Despite the strains imposed by Greece on the euro area, Italy was able to borrow Monday medium and long term 5.25 billion euros expected without any increase in interest rates. Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti presented in Rome on 4 December 2011 a new austerity plan of 20 billion euros by 2014
Italy has a bond issue passed Monday by taking test 5.25 billion euros in the medium and long term interest rates steady at almost three years, despite strong investor concerns for the euro area due to blockage policy in Greece.
The total demand of investors amounted to 9 billion euros, allowing the Treasury, which were up between 3.5 and 5.25 billion euros, reaching its maximum target, announced the Bank of Italy . As part of its main issue, the Italian Treasury has raised 3.5 billion of securities maturing in 2015 at a rate of 3.91% against 3.89% in the last similar operation on April 12. He also issued 542 million of securities due 2020 at a rate of 5.33%, 651 million of securities due 2022 at a rate of 5.66% and € 557 million of securities due 2025 at a rate of 5.90%.
The Bank of Italy does not compare the rates of these bonds with those recorded during previous shows. "The show went well overall," said Elia Lattuga, bond strategist in the bank UniCredit. "The maximum was reached," a "particularly good result" that the market was marked "by difficulties this morning," added Chiara Manenti Intesa Sanpaolo.
The political stalemate in Greece, which still has no government more than a week after the parliamentary elections, has plunged European stock markets Monday and caused a fever in the bond market.
Despite the success of this program by Rome, the Italian market also remained very tense. Secondary market, where exchange debt already issued, the rates in Italy were part of ten years at 5.724% to 5.495% cons 10:25 GMT Friday night while the Milan Stock Exchange 2.90% let go.
Friday, Italy, which faced since mid-April to a sharp rebound in rates after a strong expansion in the first quarter, recorded a great success on the debt market by placing 10 billion shares to three months and one year at declining rates.
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E.ON, the first group of German utilities, announced Wednesday a quarterly sales better than expected, the good performance of trading and renewable energy production offset declines production related to the abandonment of nuclear power in Germany.
The group recorded a 28% increase in sales to 35.7 billion euros, higher than the 30.14 billion euros predicted by Thomson Reuters SmartEstimates.
The group said last week it had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of approximately 3.8 billion euros, and net current of about 1.7 billion.
"These figures are not spectacular, but they are good," said one trader. The action was reported up 0.9% in transactions before trading.
The turnover of the trading subsidiary of the group rose 37% to 27.5 billion euros while the production of renewable energy generated sales up 7% to 617 million.
Since the beginning of the year, as E.ON has lost over 6%, impacted partly by its heavy exposure to nuclear power, while its main competitor RWE gained 18%.
The likely thrust of extremist parties in Greece, which could jeopardize the plan of assistance given to countries, markets further alarm that victory in the presidential election of Francois Hollande. Its program in effect no longer perceived as a threat to investors. Unlike 1981, the arrival of the socialist candidate for the Elysee should however not destabilize markets, which first opened in Asia in mid-European night.
The likely thrust of extremist parties in Greece, which could jeopardize the plan of assistance given to countries, markets further alarm that victory in the presidential election of Francois Hollande, whose program is no longer perceived as a threat by investors . "The week promises to be high risk, but paradoxically Greece weigh maybe more in the balance as the French election," said Valerie Plagnol, director of research at Credit Suisse.
Unlike 1981, the arrival of the socialist candidate for the Elysee should however not destabilize markets, which first opened in Asia in mid-European night. The Paris Bourse certainly gives ground for several weeks, but this trend is common to all European financial centers, plagued by fears about the economy of the eurozone. And the cost of refinancing the public debt of France has not increased more between the two rounds of presidential elections.
No challenge to the Treaty on the financial stability
Paris has borrowed Thursday nearly 7.5 billion euros at rates down. "Mr. Holland should not undermine the Treaty on European financial stability, but rather add to it a component of growth. On this point, it is not alone in wishing that in Europe, which tends to reassure "said Ms. Plagnol.
Long reluctant, Berlin is ready to work to "a growth pact for more competitiveness," the German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle. President of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, would also give this theme "at the center of the agenda" European. Mr. Holland on Sunday evening could have an exchange on these topics with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to one of his advisers.
If revenues diverge, more tracks are already being considered: increase the borrowing capacity of the European Investment Bank (EIB), spend more European structural funds in the euro area, establish 'project bonds', the European bonds for a specific project, or authorize the European Stability Mechanism (MES) to help a struggling industry and not just a state.
For Laurence Boone, chief economist for Europe U.S. investment bank Merrill Lynch, BofA, the alternation in France does not worry because "investors expect to conduct a moderate social policy".
Greece in the heart of concerns with the rise of extremist parties
Greece, whose people voted on Sunday for early elections, however crystallizes much more concern. Both sides pro-austerity, PASOK (Socialist) and New Democracy (right), who ruled together in a coalition since November 2011 collapsed in parliamentary elections Sunday, bringing together between 31 and 37% against more 77% in 2009, according to exit polls.
If they were confirmed, this collapse would make almost impossible the formation of a coalition government by both parties to continue the austerity dictated by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. "The country's creditors (IMF, EU and ECB) may at least temporarily suspend their aid," worries Stephane Deo at UBS. "The government can more quickly pay its civil servants and pensions, which will lead to very high tensions on financial markets," he warns.
In >>> Direct: Soon the results of the second round of the presidential election between Sarkozy and Holland
Royal Bank of Scotland has said Friday on the road to recovery after an operating profit better than expected first quarter and a sharp reduction of its balance sheet.
The CEO Stephen Hester also confirmed that the bank would have ended next week to repay emergency loans granted by London during the financial crisis.
It also will resume payment of dividends and coupons attached to hybrid securities.
RBS posted a first quarter operating profit of 1.2 billion pounds (1.46 billion euros), after a loss of 144 million the previous quarter. The consensus gave a profit of 800 million.
London has an 82% interest in the bank bailout since the surgery in 2008 and has "no desire" to sell given the situation of stock markets, reported the group.
"As far as I know, there is no desire to sell at current prices and I think it is quite understandable," said Stephen Hester at a conference tee ; léphonique. "Even if everyone wants it to be done, to my knowledge there is nothing in sight."
Sources had said in March that the government had held talks with Abu Dhabi, which had fueled speculation of a sale.
"MISTAKES OF THE PAST"
The rise of the bank in the green is due in particular to the investment bank, which posted an operating profit of 824 million pounds during the quarter against a loss of 109 million the previous three months.
"We are pleased with progress made in the first quarter, although the economic and regulatory environment remains tough," said Stephen Hester. "RBS continues to significantly grow in strength and resistance."
Hester added that the bank was progressing very well in the correction of "errors" of the past, with a decrease in non-strategic assets and increased liquidity.
She said her "Funded balance sheet", defined as total assets less the balance sheet derivatives, was further reduced by 27 billion pounds to 950 billion. Of this total, the non-strategic assets decreased from 11 to 83 billion pounds.
"Once again, the good news is the progress speed of adjustment of the balance sheet. It's all about cleaning up the balance (…)", said Ian Graham, an analyst at Investec. "For me, progress is obviously there but the road is long and painful."
Around 9:25 GMT, RBS shares gained 2.4% to 25.14 pence in morning, outperforming the European sector index of banks, up 0.22%.
Consob, the Italian financial markets authority, suggested Wednesday EDF to revise upward the price offered to minority shareholders of the Italian group Edison, an opinion that could further extend a drama begun there are nearly ten years.
Three months after the announcement of an agreement between EDF and other major shareholders of the second largest electricity producer in Italy, Consob said that "the price of EDF 0, 84 per share does not seem representative of the actual price agreed between the parties. "
She adds, in the notice published on its website a price ranging between 0.84 and 0.95 euros would be more consistent with "the notion of price paid" and that the median of this range , or 0.89 euros, can be "a useful reference point".
Contacted by Reuters, EDF has made no immediate comment.
"Let's see what the French would say. But if we take as 0.89 euro price, the difference is about 60 million euros. It is nothing for a band like EDF" said a source close the file.
After months of negotiations, EDF had signed a preliminary agreement in late December supposed to ensure control of Edison. But he was then conditioned the implementation of the agreement to confirmation by Consob price of 0.84 euro per share Edison.
Under the terms of this agreement, EDF was, initially, increase from 50% to 80.7% its stake in Edison for 700 million euros, and then launch a takeover bid for the remaining shares.
The group led by Proglio then found that the agreement Edison valued at 0.84 euros per share.
In return, Edipower, which Edison owns half the capital and considered by some observers as the "nugget" of the Italian group, had to go completely in the hands of current shareholders of Italian , led by A2A.
At the head of the minority shareholders of Edison appears the businessman Romain Zaleski, through his holding company Carlo Tassara.
The action ended in Edison 0.8735 euro Wednesday at the Milan Stock Exchange. In this course, the Italian group is valued 4.5 billion euros. In Paris, EDF finished at 17.2150 euros, a capitalization of 32.7 billion.
The Galeries Lafayette Group saw sales rise by 4% in 2011 and operating income increased 4.8%, despite a very difficult now for consumption in France in the second half.
The group, in open conflict with Casino on the valuation of Monoprix, their joint venture, reported retail sales of 5.58 billion euros, for a consolidated sales (excluding sales concession stands) of 4.96 billion euros, up 0.7%.
Sales growth was mainly due to the performance of the department store on Boulevard Haussmann in Paris, whose sales rose 14.3% due to tourist traffic, and sales growth of Monoprix, which grew by 3.2%.
Conversely, the decline in sales has continued to BHV. The group does not specify the amount of sales of the brand in trouble for several years.
"In a difficult global environment in 2011 (…) the activity held up well," said Philippe Houze, chief executive of Galeries Lafayette.
The group says "confident" for 2012, despite the uncertainties surrounding the evolution of markets, and indicates that at the end of February, sales of the brand were Galeries Lafayette up 8.4% on a comparable and those of Monoprix up 6.2%.
Galeries Lafayette and Casino have put into the public their disagreement on the valuation of the sign of the city center, which has assumed the aspect of a showdown legal and financial.
The battle promises to be long and bitter for the nugget Monoprix. Because the chain of distribution center is completely atypical in the French landscape.
With an operating margin of 7.2%, it is by far the most profitable assets of Casino in France, where the group's profitability was 3.9% in 2010, and prances ahead its competitors.
Operating income in 2011 of the Galeries Lafayette Group rose 4.8% to 372 million euros, for a margin of 7.5% (against 7.2% in 2010) while the net excluding exceptional items remained stable at 210 million euros.
Leaded by provisions and write-downs of 153 million euros on Cofinoga, a subsidiary of consumer credit equally owned by BNP Paribas and highly weakened by the crisis, net income group share fall to 43 million euros (against 380 million euros a year earlier, including 205 million euros of capital gains).
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the United States are no longer quite as strategic as before.
While President Barack Obama put on a new release of emergency stocks of the country to counter soaring fuel prices, experts note that the landscape changes logistical striking U.S. oil could complicate his plans.
Certainly, the fact tap into the four giant salt caverns on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico – which contain 700 million barrels of crude oil owned by the U.S. federal government – would almost certainly lower the world oil prices, easing to pump users and providing a boost to Barack Obama before the November election.
Thursday, the price of crude has lost up to three dollars after information from Reuters that Britain was considering with the U.S. release of strategic oil reserves cal in the course of the year.
British officials have said that the timing and volumes contemplated are detailed by the summer, when oil prices often reach a peak.
But the logistics of such a release of crude oil to refiners volunteers is more complicated than ever: if there is little doubt that oil reserves are provided in emergency Ultimately buyers, it may reach them more slowly than does the government hope.
The inversion of a key pipeline linking Texas to Oklahoma will reduce the capacity of the main cavern release of oil reserves, and John is Shages, responsible ; emergency stocks under the Bush and Clinton administrations.
SYSTEM OF ANOTHER TIME
The development of shale oil and crude oil imports from Canada's oil sands has transformed the landscape of Energy. The industry is now trying to move an overflow of oil from the center of the country to the Gulf of Mexico, reversing the logic that underpinned the organization of national strategic reserves .
Emergency reserves of the United States, created by Congress after the oil crisis in mid 1970, was in fact designed primarily to carry oil pipeline linking the Gulf to refineries in the region and other purchasers located further north.
"The fact that the pipelines go (now) to the south, not north is a major change," said Edward Morse, responsible for research on raw materials for Citigroup and formerly an expert e nergétique within the U.S. State Department.
According to the Department of Energy, the U.S. strategic reserves may distribute the oil to 49 refineries with a capacity of more than five million barrels per day (bpd) – about one third of the total capacity of the country.
They are designed to release the oil within two weeks after order and to support a rate of one million bpd for a year and a half, helping to meet 5% of U.S. demand.
It can now free up oil at a maximum rate of 4.25 million bpd, due to damage to one of the storage tanks, said an official of the dice Department of Energy.
But oil industry analysts are skeptical.
Edward Morse deems it unrealistic pace and stresses that have limited logistical problems last summer the flexibility of the government's release of 30 million bpd – the largest in history United States – in response to disturbances affecting the supply of Libyan oil.
The oil from strategic reserves while in competition with the already crude transported by pipelines or tankers, on waterways often overloaded, the logistical capabilities of the country could be insufficient to rapidly absorb millions of additional barrels.
The Energy Department had released an average 743,000 bpd in August.
Coface, which last year refocused its activities on credit insurance, reiterated Tuesday his intention to return when the stock market but market conditions have improved.
Jean-Marc Pillu, the CEO of a subsidiary of Natixis, declined to say how soon the Coface, deregistration in 2002, envisioned a new IPO nor how much capital will be offered to investors.
"The track is always the same, this is the IPO as soon as conditions permit," he said at a news conference.
"The internal conditions are met to be placed on the market," he added. "After the second condition, it is the markets (financial, Ed). We will wait quietly, serenely they allow us to do this. "
Asked about refocusing on the Coface credit insurance ; said, he explained that the company had isolated a structure apart and owned by its parent non-core businesses it intends to transfer …
…… "These activities were in a separate structure, as Natixis, well insulated (…) but remain under the responsibility of the Directorate General of Coface at the operational level, "said Jean-Marc Pillu.
He also said that except for the German and Polish markets, factoring activities were managed for their extinction ("run off"), that is to say, they are intended to be phased out.
Due to the reorganization of its business, Coface has subsequently passed in its 2011 accounts for 49 million euros in restructuring charges after taxes.
Its CEO also said the company had raised 1.1 billion euros of financing for factoring after signing a contract with four banks of securitization.
"We are most indebted of all, we paid all our debts in the long run. I speak of parent company debt, "said Jean-Marc Pillu
. Returning to the proposed creation of a rating agency Europé ; enemies, envisaged a time before finally being abandoned in early 2011, the CEO of Coface said that the business of insurance credit scoring and no pre ; felt no synergies between them
. "It's not all the same job," he insisted .. …….
Dexia Credit Local, Dexia's French subsidiary, said Friday it has launched a takeover offer for 700 million euros of subordinated notes issued in November 2005.
The bank stress due to the dismantling of the debt crisis in the euro area, said in a statement that this operation is intended to strengthen the equity "hard" and Dexia its French subsidiary.
"The net result of the sale and implementation of the tender offer will be neutral in terms of liquidity and result in improved equity and hard of Dexia Credit Local ( DCL), "says the bank.
Dexia had said late last year want to recapitalize its subsidiary DCL 4.2 billion, including € 2.5 billion through the conversion of subordinated loans s.
The Federal Reserve estimates that the U.S. economy grew at a moderate pace from January to mid February, the hiring is being légé ; LY accelerated in many parts of the United States.
In the beige book of the U.S. central bank, released Wednesday, the Fed also notes some improvements in the property sector although, overall, the tone is as careful as in the pre ; cédente edition of this document.
"The conditions in the housing market have improved somewhat in most districts," we read in the paper.
Manufacturing is one who is doing best, with most of the 12 Fed districts with a rise in new orders.
