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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.

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.

Johnson & Johnson Tuesday reported a quarterly revenue well below expectations and has revised downward its forecast of annual profit for the second time in a year due to repeated withdrawals from the market painkiller Tylenol and other group of drugs available without prescription.

By mid-session on Wall Street, the title of group care products and U.S. health yielded 2.59% to 58.02 dollars while the Dow Jones, including Johnson & Johnson is, retreated from 0 84%.

The company said in the wake of its results have received a subpoena from the attorney general's office in Philadelphia as part of its withdrawal, without saying more.

For their part, the federal prosecutor's office did not confirm or comment on this procedure.

Johnson & Johnson said that global sales of its consumer goods were down 5.4% over the second quarter to 3.6 billion dollars.

The sales performance was mainly affected by the withdrawal, on April 30 last, a forty drugs used in the treatment of benign childhood diseases.

This decision was taken following a report showing that U.S. health authorities these products had been contaminated by dust and dirt during their manufacture in the factory of J & J in Fort Washington (Pennsylvania), finally closed end April.

The withdrawal of the products involved have cut sales of approximately $ 200 million, said Chief Financial Officer Dominic Caruso during a conference call, adding that closing the plant in Fort Washington is likely to weigh up 600 million dollars in annual sales.

The total turnover of Johnson & Johnson has also been weighed down by a slowdown in sales growth of its medical tools and diagnostic instruments.

The turnover stood at 15.33 billion dollars (0.6%) while analysts on average expected 15.64 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S.

Net income rose to 3.45 billion dollars (2.68 billion euros), or $ 1.23 per share against 3.21 billion ($ 1.15 per share) a year ago.

Excluding items, J & J posted earnings per share of $ 1.21, a level consistent with the average forecast of analysts.

The group has now said it expects earnings per share of between 4.65 and $ 4.75 throughout the year against a previous estimate of 4.80 to 4.90 dollars.

To explain this further revision downward, Johnson & Johnson raised the closure of the plant, which is currently undergoing a costly up to standard, and the pressure existing in Europe on the prices of its prescription drugs .

The Japanese consumer confidence improved for the sixth straight month in June, reaching its highest level in almost three years, a sign of an increase in economic recovery in the archipelago.

The index measuring the sentiment of households, which reflects their views on income and employment, reached 43.5 in June, its highest since September 2007, according to figures released Tuesday by government departments. In May, the index was at 42.8.

The government has revised upwards its opinion on the mood and now believes it is oriented towards improvement.

The index remains below 50, meaning that pessimists still outnumber optimists.

The NYSE opened up but on a cautious note Friday after the release of monthly statistics of the labor market in the United States, which rekindled fears of a slowdown in economic recovery.

A few minutes after the start of trading, the Dow Jones gained 0.27% to 9759.21 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index 0.44% to 1,031.86 and the Nasdaq Composite 0.34% at 2108.48.

The U.S. economy has destroyed 125,000 non-agricultural jobs in June, according to Labor Department statistics, a figure slightly higher than expected.This is the first time since the beginning of the year that the U.S. economy is destroying jobs.

Among the values sought in early trading, the "biotech" Biogen and Allergan earn more than 6% and 8% respectively after news reports that Sanofi-Aventis is preparing a major acquisition in the United States.

Technip has been awarded two contracts with BP, the British North Sea, worth a total of about 100 million pounds (120 million euros).

The first is a contract under diving, repair and maintenance for a period of three years with two additional options of one year each, said the French specialist in oil and gas equipment in a statement.

The second is a contract engineering and installation for the development of Devenick field, located 234 km north-east of Aberdeen. It covers project management, engineering, manufacturing, installation and commissioning of several lines.

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