European stocks fell, ending a three-week gain, as earnings from financial companies missed analysts’ estimates and record crude oil weighed on airline shares.
UBS AG posted its first weekly drop since March after Europe’s largest bank announced plans to cut jobs and said clients withdrew a net US$12.2 billion from its asset and wealth-management divisions. UniCredit SpA tumbled after reporting first-quarter profit that missed analysts’ predictions. Swiss Reinsurance Co, the world’s largest reinsurer, said profit fell 53 percent. British Airways Plc led carriers lower as oil rose above US$126 a barrel in New York.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index sank 1.3 percent to 324.85. The measure is down 11 percent this year as losses at the world’s largest banks have totaled US$321 billion.
“The outlook for revenues in the medium term is going to be mediocre” for investment banks, Bob Parker, vice chairman of Credit Suisse Asset Management, which has more than US$600 billion, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “One factor which is weighing on the equity markets is the high oil price.”
Profits for companies in the STOXX 600 will probably rise 0.13 percent this year, compared with 11 percent growth forecast at the beginning of the year, weekly data compiled by Bloomberg show.
National indexes declined in 13 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 decreased 2.2 percent and Germany’s DAX lost 0.6 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 percent. The STOXX 50 Index slumped 2 percent, as did the Euro STOXX 50, a measure for the countries sharing the euro.
European Central Bank policymakers left their benchmark interest rate at a six-year high this week, and the Bank of England kept borrowing costs unchanged at 5 percent after three cuts since December.
Basic-resources stocks were the best-performing group in the STOXX 600 Index this week, adding 1.5 percent.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source