News – Business & Economi

PPR said Thursday a sharp increase in its annual results, driven by the brilliant performances of its luxury brands, and was confident for 2012.

"The results of PPR are excellent and we are confident for 2012," said chief financial officer, Jean-François Palus, during a conference call.

The group that owns Gucci, Puma, Fnac and Redcats, saw sales increase by 11.1% last year to 12.23 billion euros, a figure slightly higher Interior to the Reuters poll of 12.13 billion. At constant exchange rates, sales growth stood at 9.3%.

The increase in turnover has been hampered by the poor performance against the Fnac, whose sales fell 3.6%, while those in the luxury division jumped 22.2 % and that of Puma significantly accelerated (10.5%).

On luxury, the CFO said that January sales were as good or better than those of the fourth quarter, which signed an organic growth of 18.6%, significantly exceeded expectations of analysts polled by Reuters (17%).

The annual operating profit rose 17% to 1.60 billion euros, slightly above consensus ($ 1.55 billion). 

For 2012, the group said anticipating growth "supported" by its turnover and a further increase in its results.

PPR accounts no longer include figures of Redcats, a subsidiary of distance selling, nor those of FNAC in Italy, these assets are to be sold and which, under accounting standards be deconsolidated from the perimeter.

Net income, up 26.4% in spring 1.05 billion euros and the proposed dividend is unchanged at 3.50 euros.

Altran Thursday confirmed a large increase in operating margin for 2011 following growth of 7.2% of its turnover for the year, and said he was "reasonably confident" in 2012 despite ; economic uncertainties.

Sales of specialist technology consulting totaled 1,419.5 million euros last year, growing "economy" of 8.1% (on a comparable basis excluding the impact of exchange and changes in working days).

This publication dope title to the Paris Bourse, where the action is gaining 4.18% to 3.96 euros, shoulder to shoulder with Plastic Omnium top of the largest increases in the SBF 120 (+ 0.35%). 

"We are convinced and seduced by the strategy and decisions implemented by the new management group," says a note in CM-CIC Securities, the purchase value.

"Certainly, the current should not favor the rapid improvement of the fundamentals of Altran, but we believe that the work done by the new CEO of the group should begin to bear fruit in 2013, both in terms of operating performance and cash as corporate culture, "said the intermediary.

The fourth quarter alone, sales of Altran amounted to 370.6 million euros, increasing by 6% and an "economic growth" of 8, 6%. 

"Despite an uncertain macroeconomic environment, the Group is reasonably confident for 2012," he said in a statement its CEO, Philippe Salle.

Philippe Salle had told Reuters in October Altran, a deficit in 2010 would remain negative in 2011 but would profit in 2012.

The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy had recorded a moderate growth in recent weeks, while emphasizing that the recruitment remained rare and that the housing market showed little signs of improvement.

In its "beige book" summary of economic conditions in the 12 districts of the U.S. central bank, the Fed also notes that the pressures on consumer prices remained moderate and some cost pressures had decreased.

This finding is likely to give more leeway to the Fed in terms of monetary easing if growth were to weaken in early 2012 because of the consequences of global activity in the European debt crisis.

For now, the report confirms what had already been said in the latest "Beige Book" dated: the growth of the economy is not threatened, but the conditions underlying depression can not lower the unemployment rate, currently 9%.

"Overall, economic activity grew at a slow to moderate pace since the last report (…) except the district of St.

France will nominate Coeuré Benedict, number two in the Treasury, the Executive Board of the European Central Bank to replace Italy's Lorenzo Bini Smaghi. ECB

Benedict heart, which should become the representative of France to the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), is a senior specialist in international finance, who was previously the number two position of the Treasury. Coeuré Benedict, 42, was appointed Thursday by Paris to serve on the Executive Board of the ECB, which will replace Italy's Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, who resigned.

This brilliant economist and author of numerous articles and a graduate of Japan, has spent most of his career at the French Treasury. He led a parallel career as a teacher and researcher in the circle of economists, an influential economic think-tank. From 1997 to 2002, he holds the office of Chief Economic Adviser to the Treasury.Heart is a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole National Statistical and Economic Administration (ENSAE).

A week after announcing falsely lowered the AAA rating of France, the Standard & Poor's has again committed a blunder Thursday when the publication of the new rating improved from Brazil.

In the title of his release, the U.S. initially said he found the note of Brazil to BBB-by the prompt correction. And for good reason, the note of Brazil was already at BBB-and the agency has in fact raised by one notch to BBB.

Antonio Borges, director of the Europe Department International Monetary Fund (IMF), has resigned with immediate effect, the Fund announced Wednesday.

The IMF notes that the Director General intends to appoint Christine Lagarde Reza Moghadam, Director of the current strategy to succeed Borges, effective Thursday.

The President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Jean-Claude Trichet, said that the crisis of sovereign debt in Europe is not over and it is too early to estimate the lights returned to green.

In an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag-, Trichet said, however, confident in the ability of governments in the euro area to restore financial stability.

According to him, this requires that the Stability Pact is comprehensive and is implemented in a manner vigorous.

For the head of the ECB, the agreement reached this week by leaders of the European Union to enter into practice in a very precise and fast."

"The decisions taken at the summit (this week) must be applied with precise and coordinated fashion. The leaders of governments in the euro area have a program. Now the hard work is waiting for governments and the European Commission," insists he said.

"A rapid and full implementation of decisions is now absolutely crucial," said he. "A rapid and complete promulgation of these decisions is now absolutely crucial," he insists.

Over 100,000 taxpayers have disclosed their assets in OECD countries for two years. It reported one billion euros in France. The headquarters of the Cayman National Bank in George Town. The Cayman Islands are in the core of tax havens.

Almost 14 billion euros in tax revenues were collected in the last two years in twenty countries through international agreements concluded in the fight against tax evasion, the OECD said on Tuesday. "There's much more in the pipeline", but assured the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the opening of its fourth Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes .

These are, says the OECD, will provide "a substantial contribution to fiscal consolidation without increasing tax rates" in many countries forced to increase the tax burden to deal with the crisis."It is important that everyone contribute their fair share," notes the organization. The OECD states that the measures against tax evasion reported more than one billion euros in France, Germany 1.8 billion to 1.4 billion U.S., 150 million at the Australia and 260 million in Spain and the UK.

Over 100,000 taxpayers have disclosed their assets (including 30,000 in the United States, 1350 in the UK, 4,700 in France and 25,000 in Germany), she says. The Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes, housed at the OECD brings together 105 countries and territories. This Tuesday and Wednesday to finalize a report on "progress towards fiscal transparency" for the G20 summit to be held in Cannes on November 3 and 4. Other reports are expected on a number of tax havens after the meeting.

The European Commission gave on Thursday, with the revision of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) and market abuse (MAD), launched a very heavy fall in the regulation of the finance sector .

Other texts to be published in the coming weeks include the third draft of the regulation of rating agencies, a European framework for the management of bank failures or closer supervision of the audit activity, not to mention ongoing negotiations on derivatives and the transposition of European agreements known as Basel III on bank capital.

The new rules on markets in financial instruments cover both the activities of banks in terms of brokerage, consulting, trading, portfolio management and underwriting services.

They also regulate the operation of traditional exchanges and other trading platforms – also called "multilateral trading facilities."

The rules on market abuse for their prey to cases of insider trading and market manipulation.

Eager to get tough practices, the Commission proposes a non-binding framework calling on member states to integrate criminal sanctions in their national legislation for people found guilty of such abuses.

In a statement, the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Michel Barnier, has insisted that the legislation met the market developments in recent years.

"The financial markets have to work to the real economy and not the other way (…) The crisis has shown that certain activities and financial products reached a degree of complexity and opacity changes as have become indispensable" , he said.

MARKET DEVELOPMENTS

Here is a list of the main proposals contained in these texts:

* Outside the MTFs and regulated markets, "organized systems of negotiation," in which particular exchange traded derivatives contracts will now be covered by European regulations.

* Algorithmic trading and the high frequency will be better framed to take into account the systemic risk they represent.

* The text on markets in financial instruments will also seek to increase the transparency of trading on equity markets, including the "dark pools".Bond markets and derivatives too should meet the rules of transparency.

* Supervision and oversight of derivatives markets on commodities will be increased. In coordination with the new supervisor European markets, national supervisors may prohibit certain products when they undermine investor protection, financial stability or proper functioning of markets.Operators have an obligation to report their positions and position limits will be introduced in case of market disruption.

* The rules for portfolio management, investment advice and offers of complex financial products are also strengthened.

* In terms of market abuse, the new regulation also seeks to adapt itself to the recent market now covering instruments traded on alternative platforms and OTC.

* Regulators will have increased access to information needed to detect and punish market abuse.The latter will be able to require disclosure of data from the telcos and access to buildings or private documents when a suspected market abuse.

* Finally, the range of sanctions is itself also revised upwards. Fines will not be less than the benefit obtained from the market abuse and may be up to twice that amount. The Commission also proposes to harmonize the national sanctions in this matter by criminalizing the countries where they are not considered as such.

Seb SA said Tuesday it had been allowed to increase stake in its Chinese subsidiary Zhejiang Supor Co, which will allow the French leader of small appliances to enjoy strong growth in Asia.

The group, which had signed a contract with the founding shareholders of Supor last February, will raise its stake from 51.3% to 71.3% in Supor for about $ 400 million.

The family kept a 12.5% ​​stake, the balance comprising the float.

The Board of Supor, which will remain publicly traded, will not change, headed by Su Xianze.

Seb, entered the Chinese capital in 2007, having realized the operation in the coming weeks.The green light for the operation followed a period of review conducted by the CSRC (Authority of Chinese stock market).

The action of the French group has closed up 1.07% to 59.41 euros on the Paris Stock Exchange, giving a market capitalization of 2.97 billion. It was down 23.6% since the beginning of the year.