50 index gained 0.1 percent to 4,370.35 points.
European automakers revved higher on Friday after US investment bank Goldman Sachs issued upbeat analysis on the sector.
The broker lifted its rating on the sector to "attractive" from "neutral," saying the outlook on global economic growth was more positive following recent data, which should deliver stronger earnings than previously expected.
In Paris, Renault shares surged 3.31 percent to 100 euros and Peugeot added 0.98 percent to 56.77 euros.
In Frankfurt, BMW saw its share price shoot 3.37 percent higher to 43.57 euros, DaimlerChrysler won 1.80 percent to 67.99 euros, while Volkswagen added 1.07 percent to 155.67.
Meanwhile in London, troubled bank Northern Rock saw its share price claw back 4.91 percent to 194.30 pence.
Confidence in the British banking system was shaken after Britain's fifth-biggest mortgage lender Northern Rock applied for emergency funds from the Bank of England last week.
Despite Friday's slender gains, the lender's share price has fallen by about 70 percent in value since last Thursday.
Elsewhere in Europe, in Madrid the IBEX 35 gained 0.16 percent to 14,450.60 points, in Milan the SP/MIB lost 0.03 to 39,970 points, in Brussels the BEL 20 added 0.06 percent to 4,357.19 points and in Amsterdam the AEX closed 0.41 percent higher at 544.65 points.
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
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],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained