European stocks were little changed this week as better-than-expected economic data from China and the US offset concern that debt ceiling talks will weigh on recovering growth in the world’s biggest economy.
The STOXX 600 Europe Index fell less than 0.1 percent to 287.03 this week. The measure climbed to its highest level since February 2011 last week amid speculation that US companies’ earnings would exceed analysts’ estimates.
National benchmark indeces rose in 12 of Europe’s 18 western markets. France’s CAC 40 Index added 1 percent, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index gained 0.5 percent and Germany’s DAX fell by 0.2 percent.
China’s economic growth accelerated for the first time in two years as Beijing’s efforts to revive demand drove a rebound in industrial output and retail sales.
China’s GDP advanced 7.9 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday.
The US economy picked up across much of the country last month, boosted by auto and home sales, even as the outlook for unemployment showed few signs of improvement, the US Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its Beige Book survey.
US builders broke ground on more houses than forecast last month. Starts climbed 12.1 percent to a 954,000 annual rate, the most since June 2008, the US Department of Commerce said on Thursday.
The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments fell more than forecast last week. Applications for jobless benefits decreased by 37,000 to 335,000 in the week ended on Saturday last week, the lowest since the period ended Jan. 19, 2008, US Department of Labor data showed.
With as little as a month until the US runs out of money to pay its bills, US President Barack Obama this week warned Republicans in the US Congress not to use the need for a debt limit increase to force through new spending cuts.
US Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner said the so-called extraordinary measures he is taking to avoid breaching the debt ceiling would only work until the middle of next month or early March. He added that failure to raise the limit could “impose severe economic hardship” on the US.
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
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