European stocks rose for a second week as positive reports on US services and home sales offset payroll data that missed economists’ estimates and lingering concern that the sovereign-debt crisis will spread.
Ryanair Holdings PLC, Europe’s largest discount airline, gained 9.6 percent after saying it made a profit and will pay its first-ever dividend. Raiffeisen International Bank Holding AG, the Austrian bank that operates in 17 former communist countries in eastern Europe, led financial stocks lower as Hungary said its economy is in a “grave” situation. BP PLC plunged 17 percent as it failed to halt the worst oil spill in US history.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.2 percent to 244.53, extending the previous week’s 2.9 percent rally. The measure has still fallen 10 percent from this year’s high on April 15 as investors speculated that efforts to contain Europe’s debt crisis will choke off the economic recovery. The decline has left the measure trading at less than 15 times the reported earnings of its companies, near the cheapest valuation since 2008, Bloomberg data shows.
“There are two factors influencing the market and we’re caught between them,” said Jerome Forneris, who helps manage US$11 billion at Banque Martin Maurel in Marseille, France. “US economic statistics are good for the most part, while in Europe, the numbers are conflicting and we have trouble seeing the direction we’re taking. At the same time, investors are worried about budget deficits in Europe and austerity programs, which can weigh on growth.”
National benchmark indexes fell in 12 out of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX slipped 0.1 percent and France’s CAC 40 lost 1.7 percent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 declined 1.3 percent.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft