European stocks rose for a fourth week as concern about the region’s sovereign debt crisis waned.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Societe Generale SA led a rally among bank shares. British Sky Broadcasting PLC soared 19 percent after Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp offered to buy the rest of the company for £7.8 billion (US$11.5 billion). Nokia Oyj slumped 8.6 percent after cutting its forecasts. BP PLC tumbled for a record ninth week.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 2.4 percent to 255.5, the highest closing level since May 13 and the longest streak of weekly gains since April. The benchmark gauge has rebounded 10 percent from its low for this year on May 25 after concern about levels of government debt in Europe pushed the index to its cheapest level relative to earnings in more than a year.
“Global investors are feeling more hopeful about the outlook for Europe’s stocks,” said Gary Baker, an equity strategist at BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research in London. “Bad news is priced in.”
A Spanish bond auction on Thursday eased concern that the nation will struggle to finance looming debt maturities. Spain sold 3.5 billion euros (US$4.3 billion) of 10-year and 30-year bonds, the maximum set for the auction.
Britain posted a smaller fiscal deficit last month than economists forecast as growth lifted tax receipts, providing a boost for British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne before he announces his budget on Tuesday.
EU leaders agreed on Thursday to disclose how banks perform on stress tests, seeking to show investors that the financial system can withstand shocks. The decision came after Spanish officials unexpectedly pledged to publish results on individual banks, the first European government to do so. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said broader regional stress tests will be published in the second half of next month “at the latest.”
Still, the number of investors forecasting the global economy to strengthen in the next 12 months fell, according to a BofA Merrill Lynch survey of portfolio managers who together manage about US$606 billion. Money managers increased their reserves of cash this month to the highest level in more than a year and continued to reduce their holdings in global equities to levels not seen since early last year, the survey showed.
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