Retail sales are backed up against all odds by 0.3% in Germany in July, posting a second consecutive month of decline in monthly, announced Tuesday the Federal Office of Statistics.
Over a year, retail sales rose 0.8%.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a monthly increase of 0.5% and an increase of 1.4% over one year.
The Japanese consumer prices fell in July for the 17th consecutive month on an annual basis, a sign that deflation remains entrenched in the archipelago and Nippon will be difficult to fight for the government.
Tokyo seeks the method that will curb the rising yen, which this week hit a high of 15 years against the dollar and a high of nine against the euro, threatening to bring down a recovery that based on exports.
But the strong yen is likely to complicate efforts by the Japanese government to fight deflation.
Japanese Prime Minister, Naoto Kan, said Friday that reporters would act when necessary on the issue of the strong yen and he would meet the Governor of the Bank of Japan Masaaki Shirakawa on his return from a trip to the abroad.
Naoto Kan also said that excessive currency fluctuations could threaten financial stability and hoped that the BoJ would take the appropriate measures in terms of monetary policy.
Decisions will be made August 31 on these issues.
The Interior Ministry announced Friday that consumer prices, which include fuel costs but not those of fresh products, fell 1.1% yoy in July according to the median forecast of the market. In June, they were down 1%.
"TWO OR THREE YEARS OF DEFLATION"
"Given the appreciation of the yen, exports will plunge and temporarily slow the economic recovery in Japan.Japan will remain in deflation for the next two or three years, "said Takeshi Minami, chief economist at Norinchukin Research Institue.
Investors are betting on an intervention by the Bank of Japan to ease monetary policy in the country.
"The BoJ could expand its refinancing tools next month, but the effect on interest rates in the short term will be limited.She needs to take bolder decisions to fight deflation and the rising yen, as increasing outright purchases of government bonds, although it is very unlikely to happen, "said Takeshi Minami.
Two other indicators released Friday offers a contrasting vision of the Japanese recovery.
The unemployment rate adjusted for seasonal variations fell 5.2% in July against 5.3% in June while the median forecast was 5.3%, according to figures from the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Household spending has in turn increased by 1.1% in July over a year in real terms, less than the market forecast of an increase of 1.3%.
For a chart comparing the evolution of consumer prices in Japan, the United States and the euro area, click on link.reuters.com/pum57n
The spectacular mergers and acquisitions announced in recent weeks nourish hopes of a general resumption of trading but the French bankers polled by Reuters remain cautious optimism for the fall.
The hostile bid of nearly $ 40 billion launched the world's leading fertilizer Potash or the stock market battle for control of the data storage company 3PAR have been seen by some analysts as a sign announcing a possible new cycle.
"Such operations raise a little mercato" judge a banker, a comparison of sports in the same vein as the one launched during the World Cup soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo by: "The goals is like ketchup: when they arrive, they all come together. "
Announcements and takeover rumors are linked together with a consistent and disturbing intended target size in almost all sectors: automobiles Alfa Romeo, the Australian brewer Foster's with the bank with Nedbank of South Africa, insurance with the UK's Aviva or energy with Polish ENEA.
Figures gathered by Thomson Reuters for the French market is also impressive, even excluding the approximately $ 20 billion Sanofi-Aventis would be willing to spend on the U.S. Genzyme.
THE CONTEXT IS BEST
Transactions involving at least one French company are, at August 25, two times larger in value than in 2009 although it remains far from achieving the speculative frenzy in 2006.
On August 25, 2006, volumes amounted to 239 billion dollars, against 105 billion reached Wednesday.
"Generally, we can say that the context is better than the last two years and the probability of operations is improving, although significant uncertainties remain," Thierry J. Silver, Global Head of 'M & A activity at Societe Generale.
"There is no reason to believe that the major cross-border operations will slow.They are now once again well received by shareholders when the companies have demonstrated their ability to cope with the crisis, "said the banker.
The poor market performance since the beginning of the year is still a risk factor and observers recall that many transactions or IPOs had to be canceled after the crash loosened markets in the first quarter .
MOTION FRAGILE
"We are seeing a recovery in 2010, but this movement will remain fragile until the current uncertainty about valuations persist," the judge for his part in a research note Rivalland Jean-Claude, a lawyer with Allen & Overy in Paris.
The degradation of the sovereign rating of Ireland by Standard & Poor's has also recalled Tuesday that the euro zone was not yet out of the rut and the specter of a relapse of the U.S. economy is also a source of concern.
"The problems on the sovereign credit may resurface, CFOs remain cautious because they do not want to take full credit crunch, they must restructure their debts after a major operation," noted for its share Philip Caraman, a banker from UBS to Paris.
"As long as there is no more visible on sovereign risk, the volumes remain as low as three or four years," Judge said.
For Monique Cohen, managing partner of private equity firm Apax, one of the keys to continued activity is the continued financing of transactions by banks, a vital issue for the private equity industry.
"We can not consider access to the debt as an asset of the moment," she said, noting however that "no new restrictions on debt, many LBO (leveraged transactions) should be provided be in September.
To some bankers, corporate strategic imperatives also explain that they go ahead even if the timing is not ideal.
Some major transactions announced or expected to emerge this logic rather than a genuine recovery in overall mergers and acquisitions, they believe.
"In pharma we got to a point where the economy is good or bad, the problems must be addressed," said a banker based in London.
Large groups such as Sanofi-Aventis and not have enough new molecules for activity in the coming years and must grow through acquisitions.
Similarly, some companies must gain control of new technologies or new markets and therefore have to attack even when conditions are not ideal.
"It's a matter of life or death," Judge the same banker.
News Corp. has been beneficial in the fourth fiscal quarter thanks to strong performance of its cable networks and advertising revenue growth of its newspapers.
The media company posted a profit of 875 million, or 33 cents per share for the quarter ended June 30, against a loss of 203 million (eight cents per share) a year ago when News Corp recorded a asset impairment charge.
Turnover rose 5% to 8.11 billion dollars. The Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S gave a turnover of 8.05 billion.
Action News Corp. gained 2.9% to 14.25 dollars after the close of Wall Street, in response to these results.It grew by 12% since the beginning of the year, while the S & P movies and entertainment took 8% in the same time.
Rebound in advertising revenue and lower costs led to a growth in operating income by 20% in the press in the U.S. and internationally. The operating profit of its cable division has increased 31%.
In contrast, there was decline results from the satellite television and commercial services, and loss of the digital divide, including social network MySpace.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
