European markets tanked on concerns that the austerity measures in Greece, Portugal and Spain could impact the wider European economy.
Deutsche Bank boss Josef Ackermann said in a TV interview that he doubts Greece will be able to repay its debt in full, arguing it would require “incredible efforts.” Yet there is no alternative to providing financial aid, he told ZDF television. Ackermann argued that pressure must be increased on Greece to tackle its budget problems in order to avoid a restructuring of the country’s debt.
Meanwhile, the German government denied newspaper reports that Chancellor Angela Merkel was forced into agreeing the aid package to back Greece because French President Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to pull out of the eurozone.
Portugal became the latest eurozone country to unveil drastic new measures to slash its deficit. Spain announced cuts in civil service wages, pensions, social welfare spending and investment on Wednesday.
Banks were hit hard. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are down in Frankfurt, while Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are on offer in Paris.
Across the markets, the German DAX slumped 195 points to 6056. The French CAC dropped 167 points to 3563.
Europe’s largest aerospace company EADS reported a 39% drop in first quarter net profit due to poor currency hedges and costs related to its A380 superjumbo program.
Net profit fell to €103m in the three month period ended March compared with €170m a year earlier. Revenue fell 6% to €9bn. Earnings before interest and taxes fell 64% to €83m, missing analysts’ forecasts.
"The A380 continues to weigh significantly on underlying performance," EADS said in a statement. However, Chief Executive Louis Gallois added he is "cautiously optimistic" that the aerospace industry is slowly recovering from the downturn.
Spanish airline Iberia reported a narrower than expected first-quarter loss, helped by a 21% drop in fuel costs. Consolidated net losses were down by almost half to €52.52m in the three months period compared with a shortfall of €92.6m last year. Operating losses were down 52%, coming in at €71m.
Operating costs fell by nearly 10% in the quarter, thanks to lower fuel costs (down 21%), capacity reductions and other cost-cutting measures. The carrier said business passenger traffic is recovering gradually on long-haul and medium-haul international routes, where it performed better than on domestic routes in the first quarter.
Banks were hit hard. Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank are down in Frankfurt, while Societe Generale, Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas are on offer in Paris.
Across the markets, the German DAX slumped 195 points to 6056. The French CAC dropped 167 points to 3563.
Europe’s largest aerospace company EADS reported a 39% drop in first quarter net profit due to poor currency hedges and costs related to its A380 superjumbo program.
Net profit fell to €103m in the three month period ended March compared with €170m a year earlier. Revenue fell 6% to €9bn. Earnings before interest and taxes fell 64% to €83m, missing analysts’ forecasts.
"The A380 continues to weigh significantly on underlying performance," EADS said in a statement. However, Chief Executive Louis Gallois added he is "cautiously optimistic" that the aerospace industry is slowly recovering from the downturn.
Spanish airline Iberia reported a narrower than expected first-quarter loss, helped by a 21% drop in fuel costs. Consolidated net losses were down by almost half to €52.52m in the three months period compared with a shortfall of €92.6m last year. Operating losses were down 52%, coming in at €71m.
Operating costs fell by nearly 10% in the quarter, thanks to lower fuel costs (down 21%), capacity reductions and other cost-cutting measures. The carrier said business passenger traffic is recovering gradually on long-haul and medium-haul international routes, where it performed better than on domestic routes in the first quarter.
No comments:
Post a Comment