News – Business & Economi

Wall Street has ended in the red Wednesday after a volatile session, thus showing its fourth consecutive decline and its sixth in seven meetings, the concerns raised by the debt crisis of the euro area continued to haunt investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial 30 yielded 0.26%, or 33.45 points, to 12,598.55. The S & P-500, wider, lost 5.86 points, or 0.44%, to 1324.80. The Nasdaq Composite fell on its side of 19.72 points (-0.68%) to 2,874.04.

Although Germany has tried to calm things down on Greece, saying she wanted to stabilize the country in the eurozone, the European Central Bank (ECB) has renewed concerns in said to have ceased to provide liquidity to certain Greek banks due to their under-capitalization.

The Greek authorities have in turn reported massive withdrawals made by the citizens of their bank accounts because of economic and political uncertainties. 

The questions about the future of Greece and possible implications for the euro area a country's output of the Economic and Monetary Union weighed on equity markets in recent weeks, with an S & P 500 has lost some 5.5% since late March.

The fact that, according to the minutes of its last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee, the Federal Reserve remains open to new measures to support the economy has little impact on sentiment of market participants.

These have not benefited from more macroeconomic indicators rather positive, with one hand a higher-than-expected housing starts in April and the other , a stronger than expected rebound in industrial production. 

As for values, General Electric took 3.268% to 19.00 dollars after the division of financial conglomerate has received permission to resume the transfer of part of its profits to its parent.

GE Capital provides and to pay a special dividend of $ 4.5 billion in General Electric during the year.

The title J.C. Penney has plunged 19.72% to 26.75 dollars, its biggest daily drop in percentage terms since 1987, a day after the distributor has suspended payment of a dividend and announced results showing that its transformation implementation has more impact than expected on its activity.

Also in the distribution sector, the title has pros Target 0.44% to 55.32 dollars after the group specialized in low-cost stores raised its annual forecast .

Facebook will increase by almost a quarter the size of its IPO and could now raise up to $ 16 billion (12.6 billion euros), the strong investor demand obscuring the dice ; beats on long-term profitability of the social network.

The Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson resigned Sunday because of a controversy over a fake university degree in computer science listed on his resume.

This is the third time in as many years as the head changes its internet portal.

Yahoo also gave three director seats at a hedge fund run by Daniel Loeb, who should be well positioned to influence the group's strategy.

Scott Thompson was replaced on an interim basis by Ross Levinson, current director of worldwide media division, Yahoo said in a statement.

It's Third Point hedge fund of Daniel Loeb, who discovered the falsification of the CV of Scott Thompson. This company owns 5.8% stake in Yahoo.

The departure of the CEO only four months after taking office should re-questioning the future of Yahoo, which is struggling to revive its growth face stiff competition from groups like Google or Facebook.

On April 10, Yahoo announced its reorganization into three divisions – "consumer", "regions" and "technology", which was one of the first strong measures by Scott Thompson , arrived at the beginning of the year at the helm of the company.

The European Commission on Friday gave the green light to unconditional takeover of Edison by EDF Italian electricity.

"In a decision dated May 10, 2012, the European Commission has approved without conditions the acquisition of sole control by EDF Edison under the European regulations on the control of concentrations, "said the EU executive said in a statement.

"This decision raises the condition precedent to the completion of this transaction related to obtaining permission from the relevant competition authorities," added the Commission. 

Upon publication of its turnover, Thursday, EDF said it has completed the first quarter of the takeover of Edison, for which the French electricity has increased to 0.89 its offer per share to minority shareholders. This new proposal represented for him a net additional cost of 25 million euros.

Already facing a bleak economic environment, banks must now confront a French real estate market in full contraction, marked by a sharp slowdown in mortgage lending in France during the first quarter.

According to data from the Observatory CSA-Credit Housing, real estate loan production fell by 26.1% during the first quarter, with a dip of 35% on the month of January 2012 . Between early January and late March, the fall is larger, down 30.8%.

"The improvement observed in autumn 2011, aftermath of demand expectations of late 2011, was not enough to reverse the recessive market and weighed heavily on the month of January 2012, "note the analysts of the Observatory in its quarterly survey released Thursday.

"The market downturn has become a true reality," they continue.

The quarterly results of French banks, released Thursday and Friday, continues the trend. In recent years, rising real estate loans had helped to swell the volume of lending to the economy, especially during the financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

"During the crisis period in 2009, 2010 and 2011, the housing credit has been a growth engine for retail banking in France," said Christophe Nijdam, an analyst at AlphaValue . "It was the engine and it was welcome, because of other activities such as retail banking abroad, were very, trè s disappointing. "

"But this year, instead of having a GNP (net banking, Ed) with growth rates of 3% to 5%, we could have a no-growth or GNP is decreasing "he says.

IMPACT ON THE MARGINS

Societe Generale said Thursday that net profit down 20% in the first quarter, has reported a decline of 26.2% of production mortgages in France between January and March.

Crédit Agricole d'Ile de France, which also released its results, the housing loans fell by 16.6% during the first quarter. 

For its part, BNP Paribas speaks of "a continued deceleration of home loans", without giving precise figures for the production of home loans in France.

The rating agency Standard & Poor's expects a contraction of about 20% to 30% of the flow of new loans in France this year. It also anticipates a decline of 15% of property prices in 2012 and 2013.

"French banks should not be significantly affected by the decline in house prices that we anticipate in our economic forecasts," said S & P.

The agency said the contraction of the flow of new credit this year "could weigh on banks' interest margin, although this negative volume effect would be partly offset by increased levels of these new credits. "

At nearly $ 120 million, a version of "Scream" by Edvard Munch became a work of art the most expensive ever sold at auction. Sale by the businessman Norwegian Petter Olsen, identity is unknown to the buyer. The sale of the Munch allowed Sotheby's to beat its previous record for an evening auction of impressionist and modern art.

A version of "Scream", the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, was sold Wednesday night for 119.92 million dollars in New York, becoming a work of art the most expensive ever sold at auction. The sale in the crowd of Sotheby's lasted only 12 minutes, sometimes climbing the auction of more than 10 million in one minute. In an electric atmosphere, seven buyers were hotly contested this work lighthouse, which was estimated at 80 million.  

The pastel made in 1895 and representing a man shouting, hands on ears, bloody sky background in Oslo, was the only one of four versions of "The Scream" still owned by an individual. The sale ended to loud applause, while the auctioneer Tobias Meyer announced a "world record". No detail was given on the buyer, in the center of much discussion after the sale, but the seller, businessman Norwegian Petter Olsen, said he was "very happy" to have become man such a record, at a brief press conference.

Between 1893 and 1910, Munch, expressionist painter (1863-1944) had made four versions of this table over the years become a symbol of universal anxiety. Wednesday night that sold during the sale of impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's for 70 years belonged to the family Olsen, Petter Olsen holding his father Thomas, neighbor, friend and protector of Munch. She had the particularity to include, in red letters inscribed on the frame of light wood, the poem that inspired this work among the best known in the world.

The other three versions of the table belong to the Munch Museum in Oslo (2) and the National Gallery in Oslo (1). Welcoming a "historic evening", Simon Shaw, head of Impressionist and modern art at Sotheby's, emphasized the universality of "Scream", the "key to the modern consciousness". The painting, which was the subject of countless books, films and studies, and has been declining over the years on mugs, calendars, t-shirts and other objects of daily life, is "one of the few images that transcend the art and history to reach the international conscience, "he stressed before the sale.

Only eight works had previously exceeded $ 80 million at an auction, and none had reached 100 million under the hammer, which was the case for Munch. The world record was previously held by Picasso, "Nu au Plateau sculptor", sold $ 106.4 million (with fees) in May 2010 at Christie's in New York. In his diary, January 22, 1892, Munch had explained his inspiration for "The Scream": "I was walking on a path with two friends. The sun was setting. Suddenly the sky turned blood red. I stopped, exhausted, I'm leaning on a fence, there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and city. My friends have continued, and I just stood there, trembling with fear. I sensed an infinite scream passing through the universe "

. Wednesday evening, Petter Olsen gave his own interpretation of a work" remain a major force in (his) life "." The Scream shows the scary moment for me where man realizes his impact on nature and irreversible changes that he initiated, making this planet more inhabitable, " he said, paying tribute to the vision "prescient" by Munch. With the revenues from the sale, he planned to build a new museum dedicated to the artist in Norway

.. The sale of the Munch ……. allowed Sotheby's to beat its previous record for an evening auction of impressionist and modern art, which was 286.2 million dollars, and dated from 1990. Wednesday night, the sales of 65 of the 76 proposed lots totaled 330.56 million dollars.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is opposed to programs to support economic activity in Europe but it is ready to discuss a strengthening of the European Investment Bank Investment Bank (EIB), she says in an interview published Wednesday in the daily Hamburger Abendblatt.

She explains that in his view, the growth can not depend solely on stimulus costly for public budgets.

"It is important that we distance ourselves vis-à-vis the idea that you should always spend money to get economic growth," she said, according to excerpts from the interview released before its publication. 

"Sustainable growth is based more on education and research and innovation capacities of SMEs."

Germany, who had fought the 2008-2009 recession with a stimulus package of 81 billion euros, took the lead of states shifting the focus to fiscal austerity measures against ; the sovereign debt crisis.

But an increasingly hostile public opinion and certain officers to austerity in several countries in the euro area has reopened the debate on the advisability of measures to support growth . 

In France, the favorite for the second round of presidential elections, the socialist Francois Hollande, wants to engage if elected Sunday a renegotiation of the European fiscal pact meant facilitate the reduction of deficits. It also advocates that the European Central Bank (ECB) do more to support economic activity.

Angela Merkel warned against any relaxation of the fiscal pact, it is preferable to consider measures mobilizing "political courage and creativity more than billions."

She argues for including the removal of barriers to youth employment and the strengthening of vocational training systems, to further open the labor market. 

Repeating remarks already held the last weekend in another interview to the press, she told the Hamburger Abendblatt that Germany was in favor of strengthening resources EIB, the financing arm of the European Union in the field of investments, as well as a more flexible use of EU structural funds.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup of finance ministers ruled Monday as possible an increase of 10 billion euros from the EIB's capital.

Human Genome Sciences announced Thursday it had rejected an unsolicited offer of his longtime partner GlaxoSmithKline that values ​​around 2.6 billion (2 billion).

GSK's offer, to 13 dollars per share, represents a premium of 81% over the closing price of 7.17 dollars for action Human Genome Wednesday night, but the U.S. group believes it does not reflect its intrinsic value.

In pre-market Human Genome soared over 100% to trade at just over $ 15, a sign that the market is betting on a bidding war in this new battle that promises to within a pharmaceutical industry recently marked by a wave of consolidation. 

Human Genome, American laboratory that specializes in gene isolation and identification of their function in the development of new drugs, said banks have mandated Goldman Sachs and Cre Swiss said the counselor.

First British pharmaceutical company, GSK said he was disappointed in a statement of rejection of his offer without discussion. The group confirmed its offer, stating that the proposed price of $ 13 would be paid in cash.

He also said to expect the transaction provides for the realization by 2015 at least $ 200 million of cost synergies, and that it will be accretive to from 2013.

If GSK has been a tendency in the past not to buy out partners with whom he works, the rumor of an offer to GSK on its U.S. partner ran long, the two companies already collaborate ; over several treatments, including Benlysta, the first new drug against lupus in more than half a century.

Navid Malik, analyst at Cenkos Securities, indicates that GSK extremely knowledgeable Human Genome and must point to a potential value in excess of one Benlysta. 

Both groups are also working on a project called darapladib treatment of heart, now in the third and final phase of experimental tests.

If product development is going to an end, analysts see it as a "blockbuster" possible multi-billion dollar per year, although the molecule is also accompanied by a high level of risks.

A banker in the health sector considers the offer of generous and GSK believes that certain shareholders of Human Genome could accept it.

Others, however, prefer to wait an increase of the price. They know the appetite of big pharmaceutical companies for biotech in their search for new growth after the expiration of patents on several of their blockbuster drugs.

As recently as Wednesday, the American Illumina rejected a hostile bid of 6.8 billion dollars (5.2 billion euros) of the Swiss laboratory Roche Holding.

U.S. stocks closed up again Thursday due to signs of improvement in the situation in Europe and China and the first quarterly results of companies, considered encouraging .

The Dow Jones gained 1.41% or 181.19 points, to 12,986.58 points. The Standard & Poor's, wider, has advanced 1.38% or 18.86 points to 1387.57 points while the Nasdaq composite took 1.3% or 39.09 points to 3055.55 points.

The S & P 500 benchmark fund managers, rose above its 50-day moving average, as if traders felt the recent decline of nearly 5% as an opportunity to catch up with the performance of the index.

The S & P gained more than 10% since the beginning of the year.

The market did not consider the surprise hike in jobless claims last week to 380,000. Economists anticipated 355,000 claims. Some economists said the statistic is not very significant given the Easter weekend.

Bond yields in Italy and Spain fell after a strong demand during an operation launched this week by Italy.

"The decline in bond yields is a signal for investors, here, that things are not as bad as this in Europe," said Brian Gendreau, market specialists at Cetera Financial Group.

Traders also cited expectations of a pleasant surprise on the side of the figures of gross domestic product (GDP) of China, to be released Friday morning. Some are skeptical about this rumor.

"Chinese history is being misinterpreted. The Chinese government researcher who is supposed to have commented on China's GDP has talked about 9% GDP growth for all of 2012 and said he anticipated that 8.4 to 8%, 5% for the first quarter, which is in line with expectations, "said Peter Boockvar, equity specialist at Miller Tabak in New York

. The first results of companies have also published a good effect. Analysts say expectations may have been lowered too much and that the shares may now seem cheap and after the 5% decline that has just recorded the S & P. ​​

Alcoa has continued to benefit from the positive effect generated ; by its results. The value rose 2.7% after surging 6.34% on Wednesday.

Values ​​of raw materials have been sought. U.S. Steel gained 7.5% to 29.36 dollars.

Values, Hewlett-Packard jumped 7.17% to 25.09 dollars. According to Gartner, PC shipments rose in the first quarter thanks to a recovery in demand in Europe.

A 10.8% of the workforce, the unemployment rate in the euro area in February reached its highest level in fifteen years. An employment agency in Malaga. Spain has an unemployment rate above 20%

This is a direct consequence of the crisis and the lack of growth. The unemployment rate in the euro area in February reached its highest level in fifteen years, to 10.8% of the workforce, according to data Monday from the EU statistics office, Eurostat.

According to Eurostat calculations, 17,130,000 people were unemployed in February in the euro area, or 162,000 more than the previous month. This level ever since the creation of the euro area exceeds forecasts of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires who had forecast an unemployment rate of 10.7% in February, as the previous month.

This is the tenth consecutive month in which unemployment has reached or exceeded the threshold of 10% in the euro area. Result: the euro zone now has 1.476 million more people unemployed than a year earlier.

Throughout the European Union (EU), the unemployment rate rose to 10.2% in February against 10.1% in January. This is also setting a record, said Eurostat. Once again, Spain is the bad boy of the EU with an unemployment rate of 23.6% followed by Greece with 21% (where the latest data refer to December), Portugal (15%) and Ireland (14.7%). In Italy, unemployment reached a record high of 9.3% in February.  

In contrast, the unemployment rate the lowest were recorded in Austria (4.2%), Netherlands (4.9%), Luxembourg (5.2%) and Germany (5.7%) .

The German government is preparing to take a stake larger than expected 12% stake in EADS, parent company of Airbus, said on Friday German government source, sign that Berlin intends to defend its interests within the European aerospace group.

The German state, through the state development bank KfW, would take over the holdings of automaker Daimler and several private banks, the source said, confirming a report in the German press.

"The draft supplementary budget foresees 1.6 billion euros for this purpose," the source said.

Germany had already indicated that it would buy 7.5% of EADS Daimler. The additional 4.5% will be purchased from the banking consortium Dedalus.

Around 10 am at the Paris Bourse, EADS gained 1.29% to 30.63 euros.

EADS is currently controlled by a partnership between Daimler, the French Lagardère and the French state.

The approach of Germany could weigh in the debate between Berlin EADS on the location of production sites, while the group has already warned Germany against any attempt to engineer ; reference.

The CEO of EADS Louis Welsh defended the project in early March of his designated successor Thomas Enders to domicile a greater number of group activities in Toulouse, where the headquarters of Airbus, attracting criticism from Berlin. 

A spokesman for the German Economy Ministry had refused Thursday to comment on the information on the purchase of greater participation by the state revealed by the Financial Times Deutschland, while a representative of EADS also refused to do so.