European stocks fell as declines by commodity producers and concern that the three-month surge by the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index has outpaced prospects for earnings offset a rally in health-care shares.
BP PLC, Total SA and BHP Billiton Ltd led raw-material stocks lower after base metals and oil slipped following a record plunge in industrial production in Europe. Vedanta Resources PLC sank 8.5 percent after India’s largest producer of the metal announced the sale of US$1 billion in convertible bonds. GlaxoSmithKline PLC jumped 5.4 percent as the World Health Organization declared the first influenza pandemic since 1968.
The STOXX 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 214.35, trimming its fourth straight weekly gain to 1.7 percent. The gauge has surged 36 percent since March 9 on speculation the US$12.8 trillion pledged by the US government and Federal Reserve will end the first global recession since World War II.
The European index is valued at 25.5 times the profits of its companies, the most expensive level since 2004, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Corporate earnings in the region will rebound by 15 percent next year after a 25 percent tumble this year, according to strategists at UBS AG.
National benchmark indexes fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX lost 0.7 percent, while France’s CAC 40 declined 0.3 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 percent, led lower by mining shares.
Basic-resources companies led declines as copper and oil retreated.
BP, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, dropped 1.8 percent to £5.15 and Total, the third-largest, slid 2.1 percent to 40.675 euros. BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, sank 2.1 percent to £1,485.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from