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BERLIN — More than 640 flights in Germany were cancelled on Thursday due to security staff strikes at Duesseldorf, Cologne and Stuttgart airports as workers sought to put pressure on management in wage talks.

Out of 1,054 scheduled flights in total, 643 were cancelled, the airports said, adding that many of their passengers would be affected, with significant delays at security checkpoints. An average of 115,000 passengers pass through the airports per day.

Public sector union Verdi said it was negotiating on behalf of 23,000 security workers in Germany. Wage talks are to resume on January 23, it said. The union has demanded a pay increase to 20 euros ($23.06) per hour before tax.

On Monday, a strike at Berlin's Schoenefeld and Tegel airports had caused delays and flight cancellations.

Around 1,000 security workers took part in the strike during the morning, Verdi said on Thursday, adding that the strike would continue until the end of the day.

"After five days of talks, the negotiations have come to a standstill... and that's why we thought it was necessary to make a move with these warning strikes today," Andrea Becker, a spokeswoman for the union said.

Christian Witt, one of the passengers stranded at Duesseldorf Airport, told Reuters: "You never understand when it affects you personally, but you have to see the bigger picture."

LONDON — A solid start from Europe kept world stocks at a three-week high on Tuesday after Asia was knocked back by a shock profit warning from tech giant Samsung and a tick-up in borrowing costs.

Hopes that Washington and Beijing may be moving towards a trade deal also helped the mood again and gave the dollar a lift in the currency markets after its weak start to the year.

That rise, along with the alarm from South Korea's Samsung that it would badly miss its earnings forecasts caused a swoon in emerging markets, but Europe held its nerve unlike last week after a similar warning from Apple.

The pan-European STOXX 600 rose 0.6 per cent, Britain's FTSE was up 0.5 per cent amid reports of a Brexit delay and Italian banks jumped almost 1 per cent as Rome stepped in to support another of its troubled lenders.

"I think the market has been quite extreme in pricing recession risks, so I think we have value now in both the equity and bond markets," SEB investment management's global head of asset allocation Hans Peterson said. 

"The discussions between the US and China will take some time but I think the markets are prepared to move in the right direction on positive signals". 

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross predicted on Monday that Beijing and Washington could reach a trade deal that "we can live with" as dozens of officials from the world's two largest economies resumed talks in a bid to end their trade dispute.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 had gained 0.7 per cent following 3.4 per cent surge on Friday, with Amazon.com and Netflix leading the recovery rally after a brutal end to 2018.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan reversed early gains, however, to end down 0.2 per cent. It was dragged lower by falls in South Korea due to Samsung and in China where government bond yields also saw their biggest daily gain in 9 months 

China's Foreign Ministry said Beijing had the "good faith" to work with the United States to resolve trade frictions, but many analysts doubt the two sides can reach a comprehensive agreement on all of the issues before a March deadline.

"Various concerns markets had earlier are receding for now. Still, there's no denying that US [company] earnings momentum is slowing," said Hirokazu Kabeya, chief global strategist at Daiwa Securities.

"Ultimately we need to see whether upcoming earnings reports can dispel market concerns."

LONDON — World stocks went on the defensive on Monday, with profit-taking eroding European gains and Wall Street managing small gains after a spectacular rebound in the previous trading session.

There was some lingering optimism thanks to strong US jobs data and signs of slowing rate rises by the Federal Reserve (Fed), but investors viewed US-China trade talks with a dose of scepticism.

Earlier, Asian bourses rode high on Friday's Wall Street bounce but investors in Europe felt it was time to cash in on the rebound as their US counterparts seemed to have little firepower left.

"Stocks are still not out of the woods," said Fawad Razaqzqda, a market analyst at Forex.com.

If the forthcoming fourth quarter earnings season in the US produces "more misses than beats then the selling pressure could resume again", he said.

Chinese and US officials on Monday kicked off talks to find a solution to the trade war that has seen the two sides impose tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods.

But traders said there were no guarantees of progress in the talks.

Breakthrough 'unlikely' 

"Realistically, we are unlikely to see any form of tangible breakthrough in the immediate future, with issues such as the protection of intellectual property rights providing a major stumbling block that needs to be overcome," said Joshua Mahony, senior market analyst at IG. 

Friday's surge on Wall Street came after figures showed more than 300,000 US jobs were created in December, tempering recent concerns about growth.

Also Friday, Fed boss Jerome Powell said the bank had no "pre-set" plan for raising borrowing costs and was keeping a close watch on financial developments.

The news was music to the ears of traders, who have been fretting that the Fed would press on with its rate hike cycle, making it more expensive to borrow for investment.

China's move to make it easier for banks to lend also provided support to equities, traders said.

NEW YORK — After emerging market stocks led global equity markets lower in a brutal 2018, some US-based fund managers are betting that the asset class may have the largest rebound in the new year.

It may not look likely at the moment, given that an economic downturn in China prompted iPhone maker Apple Inc. to lower its quarterly revenue forecast on Wednesday for the first time in a decade. Its shares slumped nearly 10 per cent after Chief Executive Tim Cook blamed the US-China trade war and “economic deceleration”, prompting broad sell-offs around the world the following day.

Yet, fund managers from Westwood Holdings Group, GMO, T. Rowe Price and Causeway Capital Management are among those who are betting that emerging market stocks will post outsized gains in 2019. They cite a combination of compelling valuations and a likely decline in the value of the dollar that will help accelerate economic growth. 

As China continues to bear the brunt of US President Donald Trump’s focus on trade tariffs, fund managers are expecting that shares in countries like India, Thailand, Peru and Brazil will outperform the China-dominated emerging market benchmark index. 

“We want to lean into the fear in the markets,” said Sebastien Page, head of asset allocation at T. Rowe Price. He expects emerging markets will outperform in the year ahead as the Federal Reserve curtails its pace of interest rate hikes and the dollar subsides. 

“When you have a recovery in risk assets, those that have been undervalued can snap back the most,” he said. 

Emerging markets have been in a bear market since September, placing them already four months into the deep declines that rocked the US equities market in December. The average bear market in emerging markets has lasted 220 days and posted a decline of 32.4 per cent, or about 7 percentage points more than the roughly 25 per cent drop in the MSCI Emerging Market Index since it hit near-record highs last January, according to data from Ned Davis Research. 

While emerging markets started the year with another roughly 1.7 per cent loss over the first two trading sessions, fund managers say they are increasing their bets on stocks in countries that are among the most beaten-down, expecting they will have the largest rebound if and when a global bull market in equities resumes. 

“I’m actually a lot more positive than this time last year because there are tremendous opportunities to add to high-quality names in insurance and some banks,” said Patricia Perez-Coutts, portfolio manager of the Westwood Emerging Markets fund.

She has been increasing her stakes in South Africa, Thailand and Peru, she said, with the largest positions in companies such as South African life insurance company Sanlam Ltd. and Credicorp Ltd., Peru’s largest financial holding company. Shares of Credicorp are up 8.8 per cent over the last 12 months, while shares of Sanlam are down 3.9 per cent over the same time.

Perez-Coutts has been underweight on China since the start of last year, though she is starting to wade back in by buying shares in gaming and e-commerce companies that have plunged. 

“Though China’s overall economy may not be growing as strongly as it did in the past, there are still areas of strong growth,” she said. 

Joe Gubler, a quantitative portfolio manager at Causeway Capital Management, says emerging markets remain a compelling opportunity with a forward price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 10 even after the recent declines in the US market have pushed the forward price-to-earnings ratio of the S&P 500 to slightly below 15 for the first time in about five years. 

As a result, Gubler has been increasing his positions in small-cap companies in India, as well as energy companies that have sold off as the price of oil has tanked. He has also been increasing his position in companies that could benefit if there is a breakthrough in global trade talks. 

“The market is not in a mood to give emerging market stocks much credit,” he said. “If you look at the chart, the emerging market index is sitting at about the same place it was in 2009.

“If you had a let-up in trade and interest rates, you could see a decent-sized rally.” 

WASHINGTON/BEIJING — President Donald Trump on Friday downplayed a revenue warning by Apple Inc. and said slowing economic growth in China puts the United States in a strong position as negotiators from the world's two largest economies prepare for trade talks next week.

Trump has slapped import tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods as he seeks concessions from Beijing on issues ranging from industrial subsidies to hacking. China has retaliated. The tit-for-tat tariffs have disrupted trade, hurt manufacturing, roiled international markets and slowed the global economy.

US officials are heading to Beijing next week for the first face-to-face talks since Trump and President Xi Jinping in December agreed to a 90-day truce in the trade war as they sought to strike a deal.

"I think we will make a deal with China," Trump told reporters at the White House after a meeting with Democratic and Republican lawmakers. "I really think they want to. I think they sort of have to."

Beijing on Friday cut bank reserve requirements for a fifth time this year amid slowing growth at home and punishing US tariffs on exports.

Official data this week showed manufacturing has slowed in both China and the United States. Trump, who last month called himself "Tariff Man", has said he wants a deal but that he would impose more tariffs if China failed to cede on key US demands.

Trump downplayed the effects of the economic woes on US technology giant Apple Inc., which this week blamed slowing iPhone sales in China behind a rare reduction in its quarterly sales forecast. 

When asked if he was concerned about Apple's share price, he said: "I'm not. I mean look, they've gone up a lot."

Shares of Apple closed at $148.26 apiece on Friday, down about 5.1 per cent this week. Apple shares fell 7 per cent in 2018 but are still up about 24 per cent since Trump took office in January 2017.

Apple's outlook revision along with a double-digit drop in earnings at commodities giant Cargill Inc. on Thursday may be among the clearest warning signs yet that the trade war's effects have begun to hit US companies.

Meeting

A team led by Deputy US Trade Representative (USTR) Jeffrey Gerrish will travel to China for talks, China's commerce ministry said in a statement on its website on Friday, news that helped boost global markets.

The USTR said separately that the delegation would also include undersecretaries from the US departments of agriculture, commerce, energy and treasury, as well as senior officials from those agencies and the White House.

While Trump and other officials have said talks between the two sides are progressing well, they have given no details on concessions that China has made. Some US demands would require structural reform that may be unpalatable for Chinese leaders.

China would deepen reform but will not yield on issues it deems to be its core national interests, a commentary in the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper said on Wednesday. 

"We know what sort of changes we need," White House Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow said in an interview with Fox Business on Friday. "Now, the question is can we negotiate these changes and can we do so with enforcement [and] with timetables."

A rare revenue warning from smartphone giant Apple triggered a new wave of selling in UK shares on Thursday as investors' fears of slowing global growth were confirmed though fashion retailer Next provided some post-festive cheer. 

Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.5 per cent lower and FTSE 250 was down 0.1 by 10:13 GMT, outperforming European peers thanks to a strong Christmas update by Next which helped sentiment.

Trading volume for FTSE 100 remained low; just 13 per cent of the 90-day average daily turnover changed hands in the first two hours after the opening bell.

In a first in more than a decade, Apple on Wednesday cut its quarterly sales target with Chief Executive  Officer Tim Cook blaming weak iPhone sales in China and consumers upgrading their iPhones at a slower pace.

Investors reacted by dumping stocks sensitive to China, the world's second-largest economy, and to the economy and took refuge in gold, seen as a safe haven.

Concerns over economic growth in top metals consumer China sent Rio Tinto, BHP, Glencore and Antofagasta down 0.9 to 2.2 per cent in early deals but a six-month high in gold boosted miner Fresnillo 2.6 per cent higher. 

Luxury brand Burberry, sensitive to signs of slowing demand in China, lost 3.6 per cent to join the top fallers.

A bright spot helping keep a lid on negative sentiment was high street clothing retailer Next, which jumped 5.1 per cent on track for its best day in more than three months after reporting higher sales in the run-up to Christmas, allaying fears of poor festive trading. 

"November was indeed difficult for Next as well, but Christmas did arrive ultimately, with the last three weeks of December being very strong in sales terms," said Peel Hunt analysts, while Investec called it a respectable trading update.

Next's encouraging update also helped shares in Marks & Spencer, Tesco and Primark-owner Associated British Foods rise 2 to 2.4 per cent, among top blue-chip winners.

Prominent mid-cap retailers, including Superdry, Dunelm, also got a boost. AIM-listed ASOS was up 5.5 per cent, also boosted by Peel Hunt reinstating a "buy" rating on the online fashion store a month after its profit alert shook the global retail scene.

Still, investors continued to fret about the US-China trade spat, a slowdown in the global economy, Brexit uncertainties, plunging oil prices — to name a few.

Data showing growth in Britain's construction sector fell to a three-month low in December did little to help the mood, highlighting delays in commercial projects due to Brexit.

Bank and information technology shares were among the top drags on the mid-cap index, while low-cost airline Wizz Air climbed 2 per cent after reporting December traffic statistics.

Among small-caps, drugmaker Vectura soared 10.5 per cent to lead the gainers after a positive trading update and AIM-listed Faroe Petroleum rose 5 per cent after DNO's takeover offer became mandatory.

LONDON — Oil fell towards $53 a barrel on Wednesday, under pressure from rising output in major producers of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-OPEC producers and concerns about an economic slowdown that could weaken demand.

Russian production hit a post-Soviet record in 2018, figures showed on Wednesday. Other data showed US output reached a record in October and Iraq boosted oil exports in December.

Brent crude was 60 cents lower at $53.20 a barrel at 14:22 GMT. On December 26, it hit $49.93, the lowest since July 2017. US crude slipped 73 cents to $44.68.

"The omens are far from encouraging," said Stephen Brennock of oil broker PVM, citing rising non-OPEC supply and the likelihood of further increases in oil inventories.

"The current bearish bias will therefore continue in the near term and it stands to reason that oil will struggle to break out from its current trough," he said.

However, Nitesh Shah, director of research at WisdomTree, saw the prospect of a rebound for Brent because of an OPEC-led supply cut that starts this month and moderating US supply growth.

"We believe we will see an upward correction," he said. "Recent weakness in prices should slow the growth of US shale production."

Oil prices fell in 2018 for the first year since 2015 after buyers fled the market in the fourth quarter over growing worries about excess supply and the economic slowdown. 

Surging shale output has helped make the United States the world's biggest oil producer, ahead of Saudi Arabia and Russia. Oil production has been at or near record highs in all three countries.

US President Donald Trump celebrated the low prices. "Do you think it's just luck that gas prices are so low, and falling? Low gas prices are like another Tax Cut!" he wrote on his official Twitter account on Tuesday. 

Adding to concern about a slowing global economy, a series of purchasing managers' indexes for December mostly showed declines or slowing manufacturing activity across Asia, the main growth region for oil demand.

The signs of rising production illustrate the challenge facing the OPEC and its allies, including Russia, which are seeking to prop up the market with a supply cut of 1.2 million barrels per day.

However, the energy minister for the United Arab Emirates, an OPEC member, said on Tuesday he remained optimistic about achieving a market balance in the first quarter.

LONDON — World stock markets staggered on Monday towards the end of their worst year since the global financial crisis a decade ago, rocked by rising interest rates, the global trade war and Brexit, dealers said.

London and Paris wobbled in holiday-shortened trade on New Year's Eve — but nursed dizzying double-digit annual falls after an exceptionally volatile 2018.

Hong Kong rose on Monday after US President Donald Trump hailed "big progress" on resolving Washington's trade war with Beijing, but was down almost 14 per cent over the year.

Equities have been hammered in 2018 by tighter monetary policy — from both the US Federal Reserve and also the European Central Bank, which halted its quantitative easing stimulus policy this month.

"Global stocks are set for their worst year since the financial crisis, thanks to the tightening monetary policies adopted by several central banks around the globe — especially the Federal Reserve and the ECB", said ThinkMarkets analyst Naeem Aslam. 

"The Fed stopped printing easy money a few years back and increased interest rates four times this year.”

"The ECB also ended its quantitative easing programme and there has been discussion on... normalising interest rates."

The Bank of England, meanwhile, hiked British interest rates in August for the second time since the financial crisis to help tame inflation, despite worries that Brexit could wreak havoc on the economy.

'America First' 

Sentiment was also slammed by US President Donald Trump's 'America First' trade policy which has sparked a damaging trade war with China and others.

Wall Street did however mark the longest-ever "bull market" in August, a run that began amid extraordinary crisis-era monetary policy — but for which Trump has claimed credit after his tax cuts and regulatory rollbacks.

Yet, markets have since spiralled lower on slowing global growth, Italy's fiscal woes, a US government shutdown and Trump's attacks on the Fed.

Investors also ran for cover as the uncertain nature of Britain's looming exit from the European Union in March 2019 casts a long shadow.

"Stock markets have been on a wild ride this year and the United States has been at the centre," Oanda analyst Craig Erlam told AFP.

"Tax reforms hugely boosted earnings, bringing an economic boost with it," he said.

However, "the trade war with China and skirmishes elsewhere have weighed heavily on the relevant domestic markets which has dented investor sentiment".

Washington and Beijing imposed tit-for-tat tariffs on more than $300 billion worth of goods in total two-way trade earlier this year, locking them in a conflict that has begun to eat into profits and contributed to stock market plunges.

While investors remain concerned, relations have thawed since Chinese President Xi Jinping and Trump agreed to a 90-day trade truce in early December while the two sides work to ease trade tensions by March 1.

Chinese state news agency Xinhua quoted Xi as telling Trump both leaders want "stable progress".

In Europe, on Monday, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.1 per cent to finish at 6,728.13 points, marking a sharp annual loss of 12.5 per cent.

The Paris CAC 40 climbed 1.1 per cent to end at 4,730.69 points — which was drop of nearly 11 per cent for the year.

Many investors were away for Christmas and New Year holidays, while trading hubs including Frankfurt, Rome, Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul were shut.

Return to recession? 

"2018 has been characterised by a shift from low volatility, high liquidity and expectations of equity out-performance to high volatility, low liquidity and the return of a bear market in equities," said VTB Capital economist Neil MacKinnon.

"For 2019, a global economic slowdown — perhaps recession — looks increasingly likely," he warned.

Key Asian markets also limped towards the end of the year in bear market territory — meaning that they are 20 per cent below their most recent peaks.

Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei index had rounded out 2018 on Friday with its first annual loss since 2011, and Shanghai became the worst-performing major global stock market, dropping by nearly a quarter.

NEW YORK — The Japanese yen jumped on Friday as investors sought protection against volatile stock moves, while the greenback dipped as stocks traded higher after a dramatic week capped by large price swings. 

The benchmark S&P 500 tested its 20-month low early in the week and was at the brink of bear market territory before the three main indexes roared back with their biggest daily surge in nearly a decade on Wednesday and a late rally on Thursday.

The yen gained despite higher stocks, soft domestic data and a decline in benchmark Japanese bond yields, which fell back into negative territory for the first time in more than a year.

"That suggests that there's still demand for some insurance against extended volatility over the holiday period that's keeping the yen better supported," said Shaun Osborne, chief FX strategist at Scotiabank in Toronto.

The Japanese currency was last up 0.66 per cent against the greenback at 110.26 yen. Another safe-haven currency, the Swiss franc, also jumped 0.82 per cent to 0.9794. 

"Markets are a bit more cautious on risk appetite, with the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc gaining," said Lee Hardman, an FX strategist at MUFG in London.

The dollar index, a gauge of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.22 per cent to 96.265.

The US currency has been hurt in recent weeks by rising expectations that the Federal Reserve will pause its tightening cycle sooner than expected, or risk harming the US economy with further interest rate increases.

A partial shutdown of the US federal government, trade tensions between the United States and China and complications relating to Britain's exit from the European Union are also keeping investors cautious.

"There's still a lot of potential risk and uncertainty out there," said Osborne.

Both chambers of the US Congress convened for only a few minutes late on Thursday, but took no steps to end the partial federal government shutdown before adjourning until next week.

FRANKFURT AM MAIN — The euro turns 20 on Tuesday, marking two tumultuous decades that saw the single currency survive a make-or-break crisis and become a fixture in financial markets and Europeans' wallets.

But it is destined to remain a fragile giant without closer eurozone integration, observers say.

Born on January 1, 1999, the euro initially existed only as a virtual currency used in accounting and financial transactions.

It became a physical reality for Europeans three years later, and its coins and notes are now used by over 340 million people in 19 European Union countries.

The currency was not immediately loved, with many perceiving its arrival as an unwelcome price hike. In Germany, it was nicknamed the "teuro", a pun on the German word for expensive.

But the ease of travelling and doing business across borders in the euro area without having to worry about foreign exchange fluctuations quickly won hearts and minds.

Today the euro is more popular than ever despite the rise of eurosceptic, populist movements in a slew of countries.

In a November survey for the European Central Bank (ECB), 74 per cent of eurozone citizens said the euro had been good for the EU, while 64 per cent said it had been good for their nation.

"The euro is anchored in the population, even anti-establishment parties have had to acknowledge that," said Nicolas Veron, a fellow at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels and the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

The euro is now the world's number-two currency, although it remains some way off from challenging the dominance of the US dollar.

'Whatever it takes' 

The euro reached a defining moment when the aftershocks of the 2008 financial crisis triggered a eurozone debt crisis that culminated in bailouts of several countries, pushing the currency union to breaking point and severely testing the club's unity.

Experts say the turbulent time exposed the original flaws of the euro project, including the lack of fiscal solidarity through the pooling of debt, investments and therefore risks, or the lack of a lender of last resort.

The turmoil also highlighted the economic disparity between member states, particularly between the more fiscally prudent north and debt-laden southern nations.

ECB chief Mario Draghi was credited with saving the euro in 2012 when he uttered the now legendary words that the Frankfurt institution, in charge of eurozone monetary policy, would do "whatever it takes" to preserve the currency.

The ECB promised to buy up, if necessary, unlimited amounts of government bonds from debt-stricken countries. The scheme, known as outright monetary transactions, succeeded in calming the waters but has never actually been used.

To keep money flowing across the eurozone and ward off the threat of deflation, a crippling downward spiral of prices and economic activity, the ECB has still taken unprecedented action in recent years.

It has set interest rates at historic lows, offered cheap loans to banks and bought more than 2.6 trillion euros ($3.0 trillion) in government and corporate bonds between 2015 and 2018.

With inflation inching closer to the bank's goal of just under 2 per cent, the stimulus has been widely judged as a monetary policy success story.

But observers say the 19 single currency nations have not done enough to carry out the political reforms necessary to better arm the region for future downturns and achieve greater economic convergence.

 'Feet of bricks' 

The long-mooted banking union remains incomplete, amid disagreement over the creation of a Europe-wide deposit insurance scheme.

French President Emmanuel Macron's flagship proposal for a eurozone budget has been considerably watered down, with members in December agreeing only to exploring a scaled-down version of the idea while staying vague on details.

Macron's more ambitious plans for a eurozone finance minister or a European version of the International Monetary Fund have been pushed aside.

The ECB, meanwhile, has gone "as far as it can" in shoring up the euro, said Gilles Moec, a former French central bank economist. 

But analyst Vernon took a more upbeat view, saying the euro had been strengthened by the clean-up of banks' balance sheets, efforts to rein in public debt and the ECB's extraordinary actions.

The euro is now "a giant with feet of bricks rather than clay", he said.