Business News & Financial News

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

Fiat announced Friday it would invest 700 million euros to produce the Panda in its factory near Naples Pomigliano after a landmark agreement with unions.

The decision to relocate production in Italy of the best-selling small car in Europe, built up in Poland, has been a while appear compromised because only 62% of factory workers in Naples had voted in favor of the plan Fiat, which also includes a significant change in working conditions.

The agreement gives Fiat more flexibility regarding the fees, limits the number of strikes and sick-leave.

It is part of an investment program of Fiat to eight billion euros until 2011 which is designed to make the group more efficient and competitive in a market that has experienced a severe crisis.

Fiat has finally decided to pursue his project after meeting with the four unions that support the project, FIM, UILM, Fismic and UGL.

Fiom, only union opposed the agreement, said it will help the government dismantle the labor law.

The union's national coordinator, Enzo Masini, said the union would consider a lawsuit for infringement of the rights of employees.

The Secretary General of the UILM Palombella Rocco told Reuters: "We hope the employees who voted against the plan will realize that the investment is important and it is in their own interest."

The Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has written a four-page letter to convince employees.

"What we're doing is (…) to use all possible means to save the work, even work on which the Italian Republic is founded," says the boss of the group.

He added that his entire strategy for Italy depends on the agreement at Pomigliano.

The government of Silvio Berlusconi welcomed the announcement of Fiat.

The plant in Naples, which employs 5,000 people, shows the lowest productivity of the five Italian factories of Fiat. It is lower than that of the Polish site, which, with just over 6,000 workers, produced 600,000 cars per year.

The World Trade Organisation has postponed the publication of a report on an action by the EU against the United States regarding subsidies granted to Boeing.

The progress report was published as a confidential WTO panel on the cons-procedure initiated by the Europeans was due July 16, two weeks after the decision of the international institution holding illegal subsidies received by Airbus from European governments.

"I can confirm that the president did speak with the parties concerned and said that because of the complexities of the case, there would be a delay in publishing the report," said Keith Rockwell, spokesman for the WTO.

The United States and Europe accused each other of illegally subsidizing their respective aircraft manufacturers.

The CEO of BP's Tony Hayward met with officials of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia), one of the largest SWFs in the world, said an official source of United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A UAE source told Reuters on Tuesday that BP had approached sovereign wealth funds to find a strategic partner to preserve it from any takeover attempt as it is mobilized by an oil spill that has caused the Gulf of Mexico.

Tony Hayward has made various "options" at this meeting, added the official source, without being more explicit.

Adia was not immediately available for comment.

A Saudi financial daily reported Wednesday that Saudi investors wishing to enter the capital of BP at 10% to 15%.

A delegation of these investors will travel to London to begin a dialogue with BP, said al-Eqtisadiyah, the main financial newspaper in the kingdom, without citing sources.

Action BP has lost more than half its value since the oil spill that began last April.

The British oil giant said it hoped to raise 10 billion this year to finance a fund for cleaning $ 20 billion that had opened under pressure from Washington.

Action BP earns 4.17% to 360 pence in morning.

Nicolas Sarkozy announced Monday the appointment of Rémy Pflimlin, current head of the press operator Presstalis (ex NMPP) to chair the group France Televisions in place of Patrick de Carolis.

56 years old, Remy Pflimlin, former director of France 3, is the chief executive of France Televisions appointed by the Head of State under the reform of public broadcasting, which had already brought Jean-Luc Hees to head of Radio France.

The term of five years Patrick de Carolis ends next August 24.

"The President intends to appoint Pflimlin Remy as president of the company France Televisions," said a statement from the Elysee.

After the Act of March 2009 on the appointment of chairmen of public broadcasting, the choice of the Head of State requires the favorable opinion of the Supreme Council of Audiovisual (CSA) and the cultural affairs committees of the Senate and the National Assembly.

The CSA has already received the proposal from Nicolas Sarkozy, said the statement from the presidency.

A recurrent rumor until recently gave Alexandre Bompard, current head of Europe 1 (Lagardère Group), a favorite for the job.

Alexandre Bompard is regarded both as close to Nicolas Sarkozy and the businessman Stephane Courbit, which almost redeemed, in tandem with Publicis, the advertising of France Televisions.

THE SITE OF THE BOARD

Remy Pflimlin among other tasks will take a decision on restarting the process of privatization of France Television Advertising, suspended in mid-April by the Board of Directors, chaired by Patrick de Carolis.

The board was then raised uncertainties about the possible maintenance of advertising on its antennae day after 2011, especially after an attack in this direction led by Jean-Francois Cope, president of the UMP group in the National Assembly.

The law of March 2009, which endorsed the decision after the fact of advertising from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 in January 2009, provides for the complete elimination of advertising screens on satellite public in late 2011, when the extinction of the television broadcasting analog.

France Televisions has earned 405 million euros in advertising revenue between 6 hours and 20 hours in 2009 – against 260 million originally projected in its budget.

These advertising performance helped France Televisions to rebalance their accounts in 2009 three years ahead of its business plan and generate a net profit of 19.6 million euros instead of a projected deficit of 135.3 million.

The Board of Directors of France Television said Tuesday, June 29 that a return to balance the books reached in 2009 should continue into 2010.

Major European stock markets ended near their highest of the day and even down to Frankfurt and Zurich, investors remain concerned about the apparent fragility of economic recovery following the announcement of job destruction in the United States that many more 'Early in June

The Paris Bourse ended the session up 0.25% to 3348.37 points. However in the week, it sold 4.87%.

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.

Moreover, following the division of Accor effective Friday, with the IPO of his ex-services division, became an independent entity called Edenred, it has jumped almost 30% compared to the reference price announced Thursday, while Accor has dropped from 4.64% to 23.53 euros.

In turn, Dana Petroleum has gained 22.34%, after being approached for a takeover, a possibility which has benefited other values in the oil or oil-related UK, as Premier Oil, Cairn Energy and Tullow Oil who gained 5.18 to 7.91%.

On the downside, Sanofi-Aventis has yielded 2.42%, according to press reports suggesting a proposed acquisition in the U.S. could reach 20 billion dollars.

Airbus said it was pursuing "greater good" talks with European states on the financing of the A350, its new long-haul, saying the talks were in no way affected by the opinion issued Wednesday by WTO on subsidies to the aviation industry.

"(…) The A350 is not affected by the outcome of the WTO. Together with the four states, we are moving at full speed, "said Rainer Ohler, communications director of Airbus, a subsidiary EADS, in an e-mail.

"The completion and timing of the announcements are the responsibility of States.Thus, we can not make any comment on that, "he added.

Justices of the World Trade Organization have inflicted a blow Wednesday to scathing EU ordering him to remove certain export subsidies provided to Airbus.

In his report of more than 1,000 pages, the "special" WTO believes that Airbus could launch a series of civilian aircraft thanks to subsidies from the EU and member states that are France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Without this aid, Airbus has been a society very different and much less powerful, the report said.