European stocks fell as declines by commodity producers and concern that the three-month surge by the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index has outpaced prospects for earnings offset a rally in health-care shares.
BP PLC, Total SA and BHP Billiton Ltd led raw-material stocks lower after base metals and oil slipped following a record plunge in industrial production in Europe. Vedanta Resources PLC sank 8.5 percent after India’s largest producer of the metal announced the sale of US$1 billion in convertible bonds. GlaxoSmithKline PLC jumped 5.4 percent as the World Health Organization declared the first influenza pandemic since 1968.
The STOXX 600 slipped 0.2 percent to 214.35, trimming its fourth straight weekly gain to 1.7 percent. The gauge has surged 36 percent since March 9 on speculation the US$12.8 trillion pledged by the US government and Federal Reserve will end the first global recession since World War II.
The European index is valued at 25.5 times the profits of its companies, the most expensive level since 2004, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Corporate earnings in the region will rebound by 15 percent next year after a 25 percent tumble this year, according to strategists at UBS AG.
National benchmark indexes fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets. Germany’s DAX lost 0.7 percent, while France’s CAC 40 declined 0.3 percent. The UK’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.5 percent, led lower by mining shares.
Basic-resources companies led declines as copper and oil retreated.
BP, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, dropped 1.8 percent to £5.15 and Total, the third-largest, slid 2.1 percent to 40.675 euros. BHP, the world’s biggest mining company, sank 2.1 percent to £1,485.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland