European stocks declined for a third week on concern that the US economy is stalling, while US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke pledged that the central bank “will do all that it can” to help the recovery.
CRH PLC led construction stocks lower, plunging 13 percent, after forecasting lower earnings. Yell Group PLC tumbled 16 percent after STOXX Ltd said it was removing the company from its benchmark European index. Persimmon PLC gained 8.4 percent after reporting improved earnings.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index slipped 0.4 percent to 251.24 this week as 10 out of 19 industry groups dropped. The gauge has declined 7.7 percent from this year’s high on April 15 after a string of worse-than-forecast economic reports from the US and renewed concern that some European countries will struggle to contain deficits fueled concern that the global economic recovery is losing steam.
“We are going to see a continued string of disappointing US numbers, and while Europe lags the US by about six months, we could expect horrible numbers coming out of Europe by Christmas,” said Christian Blaabjerg, chief equity strategist at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. “We’ll see some very considerable price retracement in equities.”
National benchmark indices fell in 14 of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX lost 0.9 percent and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.5 percent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 gained 0.1 percent.
CRH, the world’s second-largest maker and distributor of building materials, tumbled by 13 percent after forecasting that earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization would probably fall about 10 percent this year.
A gauge of construction and materials shares on the STOXX 600 fell 2.3 percent, the second-worst performance out of 19 industry groups.
Allied Irish Banks PLC fell 6.3 percent and Yell tumbled 16 percent as STOXX said the companies would be among seven removed from the benchmark STOXX 600 from next month after its regular quarterly membership review.
United Internet AG rallied 8.6 percent, the biggest gain on the STOXX 600. The German Internet service provider expects sales to rise about 15 percent to 1.9 billion euros (US$2.4 billion) this year.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a