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.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
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