European stocks rallied during the first week of trading this year, with the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index posting a 15-month high, amid signs economies are recovering from the worst global recession since World War II.
Rio Tinto Group led a measure of basic resource shares higher for a fourth week after Chinese manufacturing grew the most in five years last month. Allied Irish Banks PLC posted the largest surge in Europe after the Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the capitalization of the country’s banking system would be resolved by the end of the first quarter.
The STOXX 600 added 2.1 percent to 259.15 this week, a fourth straight weekly advance and the longest stretch of gains in five months. The regional benchmark has surged 64 percent since March, boosted by record-low interest rates in the US and Europe and about US$12 trillion of commitments from governments worldwide to revive credit markets and stimulate growth.
“Of all the asset classes, equities look the most attractive,” said Kevin Gardiner, the head of investment strategy at Barclays Wealth at a press briefing in London. His company oversees about US$215 billion. “Even though the economic recovery may be lackluster, the level of profits growth will underpin more gains in stocks.”
National benchmark indexes gained in all 18 western European markets. The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 2.2 percent and Germany’s DAX advanced 1.4 percent. France’s CAC 40 Index added 2.8 percent.
A measure of European manufacturing, based on a survey of purchasing managers in the 16-nation euro area, increased for a third month in December, Markit Economics said on Monday. A gauge of UK manufacturing from the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply and Markit climbed to the highest level in 25 months.
“Markets are more looking for proper earnings and corporates’ ability to deal with the macro environment,” said Stefan Moeckel, a fund manager at WestLB Mellon Asset Management in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
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