Business & Financial News

The Chinese government will send next year a delegation of Chinese investors in Europe to acquire companies. Nicolas Sarkozy and Hu Jintao in Beijing, April 28, 2010. French President visited China for the inauguration of the Expo.

The Chinese government will send next year a delegation of Chinese investors in Europe to "buy European companies," said Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming, quoted Tuesday by the newspaper Global Times. "China wants to invest its large trade surplus and will not hold billions of dollars that depreciate," said Chen Deming Monday at a conference in Beijing."We are prepared to further open our market, for example the financial sector, but other savings should in turn be more open to our place," he said, always cited by the Global Times.

The paper does not specify the countries that the Chinese delegation will visit, or the composition of the delegation, or the amount or nature of such acquisitions. China holds huge reserves, which exceeded the end of September 3200 billion. She had invested the same date of $ 1.148 billion in U.S. Treasury bills while according to experts, it holds more than 550 billion sovereign debt of European countries.

The Polish Minister for Finance said that the ECB should act as lender of last resort to fragile countries "to ensure stability in the euro area, its mandate". A position that faces the reluctance of the institution and Germany. ECB

The Polish Minister of Finance ruled Monday that the Europeans had a choice between "a massive intervention of the ECB" to save the euro area, "the catastrophe" of a "historic economic disaster," in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The dangers of contamination are now greater than ever, and the money we need to stop them have grown because we have not acted quickly enough," said Jacek Rostowski everyday German. The implementation of the stabilization fund financial EFSF long overdue for its role as a firewall and the ECB must act now, "to ensure stability in the euro area, its mandate".

"We are faced with a choice horrible. In order of horrors, the alternative is: either a massive intervention by the ECB or the catastrophe," he said. The minister, who in September had raised the risk of armed conflict in Europe if the euro crisis would lead to the collapse of the EU, in a speech to dramatic accents to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, s' Monday is called "less reassured" after two months. "The risk is that of a historic economic disaster like the Great Depression of the 1930s, lead to the final of Europe in war," he added.

The European Central Bank (ECB) refuses to act as lender of last resort of the European states by buying an unlimited sovereign bonds, as it acquires dropper and on the secondary market.

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.

A year ago the head of state has big plans for the G20 in Cannes, hoping to legitimize its position as world leader and presidential candidate. But on the eve of the summit, Nicolas Sarkozy saw his hopes dashed. The European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel in Brussels.

It must have been a great moment for France. And especially to Nicolas Sarkozy. Arriving to obtain the presidency of the G20 and G8 in 2011, with the help of his friend Gordon Brown, the head of state hoped to do two things at once: to become the great president of the International that he has always dreamed of being, and credibility for election in 2012. "In a way, it is served by the crisis," he said in November 2010, so do not hide its ambitions.At the time the French president harbored grandiose plans for the world economy: reforming the international monetary system (set the dual problem of the dollar and the yuan), limit the volatility of commodity prices, agricultural, or modernize the governance world. It will not happen, or not much. Already because of Nicolas Sarkozy's ambitions were too ambitious … But also because since November 2010, things have changed for France and its President.

Europe is no longer inspires confidence

It seems a long time since Germany and France landed at the G20 with the design, a bit peremptory, to moralize the financial world. At the time – at the G20 London in particular – the plight of the markets appeared to be the cause of all evil in the world economy.Today, on the verge of drowning, Europe assumed the costume of the responsibility for the crisis, wasting less time than it takes to say its capital credibility.

And it is likely that the G20 is a great opportunity for other states to remind him. All actors have to say good conscious "support and rebalance the global economy face significant risk of deterioration," for most, nothing can be done before that Europe treats his own evils. It is for this reason that the Europeans, Nicolas Sarkozy in the lead, have both hastened to find a solution for Greece. Alas, the great promises of the European Union will not be at the rendezvous.

Tuesday, to everyone's surprise, the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou decided to submit the European Agreement on Greece in the popular referendum and drawing a large question mark over the future of the euro area.

EDF shares fell more than 5% Friday afternoon in Paris Stock Exchange, market participants have cited an article in Le Monde that the Socialist Party and environmentalists are about to sign an agreement providing for election closures nuclear power plants.

Interviewed by Reuters, the two sides, however, said no such thing had been decided yet and that negotiations for the presidential and legislative elections of 2012 in France continued.

The electrician public asked the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) to investigate the collapse of the course.

"Discussions are at this stage, more general," he told Reuters Michel Sapin, former economy minister, Francois Hollande close and involved in these negotiations.

As for Yannick Jadot, spokesman Eva Joly, candidate of Europe Ecologie-Greens, he felt that the article in Le Monde shows a vision "a little fictionalized" reality.

"Should there be an agreement between the two, Fessenheim shut fairly quickly.(…) We are still at an output of nuclear power including actual closing fast enough for the older plants, "he said.

He hoped that negotiations with the Socialist Party end up in the next 15 days.

François Hollande, Socialist candidate for president, wants a drop from 75% to 50% of the share of nuclear in electricity generation.

The central Fessenheim is the oldest in France and has two reactors of 900 megawatts each.

Last summer, the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) found that the No. 1 reactor of the plant was capable of being operated ten years older.

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.

The Irish budget deficit has reduced by 4 percentage points of GDP since 2009. Corporate profitability recovered sharply. But deleveraging too fast may influence the activity against becoming productive. Pedestrians in Dublin

If Ireland is still part of PIGS, it can not be in the same category as Greece or Portugal, as progress in a few months by former Tiger European are important. The Irish budget deficit – excluding bank recapitalization needs – fell by 4 percentage points of GDP since 2009. The current account deficit turned into a small surplus. Finally, corporate profitability recovered sharply.

The experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission, who have just completed their assessment mission in Ireland, are seduced. "The ongoing adjustment is solid.The 2011 budget targets will be achieved and the ongoing structural reforms will also contribute to sanitation, "they note in their report.

However, Ireland is now entering a delicate phase. Or the risk of too rapid deleveraging weigh on activity, against becoming productive. The experts of the IMF, the ECB and the Commission to admit the hint. "Ireland will have to find a balance between the imperatives of debt reduction and limitation of the barriers to growth and job creation," they point out in their report. This sentence harmless and a bit blurry could announce a change in strategy for Ireland. The country needs it, says a recent report by Goodbody Broker.

Make concessions

Indeed, in Ireland, over-indebtedness affects both the public sector, private sector and banks.Simultaneously reducing the three is clearly a bad idea, says the report. If Ireland is determined to meet all objectives at the same time, the evolving recovery will be quickly suppressed. A risk highlighted recently by the Finance Minister Michael Noonan. Especially since the motor only turns in exports. The domestic market remains depressed by lower prices (unit labor costs fell by 15% and commercial property prices have been divided by two).

We must therefore make concessions to one side. But which one? As for households, the government can not do much. The debt reached 220% of disposable income, nearly twice the international average. And fall of financial markets could reduce household net wealth of 250 billion euros. The Irish are going to have to tighten their belts for several years.Make concessions on the public debt is also not in a financial crisis. Ireland recorded a primary deficit of 6% of GDP in 2011. This is the worst result of the euro area.

Remaining banks. They must bring their ratios to 122% loan to deposit by 2013. The challenge today is to allow banks to achieve that clean without excessively penalizing the credit. This will doubtless involve additional time but also further aid from the ECB, economists now believe. Lengthy discussion in perspective.

The growth in world oil demand will grow less than expected in 2011 and will accelerate next year, predicted Wednesday the U.S. Agency for Energy Information (EIA).

The EIA, which has already significantly reduced its forecast last month, has not made this time only a small adjustment with growth forecast revised down 50,000 barrels per day (bpd).

The agency now predicts an increase in demand of 1.32 million bpd to 88.4 million bpd this year and an increase of 1.44 million bpd in 2012.

These figures are higher than the predictions of the International Energy Agency, based in Paris, which expects growth of only 1.25 million bpd.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has plans to increase the demand limited to 880,000 bpd in 2011 and an increase of 1.19 million bpd next year.

The EIA notes that if the supply of oil is still subject to a number of uncertainties, which she attributed to the instability in the Middle East, demand will continue to be penalized by the jolting of the economy.

"The downside risks dominate as fears continue to weigh on the pace of global recovery, the debt crisis continues in the European Union and other governments still face the challenge of deficits," said the EIA in its report.

Power focus on health is a major strategic focus for large food manufacturers, but their ambitions are hampered by regulations become more stringent and consumers more wary of offering is often expensive, analysts said.

The major industry players such as Danone, Nestle and Unilever should nevertheless continue to invest in these foods which the operating margin is much higher than ordinary food, they say.

The taxation of the "junk food" makes this strategy even more relevant.Denmark has introduced a tax on products that contain saturated fats and France wants to introduce a tax on sugary drinks.

The global market for "functional foods", expected to provide a benefit to consumers with diabetes or obesity, is estimated at 150 billion.

"The food chain can no longer ignore the trend nutrionnellement correct.This is an important issue given the aging population and increased diseases such as diabetes in developed countries, "said Isabelle Senande, director of studies at Xerfi.

But, she adds, "given the regulatory, industry think twice before launching."

One analyst, who requested anonymity, believes that for his position "is a condition of survival, not a niche market."But, he adds, "industry groups are becoming more cautious as inflation promises led to a tightening of regulations."

90% OF CASES ACCEPTED

The bifidus yoghurt, dairy products fortified with calcium and omega 3, or branded foods "low fat", "no sugar added" or "high fiber" are subject to strict control of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which ensures that the benefits put forward by the industry are justified scientifically.

Danone, which boasts of wanting to "bring health through nutrition," had experienced a crushing defeat in 2009 yoghurt Essensis that would "feed the skin from within."For its part, Nestlé has had a few days ago to withdraw his drink Nesfluid after only one year of marketing.

The Danone Actimel can show that it "strengthens the body" and that Activia "helps regulate transit in 15 days". The European regulator has however endorsed Danacol "reduces cholesterol" or Densia and Petit Gervais "that help maintain bone density."

At the National Association of food industries, Cécile Rauzy, project quality, nutrition, regrets that the demands of the EFSA is based on criteria "that are not necessarily the field of nutrition but to the pharmacy," the that could "slow the nutrition research."

Of the 2758 claims assessed between 2008 and 2011, the EFSA has delivered 90% of negative opinions.In particular, it rejected all those on fiber because, judging that their beneficial effects on intestinal transit had not been demonstrated.

The EU regulation on consumer information, passed last week and will be published by the end of 2011, require nutrition labeling for all companies.

"This is a major change because of the 10,000 enterprises in the French food industry, 95% are SMEs, many of which have never been labeling or nutritional analysis," said Cecile Rauzy.

BYPASS STRATEGY

Also in 2012, all health claims must be submitted to the French health authorities and the EFSA opinion which must be approved by the European Commission before being published on a register of authorized health claims. Only after the company can rely on it.

For Cecilia Rauzy, this procedure could lead very long "all small businesses, as well as large groups, to question a reorientation of their research."In fact, few major innovations have recently arrived on the shelves of distributors, agribusiness around obstacles by offering natural products with no artificial additives or colorants.

Francis Priest, an analyst at CM-CIC Securities, believes however that "the consumer is willing to pay more for food really good for his health in mature as in the emerging".

With margins of 13% to 18% which gives it a medical food, against 12% for an ordinary product, a company completely marginalizes the impact of the rising cost of raw materials, says the analyst.

In order to develop this market, industry players segments of business or carry out acquisitions.

Thus, Danone has created a division "Medical Nutrition." Nestle it launched last year a division specializing in health encompasses both activities in the nutrition of infants and sick and Jenny Craig, its subsidiary concurrent Weight Watchers. Without complex, the Swiss group has offered in the wake of frozen pizza, Kraft Foods for $ 3.7 billion.

At the same time, 51% stake in Yoplait were acquired for 1.2 billion euros by the American General Mills, while PepsiCo has offered the Russian group of dairy and fruit juice Wimm-Bill -Dann to 4.1 billion euros.

The Belgian, French and Luxembourg governments reaffirmed at the end of a meeting held in Brussels this Sunday afternoon in solidarity in the search for a solution that ensures the future of Franco-Belgian bank Dexia.

In a statement released by the office of Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme, they say, give their full support to the proposals of management of the banking group, which will be presented at a Board of Directors scheduled at 15:00 in Brussels.

"The proposed solution, which is also the result of intense consultations with all relevant partners, will be presented to the Board of Directors of Dexia which is responsible for approving the proposals," said Yves Leterme.

The activities of the Franco-Belgian bank, first bank in size in Europe to be a victim of the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro zone could be split and the most risky assets confined to a separate structure.