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.
The Taipei MRT is open all night tonight following New Year’s Eve festivities, and is offering free rides from nearby Green Line stations. Taipei’s 2025 New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off at Taipei City Hall Square tonight, with performances from the boy band Energy, the South Korean girl group Apink, and singers Gigi Leung (梁詠琪) and Faith Yang (楊乃文). Taipei 101’s annual New Year’s firework display follows at midnight, themed around Taiwan’s Premier12 baseball championship. Estimates say there will be about 200,000 people in attendance, which is more than usual as this year’s celebrations overlap with A-mei’s (張惠妹) concert at Taipei Dome. There are
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
CORRUPTION: Twelve other people were convicted on charges related to giving illegal benefits, forgery and money laundering, with sentences ranging from one to five years The Yilan District Court yesterday found Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙) guilty of corruption, sentencing her to 12 years and six months in prison. The Yilan District Prosecutors’ Office in 2022 indicted 10 government officials and five private individuals, including Lin, her daughter and a landowner. Lin was accused of giving illegal favors estimated to be worth NT$2.4 million (US$73,213) in exchange for using a property to conduct activities linked to the 2020 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential and legislative election campaigns. Those favors included exempting some property and construction firms from land taxes and building code contraventions that would have required
TECH CORRIDOR: Technology centers and science parks in the south would be linked, bolstering the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a “Southern Silicon Valley” project to promote the development of an artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industry in Chiayi County, Tainan, Pingtung County and Kaohsiung. The plan would build an integrated “S-shaped semiconductor industry corridor” that links technology centers and science parks in the south, Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said yesterday after a Cabinet meeting. The project would bolster the AI, semiconductor, biotech, drone, space and smart agriculture industries, she said. The proposed tech corridor would be supported by government efforts to furnish computing power, workforce, supply chains and policy measures that encourage application and integration
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