Hot Economic News Releases

Ebay announced Friday that the Court of Appeal of Paris asked to pay LVMH 33 million euros in the American group in the context of infringement case between the two companies.

The online auction site had been sentenced in June 2008 by the Commercial Court of Paris to pay a total of 38.6 million euros to repair luxury group for dissemination and distribution of counterfeit perfume out of approved circuit.

Ebay does not detail the decision of the Court of Appeal but the Chief Executive in France, Yohan Ruso, said in a statement that the injunction against the U.S. group has been "reduced in scope" .

LVMH believes his side that "the principle of responsibility, this decision confirms the decision of 30 June 2008 by the Commercial Court of Paris.

The group emphasizes that the Court condemns eBay to pay $ 5.7 million in damages and interest and open "the possibility for applicants to hire additional remedies in foreign courts for compensation for damage suffered in their territories.

The Commercial Court had held late June 2008 that eBay had committed "serious misconduct by failing in its obligations to ensure that its activities do not generate illegal acts."

Despite the appeal of eBay, the court ordered the provisional enforcement of financial sanctions.

It was the first trial of this magnitude on the sale of branded products on the internet. The court had held at first instance that the auction site could not hide behind the fact that he was only putting in connecting buyers and sellers.

Before LVMH, Hermes also had won a ruling against eBay but for a sum much smaller. The site had been convicted by the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Troyes to pay 20,000 euros in damages to luxury goods group in the Rue St. Honore.

Commercial judges had sanctioned the sale of counterfeit goods from eBay imitation leather goods from Louis Vuitton and Dior Couture clothing.They had also sanctioned the sale of authentic fragrances and cosmetics brands Dior, Kenzo, Givenchy and Guerlain, on the ground that LVMH had not chosen this diffuser.

Vivendi said Wednesday anticipate an increase in its annual results for 2010 and maintaining its dividend to 1.40 euro for the year, after posting better than expected performance in the first half, notably at SFR and Universal Music.

The first group of European media and entertainment market capitalization said in a statement anticipating a growth in adjusted operating profit (EBITA) in 2010 – instead of a "slight" growth before.

It also provides a higher adjusted annual net income higher than the 2.585 million generated in 2009.

Vivendi has released the first-half EBITA of 3.243 million euros, up 11.9% and a turnover of 13.982 million, up 6.1%.

The 12 analysts polled by Reuters drafting average expected EBITA of EUR 3,099.5 million and a turnover of 13.833 million.

The company posted an adjusted net income biannual 1,526,000 euros, up 4.0%

SFR, which accounts for nearly half the turnover of the group reached EBITA of 1.368 million euros, against 1.302 million expected by analysts, with sales up 1.8%, more stronger than expected.

Canal + has reached an EBITA of 486 million euros, up 3.0%, against 463 million expected, but with a turnover more moderate than expected.

Lagardere announced last Thursday that he intended to complete by March 2011 the IPO of 20% of Canal + France held 80% with the balance.

UMG, the first record label world, shows a fall of 24.6% of its EBITA less than expected at 159 million euros, against 149.5 million anticipated.

Vivendi also raised the forecast of Brazilian fixed-line operator GVT, its latest acquisition and its smallest division, now anticipating increases of 34% of its turnover and 44% of its adjusted EBITDA – 29% and cons 35% previously.

GVT has done in the first half turnover of 444 million euros and an EBITA of 98 million.

The Vivendi shares closed Tuesday up 1.24% to 18.41 euros, giving a market capitalization of $ 22.8 billion. It has lost 11.5% since the beginning of the year, against an increase of 5.3% of the pan-European media index.

The first Boeing 787 Dreamliner should be shipped in the first quarter of 2011 because of a delay in availability of engines, said Friday the aircraft manufacturer.

The delivery date for the Dreamliner has been delayed, as these engines are necessary to the ultimate test flights, will be available until the fall, said Boeing.

The U.S. group is working with Rolls-Royce for faster delivery.

Last month, Boeing announced that the first delivery of the aircraft could be delayed into the early weeks of 2011, due to a series of difficulties.

However, the group said on Friday that the new schedule would not impact on the group's financial forecasts.

The testing schedule of flights will actually preserved Boeing said.

The plan to support the U.S. economy contributed 4.5% in real gross domestic product in the second quarter of 2010 and allowed to deliver up to 3.3 million people in employment, said Tuesday Budget Office Congress (OBC).

The CBO estimates, a bipartisan agency, believes the support plan, whose effects are challenged by the Republican Party, has prevented the economy contracted between April and June

Economists polled by Reuters expect the revised figures, which will be released Friday, show that GDP grew at an anemic pace of 1.4% in the second quarter, less than the 1.7% increase announced in the first estimate.

The CBO also estimates that support plan has put between 1.4 and 3.3 million jobs in the second quarter.

The total cost of the plan to support the U.S. economy should come out to 814 billion dollars while the CBO anticipated amount of around 862 billion dollars from a previous estimate.

List of key values to follow Monday on Wall Street.

CAMPBELL SOUP *

The group is considering a power supply of 1.5 billion pounds (2.3 billion dollars) on the activities of Britain's United Biscuits Cookies, reported the Sunday Times.

The U.S. group is not interested in the industry "snacks" of United Biscuits bought in 2006 by Blackstone and PAI Partners and that they intend to sell, according to information published by Reuters last month.

Closing price: 36.64 dollars.

* HEWLETT-PACKARD

* 3PAR

* DELL

Hewlett-Packard said Monday it proposed to acquire the data storage company 3PAR priced at $ 24 per share in cash, competing with the offer made last week by rival Dell.

The proposed HP is 33% larger supply of Dell, which accounted for at the time of its announcement a premium of 87% over the course of 3PAR.

The action of 3PAR blazing 37% in pre-market trade after the announcement of the offer from HP.The action of the computer group yielded 1.0%, however.

Closing Speaker: U.S. $ 39.85

Closing 3PAR: U.S. $ 18.04

Closing Dell: 12.07 dollars

* AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL GROUP

The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to reduce approximately 3.6 billion dollars (2.8 billion) credit line open to the insurer, which illustrates the growing confidence of the authorities in the group's ability to do without public support, Bloomberg reported, quoting an informed source project.

In addition, ILFC, the aircraft leasing subsidiary of the group, has paid nearly four billion dollars by the Fed after raising capital from private investors, officials said Sunday close to the matter.

Closing price: 35.17 dollars.

* 3M

The U.S. industrial conglomerate could spend about two billion dollars (1.6 billion) on acquisitions this year, twice more than its previous estimate, said Monday its chief executive in an interview with Reuters.

Closing price: U.S. $ 80.66

* AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS

The share of industrial gases group could grow by 20% within a year if its offer AIRG fails or if it ends at a price less than $ 70, says Barron's in its latest edition.

The offer values currently Airgas to 63.50 dollars per share.

Closing price: 75.01 dollars.

* WASHINGTON POST

After declining in recent weeks, triggered by concerns raised by its Kaplan education subsidiary, the title is outrageously cheap, says Barron's.

Closing price: 347.68 dollars.

BNP Paribas publishes a net profit increase of 31.2% for the second quarter, above expectations, thanks to a sharper than expected decline in provisions for bad loans, offsetting lower revenues from its market activities.

The second bank in the euro zone by market capitalization, after Spain's Santander, said in a statement that recorded a net profit of 2.105 billion euros in the quarter ended June 30, with net banking income up 11 , 8% to 11.17 billion.

His provisions for risk of loss on the credit fell by 53.9% to 1.08 billion euros.

The consensus of the writing for Reuters on average expected a net increase of only 8% to 1.7 billion euros and provisions were down 36%.

BNP Paribas also said to be "ahead" on its program of synergies from the integration of the Belgian bank Fortis acquired last year, with 402 million euros of synergies on a target of 900 million.

In corporate finance and investment, the decline in profit before tax is also less than expected at 16.4% in the second quarter against 20% expected by the market.

Elsewhere in Europe, Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse have also announced last week the quarterly results above market expectations.

The German group Deutsche Bank's side recorded a drop in supplies.

The European banking sector has benefited in recent days a series of good news.

The results of stress tests that have been submitted 91 banks in the European Union and the announcement by the Basel Committee that it would make its proposed regulations have indeed helped to allay investor concerns about the soundness of sector balance sheets.

Since the beginning of the year, the benchmark Stoxx 600 European banks rose 0.36%. The action of BNP Paribas has cut its losses recently but it is still in decline of 5.7% since 1 January.

Societe Generale, the second French bank by market capitalization, reports earnings on Wednesday.

Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group can view each more than 100 billion yen (885 million) profit for April-June period, reports the Nikkei newspaper.

The newspaper claims that large Japanese banks have grown their results for their fiscal first quarter thanks to their trading operations, while recording lower losses on bad loans through a smaller number of large bankruptcies.

Mizuho, which posted a loss of 4.4 billion yen for the period April to June 2009 due to losses on the CDS (credit default swaps) should post a profit of around 150 billion yen for the same period this year with its trading, the Nikkei wrote.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group should in turn generate between 150 and 200 billion yen profit, against a profit of 72.7 billion last year, the newspaper said without citing sources.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group for its part should record a profit of more than 100 billion yen, against 75.9 billion a year earlier, writes the Nikkei.

Banks are under pressure to improve their credit operations, while long term rates are at their lowest level in five years, also highlighted the daily.

Weak retail sales in France since the beginning of the year raises concerns for household consumption, but without calling into question the prospect of a mild acceleration of growth in the second quarter.

INSEE said on Friday down 1.4% of household spending on manufactured goods in June after an increase (revised) 0.6% in May, which was only the second of the year.

Throughout the second quarter, they fell 0.9% after falling 1.9% in January-March.

Purchases of manufactured goods only represent about a fifth of consumer spending on goods and services, including food, a statistic that is much less volatile and released only on a quarterly basis.

Household consumption has stagnated in the first quarter and is still waiting INSEE stalled in second quarter net sales to be known on August 13 during the initial results of the national accounts.

Some economists, like Dominique Barbet from BNP Paribas, now does not preclude a decline in household consumption, which would be a first since the second quarter of 2008.

But, he says, the strength of industrial production and exports expected to "save" the growth in the second quarter, it expects to 0.4% or 0.5% after the meager 0.1% the first three months of the year.

"That said, the outlook is still quite weak and not with this level of consumption we can expect 1.5 to 2.0% growth per year," he adds.

Bercy, it remains serene by estimating it would take a 0.3% or more of household consumption to speak stall."Nothing like on the radar", make sure there in the entourage of the Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde.

CONCERN FOR THE FUTURE

Regarding industrial production, it was not until August 10 to hear the numbers of the second quarter, but May's increase (+1.7% and +0.5% for the only manufacturing) was a good omen.

Already, the quarterly business survey released Friday by INSEE showed that the request to industry has made significant progress on these three months, but prospects are less favorable then.

"We had a sort of dichotomy between demand indicators that are not extraordinary, except perhaps for export, and offer those who are supported, as shown by surveys from INSEE" observes Dominique Barbet

He added: "The concern is more for the future."

Nick Kojucharov, Europe economist at Goldman Sachs, the link between low spending on manufactured goods and consumer confidence, which has faltered significantly since the beginning of the year.

"That does not mean that the recovery derailed in France – surveys and industrial production are trending up – but that French consumers, who strongly supported the request at the beginning of the recovery, now is the key" says he.

Down nine points since January, the consumer confidence indicator calculated by INSEE has stabilized at -39 in July, its lowest level since May 2009.

The decline in household spending in June is in large part to the launch late summer sales, June 30 instead of June 25 in 2009.

This contemplates an upward correction in July, but only temporarily according to economists.And anyway, "the fact that consumers have stopped buying clothes from three months to wait for the summer sales is not really what we might call a positive signal to private consumption, observes Olivier Gasnier of Societe Generale.

The high level of unemployment, worries about tax and the evolution of the purchasing power of households should continue to curb consumption, he adds.

If the support of replenishment orders and exports fades at the same time, the prospect of slower growth in the third quarter will be inevitable, confirming the slow recovery.

In its last forecast in June, Insee expecting 0.4% growth in the third and fourth quarter, after +0.5% in April-June, a pace sufficient to meet the government target of 1.4% on year.

Industrial production increased in the U.S. in June, against all expectations, above-normal seasonal temperatures have boosted the use of air conditioning and therefore the production of electricity, official statistics show the Federal Reserve.

Production was up 0.1% in June while economists and analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average decline of 0.1%.

The May figure was confirmed at 1.3%.

For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production has emerged up 6.6% yoy, lower than the 7.0% increase recorded during the first three months of the year.

The production sector of utilities rose 2.7%, higher than the Fed said the sharp rise in the use of air conditioning.

Manufacturing output fell for its 0.4%.

The utilization of production capacity has remained stable at 74.1%, but remains below 6.5 points to its average over the period 1972-2009.

The Federal Reserve is closely monitoring these statistics to assess the possible inflationary pressures, which could affect its monetary policy.

The oil has closed lower Wednesday on the physical market in New York after the publication of the minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Federal Reserve.

The text of the Fed shows that its members say they have to be ready to take further measures to support the economy if the climate deteriorates.

The contract on August U.S. light crude ended on a down 11 cents, or 0.14%, to 77.04 dollars a barrel.