Financial, Business, Personal Finance News

European markets end up, the CAC40 is 3.27%

European shares posted their third Thursday at the close win in a row, driven by the commitment of Paris and Berlin to keep Greece in the euro area.

In Paris, the CAC-40 ended up on 3.27% to 3045.62 points.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has also helped to sustain the upward movement of European stock. She said Thursday that it would conduct operations at a fixed rate to three months from October to December, offering to banks as many dollars as they want.

These operations are intended to amortize any drying up of liquidity that could occur later this year.

Banks in the euro area show a gain of 6%.BNP Paribas in particular gaining 13.4%, after surging 22% to the announcement of the ECB.

However, UBS ended the day on a loss of 10.8%.

A trader suspected of being linked to losses of some $ 2 billion announced Thursday morning by UBS was arrested in London, said on Thursday from several sources.

The Chinese car manufacturer Geely plans to invest in Indonesia

Chinese Geely Automobile Holdings plans to invest two billion dollars (1.4 billion euros) in Indonesia to meet the high demand for vehicles in the country, a newspaper reported Wednesday.

Geely could make Indonesia its production base for exports to other countries in Southeast Asia, including Australia and New Zealand, we read in the newspaper Kontan, quoting the Director General of a subsidiary of Geely, Budi Pramono.

The Indonesian economic growth comes from increased spending of the middle class and the economy could grow 6.8% this year, according to the central bank.

Geely, which owns 14 dealerships in Indonesia, has a sales target of 2,450 vehicles this year.

The Chinese company plans to build a factory in Cikarang, near the capital Jakarta by 2014 to manufacture 30,000 cars a year, the newspaper said.

Geely bought Volvo from Ford in August 2010 for $ 1.8 billion (1.4 billion), concluding the largest takeover of a foreign automaker by a Chinese.

Barack Obama criticizes the "imprudence" of Congress on debt

Following a meeting with congressional leaders, the White House Saturday criticized the "reckless political games" of the U.S. Congress on the thorny issue of raising the debt ceiling of the United States.

President Barack Obama continues to oppose a short-term renewal of the ceiling of the debt, according to a statement from the White House could lead to a deterioration in the rating of sovereign debt by U.S. agencies notation.

"Congress should stop playing recklessly with our economy, it would be better off to show responsibility and do its job – namely to avoid a default and reduce the deficit," said Jay Carney, spokesman for the House white.

For his part, John Boehner, Republican chairman of the House of Representatives, said he sought with other congressional leaders to find a solution "bipartisan" – beyond the party lines – to raise the debt ceiling of By the deadline of August 2 and avoid a failure of the United States.

In a statement issued after the meeting with the head of the U.S. executive, John Boehner says: "The leaders of the House and Senate will work to find a bipartisan solution to significantly reduce spending in Washington and preserve the full faith and credit enjoyed by the United States. "

The U.S. president has gathered around him the chairman of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner, Harry Reid, Democratic majority leader in the Senate, Vice President Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, minority leader in the Democratic House of Representatives.

If Congress does not fall by 2 August the ceiling of the debt of the United States, currently set at 14 300 billion, federal agencies can no longer be funded.Investors remain confident that an agreement will be reached on time but the concern is gaining the markets, a U.S. default on their debt is likely to trigger a global economic shock.

The United States now face the "real risk" to see the bill for its sovereign debt broken down by rating agencies, said Friday an official from the White House.

Democrats and Republicans agree that raising the debt ceiling begins with a budget deficit reduction but both sides fail to agree on how to get there.

Barack Obama and John Boehner appeared to move toward a deficit reduction agreement for $ 3.000 billion dollars but voices were raised in the Democratic camp to protest cuts in welfare benefits without immediate increase of taxes in return.

The president said he had submitted a proposal "extraordinarily fair" to John Boehner, but he was clear on Friday that the Republican had broken off negotiations once it had stopped responding to phone calls.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 1.22% at closing

The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended up 1.22% on Friday, supported by its financials in the wake of satisfactory results delivered Thursday by Morgan Stanley while exports have benefited from the strengthening of the euro against the yen.

The Nikkei gained 121.72 points to 10,132.11 and the Topix, broader, took 1.01% to 868.81.

Analysts said the path to be taken by Japanese values ​​in the near future will largely depend on the evolution of the dollar / yen, but also the developments of the situation on the front of the European debt.

For now, the financial markets have focused on after Morgan Stanley has reassured investors by reporting a quarterly loss less than expected.

The Japanese banking stocks index closed up 2.33%, signing a fourth consecutive session progress.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the first Japanese bank by assets and shareholder of Morgan Stanley in 22%, took 3.3%, while Sumitomo Mitsui gained 3.6%.

Exports in turn benefited from the strengthening of the euro, which climbed to a high of two weeks on the platform EBS, after leaders of the eurozone announced Thursday night to have reached an agreement aimed at alleviating Greece.

Canon has gained 1.39% and Sony Corp. was awarded 1.11%.

Carrefour sees his ambitions evaporate Brazilian

The abandonment of Abilio Diniz proposed merger between the Brazilian subsidiary of Carrefour and distributor Grupo Pao de Acucar (GPA) is another setback for the giant French distributor who struggle to adjust its performance in mature markets in Europe .

The withdrawal of the state bank BNDES, supposed to finance in part the operation, coupled with the overwhelming opposition expressed Tuesday by the Board of Directors of Casino, were due to the commitment shown so far by the President of GPA, the Billionaire Abilio Diniz.

In an abrupt about-face, the businessman said last night that the project was "suspended", ending the hopes of Crossroads to increase its exposure in a strategic market with strong growth.

The second is a worldwide distributor delicate position. Already weakened by three successive warnings about its results since last fall, he announced Wednesday that operating profit would fall 23% in the first half because of its poor performance in France.

He has not given much to its annual targets as all the analysts said, however, out of reach.

CASINO HAS PLAYED ON ALL TABLES

"The Brazilian deal is dead.This is a new blow to the strategy and management of Carrefour, "said one analyst who requested anonymity.

The French giant has in his strayed into a complicated issue and the outcome of which was the least risky in light of existing commitments towards Casino.

To Herve Mangin, fund manager at Axa IM, the market fears that Brazil joins the series of false hopes given by the group in recent years.

In exchange, according to new lows hit in the opening, the title has recovered and showed an increase of 0.8% to 22.17 euros to 14.15, in a stable market.

At these courses, it shows a fall of more than 28% since the beginning of the year.

"We arrive at a true value to the case.Investors buy at that price, but the question of management or strategy, "said one trader.

Casino, for which the market had already largely mediated Tuesday, took for its 2.13% to 64.84 euros, limiting its loss to 11% since January.

"The overwhelming opposition of the board of Casino was the main factor that determined Diniz to back down," said a close case. For the Brazilian, this operation was inconceivable without the group Saint Etienne, they added.

It is true that in the battle, Casino has been sustained.First attacking Abilio Diniz before an arbitral tribunal, then proceed to an intense lobbying Brazilian authorities by speaking of "expropriation" and finally engaged, through a board of directors unanimously (with the exception of the voice of Abilio Diniz) in an attack in good standing of all the economic aspects of the project.

A FACE-TO-FACE FINE

While Carrefour has submitted its agreement to the green light from the BNDES, the French group could only take note Wednesday morning that "the conditions of a merger are not met."

However, its chief financial officer said Wednesday during a conference call that if a new offer was presented, Carrefour could study it.

Seeing as the days wane the public support of his country, Abilio Diniz had assured the opportunity to find other ways of funding than the BNDES.

But in the present circumstances, it is unclear how it could come back to Carrefour with a proposal that would still not the business of its French rival.

In the short term, the question arises of face-to-face between hard Abilio Diniz and Jean-Charles Naouri and governance of a group (GPA) that they co-control through its entire holding Wilkes.

Some observers suggest a possible release of Abilio Diniz before the expiry of a pact that binds to the Casino.

"Today, Casino has clearly scored points.The pact with Diniz seems flawless, Casino has the right for him, a factor that has gradually been built by the Brazilian political circles, "said one investor.

Ally historic Casino in Brazil, Abilio Diniz was proposed late June to Carrefour, in a complex pattern, to merge its Brazilian operations with those of GPA to give birth to an industry heavyweight weighing more than 30 billion euros in turnover business.

This scheme quickly approved by the board of Carrefour, had immediately provoked the wrath of Casino, under a shareholders' agreement signed with Abilio Diniz ten years ago, can take control of GPA as of June 2012.

The debt crisis is spreading dangerously in Europe

The reluctance of Europeans to the establishment of a second aid package to Greece concern the markets. The financial turmoil won Italy and Spain. The logo of the euro to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt.

Several countries expressed concern Monday, July 11 the risk of the whole euro area gained by the turbulence caused by the debt crisis in the markets, while Italy pitching turn and called for swift action to stabilize the situation. "We have seen tensions in financial markets in different countries (euro area), maybe a little more in Italy than elsewhere, but we are witnessing the tensions across the euro area and so we have find a solution, "said Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders, before a meeting with his counterparts of the monetary union in Brussels.

The banking sector has been particularly rough ride Monday on European financial markets, fears of a default of Greece and the risk of contagion to Italy feeding the fears of investors. Anxiety was setting across Europe with an index Stoxx European banking fell by 2.49%. Italian banks were the most affected. The Milan Stock Exchange let go of 4.3%, as the Lisbon Stock Exchange. The Madrid Stock Exchange it was down 3% Monday afternoon.

"We are faced with something that is more systemic" that the only case of Greece and "the stability of the euro area as a whole", he echoed the Spanish Finance Minister, Elena Salgado. His Greek counterpart Evangelos Venizelos has also called on Europeans to end their procrastination on how to deal with a crisis that has lasted over a year and a half."Today we need a strong and clear message in favor of stability, not only in Greece but in the euro area," he said.

The reluctance of Europeans focus on the development of a second aid package promised to Greece, on a scale similar to the first 110 billion euros in loans decided a year ago. They come from differences over the need to help this time the country's private creditors, banks, insurance companies and pension funds, and the modalities of such participation. "We must now find the guidelines for private sector involvement," stressed Mr. Reynders. Germany, the Netherlands and Finland in particular are a requirement to unlock new loans. "A substantial private sector participation is a pre-condition", reiterated Monday the Dutch Minister of Finance Jan Kees de Jager.

Other countries and the Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) are much more reserved because they fear that fueling the nervousness of the markets and do not feed a contagion to other fragile states. Madrid is one of reluctance. "Spain has always been cautious about this because it may cause instability. Since the beginning we fear that generates instability," said the Minister of Finance. In any event, the Belgian minister has insisted he does not force you to hand to the banks. "I am sure we will come to an agreement today on a voluntary basis" for this contribution, Mr. Reynders said, calling for a French proposal to "rollover" of the bonds: the banks would be invited to renew their loans to Greece where they have already made them mature.

However, this option has the lead in the wing since the rating agency Standard and Poor's warned it would cause a default part of Greece, that Europe wants to avoid. So, even if it does not receive the approval of rating agencies and have a default, the Netherlands and other countries favor to present to a more radical option. "We did not say that this should be mandatory (…) but some rating agencies will consider any substantial interest as not entirely voluntary," said the Dutch Minister.

Wall Street achieves its best week in two years

U.S. stock indexes began the month of July ended with a bang in Friday's session on strong increases, reaching unprecedented weekly performance since July 2009.

The Dow Jones closed up 1.36% or 168.43 points to 12,582.77, while the S & P 500 rose 1.44% or 19.03 points at 1339.67.

The Nasdaq meanwhile gained 1.53% (42.51 points) to 2816.03.

After one week during which each session ended up, the three indices gained 5.4%, respectively, 5.6% and 6.2%.

In addition to signs of healing on the Greek debt crisis, which supported all of the week, Friday's session took advantage of good numbers of manufacturing production, to reassure the state of the U.S. economy.

The ISM manufacturing index in June stood at 55.3 after 53.5 in May. The rebound in the first four months left to hope that the recent slowdown in U.S. growth is only temporary.

Ford and General Motors, which announced sales up though below expectations for the month of June, saw their shares rose by 1.67% and 0.72%.

The Belgian regulator urges Electrabel to split into two

Belgian power company Electrabel, a subsidiary of GDF Suez, should be split into two in order to increase competition, said the head of the Regulatory Commission of Electricity and Gas (CREG), Belgium.

Electrabel would split its operations and supply power to promote competition, says the head of the Creg François Possemiers in an interview published Friday by the newspaper L'Echo.

"If we have one side of producers and other suppliers can set prices in a completely free (…) it will be real competition," he says.

The electricity prices in Belgium are among the highest in Europe and François Possemiers noted that his proposal would benefit companies such as green energy company Lampiris, which must buy its electricity.

As for electricity suppliers, the proposal goes further than the rules of the European Union today, that simply separating the producer and the network operator.

The plan was sent to Belgian authorities and the Creg plans to raise the issue with his European colleagues in the coming weeks.

There are no plans to restructure the debt of Greece, says IMF

Support programs that the International Monetary Fund and the European Union provide to Greece do not provide restructuring, said Friday John Lipsky, Acting Executive Director of the IMF.

"We have an ongoing program with the Greek authorities, supported by ourselves and with our European partners, and this program is not considering a debt restructuring or reshaping or anything," said John Lipsky in a Maintenance CNBC.

John Lipsky said that discussions were ongoing with Egypt and should lead to a major program of economic aid."We are currently under discussion but it seems likely that we'll end up with a plan of support for the Egyptian curriculum that will include perhaps three to four billion dollars in aid from the IMF on a 11 program to 12 billion dollars," said John Lipsky, which provides interim senior management after the resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Siemens ordered to pay 648 million euros Areva

Siemens said Thursday it had been condemned by a tribunal to pay 648 million euros to her former French partner Areva to have formed an alliance with Russia's Rosatom nuclear.

"According to the court's decision, Siemens has not completely fulfilled its contractual obligations to his former partner Areva," Siemens said in a statement.

"As a result, Siemens will pay 648 million euros Areva plus interest," the Bavarian group.

Siemens has announced its withdrawal in 2009, Areva NP and the subsequent sale of its 34% stake in that company to its French partner Areva.

But the conditions of separation have generated a dispute between two groups while German the same year entered into a partnership with Russia's Rosatom.

Areva had then initiated arbitration proceedings against Siemens. End of 2009, Areva announced that the proposed alliance between Siemens and Rosatom had been blocked to allow time to finish the mediation on the price of the output of the German Areva NP.

A price of 1.62 billion euros for the 34% stake was finally set in March by independent experts and then Areva bought the shares on the basis of Siemens.

But there was still an ongoing arbitration to determine if the discussions with Rosatom constituted a breach of shareholders agreement between Siemens and Areva.Hence the decision Thursday.

The amount of 648 million euros "corresponds to the full penalty provided for violation of provisions of the shareholders' agreement between Areva and Siemens in 2001, representing 40% of the value of the stake held by Siemens in Areva NP, "Areva said in a statement.

Last year, Siemens has launched a parallel action in asking the European Commission to cancel the non-compete clause which prevents him from being in competition with Areva for eight years.

Siemens earmark the amount payable in the accounts of its fiscal third quarter.