World News – International Headlines, Stories

Among the statistics expected Monday in Wall Street, the surprise came from consumer spending. The Americans have in fact spent more than expected in July. Up 0.8% on month, consumer spending across the Atlantic more than 0.3 percentage points the level expected by analysts. Because of inflation, which rose 0.4% from June, consumer spending rose 0.5% in real terms. Their progress is the highest since December 2009.

This increase serves as a good sign for U.S. growth in the third quarter. What mood enhancing buyer investors, who already showed optimism prior to publication. At the opening of the session on Monday in New York, the indices showed the green, and have strengthened their gains throughout the day.At the final bell, the Dow Jones advance of 2.26% at 11,539 points, the Nasdaq and Standard & Poor's 500 rising 3.32% respectively in 2562 and 2.83% points to 1210 points, the latter going over the bar of 1200 points, a first for two weeks.

The indices remained in the green while the IMF has revised down sharply its growth forecast for the U.S. this year and next, said Monday the Italian news agency Ansa, quoting a draft of the new economic forecasts Fund. According to the Italian agency, the IMF table than on a 1.6% growth this year in the United States, against a previous forecast of 2.5% published in June, and 2% next year against two , 7%.

Also, note that the promises of home sales fell 1.3% in July compared with June, as the market expected, according to figures released by the National Association of Realtors.They increased by 2.4% in June Over one year are up 14.4%.

The final impact less severe than expected from Hurricane Irene passed over New York yesterday, also contributes to investor optimism. Similarly, after being confused by the speech of Ben Bernanke, the Fed chairman, on Friday, market participants regain hope in a possible intervention by the Fed.

The Dow Jones above 11,000 points

According to analysts at Aurel BGC in fact, the announcement by Ben Bernanke, a two-day meeting in September to study in detail the possible deployment of new monetary tools, reassured. "Either the recovery of economic activity is growing, or the central bank will implement new support measures, they summarize.Under these conditions, the U.S. indices rebounded sharply after Bernanke's speech. "

In fact, dropped below the 11,000 points while the Fed chairman began to speak, the Dow finished at 11 284.5, up 1.2% on Friday night. A final increase, which encouraged European stock markets bounce back on Monday morning, except in London, closed due to holiday.

Another indicator which will be followed on Monday, the promises of home sales for July are expected down 0.1% from a consensus of analysts, against 2.4% rise previously.

The bank remained in the spotlight

No major publication is out of business side.

The concern again lead the Paris Bourse. The CAC 40 was launched on the day down 0.37% to 3064.49 points. But around 9:40, the fall has accelerated: the Paris index of 3.44% to unscrew 2970.13 points, releasing the threshold of 3000 points. The CAC has, however, resumed in the afternoon around 16:30 it is in the green briefly before returning to equilibrium, yielding 0.10% at 3072.88 points. London erases even his losses: the FTSE-100 gained 0.22%. In Frankfurt, the Dax lost no more than 0.39%. Madrid still loose 1.38%, Milan were down 0.53% and 0.57% in Zurich. Across the Atlantic, Wall Street returns to the green: the Dow Jones gained 0.29% and the Nasdaq 0.93%.

Operators are struggling to recover from their emotions after the new European stock markets plummeting and U.S. Thursday. This morning, Asian stock market sent negative signals with indices in very sharp drop.This bad mood due to a surge in concern about the state of the global economy, reinforced by poor indicators of the Atlantic. Bad index measuring the Philadelphia Fed manufacturing activity in the region, lower sales of existing homes in July, new jobless claims rising again during the second week of August … All signs of the apparent stagnation of growth in the United States.

Concerns about U.S. growth fears add to the debt crisis in Europe, European banks are the first to bear the brunt. In its Thursday edition, The Wall Street Journal reported on fears the U.S. Federal Reserve on the liquidity of European banks.And for the first time since February, the European Central Bank (ECB) has given a major dollar loan to a European bank, whose identity was not revealed. An action that reinforces doubts about the ability of banks to refinance.

Morgan Stanley has added his two cents to panic, explaining that she perceived the United States and Europe as "dangerously close to recession." The President of the European Union, Herman van Rompuy, tried Thursday to calm the mind by ensuring that there was "no new recession" in sight. And this morning, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed that the U.S. economy was "resilient". In vain.

"The bears are back"

"The bears (pessimistic players, ie) are back in force that night, after disappointing U.S. economic indicators and renewed fears about the stability of European banks, which prompted investors to push the button sales," said Ben Potter, an analyst at IG Markets in Australia. "There seems to be getting ready for a weekend very ugly, with a market dominated once again by fear and panic," he added.

Gold reached a new record Friday morning in Asia, to 1,837.50 dollars per ounce, due to the concern. And oil, which fell 6% in New York yesterday, continues to fall in morning trading.A barrel of "light sweet crude" for September delivery lost 1.69 dollars to 80.69 dollars while that of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery gave 68 cents to 106.31 dollars.

No significant indicator that could reverse the trend, are expected on Friday.

Values ​​to follow

The banking sector

European financial stocks, which had been rolled by a renewed tensions in the interbank market and concerns about the short-term refinancing of the banks were still under attack this morning.BNP Paribas (-3.01% to 33.18 euros), Natixis (0.97% to 2.924 euros), Credit Agricole (-0.40% to 6.203 euros), Societe Generale (-0.46% at 21 , 50 euros) and AXA (-1.42% to 10.405 euros), however, have erased some of their losses in the afternoon.

Danone: -2.21% to 45.835 euros

Nestlé, the group became a favorite activity for infant formula, Wyeth, Pfizer subsidiary, valued at approximately ten billion dollars (seven billion euros), officials said a source familiar with the bank.

Technip: -0.98% to 59.38 euros

The French engineering group said it had received a letter of intent on the part of the American oil company Anadarko for the construction of an offshore platform for the Gulf of Mexico.

The Paris Bourse has been optimistic on Monday before the Franco-German summit on Tuesday. The CAC 40, which began on the exchange increased by 1.07%, was on the rise, more moderate, from 0.78% to 3239.06 points. The index in Paris fell into the red at midday before recovering. With Monday a holiday of the Assumption, trading volumes remained low provided, to 2.3 billion euros against 7.5 billion last week.

The movement is the same in the rest of Europe. After opening sharply higher, European stock markets have slowed their progress mid-day before returning to finish the colors in a small increase. At closing, the London Stock Exchange and Frankfurt gained 0.57% 0.41%%. After remaining in the red part of the day, Madrid ended with a gain of 0.71%.Exchanges of Milan, Lisbon and Athens are closed due to holiday.

No Eurobonds on the menu Tuesday's markets are very nervous before Tuesday's meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They must discuss reform of the governance of the euro area, sensitive issue for the markets. The Franco-German promises to make such joint proposals by the end of the summer. Investors are calling for the creation of "Eurobonds", which would sign the pooling of public debt in the euro area. But Germany has dampened hopes by mid-morning by announcing that the possible creation of common obligations to countries in the euro area "will play no role" at the meeting on Tuesday."The Euro-bonds are not an option," added the spokesman of the Ministry of Finance during a press conference. The Elysee in a few minutes later confirmed that the issue of Eurobonds was "not on the agenda."

Meanwhile, the British Finance Minister, George Osborne, today called the euro area to move towards a more integrated budget to bring the world economy on the path of trust. The euro area "must now demonstrate its commitment to greater integration of budget and governance arrangements that prevent moral hazard and reinforce fiscal responsibility," said he.

In addition, the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs Olli Rehn called on European countries to adopt "very quickly" the decisions of July 21, and provided that the applicants were working "day and night" to this.

As for currencies, the euro rose above 1.44 dollars, against 1.4249 on Friday. The single currency also rose against the Japanese currency to 110.85 yen against 109.30 on Friday.

On the macroeconomic front, on Monday was very light. In the U.S., manufacturing in the New York area fell for the third consecutive month, while the morale of U.S. home builders has remained stable, close to its lowest historical levels.

The bank-shaped

On the corporate side, Societe Generale gained 2.06% to 24.80 euros.The Financial Markets Authority (AMF) initiated an investigation of market rumors that circulated this week the bank announced Friday its president Jean-Pierre Jouyet.

The banking sector has benefited from optimism on Monday. Credit Agricole gained 3.31% to 6.735 euros, BNP Paribas up 0.81% to 37.525 euros, ahead of Axa 2.98% to 11.24 euros. Natixis finally loses 0.06% to 3.114 euros after signing the largest increase of ACC (3.95%).

France Telecom (1.38% to 13.22 euros): the telephone operator Orange has unveiled some clues on the future model of the iPhone Appel keeps top secret.

GDF Suez (0.70% to 20.90 euros) has initiated "discussions" to sell its stake from 10.4% in the West Franklin field in the North Sea, the French energy group intends to transfer for 600 million euros.

Alstom (+0.20% at 32.69 euros): Goldman Sachs rose to "neutral" on the title with a price target reduced to 43 against 52 euros.

Danone (1.48% to 47.02 euros): UniCredit has raised its rating to "buy" against "hold".

The major stock markets in Asia are in the red on Tuesday. The signals sent yesterday by the stock exchanges in Europe and the United States do not encourage investors to take risks. Gloom settles permanently while stresst tests of European banks are not convincing and that the debt problems on both sides of the Atlantic continue.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei, which resumed trading after the long weekend, started on a decline of 0.53%. An hour of closing, it was down from 0.60% to 9914 points. The banking sector is particularly abused in the image of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (-2.54%), Nomura Holdings (-2.34%) and Daiwa Securities Group (-1.15%). Export values ​​also suffer from a higher yen against the dollar: Sony loose 2.06% 3.63% Nintendo loses first Panasonic was down 1.95%.

For their part, Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively lost 0.29% and 0.47%.In Hong Kong, banks are still in trouble: HSBC Holdings (-0.47%), Agricultural Bank of China (-0.99%) and China Merchants Bank (-0.22%) down.

Only exchanges of Korea (0.12%), Australia (0.10%) and India (0.26%) manage to rise into the green but remain cautious. Note that at the Sydney Stock Exchange, the action News Corp, battered since the wiretapping scandal, bounced 2.54% to 14.53 dollars as investors take advantage of lower stock price.They also respond to information from the Wall Street Journal under which Rupert Murdoch, the founder of the media group, plans to release the reins of his company.

Oil climbs the slope

Oil prices were up Tuesday in electronic trading in Asia, investors taking advantage of prices driven down by concerns about the debt crisis in the eurozone, analysts said.

In morning trading, a barrel of "light sweet crude" for delivery in August took 38 cents to 96.31 dollars. That of Brent North Sea crude for September delivery took 41 cents to 116.46 dollars.

While European leaders are working on the Greek crisis to find a solution by Thursday, the Party of European Socialists (PES) advance his proposals. In a joint statement, Martine Aubry and 12 other European socialist leaders have agreed on a roadmap. The Socialists are in power in particular Spain and Greece.

The PES associated himself with the idea of ​​Eurobonds. Concretely, this would be to issue bonds to 17 common European states in the euro area. According to this roadmap, this mechanism would allow to pool risks and protect the weaker states.

In an article published in The Journal of separate Sunday, the candidate for the primary PS Francois Hollande also defends the system of Eurobonds. "They are an effective way to raise money at lower cost," said he.He added that this could be used to "buy Greek debt delisted and to speculators at their own game", the latter focusing on a bankrupt country.

Buy Greek bonds, which are worth more thing: this last idea was put on the table by Germany, reports the magazine Der Spiegel to be published Monday. This technique would save 30 billion euros.

Mutual guarantees

European Socialists also advocate a system of mutual guarantees of European debts to "help the countries attacked by speculators" and would help them "to the costs of stabilization." The PSE also blames rating agencies, criticized for their very recent decisions concerning Greece and Portugal. The party wants to "limit their power" and forbids the creation of a European rating agency.

François Hollande, who associated himself with the JDD many of the proposals of the PES, also calls for merging the functions of president of the European Council (now Herman van Rompuy) and President of the Commission (José Manuel Barroso) to take the head of a real "economic government" of Europe.

"Dangerous" statements

The budget minister Valérie Pécresse denounced statements Socialist Sunday morning, "Francois Hollande and Martine Aubry are engaged in a dangerous competition of statements on the euro that are likely to undermine efforts made by all European and France primarily to protect the euro area ".

ALSO READ:

"Euro area: stop the panic before August

"SPECIAL – Europe, States facing bankruptcy

As announced in Le Figaro on Wednesday morning, it is Baroin which eventually succeeded in Christine Lagarde Minister of Economy. Valérie Pécresse was appointed to the Department of Budget and is also the holder parolat government. Bruno Le Maire remained in agriculture.

The combination has changed from what was planned Tuesday night after a political blackmail fully assumed by Baroin. The latter has resigned in the balance when he knew that the decision to appoint Bruno Mayor for Economic Affairs was in the process of being confirmed.

The Minister of Agriculture was preferred by Xavier Musca, the secretary general of the Elysee, but also that of Alain Juppe, which saw Nicolas Sarkozy about it this weekend. But it is ultimately a more logical policy that took her.The other entrants were the centrist UMP Marc-Philippe Daubresse for Research, Francois Sauvadet, the chairman of the New Centre in the National Assembly, which would become Secretary of State for Planning.

Other changes of this redesign, Laurent Wauquiez retrieves the portfolio Valérie Pécresse and became Minister of Higher Education and Research. He leaves European Affairs Jean Leonetti. The centrist Francois Sauvadet becomes him, Minister of Public Service while Thierry Mariani became Minister for Transport. Finally, David Douillet became Secretary of State of French nationals abroad (see the complete list of nominations of the new government).

"The president gives in to every whim"

This new combination of government will leave its mark in the quadrants of the majority.The mayor was outraged to find that enough of a nervous breakdown of his former friend Baroin to patterns established by the head of state to be thrown to the basket. Tuesday evening, he suddenly refused the ministry's budget that he proposed in François Fillon consolation prize, saying he had "no special skills to make on the job," says a close associate of Minister of Agriculture.

As for Baroin, he was forced Tuesday to discover his true ambition: to enter at all costs in the round of presidential candidates. This calculation has not escaped François Fillon, who sees as his advantage by supporting the budget minister, he knows he drives a wedge between two lifelong friends: Jean-Francois Cope and Baroin.One thing is certain in any case: the dinners of the quadrants, which gathered around the ambitious Cope from the right will be an opportunity to explain some friends or former friends. "It seems that the president gives in to every whim," says one familiar from the Elysee.

ALSO READ:

"The match of the quadrants to succeed Lagarde

Just arrived in the summer, here are the summer sales. From Wednesday, the clothing retailers will offer discounts of 30 to 50% of their collections. This is for them to attract consumers who shun fashion for nearly two years. If an improvement was seen in the spring, it could be threatened by an inevitable increase in prices of clothing, the impact of rising costs of raw materials, labor and transportation.

"We are all faced with rising production costs that we have at least partly reflected in our prices, and this will be even bigger in the fall and winter," says Antoine Brieu, director of C & A France. Its sign, high image discount, is not doing too badly at the moment, because in inflationary times, consumers fall back on cheap brands.C & A has found "a significant increase in its turnover and sales volumes" in March, April and May

"Buy smart"

In general, the industry experienced a beautiful spring, after a bad first quarter. Sales in April and May were supported by good weather, before a lull since early June due to weather and to wait before a traditional balances. "We have no signs of a recovery in the consumption of textiles in France, contrary to what one can see in some countries of northern Europe, says Gildas Minvielle, head of the center of economic French Institute of fashion. And in times of crisis, it is difficult to raise prices too much.The increases will be applied in a differentiated way for this to be as painless as possible. "

Aware of the issue, the French will then engage in a hunt for "buying smart", as they have done since the beginning of the economic downturn. This time, the scope is relatively narrow. As traders have sold quite well in early spring, the stocks available for sales are less important than the past seasons.

Distinguish the goods to the risk of missing

In addition, professionals, stung by the decline in demand were far more modest in their orders. "Companies have become very conservative for two years.They would rather miss sales than remain with unsold inventory, "said Jean-Marc Genis, president of the National Federation of brands of clothing.

If, as always, a rush is expected at the start of the period, the effect balances the risk of falling fast enough. "We usually sell 50% of our total sales the first week and then is divided by two every week," said Antoine Brieu C & A.

So, after two to three weeks, the goods to stand out may be missed. This will allow retailers to quickly implement the fall-winter season.With price increases all the more important that the parts are more "heavy" coat material includes more than a T-shirt.

ALSO READ:

"Sales: € 259 costs envisaged

"Hugo Boss response methods of Zara

"The fragrance for help fashion houses

It will still wait to see Renault to build a new high-end model. The next generation of the Laguna and Espace, which is currently working on the group, "come out from the end of 2014," said Jerome Stoll, the commercial director. Replacement of the Vel Satis, ie the launch of a large luxury sedan, however, is not expected at this time, unlike what was envisaged in the fall in 2 to 3 years.

Frozen during the crisis, the renewal of Renault's high-end drags on. Originally planned for 2010-2011, the output of the successor of the space has continued to be shifted. Last September, the group was a sale of this vehicle in 2013-2014.

Yet it is urgent. The manufacturer has stopped production of its Vel Satis end of 2009. Last year it sold just 53,700 17,000 Laguna 3 and 4 space, two models from 2007 to 2002."As a carmaker, it is vital for Renault to be present on the high end" in order to have an offer modern hotel located above the Scenic MPV, Jerome Stoll said. Another issue this type of product takes the image of the entire line up.

PSA on the offensive

The subject was presented recently to the agenda by the government, major shareholder of the manufacturer, who insists that Renault acquires a high-end product in France high quality business cards. The next Laguna and Espace, however, could also be manufactured abroad, to markets outside Europe, according to an internal source.

The weakness of Renault on the high end is more apparent than his rival PSA increases the offensive in this niche. Citroën has introduced the DS4, the second model in its distinctive range DS. And Peugeot marketed earlier this year its 508.Originality of the approach, the 508 and the future DS5 will be manufactured and sold in both Europe and China, to amortize development costs.

If he wants to go upmarket, Renault will be faced with the difficulty of having to do the splits. For the same time, the group intends to accelerate the development of its low-cost Dacia brand, to bring it to 2% market share in Europe in 2013. Counting models of this type sold under the Renault brand internationally, this range could be up to 30% of sales of the manufacturer in this horizon.

ALSO READ:

"The gap between Renault and Peugeot Citroën

"Renault unveils strategic plan" more realistic "

The U.S. stock markets would open again on Friday in a small increase. Future of Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, in fact advance of 0.20% to 1266 points and 0.18% at 2199.50 points. Thursday, Wall Street has ended in a disorganized, fears shared by more and more vivid on the outcome of the crisis of public finances in Europe and reassuring indicators from the United States who came to end a series of bad news on the macroeconomic level.

Note, in this session, the VIX implied volatility index, also called fear index, rose 6.6% during the session at 22.73 and just reacted to what is wanted "reassuring "European officials.

Greece still under surveillance

The situation in Greece is also likely again to engage the attention of investors before the publication of a new round of macroeconomic indicators expected on Friday. Originally scheduled Thursday, the redesign part of the Greek government has intervened in the morning. In a final attempt to resolve the political crisis gripping the country, Prime Minister George Papandreou announced the formation of a new government. The name was the most anticipated of the new finance minister.This will be the former Defence Minister Evangelos Venizelos, who is also Vice-Premier, announced Friday a spokesman of the Greek government.

Efforts that do not seem to convince the Fed chairman, Alan Greenspan, who said in a television interview Thursday night that a lack of Greece was to him "almost certain".

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is falling against the dollar. To 11 hours in Paris, the single European currency was worth 1.4189 dollars against 1.4209 dollars on Thursday night. Oil prices also retreated during the session. A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for August delivery was trading at 112.72 dollars on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London, down $ 1.30 from the close of Thursday.In electronic trading of the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of "light sweet crude" (WTI) for delivery in July let go $ 1.54, to 93.41 dollars. It fell earlier to 92.12 dollars, its lowest level since late February.

United States, on the macroeconomic front, investors will monitor the indices of consumer sentiment and leading indicators that will be announced in mid-afternoon.

RIM, in line with expectations

The side of values, the U.S. bank Capital One said Thursday after the close of Wall Street that it would buy the Dutch bank insurer ING's U.S. subsidiary of ING Direct online bank for $ 9 billion in cash and shares.Under the agreement, ING Capital One pays $ 6.2 billion in cash, together with some 55.9 million shares of Capital One, estimated at about $ 2.8 billion.

The Canadian group Research in Motion (RIM), listed on Wall Street, manufacturer of BlackBerry smart phones, said Thursday after market close a net profit of 695 million U.S. dollars, in line with expectations, but sales below market expectations for its first quarter.

Also note, the U.S. Treasury said Thursday it planned to recover about 36 million in bringing to market some 2.85 million shares of Bank Central Pacific Financial held.

Orders for medium-haul aircraft should carve out the lion's share at Paris Air Show, in particular the re-engined Airbus A320, whose commercial success increases the pressure on Boeing for a decision on the future of 737, the 'best-selling commercial airplane in the world.

The title of the internet radio Pandora Media should still be very surrounded. Thursday, it fell by almost 23.88% for its second day on the stock market, and coast now below its IPO price.

As announced in Le Figaro, the agreement on supplementary pensions signed last spring is unfavorable to executives who have raised several children, so much so that the CFE-CGC, the union executive has decided to attack the text justice.

The agreement signed in March after lengthy negotiations in effect alters the rules of pension bonus if families "many." From 1 January next year, the increase will be only 10% whatever the number of children cared for by the frame from three. The rule still in force today is much more favorable since the pensions of executives can be increased by 8% to 24% depending on the number of children.

Cap

Adjusted parallel, the amount of increase is now capped at 1,000 euros per year. Emmanuel Grimaud consulting firm optimization retirement Maxims, asked on Europe 1 this morning, made the calculation of the shortfall.For an executive who has had four children and affects 2700 euros monthly pension, the bonus is 2000 euros per year today. With the new rules, it does affect more than 800 euro mark, that is to say 1200 euros less each year. If we relate this loss to the number of years spent in retirement, 25 years on average, the loss of purchasing power reached 27,000 euros says the expert.

Emmanuel Grimaud said that once, future retired executives must make it their calculations, especially if born before July 1951.In some cases it may be more interesting for them to liquidate their retirement before the end of the year rather than waiting for the entry into force of the new text, and this even if they have not paid all quarters necessary for the full rate.

ALSO READ:

"Supplementary pension: the agreement will be sued

"New rule in order for supplementary pensions

"Agirc-Arrco: employers promised an ambitious

"Occupational pensions: flexibility on reversions

"The supplementary pensions secured until late June