European stocks posted the biggest weekly drop since February on concern that Greece’s debt crisis will spread across the region.
Credit Agricole SA paced declines in bank shares. Rio Tinto Group led mining shares lower as copper prices retreated. Nobel Biocare Holding AG, the world’s largest maker of tooth implants, fell after first-quarter sales missed analyst estimates. BP PLC dropped on concern about the costs of containing a worsening oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The STOXX Europe 600 lost 2.8 percent to 259.91 for a third weekly decline.
The benchmark gauge slipped 1.4 percent last month. Stocks fell as Standard & Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of Greece, Portugal and Spain and investors speculated Greece’s credit troubles would spread further.
The declines have trimmed this year’s gain to 2.4 percent.
“What’s weighed on the market is the downgrade of Greece, renewing uncertainty,” said Chicuong Dang, an analyst at KBL Richelieu Gestion in Paris, which oversees about US$4.5 billion. “Greece is in an urgent situation. The downgrades of peripheral countries also weighed on stocks. The market is asking who will be next.”
Greece’s benchmark index erased declines as European Commission President Jose Barroso on Friday said he is confident a rescue package for Greece will be completed “in days,” easing investor concern that the nation may default.
National benchmark indexes fell in 15 out of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX slid 2 percent and France’s CAC 40 tumbled 3.4 percent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 retreated 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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