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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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For the government, the record Pechiney has never really been completed. Les Echos on Tuesday unveiled the details of this future recovery in hand, already mentioned several times. Thus, the Strategic Investment Fund (ISP) plans to take 10% stake in this company called Alcan Engineered Products (Alcan EP) since its acquisition by Canada of the same name. This entry would be alongside the U.S. investment fund Apollo would take 51% stake. The remaining 39% remain in the hands of current owner, Rio Tinto, which acquired Alcan in 2007.

Apollo and the ISP should take control of Pechiney plants producing aluminum, which represents approximately 70 sites and over 11,000 employees including 5,000 in France. Negotiations should poursuivrent few weeks for a signed agreement in April.This new organization would be in place end June

Create a champion of aluminum

The aluminum activities hitherto neglected by Rio Tinto. In 2009, Alcan EP saw its sales drop 39% payday loans. Eventually, Rio Tinto could even get out of this business by selling its entire remaining stake in Apollo, or via an IPO.

Meanwhile, the government has high ambitions for Alcan EP. With investments of ISP, the state wants to make it a leading French, European and even global aluminum. A goal goes through restructuring. Negotiations are already underway on some sites and departures are expected in Saint-Florentin (Yonne) or New Breisach (Haut-Rhin) Voreppe (Is?re) or Issoire (Puy-de-Dome). In total, several hundred jobs would be in the spotlight.But the proposed takeover would be based on a commitment to maintain the sites.

In addition, acquisitions outside Europe are also on the menu. The headquarters would be based in France. This new scheme does not exclude a future introduction of the group at the Paris Stock Exchange under the name of Pechiney.

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A sitting flat on the U.S. markets. At the close on Friday, the Dow is 0.42% at 10,779 points, the Nasdaq 0.09% nibbles at 2391 points. Only the S & P appears in a small decrease from 0.03% to 1166 points. After six consecutive sessions already in the green, investors take a break. Yesterday, U.S. markets had ended on a new annual record, always comforted by the status quo monetary decided by the Fed, and the reassurance of the U.S. central bank on the health of the economy.

Aujourd'ui, markets are stabilized by the publication of indicators broadly in line with their expectations:

– The consumer prices they have remained stable in February from the previous month, while analysts believed that there had been an inflation of 0.1%. In one year, they rose 2.1% in February when the consensus gave up 2.3%.These prices "still did not really threaten the prospect of a policy of low rates by the Fed," noted analysts at Charles Schwab.

– Registration for weekly unemployment benefits: they fell for the third straight week in the United States with the deposit of 457,000 benefit claims in the week ended March 13. This is slightly above that expected by analysts (consensus 455,000).

– Current accounts: the U.S. deficit widened in the fourth quarter to reach 115.6 billion dollars, according to figures released Thursday by the Commerce Department. It is equivalent to 2.9% of GDP in 2009 against 4.9% of GDP in 2008.

– The composite index of economic activity: the index is supposed to herald the changing economic conditions six months ahead, slowed his rise in February, rising by 0.1%.The increase for the eleventh consecutive month, is in line with analysts' expectations. The index had already slowed in January, with 0.3% increase.

– The index of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region has increased by 2.3 percentage points from the previous month to $ 18.9, while analysts were waiting to 18 points. This figure reflects the fact that manufacturing in this region have seen their business grow for the seventh consecutive month, and faster than the previous month. Philadelphia is one of the first cities in the United States and one of the largest industrial centers of the country till payday cash advance .

Renewed concerns about Greece, which has sealed the morale of the European investors did not appear to influence the Americans.Tensions have been rising on Thursday about financial aid in Athens, who now wants an agreement by European leaders next week, despite misgivings German, otherwise turn to the IMF.

On the currency markets, the euro fell 0.88% to 1.3615 dollar. Oil, meanwhile, ended down 73 cents at 82.20 dollars a barrel.

Nike back to growth

On the side of values, the number one sports equipment, Nike announced after the close of Wall Street yesterday, a return to growth in sales and profits. In the third quarter of its fiscal year ended in late February), Nike has made a net profit of 496 million dollars against 244 million a year earlier on the same period. A few months before the World Cup 2010, its backlog has already greatly improved and the group expects a continuation of this trend.The sporting goods company is the star of Wall Street with higher shares of 4.92% to 74.37 dollars.

China has ordered its airlines to conduct checks of their Boeing 737 after a similar decision of U.S. authorities. The decision of the Administration of Civil Aviation of China (CAAC), which covers 400 aircraft, follows concerns about possible security problems related to a component in the tail of the aircraft. The Boeing climbed 1.66% to 70.53 dollars.

FedEx (-2.36% to 91.92 dollars) announced before market quarterly net income more than doubled to 239 million, above expectations and raised its annual forecast.Revenues also exceeded expectations, up 7% to 8.70 billion, while analysts had expected 8.37 billion dollars.

Google (+0.13% to 566.27 U.S. dollars) is currently working with Intel and Sony to develop a new generation of televisions and decoders for access to the Internet, according to an article in the New York Times.

Electronic Arts (2.81% to 18.65 dollars) will launch the final version of his golf game online Tiger Woods at the back of the champion on the greens next month, its chairman announced Wednesday.

The Internet of tomorrow is on track. Cisco Systems on Tuesday launched a new twelve times more powerful than its competitors. Its name: the CRS-3.

The U.S. telecom equipment shows its capacity of 332 billion bits per second, indicating that it is possible to download the entire Library of Congress in a second. Or for a billion people watch a video simultaneously. This service delivers "the foundations of the new generation Internet," says John Chambers, Cisco's boss.

The operator AT & T has tested "successfully" the device in the context of testing a "backbone" – the core telecommunications network to interconnect networks smaller – a 100 gigabits between New Orleans and Miami bad credit personal loan lenders . A world premiere.

This announcement comes almost a month after the internet giant Google has announced its intention to become a pioneer of Internet access at very high speed installation in the coming months networks hundred times faster than ISPs exist in the United States.

Around 18:30, the Cisco Systems shares lose more than 0.15%, to 26.1 dollars, after having degraded to about 1% just before the announcement. "Investors had anticipated this announcement at least one day before," said one analyst.

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While the Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed on Wednesday because the National Foundation Day, most Asian stock markets continued in the green Wednesday: Hong Kong gained 1.36% at 20,192 points, Taiwan rose 1.10% in 7441 points, Seoul ahead of 1.93% to 3385 points, India climbed 1.25% to 16,120 points and finally Singapore up 0.58% at 2,750 points.

Crude prices were up Thursday in electronic trading in Asia enjoying a decline in the dollar market awaits the release of weekly oil stocks in the United States, dealers said payday advances