European stocks advanced for a second week, as better-than-expected economic data in Europe and China outweighed concern that the US Federal Reserve would reduce the pace of its bond-purchase program.
The STOXX Eurrope 600 Index rose 0.6 percent to 305.92 this week. The gauge has rallied 11 percent since reaching a low on June 24 as the Fed said it remains flexible on the pace of bond buying, while the European Central Bank and the Bank of England signaled interest rates would remain low for an extended period.
“Things are getting less bad or starting to be a bit better in some cases,” said Karim Bertoni, who helps oversee about US$3.3 billion at De Pury Pictet Turrettini & Co in Geneva. “It is still not euphoria, but it is pointing at the right direction. We are constructive on equities.”
Investors scrutinized remarks this week from Fed officials who indicated willingness to begin tapering the central bank’s bond-buying program if the economic improvement continues. The STOXX 600 plunged 11 percent from May 22 through June 24 amid speculation the Fed would begin reducing bond purchases as soon as next month.
Fed Bank of Atlanta president Dennis Lockhart said in an interview with Market News International this week that if economic growth and job creation pick up as expected, the central bank should proceed with the “removal” of its asset purchases. Fed Bank of Cleveland President Sandra Pianalto said on Wednesday there has been “meaningful improvement” in the labor market and that tapering may be warranted if it continues to strengthen.
National benchmark indices rose in 15 of the 18 Western European markets this week. France’s CAC 40 gained 0.8 percent, while Germany’s DAX slid 0.8 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 1 percent as the Bank of England forecast unemployment would stay above 7 percent at least until the third quarter of 2016. New Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said interest rates would remain at a record low until the jobless rate falls to 7 percent from the current 7.8 percent.
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],”