What are the consequences of a decline in the rating "AAA" American? The risk increases after a prolonged disagreement between Republicans and Democrats on the management of U.S. debt. The problem may seem far from the concerns of citizens, but U.S. President Barack Obama warned, "If we lose the AAA, everyone will pay more taxes. This will cause a rise in interest rates, which would have the same effect as raising taxes on all Americans. "And to raise the specter of rising rates of car loans on credit cards and in real estate.
Banks lend to their clients because at rates directly correlated to the performance of bonds. However, the higher the rating of a country, the lower the rates at which it must borrow increases.According to rating agency Standard & Poor's, the loss of "AAA" could cost between 0.25 and 0.5% growth rate in the United States. Analysis challenged by some economists, who point out that Japan, after seeing his note deteriorated in the early 2000s, had seen the contrary interest rates fall.
"Zero risk"
Still, never in the history of the United States has lost their prestigious note, despite a technical default part in 1979 (a few dates could not be met on time). It symbolized far "zero risk" to markets, which could buy U.S. debt with the confidence of being repaid.
A decline in the note, a real paradigm shift, "would affect the actions and change," warns Ciaran O'Hagan, strategist at Societe Generale. How much? Hard to say.The United States never lost their prestigious note, "the unprecedented nature of this reduction makes it difficult to determine all the ramifications of the financial markets and the economy," says agency Fitch.
Thus, it is not clear that the long-term investors seeking safe investments are fleeing the U.S. Treasury. For example, foreign central banks, which own 33% of U.S. debt, will not sell their shares, say analysts surveyed after UBS interested. According to Fitch, the Treasury will keep the short and medium term "their status as reference for interest rate markets."Clearly, there will be no widespread panic in the market for U.S. debt.
More than a threat to the United States themselves, "noted a deterioration in the U.S. crystallize the challenges for all developed countries, probably by opening the way for the degradation of other countries," says Jean- Baptiste Pethe, Exane BNP Paribas. If the U.S. lose their "AAA", France and the UK may well follow. The United States could then argue them, as Secretary of the Treasury Nixon had done about the dollar, "it is our rating, but your problem".
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Tunisia this week, Morocco in a few days: Eric Besson, Minister of Industry, has been mobilized by the Euro-Mediterranean energy pact with a number of partnerships with the key. A pact underpinned by the implementation of the Mediterranean Solar Plan: 20 gigawatts (GW) of renewable electricity should break ground in 2020 in the south and east of the area. Of these 20 GW, five will be exported to Europe.
This very ambitious program is itself related to the project Medgrid, which now has 22 associates and partners.This is the grid trans synonymous with development of interconnections between the riparian countries, to strengthen security of supply and profitability of the southern Mediterranean project of electricity generation.
Eventually, 5 to 6 billion euros of investments are planned in the electricity transmission infrastructure. Via unit works with a value between 500 million and 1 billion euros. Because the numbers speak for themselves: the predictions of experts predict an increase of 7% per year of electricity demand by 2025 in southern and eastern Mediterranean, while nine million people there today have no access.
"We are dealing with a double fracture energy, one between the northern and southern Mediterranean, the other between countries faxless pay day loans.The countries of the European Union bordering the Mediterranean have limited fossil resources, but ownership of two-thirds of the energy that is consumed, says Michel Derdevet, lecturer at the Institute of Political Studies Paris. Conversely, developing countries have substantially lower requirements but growing very fast. "
Arab Spring
To what extent can we overcome these divisions? For André Merlin, the executive chairman of Medgrid, the project set up to respond precisely the logic of co-development (see interview below). It is intended also closely complements the massive program Desertec – tens of billions of dollars dedicated to the development of the solar industry in the South.Whether the latest geopolitical events have come to upset the schedule Medgrid, André Merlin responds bluntly: "No, although this spring has somewhat disrupted the plans of development of electricity infrastructure."
For the leader of Medgrid, "there is great need on the part of those countries to develop alternative sources to oil and gas to generate electricity, the countries that have no such resources and become less dependent on imported hydrocarbons and those who have such resources and reserves in the world market much more profitable. "
The fear of bankruptcy Greek has never been stronger. Sunday, finance ministers of the euro area have again met in Luxembourg to lay the foundations for a new rescue plan, this time involving the private sector.
To address the most urgent, priority was first to validate the fifth installment of the loan of 110 billion made last year in the first aid plan. "We will work to pave the way for the release" of this slice of 12 billion, assured the German Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on arrival. Otherwise Athens, facing deadlines refinancing risk bankruptcy next month. However, the decision could be taken only Monday, after the meeting, warned the President of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker.It is also linked to the IMF agreement, which should provide about a quarter of the promised amount and conditioned his release date for further progress in economic reforms in Greece. But ministers were mostly working on a new rescue plan, with "at least an agreement in principle", according to one diplomatic source. The amount could approach that of the first packet. If the principle is an act, the terms of this extension will however be referred to the next meeting of finance ministers, scheduled July 11. The big question concerns the involvement of banks."We'll talk tonight about the involvement of private creditors, the question is how far it can and must go," summed up Jean-Claude Juncker.
"We play with fire"
Friday in Berlin, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel had outlined the mechanism, with four main principles: voluntary participation of private creditors, approval of the ECB, nor a "credit event" and rapid implementation instant payday loan. But Wolfgang Schäuble Sunday as Chancellor reiterated that the participation of private creditors should be substantial. Germany prefers the idea of longer maturities on debt, where Paris defends the option of "rollover" that would see creditors renew their credit lines in Athens at the maturity of loans.For Europeans, the most important thing is to convince investors that it is not part of a payment default.
"We play with fire," warned Saturday the President of the Eurogroup. Bankruptcy of Greece "may be contagious for Portugal and Ireland and, before Spain, to Belgium and Italy, given their heavy debt." And in this game of dominoes, the Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders, did not rule out that France is also reached, "when you see the level of deficit and debt." The financial world has been rocked in 2008 by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, he said in an interview with The Tribune."Do not repeat this type of bankruptcy."
After the reshuffle of his government, Prime Minister, George Papandreou, has, meanwhile, claimed Sunday the confidence of Parliament in order to get its austerity plan in late June, and thus obtain the release of the new international aid. A vote is expected Tuesday night.
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Schools, colleges, high schools, universities, governments and businesses will be closed ultramajorité Monday. Not because of a strike call would be strongly followed, but due to the National Solidarity Day, established in 2004 – through the elimination of the holiday falling on Whit Monday – by Jean-Pierre Raffarin.
The working day "offered" by the employees was instituted after the heatwave of summer 2003, which caused the deaths of 15,000 elderly and highlighted the extreme isolation of some people. Employers were free to set the terms of agreement by company or branch.The idea is to offset a new tax of 0.3% on the payroll who also hit the capital income and wealth.
Most of the time, a day of paid leave or RTT was sacrificed in exchange for work on Whit Monday.Some companies might choose to "dicked" day of extra work and free: in two half days without a student in Education or seven hours spread over the year at the station.
13 billion in seven years
Before the general disorganization – nobody knew when the Day of Solidarity was falling – and many recriminations trade unions, associations or religious, the Fillon government decided in 2008 to remake the Whit Monday public holiday and therefore not working no fax payday loan.
Since its inception seven years ago, the Day of Solidarity has reported 13 billion collected from public and private employers by the National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy.The annual levy – which will yield 2.31 billion in 2011 – is intended to cover devices cons dependency: Standard ABS and PCH allowances, retirement homes and special schools … It has 60% elderly and 40% for people disabilities.
To finance the care of elderly dependency, it is suggested to establish a new day of solidarity that would yield, according to Roselyne Bachelot, 2 billion more. Others still offer to extend the base's contribution to the professions and retirees who are currently excluded.
Reportedly, 25 investigators raided two days during the siege of Servier in Neuilly, last Wednesday and Thursday. The search "lasted long," said a source familiar with the matter. More than ten companies in the first behind French pharmaceutical Sanofi-Aventis have been involved and this on several different sites in France. Private homes, including that of the group's boss, Jacques Servier, now 89 years old, also located in Neuilly, were also visited. The founder of the laboratory is married to Madeleine Trembaly past two years. At 84 years old today, this woman is the former president of America Servier. In addition, the office of Jean-Philippe Seta, Executive Chairman of the group, was also searched."Although the household had been done but there were still many things on the spot," said another source familiar with the matter.
These searches were involved in the judicial investigation conducted by the Paris prosecutor on the scandal of the Mediator, the drug reserved for diabetics and marketed in France from 1976 to 2009.
The investigators sent belong to the Central Office of the struggle against environmental damage and public health (OCLAESP) and the Division of Financial Investigations (Dnif). The Dnif trafficking investigations on violations of business law, including, for this case, the illegal taking of interest. "The goal is to understand things in their entirety to identify all of what has been committed," confided another source free business cards.Pascal Gand judges and Anne-Marie Bellot's public health division of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris and Franck Zientara who drive these two surveys were present during these searches.
Currently, two criminal investigations are opened in Paris, one for manslaughter and involuntary injury, the second for aggravated fraud and making illegal interests. As part of this investigation, it is "deception on essential qualities of the product," ie having sold a drug, in this instance an antidiabetic suspected actually an appetite suppressant . 'Deception about the risks "for having sold a product without informing consumers of its side effects.The Mediator is accused of being responsible for causing heart valve (valve disease) and lung diseases (pulmonary hypertension) that can sometimes require lung transplant. According to several studies, these diseases are responsible for the deaths of 500 to 2000 people in France. The lab always categorically deny these figures.
February 7, investigators had already moved the headquarters of the laboratory as part of a movement of justice.
Servier Laboratories, established in 1954 in Orleans, currently employing over 20,000 people worldwide including 5,000 in France.
No more Nokia. The world's number one telephone on Tuesday released an alert on its results. The restructuring announcements in recent months have failed to rectify the accounts.
The turnover of its phone division will be "substantially" lower than the initial forecast of between 6.1 and 6.6 billion euros for the second quarter. Volumes and average selling prices of the phones are below expectations. The operating margin will be, too, much lower than the previously announced range (6 to 9%). It could be "close to the equilibrium point (zero), predicted the group. For the record, the Apple flirts with 42%.
Nokia also believes "it is more appropriate to provide annual targets for 2011."Leaving the field of speculations open: Would it be so bad? However, the group plans to provide quarterly forecasts and annual targets "when circumstances permit."
"The strategic transition periods are difficult," Elop justified. Called into action last September, the former Microsoft, the first foreigner to head the Finnish group, failed to stem the loss of market share in the group. After an initial phase, punctuated by an overhaul of management and a mea culpa General Company for recognizing the delay in smartphones, the first steps have been taken No teletrack payday loans. No effect yet.
Four years late
Nokia announced it would abandon its gradual Symbian operating system for the Microsoft Windows phone.However, "the first Nokia product with Windows Phone to be launched in the fourth quarter," Stephen Elop said Tuesday. Not only does it arrive on the market a year after the first Windows phone, but in addition, this system has, so far, not met with great commercial success. In announcing the alliance, Nokia and Microsoft, Google's boss had also joked, "Two turkeys will not make an eagle." This does not Nokia to build on this progress to return to the smartphone market. It is also imperative to send back the average selling price of its phones to stop the erosion of margins.
Since joining Nokia, Stephen Elop has been repeatedly stressed the need to change strategy. The Group's business challenges are no secret to anyone.This revised outlook 2011 has been very badly received by the markets which saw a further sign of wavering in management. On Tuesday, the stock has lost 17.53% to 4.75 euros. Since 2007 and the arrival of the iPhone on the market, it sold 83%.
The shock wave continues to sweep Fukushima Europe's energy. While Switzerland has announced its nuclear phase-out, Germany specifies how the final cessation of its 17 reactors, her 7 oldest already being put off since the reversal of Angela Merkel.
On 6 June that the ruling coalition in Berlin to present its draft law on the date of the release of nuclear energy. The Ethics Commission was commissioned by the Chancellor gave his opinion: Germany should abandon nuclear power within ten years.A position to resume its behalf by the head of the Bavarian Christian Democrats, allies of the CDU Angela Merkel, during long and tough negotiations this weekend, amid new anti-nuclear demonstration.
Threat of blackout
Is that the pro-nuclear industry in mind, threatening the country with a blackout or an exorbitant cost in case of renunciation too fast for nuclear power plants. Energy-intensive factories will be in trouble, warns the Association of Industrial Energy. According to Bild, the government expects an output cost of an atom of 16 billion euros by 2015, while the overall figure of 40 billion euro circulates in the CDU documents cited by the Süddeutsche Zeitung .
In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi's government, which provided early in the year to revive the nuclear arrested in 1987, has also backtracked.He earned the confidence last Tuesday in Parliament on a gel for a year or two atomic projects.
In France, where nuclear has provided in 2010 about 74% of electricity, its place in the energy mix should be widely debated during the presidential campaign. In this context, the Government has entrusted to the Court of Auditors an audit on the cost of nuclear power, future decommissioning, waste management and additional costs of security including post-Fukushima.The Prime Minister asked to "gather the relevant questions of economists as associations of environmental protection, but they denounce expertise not pluralistic.
Completely new, reflecting the effect Fukushima in the country's most nuclear-armed world, the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) asked its experts to calculate the impact on the electricity bill and releases CO2 down 5% from nuclear. Response in September.
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May
6
The NYSE Closing Thursday in dark red. The Dow Jones loose 1.10% to 12,584.17 points in the final gong. The Nasdaq lost 0.48% to 2814.72 points and the S & P dropped 0.91% to 1335.08 points.
An unpleasant surprise has fallen on the macro: new jobless claims rose sharply during the last week of April. The day earlier, figures from the firm ADP showed that job creation in the private sector had slowed in April, below analysts' expectations. Two ads ominous before the highly anticipated monthly report on employment and unemployment, American, expected tomorrow, Friday.
Non-farm productivity and unit labor costs have gone unnoticed.Productivity, which measures hourly output per employee grew at an annual rate of 1.6% over the period January-March after rising 2.9% (revised from 2.6%) in the previous quarter. Over the period, the unit cost of labor has on his side rebounded 1.0% after having fallen by 1.0% (revised from -0.6%) over the last three months of 2010. Analysts had forecast an increase of 0.8% in the first quarter.
Plummeting oil
These indicators have led to lower oil prices. On the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), the price of a barrel of light sweet crude for June delivery broke down the psychological barrier of $ 100 for the first time since mid-March.It closed at 99.80 dollars, a plunge of 9.44 dollars compared to the previous day (-8.64%).
On the foreign exchange market, the European single currency falling, it strongly against the dollar after the ECB decided to keep interest rates unchanged. The euro is trading at 1.4529 dollars at the close of trading, having again exceeded $ 1.49 during the meeting Wednesday.
Intel and Advanced "historic"
The side of values, the raw materials sector was suffering just like Exxon Mobil (-2.55% to 82.65 dollars) and Chevron (-1.86% to 102.73 U.S. dollars)
Moreover, the media group News Corp quick payday loans. (+0.06% to 17.35 dollars) announced a quarterly profit of 639 million, against 839 million a year ago. Turnover is a decline to 8.26 billion dollars against 8.79 billion dollars last year.The group had enjoyed last year's commercial success of Avatar, analysts said Aurel BGC. And they say, the release of "Rio" should support the profits of the current quarter.
For its part, the Texas chain Whole Foods Market (+0.35% to 59.95 dollars) has announced a 33% increase in its quarterly profits to $ 89.9 million. Turnover was up 12% to $ 2.4 billion. Comparable store sales were up 7.8%. Positioning the dispenser on a high-end clientele limit sharply the impact of rising gasoline prices on consumer behavior of its customers.
The publisher of games, Electronic Arts (8.84% to U.S. $ 21.68) announced a profit of 151 million against 30 million last year.Turnover was up 17% to 995 million.
Facebook and Google (-0.28% to 534.27 dollars) would, each in turn, is negotiating a possible takeover of Skype, or a substantial stake.
World number one Intel microprocessors (+0.47% to 23.61 dollars) announced Wednesday a new advanced "historical" in the history of microprocessors.Result of ten years of research, the new 3D transistor ultra-powerful mobile devices will provide more capacity while using less battery.
An internal investigation of the U.S. cosmetics group Avon (-5.24% to 28.73 dollars) discovered possible cases of corruption among its employees not only in China but also Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, India and Japan, said Wednesday the Wall Street Journal.
General Motors (-3.21% to 31.98 dollars) on Thursday posted a profit more than tripled in the first quarter, thanks to the recovery of the U.S. market and strong sales in Asia, but the prices of its vehicles were disappointed analysts.
The resignation Monday of Patrick Pelata, deputy CEO of Renault, has not put an end to the crisis triggered last January 3 by the unfounded dismissal of three executives of the manufacturer for a false espionage. Some observers fear that his departure will have consequences in the functioning of the enterprise. "Without the controls Patrick Pelata, Renault's strategic plan in February could be disrupted or postponed for six months to a year," judge and Florent Couvreur, analyst at CM-CIC Securities. He is not alone in worrying: Tuesday, Renault shares fell 3.17%, 2.21% after the previous day.
In the labor movement, the reactions are negative, especially before the absolution granted to Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Diamond brand. "When you're number one, we must assume.To Mr. Ghosn to decide, "said Jean-Claude Mailly, secretary general of the Workers Force. Same story on the side of employers: "There are times when we are many entrepreneurs do not recognize ourselves in the behavior of some of them", for its part, said Laurence Parisot, President Medef to without naming the president of Renault.
Patrick Pelata will manage the Japanese crisis
The criticism of Carlos Ghosn has more weight than the boss of Renault was widely exposed, especially from log 20 hours of TF1 to assert that the evidence involving the three executives were "multiplesJe urges me to laugh at everything for fear of being obliged to weep."
Logically, the audit report commissioned to understand how this case could take up so much steam highlights the role of Patrick Pelata payday loans.Yet some point out, the two other steering committee members involved – the Christian Legal Director and Secretary General Husson Laurence Dors – depended Carlos Ghosn, and not his right arm. Even as the Chief Operating Officer oversaw, directly or indirectly, 18 of the 24 members of the steering committee.
The departure of four key leaders of Renault (counting Michel Balthazar, one of the executives who unjustly blamed not return to the company) will necessarily be difficult to manage operationally. Especially as replacements will not happen quickly. "Patrick Pelata will remain in office for another few weeks.There is a crisis to manage because of the disaster in Japan and he'll manage, "said a spokesman for the manufacturer.
The financial implications are however easier to absorb, even if they are not negligible. The four victims of the case managers (the three laid off January 3 and he fired in late 2009) will be compensated, even if two of them go back into the business. In total, these benefits are expected to cost around 8 million euros to Renault. However, an amount that will be covered by bonuses and stock options which have given Carlos Ghosn, Patrick Pelata and all officers implicated by name in the audit.
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Ironically, the hello from Portugal, caught in a financial turmoil and a severe political crisis, could come from its former colony, Brazil, in 2010 became the seventh largest economy in the world, ahead of Italy. "Brazil will help Portugal, as Portugal has helped Brazil economically," said Tuesday after arriving on Portuguese soil, Dilma Rousseff the new president, making his first visit to Europe.