Jan 31, 2008 5:15 PM EST
European stocks declined in January on the continued turmoil in credit market. Most markets fell between 10% and 14% in January, one of the worst performances for the month. Unemployment in Germany fell in January to the lowest level in fifteen years to 8.1%. Credit Agricole, AXA, Dexia, and Allianz fell on the worries on economic growth recession in the U.S. FItch cut its bond rating outlook on Friends Provident, stock plunged 11%. Akzo jumped 7% after sales rose at recently acquired ICI. >>

Jan 30, 2008 6:41 PM EST
Surprise sub-prime loan write-down at UBS and BNP jolted markets in the morning and stocks closed lower ahead of the U.S. rate cut in the late afternoon. UBS reported a loss after it reported a larger than expected write-down of $14 billion and BNP Paribas profit declined 42% in the fourth quarter on 590 million euro loss related to credit market turmoil. Vivendi fourth quarter sales rose 8.5%. Department store chain Arcandor rose on profit outlook in Frankfurt trading. >>

Jan 29, 2008 6:37 PM EST
Industrials, mining, and financial stocks led rally across Europe and lifted stocks in Paris by 1.9%, in London and Zurich by 1.6%, and in Frankfurt by 1.1%. Broker recommendations lifted stocks of AP Moeller- Maersk, Siemens, and MAN. Luxottica q4 sales increased 7.1% on retailer Oakley acquisition. IMF lowered its 2008 economic growth forecast for Europe by 0.5% to 1.6%. Societe Generale rises on BNP bid speculation and Sarkozy assertion that executives should face consequencies for losses. >>

Jan 28, 2008 6:30 PM EST
European markets were weak on the first day of trading. German stocks fell on the contiued jitters related to the direction of interest rates. MAN and Adidas fell after UBS lowered its ratings. Fraport fell 5% on the worries that Green Party win in election may hamper its expansion plans. Societe Generale dropped 4% to a three year low after citigroup rated the stock sell. Casino Guichard fell 1.6% after it agreed to raise its stake in Dutch retalier Super De Boar. Lafarge lost 5%. >>

Jan 25, 2008 5:35 PM EST
European markets edged lower in a wild week of trading. Markets in Germany fell as banks reported more subprime losses during the week. Stocks on Friday edged lower as worries related to sub-prime loans persisted. Carlsberg and Heineken agreed to pay nearly 11 billion euros for Scottish & Newcastle. Finnish elevator company Kone reported 26% rise in profit in the fourth quarter. French retailer Casino Guichard rose after it reported 19% rise in revenue in the foruth quarter. >>

Jan 25, 2008 4:11 PM EST
Scottish & Newcastle agreed to be purchased by Danish Carlsberg and Dutch Heineken. The joint bid at 800 pence per share valued the company at 7.8 billion pounds. The deal still needs approval of shareholders. The three month long battle to gain control of the Scottish brewer took two revised offers from the initial offer at 720 pence. Stocks of Carlsberg and Heineken fell. Carlsberg plans to raise capital through bank debt and equity rights offering. >>

Jan 24, 2008 6:07 PM EST
Elections in Italy are likely after the resignation of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi. He lost in the senate by 5 votes. Italy had 61 governments since the World War II. Prodi governmet lasted only 21 months. Societe Generale said that unauthorized trades by a single trader left the bank with a loss of 4.9 billion euros. The bank also wrote-down sub-prime assets of 2 billion loans. Casino Guichard, largest supermarket chain in France, reported sales increase of 19%. >>

Jan 24, 2008 1:13 PM EST
Societe General stunned the markets after reporting 5 billion losses from a fraud and sub-prime loans in the U.S. A single trader managed to lose 4.9 billion euros exploiting the weakness of risk control system. Jerome Kerviel, 31 years old, traded in the European markets futures and covered his losses with fake trades. The bank also reported subprime loan losses of 3 billion euros on the write-down in assets. >>

Jan 23, 2008 4:19 PM EST
European markets fell sharply for the third day in a row after tough talk on inflation from ECB President Trichet. The inflation talk suggested that interest rates are not likely to be lowered in the region sparking a widespread sell-off. Business leaders gathered at Davos, criticized the surprise rate reduction in th U.S., and suggested that it may spark another bubble. LOreal offers 1.15 billion euros for cosmetic segment of PPL. Carrefour sales rose 10% to 25.2 billion euros. >>

Jan 22, 2008 5:42 PM EST
European markets were all set to lose more than 4% for the second day in a row after similar declines in Asia. Market averages managed to rebound from the low and closed up 2% or more. The Bank of England and ECB may have to lower rates in the next meetings. German market rebounded from its worst decline in five years. Deutsche Bank, commerzbank, and Fraport led the recovery. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen rebounded 12% after the stock yielded 12%. Banks and uitilities led the recovery in France. >>