News – Business & Economi

Orders to U.S. industry rose for the second consecutive month in December, driven by increased business investment.

According to figures released Friday by the Commerce Department, orders for manufactured goods rose 1.1% in December.

Market economists polled by Reuters had expected, however, an average increase of 1.5%.

The November figure was however revised upwards and shows an increase of 2.2% instead of 1.8% initially announced.

Over the full year 2011, industrial orders rose 12.1%, against an increase of 12.9% in 2010. 

Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.6% in December after rising 0.5% (revised) in the previous month.

Orders for nondefense capital goods and aircraft, considered a barometer of morale of entrepreneurs and their investment plans, surged 3.1% after falling 1.5% in November.

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.

Italy has agreed that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) monitors its progress on economic and structural reforms, said on Friday European source.

The European Commission and the IMF will each report on how Italy is meeting its objectives, particularly with regard to pension reform and labor, the source said.

"Italy has no objection to be monitored, even if the IMF is involved," she said, adding that credit line was not seen as a credible option for the country, lack of confidence markets in its plans for fiscal consolidation.

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.

The world's second largest home appliances Electrolux said Friday he would seek to further reduce its costs, adding an expected decline in demand in its key markets after announcing a drop in quarterly profit.

The group, which owns the brands Electrolux, AEG and Frigidaire, anticipating the year a decline in demand for appliances in Europe of around 1%, not a 1% increase as expected before.

It also expects that the demand in North America fell by 4-5%, against an increase of 3% previously expected.

The group reported a third quarter adjusted operating income of 1.10 billion kronor (122 million) against 1.98 billion a year earlier.

The Reuters gave 1.06 billion crowns.

"Demand has fallen in several major markets (…) southern Europe and the United States, when the cost of raw materials has increased," said its chief executive Keith McLoughlin.

"The third quarter results were affected by the continuing difficult market conditions."

Electrolux said in a statement it would continue to seek to optimize the use of production capacity in North America and Western Europe and also reduce overhead costs.

Erste Group Bank said on Monday forecast a loss of 700 to 800 million euros in 2011, due both to past depreciation of the Romanian and Hungarian subsidiaries and reducing its exposure to the euro zone, which makes plunge under the Austrian bank.

By 10:30 GMT, action Erste Group fell by 13.07% to 17.99 euros while the index grouping the European banking stocks were unchanged.

The number two industry in Central and Eastern Europe also said that postponing the repayment of public funds and that it would pay no dividend for 2011.

"It's obviously disappointing news.We believe today's announcement is likely to trigger a cycle of lowering note and renewed concerns about the capital, in the light of the deteriorating business environment in Eastern Europe " commented GFI Research Institute.

Erste said that Hungarian law allows customers to repay loans taken in foreign currency at lower rates than the market would result in a loss of 500 million euros for its local subsidiary, which will thus 600 million euros of fresh capital.

The other Austrian bank Raiffeisen also plans to inject new capital into its Hungarian subsidiary as a result of legislation passed in Budapest.

In Romania, an economic recovery slower than expected will have the effect to Erste impairment pre-tax 700 million.

Erste also said to have reduced its exposure to sovereign debt of Greece, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy at 600 million euros at end September, 95% of its exposure was valued at market value.

She said its Tier 1 ratio "core" would remain unchanged at 9.2%, operating income contributing to the compensation of special items.

The group's management said they do not need to raise additional capital or to receive from the State to ensure its compliance "Basel III".

The lack of progress on the issue continued to Greek drive down European shares Tuesday. Paris has opened a decline of 1.44%. The trading floor in Frankfurt

The lack of progress on the issue continued to Greek drive down European shares Tuesday, all seats have opened lower. After closing sharply down Monday already, Paris began a decline of 1.44%, 1.72% Frankfurt, London and Milan by 1.40% to 1.43%.

Monday the New York Stock Exchange finished at its lowest for over a year: the Dow Jones lost 2.36% and the Nasdaq 3.29%. The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended Tuesday for his part still down (-1.05%), investors also feared a worsening crisis of the Greek debt and worried about the fall of the euro vis-à-vis the yen.

Meeting in Luxembourg, the finance ministers of the euro zone on Monday night decided to postpone decisions regarding new loans crucial to Greece, to which they have requested additional budgetary efforts. "European officials have once again been unable, despite the urgency to take concrete measures, merely simple ideas," said one Paris-based analyst who requested anonymity. "The increasing uncertainty about Greece feeding the search for security" in the financial markets, analysts have estimated the UniCredit in Frankfurt.

More contributions to banks to help Greece

The Paris market was also affected by a precipitous decline in Dexia, which reached up to 37% in early trade, after an extraordinary board left open the possibility of dismantling the Franco-banking group Belgian overtaken by the crisis.

The only concrete step: the second aid plan for Greece, 109 billion euros promised July 21, saw down an obstacle to its implementation. The members of the euro area reached after weeks of procrastination to a compromise on the guarantees requested by Finland in Athens. The new plan could also be modified to be greater involvement of banks, which suffer a discount greater than 21% so far on their claims considered Greek. But those ads were still insufficient to investors.The rest of the Asian stock markets were moving sharply lower Tuesday morning, the euro continued its decline, falling to its lowest level in a decade against the yen.

The market will follow the meeting on Tuesday, from 09am, finance ministers of the entire European Union. No major announcement is expected at the meeting mainly aimed at preparing the summit meeting between finance ministers of the G20 countries scheduled October 13 to 16.

According to a "government source" quoted by AFP, the French government is considering "tough decisions" on aid to Greece and banks … but after the passage of the bailout by Germany. An encrypted connection that will boost the rumors.

There is something to speculate. While the French government Monday strongly denied any plan to bail out banks hexagonal, a government source quoted by AFP said Tuesday that the executive intends to take "tough decisions" for banks and assistance to Greece. Remains to be seen what these "tough decisions" and what the banks concerned.

"We must make tough decisions on Greece and the banks but we can not do it before that Germany has adopted Thursday the rescue plan," sources said the same source.The German parliament is to decide Thursday on expanding the envelope and skills of EFSF, the support fund for the euro area set up last year. German lawmakers should give the green light. Remains to be seen what would those "tough decisions" that can not be formally discussed before the decisive vote.

The vote of Germany, Europe's largest economy and biggest contributor to the fund with 200 billion euros of guarantees, should give a decisive impetus. While the implementation of this mechanism requires the approval of the rescue 17 members of the euro area and that some countries, like Slovakia, are still praying.

The president of the AMF considers that the situation in the markets is "very, very worrying." He said a collapse of the entire global economic system is to be feared. Jean-Pierre Jouyet said that "it is not in a better situation than in 2008."

The chairman of the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) Jean-Pierre Jouyet spoke Friday of "situation, very, very worrying" in the markets and expressed concern of a "risk of systemic crisis" able to dive all the world into recession.

"We are in a State of Crisis" with "before us, the risk of systemic crisis", that is to say a collapse of the entire global economic system, noted Mr. Jouyet, questioned France Inter.This is due to "a very high debt in Japan", the "U.S. imbalances that are extremely deep despite recovery plans that do not give great result" and, in Europe, "the sovereign debt crisis," he said former Secretary of State for European Affairs.

"We need urgent action at the international level," he said, hoping that "the Europeans, Americans and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will at least get to make a shared". "This is expected by the markets," he said, "is to see a little clearer." "We are in a situation of a crisis of debt in 2008 was characterized by a rise in private debt, which today is characterized by a rise in public debt, government deficits and imbalances in all the world economies, "he summarized."It turns out that Europe is the epicenter of this crisis." "We're not in a better situation than in 2008," he warned.

Jean-Pierre Jouyet also found that the introduction of a tax on financial transactions, to which he was in favor, could worsen the current liquidity crisis in the euro area. "I am in favor of a tax on financial transactions" but "we must choose when it is made." But "what I said – and I take into consideration in my work – is that today, it will further increase the reluctance of investors, including Anglo-Saxon and American, to respect to the euro area, "said the president of the AMF.

After Paris and Berlin were in favor of such a tax in August, the summit of the major developed and emerging countries of the G20 in Cannes (South of France) should address the issue in early November.Britain and the United States were opposed to establishing such a mechanism. A transaction tax, such as those popularized by the economist James Tobin, is to take a very small percentage of financial flows ..

The weekly jobless claims rose against all odds in the United States during the week to September 10, at 428,000 against 417,000 the previous week, said Thursday the Labor Department.

Economists on average had expected 410,000 jobless.

Registration of the week to September 3 were revised up from an initial estimate of 414,000.

The moving average of four weeks stood at 419,500 against 415,500 (revised) the previous week.

The number of people receiving regular benefits rose to 3.726 million during the week to September 3 (last week for which figures are available) against 3,738,000 the previous week.