European stocks had the biggest weekly drop in a month after JPMorgan Chase & Co reported a US$1.5 billion loss on mortgage-backed assets, deepening concern that banks will post more writedowns.
Hypo Real Estate Holding AG fell as the German lender said profit tumbled 95 percent. Standard Chartered PLC sank after analysts downgraded the shares on speculation the bank may have to raise capital. Swiss Life Holdings led insurers lower after it agreed to buy stakes in MLP AG and AWD Holding AG Eurasian Natural Resources Corp paced a retreat among mining companies.
Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent to 287.25, the steepest decline since the week ended July 11. The benchmark is down 21 percent this year as asset writedowns and credit losses at financial firms topped US$500 billion worldwide, threatening to prolong the slowdown in global economic growth.
JPMorgan’s figures “spooked investors and triggered profit-taking in financials,” said Piers Hillier, the London-based head of European equities at WestLB Mellon Asset Management, who oversees the equivalent of US$8.8 billion.
“Concern Standard Chartered will need to raise more capital didn’t help. We’ve also seen a sharp fall-off in commodities,” he said.
Crude oil, gold, silver and copper all retreated last week as a strengthening dollar reduced the appeal of commodities as alternative investments.
National benchmark indexes declined in 11 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.9 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.6 percent, while Germany’s DAX sank 1.8 percent.
Reports also weighed on equities as higher-than-forecast US consumer prices and jobless claims added to concern inflation is accelerating while growth slows. Europe’s economy contracted in the second quarter for the first time since the launch of the euro almost a decade ago.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 Banks Index has lost 30 percent this year, the steepest slump among 18 groups in the broader index.
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