Hot Economic News Releases

Vinci said Wednesday a tender offer in the coming days for a minority stake in the Turkish airport operator TAV Holding Havalimanlari, why Aéroports de Paris also on the ranks.

The sale of a stake of up to 40% should value TAV, which manages several airports in Turkey, including Istanbul, more than two billion dollars (1.5 billion euros), according to sources familiar with the matter.

"Vinci confirms that an offer will be filed in the coming days," said a spokesman for the world leader in construction and concessions.

According to a source familiar with the matter, Vinci is best placed ADP.

"Vinci should win the deal on TAV, said this source. Vinci and ADP present their bids early next week. "

It would be the second failure in a row e abroad for ADP, which lost early February the call for tenders for the modernization of the Brazilian airport of Sao Paulo Guarulhos in favor of a trio of groups Brazilian and South African

. Another source however said that the games were not made in Turkey, stressing that supply of ADP is probably much higher than Vinci. 

But the source said, ADP, which the French state owns 52% stake, was forced to offer a higher price as a result of the anger in Ankara by the law criminalizing denial of genocides recognized by France, including the Armenians by the Turks in 1915.

ADP, which last week confirmed his interest in TAV, did not wish to comment.

Portugal hopes that an increase in exports of wine, cork and fruit will help reduce its trade deficit, said Monday the Portuguese Minister of Agriculture in an interview with Reuters.

Assunção explained Cristas want to restart the operation of unused land while providing incentives that would turn the trade deficit in food surplus.

Portugal is already the world's largest exporter of cork and the seventh largest exporter of wine. Its agriculture, which includes logging and the production of many varieties of fruits, olives and oranges through the strawberries and cherries, represents 10% of its gross domestic product.

But the fertility of its land and its mild weather did not permit him to achieve food self-sufficiency.

Production of the sector remains fragmented mainly because of the small size of many farms, inheritance of land reform following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 after decades of Salazar dictatorship.

Came to power last June in favor of early elections, the majority center-right led by

Pedro Passos Coelho hopes to reverse. 

"Our food exports have great potential even though we still have a trade deficit of 30%," said Assuncao Cristas Reuters.

If he succeeded in transforming its trade deficit in food surplus, Portugal could hope rebalance its overall trade balance, which would be of great help when he e ty forced last year to accept international assistance of 78 billion euros.

In 2011 already, the Portuguese trade deficit narrowed by 25% over the previous year to return to 15.2 billion euros.

This reduction is mainly due to the austerity measures imposed on the Portuguese with its implications on domestic demand. 

Meanwhile, food exports rose 17% last quarter 2011 to 1.2 billion euros. This increase is the second largest after the one recorded on refined petroleum products.

"The prospects for improved trade balance in the food are good, we planted lots of new land, for example, olive groves and vineyards," said the Minister of Agriculture.

"The food industry (…) can really help Portugal when domestic consumption is low."

According to forecasters, the Portuguese economy expected to contract 3% this year and the unemployment rate has hit a record 14%.

French consumer confidence is still very low, but gains a point in February, according to figures from INSEE. The morale of French households increased very slightly.

French consumer confidence has improved slightly in February. The indicator that measures it wins a point from January to climb to 82, a continued low level, INSEE announced Friday.

This is the second consecutive month of rise of this index, which had declined in December to its lowest level since December 2008, 80 points (against a long-term average of 100).

The French are less pessimistic because of a slight improvement in their moral outlook on their personal finances (2 points) and the overall standard of living in France (4 points).  

Households are also slightly less pessimistic about the evolution of unemployment (down one point in the index, 64) even though they "are almost as many as in January to anticipate an increase", said INSEE in a statement.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 0.54% Friday, the benchmark index ending the Japanese market to a higher-end seven months and with an increase of 9.6% over the month.

The Nikkei gained 51.81 points to 9,647.38, closing above 9,600 points for the first time since August. The Topix broader took 4.94 points (0.6%) to 834.29.

Investors are reassured by the strong U.S. data and policies to support the activity of several central banks, including that of Japan. Some analysts even expect that the Nikkei is testing, by next month, the threshold of 10,000 points.

But other market players believe that a correction could occur in the coming months.

"I think the correction will come in March or April and that (the Nikkei) sink to 9,000 points due to earnings forecasts revised downward for the next fiscal year", Ryota Sakagami esteem, chief equity strategist for Nikko Securities SMBC.

Values, Nippon Steel Corp. has been 3.51%, while Nomura Holdings, the first investment bank in the country, took 1.6%.

High labor costs does not rhyme with high unemployment and does not necessarily mean poor economic performance, according to a study by INSEE Wednesday in the time left and right clash violently on the "social VAT".

The Department of Labor will release the unemployment figures Friday of January. End of 2011, the number of unemployed people on French territory, all regions and categories, exceeded 4.5 million, its highest since 1999.

Across the Rhine, the unemployment rate last month was at its lowest level since reunification in 1990.

Labor costs in Germany was also one of the highest in Europe in some industries four years ago, an economic fact that has not prevented e to view the best export performance of the euro area and an unemployment rate among the lowest in the Old Continent. 

At two months of the first round of presidential elections, the government, which regularly cites Berlin as an example, has made the reduction of labor costs one of its priorities é ; ECONOMIC by deciding to reduce employer contributions in exchange for a higher rate of VAT, a measure criticized by unions and the opposition who fear a degradation of power purchase.

In a study entitled "Employment and Wages", especially on the evolution of the price of labor in Europe, INSEE found that the cost of labor in some sectors Manufacturers across the Rhine was the highest in the Old Continent. 

"This is particularly true in the automotive industry, where (in 2008, ie) it is 29% higher than that observed in France: 43.14 EUR (per hour) against 33 , 38 euros. "

Across the industry, labor costs were substantially similar in both countries, around 33 euros per hour on average, although it was higher Germany (33.37 euros) and France (33.16 euros).

REPORT OF FORCE?

However, the trend reversed in services where France four years ago recorded an hourly labor costs of 32.08 euros against 26.81 euros in Germany. 

Especially, unit labor costs as a whole rose a much stronger in France than in Germany between 2002 and 2012 (1.9% per year against 0.1%) and lower gains productivity (+0.8% against +1.2%), as calculated by the Credit Agricole, a cause for concern for Paris.

The budget minister Valérie Pécresse has reiterated Tuesday that lower labor costs in the name of "price competitiveness" French would create between 75,000 and 120,000 jobs, provided that businesses play the game and favor the recovery of productive investment to increase their margins.

Sweden, Denmark and Belgium are the three countries of the European Union where, in 2008, the labor cost was highest in the industry as in services. Portugal, Greece and Spain are where it was lowest.

Therefore, improving the "competitiveness" could have effects far less positive than expected if it would only cover costs without concern more widely in productivity, quality ;, innovation and training.

Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Pierre Lellouche logically touted the creation of social VAT in early February and found that France could balance its trade with by 2017, after showing a record trade deficit in 2011. 

In the hope of improving the productivity of French companies, the government gives one month to the social partners to agree a framework for agreements "majority" in companies on issues relating to working time, organization or overtime.

Nicolas Sarkozy stressed that such agreements would be binding on the law, which bury the de facto 35 hours. Without compromise, a bill would be tabled in Parliament at risk to engage the executive in a tense power struggle on the eve of presidential and parliamentary elections.

The European Central Bank will redistribute to the central banks of the euro area the benefits of its Greek bonds held as part of the bond buyback program launched in May 2010, said a source senior within the euro area.

The Institute of Frankfurt bought about 38 billion euros of Greek debt under the program says SMP (Securities Market Programme) and these securities are now worth about 50 billion euros. Forego these profits would reduce Greece's debt.

The CEO of the French cosmetics group L'Oreal, Jean-Paul Agon, announces its intention to cancel within the group's system of stock options in an interview with Journal du Dimanche in ; appear Feb. 19.

"Stock options pollute the debate. That's why I'm going to give up half of the stock options were granted to me in 2010, "says Jean-Paul Agon, who won 10.7 million euros in 2010 (including options and shares) according to the annual report published on February 14 Proxinvest

. "(Of the 400,000 stock options received 2010), I will keep 200,000 to share a dynamic performance with our shareholders, "the French boss highest paid in the CAC 40 in 2010 in the interview excerpts of which were published on the newspaper's website Saturday

. "And in April, I will propose to the Board a complete halt of the system of stock options L'Oreal, for everyone and this year. "

Instead of stock options which benefit coefficient to 2.300 people in the group, the CEO of the world's number one cosmetics, had already relinquished his stock options in 2009, wants to establish a system of performance shares.

"After four years of house, our managers will receive bonus shares if the company met certain performance criteria. It is more transparent and less random," he says.

Asked about executive compensation in large groups, he said: "The public interest is not to lower wages, but business leaders have a tax system that generates more redistribution. I fully assume my signature to the call of the Nouvel Observateur to pay more taxes. "

Sixteen heads of major French companies signed in August in the columns of a weekly call for the establishment of an "outstanding contribution" of the French the most favored reducing government deficits they believe threaten "the future of France and Europe"

.

A recession brought good ancréea the unemployment rate to a record in late 2011 and analysts note that the new provisions to hire and fire workers more easily create probably does not jobs in such a context.

The unemployment rate was 14% in the fourth quarter, announced the National Institute of Statistics, above the 13.7% projected in the program of international aid 78 billion euros.

In the third quarter of 2011, this rate was 12.4%.

Reform of labor law reduces redundancy payments for new hires to 20 days per year worked, against 30 before, and limits severance payments to 115,000 euros.

PagesJaunes intends to forego the dividend in 2012 as a precaution in order to give maximum flexibility to consider options to refinance its debt, said Wednesday its director gen ; eral Jean-Pierre Remy.

Heavily in debt, the publisher of printed directories and online, announced Wednesday he will propose to the unusually next general meeting of shareholders to pass the dividend for in 2011.

"The current market conditions are not particularly favorable (…) and therefore we consider that we must maintain maximum flexibility in the short term in our choice of financing options," said Jean-Pierre Remy. 

The shareholder of PagesJaunes, Mediannuaire, supports "full" this initiative is in no way representative of the political future of the group's dividend, he said ;.

The leader of the French group said he was "serene" about the group's ability to refinance the last installment of its debt, which matures in November 2013, while pre , specifying that the formal process had not yet been committed.

"The scenarios are very wide, very open. We want to give it time," said Jean-Pierre Remy, adding that the refinancing would likely over the next 12 months.

French banks, which issue from their annual results on Wednesday, this year will count on a surprise guest, Francois Hollande, who plans to tighten regulations in the banking sector, threatening at the same time the potential rebound in banking stocks on the stock market.

In its program for the presidential election, the Socialist candidate proposes to separate the activities of deposits and capital market activities of French banks, like of what was decided at the end of last year the UK to reform its banking system after the crisis. 

If the authorities and French banks reject outright the idea of ​​separating banking, financial analysts have begun to incorporate this assumption into their projections of results banks, and taking note of polls giving the favorite Socialist candidate in the polls for the presidential election.

Francois Hollande, who poses as "adversary" of finance, also plans to increase 15% taxation on the profits of banks and create a tax on all financial transactions. 

The financial intermediary KBW estimated for example that, cumulatively, the three reforms envisaged by Francois Hollande could reduce 10% average annual results for French banking groups, BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, Natixis and Societe Generale, or a total cost of 1.7 billion euros.

"These measures are a little confused from our point of view and with such worries, if the rally continues, I doubt that French banks is the preferred choice of investors," said Marco Bruzzo, Chief Operating Officer of Mirabaud Gestion. 

"The banks say that the separation of no use, it's stupid, but it would be interesting to know their real arguments against this reform," said an analyst based in Paris who did not want to be named.

"My feeling is that banks do not have that much," he says.

THREAT ON THE STOCK MARKET REBOUND

The European Commission has now put in place in November a working group on the structure of banks. This group will discuss in particular the question of the separation of banking activities and its report is expected later this year.

To justify their opposition to separation, the French bankers and the Bank of France to retreat behind the recent failures of the British bank Northern Rock and Lehman Brothers.

Analysts agree the coup use conferences to present the results of the banks to question their leaders on the issue and the consequences of a separation of banking activities already undertaken e across the Channel where the impact is estimated between 3.5 and 5 billion pounds (about 4 to 9.5 billion euros). 

"A movement towards this type of system (UK Ed) would certainly have a significant impact on profitability," said Marie-Pierre Peillon, director of financial analysis and non-financial at Groupama Asset Management .

Analysts also believe that the context of presidential campaign and uncertainty about the election's outcome will affect the share price of French banks, already engaged in strengthening their plans capital to meet new prudential standards and restructure their operations in the banking and investment banking.

"I think the performance (market, Ed) French banks will be capped as we will not know the outcome of presidential elections," remarked one analyst in Paris. "To go higher, you need better visibility."

Slaughtered on the stock market last year due to the exacerbation of the financial crisis, which forced the bank Dexia to dismantling, the French bank stocks have benefited from spurts of hope on the rescue of Greece and exceptional liquidity provided by the European Central Bank to bounce.

SocGen shows a gain of over 30% since the beginning of the year after losing nearly 60% of its value in 2011.

BNP Paribas will open Wednesday the ball bank results in France, followed the next day by Societe Generale.

Analysts polled by Reuters expect the drafting of an average 63% drop in net income for the BNP in the fourth quarter and 78% for SocGen. 

Credit Agricole and Natixis publish their results on Feb. 23. Credit Agricole SA warned in December that it would be a loss for the year 2011 and he would come to 2.5 billion euros of writedowns in its accounts of the fourth quarter.

In Europe, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse have surprised markets by posting accounts into the red in the fourth quarter. and