European stocks retreated this week, extending the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index’s second straight weekly decline, as healthcare and gambling companies sank and UBS AG forecast a second-quarter loss.
Sanofi-Aventis SA tumbled the most in seven months after analysts cut their recommendations on concern the drugmaker’s Lantus diabetes treatment carries health risks. Opap SA, Europe’s largest publicly traded gambling company, sank 7.4 percent after Greece said it would impose new taxes on games of chance. UBS, the European bank with the steepest losses from the credit crunch, fell 5.4 percent.
The STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 percent to 204.47. The gauge has lost 1.8 percent since last Friday, posting its first back-to-back weekly declines since the start of a rebound in March. The World Bank predicted this week that the global recession will be deeper this year than it forecast in March, while European Central Bank (ECB) council member Axel Weber said the ECB has used up room to cut interest rates.
“The big question is: will we have a recovery in global growth or will it take a while and growth will remain flat?” said Matthieu Giuliani, a fund manager at Palatine Asset Management in Paris, which oversees about US$5.6 billion. “Today we need a very clear improvement in the economy for stocks to progress.”
The STOXX 600 has retreated 4.8 percent since June 11 amid speculation share prices have outpaced the outlook for economic growth after a three-month, 36 percent rally drove valuations to 25.4 times earnings, the highest level since 2004.
National benchmark indexes declined in nine of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 slid 1.1 percent as PSA Peugeot Citroen retreated. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.5 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 fell 0.3 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
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