Business & Financial News

At a central works council, the management of ArcelorMittal cinfirmé the stops on both blast furnaces Florange until June A possible restart will be discussed in May. The unions believe that management has signed the "death warrant" of their factory. The ArcelorMittal steel plant in Moselle Florange

Unions ArcelorMittal Florange (Moselle) estimated Thursday that management had signed the "death warrant" of their factory by announcing at a central works council (CEC) the import of Russian steel to feed the Lorraine site. "The management was committed to restarting our furnaces if Dunkirk was unable to feed here in the steel hot strip mill. And now she announces in CEC purchase 60,000 tons of metal in Russia . It is simply to sign the death warrant of Florange, "said, very back, the head of the CFDT, Edward Martin.  

Speaking to about 300 steelworkers from 9:00 blocking the exit site of shipments, the union said he was "disgusted by the lies" of ArcelorMittal. "If some still had doubts about the programmed death of Florange, it is definitely up," he said. Broccoli for Walter, FO leader, the import of steel from Russia "is an admission that Florange not restart." "Florange is fucked! We'll take a thousand jobs to the river and kill a jewel in the metallurgical industry on behalf of financial profitability," he said. "This decision is extremely serious and incomprehensible," said Jean Mangin, the head of the CGT. For him it is "demonstration that Mittal does not restart Florange".

Representatives of the CFE / CGC shared this analysis. "Import of Russian steel, this means restarting the blast furnace is more than Florange compromised," said Jean-Pierre Bremen. In the morning, the leadership of the world's number one steel has indicated to staff representatives gathered in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis) a recovery of blast furnaces Florange was conceivable that in the third quarter . The blast furnace P6 has not functioned since October while the P3 stopped since June. ArcelorMittal's management has also announced the import of 60,000 tons of steel from Russia purchased Seversthal, one of its competitors.

Between 200 and 300 steelworkers ArcelorMittal plant Florange (Moselle) Thursday morning blocked the release of shipments of the site to try to get the direction of restarting blast furnaces shut down since October, said a journalist AFP. The protesters were installed at the outlet from which the finished products factory, mainly sheet metal coils for the automotive industry. Unions fear the "programmed death" of this site, which employs 5,000 employees, after the announcement of management, last week, the blast furnaces would restart not only in the second quarter. The No. 1 global steel industry maintains that it is just a temporary standby necessary due to insufficient demand.

"We decided to hit Mittal where it hurts: the wallet," the official said CFDT Edward Martin, announcing "a block of unlimited duration." "We will build a war chest, loot the fruit of our labor," he said. At the same time opened in La Plaine-Saint-Denis, the French headquarters of ArcelorMittal, a central works council on the future of Florange site. While its two blast furnaces are dormant for several months, the hot rolling mill train Florange always produces some 200,000 tonnes per month of steel for automotive technology. The site is stocked with steel slabs produced by the ArcelorMittal plant in Dunkirk.

With this deadlock, the union hopes disrupt production in the automotive industry, has seen one of them, "just-works". ArcelorMittal Florange delivers its finished products manufacturers Peugeot, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Audi and Toyota. This action "punch" is the first conducted by the Inter CGT / CFDT / FO / CFE-CGC, after the occupation of management Monday. The Inter promised she would be "the nightmare of government," until May 6, when the second round of the presidential election. ArcelorMittal has recently decided the final closure of blast furnaces in Liege (Belgium) and Madrid, the other (two in Florange, Lorraine, one in Germany, two in Poland, two in Romania and Czech Republic) were officially launched pending before the upturn in orders.

On Tuesday, President-candidate Nicolas Sarkozy said: "We will make sure that (the Florange) reopens." FO federation of metallurgy has arrested Wednesday group management and government, demanding written commitments on the future of the plant Moselle.

Pernod Ricard noted Thursday its goal of operating income growth for the 2011-2012 fiscal year after the publication of interim results better than expected thanks to its performance in countries é mergents and strategy for its upmarket spirits.

During the six months to end December, the world's second largest wine and spirits behind the British Diageo posted an operating profit (ROC) of 1.379 million euros, up 17% organic growth, above the consensus of 1,326.8 million euros set by the editor of Reuters.

Its net income group share grew by 16% to 843 million, for a turnover of 4.614 million (4,623.7 million forecast by analysts) an increase of 8%. Organic growth was 11% (10.7% expected).

Confidence in the continuation of these trends, the wine and spirits group now expects organic growth in annual operating income of nearly 8%, against 6% so far, and a Net debt / EBITDA close to 3.9 at June 30, 2012, against four previously.

Pernod Ricard shows a net debt / EBITDA of 3.9 to 4.4 against 31 December 2011 to 30 June 2011.

L'Oreal, the world of cosmetics, said Monday the end of the term of a director of Liliane Bettencourt, replaced the board by one of his grand-son, John Victor Meyers.

The latter, aged 25, is a member of the supervisory board of the family holding company Tethys since January 2011.

Liliane Bettencourt, heiress to the group, is 89 years old. The candidacy of his grand-son will be submitted to L'Oréal shareholders at the next general meeting on 17 April.

The amount of mortgage loans fell by nearly 26% over a year and nearly 50% compared to December. A real "blow". http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcattiaux/

The amount of loans granted by banks recorded a very sharp decline in January, falling 25.7% over the corresponding month of 2011, according to a study by the Housing Credit / CSA published Monday. "The year 2012 did not start very well. In a sluggish economy, the backlash movement anticipation of the end of 2011 is significant," notes the study.

On a monthly basis, the collapse is indeed brutal: -49.4% between December 2011 and January 2012 (after already falling by 34.1% between December 2010 and January 2011). "It's a blow. The fall is comparable to 2009, when the subprime crisis + + U.S., "said Michel Mouillart for AFP, professor of economics at the University of Paris West and industry expert

. For Mr.

Mouillart two decisions specific to the sector in addition to "concerns about rising unemployment, purchasing power and the unfavorable economic outlook". "First of all the strong decrease in the rate (from 22% to 13%) of the tax benefit for investors buying a new home and, in addition, the removal of zero-interest loan (PTZ) for buyers of older homes, "said M . Mouillart

. For the full year 2012, loans granted banks should amount to only 130 billion euros, a drop of almost 20% compared to 2011 (160 billion), far from the high of 2007 (170.2 billion), said Mr. Mouillart. The reversal came after an explosion of these funds since the beginning of the century who had contributed to buoyant property market in France: 70.8 billion in 2001, 87.3 in 2003, 143.7 in 2005 and 170, 2 in 2007.

Interest rates on mortgages continued to rise in January 2012 and have averaged 3.97% against 3.94% in December 2011 and 3.86% in November, a jump of more than 70 points base compared to the lowest level since 1945 (3.25% on average) reached in November 2010, according to Credit Housing.

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.

France and Germany have given themselves until the end of January to reach a fiscal union strengthened the euro area, a project that could go through the quarantine of several countries and has generated negative reactions Monday from members of the single currency.

According to sources familiar with the exchanges between Paris and Berlin, the two countries are considering a revision to bypass formal European Treaty – a process that would last 18 months as a minimum – by working on a mini-treaty outside the Community more flexible and quicker to implement.

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.

Vilmorin confirmed on Tuesday its full-year after a first quarter marked by an increase of 5.9% on a comparable turnover, particularly due to the field seeds.

The fourth seed said the world from July to September quarter, the first of the year the group has traditionally been the smallest of the year as it weighs just under 15% of total revenue.Over the period, sales reached 178.8 million euros.

"In an uncertain economic and financial environment and despite the supply of maize seeds below the targets initial production plans, Vilmorin confirms its outlook for revenue growth and operating margin for the year 2011-2012 , as announced last October, "the group said in a statement.

Vilmorin is always a growth of over 7% of its consolidated revenues on a comparable basis and an operating margin of 11% research effort included.

Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 agreed Saturday to impose a surcharge mandatory capital up to 2.5% of their capital for systemically important banks, to be set up gradually from 2016.

According to the statement issued after a two-day meeting in Paris, they endorsed the device in the sense proposed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), ignoring calls from financial wishing a review of it these or additional time for implement.

Overload, which can be between 1% and 2.5%, will apply to all institutions, by their size, would be of overall risk to the financial system in case of failure.

Would be affected banks like Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase but also the largest French banks: BNP Paribas, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole.

"Now that we have agreed on the framework for these institutions, we urge the FSC to define how to extend this system without delay to all systemically important financial institutions," we read in the statement.

The aim is that these banks have enough capital to get through the turbulence of markets so that states are not forced to wear to their rescue when the next crisis.

This overload should be finally adopted at the next G20 summit on 3 and 4 November in Cannes, at which the names of the banks concerned will be announced.

It is one of a set of provisions on the financial sector ministers and central bank governors have adopted Saturday.

AGREEMENT "TEST BANKS"

Among these include the use by supervisory authorities in the sector of "common tools" to liquidate banks in trouble, writing "wills" by major banks to facilitate their dismantling in case of difficulties or strengthening the monitoring of such institutions.

The CSF, which coordinates the work on financial regulation for the G20, has already defined the criteria implemented in a systemic overload.He identified 28 banks that could be subject, but a source close to the G20, it was reported that the number will be between 29 and 50.

The CEO of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, the device has already denounced as "anti-American", while the banks concerned will apply in addition to the new prudential framework called Basel III will require them to hold capital "hard" to at least 7% of their commitments.

The CSB has received other support from the G20 for his work on the definition of "shadow banking system" to a regulation of it, with a view to prevent risk activities will migrate banks to other parts of the financial sector such as money market funds or special entities.

Regarding the regulation of commodity markets, one of the priorities of the Presidency of the G20, Paris could not succeed in setting limits on positions that investors can hold.

The statement calls for implementation by the end of 2012 recommendations of IOSCO, the umbrella organization for national supervisors of markets, derivative markets of raw materials that do not provide for such limits.

The Greek finance minister ruled out Saturday the event of imminent bankruptcy of public accounts.

"The commentary and analysis about an imminent default or bankruptcy of Greece are not only ridiculous but irresponsible," said Evangelos Venizelos said in a statement.

"All weekend, Greece (…) is the subject of organized attacks by speculators on international markets," he lamented, ensuring also that the cancellation of the visit of Prime Minister George Papandreou United States did not meet any economic emergency.

The head of government, which was scheduled to visit the headquarters of the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund, made a stopover in London when he decided to turn back after a meeting with his finance minister.

"The prime minister felt he should not miss. He wanted to ensure that all commitments would be required of Greece," said Reuters spokesman for the government.