World Articles

Bank stocks they reach to support the rating for a third consecutive session on the Paris Stock Exchange? It is certainly a good start for. The CAC 40, which began sitting on a small rise of 0.39% to 3680.60 points, is already supported by industry: Societe Generale (3.55%), BNP Paribas (3.02%) and Credit Agricole (2.82%) took the top spot.

Marcoéconomique side, the Paris markets react to the employment figures fell after the stock market yesterday. After a bad month in May, June is a very moderate decline in the number of job seekers registered at employment center Class A (2,691,000 in metropolitan France, down 0.3%).

In addition, other indicators are expected: durable goods orders in the U.S. in early afternoon and the conclusions of the Fed's Beige Book in the evening.

But it was the avalanche of publications that draws attention:

Saffron (4.90% to 21.19 euros) has announced its first-half adjusted net income rose 8% to 223 million euros, above the consensus. The turnover amounted to 5.19 billion euros. The group plans for the rest of the income year similar to those of 2009.

Rexel (3.47% to 12.95 euros) has announced a turnover up 2.4% to 5.7 billion euros in the first half. The company expects a slight growth in sales on a comparable basis and constant number of days over the year and EBITA margin of an adjusted 4.5%.

ArcelorMittal (-1.78% to 24.28 euros) has reported net earnings of 1.70 billion dollar in the second quarter, well above the 1.16 billion expected by the markets. In contrast, the turnover of 21.65 billion, below the 23.1 billion expected.

Nexans (-2.70% to 54.50 euros) has reported a net loss after minority interests of 17 million euros for a turnover of 2.1 billion euros in the first half of 2010 (-5.3% in organic). The group, which says its target operating margin of 4% over the period, expects improved sales in the second half and a return to net profit.

Atos Origin (1.34% to 34.01 euros) announced Wednesday for its first half operating margin above expectations of 150 million euros, with a rate of 6% against 4.6% a year earlier. The focus group confirmed a slight decrease in organic turnover in 2010, but less marked than the 3.7% decline in 2009.

Bull (-15.93% to 2.48 euro) recorded a first half net loss of 18.4 million euros, against a net profit of two million euros a year ago.While it expects operating profit of between 35 and 40 million euros in fiscal 2010, he now sets out "a minimum of 30 million euros."

PSA Peugeot Citroen (-2.37% to 24.28 euros) Wednesday said profit from operations $ 1.137 billion in the first half against a loss of 826 million a year earlier. Net income group share of 680 milllion euros against a loss of 962 million. The manufacturer anticipates an operating profit of around 1.5 billion euros.

The announcement could also be reacted rival Renault (1.24% to 35.24 euros).Also in the automotive sector, Valeo (5.02% to 27.20 euros) a statement Tuesday its margin target in 2010 after a first half marked by a return to net income and a continued recovery in automobile production despite end of car scrapping.

EDF Energies Nouvelles (-0.20% to 32.65 euros) Wednesday reported an Ebitda up 15.2% to 168.9 million euros in the first half, below market expectations. The sales were meanwhile up 28.1% in the first half, to 545 million euros.

PagesJaunes (-1.70% to 9.07 euros) has reported a turnover down 3.5% to 542.3 million euros in the first half, below the 545 million expected.The publisher of printed directories expects a drop in revenues of 1% to 3% this year and confirms its margin target of between 510 and 530 million euros in 2010.

EDF and Areva: Following the serial

EDF (1.46% to 32.71 euros) and Areva (-0.57% to 338.05 euros) shall enter into a strategic partnership agreement covering all their areas of common interest in the Nuclear, said Tuesday the Elysee. The possibility of a stake in the capital of EDF, Areva will be considered in the context of this agreement.

LVMH (2.45% to 94.52 euros) Tuesday reported a strong rebound in sales and profitability in the first half, driven by the performance of Louis Vuitton.

Vinci (+1.66% at 38.31 euros) has returned to growth in the first half thanks to the first effects of the acquisition of Cegelec.The turnover of the first half came out up 1.8% on an actual structure, to 15.4 billion euros.

Air France-KLM (4.29% to 11.43 euros) on Tuesday confirmed the target return to balance its operational activity in 2010-2011 but remains cautious about the economic developments in the second half.

M6 (0.59% to 17.76 Euros) Tuesday posted first half results exceeded expectations, including increases of 9.4% of consolidated sales and 7.4% of advertising revenue M6, 12% in the second quarter alone. In an interview with Le Figaro, Nicolas de Tavernost, chief executive, hailed "a relevant model in crisis and recovery."

Crédit Mutuel-CIC announced Tuesday a partnership with Banque Casino, to acquire 50% stake in the subsidiary from the distributor.

Compagnie des Alpes (-1.96% to 20.51 euros) warned Tuesday that its sales in the theme parks is projected to decline in 2009-2010. The total turnover decreased by 7.9% in the third quarter, to 120.7 million euros.

Spir Communication (1.22% to 16.60 euros) again suffered in the first half with a decline in its turnover from 10% to 280.7 million euros.

If seeking for a low cost payday loan make sure to compare terms and repayment plans from various payday loan lenders online.

The number of counterfeit euro banknotes declined in the first half of 2010 according to the biannual report of the European Central Bank (ECB). In total, 387,000 false banknotes were withdrawn from circulation, a decline of 13% over the second half of 2009.

The ECB said that "reported to the stock, up, of genuine euro banknotes in circulation (average 13.2 billion in cuts in the first half of 2010), the number of counterfeits is very small." The European institution does not specify whether the counterfeit notes were seized before their release.

Tickets are most affected by counterfeiting are € 20 (41.5%) and 50 euros (42.5%) cash advance loan no fax. Almost all (98%) of counterfeit notes seized this semester have been in a member country of the euro area.According to the Central Office for the Suppression of Counterfeiting Currency (OCRFM) quoted by Agence France Presse (AFP), France, Spain and Italy together account for 70% of the counterfeiting of the euro.

The ECB seeks public caution, recalling the method "Touch-Tilt-Watch" called "TRI" to verify the presence of several security features on tickets for the single currency.

In six months, the global PC market (personal computer) rebounded sharply. "The year 2010 should mark a new record for the sector. In number of units sold, the market should grow 20%, around 360 million PCs. This will be a new high. And the turnover of the profession would probably exceed the historic peak of 2008, "said Ranjit Atwal, analyst at research firm Gartner.

All local authorities are not equally affected by economic difficulties: this is the finding of the last report of the Observatory of local finance. The communes and intercommunal are spared the game as the departments and regions, they have no right to have an operating budget deficit. In 2009, they have done better: the excess of income over expenditure increased by 8.5%. It must be said that the mayors have taken advantage of early mandate to raise taxes. One way to form a mattress care.

The general and regional councils also have used the gun tax. But it was not enough, especially for departments. For the latter, the surplus between income and expenditure has shrunk by 17.8% in 2009. For social spending soared 5.3%.The crisis has pushed the bill of RSA and the aging of the population that of personal autonomy allowance (APA). The elected county expect a similar drift in 2010, "For some departments, the budget balance is very fragile," concludes the report.

Reduced investment

However, in 2011, the constraints will become even stronger. The funds that the departments, but also municipalities and regions, receiving state, which represent nearly 30% of their income, will no longer increase. This was decided by the government. Moreover, the reform of business tax will reshuffle the cards in local taxation. The communes and intercommunal retain a large basket of tax which they may determine the rate.The departments themselves, will not play on the property tax and regions on the gray card No fax cash advances. A situation that worries the county and regional elected and pushes them to invest less.

In 2010, capital spending will drop the first 2.2% and 3.4% of the latter, according to the report. Spared, the mayors expect an increase of 4.5%. "But eventually, the municipalities will be affected because they receive subsidies from the regions and departments," warns Philip Lawrence, in right-wing President of the Finance Committee of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF).

What are the solutions? The local financial professionals, such as UMP or Marc Gilles Carrez Laffineur propose to increase the redistribution between rich and poor communities.Another avenue: better management of intercommunal. For staff costs have mostly slipped to this level (they will grow 8% in 2010). The groups of municipalities have produced savings but duplicates! The government, he promised a reform of the APA to relieve the departments and the establishment of ad hoc aid. "But for now, we are expectant. If nothing happens, we will introduce a bill that will force the state to finally make up our social spending, "said Claudy Lebreton, President PS Assembly departments of France. Meanwhile, between votes and budgets insincere appeal to the courts, the climate remains tense between elected officials and county government.

ALSO READ:

The government and sentenced on local government reform

The developer Kaufman & Broad returns to profit.Deficit in 2009, Kaufman saw his accounts in the green board in the first half of this year with a net profit of 2.3 million euros against a loss of 27.5 million in the first half of 2009.

For the full year 2010, Kaufman & Broad confirms in a statement that "a return to positive net income, which will however continue to carry the weight of years, with a view to improvement."

"The results of the second quarter of 2010 are part of the positive dynamic recorded in the first quarter, confirming the validity of the strategy of refocusing the business offer implemented in late 2008 on products more compact, less expensive and more suitable at the request of first time buyers and investors, "said CEO Guy Nafilyan, quoted in the press release.

Turnover down

In the first half of 2010, home sales rose 55% in value to $ 675 million euros free credit report and score. "We restart faster than the overall market," says Guy Nafilyan. In contrast, the turnover stood at the promoter of 385.7 million euros, down 7.6% over the first half of 2009.

Kaufman & Broad has announced it has signed a memorandum of agreement for the sale of all its shares and interests in Senior Health (homes of elderly dependents) for a total price of 30.7 million euros.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions to be met by September 30, 2010 at the latest, the statement said, explaining that the buyer's name can not be revealed.

Since the beginning of the year, as Kaufman & Broad has won less than 5%. On Thursday, the title rose 5.15% at 17.75 euros.

The FIFA World Cup has made its small effect on consumption. With increasing sales of televisions, consumption rebounded in May to 0.7% after falling 1.3% in April, according to figures released Thursday by the INSEE. The category of "durable goods", which owns the TV, jumped 3.6% after falling 4.5% in April.

"Added to the fact the World was going" all digital "in Brittany and Pays de la Loire, which induces additional purchases of new TVs and Freeview decoders," said INSEE. On the other hand, auto sales have plunged, stabilizing in May (-0.1% against -9.6% in April).

Narrowly. Wall Street reaches the very end of the session to retrieve the ground lost during the day. Result: the Dow Jones closing on a slight increase from 0.24% to 10,434 points, the Nasdaq is 0.05% at 2307 points while the S & P gained 0.13% to 1116 points.

The markets have literally beaten to a few minutes left to return to the green. Before that, the entire session was marked by a gradual decline of the indices, itself caused by the publication of a round of disappointing macroeconomic indicators:

– Entries weekly unemployment rose in the United States during the week to June 12, at 472 000 460 000 against the previous week, according to the Department of Labor. Economists had expected jobless claims averaged 450,000. The entries of the week to June 5 were also revised up from an initial estimate of 456,000.

– Consumer prices in May have suffered their biggest drop since a year and a half under the ambit of the sharp drop in energy costs. The index of consumer prices adjusted for seasonal variations show a decline of 0.2%, the biggest drop since December 2008. Economists and analysts were predicting a similar decline after a decline of 0.1% in April.

– The current account deficit widened in the first quarter to 109 billion dollars, or 3% of GDP, compared to fourth quarter 2009. This is his third consecutive quarterly increase since the low of $ 84.4 billion in the second quarter of 2009, when the international commercial exchange had significantly contracted due to recession.

– The index of industrial activity in terms of the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia has emerged significantly weaker than expected in June and called for a fragile economic recovery in the United States. The index came in at 8 in June as against 20.9 expected and 21.4 in May The employment component falling in the negative, at -1.5 against 3.2 in May, the lowest since November 2009.

– The index of U.S. leading indicators registered a record high in May, according to the Conference Board, suggesting that the recovery of the U.S. economy will continue. The index rose 0.4% to 109.9, after having stagnated in April. Economists projected an increase of 0.5%.The index should continue to increase but more modestly in the coming months due to an unemployment rate still important.

Little comfort in Brussels

The markets were also attentive to the summit of European leaders in Brussels today. Following discussions, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy has sought to reassure markets about the financial health of Spain. Thus, any rescue plan would be the agenda, contrary to rumors markets.

European shares closed higher on a small, grim. The euro, however, is ironed for the first time since late May over the threshold of $ 1.24, to 1.2413 dollar to 18 hours.

AOL supervised

On the side of values, according to several American media, the internet group AOL (1.66% to 22.65 dollars) is about to give the social network Bebo to an investment fund, Criterion Capital Partners, a small fraction of the price he had paid to take it two years ago.

Always on the side of values, FedEx (-0.05% to 78.11 dollars) Wednesday reported a quarterly profit slightly above expectations.

Also note Apple (1.73% to 271.87 U.S. dollars) which said it had registered more than 600,000 bookings for the new version of the iPhone during the first day of marketing.

JM Smucker (6.58% to 61.55 dollars), a group specializing in food, has reported a turnover of 1.07 billion dollars for its fourth fiscal quarter and a Earnings per share (EPS) of $ 1.07 before exceptional items.

Pier 1 Imports (2.62% to 8.23 dollars) a manufacturer of furniture, for its part, reported an unexpected profit adjusted under its first fiscal quarter in favor of improving its sales business on a comparable basis and its margins.

The White House is ready to do battle with BP. Pace in London who tries to minimize the diplomatic chill cast by the ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Barack Obama is stepping up its action against the British group. The U.S. president, criticized for his handling of the spill will travel again on the coast, meeting with leaders of BP, and deliver a formal speech to the nation. Such a device intervention is rare. It reflects not only the seriousness of the situation but also the new turn of the screw that the U.S. government wants to give his handling of the disaster.

Thus, the Obama administration requires that the oil put under receivership on payment of its dividend. The goal is to create a fund to pay the damages claimed by the victims of the disaster.On Sunday, White House adviser David Axelrod said "BP has the resources to cover the damage and we will make sure they will do well." He said an independent management of the fund would ensure that the money will be paid on time.

Discussions in BP

The oil group did not show opposition to the creation of such a fund. The board will discuss on Monday at its weekly meeting. It will also define the issue of ownership policy group that should be announced July 27. According to the British press, the English major is preparing to announce a postponement of payment of dividend payable for the second quarter.

In addition, BP could lose control of its oil and natural gas in the U.S. and be allowed to have business with the federal government as a penalty.But that does not stop there. BP could also pay a fine of up to $ 8.6 billion under Oil Pollution Act.

Largest drop in the FTSE

This greater commitment of the Obama administration to want to pay BP is poorly perceived by investors. The track folds nearly 2.5% in morning London Stock Exchange and sign the biggest drop in the FTSE, which advances it by 0.5%. After sessions particularly volatile oil of the title had already sold nearly 10% last week. Since the beginning of the accident, the market value of BP was reduced by almost 44%.

The United Kingdom is helping to champion its oil. British Prime Minister David Cameron and his finance minister George Osborne reiterated the importance of BP for English and American economies Friday. The group is under fire from critics across the Atlantic for his management of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to a spokesman for the Prime Minister, David Cameron, "said he was in everyone's interest that BP remains a financially strong and stable". Nearly 40% of shareholders are British-including 25% of pension funds, and 40% are also Americans. The support of London has boosted the share price BP, whose market capitalization has lost several billion dollars since the explosion of the platform in the Gulf of Mexico. The title BP ended the session Friday up 7.2% in London, and 3.63% in New York.

Less good news for shareholders, BP has decided to suspend the payment of dividends, the Times of London. "The board of directors met Monday to approve the temporary deferral of payment of dividends," writes the British daily. BP has not confirmed the information, but the Chief Executive, Tony Hayward, told the Wall Street Journal that he was considering not paying dividends.

David Cameron is to hold talks on the phone with Barack Obama on Saturday 17h. The exchange promises to be tense: the two leaders must stand firm against their public opinion. The first to defend a large national group, the second to refute accusations of inaction.

ALSO READ:

The boss of BP reflects the dividend

"Obama talks with Cameron

The regulation of the financial world would soon see the day. In the United States and Europe, urging the regulators not to adopt stricter rules and thus provide the means to avoid another financial crisis.

In Europe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy urged the European Commission to "accelerate its work" for an "enhanced supervision" of financial markets in a joint letter to José Manuel Barroso. Thus, Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy felt that "there is an urgent need for the Commission to expedite its work with regard to the enhanced framework of sovereign CDS market and short sales, and this before the July Ecofin all possible courses of action. "The Heads of State put forward "the return of high market volatility, which makes it legitimate to wonder about some specific financial techniques and the use of certain derivatives such as naked short selling and credit default swaps (CDS).

Financial reform expected U.S. June 26

Across the Atlantic, there is evidence that financial reform should come from next June 26. Indeed, Republican Barney Frank and Democrat Christopher Dodd, father of the original text on financial reform, agreed yesterday on a planning committee that would allow the Senate and House of Representatives to harmonize their versions. For now, both houses of Representatives have both passed a different version of the text. Elected officials from each chamber are now trying to work on a common version.Congress hopes to be ready for the G20 to be held on 26 and 27 June in Toronto and where regulation of the financial sector will be a central theme. The final text could be adopted just before the recess of parliament in early July. It will then be submitted to the U.S. president Barack Obama for enactment.

Adoption of a system of circuit breakers

Also in this effort to regulate the financial sphere, the system of "circuit breaker" required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could come into force next Monday. It provides for a suspension of trade in a way that would have fluctuated more than 10% in less than five minutes on the market. With this rule, the Constable of U.S. financial markets hoping to avoid the stock market panic like that of May 6.The SEC is considering extending these fuses, which concern the time being listed companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, over a thousand companies.