Hot Economic News Releases

ABN Amro, nationalized by the Netherlands at the height of the crisis, said Thursday that most of the charges related to the integration of Fortis Bank Nederland was behind her while reporting a half year loss of nearly one billion euros.

The bank warned in May it expected to massive losses for the first half of the year due to a very high volume of loads.

It launched in June a new warning, explaining that its losses would be higher still, because of additional charges that Fortis would go for legal reasons.

On Thursday, the number one Dutch asset management and retail banking from third countries, has not yielded much information on the reasons for these provisions, but said they were "connected with international activities conducted in the past. "

The state has spent more than 26 billion euros to buy ABN Amro and support, making this rescue one of the most expensive in the world.Its managing director Gerrit Zalm said it was unlikely that the taxpayer comes one day even.

The owner of the bank said on Thursday he expected that the integration of schools is finalized by the end of 2012 and the government should find a way out for the group between 2013 and 2015.

The CFO Jan van Rutte meanwhile estimated that the costs of integration were mostly gone.The operation, however, should lead the bank to pass a new charge of 400 million euros in the second half.

Current profit stood at 325 million euros during the first half, partly due to higher net income from interest, while the impairment of assets decreased by more than half.

ABN Amro, however, reported a net loss of 968 million euros, including a charge of integration of 481 million euros and 812 million loss on assets sold to Deutsche Bank under any injunctions European competition authorities.

She also had to spend 265 million euros in additional legal expenses.

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.

Boeing released a quarterly earnings above expectations but down from last year due to lower deliveries of aircraft.

The U.S. group, world number two sector behind Airbus (EADS) has achieved in second quarter net earnings of $ 787 million, or $ 1.06 per share, against 998 million ($ 1.41 per share) a year earlier.

Financial analysts had expected a profit of $ 1.01 per share according to Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S.

The quarterly revenue fell 9% year on year to 15.6 billion dollars.

Sales of the division of civil aviation has dropped 12% to $ 7.4 billion aircraft deliveries declined by 9%.Boeing Commercial Airplaines recorded 88 orders for the quarter and 20 cancellations.

The backlog stood at 3,304 civil aircraft late June, for a value of 252 billion dollars.

The turnover of the defense business has declined in parallel from 8% to $ 8 billion, mainly due to lower volumes in the Network & Space Systems branch.

Net sales of Boeing Capital has dropped 3% to 162 million.

Norsk Hydro believes that the aluminum market may have reached its highest level this year in the second quarter and maintained its forecast of growth of 12% of its markets upstream and downstream in 2010.

The Norwegian producer of aluminum has made a profit before interest and taxes (EBIT) current of 1.1 billion kroner (137 million euros) in the second quarter, after losing 618 million kronor last year on same period. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a profit of 900 million kroner.

"The numbers are very solid," said Samir Bendriss, an analyst with Pareto."They are particularly successful in the upstream activity, with higher prices, higher volumes and lower costs than expected."

The group assigns him, this performance to increase its volumes, the strength of its margins and tight control of costs.

"We still anticipate that demand in our major markets upstream and downstream will grow by about 12% in 2010," he said.

However, Norsk Hydro estimates that the global market for aluminum is oversupplied despite the recovery in demand linked to the moderate recovery of economic growth.

"There are many elements that suggest that the second quarter will be stronger in 2010", said group general manager, Svein Richard Brandtzaeg, at a press conference.

The group said world demand for primary aluminum, excluding China, has increased in the second quarter to an annualized level of consumption of around 24 million tonnes, while production outside of China increased 25 million tons on an annualized basis.

"Demand should be stable in the third quarter but with a normal seasonal decline," said Norsk Hydro.

The Norwegian group also warned that its results for its underlying activities of alumina (aluminum oxide) and raw materials are expected to fall in the second half after a solid six months, due to an expected drop courses alumina and rising costs of bauxite.

"The decline (will be) following the expected decline in margins," the group said.

Around 9:45 GMT, was virtually unchanged at 34.96 crowns.

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.

The European Union announces it will appeal the conviction of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on subsidies provided to Airbus.

Airbus and Boeing accuse several years to receive public funding they deem illegitimate.

On 30 June, a panel of WTO experts found some illegal European subsidies provided to Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS, giving due in part to a U.S. complaint filed in 2004.

The appeal against this decision the EU will be filed before a special meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body of WTO, says a source close to the case.

The meeting, which started at 10:00, was convened at the request of the United States in the adoption of the June decision by the panel of experts, which would have forced the EU to end in 90 days to grant British, German and Spanish on the A380.

"This issue is too important to allow misinterpretations Group of Experts (DSB) without challenge," the EU trade commissioner Karel de Gucht, in a statement.

The call of the EU must be treated within 90 days, according to WTO rules.

In the day Wednesday, a lawyer for Boeing reported confidence in Boeing regarding this procedure.

"We are confident about the outcome of this appeal, as we were when the U.S. had opened the proceedings," said Robert Novick, a member of the firm WilmerHale.

"We are confident that the outcome of this appeal will be known by the end of the year."

A complaint against the European American aid mechanisms to Boeing would be decided on July 16, but the decision has been postponed to mid-September.

Louis Welsh, CEO of EADS, has held this postponement unfair.

The Nikkei closed up 0.52% Friday, and closed the week on a 4% gain, its largest weekly increase in seven months.

The Nikkei index closed at 9585.32 points and the broader TOPIX, took 0.02% to 861.21 points.

Japanese stocks have benefited from renewed investor confidence, new optimism for the resumption of the U.S. economy and the euro area.

The courses have been particularly supported by the exporters, thus earning the title Canon 1.02% to 3,480 yen on expectations of a tripling of operating income to about 182 billion yen (1.62 billion euros) .

The title however Inpex has weighed on prices, registering losses of up to 14% on the session to finally close down 12.82% after announcing an equity issue of 6.7 billion dollars threatening to dilute the value of shares already issued more than 50%.

The European aerospace group EADS expects its sales in 2010 could be higher than expected due to the decline of the euro on foreign exchange markets, as its chief financial officer.

In an interview published in the Financial Times Deutschland, Hans Peter Ring said that the coverage measures taken by the exchange company will have an impact on revenue projections from 2012.

"But it seems that this will be different about our income because we have more volatility. Therefore, our revenues could be better than what was previously expected," he said.

In its projections for 2010, EADS expects stable results over the previous year based on an exchange rate of $ 1.40 per euro.The single European currency fell back to about $ 1.20.

In the long term, said Sunday the chairman of the board of EADS Bodo Übber in the Welt am Sonntag, a weak euro is favorable to the company as it produces in the euro area (and therefore pays a large portion of its costs euro) and its sales are mainly denominated in dollars.