World and National News

The U.S. stock markets started Wednesday's session in hesitation, but soon found the beautiful colors at the beginning of the meeting, brought by investors reassured by better earnings prospects in the banking sector. An enthusiasm that was accentuated throughout the meeting: at the close, the Dow Jones climbed 2.82% to 10,018 points (best performance since May 27), again surpassing the psychological barrier of 10,000 points for the first time since June 28, the S & P flies from 3.13% to 1060 points and the Nasdaq similarly 3.1% to 2159 points.

State Street Bank (9.9% to U.S. $ 36.64) outperformed all other banks, which also have very good performances, like Bank of New York Mellon (6.35%), Northern Trust Corp. (+ 6.92%), JP Morgan (4.95%), BoA (4.55 %)…

On the foreign exchange market, the euro remained stable against the dollar.It was trading at 1.2628 dollar. The day before, the euro had increased after the publication of an improvement less-than-expected activity in the services sector in the United States, highlighted by the index of purchasing managers published by IMS .

After the disappointment of Friday on the employment figures, investors should be particularly careful this week to weekly figures for unemployment benefits that are to be published Thursday.

At the dawn of interim results

On Wall Street as on most other major world places, operators should play the card of caution this week before the opening of the interim results season.

Today, the discount retailer Family Dollar Stores (-8.14% 36.23 dollar) has released disappointing interim results. This is the only company in the S & P 500 to publish its results this week.Within the Dow, the ball begins, as always, with results from Alcoa (3.23% to 10.54 dollars) July 12, next Monday.

Always on the side of values, Google (3.24% to 450.2 U.S. dollars) said Wednesday that it still awaiting a decision on renewing its operating license in China, needed to operate the largest Internet market in the world, said a spokesman for the American company and a Chinese official.

Despite his attempt to play the holdouts last-minute income Multimedia Group (MRG) was not accepted Monday by the band The World as a candidate for his recovery. In a statement released Monday, The World soberly describes the proposed "new expression of interest" without being recognized among the bids recovery group. "The world has so far received two offers from investors. This group BY SFA (holding the Nouvel Observateur) Claude Perdriel ally groups Prisa and Orange, and the consortium formed by MM. Bergé, Niel and Pigasse, "he says. Now, the two trios competing trying to convince companies and individuals. Hearings began Monday afternoon and will continue today.The company personnel, who have somehow a veto on the appointment of their successor, will express their preference in a general meeting on 24 and 25 June

Reportedly, the two bids, some thirty pages each, are accurate. The trio SFA-Prisa-France Telecom plans to inject 100 million euros (10 million from a bank loan) in the group for 67% of the capital. Perdriel propose to hold 45% of the capital, against 35% and 20% for Prisa for France Telecom. Stephane Richard's group plans to inject about 40 million euro offer for the shares of Lagardere, whose 7 million for the participation of 17.27% in Le Monde and 33 million for the 34% interest in the Interactive World .This values the total equity of the group (after debt) to around 40 million euros …

Create a foundation

For its part, the trio offers Pigasse-Niel-Bergé would book the group's employees a surprise. In addition to 110 million euros available for 65% of the capital, the trio was ready to fund "the possibility of personal companies of the group to return to their blocking minority," a reliable source. Thus, Pierre Bergé undertake, if its bid is successful, to create a foundation in which he would pay ten million for the company personnel can see their share increase by 20% (at the end of recapitalization) to 33%, the blocking minority."The relevance of this investment lies in the fact that it would pay the passage of the tickets out of shareholders Lagardère and Prisa diluted by the recapitalization," says one.

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A conciliator bedside World

Rakuten weaves its web internationally. After the acquisition last month of the American Buy.com for $ 250 million and the creation of a joint venture with PT Global Mediacom in Indonesia, the leading Japanese e-commerce has announced Thursday it had acquired all of PriceMinister capital for 200 million euros.

The Japanese offered as a place of choice in a market where e-commerce still has the wind in its sails. Online sales have jumped 30% in France in the first quarter of 2010 compared to the same period of 2009, according to figures from the Federation of e-commerce and distance selling (Fevad).

"This acquisition is a significant step towards achieving our goal of creating a global platform on which consumers can shop, whatever their country of origin," said the Japanese group said in a statement.

International ambitions

If Rakuten has big, PriceMinister take this announcement to reaffirm its own ambitions. "While PriceMinister happened since March on the top step of the podium in terms of audience e-commerce in France, we sought to further influence our development," explains Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, cofounder and CEO of the group, in a statement released Thursday.

The French site, which boasted 11 million members and an offer of nearly 150 million products in March 2010, specifies that the transaction was carried out by the group's European subsidiary, Rakuten Europe. The founders of PriceMinister (Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet, Pierre Krings, Justin Ziegler and Olivier Mathiot) "have a commitment for a minimum of five years to support the development of the brand in France and Europe. A period during which the staff of the group should remain in place.

"Rakuten has experience and expertise unmatched in the field of Internet commerce," says Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet. "By combining our respective strengths, PriceMinister will be able to accelerate its growth in France and Europe." If it is already present in Spain and England, and has successfully diversified its business expanding into areas of real estate , email marketing and online travel, the French group is a featherweight against its Japanese rival.

PriceMinister sold well

Rakuten has nearly 64 million members to date and posted sales worth 3.2 billion dollars (2.5 billion euros) in 2009, the group said. In its statement, the Japanese lifted the veil on the financial results of PriceMinister, a secret that the French site had always managed to keep.

Thus, according to Rakuten, PriceMinister recorded a turnover of 39.9 million euros in 2009 against 38.1 million in 2008 (including sales of the subsidiary car-Mixad 321Auto sold in March 2009). The site has also experienced a slight net loss of 105,000 euros last year. In 2008, this loss had reached 9.4 billion euros. Sold for 200 million euros, five times its revenue, PriceMinister has at least made a good deal.

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The announcement was delayed but brutal. While markets have somewhat relaxed their attention on Greece, the rating agency Moody's downgraded four notches Monday of the note of most indebted country in the euro area, "A3" to "Ba1". After his colleague Standard & Poor's, the second of the three agencies have downgraded the debt of Greek in junk bonds.

The announcement comes as setbacks. "Moody's has not sufficiently changed its ratings on European countries, the sudden it went off the crisis," Norbert J. Gaillard, a consultant to the World Bank and specialized rating agencies. The degradation of the note in Greece four notches therefore reads as an attempt to "catch up past blindness," said the economist.

A blindness that also concerns Spain, according to some analysts. And the investors live badly."What is it to follow a triple A rating agency that a country undergoing a difference in rates reflecting the risk very high?" Critic Jean-Francois Robin, strategist at Natixis, referring to Spain . The latter receives the same notes that France and Germany, so it pays interest rates much higher.

Sign of disapproval or casual coincidence? Pierre Cailleteau, the head of the sovereign rating from Moody's, that is to say, fixing States Notes, recently left the company. The agency would not comment on his departure.

Stoicism

Greece, or Spain, are textbook examples and betray policy at Moody's. The agency notes in effect "through the economic cycle", without giving too much importance to the market turmoil. This stoicism was removed Moody's market reality, but had a beneficial effect.The agency has helped calm the markets by keeping his notes. His rivals, degrading the height of the crisis, have instead fueled the panic.

Now, even out of season, the degradation of the note in Greece by Moody's has led to protests. The European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Olli Rehn, said that Moody's decision on Greece on Tuesday "comes at a rather surprising and unfortunate, following the agreement on a program of macroeconomic adjustment between Greece, the Commission, the ECB and the IMF. "

Calculations of future property owners will soon have to change. According to Les Echos, the government would work aggressively to replace the tax credit on mortgage interest to, in effect since summer 2007. This tax advantage should be replaced next year by using direct state inflate the supposed personal contribution of households seeking homeownership.

According to the rapporteur of the budget Gilles Carrez UMP and MP Michel Piron, the current tax credit has its limits. This is a tax credit of 40% interest the first year and 20% four years following the acquisition of a principal residence. All in the limit of 7,500 euros for couples, plus 500 euros for each additional dependent.But this aid, which is paid only one year of purchase, would not have to drive up the share of first-time buyers in the total number of buyers at 70%, as desired by the government.

Worse for him, this assistance will be transformed into a niche tax for 376,000 households have benefited. The bill for the Government in 2009 amounted to 1.05 billion euros.

A reform modeled on the loan at zero

To fight against this windfall and increase the number of low income among the owners, the government should establish a direct support that would be paid at time of purchase. Directly integrated with the personal contribution, the latter would get loans more easily.

As the zero-interest loan, this assistance is not calculated as a percentage of interest paid but would be flat.It depends therefore tested household and would be combined with a zero interest loan. Small households are thus favored. The amount of aid will also be calculated according to the area of purchase.

The banks are not forgotten by this new device because they receive a tax credit on the companies. The state will also reimburse the loan interest on a shorter period than households.

The government hopes the bill contain the device to its projected level in 2010, 1.5 billion euros. The measure should be passed through the Finance Act 2011 and implemented starting next year.

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The index futures are predicting a slight opening up U.S. markets already after three consecutive sessions in green. Thursday, S & P 500 closed at its highest since 17 months.

Investors seemed reassured by the latest statistics. The U.S. trade deficit fell to 37.29 billion dollars from 39.9 billion in January. For specialists Barclays Exchange, "it is a pleasant surprise to the extent that economists were expecting a deficit of 41 billion dollars." Other good news side of the labor market "listings weekly unemployment fell to 462,000 from 469,000 the previous week.

On Wall Street will be sitting under the sign consumer with the publication of sales information for the month of February and the preliminary estimate of consumer confidence.Business inventories for the month of January will be published in late afternoon.

Shortly before the opening, futures on Nasdaq 100 and Standard & Poor's 500 advanced 0.01% respectively at 1925.50 points from 0.06% to 1151.30 points.

On the side of values, the CEO of Citigroup has pledged a return to profitability of the bank. The state could get rid of all of its shares within twelve months. The title of Citigroup rose 30% since the beginning of the month and by 20% since the stock market Monday.

For several sessions throughout the banking sector enjoys a renewed interest from investors. On Thursday, he was also concerned by the failure of talks in the U.S. Senate to reform the financial system.After several months of effort, Senator Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has not succeeded in concluding an agreement between Republicans and Democrats on this bill to reform the banking system.

In the energy sector, Devon Energy, a specialist in the production of oil will sell at BP Plc for seven billion dollars of assets located in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico.

Note also the manufacturer of semiconductor National Semi-conductor announced after the close of the NYSE, a profit of 53.2 million, or 22 cents a share against 18 cents expected by analysts' consensus. Turnover was 361.9 million against 348.6 million expected by analysts.

Good news for European women: since the month of May 2009, their unemployment rate, usually systematically higher than men, for the first time fell below theirs. A sudden catch that unfortunately we can not impute to the crisis. The sectors of industry and construction, traditionally male, have been particularly affected by the decline in economic activity, while those within the tertiary sector, more investment by women were generally spared. But this statistic, although seemingly positive for women, also stresses that many sectors are overwhelmingly invested in either one or the other sex.

The report Gr?sy devoted to professional equality between men and women, has certainly highlighted the "tremendous progress" already observed in the field: women now represent France in 47% of the workforce in 2007, and this 83% are women 25 to 49 years who work. Above all, the mix has risen sharply among the most skilled trades. The social portrait of INSEE reports that young women who leave the education system with a level of training on average than that of boys, have become a large majority among the legal profession (there are now so many lawyers than lawyers), communication, or doctors.Even among the skilled trades to more technical nature, where they remain in low numbers, a trend is emerging: there are now nearly 40% of female engineers or technical managers fresh out of school, as against 9% among older !

A marked polarization in low-skilled occupations

But the picture is not all rosy. And it seems that both ends of the scale of qualifications is the rub. At the top level, the proportion of women remains marginal: 8% of women just sit on boards of directors of the 500 largest French companies, so that a bill is to introduce a quota for women in these bodies. And it's almost the same sound of a bell among the least skilled jobs."The mix has even declined," says Florence Chappert, special assistant to the department skills, work and employment Anact (National Agency for the Improvement of Working Conditions). "Among low-skilled occupations, trades polarization between men and women is sometimes even more pronounced among beginners in the former, confirming Insee.

Overall, if the girls were always reduced appetite for professional studies, they are still more likely to opt for health and social sectors or specialties Secretariat, when it run. For boys, it is instead the power-electronic outweighs their votes.Result: the construction workers are at 98% of men, those in process industries are at 76%, while, unsurprisingly, 98% of secretaries are women, and that 98% of home helps, 75% administrative workers of category C, 99% of childminders … If the cultural environment is of course a factor in explaining this distribution, Florence Chappert said he is not alone: "If we wanted a stronger proportion of men among the home support, this would require review and atypical partial schedules that are so frequent, often at the expense of women, and raise wages, "said she. Just as the introduction of female workers would necessarily lead to a mitigation of the harshness of the trade."However, there is no question of the mix at any price: the men and women can sometimes lose to find exactly the same positions.

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The boss of EDF, Henri Proglio, presented Thursday to Laurent Wauquiez report on the promotion and development of alternation that Nicolas Sarkozy had ordered in April. Secretary of State for Employment wants some of its proposals – the promotion of alternation in terms of performance of public contracts, creating a portal to alternate or launching a campaign communication – to be "implemented immediately. To achieve the objective that five young people either in training by alternating between 2015 'and is closer to Germany in the field, it will launch workshops alternation.

Simplifying funding

These "think-tanks of learning", composed of representatives of training centers of chambers, organizations collecting funds and training of young apprentices must make by February "concrete answers to three questions major.

Primo, Laurent Wauquiez asked to indicate "how to help trainees in their daily lives, especially their conditions of transport, accommodation, purchase of equipment, their enterprise search or choice of their training.

Deuzio, he asks "how to develop alternate" and "extend to all levels of curriculum" and "tertiary trades" that employ only 8% of apprentices in France while there are massive deposits in tourism or call centers. The issue of quota systems, mentioned in the report Proglio, should be particularly addressed.

Thirdly, the Secretary of State for Employment will "simplify the steps or funding to encourage more companies to capitalize on the alternation.

Nearly 4 000 passengers per month this summer with tourists, 3 500 this fall against a thousand a year ago. Since the price rose 9.40 euro to 1 euro, whatever the length of the journey, the bus is "furiously trend in the Pyrenees-Orientales. The council did not expect when he decided in autumn 2008, to experiment the bus at low cost.

This success has not sealed the accounts of the county transportation department. "Last year, explains its director, Patrick Remy, revenues amounted to 900 bus 000. This is exactly the same budget line this year. Increased attendance has offset the lower price. We even managed to retain new users. "To balance the accounts, the services have been streamlined, including by replacing scheduled by demand services to avoid driving empty buses.In 2012, all municipalities will be well served. In the wake of the Pyrenees-Orientales, but also the Alpes-Maritimes, 29 departments have chosen this formula for the single rate between 1.50 and 2 euros.