On the front of the consumer, the month of June was not enough to save a lackluster quarter. Household spending rose 1.2% in June, the INSEE report, after declining 0.3% in May The quarter (April to June), the index of consumption fell 1.8%. This figure could have been worse: INSEE revised sharply upward the month of May, where consumption fell by only 0.3% instead of 0.8% as previously estimated.
If in June, the index of consumption has recovered, it is "largely by the increase in durable goods and textile and leather," says INSEE. The first of these two categories, rising 2.5% over the month, thanks to automobile purchases, which rose by 2.2%. But this increase does not offset the decline from 11.2% over the entire quarter.A figure beating down all durable goods, down 6 guaranteed approval cash advance loans.3% over this period, after rising 2.2% earlier this year.
The timing of sales, which began very early, has also supported consumption in June. Textiles and leather saw its sales jump by 4.3% over the month. Throughout the second quarter, this item was down 0.3%. Moreover, "the rebound in spending on household equipment (3.8%) bodes well for the construction Stirrers, even if denrier remains depressed," says Camille Williencourt, economist at Natixis.
Traditional engine of French growth, consumption at half-mast over the quarter bodes well for slower growth over this period, after the strong rebound early in the year (+0.9%). Societe Generale table for his part in an inert quarterly growth of 0.1%.
Despite the withdrawal of support from the Ministry of Education, however, initiated the scheme in 2007, Operation "Essentials of the season" is renewed this year. The consumer association Familles de France, who led the negotiations only for the operation to be maintained, and obtained group Auchan, Carrefour, Casino, Cora and Système U marketing school supplies at prices that "most attractive as possible. " Items on a predetermined list, released by the department without committing to a price control, however, wants to "prevent slippage on the weight of school bag for children" must be placed on the shelves on Monday. They will be marked with a label.
The binder excluded from the list
The list 2011 includes thirty references, from books to filing through the rubber and pencil sharpener.This year, it does not ultimately buy a binder. The withdrawal of the article led the Federation of Parents for Public Education (PEEP) to leave the negotiation. "We recognize the economic reality and the context of rising raw material such as that 40% of the price of pulp, said Daniel SCHWARZ, treasurer of PEEP. That's why we were ready to discuss a positive impact on prices, perfectly stable since 2007. But the fact that teaches unilaterally remove the binder from this list, it is not acceptable. The binder for us is critical, there is. "
Rising prices
Creyssel Jacques, managing director of the Federation of Commercial and distribution (FCD), whose members are the retailers participating in the operation, has stressed during a press conference that the prices of "Essentials of return "would increase. "The increase will be moderate," he promised, however. Brigitte Masure, president of the Confederation of families, intérogée by Le Parisien, Aujourd'hui en France believes that the purchase of supplies back last year cost 40 euros for a child to kindergarten, 113 euros for a PC, 337 euros for a sixth and 821 euros for a second student to technology. The invoice should climb this year.A study published in late June by the online shopping site Twenga revealed that the average cost of supplies were increased by 18% compared to last year.
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Jul
16
The world champion loves yogurt tracks. Especially when it comes to change its scope of activity or distribution channels. In 2002, he landed in cosmetics. Eight years later, he experimented with home delivery and "customization" of its Evian bottled water. With Danone Activia Bar-based, it pushes even further the "brand stretching" (extension of its brands), which it is Champion with the various versions of its flagship product (to be paid to drink …).
Here, the yogurt came directly from the factory-Littry Danone Molay, Normandy. They are served in pots of 80, 150 or 250 g. You can buy classic or glazed, with a score of "toppings" (fruits, chocolate chips, cereal …). Two other outlets are also tested in Paris, a kiosk at the Galeries Lafayette and a "corner" in a pasta bar eighteenth arrondissement, Nooyi."These pilots are aimed at developing a new range of commercial catering, says Alain Gauthron, Director of Professional Danone, a subsidiary of Danone France Fresh Products. We give ourselves a year and a dozen stores to test the concept. "
A separate activity
In Rosny 2, one of the busiest shopping centers in France, where its competitors are called Haagen Dazs, Paul and Pomme de Pain, the Danone Bar displays relatively accessible price (from 2.20 euros the potty ). "If it works, we can replicate this type of situation in other shopping centers," predicts Alain Gauthron.
The facts are simple. If the yogurt has found its place in canteens or in hospitals, it has less popular at the restaurant where only one in eight integrates its meal. Yet the French are among the largest consumers of yogurt."When outside, the consumer wants a different experience than it may have at home," said Alain Gauthron, including frozen yogurt are less calories than ice cream.
The idea of yogurt bars comes from Spain, home of Daniel Carasso. On the occasion of 90 years the group in 2009, "Danone casa" was born in Barcelona, both museum and store. Eight shops have followed.
In France, the starting point is different. "This will not only be a vector image, but a new activity, says Alain Gauthron. The whole business model is to build. "Shops or corners, own stores or franchises, Danone is given time to develop his concept. He bets first on its brand. "When we say Danone, everyone thinks of the yogurt.It is a very important asset when starting from scratch, "says Alain Gauthron.
The idea was matured by the "innovation incubator" Danone's Fresh Produce, a team of researchers, engineers, marketing specialists working on projects with two, three or four years. Then, a "lab" (test) was set up size. This is the "method Danone" to deploy new concepts.
Jul
13
Financial stocks were again at the forefront of the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area. The financial sector index values fell by almost 10% within a week, and most major French banks are publicly traded close to their lowest annual levels. The inability of Europeans to agree on the establishment of a second bailout of Greece concern the market, which now feared a contagion to other countries in the euro area.
With the fear of an incident on the Italian debt, the problem of sovereign debt in Europe is a very serious turn, as the Italian government debt-which amounted to 1.9 trillion euros is 5.5-fold to that of Greece. The banks are primarily affected through their exposure to traditional state claims.
Regarding the Italian sovereign risk, the exposure of the French banking system amount to 35 billion euros, which is quite colossal. Unlike debt Greek, Portuguese and Spanish, which are now mainly carried by hedge funds, the Italian debt was previously considered to be of good quality. It is still very much in the balance sheets of major financial institutions in Europe.
Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas in the red
The other concern is the amount of banks' liabilities to the private sector in Italy. And there, the amounts involved are more important because sometimes in the different estimates circulating on the market to nearly 300 billion euros. The two institutions most concerned are the BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, which are present in Italy through subsidiaries.The markets fear that these institutions are forced to fund a portion of commitments to local borrowers Italian, especially a possible depreciation in the value of their subsidiaries in the accounts in any major difficulties in this country.
That's why the price of Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas are approaching their lowest level this year. The insurance group Axa, very present in Italy and holds direct obligations of the Italian State, is also affected. The stock has lost more than 10% in just three days. It now processes at a level much lower than the amount of capital.
Greek in the storm, the galley of the euro features a 18th passenger. It is not a secret, he even want to take orders. The United States is also concerned about a shipwreck in Greece that the Old Continent. They have continued to print their tempo in recent days to force the European crew to recover.
In Luxembourg, held since Sunday in yet another ballet departmental emergency, the American effort has found a leader: John Lipsky, the IMF acting boss since the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Monday, early morning, we have even seen take the pen and help correct what would become the final declaration of the Euro, according to several witnesses. Gender confusion? Among the Europeans at least, there is no doubt about the role vested in this native of Iowa, former chief economist at Salomon Brothers and JPMorgan."Lipsky is the U.S. Treasury and defending U.S. interests in Luxembourg, 'says one diplomat. The CEO can afford. Age 62, he announced his retirement before the arrest of DSK.
Under his leadership temporary, the IMF has taken a much more demanding vis-à-vis the financially troubled countries of the European Union. The turning point came during a visit to three with Angela Merkel and Wolfgang Schäuble, on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Deauville, said a European official. Prior to the rescue of countries such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal, the fund was content with a European political commitment. Since then, he stands still as his balls timelines, detailed austerity plans and supports encrypted.This partly explains the surprise decision of the Eurogroup, on Monday, to condition the release of the fifth tranche of the loan to Greece promised a vote by Parliament in Athens, new austerity measures and to a credible plan for privatization.
"Germany, a key country"
There is no mystery no longer on Washington's annoyance at the failure of the seventeen countries to overcome their susceptibilities to seriously address the problem cheap business cards. "Over the past year, the euro will fall into relapse and we see only bandages to stop the bleeding, said a U.S. official. The problem consumes time and energy of the Europeans. The world turns and do not wait. "It is also the best interests of the United States. A weak euro would threaten the sustained U.S. recovery, not to mention a rise in interest rates.More seriously, a European banking meltdown could spread to the other side of the Atlantic, reflecting the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008. For the second time in less than a year, Barack Obama is telling the Chancellor that it needs to hand the wallet in favor of Athens. "Germany is the key country," stressed the president.
Christine Lagarde, a candidate for the succession of DSK, is more eager to place the main shareholder of the IMF. On the night of Sunday to Monday, the French minister took it upon herself to keep closely informed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. It was not a "phone G7" as improperly submitted.But a conversation to explain that two vital partner why 17 had once again decided not to decide on Greece.
Appointment is made Sunday, July 3 for a new conclave of the Eurogroup dedicated to the Greek debt. With the cap of the IMF, but also speaking on behalf of Washington, John Lipsky has not concealed his impatience Monday. He commanded the Europeans to "immediately put an end" to their debate on the restructuring of debt and start a new fund to rescue the euro. And he clearly put in danger the balance, "This is to prevent the crisis spreading from the periphery of Europe to the center and from there to the rest of the world."
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"The resistance against privatization is organized
The disappointment that followed the release Friday of the bad employment numbers in the United States extends to Asia Scholar. On Monday, key regional markets receding in the wake of Wall Street has ended the week on a clear downward. In May, the U.S. has created only 54,000 jobs, which is three times less than expected and not enough to prevent a rise in unemployment to 9.1%, against 8.9% expected. Enough to worry the markets on the strength of the recovery across the Atlantic.
At a time of closure, the Nikkei, Tokyo Stock Exchange lost 0.63% in 9432 and points after starting down 0.26%. The rating is pulled down by the action of the utility TEPCO, which drops from 25.9% to 7 hours.Investors sold heavily to the track operator Fukushima after the publication of an article by Kyodo news agency on Sunday, saying the company could record a net loss of 570 billion yen in fiscal year from April 2011 to March 2012 (4.9 billion euros at current rate), excluding the compensation due to victims of the nuclear accident. In its wake, as Chubu Electric Power Co. also dropped 8%.
In the rest of the region, the red is also relevant. The Indian Sensex lost 0.31% while in Australia, the S & P coward 0.37%, weighed down by mining stocks Rio Tinto (-0.85%) and BHP Billiton (-0.81%). Note that the stock exchanges of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul were closed for holiday.
Oil without direction
Oil prices were for their part without leadership in electronic trading in Asia in anticipation of an OPEC meeting in Vienna on Wednesday, dealers said. In morning trading, a barrel of light sweet crude for July delivery gained 8 cents to 100.30 dollars and that of Brent North Sea crude for delivery the same declined by 6 cents to 115.78 dollars.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which meets Wednesday on the bottom of sinking of the Libyan crisis, should leave its production quotas unchanged, despite soaring crude prices and increased pressure on consumer countries, analysts said.
The weak dollar gives momentum to the barrel
Last week, things had begun badly for oil. First S & P warns on U.S. debt. Then, the Saudi oil minister who says the market is "supplied in abundance." A statement also expressed by the secretary general of OPEC, Abdullah El Badri, during the weekend. "If OPEC is ready to say this is that there must be a lot of oil on the market," observed Rich Ilczyszyn, Lind-Waldock to justify the price decline that day, to 107.12 dollars per barrel of light sweet crude for May delivery in New York and 121.85 dollars in London.
But on Tuesday, the dollar's sharp fall came to give a fillip to trade. The U.S. currency fell to its lowest level since January 2010 against the euro, which climbed to over $ 1.46.Such movement makes the crude in dollars more attractive to buyers provided with other currencies. Prices ended the week (shortened due to Easter) to 112.29 dollars in New York (five dollars between Monday and Thursday) and 124.38 dollars in London.
This reversal of trend, which intensified throughout the rest of the week, is also due to concerns over the situation in Nigeria. The political situation is very tense in the wake of presidential elections. The outgoing Head of State Goodluck Jonathan was proclaimed winner, an announcement welcomed by deadly riots. However, the country's largest producer of black gold of the African continent. "Its oil is also a substitute for oil in Libya. If production losses in Nigeria also intervened, this would result in a shortage of high quality oil, "commented analyst at Commerzbank.
In the background, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East kept the risk premium allocated to oil prices. The clashes were continuing in Libya between rebels and forces loyal to leader Muammar Gaddafi, while calls to demonstrate continued in Syria and Yemen.
Base Metals
Aluminum, LME superstar
The overall weakness of the dollar pushes investors to put their money in other commodities as oil to protect against loss of value of their assets. Base metals have therefore also benefited.
Aluminum is the winner of the week. Prices went up to 2,750.25 dollars per tonne, its highest since August 2008. In addition to the weak dollar, they have benefited from the announcement by China, a halt to aluminum smelting capacity to regulate the excess production.To recall, China supplies 40% of world production.
Copper closed up to 9610.50 dollars, also carried by the fundamentals, including partial closure of the Grasberg mine in Indonesia, one of the largest in the world. Lead and nickel are also mounted, respectively, in 2669 dollars and 26,650 dollars per tonne.
Overall, all have benefited from bargain hunting after declines the previous week. Investors LME smile again while U.S. quarterly results suggest good prospects for the request.
Precious metals
Gold and silver shine a thousand lights
As for precious metals, the context is more than favorable to gold paydayloans. Dollar depreciation, inflation if oil prices rise, fears about sovereign debt: everything was done to allow the yellow metal spraying his record.This was done on Thursday with one ounce to 1509 dollars. The highly anticipated threshold of $ 1,500 has been reached and even exceeded. Two options stand thus: either investors consider this remedy as an objective in the long term, they see it as a threshold for some benefits may be recovered. The following weeks will be decisive. Meanwhile, on the London Bullion Market, gold price finished Thursday at 1504 dollars at auction in the afternoon.
In its wake, the money has jumped 8% and surpassed $ 45, the highest since 1980. Thursday ounce traded at 46.32 dollars even. What makes investors fear the emergence of a speculative bubble that is expected soon to explode. In this case, a correction to $ 38 is possible.
For their part, the PGMs were down earlier this week because of fears surrounding the automotive industry in Japan.The loss of production in factories in Japan since March 11 totaled 500,000 vehicles, and could reach one million, according to experts at the Shanghai Auto Show. The sector is also affected worldwide. Prices have bounced back this weekend, buoyed by the buying frenzy because of the weak dollar. On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, an ounce of platinum finished Thursday at 1812 and an ounce of palladium ended at $ 765.
Agricultural materials
Coffee and wheat are skyrocketing
Last week, the price of coffee stood out, rising to 302.50 cents in New York, a level not seen since 1977! At issue: the prospect of reduced supply from major producing countries. In Brazil, in particular, should disrupt weather crops.In this context, and with a weak dollar, investors have not hesitated to take positions. On the NYBOT, ICE, the pound of Arabica for May delivery ended the week at 286.60 cents in New York while robusta ended at 2408 dollars in London.
Always on the side of good performances, a bushel of wheat (25 kg) for July delivery has earned 7% on the week on the Chicago Board of Trade. In the poor quality of U.S. wheat (according to the latest weekly report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 36% of winter wheat is considered "good" to "excellent", against 65% last year to the same period ) and the drop-off in Russia, came by the drought in several parts of the world. The weather is dry in the American plains but also in Western Europe, Canada and China.A bushel of wheat therefore ends up at 8.3475 dollars.
In contrast, maize is affected by severe disturbances in the central United States. The contract for corn rose to 7.4450 dollars, while a bushel of soybeans for July climbed to 13.8975 million.
Divorce is not yet consummated, but the employee-manager relations are deteriorating. If employees remain largely (78%) satisfied with their work, their relationships with their direct supervisor were suffering from the crisis, says a survey by BVA for the consulting firm BPI. Today, they are only 22% have a high opinion of their manager, a drop of ten percentage points from 2007.
Managerial qualities as acclaimed by employees – listening, ability to motivate, to speak the truth, to admit his mistakes, to establish a relationship of trust … – are those who, according to interviewees, most fault their superiors. Today's employees are primarily responsive to the human qualities of their leaders direct, technical expertise from the background.A survey Mediaprism Group has even tried to compare the ideal manager with an animal before the fox, the animal most often cited was a St. Bernard!
However, managers have less time to develop such qualities. "With the crisis, job cuts, local managers (ie: those that are directly related to employees) are less numerous. They therefore have less time to connect and manage "the BVA survey analysis.
"The task of managers has become more complex, confirms Olivier Herlin, a management consultant with Covenants Council. The constraints they face while increasing their capabilities stagnate or even decline guaranteed pay day loans.Increasingly, they are asked to produce indicators, dashboards, which nibble the time spent in management in the proper sense. "
Unmotivated troops
Impact: employees feel relatively little about life and their business strategy, and are increasingly reluctant to express their own opinion. According to the BVA barometer, 52% of employees feel that what they think the job might be frowned upon.
Yet the quality of the relationship established with the manager is critical to the ability of a firm to retain its best people. "We joined a company, you leave a boss," says Pascale Portères, vice president of BPI.For 75% of respondents, their supervisor plays a key role in their commitment to the company, and remains an effective lever of motivation.
A data should not be overlooked at a time when employees note with disappointment that the sacrifices made during the economic crisis will not be rewarded financially. "There's real frustration, all sectors and occupational categories combined. Employees are ever in search of recognition, analysis Pascale Portères. If managers do not know to be more attentive to their employees, I fear a worsening of the mobilization. "
While the country remains on alert this morning after a second explosion at the nuclear power plant in Fukushima Daiichi, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to take exceptional measures to counter the effects of the disaster in the economic and financial systems. The BoJ has in effect this morning to three injections of cash for a total of 15,000 billion yen, 131.2 billion euros. In addition, Market Watch, which cites the Japanese news agency Kyodo said that 3000 billion yen will be invested Extra on Wednesday. In addition, the central bank plans to buy 10 billion yen (870 million euros) of assets and corporate bonds. The institution hopes to support markets.
His intervention had immediate effect on the yen, which fell abruptly when he was mounted in the early morning.The Nikkei index of Tokyo Stock Exchange plummeted finished him sitting on a decline of 6.18%. The volume of transactions reached a historic high on Monday to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, with over 4.88 billion shares traded on the primary market, representing more than 2.5 times the average normal. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has nevertheless been valuable to rate.
Automotive and nuclear values fall
The share of the company Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), which operates nuclear plants in trouble, was particularly affected, it lost 23.57%, all holders of securities rushing to sell. The values are also among the automotive titles most penalized Mitsubishi Motors plunged 10.9% to 8.1% and Toyota. Indeed, many Japanese companies are facing serious damage on their production sites.Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Sony, Mitsubishi Motors, Suzuki, Panasonic or Toshiba have suspended their activity in one or more plants.
As for oil prices, they are on the downside on Monday in electronic trading in Asia. A barrel of Brent WTI lost nearly 2% to less than 100 dollars a barrel. The market is worried about a decline in short-term demand from Japan due to the drop in production.
The reduction of production capacity is compounded by shortages of electricity, or the closure of ports. And the idling of the country further increase the bill for the disaster. Even if the destruction of the earthquake and resulting tsunami that struck Japan on Friday remain difficult to assess, AIR Worldwide, a specialist in risk assessment, advanced at a cost of $ 34.6 billion to insurance companies.And the total score could be higher than the $ 100 billion of the Kobe earthquake in 1995, said Valerie Plagnol, director of research at Credit Suisse France, micro BFM.
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Neither starting rumors or Gaddafi talks of OPEC members (Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries) about a possible increase in production of black gold in the coming weeks have managed to fall fever markets.
After rising to 106.95 dollar Monday, its highest level since September 2008 and have lost up to $ 2 in Asia on the morning of Tuesday, a barrel of light crude was trading at 105.57 U.S. dollars the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 13 cents from the previous day.
A game of yo-yo that translates queries from operators, who do not know whether to believe or not the producing countries.Saudi Arabia, which said it could increase production by 700,000 barrels a day, finds that the offer is "very appropriate" market needs while Kuwait, the UAE and Nigeria to make talk 300,000 barrels / day extra.
These production increases are intended to compensate the Libyan supplies, which fell from 1.6 million to a million barrels per day since the crisis began. But for now, no member of OPEC does not speak officially for exceeding the quotas. "We are in consultation," merely states the Kuwaiti oil minister.
The representative of Iran, a country which chairs the cartel, however threw a famous cold snap in asserting that consumer fears are "psychological." He believes, like Qatar, inventories and production are "at an acceptable level."
For their part, the United States do nothing to calm things down when the Secretary General of the White House is suggesting, as he did last Sunday, it was conceivable that the country draws its strategic reserves. "There is no supply problem and would be a mistake" to do so, he has indirectly responded Tuesday CEO of Total, Christophe de Margerie, in Houston.
Inflationary pressures
But the business community fear that the violence in Libya and the Arab world will undermine the tentative economic recovery. "The picture is now darker for growth. We had long been considered a significant rise in oil prices in our forecasts, but their rapid and continuous gains begin to put us ill at ease, "recognize the analysts at Goldman Sachs.
They also fear a "day of anger" in Friday in Saudi Arabia that could lead to new unrest.
But they are aware that soaring crude prices, which rose from $ 86 to over 105 dollars in three weeks on the U.S. markets, is not unique in the Middle East. It also results from increased demand from large countries with strong growth such as China and India.
One more reason for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has, after the European Central Bank, sounded the alarm about the increased risks of overheating in emerging markets. Rising oil prices there is indeed aggravate inflationary pressures.