European stocks posted the biggest drop in 18 months as concern grew that the region’s leaders will be unable to contain the spiraling government debt crisis.
A measure of bank stocks slumped the most since March last year, led by British lenders as the UK election failed to produce a clear winner. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which reported a first-quarter loss, plummeted 16 percent. Greece’s EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA and Alpha Bank SA retreated more than 20 percent.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index lost 8.8 percent to 237.18 this past week, the biggest decline since November 2008.
The measure erased its gain for the year as all 19 industry groups fell.
The gauge has retreated 13 percent from this year’s high on April 15 amid concern that a 110 billion euro (US$140 billion) rescue package for Greece won’t be enough to keep Europe’s most indebted nations from defaulting.
National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets, led by Spain’s IBEX 35, which plunged 14 percent. Greece’s ASE Index tumbled 13 percent as protests against government austerity measures left three people dead in Athens. Portugal’s PSI-20 slid 11 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 sank 7.8 percent as Conservative challenger David Cameron appealed to the Liberal Democrats for an alliance to oust British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after the UK election failed to deliver a majority to any party.
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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