


Archive for the 'economics' Category
AIG makes another important assignment. Delayed several weeks due to fiscal problems, the giant American Insurance American International Group and MetLife onday announces an agreement under which AIG will sell its branch at MetLife Life Insurance Alico for the equivalent of 15.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal.
The acquisition will be for $ 6.8 billion in cash and approximately 8.7 billion shares in MetLife.
Alico, and the Asian subsidiary of Life Insurance American International Assurance (AIA), had enjoyed a special status, allowing AIG to make these two assets as compensation and thus reduce the debt of the insurer to the Reserve U.S. Federal (Fed), although both companies are still controlled by AIG. This also allowed AIG to prepare these two subsidiaries for sale or an IPO.
At the edge of the termination payment in mid-September 2008, AIG was bailed out by the U.S. government who had to inject over 180 billion dollars in its coffers to keep the group afloat, the government now owns 80%.
AIG will make 32 billion dollars by the Fed
MetLife believes that the acquisition would boost earnings by 45 cents to 55 cents per share by 2011.Analysts expect 2011 operating earnings per share of 4.89 dollars.
With the sale of Alico, and after the agreement last week to sell its Asian branch of life insurance, American International Assurance, for 35.5 billion dollars to the group Prudential, AIG could make the Fed's New York 32 billion in cash in the coming months, if both operations are looped as expected by the end of 2010, says the WSJ.
AIG should also repay 19 billion dollars more in coming years, when he sold his shares in MetLife and Prudential.
After a meeting on Tuesday closed at equilibrium, the rings on Wednesday renewed optimism substantial. Around noon, the Cac 40 displayed up 1.38% at 3662.5 points. The good mood is widespread in Europe, including the London Stock Exchange gaining 1.12% at 5168.1 points, the Frankfurt amount of 1.5% to 5579 points, and Milan climbing 2.54% to 21,346 points.
The prospect of a European plan to help Greece gives investors reason to smile again. Certainly at this stage, "there is no agreement," said a French source on the eve of the Brussels European Council must take a position on the budgetary situation of Athens.
But it is More than a single nation euro zone to avoid giving the green light for the backup plan. Germany, but could make his signature Thursday.
Long live economic news
On the macroeconomic front, industrial production in France fell by 0.1% in January compared to December, while in November it had gained 0.6%, according to figures published by INSEE. For Frédérique Cerisier, economist at BNP Paribas, "the sharp drop in production of transport equipment (-4.7%) reflects not only the decline in automobile production (-2.1%) but also the aviation branch , naval and railway (-7.9%).After the strong rebound in the third quarter, this pause in the recovery of the activity does not mean that recovery is terminated, but it will be gradual and probably struck, she said.
Furthermore, the current account deficit narrowed in France in 2009 to 40.6 billion euros after 44 billion in 2008, thanks to lower energy costs, said Wednesday the Bank of France (BdF) .
Finally, the United States, the trade figures for December are expected on Wednesday afternoon, and the weekly inventory of crude oil and after-hours trade, the figures of budget execution in January. Governor Daniel Tarullo be heard before the Senate Banking Committee on systemic risks.After Hours, president of the Philadelphia Fed will discuss "Lessons from the global financial crisis."
Bad publications are ignored
The publications were many on Tuesday, and just generally reassuring. But the market is not so far achieved.
Arcelor-Mittal (-5.28% to 27.1 euros) recorded a net profit of 118 million dollars for 2009 and 1.07 billion for the fourth quarter cash advance . The metallurgist is the red lantern index in Paris.
PSA Peugeot Citroen (-1.97% to 21.87 euros, 2nd largest drop) announced Wednesday a net loss of 1.161 billion euros in 2009 against a net loss of 363 million a year ago, for a turnover 'sales down 10.9% to 48.417 billion euros.Natixis welcomes performance Faurecia and Gefco, but is very Decca automobile.
Sanofi Aventis (1.03% to 53.2 euros) recorded an adjusted net income of 7.8 billion euros in 2009 up 11%.
According to Le Monde, Renault (+0.27% to 33.4 euros) to consider building a plant near Algiers, which produce 50,000 vehicles annually for the local market.
Nexans (-0.86% to 55.32 euros) worldwide leader in the cable industry, has seen its annual profits collapse at 8 million euros, mainly due to restructuring and divestitures of businesses by group, and remains cautious for 2010.
EDF Energies Nouvelles (+4.82% at 35.85 euros) announced Tuesday a net annual increase of 39% and EBITDA up 47%.Gilbert Dupont went to purchase.
Apart from publications, the bank stand on the CAC 40, including Crédit Agricole, headlining, up 4.66%, to 10.85 euros. Axa rises of 4.13% and Societe Generale is 4.41%.
CAC Hors, Havas (6.71% to 3.08 euros, head of the SBF 120) on Tuesday posted a turnover decrease of 4.4% on an organic basis in Q4 2009, to 1441 million 'euros. Unrealized net budgets amounted to 1,270 million euros in 2009. The group has been identified by Goldman Sachs and Nomura.
Medica (+7.92% at 14.03 euros) announces that its IPO was a "success".The French and international institutional, meanwhile, have subscribed for about three times the size of the offer.
Theolia (6.25% to 3.23 euro) has published a turnover increased almost five in 2009 due to the resumption of sales of wind farms by the group.
Ubisoft (-1.72% to 9.66 euros) said Tuesday night "expects to return to profitable growth and a cash from operating activities positive" for the year 2010-11.
Vinci (+1.17% at 38.43 euros) on Tuesday announced acquistion of 89 contracts for parking company Interpark the United States through its U.S. subsidiary LAZ Parking.
Vilmorin (+1.29% at 79.86 euros) issued a turnover up 2.7% in the first half of 2009-2010 and has announced a joint venture in wheat seed in Argentina.
In the aftermath of its worst session in 7 months, Wall Street is recovering. The U.S. stock market opened higher on very shy, taking the Dow Jones 0.05% to 10,024 points and the Nasdaq +0.37% to 2137 points. The markets reacted rather well to the employment figures published Friday. The U.S. economy still has destroyed jobs in January, 22,000 jobs, but significantly less than in December and the unemployment rate in the United States fell by 0.3 point to 9.7% during the first month of 'year, according to official figures published Friday in Washington.
For the Department, the report reflects on the business of the employment situation "almost unchanged", a sign that the U.S. economy would soon return to the net job creation, as was the case in November.
However, the disappointment is still to go, analysts hoping that the economy would have created at least 5,000 jobs over the month.These figures therefore mixed sows doubts on the speed of economic recovery overseas.
The confusion is also due to the strong upward revision in the number of job losses in all of 2009. Last year, the economy has lost a total of 4.823 million posts. This represents a fall in employment of 3.6%, the most since 1945!
The day before, the Dow Jones made his worst performance since early July, and lost more than 2.6% at 10,002 points, after a passage in the final session, under the 10 guaranteed payday loan .000 Points.
In Europe, the main squares are continuing their sharp fall, including leaded by fears concerning Greece, Spain and Portugal.
Moreover, the dollar continued its rise Friday. The European currency rose to 1.3648 dollars on Friday morning, under $ 1.37 per euro.but after the employment figures, the euro rose back above that threshold.
At the same time, commodity prices fell, oil Thursday evening closing down 5% to 73.14 dollar per barrel. This Friday, oil prices continued their fall, while an epidemic of risk aversion continued to hit commodities, the euro and equity markets, and anxiety remained high in a few hours of report U.S. employment.
Airgas to follow
Toyota should be on the radar screens of investors as the group has apologized publicly.The Japanese auto giant Toyota, which suffered a barrage of criticism and lawsuits after recalling millions of cars affected by technical faults, was Friday denied concealing these issues publicly and said that its cars are "safe".
Kraft Foods has confirmed that regulators had approved its bid for Cadbury.
Airgas has increased by over 42% yesterday on the Stock Exchange after Air Products has offered 5.1 billion dollars to buy its rival.
Nicolas Sarkozy has raised the question of how we can more directly Wednesday in his opening speech at the Davos Forum: what is "the role to be played by banks in the economy?" He should get an initial response today ' hui. The bosses of big banks, mainly American and European, will meet with key leaders of the global financial regulation to settle their quarrels.
"The first challenge is to define what should be the basic name of a bank, has publicly acknowledged on Friday Peter Sands, group CEO of Standard Chartered Bank UK, who also co-chairing the Forum 2010, alongside a colleague European Josef Ackermann, head of Deutsche Bank. The meeting will be informal: to probe the kidneys and hearts of some central bankers and regulators in Davos.Including Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB president, Mario Draghi, Chairman Financial Stability (a creation of the G20), Jaime Caruana, director general of the Bank for International Settlements, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, director IMF, but also representatives of emerging countries, as Zhu Min, vice governor of the People's Bank of China.
In this case it is private financiers who are the plaintiffs. "A new regulation of financial institutions is inevitable, but a regulatory motivated populist policies would be ineffective and harmful," warns a professional who will participate in face-to-face fast payday loans . This fear is taken very seriously since Barack Obama presented his proposals to ban the operations of market equity for commercial banks.With also the possibility of dismantling settlements whose bankruptcy would present a systemic risk.
The Obama plan goes to school
However, these recommendations appear to be in school politics. David Cameron, leader of British Conservative Party, arrived Friday in Davos, it is stored too. In turn, the technical authorities do nothing to minimize the issue of reforms to come. As Jean-Claude Trichet, at a panel on public policy interventions: "On both sides of the Atlantic, governments have had to receive 25% of GDP in the form of guarantees, recapitalizations and buyouts of securities to prevent the collapse of the sector.It would not forgive us if the system does not become more resilient in the future. "
The delegation of bankers in which American Brian Moynihan (Bank of America) and the European Josef Ackermann appeared to play a leading role, is far from presenting a seamless front. Everyone agrees to request a "harmonization of national regulations" (a level playing field in the jargon), but without going to unify the laws of each place.
ALSO READ:
At Davos, Sarkozy denounces the excesses of capitalism
"Obama prohibits banks market activities
The Paris Bourse started the week in the green, having closed sharply lower Friday. The Cac 40 was opened on Monday, up 0.42% to 3971.17 points.
This morning the Asian seat ended in a steep downward trend. The Nikkei lost 1.16%. The disappointing results from JP Morgan affect the morale of investors who doubt the health of the banking sector. Friday, Wall Street had already set the tone by closing on a negative note. On Monday, the U.S. places are closed due to holiday.
No macroeconomic statistics that could reverse the trend is expected.
Renault under the microscope
As for values to follow, Renault is expected to turn.Group CEO, Carlos Ghosn, announced Saturday that the new Clio 4 will be made to Flins (Yvelines) and Turkey, without giving further details on the distribution of production at both sites. The reaction of Peugeot will also be expected.
According to the British press, GDF SUEZ is considering a reconciliation with Britain's International Power. The transaction details are not mentioned.
Louis Welsh, CEO of EADS Sunday welcomed signs sent by the client countries of the military transport aircraft Airbus A400M.The France had announced it planned to discuss the cost overruns of the project therefore would not be abandoned.
Air France KLM would react Exchange after publication in the Japanese press of a rapprochement between Japan Airlines (JAL) and Delta Air Lines, which should lead JAL to join the SkyTeam alliance, which includes Air France-KLM.
According to the Tribune, Axa interested in a stake in the giant Russian Aluminum Rusal, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and Paris (Euronext) next week. Rusal hopes to raise 2.6 billion dollars (1.8 billion) through its entry into the market.
Accor CEO Gilles Pelisson said in an interview with Journal du Dimanche that the group should not be separated from its brands Sofitel and Motel 6.He said the resumption of the hotel market will slow in the first quarter of 2010.
The luxury goods group Compagnie Financiere Richemont announced Monday before market turnover exceeds expectations in the third quarter of 2009/2010. The latter rose 2% to 1.585 billion euros, while analysts expected a decline. For the current year, Richemont gave no forecast
Aeroports de Paris (ADP) after market must publish its traffic for the month of December.
Casino has been in trouble in Venezuela. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday ordered into effect the expropriation of the hypermarket chain Exito, a subsidiary of Casino, accusing him of having increased its prices so speculative.
At 18h, Casino and Mercialys publish their figures for the fourth quarter while Soitec unveil his own in the third quarter.
The world of microprocessors confirmed Thursday after-hours trade, in a statement, the resumption of its activities, with net income nearly tenfold in the fourth quarter, which allowed him to limit to 17% decline in annual net profit , to 4.369 billion dollars.
The results of the last quarter of the year have exceeded expectations: the group of Santa Clara (California, western United States) posted a net profit of 2.282 billion dollars during the three months ended December 26.
Based on the number of shares and excluding special items (ie without taking into account the $ 1.25 billion paid to settle the prosecution of rival AMD), the benefit amounts to 55 cents, where analysts' s until 30.
Earnings per share annually, to $ 1.17, also exceeded expectations (67 cents expected), as the turnover quarterly and annual: respectively 10.569 billion dollars (+28%, 10.17 billion dollars were expected) and 35.127 billion dollars (-7%, against 34.73 billion expected).
Finally, forecasting sales of the current quarter, between 9.3 and 10.1 billion dollars, should be higher than predicted by analysts (9.35 billion dollars).
The way Intel has won, Thursday, 2.34% at the close of the New York Stock Exchange, after rising nearly 2% Wednesday ..
The moral of households deteriorated slightly in December, the index dropping one point to -31, according to figures released Tuesday by the INSEE. "Although significant increase from its historically low level of late 2007, the indicator remains well below its average level over the last fifteen years," notes the INSEE.
More to come …
It's going to Crédit Agricole evil SA! After conceding 4.59% Thursday as the bank lost 4.73% shortly after mid-session at 12.295 euros, or one of its lowest levels since three months, and signs for the second consecutive time the highest CAC 40 down and even the entire industry in Europe.
Like BNP Paribas (0.44%) and Societe Generale (0.57%), the entire banking sector is undergoing suffering. But the fall is more brutal for Crédit Agricole. "The strengthening of prudential bank by the Basel Committee" penalizes "greater mutual banks," said Vincent Ganne, strategist IG Markets. He added: "The capital of these banks (mutual) is composed of common shares and ITC (cooperative investment certificates).As stated Vincent Ganne, the Basel Committee intends to require banks that shares are the dominant form of their own funds. However, Credit Agricole has over ICC BNP Paribas or Societe Generale. According to the strategist, Crédit Agricole is expected to retreat further in the short term. In addition, Bank of America-Merrill Lynch recently lowered his rating from "buy" to "neutral."
Basel, Greece, recommendation: Crédit Agricole depression
Lastly, Crédit Agricole suffers for several weeks on fears its exposure to the debt of Greece, including Standard & Poor's, after Fitch downgraded the long-term notes. The rating agency also notes the gradient of two major Greek banks, Eurobank and Alphabank. However, the mutual insurance group is present in Greece, through its subsidiary Emproki. "A greater share of profits should be set aside to build social capital.Outside, Credit Agricole has lagged behind other banks, mainly because of Emporiki should not return to profitability by the end of 2011 "concluded Vincent Ganne.
Over a month, Credit Agricole fell 17%, when the CAC 40 gained 0.6% and the DJ Stoxx European banks down 7%.
Carrefour could engage in home delivery in France in order to cope with declining attendance in its hypermarkets. According to The Independent, the French giant is in talks with UK online retailer OCADO to create a joint venture based on technology automated OCADO. It would be especially interested in their software on order entry and online organizing deliveries. OCADO who wishes to enter the stock market next year, book products supermarket High-end British Waitrose.
Deliveries should start first in Paris before spreading to the rest of French territory. The newspaper also reported that neither OCADO Carrefour did not want comment. Carrefour in the third quarter, down 8% of its turnover number of store.
The Markit monthly survey, conducted among purchasing managers in the euro area shows a manufacturing PMI up for the month of October to 50.7 points, 49.3 points against the previous month. The final result is in line with analysts' expectations, remaining identical to the first published estimate there are about ten days.
The threshold of 50 points represents growth in activity. The crossing of the barrier and indicates a departure from the area of contraction in activity, which had not been the case for nearly seventeen months, in April 2008.
Larger rebound in France for nine years
If this rebound in manufacturing activity is undeniable at European level, important differences remain between countries in the area. France is the current head increases with a PMI of 55.6 points (2.6 points a month)."The French manufacturers reported another strong acceleration of output growth, performance displaying significantly higher than their European counterparts. The France and recorded a fourth consecutive monthly increase in manufacturing output, the strongest since a little over nine years. "
The index of new orders for its highest recorded for twenty-six months in the euro area, 53.7 against 52.5 points in September.
"The business conditions in the euro area manufacturing sector has improved for the first time since May of last year, driven by accelerating growth in output, new orders and slower job losses, "said Chris Williamson of Markit.

