Business & Financial News

General Motors announced Wednesday consider selling its manufacturing plant in Strasbourg gearboxes and be looking for potential investors.

The U.S. automaker, which has taken an investment bank, said in a statement it had committed a "strategic review" concerning both the production as engineering and development of this plant.

He was willing to explore the internal and external solutions to find "viable alternatives and potential solutions to secure the future of the site".

GM intends to favor buyers who will continue the work site with the current force is about 1,000 people.

Last year, the plant produced 280,000 six-speed automatics, mainly for customers outside of Europe. 

GM announced in February an alliance with French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen.

Cash advance is meant to provide short term relief to borrowers. Since these loans charge high interest rates, rolling over the loan may not be very easy.

The Belgian economy has resumed growth in the first quarter and was not in recession in the second half of 2011 contrary to what was originally advertised, showed particular are released Wednesday.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 0.3% over the first three months of the year compared to last quarter. In annual terms, sales rose 0.5%, announced the Belgian central bank.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the Belgian economy shrank by 0.1%.

However, the central bank has revised its figures for the third quarter GDP, from -0.1% initially announced, to no growth (0.0%).

This means that Belgium did not ultimately experienced a recession, defined as "technical" recession establishes that at least two consecutive quarters of GDP contraction.

In 2011, Belgium recorded an annual growth of 2%, against an initial estimate of 1.9%.

GDP figures for the euro area for the first quarter will be published May 15, along with those of Germany, France, Italy and the Netherlands. 

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the GDP of the eurozone declined by 0.3%.

Labor costs in Germany rose at the slowest rate of any European Union over the past decade, said Tuesday the Federal Office of Statistics , emphasizing the positive effect of wage moderation.

The cost of one hour of work in the private sector rose 19.4% between 2001 and 2011 in Germany, which is half that in France, where the cost jumped 39.2 % over the same period, well above the European average of 36.1%.

The moderate wage growth, which started from a high base, helped Germany to remain among the top exporting economies in the world and to remain competitive . 

"The moderate wage growth in recent years has made possible a positive development (…). Many new jobs were created and existing jobs are been protected, supporting consumption, "said the director of the Chamber of Commerce, Martin Wansleben.

In 2011, German employers paid an average of 30.10 euros for each full hour of work in the private sector, well above the average for the EU to 22.80 euros.

Belgium shows labor costs the highest in the region at 39.30 euros per hour while Bulgaria has the lowest, to 3.50 euros.

Audi, the premium brand of Volkswagen sold 143,500 vehicles in March, a record, or 14.1% from a year earlier, thanks to solid demand from the States U.S. and China.

Over the quarter, the manufacturer sold 346,100 vehicles, representing an increase of 10.8%.

"We started the year 2012 successfully and we anticipate continued growth in the coming months," said in a statement Peter Schwarzenbauer, responsible for sales of Audi.

Wall Street opened sharply lower Wednesday, still within the scope of the minutes of the last meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve seems to suggest that that new measures to support the economy are no longer topical.

In early trade, the Dow Jones yielded 0.91% (or 120.49 points) to 13,079.06 points. The Standard & Poor's, wider, lost 0.86% (12.10 points) to 1,401.28 points while the Nasdaq composite fell back to 0.89% (27.82 points) to 3085, 75.

This decline, following a decrease of about 0.5% yesterday, comes despite better than expected figures for employment in the private sector. According to ADP monthly survey, the private sector has indeed created 209,000 jobs in March, against 200,000 expected.

But what continues to attract the attention of investors is that only two members of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Fed felt that other measures could be necessary if the Economic activity weakened or if inflation remained at a low level for an extended period.

Support measures implemented by the U.S. central bank was the main catalyst for a jump of 30% recorded by the S & P 500 since October, although improving conditions in the United States, as reflected by the indicators, also played. 

"The minutes of the Fed questioned the certainties of those who thought they could relax without end," said Sal Arnuk, co-head of investments at Themis Trading.

For its part, the European Central Bank has unsurprisingly left rates unchanged at a record low, Mario Draghi, chairman of the ECB, saying it was pre premature to start talking about the withdrawal of the measures to end the crisis.

The title General Electric, Heavyweight Dow Jones down 1.3% to 19.70 dollars after Moody's downgraded the industrial conglomerate from Aa2 to Aa3. 

The action Sandisk falling more than 9% after the specialist NAND chips has reduced its forecast for sales in the first quarter, citing lower demand than expected and conditions unfavorable pricing.

CaixaBank Monday agreed to buy Banca Civica to 1.97 euro per share, valuing the latter 980 million euros, said on Monday close to the matter.

A second wave of consolidation is currently at work in the Spanish banking sector, many banks needing fresh capital to cover losses related to the break at the end 2007 a real estate boom a decade.

The newspaper Cinco Dias reported on Monday that would propose CaixaBank 2.2 euros per share Banca Civica through a share exchange transaction valuing the target at 1.1 billion euros .

Wall Street finished slightly higher Friday, supported by buoyant energy stocks in the face of surging oil prices, but the gains of the day do not allow the S & P 500 finished the week in the green.

This index, which is the benchmark for fund managers, posted a weekly decline of 0.5%, thus interrupting a series of five consecutive weeks of growth. However, since the beginning of the year, he won about 11%. Compared to a low of October, its progress is more than 25%.

The Dow Jones industrials gained 30 0.27% or 34.59 points, to 13,080.73. The S & P-500, wider, took 4.33 points, or 0.31%, to 1397.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 4.60 point turn (0.15%) to 3,067.92.

For the week, the Dow has sold 1.1% while the Nasdaq posted a gain of 0.4%.

Despite the magnitude of the upward cycle bringing Wall Street for several months, most market participants do not believe the decline this week is the prelude to a more pronounced downturn.

They believe instead that the U.S. stock market should benefit next week cleanings portfolio at quarter end, which are usually fund managers trade shares with the sub- performed against those that have outperformed the market.

"Generally, people are well disposed towards the shares. They are ready to enter the market whenever there is a slight decline, "said Michael Matousek, a broker at Global Investors

.. Rising ……. daily was the fact the oil compartment, with the sector index gained 0.96%

…. ….. This is mainly due to the 1.5% jump in oil prices after the information saying that Iranian oil exports were down in March, the tightening of Western sanctions to against Tehran have led some customers to stop or reduce their purchases of Iranian crude

. values ​​related materials first turn have been supported by the good results of the largest copper producer Codelco. The sector index has been 0.98%.

The new home sales fell 1.6% in February to return to 313,000 on an annualized basis, said the Commerce Department, which has downgraded statistics January, to 318,000 against 321,000 originally announced. Economists polled by Reuters had expected 325,000 sales.

This indicator has sealed property values, the PHLX sector index yielded 0.57%. The action of KB Home fell 8.45% to 10.29 dollars after the number five in the construction of individual houses in the United States has reported a widening of its losses the first quarter.

The title Monster Worldwide has been 7.69% to 10.22 dollars after the agency offers online job, which has a market capitalization of approximately one billion dollars, has says ready to sell all or part of its capital.

Nike reported Thursday a profit above expectations for the third quarter of fiscal offset and an increase in its future orders.

But the title of the sporting goods company has closed down 3.22% to 107.42 dollars.

The Norwegian sovereign fund, the first equity investor in Europe, on Friday urged European leaders to fully address the structural problems of the old continent, but said he voted against the restructuring program of the Greek debt.

Presenting its results in 2011, the Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), fueled by oil and gas bonanza of the Nordic countries, said he would prefer re a solution to the Greek case which does not favor some creditors over others.

"We voted against for reasons of principle," he told reporters Yngve Slyngstad, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), a division of the Norwegian central bank manages the SWF. 

"As long-term investor, we believe it is important to stick to principles."

He stressed that the exchange process of debt expected in the second aid plan for Athens had not put all creditors on the same plan since the European Central Bank (ECB) received a preferential status.

The fund has also stressed the need to solve the current difficulties of the old continent.

"Because more than half of the fund is invested in Europe, it is very important to us that the authorities manage to solve their enormous monetary and structural challenges", a de ; Yngve Slyngstad clared in a statement.

The fund had 3.NOK 312 billion (439 billion) at December 31, against 3.055 billion kronor in late September.

The share of the fund invested in equities reached 58.7% at the end of last year, against 55.6% at the end of the third quarter. Yngve Slyngstad said the fund held 2.25% of the total market share in Europe.

He reported the purchase of more than 150 billion kronor (19.8 billion) of European values ​​on the second part of 2011.

In the fourth quarter, the fund posted a return on investment of 4.4% in the fourth quarter, ending on a positive note one year 2011 where the return on investment has reached -2.5 %, a loss of 11.4 billion euros.

In the third quarter, the return on investment reached -8.8%.

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

.

On the occasion of International Women's Day, overview of the remaining inequalities in employment, wages, retirement and everyday life. Of employees in an office in Caracas Noticias24.com website.

March 8 is International Day of Women. On this occasion, INSEE publishes a study entitled "Women and Men-Glance Parity". The text leading real progress for twenty years, but disparities remain. The proof of ten digits.

4:01: This is the time spent by women in domestic work (household shopping, child care, gardening etc). It is twice more than men who do not spend as 2:13. Moreover, women do most of their children. They spend an hour, against just under half an hour for men.

4:45: This is the free time available to women. It's half an hour less than men. And the difference is striking in games and Internet (16 minutes for men), television (13 minutes) and sports (8 minutes). However, women spend more time with their family and friends (7 minutes).

39%: Women managers more now. They were 30% there twenty years. Side of the gap in labor force participation between men and women, it is reduced from 66% for women (59% in 1990), against 75% for men. Concerned, the most frequent interruption of their careers to care for their children. In 2010, 18% of women aged 30 to 35 were inactive against 4% of men.

31% of employed women work part-time, against 7% of their male colleagues. This proportion has increased in recent years since it was 24% in 1990. The use of part-time is common in low-skilled occupations in the tertiary, exercised mostly by women. he is busy 62% of women today, against 56% in 1990.

25%: Women still earn less than men. But the gap has slightly reduced from 29% in 1991 to 25% in 2009. Involved, hourly wages, which are lower for women. In private, the income gap is 20% and 15% in the public. Involved: the number of days worked less over the year, and part-time.

833 euros is the average amount of pension for women. This is twice less than men that affect Euro 1743. This reflects the differences in position on the labor market. Women retire later on average than men (61.8 years for women, against 61.4 years for men in 2009 in the general plan).

20.8%: This is the percentage of women present in the boards of the CAC 40 (15.3% in 2010 and 10.5% in 2009) and 2% of female CEOs. In the State civil service, women constitute 51.7% of the total and only 20.3% of managerial positions.

22%: This is the proportion of women elected to the Senate. It increased in the last ten years from 11% in 2001 to 22% in 2011. But they remain a minority. Same to the Assembly nationale.Un just under 14% are mayors.

Age 85: this is the life expectancy of a woman, against 78 years for men. They can expect to live a healthy year and 7 months longer than men.

7: On a scale of 1 to 10, men and women have a life satisfaction than 7. On this point, they come together …