European stocks posted their first weekly decline this year amid speculation the Chinese government will lift interest rates and as Goldman Sachs Group Inc posted earnings that failed to exceed analysts’ estimates.
Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE led declines in automakers, both falling more than 9 percent. EasyJet PLC sank 15 percent after saying its first-half loss may double. ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG fell after Citigroup Inc cut its recommendation on the stock. Utilities, a so-called defensive sector, posted the best performance among 19 industry groups in the benchmark STOXX Europe 600 Index.
The STOXX 600 dropped 0.9 percent this week, after rising for two straight weeks. Even so, the gauge is still up 2 percent this year as reports suggested the global economy continues to recover and investors speculated that European leaders will increase their efforts to contain the region’s debt crisis.
“Investors have very high earnings expectations on the sectors that did best last year and have been disappointed even with very good numbers,” said Raimund Saxinger, a fund manager at Frankfurt Trust Investment GmbH, which oversees about US$22 billion. “The automobile sector suffered this week as the market starts to realize ... it’s as good as it gets.”
The biggest two-day drop since August on Wednesday and Thursday was trimmed after a report that showed German business confidence unexpectedly rose to a record high this month. The Munich-based Ifo institute said its business climate index, based on a survey of 7,000 executives, climbed to 110.3 this month from 109.8 last month. That’s the highest reading since records for a reunified Germany began in 1991.
Volkswagen AG, Europe’s largest carmaker in China, slumped 9.3 percent, while Porsche SE slid 9.6 percent. European carmakers lost 4.2 percent this week, the second-worst performance among 19 industry groups.
Banking shares were among the best performers this week, rising 1.5 percent.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
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