EU and ECB are working on a possible exit of Greece

The European Commission (EC) and European Central Bank (ECB) working on a contingency plan in case Greece should leave the eurozone, said EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht, in an interview published Friday.

This is the first statement by a senior European official confirming the existence of such plans.

Speculation about the development and content of such projects are fed from the Greek elections of May 6, but their existence had not previously confirmed e.

"There is one and a half, the risk of domino effect could have existed," said Karel De Gucht Belgian Flemish daily De Standaard. 

"But today there are, both within the European Central Bank and European Commission services working in emergency scenarios where the Gre it can not. "

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Montebourg wins re-industrialization of France

The free electron Arnaud Montebourg was appointed Minister of Productive Recovery, a new song for the important figure of the left wing of the Socialist Party. Arnaud Montebourg

Arnaud Montebourg, 49, was appointed minister of Adjustment Wednesday productive, a role he had foreshadowed a "tour de France plant" made in the name of Francois Hollande during the presidential campaign. It will be flanked by two junior ministers, Fleur Pellerin (SMEs, Innovation and Digital Economy) and Sylvia Pinel (Crafts, Trade and Tourism).

Born October 30, 1962 at Clamecy (Nièvre), that great admirer of Gambetta, son of a butcher and a professor in the Algerian origins, became known as a leading lawyer in battle against Alain Juppé in the case of his apartment the City of Paris in 1995.

Activist of the PS since 1981, elected deputy of Saone-et-Loire in 1997, this speaker is trying to clear facilities in vain, in 2001, full cohabitation, Jacques Chirac to appear before the High Court.

With Vincent Peillon, the fiery MP founded the New Socialist Party (NPS). Their current gets nearly 17% of the votes in Congress in Dijon in 2003, with a slogan: the Sixth Republic, and more power to Parliament.

Voting "no" to the European Constitution in 2005, it is close to Ségolène Royal, it hosts in September 2006 in the "Feast of the Rose" in his constituency.

Gala magazine publishes a portrait of this man with shoulder-length brown hair, thin and always elegant, titled "The Playboy of Ségolène" conversation pieces. Mr. Montebourg, claiming he was duped, assigns the magazine.

Invested candidate, Ségolène Royal is designated spokesman, but suspends the month: on Canal +, the new Minister of Productive Recovery was told that the only flaw of the socialist candidate was his companion, a … Francois Hollande. "We laughed with Ségolène", he relativizes years later.

Montebourg often attacked Francois Hollande, who owes him the nickname "Flanby". The deputy of Saone-et-Loire also spoke of "cowardice" about supporters of the "yes" to the European Constitution in 2005, before turning back at the express request of the then First Secretary.

Ardent opponent of multiple directorships, Montebourg becomes "believing but nonpracticing" by appearing at the cantonal elections in his department, which led him to the presidency of the General Council in 2008. In early 2011, he announced he will not seek a fourth term as an MP.

With primary theorist Olivier Ferrand (Terra Nova), the fiery MP Aubry threat to resign if he does not succeed in 2009 for organizing this new process. "I had my dress emerged avocado eaten by moths," he says. First secretary finally agreed.

Himself a candidate with a small team, Montebourg campaigned on the left wing, defending the "de-globalization" or, according to his many opponents, a neo-protectionism that dare not speak its name. Result: 17.2% of the vote. In December 2011, he created the stir by denouncing "a policy that Bismarck" Angela Merkel.

Happy white knight, he denounces the business federations PS Bouches-du-Rhone and Pas de Calais and demanded to DSK "apologize to all the left".

PS, some criticize this "preacher of morality," its "excesses in the attack." His third place in the primary, however, gives him the role of a kingmaker who choose to personally Francois Hollande. The presidential candidate will make his "special representative", in charge of a factory tour of France. He joins the transition services of a relative of Mr. Montebourg, Aquilino Morelle, now political adviser at the Elysée.

Separated father of two, Arnaud Montebourg is the companion of Audrey Pulvar journalist, with whom he filed a complaint for assault in the streets of Paris in March.

Complaints partly admissible against Moody's and S & P

U.S. courts ruled inadmissible two complaints against the rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moody's, accused of misleading investors about the safety of financial assets on derivatives debt markets.

Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan federal However limited the scope of these two complaints, finding that the offenses of incitement to fraud, negligence and breach of fiduciary duty were not founded ; es.

Stay the proceedings for deformation of agency activities relating to investment products in question, known as Cheyne and Rhinebridge.

The plaintiffs, including the Commercial Bank of Abu Dhabi, blame Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's losses related to bankruptcy Product Cheyne in August 2007. Investment product Rhinebridge him collapsed a year later, in August 2008.

In both cases, the plaintiffs accused the rating agencies to have worked with banks for financial products that have a triple A, the highest credit supposed to guarantee a free investment risk, whereas these derivative investments were backed in part on credit "subprime" high risk.

The Fitch is also concerned by the complaint Rhinebridge.

The decision of Judge Scheindlin was taken Friday but was released on Monday.

Tony Mirenda, a spokesman for Moody's, said the complaints were unfounded, and that still recent allegations would be considered inadmissible in turn. 

Standard & Poor's, John Piecuch, spokesman, said similarly that the latest complaints were inconsistent with previous court decisions.

The G20 is committed to providing $ 430 billion to the IMF

The Group of Twenty (G20) pledged Friday to give the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over $ 430 billion of additional resources to identify the debt crisis of the euro area.

The agreement doubles the capacity of the IMF loan, which was the goal set by its Executive Director Christine Lagarde at the opening meetings of the IMF and World Bank this weekend.

"There are firm commitments to increase resources available to the IMF more than $ 430 billion, in addition to the planned quota increase under the reform of 2010" , declared in a statement the finance ministers and central bankers from the G20, referring to the project to give emerging countries a say in the larger fund.

International Trade: Where are the opportunities of tomorrow?

The resumption of international trade should take place sooner than expected.

It's time for optimism for international trade. This is the conclusion of the study HSBC Global Connections: Trade Forecast (February 2012), which provides a faster growth of international trade from 2014, one year earlier than expected, according to previous analyzes. Between 2014 and 2026, world trade is expected to grow by 86%. Its annual growth is estimated at 3.8% until 2017, then mark a sharper acceleration beyond, with an annual growth of 6.2% from 2017 to 2021.

The biggest concern now trade oil, gas, petrochemical, automotive and electronic goods and equipment. But things are changing. With the threat of global warming and the demand for competitiveness, companies must now be closer to markets where they want to trade. This new situation allows to identify new growth areas. Here are the main:

– Electric power: all regions of the world are now seeking to develop non-fossil energy: nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, wind …

– Containers & Packaging: crates, boxes, and all objects to package and transport goods. This highly competitive industry is expected to grow particularly strong in America (nearly 10% annually over the next five years in Latin America and 8.9% in North America).

– Metallurgy: prepared binders for foundry. The annual growth forecast for this sector should be 8.8% in the next five years.

– Coal: coal and pellets. Demand is high worldwide, and especially in China which produces half the world's coal, but who is also the first consumer.  

– Processed food: demand for more sophisticated food is high everywhere in the world.

– Electrical Control Systems: the development of new electrical power sources to the emergence of demand control systems and automatic control, especially in Asia, Europe and North America.

– Infrastructure: The sector is large, since the production of metal bars to the research services and consulting. This sector, vital for global economic growth, is expected to grow 110% in the next 15 years.

Google's quarterly net profit to 2.89 billion

Google reported Thursday a net profit of 2.89 billion dollars or 8.75 dollars per share (GAAP) in the first quarter and announced a division of its shares on a two for a.

The net sales for the first quarter, which excludes fees paid to partner sites, totaled $ 8.14 billion.

The total turnover of the quarter is 10.65 billion.

UniCredit gives off a small profit in Q4 2011

UniCredit has emerged in the last quarter of 2011 a profit of 114 million euros, returning to profitability after intensive cleaning of its balance sheet which resulted in a loss of 10.6 billion euros the previous three months.

Over the whole of 2011, the bank shows a loss of 9.2 billion euros, a result of massive writedowns in the third quarter, primarily goodwill.

Italy's largest bank by assets had already passed the annual dividend.

Earnings in the fourth quarter, beating consensus giving 30 million, compares with a profit of 321 million euros a year earlier. 

The ratio of Tier 1 capital was hard to 9.97% on a proforma basis, taking into account a difficult capital increase of EUR 7.5 billion performed in January 2012.

4% growth in sales of Galeries Lafayette in 2011

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 OECD sees Hungary falling into recession in 2012

The economy of Hungary will switch into recession this year, says OECD, which urges the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban to pass a financial agreement with international organizations and to take further measures to reduce the budget deficit.

Echoing the European Commission, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also takes note of "controversial measures taken by the Hungarian government (which) have made exacerbate the uncertainty on the confidence of businesses, households and markets. " 

"Overall, the economy should be in recession in early 2012 before a modest recovery in the second half of this year because of a slight upturn in confidence and improved financial and economic conditions worldwide, "the OECD wrote in a report released Tuesday.

The OECD expects GDP to contract by 0.6% Hungarian, and this year a growth of 1.1% in 2013. Budapest projected growth of 0.5% in 2012.

The Hungarian authorities have two main challenges, says OECD: stabilizing the economy and restore growth in the long term structural reforms.

"An agreement with multilateral organizations to help restore confidence and facilitate the necessary reorganization of public finances," says the OECD. "It also would ease the burden of debt in foreign currencies by stabilizing the exchange rate."

To stabilize the forint, which fell over 20% since mid-2008, to 292 per euro on Tuesday, the Orban government wants to conclude a funding agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund by the end of the second quarter. But he objects to certain conditions set by the European Commission to open discussions.

EU officials believe that the deficit in Hungary could reach 3.6% of GDP in 2013 if Budapest is not taking new provisions, a view espoused by the OECD.

"Despite a relatively favorable fiscal position, the recent deterioration of the underlying balance requires additional efforts, beyond the measures planned for 2012," says the OECD.

The Organization also recommends that "in 2013 replacing the windfall tax on banks by taxing less distorting."

Changes to the law governing the central bank, including certain appointment procedures "derogate clearly best practice", also says the OECD. 

The central bank independence must be guaranteed in accordance with international obligations of Hungary, said she.

The G20 will take stock of the resources of the IMF in April

The G20 finance ministers, meeting this weekend in Mexico City, engaging in a statement in April to review progress made in strengthening the resources of International Monetary Fund, said on Saturday from a source of G20.

The source said the draft statement, which must be finalized during meetings scheduled in Mexico this weekend, made loans and bilateral borrowing arrangements options for improve the firepower of the IMF.

"Progress in this strategy will be discussed at the next ministerial meeting in April," the draft communique quoted by the source. These reports were confirmed to Reuters by another official of the G20.

The IMF wants more than double its capacity to respond by raising $ 600 billion of new resources to deal with the consequences of the crisis of sovereign debt within the eurozone. This project creates a reluctance in some countries, foremost among them the United States and Canada.

Mexico, who chairs the G20, has pushed for the issue of IMF resources is discussed along with the initiatives that the Europeans could be taken to resolve the crisis sovereign debt, at the meeting of finance ministers and central bankers this weekend in Mexico City.

Some countries indicated that no discussion on the strengthening of IMF resources could be envisaged as the Europeans have not strengthened their own firewall to stem the debt crisis, an issue they must be discussed at the European Council of March 1 and 2.

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