European stocks fell for a second week as the euro area’s budget deficit widened to more than double the EU’s 3 percent limit last year, led by Greece and Ireland, offsetting better-than-expected results from companies including Ericsson AB and Volvo AB.
Greek banks sank as Moody’s Investors Service cut Greece’s sovereign rating. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC rose 16 percent as BofA-Merrill Lynch Global Research added the stock to its “most preferred” list and it may consider a share buyback. Nokia Oyj sank 14 percent as it cut its margin forecast.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 267.42 this week, a second weekly loss. The VStoxx Index, which gauges the cost of using options to protect against declines in the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, rose to 24.7953 on Thursday, reaching the highest level in almost two months.
“Equity markets were very volatile as concerns over Greece swung sentiment and as, eventually, markets forced the Greek government’s hand,” said Neil Dwane, who helps oversee about US$80 billion as chief investment officer at Allianz Global Investors’ RCM unit in Frankfurt.
National benchmark indexes fell in 10 out of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX rose 1.3 percent and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.9 percent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.4 percent. Greece’s ASE dropped 6.9 percent.
Credit Suisse Group AG dropped 7 percent to 51.50 francs as quarterly results at Switzerland’s second-biggest bank missed a gain in debt trading that helped lift earnings at rivals.
Royal Bank of Scotland gained 16 percent to £0.558 after being added to the “most preferred” stocks among European banks at BofA-Merrill Lynch. Barclays Capital upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “equal weight.”
Britain’s biggest government-owned bank, may use surplus capital to buy back part of the taxpayer’s holding, said two people with knowledge of the situation.
Deutsche Postbank AG climbed 7.1 percent to 26.40 euros on speculation Deutsche Bank AG is preparing a full takeover for the lender it partially owns. Nokia Oyj dropped 14 percent to 9.49 euros after posting a lower-than-estimated quarterly net income, while Ericsson climbed 14 percent to 88 kronor.
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
RSS