Consumer spending in U.S. households rose 0.4% and revenues by 0.2% in July, show statistics released Monday by the Commerce Department.
Consumer spending and showing the strongest gain in four months, receiving a slight increase in revenue.
The figures for consumption and income showed an unchanged rate in the month of June
Economists and analysts polled by Reuters had forecast an average increase of 0.3% of consumer spending and incomes in July.
The savings rate was 5.9%.
After the publication of these figures, futures on the S & P 500 have cut their losses.
Nestle announced Thursday it had finalized the sale of Novartis's 52% that remained in Alcon for $ 28.3 billion (22.3 billion euros).
Nestle has received a total of 41 billion dollars selling American specialist in ophthalmology, if one takes into account the three stages of disinvestment, namely the initial IPO of 23.25% in 2002, sale of 24.8% in 2008 and the last transaction with Novartis, conducted Wednesday, said the world number one agribusiness in a statement.
Nestle, which had acquired Alcon in 1977 for 280 million dollars, now intends to "significantly reduce its net debt, which amounted to 29.6 billion at end June 2010.
Novartis now controls 77% of Alcon and its later clarified in a separate statement that its initial tranche of 25% had already recorded a gain of $ 200 million for the year.
The integration costs of $ 140 million, spread over three years and will save annual synergies of 200 million dollars, said pharmaceutical group.
This year however, will be impacted by charges of 140 million, including transaction costs.
The acquisition will be neutral to earnings per share in 2010 and 2011 but should be accretive as this year for basic EPS ('core').
Novartis is now looking to buy the remaining 23% but the independent directors of Alcon opposed to the proposed price of 2.8 shares per share Novartis Alcon, which is 15% less than the $ 168 per share paid Nestlé.
Swiss law allows Novartis to adopt such an approach but does not guarantee the success of its offer to minority shareholders.
Wall Street ended lower on Thursday, concerned about the unexpected rise in jobless claims and mixed numbers on sales of major distributors in July, which underlined the fragility of the economic climate on the eve of the monthly employment statistics.
The Dow Jones closed at a decline of 5.45 points, or 0.05%, to 10,674.98.The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 1.43 point (-0.13%) to 1,125.81 and the Nasdaq composite 10.51 points assigned to (-0.46%) to 2293.06.
The jobless claims rose to 479,000 last week, while the market awaited them down.
This figure disappointed investors and urged them to exercise caution on the eve of the monthly report on employment in the Department of Labor, which should show a further rise in the unemployment rate in July.
"The entries do not persist in fall and this could foreshadow a bad time tomorrow," said Bruce Zaro, responsible for technical strategist for Delta Global Advisors.
Economists polled by Reuters expect for July 65.000 jobs were non-agricultural, particularly because of the end of many fixed-term contracts in the public related to the decennial census of population.The private sector, he should have created 90,000 jobs.
These uncertainties on the employment front are fears of a continued weak consumer spending, the main engine of the U.S. economy.
As for July, 28 retailers tracked by Thomson Reuters have reported an increase of 2.9% over one year of their store sales, while analysts had forecast to 3.1%.
NEWS CORP SOUGHT AFTER RESULTS
The Morgan Stanley sector yielded 0.35%.
Several values of the retail sales of which have consistently been disappointed penalized, like JC Penney, which yielded 7.7%, and Dillards (-5.2%).
"We are now in a situation where dollars are increasingly scarce in the pockets of consumers, thus able to compete for these dollars is intensifying," said Lawrence Creatura, manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisers.
If July is the 11th month of improvement in retail sales according to data from Thomson Reuters, analysts point out that comparisons to last year will be less favorable over the month.
Large groups have published their results on Wednesday or Thursday experienced divergent fates: while News Corp. gained 3.6% thanks to strong performance of its cable networks and the resumption of advertising revenue from its newspapers, Viacom yielded nearly 1 %, analysts have been disappointed by the stagnation of its turnover.
Also note the sharp increase in fertilizer producers, such as CF Industries (+3.5%) and Mosaic (+1.8%) in the wake of wheat prices after the announcement of the interruption of Russian exports .
In after-hours trading just after the closing, Kraft Foods gained 2.8% in response to the publication of its quarterly. The title had ended in decline 0.3% on the New York Stock Exchange.
Puma anticipates an increase in its adjusted operating profit in 2010 compared to 2009, the global economic recovery had a positive effect on demand for sporting goods.
In exchange, Puma loses 2.6% in the first exchanges in a market up slightly.
The world's third largest industry, behind the U.S. and fellow Nike Adidas, had a first revised upwards its 2010 targets in April.
He then said he planned to grow its annual turnover between 0% and 5% but closer to the bottom of this range, and a growth of at least 70% of its taxable income.He confirmed that goal Thursday.
Consumer confidence has reached a peak of 26 in July in the euro area, which gradually takes shape of the debt crisis but the longer-term prospects remain uncertain.
The adjusted operating profit came out of Puma up 1.7% to 64.1 million euros in the second quarter, slightly below a Reuters poll that gave 69 million.
Turnover increased 2.5% to 615.4 million euros (consensus of 628 million), while net income increased by 16.4% to 44.8 million (consensus: 49.1 million).
The subsidiary of PPR, which also announced Thursday the launch of a share repurchase program, has a PER of 13.7, whereas it is 15.1 to 17.1 for Adidas and Nike, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine.
The action gives 2.3% to 230.45 euros in early morning.
Spir Communication has again suffered in the first half of the decline in sales in the free advertising press, but cost reductions have allowed it to stabilize its margin.
The media group and distribution of printed materials and packages still struggling to develop its model based on formerly free press announcements, but he expects further restructuring to achieve its objective of restoring the balance operational 2010.
Spir has declined by about 10% of its total turnover in the first half to 280.7 million euros, with a fall of 15% of cluster media, press and internet, and 6% of the segment distribution of printed advertising.
"In the context of an advertising market remains uncertain, Spir Communication is continuing its transformation and is maintaining its target for operating profit to breakeven in the year 2010," the group wrote in a statement.
The operating margin improved slightly semester to 1.7% (+0.2 points) thanks to cost efficiencies, including through a plan for adapting the press division, started in 2009, which reduced by 22% operating losses of this segment in the first half.
The group aims to reduce the share of sales made in the traditional activities of the press free to print ads in favor of a growth in Internet sales.
The press had in the first half for nearly 30% of total turnover, against 12% for sales generated by the division of Internet media.
The action Spir stable closed Tuesday at 16.40 euros in a market capitalization of just over 100 million euros.
After three days of consecutive increase, Wall Street opened Friday on a tentative note, pending results of the first companies to be published next week.
A few minutes after the start of trading, the Dow Jones fell by 0.05%% to 10,133.70 points and the Standard & Poor's 500 by 0.07% to 1069.46 points while the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0 , 09% to 2177.45 points.
If the optimism shown by State Street in mid-week its quarterly earnings outlook is considered auspicious by analysts for earnings season, investors prefer to wait for their actual publication, especially since there no important macroeconomic indicators on Friday.
The wait-market is reflected in low volumes and partly explains the volatility seen this week on Wall Street.
As for values, Boeing gained 0.12% after formally responded to the call for tender for the tanker to the U.S. Army.
Google took him 3.31% in favor of renewing its operating license by the Chinese authorities, a decision that allows the U.S. group to remain on the largest Internet market in the world.
The presence of BP boss Tony Hayward to a luxury yacht regatta on the Isle of Wight in full spill in the Gulf of Mexico has prompted a deluge of criticism, White House head, said Sunday that s 'acting in a "serious mistake".
The stunning images of sailboats cruising off the southern coast of Great Britain during the race "JP Morgan Asset Management Round The Island" turned Loop Sunday morning on U.S. television. The CEO of British oil giant was present Saturday, with family, to support the yacht "Bob", worth 300,000 euros, which he co-owns with two others.The boat finished fourth.
See also: Why BP has it all wrong
But the trip goes wrong side of the Atlantic, two months after the start of the spill, while every day brings new images of oiled birds or contaminated beaches by the millions of gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
"It's part of a long series of mistakes and blunders of communication," he told the secretary general of the White House Rahm Emanuel in an interview with ABC television broadcast Sunday. "I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward not start a second career in public relations consultancy," joked the top U.S. official."This is a serious mistake," he said, addressing a new pic to the Director General of the British group: "To quote Tony Hayward, he found his life before.
Author of several communication blunders, including Mr. Hayward said of the disaster: "There is nobody who wants more than me that all this ends, I want my life before."
BP immediately sent his spokesman to the front to try to extinguish the fire. "Wherever he is, he is still in touch with what is happening" on the oil spill, said one of them. It is also his "first day off" since the beginning of the disaster, said another.
In vain, well beyond the White House, critics recycled again and again on all sides. For Greenpeace, the attitude of Mr. Hayward "puts salt in the wounds" of victims of the spill, while the New York Times noted on Sunday that Mr.Hayward had "triggered a new controversy." "The culmination of arrogance", has even dropped the Republican Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, one of the states affected by the spill. "The yacht should rather be there picking up and clean the oil," he said on Fox News.
These remonstrances conclude a difficult week for the controversial boss of BP, which is expected to retire soon from the daily management of the crisis.Auditioned Thursday to Congress, an officer was entitled to the same ton of comments from elected officials shake their heads at the mistakes in front of the BP oil spill.
The British group would also raise $ 50 billion to fund the cost of oil spill in which the fund of 20 billion dollars that BP has agreed to create this effect, according to British press.
It is also to reassure the markets after the steep decline of BP action.
BP has also ensured he paid $ 104 million in response to complaints from residents of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the spill, indicating having received a total of 64,000 complaints.
The group gets an average total of 25,000 barrels of crude per day, according to U.S. Coast Guard, while the well located at 1,500 m depth spits each day between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels (up to 9.5 million liters) .
Swiss bank UBS announced a net profit of 2.2 billion francs (1.5 billion euros) in the first quarter of 2010, after a loss of 1.98 billion francs in the same period last year.
Analysts polled by Reuters on average expected a net profit of 2.02 billion francs.
The bank had warned the markets before its general meeting that it anticipated a positive result before tax "of at least 2.5 billion francs.This post finally rises to 2.81 billion for the period under review.
On this occasion, the school had indicated that the net outflow of money in all activities had been "significantly lower than the fourth quarter of 2009.
UBS, which included a net outflow of 8 billion francs in wealth management and Swiss Bank, has reported a final amount of 8.2 billion.
The bank anticipated output of 7 billion in Wealth Management Americas and 3 billion for its asset management, and withdrawals have finally amounted to 7.2 billion and 2.6 billion respectively.
The investment bank has marked her return, earnings before taxes have tripled to 1.19 billion francs from 297 million a year earlier.The segment of trading bonds, currencies and commodities (FICC) has quintupled its revenues to 2.17 billion against 496 million a year earlier.
The equity ratio improved to 16% at end March 2010 against 15.4% at end December 2009.
"We are well positioned to achieve our medium term," said CEO Oswald J. Grübel, quoted in the statement.
UBS expects a gradual improvement of the results of asset management and asset management, adding that the net outflow of capital would be "relatively moderate in the coming time."
Never has a country had not yet obtained a loan of that amount: the countries of the euro area and the IMF have pledged – conditionally – 110 billion euros to Greece three years. A rescue plan for unprecedented growth. Greek crisis is far from over.
The € 110 billion is enough?
Greece needs money, lots of money to finance its huge debt, this year close to 300 billion euros and is expected to peak in 2013 to nearly 150% of GDP. Now the country that is experiencing the worst financial crisis in its history, no longer able to finance on the markets by issuing bonds. Or is prohibitively expensive. Loans from the EU and the IMF at a rate "preferential" 5% are therefore welcome.They will allow Greece to avoid having recourse to financial markets for at least 12 months according to analysts at Goldman Sachs, according to the IMF 18 months or almost three years according to Natixis. For Philippe Sabuco, economist at BNP Paribas, the plan "gives Greece a breath of oxygen, time to clean up its finances without the pressure of markets". "This is likely to reassure the markets," he assures.
The market pressure is she back down?
A little, even if financial markets have allowed the development aid for Greece with skepticism. The situation has improved – in moderation – on the front of Greek government bonds, whose rates remain at very high (around 8.59% for bonds of 10 years and 9% for bonds to two years ). European shares closed broadly higher on Monday, May 3, but the euro remained below $ 1.32.But no matter, since Greece will now and for at least one year to contract.
Greece can it succeed in its fiscal?
In return for financial assistance from the EU and IMF, Athens is committed to reduce by ten points over its budget deficit by 2014, equivalent to 30 billion euros in savings. Cups of public wages and public spending, freeze pensions, increase in VAT, tax and taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and gasoline are on the menu of the Greek government. With regard to economic analysts, the plan of adjustment is "doable." "Provided it is well established," warns Laurence Boone of Barclays Capital. Politically, its adoption by the Greek Parliament is not in doubt, the socialist majority in power supported by the main right-wing party.However, the pill will be more difficult to move public opinion.
Read also: What would happen if France swallowed the potion Greek
The Greeks are they willing to accept the cure of austerity?
Even if the popular support in the person of Prime Minister George Papandreou remains strong, opinion polls show growing opposition to austerity measures. For the Greeks, the plan is largely synonymous with painful efforts: life will become more expensive, their purchasing power will fall and unemployment threatens to explode. The public sector, the main focus of the austerity measures, is the most hostile. The unions are ready to fight against this shock therapy. They call for a new – the third in less than three months – day nationwide strike Wednesday, May 5 The mobilization will be a test of the government's ability to impose its plan.
When Greece Will she get out of the crisis?
The downside of this fiscal restraint is the recession that looks worse-than-expected decline of at least 4% of GDP this year and 2.6% in 2011, -2% in 2009. "Fighting against the economic crisis, as is now the priority for Greece," said Philippe Sabuco. But "this new program of fiscal consolidation will have a depressive effect on domestic demand, which could lead, ultimately, tax revenue by less than expected," said economist of BNP Paribas. To support the return of growth expected in 2012 (+1.1% increase in GDP by Athens), the Greek government plans to make more flexible the labor market. It also intends to fight against tax evasion which, according to economists, could rebuild the Greek budget of several percentage points – the black market economy represents between 20 and 40% of Greek GDP.However, Laurence Boone Regrets, "there is little detail in the Greek plan on structural reforms to raise the country's growth. The Greek'économie suffers from several weaknesses: it is not competitive and dependent on cyclical sectors at a lower value (shipping, tourism and agribusiness).