Business News & Financial News

The debt crisis has led to Monday a new onset of fever in the markets, powered by a warning from Moody's with respect to France and by the failure of U.S. lawmakers to agree on reducing the deficit .

Even the clear election victory of the Spanish right, Sunday, was not enough to reassure investors, anxious about no firewall is sufficient to prevent the spread of the crisis of sovereign debt.

The risk premium for holding debt Spanish, Italian or French rather than German securities was up in the afternoon, Moody's has highlighted the risks posed to the "triple A" of France increased sustainable financing costs.

The field of business has expanded in a broad way, and one area that is common is the business of financing people who are on paychecks. The opening in this business has grown to a greater extent, and now, people have limitless options, including one of getting payday loans online.

List of values ​​to follow on Wednesday at the Paris Bourse.

* BANKS. The International Monetary Fund is considering taking part in a special investment vehicle that would be created by the European Financial Stability (EFSF) but has not yet taken any decision, officials said Tuesday the euro area.

* PSA Peugeot Citroën has revised down its forecast Wednesday after the third quarter of 2011 marked by lower volumes and increased competition on prices in Europe.

* AIR LIQUIDE confirmed target improvement in net profit in 2011 "in a normal environment," despite a slowdown in sales growth in the third quarter, still worn by the emerging markets.

* Bouygues.Morgan Stanley initiated coverage of the value with a board underweight and a target price of 32 euros.

* Saint-Gobain confirmed its 2011 objectives despite the deterioration in economic conditions which could lead to slower growth in the fourth quarter of the group.

* STMicroelectronics.Kepler Capital Markets lowered its recommendation on the way to reduce, retain cons.

* Ingenico found that the turbulence in the economy does not question its forecast for 2011, thanks to particularly strong sales growth in emerging countries and Europe, but the manufacturer of payment terminals has remained silent of 2012.

* MERSEN confirmed its 2011 objectives, supported by strong solar activities and Asia, but expressed cautious for 2012 due to economic climate remains uncertain.

* LAFUMA confirmed its performance targets for 2010-2011 following a growth of 1.7% of its turnover in respect of the fiscal year.

European shares closed up Monday, supported by the hope of a settlement of the debt crisis in the euro area and reassuring economic data from China.

The pan-European Eurofirst 300 index took 1.11%. In Paris the CAC 40 gained 1.55% (49.12 points) to 3,220.46 points, its highest since Oct. 12.

In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 1.41% to 6055.27 points. The Footsie has meanwhile been 1.08% on the London.

The mining, including Antofagasta, Kazakhmys and Rio Tinto have reached the market, winning all over 7% on the right numbers of Chinese manufacturing activity.STOXX index of European raw materials ends up 5.63%.

"Markets are likely to be very erratic until the EU summit on Wednesday night," warns Thomas, however, Kleb, head of equity sales at SG CIB in Paris, noting also that transaction volumes remain extremely limited.

The euro still progressed and exceeded $ 1.39, on the hope that Europeans will manage to agree on a plan against the debt crisis.

According to a document of the European Union (EU) for the summit on Wednesday, two options should be combined to increase the firepower of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), namely an insurance scheme and a special investment vehicle able to buy government bonds.

The Director General of Swedish Automotive, which owns the Swedish automaker Saab, said Friday it had rejected a takeover offer of 100% of capital from Chinese groups Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Pang Da Automobile and Automobile Trade.

"(…) The offer was unacceptable because it would have resulted in the modification of all control clauses, which would have wanted to cause the end of Saab, "he told Reuters at Victor Muller of a telephone interview.

Thursday, Swedish Automotive received a lifeline from North Capital, an investment fund and U.S. hedge fund manager, who made $ 10 million in capital and a loan of 60 million to fund activities Saab.

After opening down more than 10%, the Swedish Automobile action, very volatile, losing to 8:50 GMT, 2.35% to 0.83 euro. Since the beginning of the year, it fell some 75% due to severe cash flow problems of the group.

Victor Muller did not disclose the amount of the offer of two Chinese manufacturers, adding that they were still interested in Saab, they must abide by the terms of the agreement signed in July, stating that they all take 53.9% stake in Swedish Automobile.

Saab went from crisis to crisis this year. It closed in April, unable to pay its suppliers to whom he owes more than 150 million euros.In August, it was no longer able to pay salaries.

Saab was bought by the Dutch Spyker, now Swedish Automobile, General Motors in early 2010.

Since 21 September, Saab has been under the protection of its creditors pending bailout Youngman and Pang Da, who had committed 245 million euros in July.

SAAB can be profitable

A Swedish court has said that he had received a request for release of Saab's system of protection for creditors.

This prospect does not frighten Mascioli Alex, an avid race car, which confirmed to Reuters that his company North Street Capital LP was well invest $ 70 million for Saab to continue operating.

"I expect that the transaction is done. I am ready to do what I can with my resources for Saab," he said by telephone.

The Swedish court said it did not decide on Saab on Friday, adding that he would decide on the reorganization of the manufacturer at the end of next week, at least before a meeting of creditors scheduled October 31 .

Victor Muller said that the Swedish government was not interested in buying Saab.

"There's always a plan B," he said when he was asked what would happen if Chinese automakers abandoned their project.Asked about the plan, Victor Muller said he would reveal "only if we use them."

"It was Victor decide. He struggled a lot to try to save the company. For now, there is an agreement with the Chinese," said Alex Mascioli for his part in response to the question of whether he was willing to invest in the place of Youngman and Pang Da.

Saab is an undervalued asset that will survive and which could generate profits, Mascioli Alex continued, adding that North Street could afford to take Saab if the manufacturer wanted.

After the leak on the proposed closure of two blast furnaces in Liege, Belgium, Lorraine ArcelorMittal employees are concerned about their future. Employees of ArcelorMittal at the entrance of the site of Florange, September 9, 2011.

Article first published on LExpress.fr

In shock. Back Thursday night in Lorraine, Edward Martin, the CFDT delegate of ArcelorMittal Florange, found the words to shout his anger. "At noon, I was unable to speak," he admits. Hours earlier, he was still in Luxembourg, following a meeting of the EWC's No. 1 global steel industry. Meeting at which management claimed to have nothing to say to the union representatives, while in Belgium, the Walloon region have learned announced the closure of two blast furnaces in Liege. "The Belgian colleagues were crying," said Edouard Martin.Both blast furnaces were arrested temporarily. Florange such as: one ceased operations on July 6, the other on October 4. "How to extend credit to the word of Mittal who say one day it will not close and decide the opposite the next day? Edward Martin gets carried away. Eric Besson does not doubt the word of Mittal? It is more naivety is complicity! "

A Florange, fear is escalated after the announcement that hit the site of Liege. The area has already seen the closure of the steelworks in Gandhinagar in 2009. Teams know that ArcelorMittal wants to improve the productivity of blast furnaces and focus activity on large-capacity facilities, located by the sea, more profitable (Fos and Dunkerque in France, Ghent, Belgium, Bremen, Germany , Gijon, Spain).Seven sites in Europe are now involved in the activity stops, France, Belgium, Germany and Spain. On September 23, at the investor day in London, the management of Mittal announced an "optimization plan assets of € 1 billion" in the old continent.

"We wondered where it would find one billion, one begins to understand, but this is not enough, loose Edward Martin, furious. We always used the same refrain, the temporary closure. Until punch in the stomach the final decision. It is sure that with the presidential election, it would make a bad impression to announce closure of Florange. But what will happen there in June 2012? ". Segolene Royal after a fortnight ago, François Holland a week ago, Jean-Luc Mélenchon which is Florange this Friday, October 14. "But we are disgusted by the silence of French and European authorities, denounced Martin.Libya is saved, we save the banks, and we? We will not let them kill Florange. For thirty-three years I worked here. This plant is ours. In 1992, there had been 1.5% of payroll to pay for a new galvanizing line. They killed Gandhinagar, they will not kill Florange. Angry? Today, it is not anger, it's disgust. "

Gold was well on Monday to undergo its biggest drop in three days the last 28 years, investors are turning away from commodity markets to protect themselves from the potential impact of a default on the remaining Greek countries in the euro area.

"Gold is one of the few assets that remained in positive territory this year (…), so when investors are looking for money, they sell assets that have underperformed.Basically, gold is a victim of its own success, "wrote in a note Edel Tully, an analyst at UBS.

The price of spot gold was trading at 1,623.19 dollars per ounce to 11:25 GMT, down some 3%.

During the last three days, gold has fallen nearly 10%, its biggest decline in this time interval since February 1983.

"This shows that in times of extreme stress, there is no adequate substitute for liquidity," said Tom Kendall, an analyst at Credit Suisse.

Gold has dropped more than $ 100 last Friday's rebound against the greenback and rumors of liquidation of positions by large hedge funds.

The lack of consensus for a solution to the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area has pushed gold to new heights this year, reaching more than 1,900 dollars per ounce.

"The increase in the volatility of gold prices was a clear indication that gold was no longer a low-risk assets," said Nic Brown, on commodities strategist at Natixis.

Philips reported new measures of cost reductions on Tuesday due to weak demand for its products, an ad that has boosted the title of the Dutch in early trading before it turns into a context of new sharp fall in European shares.

One who is both a world leader in lighting, one of the top three global manufacturers of hospital equipment and the European leader in consumer electronics is affected by higher commodity prices, from budget cuts in the Health and by sluggish consumer spending.

Philips said it had increased to 800 million its goal of cost reductions, which represents a 60% increase compared to $ 500 million announced in July.

The group also expressed confidence in its ability to meet financial targets for 2013, despite the uncertainties surrounding the global economy.

By 10:35 GMT, Philips yielded 0.78% to 12.13 euros after gaining about 7% in early trade. However, the value is better than the AEX index of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (-1.6%) and the index grouping the European values ​​of consumer goods and luxury.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange finished up 0.23% Tuesday, buoyed by the surge in Wall Street yesterday, but the gains were limited by lingering concerns surrounding the strength of the yen on the foreign exchange market.

The Nikkei gained 21.02 points to 9,107.43 and the Topix, broader took 1.94 points (0.25%) to 779.06.

The Tokyo stock market has benefited from the good performance observed the day on Wall Street, thanks to a major merger or acquisition in the technology sector and hopes for solutions to the debt crisis in the euro area.

Google announced Monday the acquisition of the handset manufacturer Motorola Mobility for approximately $ 12.5 billion (8.7 billion euros) in cash to strengthen the market share of its mobile operating system Android.

The announcement Japanese technology support certain values, including the manufacturer of parts for smartphones Murata Manufacturing, which ended up 1.34%. The chip maker Elpida Memory has meanwhile increased by 5.08% while Renesas Electronics gained 1.86%.

But the strength of the yen on the foreign exchange market continues to worry investors. The dollar was trading around 0600 GMT to 76.81 yen.

"In addition to the summer slowdown, we could wait a while before the Japanese market will regain momentum after days of strong sales of last week," said Masatoshi Sato, senior strategist at Mizuho Investors Securities.

The Nikkei has lost some 7.6% since the beginning and is still in its 25 days moving average located at 9656.06.

"Who's next?" After the decision by Standard & Poor's rating to degrade the U.S., the sustainability of the note of other countries "triple A", including the United Kingdom and France, raises questions.

The rating "AAA" allows recipient countries to finance the best conditions in the bond markets, that is to say interest rates very low, also called "risk-free rate."

For now, Standard & Poor's is the only one of the three major rating agencies to have made the decision to deprive the U.S. of their triple-A to bring them to "AA +".Moody's and Fitch have confirmed their notes "Aaa" and "AAA".

When asked about France, officials from Standard & Poor's affirmed the "AAA" of Paris and its stable outlook.

"There is no need to worry about its solvency," said Carol Sirou, president of S & P France, Liberation.

This does not preclude some analysts to express concerns, and others estimate that a new exclusion from the club of "triple A" is not imminent.

Mohamed El-Erian, managing director of Pimco, believes that it is difficult to imagine that (…) S & P does not follow with at least one of the other members of the club AAA sovereign. "

"If this were to materialize, and involve a country like France for example, would complicate efforts, already fragile, made in Europe to save the country from the periphery," he adds.

More cautious strategies Commerzank wrote in a note that "the degradation (of the United States, Ed) suggests that other countries (…) 'AAA', such as France, might begin to feel the wind of the bullet ".

But Ciaran O'Hagan, rates strategist at Societe Generale, told Reuters on Saturday not to expect the degradation of another "triple A", including that of France.

The primary deficit IMPORTANT FROM FRANCE

Until the assumptions of one or the other materialize, France and Germany have issued Monday in short-term debt in much better conditions, that is to say, at rates significantly lower than the week or last month.

On the long curves of their interest rates, the France and Germany (part of the euro area), who benefited from risk aversion in the past weeks, Monday saw the return on their loans to 10 tender years together.

The criticisms are focused on France, its budget ratios – the worst of the group of "triple A" in the euro area (France, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg).

The public deficit, which reached 7.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) last year in France, goes beyond the level of other "triple A" in the euro area.

The European Commission expects that this gap will remain this year, the French deficit to rise to 5.8% at end 2011 against 3.7% for the Netherlands and Austria, 2.0% for Germany and a , 0% for Finland and Luxembourg.

France is the only one of these countries show a primary deficit (excluding debt service) important. The Commission should represent 3.1% of GDP in France in late 2011 against 1.6% in the Netherlands, Austria 0.9% and 0.5% in Luxembourg.Germany and Finland for their part should end the year with a primary surplus (0.4% and 0.2% respectively).

Other major economies outside the euro area recorded "triple A" by the three main agencies are the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Australia, Norway and Switzerland.

Many experts believe the "triple A" in the UK could also be subject to question.The Commission expects that the deficit of the United Kingdom will amount to 8.6% in late 2011, the primary deficit to 5.5%, for a debt ratio almost identical to that of France.

"A red line not to cross"

Faced with repeated questions, the French government assures it will take all necessary steps to meet its deficit reduction targets in order to quickly lower the debt ratio in the country.

It has already announced it would reduce the need to "niche" amputate tax revenues of the state in a proportion higher than the 3.0 billion expected for 2012 for now.

"The 'triple A' was confirmed by the three agencies and it was a red line not to cross on deficit reduction," said Saturday a source familiar with the Finance Minister Baroin. "It will result in measures in the draft budget law and the bill for funding Social Security in 2012 to be presented to the Cabinet in September."

The French government is committed to reducing the public deficit to 5.7% of GDP end of 2011, 4.6% in late 2012, 3% and 2% end 2013 end 2014.This path should enable it to as reverse the spread of debt / GDP ratio from 2013 to put it on a downward path.

Paris believes that this ratio will continue to increase, to 85.4% of GDP at end 2011 and 86.9% in late 2012, then it will fall to 86.4% at end 2013 and 84.8% at end 2014.

This path will be updated in September, when presenting the draft budget for 2012 to reflect the increase of some 15 billion euros by 2014 (0.75 percent of GDP) financing needs French , because the new plan to support countries in the euro area in difficulty adopted at the European Summit of 21 July.

Bristol-Myers Squibb said Thursday sales exceeded expectations in the second quarter, but the tax increase left the benefit simply in line with forecasts.

The pharmaceutical group raised its profit forecast Thursday for all of 2011 and reaffirmed its forecast for 2013 suggests that the relatively stable for that exercise.

That year, his star anticoagulant, Plavix, will face for the first time in a year to U.S. generic competition.

In exchange, the action is gaining 2.3% to 29.28 dollars in a market up slightly.

Bristol-Myers reported a profit of $ 1.31 billion, or 52 cents per share in the second quarter, up from $ 1.27 billion, or 53 cents a year earlier.

Excluding special items, EPS amounted to 56 cents, one cent more than was expected on average by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S.

The effective tax rate of the U.S. group rose to 27% in the quarter, against 20.4% a year earlier.

Revenues increased 14% to 5.43 billion, while Wall Street was counting on 5.04 billion dollars.

The group was helped by the weak dollar, strong demand for products including Abilify and Plavix and the launch of its treatment of melanoma Yervoy that appears promising.

Sales of Plavix, marketed in partnership with the French Sanofi rose 15% to $ 1.87 billion. Sales are expected to fall sharply in May when the first generic will appear.