People walk past an Esprit outlet in Hong Kong. Shares of Esprit Holdings fell the most in over 14 years yesterday, after the clothing retailer’s chief executive, Ronald van der Vis, resigned, casting uncertainty over its costly restructuring plan and efforts to revitalise a brand that it admitted last year had “lost its soul.”
AFP/Tokyo

Asian markets mostly rose yesterday after a positive lead from Wall Street and Europe but gains were capped by concerns about Spain’s banking system and as Greece prepares for another election.
Adding downward pressure to sentiment was a decision by Fitch to downgrade 18 Spanish banks while the euro was steady against the dollar and yen.
Tokyo closed up 0.60%, or 51.12 points, at 8,587.84, while Hong Kong climbed 0.82%, or 153.96 points, to 19,026.52 and Shanghai gained 1.27%, or 29.13 points, to 2,318.92.
Seoul rose 0.25%, or 4.58 points, to close at 1,859.32, but Sydney slipped 0.22%, or 9.1 points, to finish at 4,063.8.
The early euphoria over eurozone finance chiefs’ weekend agreement to a bailout for Spain’s banks of up to $125bn has evaporated amid concerns the government will now need a rescue as its borrowing costs have soared.
Spanish 10-year government bonds yields—the rate of return earned by investors—spiked to a record 6.834%, the highest level since the eurozone was founded, before easing slightly.
The 10-year yield on bonds in Italy, another troubled economy, leapt to a high of 6.301% from the previous day’s closing level of 6.032%.
Meanwhile Fitch slashed the ratings of 18 Spanish banks, a day after it cut the country’s two biggest lenders, Santander and BBVA.
Fitch, which cut Spain’s sovereign debt rating by three notches last week to “BBB”, said its latest move was the result of the potential for the loan portfolios of certain banks to deteriorate further.
Despite the news, markets in the US and Europe were higher, with repeated calls by the European Central Bank for a common banking union to bolster the region’s financial system providing some reassurance.
Also Chicago Federal Reserve Bank president Charles Evans reiterated his support for more monetary stimulus ahead of next week’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee.
In other markets in Asia, Taipei closed 0.24%, or 16.75 points, higher at 7,088.83; Manila closed 0.66%, or 33.76 points, up at 5,109.61; Singapore slipped 0.36%, or 10.20 points, to 2,786.88; Bangkok edged down 0.41%, or 4.71 points, to 1,158.22; Kuala Lumpur ended 0.01%, or 0.16 points, higher at 1,576.23; Jakarta rose 0.2%, or 7.88 points, to 3,860.46; and Wellington fell 1.28%, or 43.87 points, to 3,381.73.