European stocks declined for the first week in three as concern about Greece’s budget deficit offset better-than-expected results from companies including Safran SA and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC.
Raiffeisen International Bank Holding AG plunged 17 percent on doubts about the impact of a possible merger with its majority shareholder. Renewable Energy Corp ASA fell 15 percent on concern about a potential share sale. Safran increased 15 percent. Royal Bank of Scotland rose 9.1 percent. Carlsberg A/S climbed 8.7 percent after forecasting increased profitability.
The Dow Jones STOXX 600 Index dropped 1.8 percent to 245.80 this week, snapping two weeks of gains. The benchmark gauge has retreated 5.6 percent from this year’s high on Jan. 19 as concern mounted over budget deficits in Greece, Spain and Portugal, and as China moved to restrict lending and stop its economy from overheating. The measure has still rallied 56 percent since March last year.
National benchmark indexes fell in all 18 western European markets except Iceland, Finland and Switzerland. Germany’s DAX fell 2.2 percent and France’s CAC 40 slid 1.6 percent, while the UK’s FTSE 100 retreated 0.1 percent.
Automobile stocks fell the most among the industry groups in the STOXX 600, losing 4.1 percent. The European auto industry “cannot count on a quick recovery” in demand, even as it reaches a “turning point” this year, Dieter Zetsche, chief executive officer of Daimler AG and president of the ACEA European auto manufacturers’ association, said on Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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