European shares closed higher on Tuesday as investors shrugged off the U.S. government’s first partial shutdown in 17 years, and as fears eased of a government collapse in Italy. IBEX 35 — The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 Index closed provisionally up 0.6 percent at 1,254.36 points, after U.S. lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on the federal budget by the October 1 deadline. This triggered a partial government shutdown that left an estimated 800,000 federal employees facing temporary unpaid leave. economy. That does however mean that we will need to hear the right sounds out of Washington to feel confident enough that the shutdown will not damage economic growth,” Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital said in a research note. In the U.S., stocks extended their gains on the first trading day of the month and quarter, with all key S&P 500 sectors in positive territory. On the economic front, the U.S. manufacturing sector expanded at its fastest pace in almost 2-1/2 years in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). In Europe, the Italian FTSE MIB closed provisionally up 3.1 percent after the previous session’s heavy selling, as investors predicted the government would survive a confidence vote on Wednesday. The manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI) fell to 51.1 in September, down from 51.4 in August. The figure was just above the 50-point mark separating expansion from contraction in the sector.
tomorrow in Luxembourg. Europe is faced with a high level of structural unemployment and this is not going to change any time soon, said Annamaria Grimaldi, an economist at Intesa Sanpaolo SpA in Milan. The recovery is happening painfully slowly and thats another reason why well see jobless rates far above 11 percent well into 2015. Even after the currency bloc emerged from its longest-ever recession, economists predict unemployment to keep rising and peak at 12.3 percent in the final quarter of this year. The job markets resistance to an improving economy has been the subject of political debate across the region, with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi urging governments to implement decisive structural reforms to fight unemployment. Stocks Decline European stocks sank today as the U.S. faced the first government shutdown in 17 years and Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta fought to save his administration. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell 0.8 percent to 309.76 at 4:11 p.m. in Frankfurt . The euro was little changed at $1.3530. Italys Letta said hell request a confidence vote for Oct. 2 to try to save his five-month-old administration after Silvio Berlusconi withdrew his support from the ruling coalition and pulled his ministers from cabinet. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sees Italian unemployment at 12.5 percent next year. Data released at 10 a.m.
Europe Bases Suspending Work as Shutdown Begins
This will certainly put undue stress on all of our Airmen as we adjust to this significant loss of manpower and professional expertise, Gen. Frank Gorenc, USAFE-AFAFRICA commander said in a message posted on the commands Facebook page Tuesday. U.S. Army Europe and U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa were still reviewing the number of employees furloughed as of Tuesday morning, partly because guidance changed a few times, both commands reported. Workers who were furloughed said, although they expected it, it was disconcerting. In Vicenza, Italy, Bryan Coleman, computer network manager for the 509th Signal Battalion, who was furloughed over the summer, said this second furlough was not unexpected. We all smelled it coming, we felt it coming and we all hoped it wouldnt come, said Coleman, 56. Im just angry that our politicians have made us the football. Jennifer Sherbert, an accounting technician for the Armys regional chaplain office in Sembach, Germany, said she was worried about when she would get paid. You dont know what to think or you dont know what to believe as far as what the outcome is going to be, she said. Its just like that state of confusion. There was also confusion at some offices as to whether they were closing. In the early afternoon, recreation aid Debbie Camarce was taping signs listing reduced opening times on the front doors of the Air Force community center on Vogelweh, just hours after officials had announced, and informed parents, that the center would be closed and there would be no after-school activities. The shutdown follows a fiscal year marked by defense budget caps known as sequestration, which will continue into the new fiscal year unless repealed by Congress. Service chiefs have repeatedly warned that the $52 billion in lowered spending could devastate military readiness. The White House on Tuesday released a video in which President Barack Obama directly addressed troops and DoD civilians.