European stocks rose this week as companies including BNP Paribas SA and European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co (EADS) reported earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and investors speculated mergers and acquisitions are picking up.
BNP Paribas had its biggest weekly gain in a month as profit at France’s largest bank declined less than projected. EADS rallied after posting record production rates at its Airbus SAS unit. BT Group Plc also climbed on earnings. BHP Billiton Ltd led an advance in basic-resources shares on speculation China may buy a stake in the world’s largest mining company.
Europe’s Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index added 1.5 percent to 329.86, the highest since Feb. 26 and trimming the decline this year to 9.5 percent. Concern that record oil prices, inflation and US$342 billion in credit losses will cut economic and profit growth has weighed on stocks.
“The earnings reports this week were important and one of the driving forces, as were commodities,” said Carsten Klude, head of investment strategy at M.M. Warburg & Co in Hamburg, adding that acquisitions were also buoying the market. “This topic seemed dead for some time but is now back on the agenda.”
Germany’s DAX Index added 2.2 percent. France’s CAC 40 gained 2.4 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 advanced 1.6 percent. The STOXX 50 also rallied 1.6 percent, as did the Euro STOXX 50, a measure for the euro region.
European economic growth accelerated more in the first quarter than economists estimated. Gross domestic product in the 15 euro countries increased 0.7 percent from the fourth quarter, the European Union’s statistics office said on Thursday. Germany’s 1.5 percent expansion was more than double what economists estimated.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
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