Concerns over Europe’s debt crisis deepened as the ratings of 16 Spanish banks were cut after the country slipped into recession, while Greece was also downgraded on fears it could exit the eurozone.
Asian markets tumbled yesterday and the euro faced more pressure as traders shifted out of riskier assets on expectations that another Greek election next month would be won by anti-austerity parties.
Tokyo tumbled 2.99 percent, or 265.28 points, to 8,611.31, while Seoul plummeted 3.4 percent, or 62.78 points, to 1,782.46 and Sydney dived 2.67 percent, or 110.9 points, to 4,046.5, its biggest fall in eight months.
Europe’s main stock markets sank in opening deals yesterday. London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index dropped 0.92 percent to 5,289.37 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 lost 0.86 percent to 6,254.82 points and in Paris, the CAC 40 shed 1.03 percent to 2,980.86.
Madrid’s IBEX-35 index of top shares tumbled 2.28 percent to 6,388.8, with banking stocks falling moderately after the downgrade.
On currency markets, the euro stood at ￥100.33 in Tokyo in afternoon trade, the unit’s weakest level since early February, and slightly lower than ￥100.65 in New York. It was above the ￥102 level on Thursday.
The single currency also lost ground against the US dollar, slipping to US$1.2657 from US$1.2693 in New York.
A caretaker government took office in Athens on Thursday to organize its second election in six weeks after an inconclusive May 6 vote.
Fitch Ratings downgraded Greece’s credit a notch, to “CCC” from “B-,” saying it was vulnerable to default amid political uncertainty over Athens’ commitment to the crucial bailout plan.
The IMF said on Thursday it would hold off on official contacts with Greece until after the June 17 elections, warning no new funds would be released from the 240 billion euro (US$305 billion) bailout if progress on pledged reforms and tough austerity measures faltered.
In Spain, Moody’s slashed the ratings of 16 banks by between one and three notches, citing “renewed recession, the ongoing real-estate crisis and persistent high levels of unemployment.”
It also blamed the reduced creditworthiness of the government.
The move came just over a week after the government intervened to prop up the fourth-largest bank Bankia by taking a 45 percent stake.
The Spanish government paid higher rates to place three and four-year bonds with wary investors on Thursday, while Bankia was reportedly hit by heavy withdrawals by clients.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS