Business & Financial News

Countries in the euro area officially approved on Wednesday a second aid plan, 130 billion euros, which will allow Greece to finance until 2014, said pre , chairman of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said in a statement.

"The Member States of the euro area today formally approved the second adjustment program for Greece. All required procedures and national parliamentarians were conducted, "he said

. The countries of the euro area also authorized the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) to conduct an initial payment of € 39.4 billion following this plan, which will be spread in several tranches, he said

. The official conclusion of the procedure follows the political agreement reached by the Eurogroup (Minister Finance of the euro zone) Monday to pay more money to Greece

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MEPs have just voted a bill to ban the diversion of assets in the event of bankruptcy. Hours before his bankruptcy, the French refinery had emptied its accounts. .

The National Assembly passed in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday UMP text to prevent the diversion of assets of a failing company and for Petroplus, with the support of the PS who tried in vain to pass as its own proposals ArcelorMittal targeting. The bill passed almost unanimously (only the communists abstained), and pass Thursday before the Senate, was filed by the UMP deputies of Seine-Maritime, where the Petroplus refinery in Petit Couronne ( 550 employees), in bankruptcy since late January.  

The refinery has "seen its accounts in France emptied of all its cash by the banks of its parent company just hours before the bankruptcy filing," recalled Frances Guégot, lead author of the text. This allows the court to take trade measures (seizure of assets or sale of stocks, for example) of a company, not only at the stage of liquidation as at present, but also upstream, when the power is backup or receivership. Its urgent nomination to the agenda had been an agreement between Prime Minister Francois Fillon and his Socialist predecessor at Matignon, Laurent Fabius, Member of Parliament of Petit Couronne. A fact underlined by the Industry Minister, Eric Besson, who came into the chamber to support the text along with his colleagues Michel Mercier (Justice), Patrick Ollier (Relations with Parliament) and Xavier Bertrand (Labour).

As the minister, Laurent Fabius has paid tribute to the Inter Petroplus, whose representatives attended the debates. But, while approving the bill, he criticized the government for "lack of vigilance" on successive Petroplus, especially during the sale of the refinery in 2008 by Shell. He regretted that Nicolas Sarkozy has announced a "temporary respite" for the refinery during his visit last Friday at Petit Couronne.

Holland rejected the proposal

Left and right agreed on an amendment providing information to staff representatives on the measures. The majority is also committed to respect for social obligations of a bankrupt company, but in terms considered ambiguous by the opposition, particularly the Communist Party, which abstained for that. The Senate, leftist majority should approve the text Thursday.

But this relative consensus has given way to confrontation when the socialists have defended in vain amendments, drawing another bill filed that morning. It was announced Friday by Francois Hollande during his visit to the site of ArcelorMittal Florange (5,000 employees), two blast furnaces are shut down for months. The PS proposed to require a manufacturer withdrawing from a French plant to transfer her to a buyer. "ArcelorMittal has a clear strategy of disengagement from the territory and we must respond," insisted the MP PS Moselle Aurélie Filippetti.

In the wake of Nicolas Sarkozy, who said Monday "does not see the benefit of this proposal" and promised another solution soon, the majority rejected these amendments, the government said, "would undermine the freedom of and undertake to ownership ". The left has once again criticized the head of state to have announced, in February 2008 on the site near Gandhinagar, public investment to maintain the activity, one year before the plant would close anyway.

The deficit of Spain represented 8.51% of GDP in 2011, said Monday the Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro.

A first estimate gave 8.2% and the upward revision is mainly due to exceedances of regional budgets.

Montoro said that this figure of 8.51% was also provisional and would be circulated for consideration by the European Commission.

The objective of Madrid in 2012 is a deficit of 4.4% of GDP.

In 2010, the deficit represented 9.3% of GDP.

The New York Stock Exchange ended down slightly from 0.01% Friday, the Dow Jones 30 industrial yielding 1.74 points to 12,982.95. The S & P-500, wider, took 2.28 points, or 0.17%, to 1,365.74, a closing level since June 2008 unpublished.

The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 6.77 points on its side of (0.23%) to 2,963.75.

For the week, the Dow was awarded 0.3%, as the S & P 500, while the Nasdaq took 0.4%.

Universal Music, a subsidiary of Vivendi, has requested a green light from European authorities to buy back the recorded music division of the British label EMI, said Monday the European Commission on its website.

The operation of some € 1.4 billion would allow the first record company to add to its global catalog Coldplay and Katy Perry for example. But it may be a long and careful consideration of the competition authorities.

In November, Universal said hold 26.5% of global recorded music. By merging its operations with those of EMI, the group would control, in some European countries, over 50% of the market.

The European Commission, guardian of competition in the Union, was given until March 23 whether to grant the green light for the operation.

GDF Suez on Thursday posted an increase in operating performance in 2011, thanks especially to the takeover of Britain's International Power since February, and said target a net recurring at least stable in 2012.

The French energy company and table for the current year on a recurring net income group share of between 3.5 and 4 billion euros (against 3.5 billion in 2011) on the gross investment of about 11 billion and an ordinary dividend equal to or greater than that paid for 2011. 

But he cautioned that these objectives were based on a particular impact of its total procurement costs on regulated gas prices in France, while they were partially frozen in 2011, hurting its gross operating profit (EBITDA).

GDF Suez also table at 2015 on a recurring earnings, Group share, of the order of 5 billion euros "to mean climate control and stable", with a level of gross investment of about 9 to 11 billion euros a year and a stable or increasing dividend over the period 2013-2015.

GDF Suez in 2011 recorded a group net profit of 4.003 million euros (-13.3%), EBITDA of 16.525 million (+9.5%) and sales of 90.673 million (7 , 3%). 

The consensus reached by the editor of Reuters and Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S, analysts on average expected a net profit of 4.599 million euros, an EBITDA of 16.511 million and a turnover of 90.004 million.

GDF Suez proposes an ordinary dividend of 1.50 euros per share for 2011, unchanged compared with that paid in respect of 2010.

Wall Street should end the year 2012 on a moderate gain, despite the risks posed by the debt crisis in the euro area in global activity and a U.S. growth likely to remain sluggish, according to a Reuters poll published Thursday.

Analysts surveyed are however optimistic about the economy of the United States and many are in stock price ratios of estimated earnings (PER) historically low a supporting factor for the rating.

All concerned, however, the debt crisis in Europe, who falter world stock markets in recent months.

The Standard & Poor's 500 benchmark for fund managers, should finish next year on an increase of 7.5% to 1340 points, compared to the closing of nearly 1.

UniCredit announced Monday a capital increase of EUR 7.5 billion, having unveiled a heavy loss in the third quarter.

Italy's largest bank reported a net loss of 10.641 billion euros, depreciation included in the third quarter.

Its impairment of goodwill stand at 9.6 billion.

Its capital adequacy ratio stood at 8.74% hard at the end of September.

UniCredit said that after the issuance of securities, expected to close in the first quarter of 2012, core tier 1 ratio will increase to 10.35% according to Basel II banking standards.

European shares move in a disorganized Tuesday, investors playing the caution on the eve of an EU summit which many hope it will bring a muscular response to the debt crisis that has shaken the region for two years now.

In Paris the CAC 40 index yields 0.20% to 3213.19 points to 13.30.

At the same time, London was up 0.29% and 1.32% Frankfurt wins.

After two sessions of gains, the markets are showing signs of slowing, traders citing concerns about the vote of the German parliament Wednesday prior to the expansion of bailout funds in the euro area, as well as the implementation by Italy austerity measures demanded by its European partners.

The energy values, however, argue the market.The Stoxx European oil and gas sector gaining 1.5%, driven notably by better than expected results from BP, which estimates that its production is about to rise.

In the banking sector, Deutsche Bank, UBS and Swedbank grew respectively by 1.46%, 4.66% and 2.42% after all beaten the consensus in the third quarter despite the difficult economic conditions.

Action Air France-KLM gives 2.6% as a result of information from the radio BFM Business that the airline may soon issue a warning on its results.

STMicroelectronics acknowledges since opening the biggest drop of the CAC 40, yielding almost 7% after announcing a decline in sales in the third quarter in a context of deteriorating market for semiconductors and uncertainty general economic conditions.

The euro, which has entered Monday a six-week peak against the greenback, still rising beyond $ 1.39 on hopes of convincing the top end of Wednesday.

On the eve of crucial European summit must agree on strengthening the EFSF, rumors are going well. The scenario of the report shook the stock markets. The trading floor in Frankfurt

According to information from the daily Die Welt, Germany could request that the date of the scheduled EU summit be postponed Sunday. Significant differences remain in effect for the implementation, especially the status of the EFSF "reinforced". A European diplomat had already emphasized this point of contention with the AFP in the morning.

The silence of Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy after their meeting Wednesday Express is not a good sign according to some analysts.

The summit, originally scheduled October 17, has already been postponed once.But several senior sources directly involved in the preparation and organization of the EU summit on Sunday, said on Thursday told Reuters not be aware of any proposed postponement of the meeting.

Another fear of the markets, they are trying to learn more about a paper on the EFSF, obtained by news agencies and that the European fund would be used as a last resort to recapitalize banks after the stress shareholders, private investors and governments.

Markets nervous

In this waiting period, nervousness is being felt in markets. Losses CAC40 who had reduced to just 0.5% to double and even more since the French values ​​now fall -1.35% to 15h.

European markets were down -1.1% on average (such as Madrid and Milan), but Frankfurt falls of -1.5%.