European, U.S. Stock-Index Futures Sink on China Interest Rate Speculation

European and U.S. stock-index futures dropped and Asian shares fell amid speculation that China may raise its interest rates and some European countries’ will have to rgrain size of silica sand usesestructure their debt.

BHP Billiton Ltd., the world’s largest mining company, may drop as the price of copper declined the most in two weeks. Enterprise Inns Plc may fall after UBS AG advised selling shares of the U.K.’s second-biggest pub owner. There’s “speculation that China’s lofty inflation rate will lead to more aggressive monetary tightening,” said Jonathan Sudaria, a trader at London Capital Group Holdings Plc in London. “Also adding to the negative momentum today will be escalating worries about Irish sovereign debt. The increased likelihood that the Irish will have to tap the European Union or International Monetary Fund for a bailout and the possible contagion effects to other peripheral members has curbed traders’ risk appetite.” Futures on the Euro Stoxx 50 Index lost 1.8 percent to 2,778 as of 7:26 a.m. in London. Futures contracts on the FTSE 100 Index expiring in December declined 1.2 percent and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index retreated 1.5 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in December lost...