Business News & Financial News

Carphone Warehouse, the first European distributor of mobile phones, publishes quarterly results above its forecast, thanks to smartphone demand, pushing up the stock price of more than 5%.

The British group showed some caution about the economic climate but said he was confident, however, achieve its goal for the year in April.

Of the thirteen weeks to July 3, the first fiscal quarter, sales in stores open at least a year rose 3.7% at constant exchange rates in the European market.

This increase is greater than analysts' forecasts that anticipated growth of 2%, according to a survey conducted by the company.

Carphone has also said that the three new stores opened since April in Britain under the name Best Buy have been successful had a "very positive", without giving figures.

Asked by Reuters about the economic outlook, the group general manager Roger Taylor said: "I am not a prophet of doom. But I do not presume to rapid growth, either."

The title gained 5.09% to 227 pence at 10h00 GMT, the FTSE 100 yielded 0.19%.

DuPont publishes a quarterly profit nearly tripled thanks to a double digit growth in sales in its five main business segments.

The number three of the chemistry in the United States has achieved during April-June net profit of 1.17 billion (900 million euros), or $ 1.26 per share, against 417 million (41 cents / share) on the corresponding period last year.

Excluding items, earnings were $ 1.17 per share.

Financial analysts had expected earnings of 93 cents per share according to Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S.It was not clear immediately that this consensus is comparable to published results.

The quarterly revenue rose 25.6% to $ 8.62 billion against 8.27 billion expected by the market.

DuPont revised upwards its forecast range for the full year, saying it now expects earnings per share (EPS) of 2.90 to 3.05 dollars excluding special items, against 2.50 to 2.70 far.

The market consensus gives an annual EPS of 2.64 dollars.

The action DuPont, one of the 30 stocks in the Dow Jones gained 2.1% in pre-market transactions, to 39.80 dollars.

Wall Street could fall this week in a market upturn phase, but will require a new set of quarterly results convincing to feed the stock market rally that started in U.S. last weekend.

The markets have been digesting macroeconomic statistics found disappointing and pessimistic comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the U.S. economy, but the announcement of strong quarterly results by companies suggest a brighter future.

But this week, others are expected quarterly publications such as the oil company Chevron, DuPont chemist or the aircraft manufacturer Boeing.Good news would reassure investors.

Investors have had to readjust their forecasts for the economy with the latest statistics that portend a slowdown in the pace of recovery.

These data have also created divisions in the markets about the possibility of a new recession.If the concerns of a return to "W" began to fade among investors, publications positive would result in rising markets.

FIGURES OF THE GROWTH EXPECTED

"All indicators continue to signal growth, simply we are not moving as quickly as when we came out of the recession, which is totally logical," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at BTIG LLC, adding that the downward phase of the contract is completed.

He considers in particular that the beginning of July should be the low point of annual contracts.

Analysts hope to cheer the quarterly results this week after figures better than expected and forecast annual improvements announced last week by industry groups.

But the economy remains crucial. The series of publications macroeconomic expected this week will also be particularly monitored to determine the strength of the U.S. economic recovery.

The Fed should publish its Beige Book Wednesday on the economic conditions, while the figures for new home sales will launch the week Monday.

On Tuesday, it is the Standard & Poor's / Case Schiller home prices and consumer confidence, which will be followed, before investors only look the next day on orders of durable goods.

But it was the day Friday with the first estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) U.S. second quarter to be expected this week.

The U.S. stock markets opened on a negative note Friday as investors show some nervousness before the publication of the results of resistance testing taxed at 91 European banks.

A few minutes after the start of trading, the Dow Jones yielded 0.28% to 10,293.16 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index 0.44% to 1088.89 points and the Nasdaq Composite 0.51% to 2234.45 points.

Losses are limited by satisfactory business results and publication of European statistics reassuring, especially in Great Britain and Germany.

Microsoft and Ford have published better than expected, the reaction of titles respectively 0.23% and 3.31%.

In contrast, the Citigroup opens down 1.71% to 4.02 dollars, the U.S. Treasury prepares to sell 1.5 billion shares to reduce state participation in the U.S. bank, gained during the rescue group.

The Franco-Dutch Unibail-Rodamco, faced with a lackluster economic environment, will make the cash to shareholders to try to offset the stagnation of its results.

The leading European commercial real estate offers and distribute 1.8 billion euros in cash to shareholders, or 20 euros per share in respect of a return of capital, "he said Wednesday in release.

This operation, which takes the form of a refund procedure premium contribution, roughly the amount of sales, net of acquisitions made since the merger in 2007 between Unibail and Rodamco, the company said.

Unibail-Rodamco has sold four billion euros of assets since the merger and purchased 2.4 billion euros.

The transaction will be subject to an extraordinary general meeting on September 8 for a payment on October 12 and will be funded by four billion euros in credit lines.

Meanwhile, the company said it benefited from renewed investor interest in quality real estate assets to accelerate asset sales and further focus on its biggest shopping malls.

In seven months, Unibail-Rodamco has sold 1.2 billion euros of assets, with an average premium of 9% compared to their appraised values.It plans to sell another 500 million by the end of the year and 2.5 billion by 2012, the Netherlands, but also in France, Spain and Scandinavia.

The land group aims to reduce the number of shopping centers from 95 to 60 by 2012.

NO IMPROVEMENT FOR HIGH

This strategy of refocusing the group on its greatest asset and most cost reflects the uncertainty about the future growth and household consumption.

"I see no reason for a big improvement in overall consumption, but our schools should do better," said Guillaume Poitrinal, CEO, a few journalists."I'm not optimistic about the economic situation in France, but our particular positioning can help us gain market share," he added.

Some analysts also see it as an uncertainty about the continued recovery in property prices.

"Having to pay a special dividend and accelerate disposals may mean that the company does not believe too much in pursuit of the rising property market," commented one of them, who would not be identified.

The company has not yet abandoned its development projects and plans to invest 1.5 billion euros by 2015 to modernize its existing facilities and 5.7 billion for new projects, of which 1.3 billion are actually incurred.He did not rule out further acquisitions.

After the transaction, Unibail will remain the land the least indebted in Europe with a debt ratio increased from 31% to 40%.

Standard & Poor's revised after the announcement, his outlook on the company, which went from stable to negative, while confirming her an "A" long term "A-1 'short-term, and Fitch, which replaced Moody's at the request of the group has assigned a grade "A" long-term debt IDR (issuer default rating).

RESULTS NO SURPRISE

For the first half of 2010, Unibail-Rodamco has published a recurring earnings per share of 4.70 euros, up 0.4% in the first half of 2009, with net rental income of 624 million, down 1 6% (+0.4% at constant perimeter).

Its net asset liquidation stood at 131.00 euros per share, up 2.2% from late 2009 its assets increased by one billion euros to 23.3 billion, ending a two- year decline in the value of its assets.

According to a consensus calculated by the editor of Reuters estimates from a dozen analysts, estimates ranged to 4.51 euros for recurring earnings per share and 130.06 euros for the net asset value (NAV ).

The property has confirmed its growth target of zero to 2% of its recurring earnings per share in 2010, including the impact of capital repayment, after rising 7.1% in 2009, mainly because of low indexation of rents.

The single European property to be included in the Eurostoxx 50, with a market capitalization of 12.5 billion euros, closed up 2.79% in the Paris Bourse to 140.100 euros before the publication of these figures.

Since the beginning of the year, the security loses 8.8%, after rising 44% in 2009.

Manitou Tuesday reported a sharp rise in quarterly sales, but said the second half anticipate a slowdown in orders and a possible impact on delivery times its turnover.

The specialist said all terrain truck build for 2010 growth of 10% to 15% of its turnover, after announcing a 36% increase in sales in the second quarter to 225 million euros, 8.3% throughout the first half, to 387 million euros.

The backlog reached a record level of 5,400 machines at the end of June, said Manitou.

"We focus on our ability to issue orders in a fluid and operational chain still very tense," the group said in a statement.

Manitou has estimated that its order intake for the second quarter allowed him to secure part of his turnover for the second half, but the group expects a slowdown in the second half of the year.

"We continue to believe that these orders are from reports of investment in 2009, the natural cycles of replacement of machinery, and the traditional seasonal effect," the company said.

"However, we do not always signal a real recovery in volumes, either through rental building, expansion of agricultural markets or just a restocking distribution networks," Has added.

The action Manitou closed Tuesday up 1.30%, to 11.68 euros in a market capitalization of around 440 million euros.

Electrolux reported an operating profit below expectations for the second quarter and reaffirmed its forecast of a rise in demand this year in its main markets.

Operating income was 1.5 billion kronor (157 million) excluding exceptional items, against one billion kroner in the second quarter of 2009.The 17 banks and brokerages surveyed by Reuters had expected a net profit of 1.6 billion kronor for the period Apr-Jun 2010.

At 7:36 GMT, yielded 5.0% to 158.70 kronor on the Stockholm Stock Exchange.

"The demand for appliances on the group's main markets should be growing during 2010," the Swedish group in a statement.

The second largest manufacturer of household appliances has been forced to sharply reduce its costs to cope with the slowdown in consumption last year but said its main markets had continued to recover in the second quarter.

Electrolux said the North American market had risen for the third consecutive quarter after 13 quarters of contraction.

"At the industry level, the supply of aircraft destined for the United States in the second quarter would have increased approximately 10%," the group said.

"The entire European market has stabilized during the quarter, with major markets such as Germany, France and Sweden showing positive trends," he added, while noting that southern markets Europe had suffered a sharp slowdown over the period.

'The demand in eastern Europe has increased somewhat, further stated Electrolux.

Lafarge said it had completed the sale of 11.2% of its business in Malaysia under the divestment program initiated by the world's number one cement.

The sale of this portion of Lafarge Cement Berhad, Malaysian (LMCB), the French giant holds indirectly through two subsidiaries, for a net amount of 141 million euros, Lafarge said in a statement.

Following this, the group will remain the principal shareholder of LMCB with a 51%, against 62.2% so far, and will retain management of the business.

Lafarge in May confirmed its target of selling 300 to 500 million euros of non-strategic assets throughout 2010.

In 2009, he has conducted more than 900 million euros from divestments as part of a package of measures to strengthen the company's financial response to the crisis, including reducing debt inflated between late 2007 and in late 2008 by acquiring the Egyptian Orascom.

The U.S. stocks have ended without major trend Wednesday as investors wondering about the tone set by the Fed in the minutes of the last meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee.

The Federal Reserve said that its members should be prepared to adopt new measures to support the economy if the environment deteriorates.

See Fed talk about slowing down and hear that she may have to provide more support and cash undoubtedly shaken the markets, "said Bruce Zaro, chief investment strategist for Delta Global Advisors.

The Dow Jones, which includes the thirty most important values of American industry, was up 0.04% to 10.366.72 points, the S & P 500 index fund managers, dropped 0.02% to 1095.17 points.

The Nasdaq's side showed signs of resistance, clinching 0.35% to 2224.84 points, thanks to technology, supported by better than expected results released Tuesday by Intel. The title of the Informatics Group closed up 1.67% to 21.36 dollars.

Investors have also learned the consequences of the publication of statistics showing that business inventories had risen less sharply than expected in the United States in May while sales fell for the first time since March 2009.

The S & P showing variations of values related to consumption has dropped 0.54%.Abercrombie & Fitch has lost 0.83% to 35.93 dollars while JCPenney yielded 0.86% to 22.99 dollars.

The bank has also been the subject of intense clearances pending the results of resistance testing is suffered by 91 European banks.

The KBW index of sectoral sector fell 1.61%.

A reversal of the trend, GlaxoSmithKline closed up 1.76% to 36.35 dollars after the positive vote from the Food and Drug Administration on a diabetic, developed by the laboratory.

Business start-ups have increased by 1.0% in June to sign up 43.2% over 12 months, according to figures released Tuesday by the INSEE.

In June, the INSEE counted 24,182 new businesses in seasonally adjusted data (+18.4%), a figure which rises to 50,508 by counting the self-entrepreneurs, the figures for the latter being in the raw data.

The lower number of new self-entrepreneurs in June was offset by higher self-creations out contractors, "said INSEE in its statement.

In May, the number of new non-auto business had increased by 2.7% to 20,426.Including these, INSEE had counted 50,021 designs.

Year over year the last three months, the cumulative number of creations in the second quarter 2010 was up slightly compared to second quarter 2009 (+2.1%). The sectors that contribute most to this increase were the construction and industry, noted INSEE.

In the first six months of the year there are 200,313 requests for creations under the self-contractor.

The statute, which simplifies administrative procedures and is fiscally advantageous, has attracted 320,000 people its first year and the Secretary of State for Trade Herve Novelli in hopes as many this year.

The release can be found at www.insee.fr