News – Business & Economi

Halfway to a series of meetings decisive for the future of the euro, Europeans always struggled Sunday to set a major response to the crisis of debt, after Greece, Ireland and Portugal , now threatens to bring Italy and Spain.

Saturday, more than ten hours of meetings were needed to reach an agreement on a recapitalization of the banking sector to the tune of 100 billion euros, which was yet largely gained at the technical level this week.

The work, however, little or no progress on the form that is chosen to leverage the fund to support the euro and to reduce the Greek mountain of debt, even if a discount up to 60% of the shares held by investors Private is under discussion.

These discussions are held with their eyes on the economic situation in Italy which puts the Europeans against the wall because the current instruments to support the single currency are not powerful enough to rescue a country of this size .

As a prelude to the European Council, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel met with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for half an hour Sunday morning.

Diplomats said the meeting was organized to increase the pressure on it so that it implements a more resolute reforms announced in September and reassures markets on its ability to maintain control in the Italian debt, which exceeds 120% of GDP.

A German government source said the head of the French state and the German chancellor had stressed "the urgent need for concrete and credible actions in the countries of the euro area", otherwise the decisions taken in the coming days n ' will have no effect.

Angela Merkel had insisted on Saturday that Italy would reduce its debt so as not to jeopardize the support mechanisms for the euro, "regardless of the height of these walls of protection."

BANKS

On his arrival in Brussels, the Chancellor warned that one should not expect final decisions at the EU summit and the euro area held Sunday.

It must now rely on the consent of the German parliamentarians to any reform of the fund to support the euro, making it difficult European negotiations.

Following an agreement reached Saturday, about sixty of the largest European banks need to recapitalize by 30 June 2012 at 100 billion euros to hold at least 9% of equity "hard" core tier one .

Some 38% of this amount, which may not be officially published, should return to the three countries already under the aid program: Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Banks will also mark their sovereign debt to market value and the institutions that will not comply with this set of rules will be banned from paying dividends to their shareholders and bonuses to their executives.

The bloc have also talked Saturday reactivation of the guarantees offered to banks in the fall of 2008 at the height of the crisis, enabling them to find financing in the medium and long term, said on the same source.

According to this, three models are being studied, with varying degrees of coordination between European security mechanisms.

GREECE

Ministers are also extensively revenues Saturday on the back Greek and how to make Greek debt sustainable in the long term.

According to a report that will serve as the basis for decisions of the leaders of the euro area, private creditors of Athens may have to accept a loss of up to 60% on their sovereign debt.

The EU finance ministers, however, remain divided on the voluntariness or otherwise of the private sector to the new rescue plan for Greece.

Fearing to trigger a credit event with unforeseeable consequences, France and several other countries are reluctant to go beyond the envelope of 50 billion euros negotiated last July 21 with the banks, as called for Berlin if necessary by forcing them to go the extra mile.

Friday night, Athens received a shot in the arm with the provisional go-ahead European payment by mid-November of the next tranche of international assistance by 8 billion euros, without which Greece would default on its sovereign debt in the coming weeks.

The IMF still has to validate itself as such payment, subject to his ambitious decisions of Heads of State and Government of the euro area to reduce the mountain of debt indefinitely.

EFSF

The last part of the discussions – the multiplication of the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) – has so far been barely touched by the ministers, that would leave it to decide this question and leaders.

Friday night, Minister of Economy, Baroin, confirmed that France continued to believe that change the cash in bank was the best solution even if Paris does not make a red line.

According to several sources, Nicolas Sarkozy hopes to build on a broad international support to try to convince Angela Merkel, less than two weeks of the G20 summit in Cannes where international partners in Europe hold them accountable.

Granted a banking license in EFSF would allow access to funding from the European Central Bank to increase its capacity for action by a factor of up to five.

But Berlin rejects this possibility, which would be to accept that the institution of Frankfurt finance the countries of the euro area, one of the dogmas explicitly excluded by the European treaties since the creation of the euro.

The other members of the euro area are also divided, Belgium and Spain having voted for a reconciliation BCE-EFSF while Slovakia and Austria have indicated that this solution was not studied.

European leaders are under intense pressure by their international partners to take decisive action against the crisis.

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.

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%.

The left won Sunday for the first time under the Fifth Republic by an absolute majority by winning the 25 extra seats it needed, seven months before the presidential election in France. View from the Senate at the Palais du Luxembourg

The left won 265 Sunday in September 2011 a historic victory in Senate elections by toggling the Second Chamber of Parliament in his camp, for the first time of the Fifth Republic, causing a political upheaval in seven months of présidentiellme. "For the first time, the Senate knows alternating" said the boss very moved senators PS, Jean-Pierre Bel. While all the results were not yet arrived, he announced that the left had "175 senators, that is to say beyond the majority". "The change is underway," he added.François Hollande, a candidate for the PS primary, leading in the polls, saw "a breakdown of the system Sarkozy", "prescient" in 2012.

As in the day, the results are severe for the majority who have fallen. The Minister of the City, Maurice Leroy, beaten, won an eighth seat on the left in Paris where the UMP holds only two senators. A gain of one seat to the left in the President's own Department of the Senate UMP Gérard Larcher. Loiret, Isère, Nord, Pas de Calais, Hauts-de-Seine, Val de Marne, Oise, Manche, Pyrénées Orientales … the list of departments where the left rose grows signing a very strong push for the opposition. "More than two senators UMP in Paris is a historical and political defeat," he triumphed Anne Hidalgo, Deputy PS first mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe.Pierre Charon, suspended from the UMP to dissent and still elected, made a triumphant arrival in the Senate.

Progresses across the left

The re-election in the first round in the Loiret department traditionally right out of Senator Jean-Pierre Sueur and that, in the Morbihan, the outgoing Herviaux Odette, also PS, gave the signal for the win at midday . In the wake of victory in the Pyrenees-Orientale President of the Regional Council of Languedoc-Roussillon, "frêchiste" Christian Bourquin confirmed the trend.This is "a historical progression to the left and an unquestionable sanction for the UMP," said the PS first secretary of Acting, Harlem Désir, came to the Senate shortly after the primary candidate for the PS and Martine Aubry that of François Hollande.

This victory is particularly favorable for the latter, a large majority of senators voted for PS having the member of Corrèze. Has lost the right departments since it held almost always as the Lozere. "The left is progressing everywhere, you feel a groundswell," assured of Public Sénat, the Socialist Party national secretary in charge of elections, Christopher Borgel. It is a defeat all the more important that there is "a denial of the right of the electors," added Michel Delebarre, Mayor of Dunkirk and PS top of the list in the North where the left won a seat and missed the sixth to one vote.Gérard Longuet ministers (Defence) and Chantal Jouanno (Sport) were elected.

At seven months of the presidential defeat sounds like a very bad signal to President Nicolas Sarkozy. Saturday will be the election of the President of the Senate and a majority of the left should result in a leftist president. Catherine Tasca should try his luck against Jean-Pierre Bel, which theoretically should succeed the perch to Mr. Larcher. The left Sunday's success to his victories in recent local elections (municipal, regional, cantonal). The right wing has suffered from its strong divisions and strong discontent of local officials, who have unwelcome territorial reform and consolidation of Commons forced march led by the prefects.

Representatives of small and medium sized French companies remain alert to changes in credit conditions, they warned Tuesday after a meeting with banks Tuesday to the Ministry of Economy.

The fear of a credit crunch, a danger often referred to as the English "credit crunch" has increased in recent days against a backdrop of falling bank stocks on the stock market and worsening crisis of sovereign debt.

"We are very vigilant," he told Reuters Etienne Bernard, chairman of SOHO-SME-ETI MEDEF, the French employers' organization first.

"In early September, we find, by clear feedback from the field, as banks ask lots of questions" for entrepreneurs, including their need or not unused credit lines, he added. "This questioning creates some anxiety."

Indicators presented by the Bank of France show a healthy distribution of credit, at least until July. But more recent data are not yet available.

"An annual growth of credit to SMEs beyond 4.8% was recorded in July," the Ministry of Economy in a statement."During this period, compared with the rest of the euro area, growth in credit to all businesses in France is much more dynamic (+4.5% against +1.6%)."

At the meeting, the Secretary of State for Small Business, "Frederic Lefebvre asked the representatives of banks to the financing of small and micro businesses a top priority," the statement said.

French Banking Federation (FBF) has ensured that banks were heavily involved with businesses.

"French banks have confirmed that they were doing their outreach, especially for SOHO / SME, a priority.They are determined to continue to provide funding for the economy as they have always done, "says the FBF in a statement.

The professional craft Union (UPA) has meanwhile welcomed the government intervention "to prevent a drying up of credit in small amounts."

She said in a statement that "loans of small amounts, often less than 25,000 euros, are the fuel companies."

"Remove that access to credit would sacrifice many companies on the altar of the crisis. A suicidal act when we know that crafts and local shops are among the sectors that have best weathered the crisis of 2008 and who saved many jobs, "continues the UPA.

The British advertising group Aegis is confident about its future after announcing strong organic growth in the first half and confirmed an annual perspective is now reserved.

The group, which in July sold its market research arm Synovate to French Ipsos for 525 million pounds (595 million), recorded organic growth of its turnover by 7.3% driven by strong performances, particularly in North America.

The major advertising groups showed solid performance in 2010 and 2011, as companies, providing most of the time their advertising budgets on an annual basis, continued to invest despite the turbulence in financial markets to protect their market share .

However, WPP and Publicis competitors have both warned that the year 2012 could prove more elusive.

Aegis has maintained an organic growth target for 2011 at least equivalent to 5.8% observed in 2010 and also provides for improved operating margins.

The sale of Synovate, which should ultimately bring 505 million pounds according to analysts, will also be fastened to the end of September, said the group, which plans to donate 200 million pounds to shareholders.

"In the medium term visibility is still relatively limited because the macroeconomic uncertainty remains," said general manager Jerry Buhlmann group."However, we remain positive for the future of Aegis, to be more concentrated (on its core business), especially with regard to the strength of our activities over the past 18 months."

The title gained 2.14% to 0830 GMT, valuing the company at about 1.8 billion pounds.

Gold surpassed the 1771 Tuesday dollars an ounce and the price of the metal end now exceeds that of platinum, traditionally higher because of its rarity.

On the spot market, gold has gained more than 3% on the previous day.This is his twelfth record high in 20 sessions.

The gold will record after record with the surge of risk aversion of the past two weeks in the financial markets, exacerbated since the weekend by the loss of "triple A" of the United States.

It is favored by investors as other safe haven – Swiss franc, yen and Treasuries – while global equity markets drop.

"Markets are worried now have a new global recession (…) I think everyone has also led to the fall 7% S & P 500 (-6.66% Monday on Wall Street, Ed)" , said Natalie Robertson, commodities strategist at ANZ.

"Gold is now more expensive than platinum and the last time this happened was in December 2008.It's an interesting dynamic. "

At 9:35, an ounce of gold was trading around 1,745 dollars.

The agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling was adopted Monday by the House of Representatives by 269 votes against 161 and will now be considered by the Senate.

The compromise negotiated in extremis by the Republicans and Democrats and announced Sunday evening by President Barack Obama plans to reduce the U.S. deficit of 2.400 billion in 10 years and should allow the world's largest economy to avoid being in default payment.

The Senate should vote to turn in the day Tuesday, the day the U.S. Treasury warned that it would no longer be able to pay bills unless an agreement.

Harry Reid, leader of the Democratic majority in the Senate, announced that the vote would take place at noon (1600 GMT).The text must obtain the votes of at least 60 of the 100 senators, he said.

If senators mimic representatives, the U.S. debt ceiling, currently set at 14,300 billion will be raised and the United States will escape a situation of default, which would have had any impact on the global economic system.

In the hours before the vote in the House, uncertainty still hangs over the attitude of the parliamentary basis, both right and left.

In the ranks of the Republican Party majority in the House of Representatives, elected officials close to the Tea Party had raised objections to the compromise negotiated over the weekend in Washington.

In the ranks of the Democratic Party, the left wing complained that the text does not provide immediate tax increases for the wealthiest households and corporations.

"We are very concerned that the text is to make all these cuts but does not include any contribution of the richest people of our country, no income. It's disconcerting," said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic minority leader of the House, before rallying in the final compromise.

Monday night, 174 Republicans voted in favor of the agreement, against 66 who opposed it. The group has divided Democrats, voting for 95 elected, 95 elected voting against.

The image tarnished the political class

With the vote of the representatives, a first hurdle has been crossed.But concerns remain about a possible deterioration in the sovereign rating of the United States, the Triple A allowing them to obtain financing at favorable rates.

If the world's largest economy was losing the "signature" would increase credit costs in the United States and threaten the fragile economic recovery, with implications for the global economy.

The compromise provides for drastic reductions in public spending over ten years but does not affect taxation.It also creates a bipartisan parliamentary committee responsible for defining the end of November a new plan to reduce the federal deficit.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), non-partisan, confirmed that the compromise would reduce the deficit of at least 2100 billion over ten years.

On a political level, hard to say who should win this long and tortuous process.

Barack Obama, who is running in a second term in November 2012, accepted cuts in public spending of a magnitude greater than what he wanted and will have to convince the electorate as he had left no other choice.

However, the Democratic president could garner points among moderate voters and "independent".

"This process was long and messy and, as with any compromise, the outcome is far from satisfactory," he said in a video message released by his campaign. "But he also launched an important debate on how we address the challenges that lie ahead."

Right, John Boehner, the chairman of the House of Representatives, won the cuts he sought and avoided an immediate increase in taxes. But it could emerge from this crisis with a tarnished image, that of a leader under the influence of too sharp Tea Party, the conservative movement that has developed in recent years on the fringes of the Republican Party.

"The process works.It may be ugly, but it works, "Boehner said after the vote.

Finally, the American political establishment as a whole could suffer from these weeks of negotiations, that public opinion could be interpreted as political maneuvering at a time when Washington expects it effective remedies to boost growth and reduce unemployment, which remains at over 9% of the workforce.

"The real loser in this exercise is Washington," said Scott Reed, Republican elections.

EADS confirmed Friday its objectives, driven by the commercial success of its subsidiary Airbus which he now expected more than 1,000 gross orders this year.

The European Group on Aerospace and Defense, Airbus' parent company, reiterated a target for 2011 growth in turnover and operating profit (EBIT) before special items compared to the stable level of 1.3 billion euros 2010, again on the basis of one euro to 1.35 dollar.

In the second quarter, EADS generated adjusted EBIT of 371 million euros in the second quarter, net profit of 121 million and a turnover of 12.082 million.

Analysts on average expected for the second quarter an adjusted EBIT of 317 million euros, a net profit of 160 million and a turnover of 11.598 million, according to the Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Airbus reached an adjusted EBIT of 87 million euros and a turnover of 8.299 million, respectively, against 144 million and 7.986 million expected.

The French debt will be increased by about 15 billion euros by 2014 due to the implementation of the plan of aid to Greece reached Thursday night, said Friday Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

This increase in debt could undermine the government's objective to begin to reduce the debt ratios of France from 2013.

"This will have an indirect effect is an increase by 2014 our debt levels, given the inclusion of guarantees, up to about 15 billion euros," said François Fillon to Following a meeting with parliamentarians of the majority.

The government expects public debt will continue to grow this year and next year (85.4% and 86.9% end 2011 end 2012) and begin to decline in 2013 to reach 86.4% at end 2013 and 84.8 % end of 2014.

The leaders of the euro area have developed a new plan Thursday to support involving the private sector and reforming drastically the stability fund to make an embryonic "European Monetary Fund."

Welcomed by the markets, the new Greek plan, a total of 109 billion euros, will be echoed by participating banks and European insurers, the amount could go up to 50 billion euros.

NO BANKRUPTCY OF STATE

"This agreement marks an absolutely decisive in the history of the euro area," said François Fillon."There will be no state of bankruptcy in the euro area, because the solidarity of the euro area will be complete.."

The "golden rule" would entrench the need to reduce deficits in the French Constitution is now more than ever, still says the head of government.

"It is indeed now a joint effort of the countries in the euro area to adopt this budget framework must be credible leads," he said.

France has pledged to reduce its public deficit below 3% of GDP in 2013 but believes it must include the balance of state finances in a basic document.

If this "golden rule" was passed by the majority, it must, to be enshrined in the Constitution, getting three-fifths of the vote in a Congress, which requires adherence to some of the parliamentary left.

The Socialist Party refuses for the moment and Nicolas Sarkozy has not officially taken the decision to convene the Congress but the majority, Francois Fillon at the head, pushed him to move forward.

For the Prime Minister, France played a "central role" in the conclusion of the agreement, including by reaching before the summit in Brussels an agreement with Germany.

"The Franco-German duo has once again played a key role in finding the right solutions to the crisis.I guess you could say that the Franco-German couple is the key to stability in the euro area, "he said.