European stocks posted their biggest weekly drop since July amid concern the EU may impose restrictions on financial companies in return for government aid and speculation a near eight-month rally in equities has outpaced the prospects for growth.
ING Groep NV sank 23 percent after agreeing to demands from the EU that it sell its insurance units and announcing plans to raise more than US$11 billion in a rights offer to help repay government assistance. Bank of Ireland PLC Allied Irish Banks PLC, which have received 7 billion euros (US$10.3 billion) from the Irish government, tumbled more than 20 percent.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index dropped 3.3 percent, led by industries most-tied to economic growth. The regional gauge, which this month lost 2.3 percent, has surged 50 percent since March 9, pushing its valuation to 52 times reported earnings, the highest level since 2003.
“We have seen enormous sector rotation,” said Kevin Lilley, who helps oversee about US$2 billion at Royal London Asset Management. “ING’s news shocked the market and led to people taking profits in quite a lot of areas that have done very well.”
A Bloomberg poll this week showed the rally in stocks, which has sent the MSCI World Index up more than 60 percent from its March low, had failed to convince investors and analysts that it’s time to take on more risk or dispel their concerns about US economic policies and its banking system.
Only 31 percent of respondents in the survey see investment opportunities, down from 35 percent in the previous survey in July. Almost 40 percent in the latest quarterly survey said they are still hunkering down.
National benchmark indexes fell in 16 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 retreated 5.3 percent and the UK’s FTSE 100 slid 3.8 percent. Germany’s DAX Index slumped 5.7 percent, the steepest weekly decline since February.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
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