European, Asian Stocks Decline; Man Group, Mitsubishi Retreat

By Adam Haigh

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- European stocks declined for a third day and Asian shares fell after Japan’s economy grew more slowly than estimated and Fitch Ratings downgraded five Greek banks.

Man Group Plc, the biggest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, slid 3.6 percent after the value of its flagship fund dropped. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan’s largest publicly traded bank, sank 5.2 percent in Tokyo. Debenhams Plc advanced 3.1 percent after BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research recommended the retailer.

Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.5 percent to 242.76 at 8:45 a.m. in London. The regional gauge has climbed 54 percent since March 9, lifted by record-low interest rates and about $12 trillion in spending by governments worldwide. The measure is valued at about 54 times its companies’ reported earnings, near the highest level since 2003, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index declined 0.6 percent today, led by finance and mining companies, after Japan’s economy expanded an annualized 1.3 percent in the third quarter, slower than the 4.8 percent reported last month.

Mitsubishi UFJ led the declines in Asia, dropping 5.2 percent to 477 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., Japan’s second-biggest bank by value, slipped 2.7 percent to 2,740 yen. Mizuho Financial Group Inc., the nation’s third- largest lender by market value, sank 3 percent to 161 yen.

U.S. Futures

Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index added 0.2 percent. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner plans to tell Congress that the Obama administration will extend the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program until next October, according to people familiar with the matter. A letter notifying Congress of the extension could come as soon as today said the people, who declined to be identified. Andrew Williams a Treasury Department spokesman, declined to comment.

Man Group dropped 3.6 percent to 305.2 pence after the net asset value of its flagship Man AHL Diversified Futures Ltd. fund fell 4.3 percent in the week ended Dec. 7.

Debenhams surged 3.1 percent to 82.5 pence. The U.K.’s second-largest department-store chain was raised to “buy” at BofA Merrill Lynch, which said “management will drive up profitability through better buying, mix and cost control.”

National Bank of Greece SA slid 4.7 percent to 17.35 euros and Alpha Bank SA dropped 3.7 percent to 7.72 euros. Fitch Ratings downgraded National Bank, Alpha Bank and three other Greek lenders following its downgrade of the nation’s sovereign rating to BBB+ from A- yesterday.

VW Gains

Volkswagen AG advanced 2.5 percent to 80.82 euros after Europe’s largest carmaker agreed to buy 20 percent of Suzuki Motor Corp. for 222.5 billion yen ($2.5 billion) to boost its presence in India. The Japanese automaker is the parent of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., the maker of half of the cars sold in the country, which rose 1.7 percent to 1,595.8 rupees.

Reed Elsevier Plc, the publisher of Variety magazine, climbed 1.2 percent to 473.7 pence after Deutsche Bank AG raised its recommendation on the shares to “buy” from “hold.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling today may boost the U.K. Treasury’s borrowing and raise taxes on bankers, part of the Labour government’s effort to revive voter support before next year’s election. Darling, who speaks at 12:30 p.m. London time in Parliament, may add 30 billion pounds ($48 billion) to the government’s borrowing forecasts for the next four years, according to the median estimate of 37 economists surveyed by the Treasury last month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Adam Haigh in London at ahaigh1@bloomberg.net