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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.

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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.

From 1 July 2010 will require some additional documents to send a letter. The price of the stamp of the priority letter weighing less than 20 grams will increase from 0.56 to 0.58 euro, an increase of 3.5%. The economic costs will also increase by two cents to 0.53 euros.

This is the sixth increase in eight years. The price of the stamp for a letter of less than 20 grams had already earned a penny last year. But Post said she "is in the average tariffs in Europe even though the universal service commitments of the post office and geographic constraints are higher in France" instant payday loan.

"The rising price of stamps will have a minimal impact on the household budget, or approximately 0.10 ? per month per household," the statement said.In addition, The Post said they considered the economic situation by adjusting charges for companies depending on their situation: there will be no change for major mailers and the increase will be 0.6% Small and medium enterprises.

After Societe Generale, Wednesday, BNP Paribas has just released its quarterly results and at the same time its exposure to the debt of Greece. Then it reported a net profit increase of 39.1% to 2.28 billion euros for the first quarter, BNP Paribas has introduced to date, exposure to the debt over the Greek French banks are high. It amounts to 5 billion euros, plus three billion euros of trade commitments on private Greek companies. The bank said that the Greek private sector credit represents only 0.2% of total commitments of the group, while exposure to the debt of the Greek state only weighs just 0.4%.

"If we place ourselves in the short term, the biggest risk is exposure to private debt, said Christian Parisot, an economist and chief strategist of Aurel BGC.The establishment of an austerity plan would have a negative impact for the economy of Greece. It brings about a contraction of 3 to 4% of GDP, would increase the risk of default of households, less creditworthy than a State, and consequently the business.

For its part, Societe Generale, which also pleasantly surprised investors with a net profit of 1.06 billion euros for the first quarter, announced on Wednesday an exhibition at the Greek debt of 3 billion, in addition to its 54% stake in the bank Greek Geniki Bank, whose loan portfolio stood at four billion euros at the end of March.

57 billion euros of exposure to Greece for French banks

Regarding Credit Agricole and Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne (BPCE) which must publish their quarterly results on 12 and 11 May, they have already announced their exposure to debt Greek make quick cash. On Thursday, Credit Agricole said its obligations associated with the Greek state reached 850 million euros, 600 million euros for its Greek subsidiary Emporiki. But the last poster, in addition, a total loan portfolio of 22.7 billion euros, according to results released Wednesday. On Friday, Credit Agricole has reported that its total exposure amounts to nearly 30 billion if one takes into account the commercial commitments of Cr?dit Agricole CIB, its subsidiary bank financing and investment.

As the group BPCE, exposure to Greece amounted to 2.1 billion euros, of which 882 million euros through its subsidiary Natixis. BPCE exposed to 1.4 million euros to the Greek sovereign debt and Natixis to 160 million euros. In contrast, private debt is fully supported by Natixis to the tune of 722 million euros.

According to statistics from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in late 2009, French banks are exposed to the tune of 75.172 billion dollars (57.41 billion euros). This amount placed at the head of global banks most exposed in Greece.They are followed by German banks, which are up to 45 billion dollars.

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The euro zone growth will do better than expected this year, but then things could get tougher for weak links – including Greece and Portugal – which continue to frighten the markets with their debt problems. The European Commission has revised upward its growth forecast Wednesday in 2010, 0.9% (against 0.7% previously forecast). In 2011, the forecast remains unchanged at +1.5%.

"The improved prospects for economic growth this year is good news for Europe," said Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn. But "we must ensure that risks to financial stability does not compromise this".These figures have initially supported the markets, before a relapse during the meeting.

Forecast 2011 decline

The Commission stressed that the pace of recovery could vary from one state to another. The Netherlands, Germany and France are expected to fare well in the game But in the South, we can expect a performance below average. Greece and could show a contraction of GDP – 3% this year and – 0.5% next year. Spain will be a little better, with growth expected to – 0.4% and 0.8% respectively. In Portugal, the Commission expects a GDP growth of +0.5% this year and 0.7% next year.For these three countries, forecast in 2011 have been revised downwards compared to the figures published in the fall.

The challenge for these countries is that they must serve their public finances without stifling the recovery. "Sustained growth requires fiscal consolidation efforts and specific reforms that improve productivity and employment", insisted Mr Rehn. The deficit is expected to reach 9.3% of GDP in Greece this year, against 9.8% and 8.5% in Spain to Portugal – the record being held by Ireland with 11.7%. But "if other measures sontentreprises farms (to clean up the accounts, Ed), we can expect that this will have an effect on growth," says one to the Commission.

While fears of contagion from the crisis scariest Greek markets, the EU executive wanted was reassuring."Greece is a unique and special," said Rehn, and "It's important to extinguish the brush fire before it becomes a wildfire in the European Union."

For its part, the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker, has ruled out any risk of contagion Greek, and any assumptions bursting of the euro area. As to former Commission President Jacques Delors, he expressed regret for lost time: "The firefighters are at work" to defend Greece and the euro, but "we must say they have been slow .

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just been presented with a request for assistance from Greece. Until now, the IMF provided only technical assistance to Athens. The team of experts is hard at work in the capital of Greece. "We are ready to act quickly in response to this demand," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn Friday, IMF Managing Director. And Youssef Boutros-Ghali, chairman of the board of the institution, recalled: "Aid to Greece will take time. This can not happen from one day to another. "Especially since the Papandreou government is engaged in negotiations on a plan" covering several years. "

So far, the IMF had not been involved in developing the plan of the European Union. This is not a member of the board of the fund. The proposals could therefore engage the IMF, said it does in Washington.It is expected to "several weeks" of negotiations. The amount of the full plan could exceed the record $ 58 billion set by Korea in 1997 with the conditions negotiated by the IMF.

The multilateral institution also assumed that the share of aid to Greece will represent one third of the package agreed by the other countries of the euro area. But this figure could possibly change after the verdict of the negotiators of the fund. The absence of a margin for adjustment by devaluation, however, seriously complicates the terms that the IMF should negotiate with the Greek authorities.This is not entirely without precedent: for example, Latvia has received 1.7 billion euros from the IMF in 2008, as part of an international package of 7.5 billion, while keeping its currency indexed euro.

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Can you still perform in France? At a time when a movement of deindustrialization affects the Hexagon, Saint-Gobain slice on the downturn. On Wednesday, the group inaugurated in Chemill? glass, next to Angers, a glass wool factory last generation called G3. A major investment (100 million euros) with the key, the immediate creation of 75 jobs including 25 items made by subcontractors on the site. And when the unit running at full capacity it will employ 150 people. A move welcomed by Prime Minister Francois Fillon, present at the inauguration: "In France, we built factories! You are proof that our country has an industrial future. "There is no inevitability to the relocation, he said the group's CEO, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar.The cost of labor, even if it is too high in France, is not always an obstacle to industrialization. "

That was 38 years, Saint-Gobain had not started a manufacturing plant in France this kind of product. But other businesses of the group have also recently made the choice of production in France. Mid-February, Saint-Gobain has finalized the extension of a site that makes double glazing Crissey, near Chalon-sur-Saone. With again a few tens of indirect jobs.

Sustainability

If Saint-Gobain is the bet of "Made in France", is by economic realism. "Once the fiberglass travel more than 400 to 500 km, transport costs become excessive, recognizes Xavier de Maistre, General Manager France of Saint-Gobain Isover cash advance.We therefore produce locally for local markets. "In this case, the group chose to locate in Maine-et-Loire, for he had no factory producing glass wool to the markets of west of France.

Saint-Gobain has also launched the opening of an industrial site, because it believes in market prospects opened by the Grenelle Environment. A bet bolstered by the commitment reiterated Wednesday Francois Fillon not relegated to the status of sustainable development subtopic: "The green growth is not the end of the industry: it's renewal." Thus, Saint-Gobain will have to Chemill? a production capacity sufficient to isolate 100 000 houses per year. However, since 2012, some 300 000 to 400 000 houses built each year will be the standard BBC (building low consumption) to be very well insulated."In addition, there are 22 million buildings constructed before 1973 and 30 million non-insulated and poorly insulated," says one at Saint-Gobain Isover. In fact, the glass wool G3 is a good answer to these problems: compared to previous lines, it provides better thermal protection of 30%. What Saint-Gobain dampen somewhat the crisis currently affecting the construction industry.

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