European stocks posted their first weekly decline since last month on concern the eight-month rally in equities has outpaced the outlook for earnings growth and central banks will withdraw stimulus measures.
Wolseley PLC, the world’s largest supplier of heating and plumbing gear, retreated 11 percent after an unexpected drop in US housing starts. Groupe Danone SA sank 3 percent as the biggest yogurt maker reduced its sales growth forecast. Irish Life & Permanent PLC plunged 25 percent after raising its outlook for loan losses.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index slid 1.7 percent to 243.62 this week. Some investors are concerned that a withdrawal of government stimulus measures will stem the rebound in global equities since March. Record-low interest rates and about US$12 trillion in spending by governments worldwide have spurred a 54 percent rally in the STOXX 600 since March 9.
“Clearly central banks are getting more worried about the excess liquidity they’ve been pumping into the system but they’re also afraid to do anything about it,” said John Vail, chief global strategist at Tokyo-based Nikko Asset Management Co, which oversees US$108 billion.
“We aren’t negative on equities, we’re just not overweight like we had been previously,” he told Bloomberg Television.
Treasury three-month bill rates turned negative on Thursday for the first time since last year’s credit freeze, on concern prices of everything from stocks to commodities are too high given the outlook for economic growth.
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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