European stocks fell for the first week in three as forecasts from Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) and Ryanair Holdings PLC sent carmakers and travel companies lower and crude oil prices climbed.
BMW, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, fell to the lowest since 2003. Ryanair posted its steepest weekly drop in four-and-a-half years. Michelin & Cie. retreated after the tiremaker cut its full-year target. BT Group PLC tumbled as the phone company reported its fourth straight quarterly profit decline.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index lost 0.5 percent this week to 280.24. The measure has tumbled 23 percent so far this year after almost US$480 billion of credit losses and asset writedowns at banks prolonged the global economy’s slump, inflation eroded profits and crude oil surged to a record.
“The market is bound by a lot of uncertainty,” said Sebastian Paris-Horvitz, a strategist who helps oversee 550 billion euros (US$856 billion) at Axa Investment Managers in Paris.
“There’s an oil shock and there is the feeling that the economic climate in the US and in Europe will deteriorate. Earnings estimates also remain too high,” he said.
National benchmark indexes fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets this week. France’s CAC 40 decreased 1.4 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 was little changed, while Germany’s DAX dropped 0.6 percent. Ireland’s ISEQ Index plunged 16 percent, led by Elan Corp, the nation’s largest drugmaker.
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