European stocks fell to the lowest in three months this week on concerns that banks would post more losses and a US manufacturing index provided the latest evidence the world's largest economy is slipping into recession.
UBS AG and Deutsche Bank AG dropped after Goldman Sachs Group Inc forecast more writedowns and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc cut earnings estimates for the banks. Groupe Danone SA, the world’s largest yogurt maker, and Unilever led losses among the food and beverage industry after UBS recommended selling the shares. Trinity Mirror PLC declined as Morgan Stanley downgraded European media stocks.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index dropped 3.5 percent to 295.08, bringing the total fall for the past three weeks to 8.4 percent, ending the week at its lowest since March 17. The STOXX 50 retreated 3.3 percent and the Euro STOXX 50 slid 3.8 percent.
“It will take quite some time before we see an improvement in the banks and in the earnings situation,” Petra von Kerssenbrock, an analyst at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
“It’s too early to invest” in financial stocks, she added.
National benchmark indexes retreated in 16 of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX Index fell 2.8 percent and France’s CAC 40 lost 3.7 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 slipped 3.1 percent.
The benchmark STOXX 600 has fallen 19 percent this year on concerns that credit-related losses approaching US$400 billion, record oil prices and higher inflation will push the US economy into a recession.
The next 18 months “will be a very testing time,” Julian Chillingworth, London-based chief investment officer at Rathbone Brothers PLC said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “It’s really like the early ‘90s. I don’t think the depth of the slowdown will be as deep but it could be as long.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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