Europe and Britain
As one of the busiest reporting weeks came to a close and another critical week loomed, all three indexes followed here fell just under 3 percent on the week. The FTSE closed at a 17 week low as earnings worries, combined with weakening retail sales and higher inflation, did little to inspire confidence. There's little chance that the Bank of England will lower interest rates at its meeting on August 1 and 2 even though inflation remains below the 2.5 percent inflation target, given strength in the service sector. Renewed corporate outlook worries unsettled investors, with telecom and banking shares leading the retreat.

European stock markets also tumbled as a closer inspection of technology, media and telecom earnings turned up some worrying issues, reawakening concerns that it may be some time before corporate profits fully recover. Although there was some better economic news from Germany, it was overlooked in the deluge of bad profit news.

Asia
The Nikkei dropped 3.6 percent last week, falling below the 12,000 mark to 11,908 as the Bank of Japan continued to rebuff pressures to loosen monetary policy. With the election now only a week away (July 29) investors are fidgeting, concerned that the reforms proposed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will be painful, especially for the banking sector. Investors are also concerned that the world growth engine might take longer to turn around. This would delay the infusion of export orders badly needed to boost the economy. Chip related stocks were especially hard hit after a domestic industry report showed orders for equipment used to produce microchips dropped for a fifth month.

Introduction   •   Global Stock Market Indexes   •   Recap of Global Markets   •   Currencies   •  Indicator Scoreboard

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