Where’s the bottom? Bruised investors on Wall Street keep asking the question after another brutal week of losses. But a growing sense of fear and gloom make it risky to bet that the worst is over for the shrinking US economy and stock market.
The relentless bear market savaged the Dow Jones Industrial Average of blue-chips, which fell 6.17 percent on the week to 6,626.94, just above a 12-year low.
The broad-market Standard & Poor’s 500 sank to its level since 1996 over the past week, and lost 7.03 percent for the week to 683.38.
The technology-heavy NASDAQ composite fell 6.1 percent over the week to 1,293.85.
The Dow and S&P have already plunged 24 percent so far this year and the NASDAQ nearly 18 percent.
The horrific bear market has been reinforced by fears of an ever-deepening worldwide slump that has hit small and large firms alike, forcing massive job cuts and denting consumer spending as part of a downward economic spiral.
Some say the market, down over 50 percent from 2007 highs, has priced in a deep recession but may have to fall further if the slump becomes a depression — which could erase stock values by 90 percent if it follows the pattern of the 1930s.
“Investors should not rush in,” said Richard Berner, economist at Morgan Stanley. “Now that equities stand at 14-year lows and 55 percent below their October 2007 highs, they do reflect a lot of bad news — but maybe not quite enough. The further slide in production that we expect suggests that the near-term risks for earnings point down, and a rapid turnaround seems unlikely.”
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury bond fell back to 2.828 percent from 3.041 percent a week earlier and that on the 30-year bond eased to 3.503 percent from 3.722 percent.
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
RSS