Archive for the ‘corporations’ Category

10
Mar

Greek debt: the good report of European leaders

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Greece has avoided uncontrolled bankruptcy by obtaining the agreement of a substantial majority of its private creditors to restructure its massive debt, paving the way for a second loan installment of its donors. The agreement was welcomed Friday by all European leaders. Their reactions to images. Seventh

Previous Evangelos Venizelos PauseSuivant Previous Next Photo 2/7

PauseSuivant Previous Previous Next Photo Nicolas Sarkozy 3/7

Previous Previous PauseSuivant Wolfgang Schäuble Next Photo 4/7

Previous Previous PauseSuivant Jean-Claude Juncker Next Photo 5/7

PauseSuivant Previous Previous Next Photo Christine Lagarde 6/7

Previous Previous PauseSuivant Rehn Next Photo 7/7

Previous Previous PauseSuivant Van Rompuy Next

03
Mar

Moody's assigns to Greece's worst rating

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The rating agency has again lowered the credit rating of Greece, "C", which corresponds to an almost certain risk of default. Moody's in New York.

The U.S. rating agency Moody's said Friday night that lowered the credit rating of Greece to "Ca" to "C" to reflect the launch of the restructuring of public debt in Athens. This operation "entails expected losses of more than 70% for investors" who will participate, Moody's wrote in a statement.

Moody's assigns a "C", the lowest possible rating on its classification as it deems to borrowers on the edge of default, while a rating of "Ca" she attributed so far to the Greek public debt corresponds to the speculative issuers in which the failure seems likely. The agency says that in his view, the swap of debt proposed by the Greek government to its private sector creditors, whose success is imperative to allow "the provision [of Athens] a additional financial assistance of the euro area "will return, if completed, a" default "on" Greek government ". The agency was then referred to the new European rescue plan providing 130 billion euros of aid set in motion Thursday.

Its rival Standard & Poor's lowered the credit rating Monday of Greece to "SD", a level corresponding to "selective default", to reflect the debt erase operation launched three days earlier. S & P said it planned to raise the rating to CCC of the country, which she attributed to poor quality of issuers with a real risk of default, where such operation would have been fully completed, probably in mid- in March.

This is not the case of Moody's, which does not assign "perspective" to the Greek note, sign it refuses to speculate on what could be its evolution after the debt swap consumed. "Regarding the future, the program of the European Union and the proposed debt exchange will reduce the debt burden for Greece, but the risk of default of the country will remain high even after this exchange has been completed, "the agency wrote.  

"Moody's believes that Greece still faces challenges in the medium term solvency: the ratio of public debt to GDP is well above 100% for several years," the statement added.

Restructuring launched Feb. 24 to allow Greece to obtain a cancellation of debt of 107 billion euros. Athens proposes to give private creditors participating in the operation of securities worth less than 53.5% of those they currently hold. A quarter of those titles that creditors will receive bonds from the European Stability (EFSF), presumably with a maximum maturity of two years. The rest will consist of new Greek bonds with maturities ranging from 11 to 30 years, a period much greater than those they replace. Because interest rates that will yield these securities loss to creditors should be around 73%.

18
Feb

The CEO of L'Oréal wants to eliminate stock options

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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"

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15
Feb

PagesJaunes said serene on the refinancing of its debt

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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.

11
Feb

The Greek government approved austerity plan

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This is one of several government ministers who resigned amputee who is granted in terms of the IMF and the European Union on Friday, while the Greek street is angry. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos on arrival at a cabinet meeting in Athens. According to government officials, the Greek government on Friday approved a bill involving the country in the reforms demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund for the implementation of a second bailout of 130 billion euros. (Reuters / Panayiotis Tzamaros)

Some resignations later … The Greek government has finally approved, this Friday night, a bill involving the country in the reforms demanded by the EU and the International Monetary Fund for the implementation of a second bailout of 130 billion euros, according to government officials.

The bill should be voted by parliament Sunday, which would make Greece a financial solution so that Athens must pay 14.5 billion euros of bonds maturing next month. The country will not honor these debts without further aid.

The European Union urges the Greek government to provide details of further cuts in public spending of $ 325 million.

It also requires a clear commitment of party leaders of the coalition government to implement reforms.

"We can not let Greece go bankrupt. Our priority is to take steps to adopt the new economic program and the new loan agreement. It goes without saying that those who disagree and do not vote for the new program can not remain in government ", said Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to the Cabinet

…. Friday ….., the Greeks began a 48-hour general strike to protest the new austerity measures demanded by international creditors and which Athens could not be the economy, according to Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, at least of leaving the euro

. Clashes between protesters and police erupted Constitution Square (Syntagma), but to Parliament protests , followed by relatively few, have generally been peaceful

. The first police union, which accused the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission undermine democracy and national sovereignty, expressed his wish not to act against their "brothers". A local newspaper also publishes a photo montage showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a Nazi uniform.

The four government members from the LAOS, far-right party that belongs to the governing coalition, submitted their resignations in protest against the demands of international creditors, reports news agency ANA. George Karatzaferis, leader of the movement, had previously ruled to endorse the new austerity plan.

The device provides for a 22% decrease in the minimum wage, the elimination of 150,000 jobs in the public and reduced pensions.

For many Greeks, impoverished by five years of recession, in a country where unemployment affects one in five working where shops are closing one after the other, these new measures are unacceptable.

30
Nov

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Christian Noyer, Governor of the Banque de France (BDF) and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), said Wednesday he did not hold to the basic scenario of an economic recession for France.

At a press conference in Singapore, he added that the fiscal measures taken by France were sufficient and the exposure of French banks to Greece quite manageable.

At the euro area, Christian Noyer said that the level of sovereign bond yields did not reflect reality, the day after an auction of Italian bonds where yields reached nearly 8%.

Inflation in the euro zone will return to the objective of the ECB in the next few months, also said the board member of the institution in Frankfurt, adding that all that was necessary would be done to avoid deflation or fight against inflation.

05
Nov

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The Tokyo Stock Exchange closed up 1.86% Friday, the Japanese financial sector has benefited, as Wall Street and European stock markets, the prospect of Athens abandoned its proposed referendum on the bailout of the country.

The Nikkei gained 160.98 points to 8,801.40 and the Topix, broader, took 13.44 points (1.82%) to 752.02.

Over the whole week, accusing the two indices, however, a decrease of 2.8% and 2.5%.

The beginning of the week had led to panic after Prime Minister George Papandreou had overtaken everyone by announcing Monday he would submit the bailout of Greece to a referendum.

12
Oct

Unemployment at its highest since 1994 in Britain

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The number of unemployed in Britain at the highest since 1994, the private did not offset the losses of public sector jobs, a statistic that feeds a little over fears of a recession.

The number of unemployed increased by 17,500 in September, announced the National Statistics Office Wednesday, however, below the 25,000 expected by economists.

But according to the methodology of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the number of unemployed increased by 114,000 over a period of three months to August, to 2.57 million, the highest number since October 1994.

Always within the meaning of the ILO and the period from June to August, the unemployment rate rose to 8.1%, the highest since October 1996, compared with 8.0% giving a consensus.

The Bank of England last week launched new measures to support growth, but Spencer Dale, a senior economist, told Reuters that the economy weakens more likely in the fourth quarter.

07
Oct

Christine Lagarde received at the Elysee Palace Saturday

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Newly appointed head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde Nicolas Sarkozy will meet Saturday to prepare for the G20 summit in Cannes. Christine Lagarde REUTERS / Benoit Tessier (FRANCE – Tags: POLITICS)

Nicolas Sarkozy Saturday at noon will receive the Executive Director of the IMF Christine Lagarde to talk about it with "the preparation of the Cannes summit of the G20 and the situation in the euro area," the Elysee Palace said Friday.

The head of the French state will fly the next day to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel poour attempt to speed up the rescue plan of the single currency.

Leaders from the eurozone continue intensive negotiations for a recapitalization of banks in the EU to address the risks of contagion from the debt crisis.

Germany has given the green light last week in the expansion of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), which is waiting for the ratification of Slovakia.

02
Oct

Greece valid in terms of reducing the public

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The Greek government approved on Sunday evening a plan to reduce the number of employees, matching the most controversial release of financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU).

The project creates a "worklist", where 30,000 employees would be affected by the end of the year with a drop of 40% of their compensation. After a year they would be dismissed.

"Measuring worklist was unanimously approved," he told Reuters a vice minister at the meeting of the cabinet.