European stocks trimmed their weekly gain amid increasing concern that Greece’s efforts to renegotiate its debt and stay in the single currency would fail.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.9 percent to 389.38 at the close of trading, paring its weekly gain to 0.1 percent.
Greece’s ASE Index lost 5.9 percent, for the biggest decline among western European markets, with National Bank of Greece SA and Eurobank Ergasias SA falling more than 10 percent.
Portugal’s PSI 20 Index posted the second-worst performance, with a 1.5 percent drop.
Pressure is mounting on Greece to come up with a solution after the IMF withdrew from talks in Brussels on Thursday, citing “major differences.”
Greece ruled out cutting pensions and demanded debt restructuring. Euro-area officials called for a proposal to stabilize the country’s debt by the end of Friday, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to accept a framework for aid.
Her advisers are already discussing how to deal with a Greek default, Bild newspaper reported.
“I’m beginning to get concerned,” said Henrik Drusebjerg, who helps manage about US$17 billion as chief strategist at Carnegie Investment Bank AB in Copenhagen.
“You’re caught in a dilemma. You can’t seek the bond market for protection. You’re scared for the stock market because of Greece and the Fed, which is closing in on the first rate hike. A lot of investors are very frustrated as to where to place their money,” Drusebjerg said.
Among stocks moving on corporate news on Friday, Zodiac Aerospace plunged 5.4 percent after saying it might not meet this year’s target for operating income.
Shiina Ito has had fewer Chinese customers at her Tokyo jewelry shop since Beijing issued a travel warning in the wake of a diplomatic spat, but she said she was not concerned. A souring of Tokyo-Beijing relations this month, following remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi about Taiwan, has fueled concerns about the impact on the ritzy boutiques, noodle joints and hotels where holidaymakers spend their cash. However, businesses in Tokyo largely shrugged off any anxiety. “Since there are fewer Chinese customers, it’s become a bit easier for Japanese shoppers to visit, so our sales haven’t really dropped,” Ito
The number of Taiwanese working in the US rose to a record high of 137,000 last year, driven largely by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) rapid overseas expansion, according to government data released yesterday. A total of 666,000 Taiwanese nationals were employed abroad last year, an increase of 45,000 from 2023 and the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) showed. Overseas employment had steadily increased between 2009 and 2019, peaking at 739,000, before plunging to 319,000 in 2021 amid US-China trade tensions, global supply chain shifts, reshoring by Taiwanese companies and
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) and the company’s former chairman, Mark Liu (劉德音), both received the Robert N. Noyce Award -- the semiconductor industry’s highest honor -- in San Jose, California, on Thursday (local time). Speaking at the award event, Liu, who retired last year, expressed gratitude to his wife, his dissertation advisor at the University of California, Berkeley, his supervisors at AT&T Bell Laboratories -- where he worked on optical fiber communication systems before joining TSMC, TSMC partners, and industry colleagues. Liu said that working alongside TSMC
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