European stocks rose for the first time in three weeks after a report showed the US economy expanded more than previously estimated last quarter and concerns eased that banks need more capital.
CRH PLC, the world’s second-biggest maker and distributor of building materials, paced an advance among companies that depend on sales in North America. Credit Agricole SA led banks higher as it said a key measure of financial strength held steady. Royal BAM Groep NV, the largest Dutch construction company, rallied 13 percent after posting second-quarter earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and raising its profit forecast.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index added 1.5 percent this week to 288.18, bringing the gain for this month to 1.6 percent. The measure is still down 21 percent this year as asset writedowns and credit losses at banks topped US$500 billion worldwide, threatening to push the US economy into recession.
“Investors seem to be relieved that the worst-case scenario for the US economy so far hasn’t come true,” said Carsten Klude, an investment strategist at M.M. Warburg & Co in Hamburg, which has the equivalent of US$25 billion. “The GDP data triggered a stocks rally.”
National benchmark indexes advanced in all 18 western European markets this week, except Greece and Iceland. France’s CAC 40 gained 1.9 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 added 2.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX climbed 1.3 percent.
The US economy grew at a 3.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter, surpassing last month’s estimate of 1.9 percent, the US Commerce Department said on Thursday.
Record exports and a smaller decline in inventories helped boost growth. Economists had predicted a 2.7 percent rate, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.
“The US data supported the market, implying that the world’s largest economy may not fall into as deep a recession as some investors feared,” Thomas Koerfgen, a money manager at SEB Asset Management in Frankfurt, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
Gains in the STOXX 600 were limited by carmakers including Renault SA and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG as crude climbed above US$117 a barrel. Oil producers evacuated rigs before the arrival of Gustav, forecast to be the largest hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico since Katrina.
CRH increased 4.6 percent. The company gets about 49 percent of its revenue in the Americas, Bloomberg data show.
The STOXX 600 Banks Index is down 30 percent this year, the worst performance among 18 industry groups, as financial firms worldwide raised more than US$353 billion to replenish capital. Analysts estimate banks’ earnings will decline 24 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
The paramount chief of a volcanic island in Vanuatu yesterday said that he was “very impressed” by a UN court’s declaration that countries must tackle climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the legal case at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, which on Wednesday ruled that countries have a duty to protect against the threat of a warming planet. “I’m very impressed,” George Bumseng, the top chief of the Pacific archipelago’s island of Ambrym, told reporters in the capital, Port Vila. “We have been waiting for this decision for a long time because we have been victims of this climate change for
MASSIVE LOSS: If the next recall votes also fail, it would signal that the administration of President William Lai would continue to face strong resistance within the legislature The results of recall votes yesterday dealt a blow to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) efforts to overturn the opposition-controlled legislature, as all 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers survived the recall bids. Backed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) DPP, civic groups led the recall drive, seeking to remove 31 out of 39 KMT lawmakers from the 113-seat legislature, in which the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) together hold a majority with 62 seats, while the DPP holds 51 seats. The scale of the recall elections was unprecedented, with another seven KMT lawmakers facing similar votes on Aug. 23. For a
All 24 lawmakers of the main opposition Chinese Nationalists Party (KMT) on Saturday survived historical nationwide recall elections, ensuring that the KMT along with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) lawmakers will maintain opposition control of the legislature. Recall votes against all 24 KMT lawmakers as well as Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) and KMT legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅崐萁) failed to pass, according to Central Election Commission (CEC) figures. In only six of the 24 recall votes did the ballots cast in favor of the recall even meet the threshold of 25 percent of eligible voters needed for the recall to pass,
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
RSS