Hot Economic News Releases

European shares increase their losses by early afternoon Thursday, still sealed by the crisis in the eurozone, where Spain has fallen into recession.

The Spanish Treasury has managed to issue 2.5 billion euros of debt in three to four years but at interest rates much higher than in April .

Around 1:45 p.m., Paris lost 1.3% to 3,008.93, London 1.68%, 1.06% Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid 2.45% 2.37%. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of large values ​​of the euro area loose 1.63%.

The German government bond (Bund) and 10 years take an aversion to risky assets and its yield fell to a new record low as 1.43%.

The euro fell below $ 1.27 and is trading around 1.2668.

Barrel of Brent North Sea gives up 71 cents to 109.05 dollars.

When you think of quick cash loans, it means you are going to acquire your funds online. It requires few minutes for the approval of your application and then you are happy with your funds!

List of stocks covered Monday to the Paris Bourse, where the CAC 40 index is back above the 3,200 points (1.05% to 3222.70 points at 12:26), after its withdrawal 3.94% suffered last week, supported particularly by the energy sector.

* However, banking stocks suffer from persistent market fears about the financial position of the peripheral countries of the euro area, the performance of Spanish debt in ten years being spent at above 6% for the first time since the start of the year.

BNP PARIBAS leaves 3.55%, largest drop in the CAC 40, followed by Crédit Agricole (-3.28%) and SOCIETE GENERALE (-2.5%). The index Stoxx European banking yields 0.93%. ACC off, DEXIA (-11.54%) shows the largest decrease of the SBF 120 and Natixis were down 2.43%.

In addition, Citigroup cut its price targets on several French banking stocks.

* ENERGY SECTOR's is up at European level (+1.6%) while VESTAS WIND SYSTEMS jumped 18.49%, two Chinese groups planning to launch a takeover offer for the Danish manufacturer wind turbine, the newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Technip (3.83%) signed the largest increase in the CAC 40, MAUREL ET PROM was up 2.76%, 2.55% of CGG VERITAS and TOTAL of 1.96%.

GDF SUEZ wins 3.06%. The group announced the acquisition of 30% International Power (0.73%) that did not already own for 6.8 billion pounds (8.3 billion euros). He announced in the wake that it was within its target of recurring net profit CEOs for 2012 at between 3.7 and 4.2 billion euros, against 3.5 to 4 billion previously.

* DOLLAR VALUES are oriented correctly, the euro had hit a two-month low against the greenback, investors reducing their exposure to the euro area. EADS rose 2.7%, 1.29% and STMICROELECTRONICS ZODIAC AEROSPACE of 3.42% (largest increase in the SBF 120).

* Illustrating the continuing investor concerns for the situation in Europe, defensive stocks are sought. Air Liquide wins 1.96%, 1.5% or Pernod Ricard ESSILOR 1.38%.

* RENAUL PSA and win respectively 1.99% and 1.34%. According to trade publication The Letter VN Auto K7, orders for new cars in France saw their slow decline in March.

* INTERNATIONAL GECI remains suspended until Tuesday. The aerospace engineering company said it had been informed of the lapse of a memorandum of agreement to finance the project of French aircraft Skylander, and said it was exploring new ways of financing.

The project Skylander is grossly under-funded in its current setup and would require tens of millions of euros of additional investment, according to an expert report that Reuters was able to consult.

The acceleration of inflation in March makes the recruitment fee preferred by the French less attractive for the coming months. Explanations. The remuneration of Booklet A from 2 to 2.25% on August 1.

Contrary to the predictions of earlier this year by Christian Noyer, Governor of the Banque de France, inflation does not decline in France. It remains even at a high level. In March, consumer prices rose 0.8% on month (after +0.4% in February), and 2.3% year on year. Normally this would result in a revaluation of rates of pay A booklet of 25 basis points, according to mathematical formula which is based on determining the rate of investment preferred by the French – 93% have.

The law provides that changes in rates of Livret come into force on February 1 and August 1. But large changes in inflation, such as increases currently observed may also result in rate changes on May 1 and November 1. In short: compensation should automatically go from 2.25% currently to 2.50% in a fortnight. There is a good chance they will not happen.

The government can indeed block the automatic adjustment of the booklet A. He has already done in the past, particularly to address the declining rate as in August 2009 – at that time, the rate had dropped 1.75% to 1.25%, while the application of the rule would justify a reduction to 0.25%. But at election time, the opposite is true: the government blocks the upward revaluation. This is what happened last February, while inflation already justified a rate increase to 2.50%.  

Increase the rate by 0.25 A booklet would cost 500 million euros effect (the total amount outstanding of 60 million accounts reached 223 billion euros) to the State, 700 million even if one adds the blue books. While the booklet A is a popular product, but it could still be perceived as a gift to investors. So the Livret A rate is likely to remain at 2.25%, at least until August 1.

"This level of rate barely covers inflation. At The booklet does not generate more over-compensation for savers, analysis Gommard Benedict, CEO of Cortal Consors. It is a product that preserves the purchasing power but which offers no more. " However, this low attractiveness of the booklet A should not lead to a massive outflow, estimated the specialist savings and online brokerage. Indeed, the booklet A "is a reassuring product in an increasingly anxiety-provoking," he concludes.

Sony will cut about 10,000 jobs, or about 6% of its global workforce, by the end of the year, the Nikkei newspaper reported, adding that these measures would affect the chemical division of electronics giant Japanese as well as manufacturer of LCD screens small and medium size.

The paper said it is difficult to say at this stage how these job cuts will be divided between Japan and the world.

The new CEO of Sony, Kazuo Hirai, was ordered to put the group on the road to profitability after four fiscal deficit. 

In early February, Sony, distanced during the last decade by more innovative competitors like Apple or the American South Korean Samsung, said he expected for the 2011-2012 year, ended March 31, at an annual loss of 220 billion yen (2.2 billion euros).

Kazuo Hirai, officially took office on April 1, replacing Howard Stringer, must be about the business plan from Sony on Thursday.

The Higher Audiovisual Council (CSA) said Tuesday it deferred its decision on the allocation of new channels on digital terrestrial television after the shootings in Toulouse.

A CSA decision was expected imminently as part of a call for applications for the granting of new frequencies in high definition on TNT for which thirty candidates were ; auditioned from March 5 to 14.

"Due to circumstances at this time of tragedy that all families and our country, the CSA is associated with this sentence and defer its decision regarding the selection of DTT channels", Reuters said a spokesman.

Airbus officials, airlines and engine manufacturers in Europe have written to European political leaders urging them to resolve the dispute arose from the recent introduction of a carbon tax in the EU.

The signatories declared that reprisals from China and other countries opposed to the European level of taxation of carbon emissions (ETS) have serious consequences for the sector, has Airbus said in a statement.

According to Airbus, China has already suspended $ 12 billion of orders, which could lead to destruction according to the manufacturer of over 1,000 jobs internally and at least 1,000 extra in the chain not supply. 

The nine general managers who sign this letter to the Prime Ministers English, French, Spanish and German Chancellor expect that the list of cancellations of orders continues to grow .

The petitioners request the holding urgent talks at the European Council and with the states as the situation becomes intolerable for the aviation sector, we read in the news for Airbus.

"The aim must be to find a compromise solution and to stop these punitive measures before it is too late," say company executives quoted in the press release.

"We have always believed that only a global solution would be adequate to solve the problem of aviation emissions."

Business leaders call for opening negotiations with the states concerned in the Aviation Organisation Organization (ICAO)

. In addition to Airbus, the letter implies managers of British Airways and Iberia, the two components of International Airlines Group, ¨ Air Berlin, Air France, Lufthansa, Virgin Atlantic, Safran and MTU Aero

.

Statoil confirmed Wednesday it was in talks to sell its stake in the giant oil field of West Kourna 2, in Iraq, Lukoil and its Russian partner, according to Iraqi sources the sector, two companies have reached an agreement.

Statoil has a 18.75% share, and sales to the Russian Lukoil will give a 75%. The remaining 25% is held by a public company in Iraq.

An agreement will allow the Russian company to become the only dealer outside of one of the largest oil projects in the pipeline in Iraq, while Norway will become the first major Western band to withdraw from an Iraq project in recent years.

"Statoil has reached an agreement with Lukoil to sell its stake in Kourna West 2 and the Iraqi Oil Ministry has approved the agreement," said a source from the Iraqi oil sector.

Another Iraqi source confirmed the agreement. "Statoil has sold its stake in Lukoil and Lukoil is now the sole operator of Kourna West 2", it was reported.

For its part, Statoil has simply said that the process was underway.

"Lukoil and the Iraqi authorities have previously confirmed that we had initiated a process to transfer shares of our project Kourna 2 West in Iraq," said a spokesman for Statoil. "We will when this process is completed," he added, without comment on the transaction amount or timing.

The Norwegian public company has been considering for some time to leave Iraq to refocus on less risky assets around the world, according to industry sources. Statoil plans to invest several billion dollars in deposits in the U.S. or offshore Norway.

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%.

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

Bercy is considering a mechanism for not achieving a 10% rise in tobacco prices. Finally, it should increase by 2% on 1 October. Which must be added the 6% increase already planned. Next autumn, tobacco is going to experience a sharp rise again.

The government will review the tax on tobacco to reduce the effect "multiplier" of the social VAT on tobacco prices and avoid too large an increase of the cigarette package, officials said Saturday at Bercy.

The Ministry of Economy "is considering reducing the multiplier effect of the VAT hike on tobacco through a lowering of excise (tax collected by the State, Ed) on tobacco", it was indicated to the Department, confirming a report published on the website of Les Echos.

Besides the increase of 1.6 point VAT on 1 October, a 6% increase in tobacco prices in 2012. Due to the complex mechanism of pricing of cigarettes, the combination of these two boxes (one on taxation, the other on price, Ed) mechanically lead to an increase greater than 10% of the package.

At the announcement of the introduction of VAT social, tobacconists and manufacturers have alerted the authorities about the effects of this increase that threatens their marges.Bercy will reduce excises, to 63.28% as against 64, 25%, erasing "to nearly 90%" the VAT increase, according to Les Echos.

+ 2% from 1 October (6%)

"There will end up with a slight overall increase in taxes on cigarettes (0.13 points), corresponding more or less to the impact of the VAT hike in other sectors", according to the newspaper.

These figures have not been confirmed by Bercy which emphasizes that "the tobacco industry will contribute as much as other sectors". Les Echos report that "the margins of manufacturers fall moderately", without elaborating.

Ultimately, the VAT hike is expected to increase prices by 1.5% to 2% effective October 1, understands the quotidien.A this increase must be added the 6% pay increase for the fall at a date not yet known.