The Malta Independent 20 August 2026, Thursday
View E-Paper

European Stocks continue to decline

Malta Independent Saturday, 26 November 2011, 00:00 Last update: about 16 years ago

On Friday European stocks declined for a seventh day after Italy’s borrowing costs rose to a euro-era record and the cost of insuring against default on financial-company debt climbed to a record. U.S. index futures and Asian shares fell.

Swedish banks retreated after their capital adequacy norms were raised. Blacks Leisure Group Plc (BSLA), the U.K. outdoor-clothing retailer, sank 26 percent after saying it will need more funding to execute a turnaround. Nokian Renkaat Oyj dropped 3.2 percent after saying its heavy tires unit will reduce output because of weaker demand.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.6 percent in London for its longest losing streak since August. The benchmark gauge is headed for a weekly slump of 5.9 percent, the biggest slump since September, as policy makers differed on how to tackle the debt crisis.

The European Financial Stability Facility may fail to raise enough funds to increase its capacity to more than 1 trillion euros as planned because of a deterioration in market conditions over the past month, the Financial Times reported, citing three unnamed senior euro-area officials.

Even a lower target suggested this month by Klaus Regling, head of the EFSF, might be difficult to reach and the funds’ eventual capacity is expected to fall “well short of its billing,” FT said, citing one of the officials.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo urged euro-area politicians to take bold steps toward fiscal union to end the debt crisis, and said they should not rely on the ECB.

Asian stocks fell for a third day, headed for a fourth weekly loss, amid concern that Japan may soon be faced with unsustainable lending costs as Europe’s debt crisis shows no sign of easing, damping the earnings outlook for Asian exporters.

  • don't miss