Archive for the ‘finance’ Category

The weekly women's Envy Be and merging

August 28, 2010 - 7:33 pm Comments Off

Burst in full interim results conference's media group Lagardere. The upscale women's weekly group, Be, merged with rival Envy, edited by Marie Claire group. The information was soon confirmed by the two groups. The announcement should be made official Friday morning after a conference call with two editors. "The proposed merger of two weekly was presented yesterday to the works of two groups, we stated Thursday night from a reliable source.

This approximation Express is surprising. It is the newest upscale women's magazines, Be was launched with great fanfare and publicity to great fanfare last March 19 by Lagardère Active. Positioned as a "new global media brand" (based on a website, TV and radio), Be was unable to stabilize its sales.After a promising start when the title flirts with 230,000 copies sold (OJD, dissemination France paid) Be seen its circulation fall to 171,397 copies in late June Disappointing sales, however, have nothing catastrophic, especially as Lagardère Active has entrusted to bet on a "target distribution of 160,000 copies.

The day before the first anniversary of Grazia

For its part, Envy wipes the same side. Its circulation is over 240,000 copies in February, when launched, but quickly runs out of steam until barely exceed 160,000 copies (OJD) in June … For the group Marie Claire, this result is particularly disappointing . The group had much hesitation and refine its launch for many months before jumping into the water.To minimize risks, the group had even appealed last year to Jean-Paul Lubot, the designer of Closer magazine, the origin of this new segment of the fashion magazine combining fashion and celebrity news.

Today, the merger has any marriage of convenience between two groups who know each other well. Lagardère owns 42% stake in Marie Claire, a group whose participation chaired Arnaud Lagardere wants precisely to separate. Competitors as vendors release, Lagardere Active and Marie Claire have, it seems, have even more incentive to join together to confront the supremacy, particularly in terms of advertising revenue, the third competitor in this sector, weekly Grazia published by Mondadori France sells 179,704 copies (OJD). Irony of the calendar, Lagardere Active and Marie Claire agreed to before the first anniversary of Grazia.

In the past, finding a cheap and low cost health insurance posed problems to a lot of people in terms of availability and cost.

Old housing: prices rise

July 7, 2010 - 5:52 am Comments Off

The house prices in France rose 8.48% in one year, between the first halves of 2009 and 2010, approaching the record before the 2008 crisis, according to Century 21, a leading network of real estate agencies .

"We are very concerned about the sharp rise in prices because of the risk of blocking sales volumes because we are at the upper limit of what buyers can pay," said Laurent Vimont, president of Century 21 (850 agencies), at a press conference.

The average price amounted to EUR 2,508 per m2 in the first half of 2010, an increase of 8.48% over the first six months of 2009, very close (-1.6%) the record first half 2008 before the housing crisis that followed the subprime U.S..

For the full year 2010, Century 21 provides for a price increase of 6% of existing housing compared to 2009.

In Paris, after a price hike of nearly 15% in one year, slightly more than 10% over the last six months, even beating the record with an average price of 7079 euros per m2, or 5.4 % increase over the first half of 2008.

This surge in prices in the capital, due to the demands of higher socio-professional and retired, does not affect sales volumes which recorded a 11.3% increase over one year.

Uncertainty due to the Paris Bourse

June 28, 2010 - 9:25 am Comments Off

Hostile to a widespread tightening, the G20 has accepted this weekend in Toronto fiscal restraint to the map, depending on the country, and spread over time. The countries have agreed to "reduce by at least half the deficit by 2013, and stabilize or reduce the costs of public debt to GDP by 2016," without specifying binding targets to States.

As a result, financial markets, the atmosphere of uncertainty can be expected.In Paris, while the CAC 40 has lost about 5% in just three sessions of declines marked – and having earned 10.5% in nine sessions of gains on – the hesitation should be on the agenda this Monday morning.

Around 7:15, the euro was steady at 1.2380 dollar, while gold, also stable, is still treated in 1256 dollars.

A well-attended American Statistical

On Monday, held a ministerial meeting between OPEC and the European Commission.At the European Central Bank, the figures on the M3 and loans to private sector will be announced at 10 o'clock.

In the U.S., followed the very household income and expenditure for the month of June will be available at 14:30, just before the opening of Wall Street.

The statistic most watched this week will be the number of applicants for overseas jobs, which will be released Friday, which should mark a break in trend, with new positions expected destruction.

The bank fee: disagreements

Priority of Berlin and Paris, the tax credit has received a cold reception in Toronto at the G20.Despite support from Washington and London, the communiqué does not mention the tax lip as a legitimate option for banks to charge up the pieces of the crisis.

Banques populaires Caisses d'Epargne According to information Wansquare, BPCE Foncia has decided to withdraw from the sale. The preparation of a new law regarding the directors and the rout of Urbania Group were due to the sale of the land.

Casino Jean-Charles Naouri, CEO of the group, delivered the Figaro's strategy to cope with a sluggish consumption in France, however, offset by continued momentum abroad. The boss does not plan to float Cdiscount and will focus more on small and medium format hypermarkets (6 000-8 000 square meters), rather than the hypermarkets.

Trigano will release on Monday its sales for the third quarter of fiscal offset.

Apple has already sold 3 million iPad

June 23, 2010 - 2:58 pm Comments Off

The success is well meet up for the latest Apple products, the iPad. The company announced the Apple had sold more than 3 million copies of his tablet. And less than three months after its launch. In good shape Thursday, June 24 launch of the iPhone 4.

Apple has delayed for one month out of its touch pad internationally because of the huge demand in the United States, which had exceeded its expectations. Next month the tablet, which combines the functionality of a mini-computer, a player and a media player must land in nine additional countries (Austria, Belgium, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand and Singapore).

News that support the Apple stock offering. Quoted on the Nasdaq, Apple still wins the title more than 1.36% to 273.85 dollars, close to its highest of 275.97 dollars.But analysts see the stock price well above its record close reached last Friday in payday loans with no fax. For the more optimistic, and like the popular analysts at Deutsche Bank, the price of Apple stock could still earn $ 100, $ 375.

44 million iPhones sold in 2010 4

Last week, Apple and the U.S. operator AT & T, which has exclusivity on the iPhone in the U.S. have had to suspend the process of pre-orders, their system is clogged by the enormous demand, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs had to apologize.

The new multifunctional phone, especially with a high definition screen, a feature allowing telephone conversations and video editing software video, has landed Thursday in U.S. stores.Some analysts believe the iPhone will sell 4 million copies to 44 this year, 55 million units next year.

The French conquered by the mobile Internet

June 16, 2010 - 1:06 am Comments Off

Mobile Internet, the driving of the media industry and recreation? In any case think that PricewaterhouseCoopers, which estimated that more than one French person in four will be equipped for the mobile Internet in 2014, 18 million people. In its annual "Global Entertainment and Media Outlook 2010-2014", the audit firm notes that the phenomenon of "mobile consumer" includes high speed.

In fact, the French were somewhat neglected voice calls in 2009, the benefit of SMS and especially multimedia applications, according to a recent study by the firm IDATE to the French Association of Mobile Operators (SWOT). The mobile internet service becomes widely used for the 7.3 million owners of smartphones. Result: the average expenditure for voice slid nearly 6.3% in 2009, while spending on data services and mobile Internet have increased by 8%.

Access PC slowing

So much so that the U.S. bank Morgan Stanley in her study "Internet trends," predicts that the use of mobile Internet will be greater than that of fixed Internet within five years. The world had 1.8 billion Internet users in 2009, up 13% year on year, says Morgan Stanley.

The growing role of digital technology in society has contributed to the recovery, although "fragile", the media industry and recreation, says PricewaterhouseCoopers. In his study, the firm believes that the activity of this sector worldwide is expected to grow 5% per year between 2010 and 2014, after declining 3% in 2009 to reach 1.69 trillion dollars. In parallel, the Internet will show an average annual growth of 9% over this period.

A real opportunity for the media industry and recreation.The trend is toward "consumer web", says PricewaterhouseCoopers. Internet users consume more media and online entertainment, sharing and enriching the content instantly on social networks like Twitter and Facebook, or hosting sites (YouTube, Dailymotion).

The "socialization" of media

"Then they ate up individually, the opportunity to comment and share content regardless of where one is transforming the media consumption in a collective experience," said Mathieu Aubusson, associate specialist in media industry and leisure for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The rise of digital media, however, is not without its challenges. "The digital migration and changes in consumer behavior put great pressure on existing models," warns Matthew Aubusson.The media industry and recreation needs to find profitable new business models, while supporting the rapid pace of innovation hits new offerings.

"The movement of consolidation, partnerships should emerge to share the risk in a rapidly changing market," says the partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. These risks include the threat of overheating networks puts telcos at bay, while data traffic is exploding.

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Copper finds the strength

June 2, 2010 - 3:56 am Comments Off

The oil found 70 dollars

Optimism returns on oil markets. On Thursday, oil prices have ended on a 4% rise to 74.55 dollars in New York, gaining 8% in two sessions. The $ 70 threshold was crossed on the rise Monday and picked up the rebound Wednesday. That day, Brent took $ 2.15 (3.09%) to 71.70 dollars, ending a run of nine consecutive sessions of declines.

"The market has received a good dose of optimism," said Phil Flynn of PFG Best Research. "It was time, prices had fallen by 87-65 dollars." For Ellis Eckland, an independent analyst, "it is a rebound in the wake of the stock markets. People are more optimistic about the fact that the euro will not collapse and less frightened about the economy. " Another factor supporting prices: the six-month extension of the moratorium on offshore oil drilling decided by Barack Obama."The United States derive a third of their crude production offshore drilling if we do drill more, this production may simply disappear", said Ellis Eckland.

But the week was also marked by a one-time relapse occurred below 70 dollars Tuesday. Investors, troubled by geopolitical tensions between the two Koreas, suffered a renewed concerns about the pace of global recovery.

If the courts now seem to settle in the range of 70-75 dollars, the volatility is always present. Especially as the U.S. Agency for Energy Information (EIA) announced that crude oil reserves rose 2.4 million barrels to 365.1 million, exceeding their year's level last at the same time.Economists on average had expected an increase of 200,000 barrels only.

Tuesday, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah, said he was "not yet" worried by the decline in crude prices. If no emergency meeting of OPEC is scheduled, the oraganisation plans to "call for more respect of production quotas.

Note that oil prices have tumbled more than 20% since the beginning of the month.

Base metals: purchases restart

Prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) have started to increase last week on the basis of a wave of buying on the cheap. The increase was frankly started Thursday, following the easing of world stock markets after China denied its intention to reduce the share of its assets in euros.The euro strengthened against the dollar, making them more attractive purchases of raw materials with the U.S. currency.

Copper prices have soared to 7,043 dollars per tonne on Friday, a level last seen two weeks. The aluminum prices reached 2,086 dollars per tonne on Friday, their highest in two weeks. Lead, nickel and zinc gained respectively 0.6%, 1.8% and 3.4% payday loans online.

However, caution remains the watchword. The price volatility is high as evidenced by the slowing of the rebound Friday after the publication of consumer spending by American households down in April after six consecutive months of increases. Overproduction of copper in Chile and increased reserves of aluminum could also disrupt markets.

Precious metals: the gold recovery

Fell from its pedestal last week, gold has recovered to historical levels last week in favor of a new wave of market stress in midweek. Alarmed by the risks in the euro area, investors have once again flocked to the safe haven, pushing prices up to U.S. $ 1218.47 on Thursday, not far from the record of U.S. $ 1249.40 May 14 On the London Bullion Market, an ounce of gold finished at 1207.50 dollars at auction Friday night, cons 1179.75 dollars the previous Friday.

And the prospects of rising oil prices are good for the yellow metal. According to the World Gold Council (BMC), consumption should be taken this year by the expansion of the jewelry in China and India.

The ounce of silver has followed the movement of gold, finishing at 18.53 dollars Friday, against 17.72 dollars last Friday.The platinum group metals have also returned to form more than the football World Cup in South Africa could lead to tensions on the country's electricity supply. A situation that could force the mining groups to reduce their production. The ounce of platinum finished at 1555 dollars per ounce of palladium finished at 471 dollars against 419 dollars a week earlier.

Corn and soybeans climbed in Chicago

The corn and soybean prices rose Thursday on the Chicago futures market, driven by the exchanges and oil. More broadly, the decline of the dollar against the euro makes U.S. production more attractive for export.A bushel of corn ends at $ 3.60 (1.12%) and soybeans to close an $ 9.38 per bushel (0.48%).

Cocoa prices have in turn touched a new high in London this week, boosted by the prospect of tight supplies and growing global demand. Thursday, cocoa for July delivery climbed to 2,451 pounds in London, prices not seen for 32 years, while the same term contract in New York reached 3018 dollars.

Sugar, for its part failed to continue its rebound from the previous week. On Liffe in London, a tonne of white sugar for August delivery was worth 475.80 pounds on Friday. On the NYBOT U.S. a pound of raw sugar for July delivery was worth 14.83 cents.

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Ask your questions to Jean-Pierre Jouyet

May 18, 2010 - 4:40 pm Comments Off

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NicOx drug lighthouse on the hot seat

May 11, 2010 - 1:11 pm Comments Off

Evolution of stock price of NicOx last month.

Retirement: a track to skirt the issue of age

April 26, 2010 - 9:20 am Comments Off

Should he do so without saying? The government raises the question about raising the legal age of retirement. Introduced in 1983, the possibility of a pension at age 60 is an "acquired" intangible to the unions – will undoubtedly touch inflate the number of events already planned. But the past work of the Board of Retirement Guidance (NRC) also show that this solution would be financially much more efficient in the short and medium term of a longer contribution period, this second option had significant effects that 'from 2020 at best.

Therefore, the temptation is great to work around the problem: give everyone the opportunity to leave at 60 if he wishes, but to dissuade the maximum. For this, the pension of a person choosing to leave "early" (before 62 or 63 years, for example) could be amputated, even if it has "all quarters."The track appeared there more than a month in the NRC documents, referring to examples of U.S., Japanese and German. It went almost unnoticed, except in the eyes of government officials who are working on pensions.

"The executive Ponder on it," admits one of the main actors of the file. "It's part of the range of possibilities," says a corporate source, emphasizing that nothing is decided. "I was cooking around that idea," says a union leader. Who speaks the same orders of magnitude, "a discount of 1.25% per quarter or 2.5% below the target age.In other words, for the same number of quarters validated, the person who would liquidate his pension at age 60 would incur a penalty of 10% to 20% compared to that which would prolong his career until age 62 – if the government set the example age as a goal.

A more complicated

The assumption is even less absurd than 22% maximum discount is already applied in France, supplementary pensions (Agirc-Arrco) for private sector employees who retire before age 65. The retiree does not realize, because a fund compensates this difference.

But the existence of this fund, called AGFF, is up to the renewal of a regular union-management agreement.The agreement expires at the end of this year and will be renegotiated just after the reform of pensions.

Advantage of the option: it offers hope of union protests limited, maintaining the symbolic age 60 years. Disadvantage: it would make a bit more complicated than a pension system that is already fairly. And above all, "everyone knows that it is the workers rather than managers, who tend to stop working when they have the right, a government source analysis. The risk is they leave with even lower pensions. The government plans to publish a first draft of its reform from mid-May

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April 22, 2010 - 6:49 pm Comments Off

The Mayor: "The negotiations should lead quickly"

"We are in the final phase of adjustments, it is normal that the negotiations become more difficult, Le Figaro said the Minister of Agriculture, Bruno Le Maire. Things must lead as soon as possible. This is an important project both industrially and in the defense of the interests of producers. On this last point, we are building with all stakeholders on an ambitious plan to develop the dairy sector, as it has ever been done for twenty years at the time of Michel Rocard. This plan should be presented in September. "