World News – International Headlines, Stories

The red takes its place at the Paris Stock Exchange on Thursday. The CAC 40 starts the session down 0.47% at 3921.56 points. The London Stock Exchange following the same path with Footsie down from 0.36% to 5620.36 points. The DAX index in Frankfurt also opened down 0.40% at 5913.17 points.

Today, the Tokyo Stock Exchange ended in the green but this positive conclusion seems not strong enough to reassure the markets.

A flurry of statistics

Mixed macroeconomic statistics were published in Asia on Thursday. In Japan, GDP in the fourth quarter was revised downward to 0.9% from the previous quarter instead of 1.1%, business investment had proven that estimated lower initially (at 0.9% over the previous quarter instead of 1%).In contrast, China has announced that industrial production had risen by 20.7% yoy over the first two months of the year and that investment in fixed assets had increased by 26.6% over the same period .

Wednesday evening, the U.S. Treasury announced a record budget deficit of 220.909 billion dollars in February, its seventeenth consecutive month in the red, but with a higher income.

In addition to these data, investors will digest the figures on Thursday the French budget deficit in January. It widened to 9.2 billion euros against 8.1 billion at the same date in 2009, according to the Budget Ministry. Moreover, employment has declined in metropolitan France from 0.1% in the fourth quarter 2009 with 20,400 jobs destroyed in the areas mainly merchants.It's better than the third quarter, when 79,800 positions were eliminated.

The German government debt has climbed from 7.1% in 2009 to nearly 1,700 billion euros, said the Federal Statistics Office Destatis.

To these entries added weekly unemployment and the U.S. trade balance (1430).

Lagard?re and banking unscrew

Lagardere issued yesterday evening poorer results in 2008: net income Group share reached EUR 137 million in 2009, against 593 million euros the previous year. A drop of 77%. Lagard?re table for 2010 down about 10% of its current operating income. The sign under the worst performance of the CAC: -5.02 ? to 27.05 euros.

The threat of monetary restraint in China flat again.Locally, the index of consumer prices rose 2.7% year on year last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics no credit check payday loans . "If the Prime Minister wants to keep inflation below 3% to prevent overheating of the economy, it will probably need to use all instruments at its disposal," said Brian Jackson of the Royal Bank of Canada. Already, according to the Central Bank, Chinese banks have granted in February for about half of the credit granted in January: 700.1 billion yuan in new loans, against 1390 billion yuan (148 billion euros).

The bank reacted badly: Societe Generale (-1.16% to 44.28%), BNP Paribas (-1.06% to 56.06 euros) and Credit Agricole (-0.5% to 11.96 euros) fall .

Boiron (+0.86% at 31.55 euros) Wednesday announced an operating profit of 91.8 million euros, up 61% for a turnover, which had already been published, 526 , 1 million euros, up 12.7%.

CFAO (-0.88% to 27.69 euros) announced on Thursday a fall of 29.8% of its net earnings in 2009. Net income group share was indeed established at 90.3 million euros against 128.6 million euros a year earlier.

Meetic (-0.31% to 22.67 euros) announced Wednesday the completion of the creation of a joint venture with Match.com to develop their activities in Latin America.

Air France (-0.09% to 10.77 euros) a complaint against the competing company Ryanair.The French company has accused the Irish receive 660 million euros to aid illegal in Europe.

Total (-0.43% to 42.74 euros) is always under pressure from unions after the official announcement of the closure of the refinery at Dunkirk. The SGC of the oil industry, majority, yesterday called the 13 employees at French refinery strike Thursday, April 15.

The case EADS (-0.69% to 15.17 euros) continues. The withdrawal of the European Group in the race for the Pentagon tanker causing diplomatic tensions. Nicolas Sarkozy, on a trip to Washington in late March, has decided to raise the subject during a discussion with Barack Obama.Moreover, the U.S. airline United Airlines has signed a firm order for 25 long-haul Airbus A350, for a contract of $ 6.3 billion at list prices.

OL Group should benefit for some time qualifying historic team in the quarterfinals of the Champions League yesterday against Real Madrid. After the victory, the Exchange welcomes its way Olympique Lyonnais: the title is 8.48% to 9.59 euros.

U.S. operators could choose to pocket a share of the gains made last week by caution before a salvo of indicators in the coming days. But it was not including the announcement on Tuesday launched by Cisco Systems for a new ultra-powerful router, which mulitiple twelve Internet capabilities.

Towards 20h30 (Paris time), the Dow Jones, Nasdaq 100 and S & P 500 rising erespectivement 0.5% to 10,606 points, from 0.81% to 2351 points from 0.58% to 1145 points.

It was exactly one year, March 9, 2009, the major stock indexes have hit a "low point". Since the S & P 500 has started the largest rally in history. In one year, the U.S. index has increased by almost 70%!

The next U.S. statistics are expected tomorrow with the traditional weekly report on unemployment.Weekly Market in the United States, will then be placed under the sign consumer. The two major economic indicators this week, published Friday, will be the sales details for the month of February and the preliminary estimate of consumer confidence.

Oil prices retreated Tuesday in New York, a barrel of reference giving 38 cents to 81.49 dollars, penalized by the strengthening of the dollar no fax payday advances .

Boeing soars above the market

The values listed, Cisco Systems (-0.24% to 26.07 dollars) today announced a new bid to speed internet connections.Analysts said the group could announce as Google, investments in new broadband network.

Also in the technology sector, the U.S. manufacturer of electronic components, Texas Instruments (-1.33% to $ 24.36) has revised upward its earnings forecast for the first quarter.

In the wake of this news, AT & T, a major customer of Cisco, up from 1.73% to 25.7 dollars, and Apple climbed 2.54% to 224.7 million.

After the withdrawal of EADS and its U.S. partner Northrop's tanker contract to the Pentagon, whose first installment is only valued at 35 billion dollars, Boeing remains alone lice.Les Boeing shares advance of 1.06% to 67.95 dollars and Northrop Grumman back to him, from 0.3% to $ 64.

UAL shares climbed 8.3% after posting profits in February increased by 17% in one year.

It is the global rush on atomic reactors. Nicolas Sarkozy opened Monday morning an international conference on access to civilian nuclear technology that would bring together a thousand participants including some forty foreign ministers and the new Director General of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), Japan Yukiya Amano.

Not less than sixty States have shown in recent years with the Vienna their desire for nuclear reactors to generate electricity. "The expectation in these countries is very strong," said an organizer of the conference. Iran and North Korea, which have violated their international obligations, have not been invited to Paris, unlike Syria and Libya.

Click on image to enlarge.

Exports of French cheeses have dried up in 2009, according to French customs. In value exports fell 4.8% to 2.5 billion euros as in volume, with a decline of 1.7% to 591,121 tonnes. Exports represent 30% of French production.

The price of milk in question

The primary cause of this decline is the price of milk. Highest average of 15% in France compared to Germany and 9.5% from the Netherlands. Germany is Europe's largest exporter of cheese in front of France since 2003 in volume and value since 2006.

This drop increases with the cheeses using milk as much of the Emmental. Its exports fell 10% in 2009 and processed cheese, like Saint-Moret or Laughing Cow, requiring a lot of milk, they decreased by 13.5%.These high prices are crises repetitions of French dairy farmers, worried about the fall of their income.

For other reasons, Gruy?re is also in a delicate situation. The European Commission may not give the French Gruyere the protected designation of origin (PDO), leaving the field open to Swiss Gruyere . The decision will be made in a few months.

Prospects in the U.S.

However, signs of recovery in the high end is particularly noticeable in the U.S. market, the first destination of French cheeses outside the European Union ahead of Switzerland and Japan. Arnaud Gauthier, cheese and creator of Frenchcheese club, said that "the U.S. market is a huge potential."He created a club offering premium products and to penetrate different markets in terms of complicated legislation. Example: the tripling of tariffs on Roquefort cheese in January 2009.

French cheesemakers are two sides to the Paris Bourse. Bel Cheese (The Laughing Cow, Boursin, Babybel …) and Bongrain (Caprice gods, Coeur de Lion, Tartar …). At the opening of trading on Friday, as the Cheese Fair was up 2.38% to 129 euros and that of Bongrain at equilibrium (0.06%) to 54.55 euros.

ALSO READ:

The pie heckled by the feta and mozzarella

Veolia Environment is doing well in 2009. The group, which publishes Better Canada on Friday reported a net profit group share of 584 million euros, a sharp rise of 44% compared to 2008. It is far more than expected by the markets as analysts expected an increase of 34%.

Regarding turnover, however, performance is online. The group's revenues decline by 3.4% to 34.551 billion euros. Observers expected a decline of 2%.

The group expects an increase in its operating performance in 2010, further reducing costs.

Veolia Environnement intends to pay its shareholders a dividend of 1.21 euro per share for the year 2009. This proposal will be voted at the General Meeting of May 7

More details to follow ….