Posts Tagged ‘customers’

The CAC 40 ended in the 3900 points

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Ambiance morose Monday at the Paris Bourse. The CAC 40 has yielded 0.93% to finish the session at 3 890.91 points. The activity is particularly low, with about 2.5 billion traded on the great values of the Paris stock exchange. Other stock markets retreated in unison in London, the FTSE lost 0.57% and in Frankfurt the Dax dropped 0.70%. As for the European indices, the Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 0.90%.

Caution was also needed on Wall Street before the meeting Tuesday of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Federal Reserve. In session, the Dow Jones lost 0.38% and 0.87% on Nasdaq. The Fed should keep its no surprise key interest rate, the interbank rate on a daily close to zero and reiterate its commitment to maintain a low level for a "prolonged period".More than the rate decision widely expected, investors will scrutinize the speeches of leaders of the U.S. central bank. They watch for a possible change in tone or vocabulary that could be the harbinger of early recovery in interbank rates, especially after raising the discount rate last month low fee cash advance .

Increased industrial production

The announcement Monday of a U.S. industrial production slightly exceeded expectations in February, rising for the eighth consecutive month, failed to take the course up.

In New York and Paris the past experts of raw materials and steel were under pressure, pulled down by rising greenback.Also note on Wall Street, as the parent company of Calvin Klein, the Philips-Van Heusen, jumped more than 10%. The group will buy the brand of leisure wear Tommy Hilfiger in UK investment funds Apax Partners, creating a new giant of the fashion and confirming thaw market mergers and acquisitions.

Banks that had climbed a lot these last time also suffered profit taking. Societe Generale has yielded 2.24%, 1.77% Credit Agricole and BNP Paribas 1.21%.

Released crisis: OECD insists on reducing deficits

Friday, March 12th, 2010

When and how to get out of recovery plans without jeopardizing the fragile economic recovery? If Obama Administration believes the time has come to reduce public spending, the Europeans are driven by the market to tighten their belts. A timetable for ending the crisis is the agenda of the next Ecofin. The OECD can only be welcomed.

In a report presented Wednesday, the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development calls for post-crisis "progressive" and "contact" who favor reducing deficits, without neglecting the structural reforms essential to future growth. "The global recession has left deep scars," said Secretary General Angel Gurria. The OECD estimated at 3% of GDP the impact of the crisis on the potential long-term growth."The only way to begin to heal the wounds is to take steps now that will allow our economies to regain their lost growth potential," added Angel Gurria.

For rich countries, priority will be to reduce the deficit while fighting against unemployment. The equation means that reforms focusing on the rate of employment rather than productivity. Each state must first stop gradually according to budgetary margins and recovery, the outstanding public support, including aid industry as the premium breaks or the financing of major infrastructure works cheap payday advance .

Carbon tax and VAT

To reduce deficits, we must act on spending and taxes. "We recommend targeted actions," said chief economist Pier Carlo Padoan.Be careful not to touch the most productive expenditure in education and health research and development.

On the fiscal side, the OECD recommends that taxes do not jeopardize the long-term growth, such as the carbon tax to "encourage the development of a more sustainable economy and contribute to the well-being of citizens."

Another tip: it is better to tax consumption rather than labor income or corporate profits. And act quickly. "If we want fiscal consolidation in 2011, policy measures must be taken now," says the chief economist of the OECD Pier Carlo Padoan. The most indebted countries, like Greece, are requested to take urgent and radical action, to borrow at lower cost.The OECD has welcomed yesterday the plan of austerity Portugal, who combined tax increases and wage freezes for staff.

On the monetary side, the OECD recommends withdrawal of the measures "Unconventional" credit assistance, but without higher interest rates in the short term because there is "no inflation pressures in countries more industrialized.

Hartz IV: "Germany must reduce its spending"

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

LE FIGARO. – Ruling of the Court puts it into question the whole system "Hartz IV"?

Niels Diederich. – No. The decision of the Court concerns only the welfare of minors. In the system of "Hartz IV", children whose parents are unemployed or who are raised in single-parent families, indirectly affect the state aid. However, they receive only 70 to 80% of the amount awarded to an adult. In 2005, the legislature had found that children have lower needs than adults and had applied a standard reduction. The judges felt that we can not calculate the social benefits attributed to children on the same basis as for adults. They require the development of a new scale of separate calculation, so that their needs are taken into account.The government will soon review the text to make its corrections.

The competitiveness of German companies is in danger?

Not because this decision they will not carry more loads, it does not hurt German exports. The companies co-finance the system of unemployment insurance by 50%. But it is a separate mechanism. The system "Hartz IV" is funded through taxes. But the state has pledged not to raise taxes. It will therefore reduce expenditure to finance the surcoût.La Court is often accused of conservatism.

That shutdown threat does not modernization of Germany?

Politicians always moan against the Constitutional Court. Created after the Nazi era to serve as a safeguard against the state, it has, indeed, enormous powers. But judges do not prevent the country's modernization.On the contrary. In 1949, when the conservative party (CDU) had held that in cases of dispute over the education of children, the man still had the last word on the woman, the Court ruled that the law contradicted the principle of equality between citizens. Since the 1950s, it required that disputes be settled by a judge, thus laying the foundations of the principle of equality between men and women in the country.

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"Berlin will have to increase its aid to the poorest

ECB: Greece will "in the right direction"

Thursday, February 4th, 2010

No surprises from Frankfurt. The European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday left its main interest rate unchanged at 1%. Earlier, the Bank of England also announced the continuation of its policy rate at 0.5%.

In March the Governing Council of the ECB "will take decisions on (…) a gradual lifting of the measures of liquidity [in support of banks] who are no longer as necessary as in the past," said Jean-Claude Trichet at a press conference.

Long awaited on the subject of Greece, Jean-Claude Trichet has held that the fiscal savings by Greece are "not in the right direction.""We are confident in the ability of Greece will take all decisions necessary to achieve the objective" of a deficit below 3% of GDP by 2012, said President of the ECB personal business card . No exceptions will be made for any area countries, "he said.

While Portugal and Spain in turn disturb markets, Jean-Claude Trichet reiterated that it was "crucial" that all countries "respect strictly the exit procedures for excessive deficits."

"According to the International Monetary Fund, the overall deficit of the euro area will rise to 6%", said Jean-Claude Trichet. "The United States will be at 10%, Japan is also at 10%.(…) A more flattering comparison for the euro area! Nevertheless, we exhibit unabsence total of convenience "in the direction of monetary policy," he said.

Sarkozy: "I believe in voluntarism"

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

In 2009, France "has avoided the worst," said President Nicolas Sarkozy during the presentation of his wishes to the economic forces at Cholet, on Wednesday. The Head of State recalled that "a year ago, we were among the worst crisis since the 30s.

If "we have avoided the worst, because we made the right decisions despite the controversy," he claimed. "For six months, growth has returned."

These decisions were taken because "I believe in volunteerism, has hammered the head of state. We must "regulate capitalism to create the right conditions for our prosperity," he said, praising "dialogue and reconciliation."

"No French has seen its savings challenged. No financial institution has gone bankrupt, "he said. "I made a commitment: that the support plan for banks will not cost anything to the French."Better still, the plan "has reported 2 billion euros to the French government by interest" donated by the aided institutions.

Nicolas Sarkozy also attacked the "Malthusian" raging in France, "idea that we could reduce unemployment by sharing work", a reference to 35 hours. He also taunted "the illusion that the decline would be the only solution to preserve the environment."

More to come …

OPEC: consensus on maintaining production levels

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

The suspense was lifted on the eve of a meeting of oil cartel in Luanda. Abdallah el-Badri, secretary general of the organization, said Monday the consensus between the different member countries. An increase in OPEC production "is not in the radar" for next year, he also said, saying the current price levels were "very comfortable".

"Stocks (…) are a little high," then said Abdullah el-Badri, adding that the cartel, which is not less than 40% of world production, was to "bring them back to reasonable levels."

It has, finally, stressed the importance of meeting production quotas imposed on member countries. In late 2008, OPEC had agreed to remove the oil market 4.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to stem the collapse in oil prices which had touched $ 30 a barrel.In November, the 11 members bound by quotas (excluding Iraq) pumped 1.6 million bpd more than its official ceiling, according to the International Atomic Energy.

Citigroup could raise 20 billion to repay the state

Tuesday, December 15th, 2009

After Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and most recently Bank of America, Citigroup could in turn repay the 45 billion dollars in aid it has received from the American state to cope with financial crisis .

Dick Parsons, the chairman of Citigroup, said Wednesday on CNBC that the bank was in talks with regulators about the end of the repayment plan support Tarp (Troubled Asset Relief Program).

A fundraiser for 20 billion dollars (14 billion euros) with issuance of securities should be made according to sources quoted by CNBC in order to finance a portion of the refund. But to finally release the Tarp, which allows time for Washington to fix the amount of remuneration of employees of the group, such a transaction might not be sufficient.

The complexity of the assistance is in question as well: besides the 45 billion dollars in direct aid, the U.S. government has also agreed to $ 7 billion of "Preferred Securities" to offset the additional guarantees granted portfolio. And 25 of the 45 billion have subsequently been converted into shares of Citigroup type "ordinary". If fundraising is necessary, it should also allow for participation by the government.

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