European stocks posted the biggest weekly drop in two months, sending the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index to the lowest level since March 2003, as concern grew the economy would deteriorate further and companies from Daimler AG to Cie de Saint-Gobain SA reported disappointing earnings.
Swedbank AB and UniCredit SpA led a sell-off in financial shares after Moody’s Investors Service said it may downgrade banks with units in eastern Europe. Axa SA tumbled 30 percent as Standard & Poor’s cut its credit outlook for the insurer. Daimler, the largest truckmaker, and Saint-Gobain, Europe’s biggest supplier of building materials, sank at least 15 percent.
The STOXX 600 dropped 7.5 percent this week to 176.93 as all 19 industry groups retreated except food and beverage companies.
The gauge is down 11 percent this year as companies from Electricite de France SA to Diageo PLC fueled concern the global economic slump will wipe out profits and US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner failed to convince investors that his plan to rescue US banks will work.
“It was a very disillusioning week, especially the uncertainty over exposure to eastern Europe,” said Peter Braendle, who manages US$50 billion at Swisscanto Asset Management in Zurich. “We are on very low levels and there are still a lot of uncertainties surrounding the financial industry.”
The UK’s GDP will decrease 3.3 percent this year, instead of the 1.7 percent predicted in November, the Confederation of British Industry said. By the end of this year, the economy will have contracted for six consecutive quarters, the business lobby said.
National benchmark indexes fell in all of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX Index dropped 9 percent, while France’s CAC 40 declined 8.3 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 lost 7.2 percent as Anglo American PLC and Xstrata PLC slid.
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
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external
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