News – Business & Economi

The housing market has included nine in the third quarter the prospect of a relapse into recession in the French economy with lower sales and housing starts, according to data released Tuesday by the Ministry of Housing.

More than 26,400 homes were sold in the third quarter, nearly 2,700 more than in the second quarter but 12.9% less than for the corresponding period of 2010.

Of the last four quarters, the number of sales totaled 101,300 or 10.7% less than in the previous four quarters.

A 71,600 homes at the end of the third quarter, the stock of new homes for sale is 14.4% higher than the third quarter of 2010.

The European Union has increased the pressure on Sunday in Athens Greece quickly establishes a government of national unity and implement the measures included in the second bailout of the country, saying that membership in the euro area was Thurs

"We called for a national unity government, is convinced that it is the convincing way to restore confidence and to honor commitments," he told Reuters Olli Rehn, European Commissioner for Economic and monetary.

With the announcement of a proposed referendum on the bailout plan, since abandoned, Greece had broken the bond of trust that binds to its European partners last week, which called into question his membership in the euro area, he said.

But the country has apparently abandoned the strategy of the edge, Olli Rehn said in a telephone interview.

"There have been efforts to Athens to restore that trust and we need a compelling report on the subject of the finance minister Evangelos Venizelos tomorrow during the Euro."

The 17 finance ministers of the euro area can be found Monday evening in Brussels for a meeting of the Eurogroup.

NEGOTIATIONS TO ATHENS

Olli Rehn was speaking Greek political parties then negotiated fiercely on Sunday a coalition agreement may prove to other countries in the euro zone as Greece is determined to continue on the path of austerity to avoid bankruptcy.

Unilever issued a sales increase of 7.8% in the third quarter and expects margins stable or declining for the year 2011, experienced strong sales growth in emerging markets.

The manufacturer of soaps and mayonnaise has raised its prices by nearly 6%, while sales in countries such as India, Indonesia and Brazil have helped to offset difficult markets in Europe and the United States .

However, the group warned that its operating margin at constant perimeter and constant exchange rates would be stable or slightly declining over the year 2011 due to higher commodity prices.

On this basis, the Group reported a turnover up 7.8%, a performance better than the consensus of society, which provided an increase of 6.3%, following growth of 4.3% in the first quarter and 7.1% in the second.

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.

Germany's GDP should grow by just 0.8% in 2012 as planned. The first euro zone economy could contract in the same season. Germany

The growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will significantly slow the German next year, have predicted Thursday the major economic research institutes of Europe's largest economy, while the country will be affected by a financial crisis that is stain of oil. GDP is expected to increase by only 0.8% in 2012 from 2.9% expected this year, well below the previous forecast of these institutions (2%) and the official government forecast (1.8 %).

In a degraded environment, the government deficit in Germany, however, should continue to melt, reaching 0.9% this year and 0.6% next year, conservation efforts and strong revenue from this years bearing fruit.But Germany, whose economy is heavily export recovered strongly after the 2009 recession, can not escape the effects of the crisis of European public finances, about to lead to a banking crisis, economists predict .

Risk of credit crunch

"Because of the difficult situation of important partners, foreign trade should no longer participate in the growth," they write. The debt crisis raging, and the discussions that accompany it, also lead to "a crisis of confidence" that would restrain domestic demand. The problems of banks, which appear more and more fragile, will lead to difficult financing conditions that will hamper investment.

These difficulties are expected to peak in the fourth quarter of this year, with a decline in GDP (-0.2%).The institutes expect positive growth in every quarter of next year, but very modest. Any assessment is pessimistic economists, Germany should avoid a recession (two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction).

And good news, the labor market should continue to do relatively well, with a further decline in unemployment, due to 6.7% next year on average. German unemployment is at its lowest for 20 years. The bi-annual forecasts of the institutes are the basis for official government estimates, which will release its forecast adjusted Thursday.

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".

Barack Obama lashed out at banks, on Thursday at a press conference at the White House, justifying the growing popular discontent against economic inequality.

The Democratic president, including the possible re-election in November 2012 will be played primarily on the fight against unemployment, said the Republicans had in the first place, to support the economy back on measures of financial regulation that his government s is used to push hard.

Barack Obama also said understand the frustration of "outraged" that manifest several days on Wall Street and in other cities of the United States.

"These demonstrators expressed a more widely shared suspicion towards the way our financial system," said Bush.

"We still see some of those who acted irresponsibly fight efforts to end abusive practices," he added.

Barack Obama said his financial reform known as the "Dodd-Frank" was precisely designed to prevent abuses of Wall Street.His way to insist on the subject suggests that this issue will be among the major themes of his presidential campaign next year.

"To have a sound financial system requires that banks and other financial institutions to compete on the basis of better service, better products and the best rate," he said.

"We can compete through hidden fees, deceptive practices or cocktails of derivatives that nobody understands and that expose the entire economy at huge risk.That's why Dodd-Frank was designed. "

Barack Obama also expressed regret that U.S. banks have recently raised their commissions, suspecting a practice necessitated by the inability to raise other rates. This is not a "good practice", he said, and it is "not necessarily just for consumers."

The French car market has limited its decline in September thanks to buoyant demand from individuals helped by aggressive marketing offers manufacturers a performance bodes well for the entire year if the economy does not deteriorate more.

The new car registrations fell by 1.4% year on year last month to 167,631 units, according to figures from the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA).

In the first nine months of the year, the market still continues hex in positive territory (+0.2%), but continues to nibble advance acquired in early 2011 with the latest effects of scrappage.In August, it was up 0.4% since January.

"The market is slowly declining, but he resists, particularly at the request of individuals," said a spokesman for the CCFA, reached by telephone."For the full year, we now think it will be better than we anticipated -8/-10% that far, but we are recalculating the forecast."

The spokesman added that the anticipated decline in France in 2011 could be below 8%, but adding that corporate demand was "a great unknown for the predictions," because of questions about current economic conditions.

"BACK TO NORMAL TO CONFIRM"

Bernard Cambier, commercial director of Renault France, told Reuters that also performance in September for optimism for the French market.

"We could have been legitimately concerned about the economic and financial benefits for the consumer, but there is no impact for the moment," he said by telephone."Today, we are in a market -3/-4% and a surprise is not excluded."

At the auto show in Frankfurt last month, the commercial director of Renault Jérôme Stoll had found that the French market in 2011, waited down 4% to 6% would be closer to 4%.

The firm Xerfi, which provides a decrease of 5% of the market in 2011, stressed that the stability of nine months was obtained primarily through "aggressive policies of manufacturers", but the unknowns hanging over the rest of the year .

"The business climate is deteriorating with the excitement of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe and cures of austerity ahead in European countries, our major trading partners," writes Philip Gattet in a note."Businesses have an obsession: to preserve their cash and therefore reduce costs, including automobiles."

"The coming months will be more difficult, whether it be late 2011 or early 2012, mainly because of unfavorable comparisons," agrees Flavien Neuvy, Director of the Cetelem of the car. "But the market is very resistant, the return to normality is confirmed."

Renault and Dacia REBOUND

Illustration of this effect after the exceptional standards of public support, importers continue to gain ground.

The scrapping particular had supported the French manufacturers, specialized in small cars. In September, registrations of foreign companies increased by 5.4% against a fall of 6.2% for the hexagonal groups.Nissan (30.8%) and the German BMW (21.2%) and Volkswagen (14.9%) included from their game last month.

French side, Peugeot is the only (-25.3%), while Citroen saw its registrations fall by 9.4%, -18.4% for the PSA. Both brands have experienced group in September of supply problems live, but no explanation for the drop in sales last month was immediately available from the manufacturer.

Renault has for its part a rebound of 8.7% in registrations, sign of the return to normal by the already mentioned group in component shortages of diesel engines that have sealed sales months at a time.The diamond brand saw its registrations increase by 9% and the group's low cost brand, Dacia, rose 6.3%.

"The portfolio of orders is high because we can see now finally delivered," said Bernard Cambier. "And we still have 100,000 cars in its portfolio, two months of delivery."

In utilities, the registration of light vehicles, a barometer of local economic activity, fell 6.3% in September, while those of commercial vehicles, a reflection of trade over longer distances, increased by 25 9%.

European shares opened lower Monday after another failure of the party of Chancellor Angela Merkel in local elections, which could add another obstacle on the way, hard-working, a solution to the crisis of sovereign debt euro area.

The inability of Ministers of the euro area to find a solution to the crisis at a meeting in Poland this weekend, hanging over the European currency and has penalized the Asian stock markets this morning.

Around 9:30, the CAC 40 index fell by 2.15% to 2965.91 points.

1.48% let go London, Frankfurt and Milan 1.83% 1.66%.The European indices, STOXX 50, lost 2.07%.

The bank accused the largest decrease sector in Europe, the Stoxx index lost 2.55%.

In Paris, Societe Generale lost 4.01%, BNP Paribas 2.07%.

Largest drop in the index, falling 4.37% Michelin, Morgan Stanley has degraded the title of overweight to underweight.

ArcelorMittal lost 3.97%.Credit Suisse cut its target price of 49 dollars to 35 dollars.

Safran, who made his first steps in the CAC 40 lost 1.1%.

The performance of the German government bond (Bund) to 10 years, reference the euro area expands by 3 points to 1.83%.

The euro remains under pressure and is trading around 1.3696 dollars, against more than 1.37 on Friday night.

A barrel of U.S. light crude lost $ 1.04 to 86.92, Brent 56 cents to 111.65 dollars.

European stock markets are expecting a strong signal on the governance of the euro area. German Chancellor has warned however that we should not expect the summit of spectacular announcements. President Nicolas Sarkozy meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday, August 16th at the Elysee Palace (both are here in Berlin July 20, 2011)

European shares opened slightly lower Tuesday, opting for caution before the Franco-German summit on the governance of the euro area. After three consecutive sessions of gains, Paris opened down 0.73%, 0.68% from London, Frankfurt 1.02%, Madrid and Milan by 0.65% to 0.28%. Monday, Paris won 0.78%, London 0.57%, 0.41% Frankfurt, Madrid 0.71% and 1.37% on the Swiss Exchange. New York has erased all its losses last week in garnering 1.90% for the Dow and 1.88% for the Nasdaq.

Global financial markets are also showing much more attentive Tuesday.Asian stock markets were the first very hesitant: Tokyo has ended up slightly from 0.23% after a session sawtooth and Sydney ended down slightly by 0.86%. Seoul, closed Monday, was an exception by closing up sharply from 4.83%.

All eyes are on the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Nicolas Sarkozy from 4:00 p.m. at the Elysee Palace in Paris. "The markets are expecting a very strong signal: Is there a pilot on the plane to govern the euro area? Will you finally speak with one voice in the Franco-German and stop to maintain the cacophony that lasts for months and madden investors? "asked a Paris-based analyst who requested anonymity.

But hopes could be quickly showered.Berlin has in fact warned that they should not expect miracles, especially not that the two largest economies in the euro zone agreed to set up Euro-bonds, which would be financially harmful to Germany .

"It seems that there is an acute attention paid to this appointment, and we believe that the margin for a big disappointment," warned analysts at MF Global. This meeting should ultimately focused on the governance of the euro area, following decisions taken by Heads of State and Government of the European end of July.