Taiwan president appeals for harmony amid budget standoff

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te appealed on Monday in his Lunar New Year message for harmony between the ruling and opposition parties, amid a standoff over the opposition slashing this year’s budget. While Lai won the presidential election last year, his Democratic Progressive Party lost its majority in parliament, giving the opposition legislative…

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HSBC sees dollar strength aiding UK EPS growth in 2025

HSBC provided insights into the upcoming Q4 earnings season, noting that lowered consensus forecasts for Q4 earnings per share (EPS) growth have set a low bar, which could result in many companies exceeding expectations. This scenario may lead to a temporary uplift in share prices for those meeting or surpassing the forecasts. However, HSBC emphasized…

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VIX surges as stocks drop

Investing.com — Traders were observed rushing to secure protection as technology shares experienced a sharp decline. The CBOE VIX index, a tool that gauges expected S&P 500 volatility and is often referred to as Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged by over 30% to just above 19. This rise indicates traders are willing to pay a…

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Legrand shares fall as Jefferies downgrades on weak growth prospects

Investing.com — Legrand ‘s (EPA:LEGD) shares fell over 7% on Monday after Jefferies downgraded the company to an “underperform” rating, citing widening growth and performance gaps compared to its competitors in the European electricals sector.  The analysts pointed to the increasing disparity in organic growth rates and margins between Legrand and the so-called “Mag 3” –…

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Nasdaq futures tumble as China’s AI push rattles Big Tech

(Reuters) – Futures linked to the tech-heavy Nasdaq tumbled on Monday as the overwhelming popularity of an inexpensive Chinese artificial intelligence model sparked a selloff in AI-related shares, with megacap stocks including Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) the worst hit. Chinese startup DeepSeek has rolled out a free assistant it says uses lower-cost chips and less data, seemingly…

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BASF results down on impairments, restructuring

Investing.com — Shares of BASF (BU:BASF) traded lower on Monday as the company’s preliminary 2024 figures posted a sharp decline in earnings due to impairments and restructuring costs.  According to the company’s statement, EBIT for 2024 is expected to reach €2 billion, a stark drop compared to the analyst consensus of €3.2 billion and the…

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