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GDP in the euro area has stagnated in the first quarter after falling 0.3% last quarter. But the performance of different countries are very different.

Based on preliminary estimates released Tuesday by the European office of statistics to Eurostat, the euro area recorded no growth (0.0%) during the first three months of the year, after a decline in GDP of 0.3 % last quarter. This figure, better than expected by analysts (-0.2%), allows the euro area narrowly escaped the recession, which is recognized when GDP shrinks for two consecutive quarters. But mostly he hides significant disparities between countries in the euro area: while Germany saw its GDP grow by 0.5%, exceeding all expectations, thanks to exports and consumption, France experienced no growth (0%) and Italy sank into recession (-0.8%).

The Netherlands has also experienced poor performance (-0.2%). As for Greece, she recorded a fall in GDP of 6.2% in the first quarter, according to preliminary official estimate.

These differences show that "the region remains highly dependent on Germany," said Jennifer McKeown of Capital Economics. "A big thank you to progress better than expected German GDP," added Martin Van Vliet of Ing.  

Figures released Tuesday should at least contribute to the debate on growth in Europe, a topic that has emerged slowly while facing austerity, especially under the leadership of French President Francois Hollande.

The latter reiterated its position on the issue during his inauguration speech Tuesday morning at the Elysee Palace. "To our partners, I will propose a new pact that will combine the necessary reduction of public debt with the necessary stimulus," he said. "To overcome the crisis that afflicts it," he said, "Europe needs projects, it needs solidarity, it needs for growth."

The subject should be central to its discussions on Tuesday afternoon in Berlin with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the main advocate of fiscal discipline in Europe, who reluctantly welcomed his proposal to add a growth component in the European budgetary treaty. How to revive European growth will also constitute the main theme of the dinner which will bring together European leaders in Brussels on May 23

The Italian leader, Mario Monti, proposed last week to "unite people of good will" to ensure that it is "compatible" with fiscal consolidation. He is scheduled to meet Tuesday in Brussels with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, whose proposals for growth (increased resources for the European Investment Bank, finance major European projects, tax on financial transactions , better use of EU funds) are widely shared by Mr. Holland.

European leaders will anyway have to be proactive to defy predictions of analysts. To Martin Van Vliet, there is "no evidence of strong and sustained economic rebound on the horizon for the euro area".

As for Howard Archer, IHS Global Insight, thinks that "a contraction of GDP will likely be on the menu in the second quarter." Although a gradual return to growth is expected later this year, "a further escalation of the debt crisis, not counting an output of Greece (the euro area), could derail the expected recovery," puts cautioned Mr. Van Vliet.

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Consumer spending by French households fell 2.9% in March after a similar rise in February. Throughout the first quarter, they increased by 0.2%. Consumer spending by French households fell 2.9% in March 2012 due to lower energy costs.

French consumer spending fell sharply in March, largely due to lower energy bills, losing 2.9% compared to February, said Friday the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies ( INSEE). Consumption expenditure of households had jumped 2.9% in February as a result of the cold wave. Throughout the first quarter, they increased by 0.2%, after rising 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, INSEE said in a statement.  

"The decline in spending in March was largely due to lower energy costs and, to a lesser extent, that of food expenditures," said the institute. Thus, food consumption was down 2.3% after two consecutive months of increases. As for energy, INSEE found a "return to normal + + after the cold snap in February."

Spending on durable goods rose in March (+1.5% after -0.9% in February). Throughout the quarter, they were down 3.3% after rising 2.7% in the fourth quarter of 2011. Despite a recovery in March (+2.3% after -0.5% in February), spending on cars down the entire first quarter (-5.6% after +4.4%). Similarly, those in home equipment increased slightly in March (+0.2% after -0.6% in February) but receding in the quarter (-0.9% after +1.3%).

European shares were down mid-session after the award by Germany of 4.2 billion euros Schatz two years accompanied by a return to a record low 0.14% highlighting investors' appetite for stocks considered less risky and persistent concerns about certain sovereign debt in the euro area.

In Paris the CAC 40 was down 1.41% (-47.86 points) to 3,244.65 points at 10:50 GMT. In Frankfurt, the DAX yields 0.78% and London, the FTSE drops 0.35%. The pan-European index Stoxx 50 was down 1.19%.

The index futures point to a New York opening of Wall Street down.

In Europe, the sector suffers utilities Iberdrola clearances especially after the sale of a stake of 3.69% by ACS. The mining sector benefited from the publication by BHP Billiton of a quarterly activity report showing a drop in production of iron ore lower than feared by analysts. The sector index Stoxx Europe 600 commodity earns 0.87%.

Values, the British retailer Tesco, which has announced plans to spend one billion pounds (1.2 billion) to overhaul its operations in Britain to regain market share and reconnect with sales growth, gaining 0.4%.

The world number two home appliances Electrolux sells more than 4% in after announcing a 16.7% decline in shipments to the North-im Rican for its six major product categories.

ASML is the title back in the same proportions as the world leader in machinery engravings of semiconductors declined to disclose its prospects of orders on the occasion of the publication of its quarterly results .

U.S. stocks open on a technical rebound Wednesday after five sessions of losses on the S & P 500, investors seemed encouraged by the results published by the giant Alcoa aluminum, the first of the season.

In early trade, the Dow Jones gained 0.8% or 103 points to 12,822 points. The Standard & Poor's, wider, takes more than 1% or 14.10 points to 1372.81 points while the Nasdaq composite was ahead by 0.9% (26.61 points) to 3017, 80 points.

Alcoa wins over 7%. The group, considered a good barometer of the U.S. industrial sector, has emerged, to everyone's surprise, a positive net income in first quarter 2012, the for improved market conditions.

The Spanish government announced Monday that he wanted to save ten billion euros in the areas of health and education.

"We need to cut unnecessary costs, streamline the sectors that do not work well, because if we do not, we can not guarantee the viability of the system," said Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos, invited the SER radio.

The government of Mariano Rajoy last week presented a draft budget for 2012 includes € 27 billion reduction in public spending as part of a reorganization plan intended to bring the public deficit to 5.3% of GDP against 8.5% last year.

Expected savings on health and education in addition to this effort. 

The Spanish health system, shared between central government and executives of the 17 autonomous regions, is a debt of 15 billion euros.

According to Luis de Guindos, one of the lines of inquiry could focus on free public health services offered to the Spaniards, whatever their income.

"We need to open the debate, both within the central government in the regions, on whether health should be free for someone earning 100,000 euros (per year)", said the minister. 

In terms of education, Spanish media report that the government would consider a lower number of teachers, that would offset an increase in the number of students per class , and higher tuition fees in universities.

The Popular Party (PP) Mariano Rajoy, who has an absolute majority in Parliament, also controls eleven of the 17 autonomous regions.

The number of Spaniards registered as job seekers experienced the eighth consecutive month of increase in March, companies across sectors continuing to lay off trying to resist the worsening crisis .

The increase in the number of registered unemployed was 0.8% in March from February, 38,769 more job seekers. There are a total of 4.75 million unemployed Spaniards, according to figures from the Ministry of Labour.

The unofficial unemployment rate, which includes the unregistered unemployed, rose to 22.9% in fourth quarter 2011, the highest rate of all countries of the European Union.

Nearly a third of people in 17 countries in the euro area private employment are Spaniards and half of Spaniards under 25 are unemployed, according to Eurostat statistics.

The austerity plan announced Friday by the Madrid government to reduce the budget deficit, which includes a significant decrease in state spending, is likely to affect growth more Spanish . A reform of the labor market to make it more flexible may also enhance the rise in unemployment in the short term.

"Unemployment will continue to increase because it would grow around 1.4% or 1.5% to create jobs and it does not seem feasible before 2014," said the economist of Citi, Guillaume Menuet.

"The brutal reforms of the labor market generally results in more unemployment in the short term," he adds.

The Spanish government expects an economic contraction of 1.7% this year, a forecast more optimistic than Citi, which expects -2.7% in 2012 and -1 , 2% in 2013.

Unemployment in Germany fell in March to 6.7%, its lowest level since the reunification of the country, a decline which heightens the contrast between Europe's largest economy and its neighbors and should support both consumption and wage demands.

The number of job seekers decreased by 18,000 over the past month, its fifth straight decline, returning to 2.841 million according to figures adjusted for seasonal variation (CV) published ; s Thursday by the Federal Labour Office.

This decrease is more pronounced than expected since the 35 economists polled by Reuters had expected a decline of 10,000. 

"The resilience of the German labor market bodes well for private consumption in the first half," commented Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING.

"The mild weather in March and almost unwavering optimism of entrepreneurs seem the main drivers of the improvement of the fall in unemployment announced today."

These figures are good news for the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose estimates are based largely on increased tax revenues.

They also enhance the contrast between Germany and France, where the numbers of unemployment in February hit their highest level since October 1999. 

While the German population is nearly 30% higher than the French, the number of jobseekers CVS is now lower than that of unemployed Class A in the Hexagon.

SALARY INCREASES OF POSSIBLE

4%

If the German economy, driven by exports, has recovered quickly from the 2008-2009 financial crisis, it has not escaped the relapse caused the end of 2011, contracting by 0.2% in the fourth quarter due to the debt crisis in the euro area and its impact on global demand. 

It seems to be resurged since the beginning of this year, which led several economic research institutes to raise their growth projections and e ; housing with near certainty the hypothesis of a new recession (two consecutive quarters of declining GDP).

Buoyant labor market in this climate generally heckled favored improving consumer confidence, rising in six of seven months as the barometer of the GfK. 

The decline in unemployment has led parallel to the German unions claim higher wages after several years of rigor in this area: the central Verdi and IG Metall and ask one the other increases of 6.5% for the approximately five million workers they represent.

For Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank, wage growth is "inevitable" because of tensions on the labor market.

"While it is unlikely that requests for increases of 6% are accepted, agreements with increases of 4% are possible," said he. "With inflation back to 2.1% in March, wage increases may provide important new welcome boost to consumer spending."

Many economists note, however, that the downward trend in unemployment slows as lessens the impact of reforms implemented in recent years to increase the flexibility of the labor market .

Nisshin Steel will acquire Nippon Metal Industry as part of a stock deal valued at $ 180 million (136 million euros) to create the number two Japanese stainless steel The Japanese steel industry consolidating domestic market face a sullen and intense foreign competition.

Nippon Steel Corp.. -A number of Japanese steel-and Sumitomo Metal Industries also plan to merge in October.

Nisshin and Nippon Metal, who in November announced their wish to merge this year, said in a statement that they had reached an agreement to combine, October 1, their activities under a holding company to be called Nisshin Steel Holdings Co.

Prior to this announcement, shares Nisshin Steel have closed unchanged at 145 yen.

Nisshin and Nippon Metal Industry said they planned cost savings and other synergies that increase by 13 billion yen (119 million) over five years their beneficial ; current fice.

The values ​​of the day Friday at the Paris Bourse, where the CAC 40 closed up 0.04% to 3501.17 points, while he had not completed beyond 3500 since die ; goal in August, after a week marked by the second operation of loans to three years of the European Central Bank (ECB).

Over the whole week, the CAC 40 gained 0.98%:

* Values ​​BANK supported the coast, always carried by the second massive injection of liquidity to three years of the ECB, especially as their valuations remain low despite their strong rebound since the first of LTRO mid-December.

SOCIETE GENERALE took 1.34% to 25.395 euros, Credit Agricole 4.945% to 0.86 euros and BNP Paribas 1.50% to 37.915 euros. 

Dexia has won 5.32%, largest increase in the SBF 120, to 0.297 euro. Dexia Credit Local, its French subsidiary, launched a takeover offer for 700 million euros of subordinated notes issued in November 2005.

* Veolia Environnement won 4.74%, largest increase in the CAC 40, to 11.050 euros, having continued its flight after a gain of 14.86% yesterday in anticipation of a recovery group of utilities.

WestLB raised its recommendation from "neutral" to "accumulate".

Its major competitor SUEZ ENVIRONMENT has won 3.51% to 11.800 euros.

* Vivendi has lost 0.97% to 14.360 euros, the second biggest drop in the CAC 40 index, behind EADS (-1.43% to 27.650 euros). The title had already fallen by over 10% yesterday on the prospect of two turbulent years ahead. JPMorgan cut its rating to "overweight" to "neutral". Barclays, Cheuvreux, Deutsche Bank and Nomura have lowered their price target.

* AREVA has gained 4.73% to 20.020 euros, despite mixed results in 2011, after confirming its targets for the period 2012-2016 in a difficult global context.

* NEOPOST rose 1.77% to 52.420 euros after a turnover in 2011 better than expected and the prospect of further growth this year.

Gilbert Dupont raised its target price from 55.60 to 57.90 euros.

* IPSOS, lost 3.32%, largest drop in the SBF 120, to 26.170 euros, having continued to decline from the previous day (-1.33%) after a disappointing forecast operating margin rational 2012, of the order of 10%. Cheuvreux is no longer for sale.

* Technicolor has won 5.73%, largest increase in the SBF 120, to 2.305 euros, while Barclays raised its price target to 2.19 euros.

Fiat-Chrysler is working to find new partners in the automotive industry, said Tuesday Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Italian carmaker and CEO of its ally im Rican.

"We took action," he said in Brussels at an event organized by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. "We can be an active partner throughout the world."

Sergio Marchionne has long argued already for reconciliations of carmakers to reduce their development costs and production.

Asked if he was looking for a European partner, he replied that "there are a lot more."

"I'm interested in everybody," he added.

With regard to Asia, especially Suzuki and Mazda, he said that there were "many opportunities to explore, including the following."

Sergio Marchionne has also reacted to the announcement of a possible alliance between General Motors and PSA Peugeot-Citroen.

"It is crucial that the European situation is treated. If the hypothetical alliance materializes, I hope he will consider the issue of overcapacity. "