European stocks posted the biggest drop in 18 months as concern grew that the region’s leaders will be unable to contain the spiraling government debt crisis.
A measure of bank stocks slumped the most since March last year, led by British lenders as the UK election failed to produce a clear winner. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC, which reported a first-quarter loss, plummeted 16 percent. Greece’s EFG Eurobank Ergasias SA and Alpha Bank SA retreated more than 20 percent.
The STOXX Europe 600 Index lost 8.8 percent to 237.18 this past week, the biggest decline since November 2008.
The measure erased its gain for the year as all 19 industry groups fell.
The gauge has retreated 13 percent from this year’s high on April 15 amid concern that a 110 billion euro (US$140 billion) rescue package for Greece won’t be enough to keep Europe’s most indebted nations from defaulting.
National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets, led by Spain’s IBEX 35, which plunged 14 percent. Greece’s ASE Index tumbled 13 percent as protests against government austerity measures left three people dead in Athens. Portugal’s PSI-20 slid 11 percent.
The UK’s FTSE 100 sank 7.8 percent as Conservative challenger David Cameron appealed to the Liberal Democrats for an alliance to oust British Prime Minister Gordon Brown after the UK election failed to deliver a majority to any party.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday inaugurated the Danjiang Bridge across the Tamsui River in New Taipei City, saying that the structure would be an architectural icon and traffic artery for Taiwan. Feted as a major engineering achievement, the Danjiang Bridge is 920m long, 211m tall at the top of its pylon, and is the longest single-pylon asymmetric cable-stayed bridge in the world, the government’s Web site for the structure said. It was designed by late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid. The structure, with a maximum deck of 70m, accommodates road and light rail traffic, and affords a 200m navigation channel for boats,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest foundry service provider, yesterday said that global semiconductor revenue is projected to hit US$1.5 trillion in 2030, after the figure exceeds US$1 trillion this year, as artificial intelligence (AI) demand boosts consumption of token and compute power. “We are still at the beginning of the AI revolution, but we already see a significant impact across the whole semiconductor ecosystem,” TSMC deputy cochief operating officer Kevin Zhang (張曉強) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “It is fair to say that in the past decade, smartphones and other mobile devices were
US-CHINA SUMMIT: MOFA welcomed US reassurance of no change in its Taiwan policy; Trump said he did not comment when Xi talked of opposing independence US President Donald Trump yesterday said he has not made a decision on whether to move forward with a major arms package for Taiwan after hearing concerns about it from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Trump’s comments on Taiwan came as he flew back to Washington after wrapping up critical talks in which both leaders said important progress was made in stabilizing US-China relations even as deep differences persist between the world’s two biggest powers on Iran and Taiwan. “I will make a determination,” Trump said, adding: “I’ll be making decisions. But, you know, I think the last thing we need right
TAIWAN ISSUE: US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on the first day of meetings that ‘it wouldn’t be a US-China summit without the Taiwan issue coming up’ There were no surprises on the first day of the summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, as the government reiterated that cross-strait stability is crucial to the Asia-Pacific region, as well as the world. As the two presidents met for a highly anticipated summit yesterday, Chinese state media reported that Xi warned Trump that missteps regarding Taiwan could push their two countries into “conflict.” Trump arrived in China with accolades for his host, calling Xi a “great leader” and “friend,” and extending an invitation to visit the White House
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