European stocks gained for a second week after Royal Philips Electronics NV reported an unexpected third-quarter profit and results from Intel Corp to JPMorgan Chase & Co and Google Inc beat analysts’ estimates.
Philips, Europe’s biggest consumer-electronics maker, climbed 7.5 percent as operating earnings at the consumer unit more than doubled. Remy Cointreau SA rallied after France’s second-largest liquor company reported a smaller sales decline. J Sainsbury PLC, the UK’s third-biggest grocery chain, surged on speculation its largest investor, Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, may buy more shares. Prosafe ASA led energy shares higher as oil rose to a one-year high.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index climbed 1.2 percent in the week to 245.58. The regional gauge has gained 55 percent since March 9 as companies reported earnings that exceeded estimates. The rally has pushed valuations on the index to 48.9 times earnings, near the most expensive level since 2003, Bloomberg data show.
“We’re happy with earnings reports,” said Yves Maillot, director of investments at Robeco Asset Management in Paris, which oversees US$7.47 billion.
Companies in the STOXX 600 are expected to report a 3.9 percent increase in earnings this year and a 31 percent gain in profit next year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
National benchmark indexes rose in 15 of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX and the UK’s FTSE 100 each added 0.6 percent. France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.7 percent.
Economic data this week added to evidence that the economy is strengthening. China’s exports declined at the slowest pace in nine months last month, while sales at US retailers fell less than anticipated, reports showed. UK unemployment rose by the least in a year and fewer people signed on for jobless benefits than economists forecast as the recession eased, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
‘COMING MENACINGLY’: The CDC advised wearing a mask when visiting hospitals or long-term care centers, on public transportation and in crowded indoor venues Hospital visits for COVID-19 last week increased by 113 percent to 41,402, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it encouraged people to wear a mask in three public settings to prevent infection. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 have been increasing for seven consecutive weeks, and 102 severe COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths were confirmed last week, both the highest weekly numbers this year. CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) said the youngest person hospitalized due to the disease this year was reported last week, a one-month-old baby, who does not
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