BP said Friday that the cost of oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reached eight billion dollars and he would need another two weeks to completely seal the well to the source of this pollution.
BP also reported that there had been no major upward revision in the amount of compensation paid to victims of the spill.
The compensation fund for victims of 20 billion dollars, called Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) and active since August 23, pays about 3.5 million per day.This figure is broadly in line with what BP paid himself before the fund takes over.
Under pressure from the White House, the British oil giant pledged in June to fund an escrow account of $ 20 billion over four years.
The European financial markets have closed lower Monday, investors still fearing a slowdown in the global economy, but the exchanges were, however, supported by numerous mergers and acquisitions in progress.
The Paris CAC 40 index finished the session with losses, yielding 20.43 points (-0.58%) to 3487.01.
Trade volumes were particularly weak during this meeting due to a holiday in Britain.
The pharmaceutical values showed the strongest gains, taking Sanofi-Aventis 0.66% after the rejection of its proposal for redemption by Genzyme.
Intel announced on Monday the takeover of the division of components for mobile equipment of Germany's Infineon Technologies for $ 1.4 billion, pushing back the title of the latter 3.69% at closing.
Other declining value, the title Safran lost 2.3%, the group had denied preparing a bid for Capital of Zodiac, whose title has however jumped 10.45%.
The Japanese Minister of Finance has honed his arguments Wednesday on the strength of the yen after the Nikkei newspaper had reported that Tokyo would consider unilateral intervention on the foreign exchange market if speculators push the yen upwards.
While it should meet in the day Prime Minister Naoto Kan and other members of the Government, the Minister of Finance Yoshihiko Noda told reporters that he would intervene appropriately whether to do so, speech he had not taken up.
"When necessary shall have to act appropriately," he said in response to a question about the evolution of the yen.
Market participants, however, questioned the ability of unilateral intervention to contain the strong yen, which hit a high Tuesday of 15 years against the dollar and nine years against the euro and weighs heavily on the Stock Exchange Tokyo which closed Wednesday at a low of 16 months.
"The dollar fell to 83 yen, the probability of intervention has increased, but it would take more than intervention," said Kiichi Murashima, an economist at Citigroup Global Markets.
"This must be accompanied by an easing (of monetary policy) of the BoJ (Bank of Japan) to have any effect."
DOUBTS ON MEASURES TAKEN the radical
The soaring yen and the decline of the Tokyo Stock Exchange have increased the probability of announcing a further easing of monetary policy the Bank of Japan before its next meeting on interest rates scheduled for 6 and 7 September, Reuters said sources familiar with the matter.
Speculators doubt however that the BoJ is ready to take drastic measures.
"If they really want to do something about the yen (…) they must create the conditions to anticipate inflation," said Martin Schulz, senior economist at Fujitsu Research Institute.
"But I do not think the BoJ will move in that direction."
While it took nearly 10% since the beginning of the year against the greenback, against which it was trading around 5:45 GMT at 84.28 dollars, some investors believe the greenback could fall to a record high against the Japanese currency, at least 80 dollars.
So far the Japanese authorities tried to contain the strong yen by simple oral statements, the Minister of Finance stressed on Tuesday the growing irritation of Tokyo against the Japanese currency rise.
Now, about Yoshihiko Noda had the opposite effect to that intended, because dealers have so wanted to test the determination of Japanese authorities to stem the yen's appreciation.Why he decided to get tough on Wednesday.
EMERGENCY MEETING
Tokyo should be difficult to convince the United States and Europe to join its efforts on the foreign exchange market, weakening their own currencies being favorable to their exports.
Yoshihiko Noda declined to comment on rumors suggesting a possible meeting with Secretary of U.S. Treasury Timothy Geithner. The U.S. Treasury has not made any comments.
Japan is no longer intervened on the foreign exchange market since 2004.But the situation is becoming even more worrying than the Japanese export growth slowed to an annual rate in the fifth consecutive month in July.
According to an estimate of Nomura Securities, every increase of one yen against the dollar will result in a decrease of 0.9% of current earnings of major Japanese manufacturing groups for fiscal year 2010-2011, which will close in March.
According to sources close to the situation, the most likely scenario is that the BoJ will increase the size, or prolongs the duration of its mechanism of short-term financing in place in December.
The Nikkei newspaper wrote Wednesday that the BoJ intends to take further monetary easing and could do so in the context of an emergency meeting.
Telefonica announces a 9.4% increase in earnings in the first half, exceeding expectations, the strength of its overseas operations to compensate for the weakness of its domestic market, Spain.
The Spanish division of the group, which generates one third of total turnover, has been hit hard by the recession and caused concern to investors. But the group said Thursday she was showing signs of improvement.
He has limited the decline in sales to 3.2% in the second quarter, against 5.7% in the first three months of the year.
"These results are solid at all levels, a recovery in Spain offsetting recent fears of a slowdown in consumption.Business in Latin America is solid, "said David Wright, an analyst specializing in telecommunications from Deutsche Bank, adding that the group's activities in Britain and Germany will also reflect well.
The first operator of the euro zone by market capitalization has made a net profit of 3.78 billion euros in the first half, against forecasts for 3.68 billion euros by 10 analysts polled by Reuters.Its first half sales rose to 29.05 billion euros against 28.55 billion expected.
After weeks of fierce fighting, Telefonica has achieved his ends Wednesday in announcing an agreement with Portugal Telecom to repurchase shares of Portuguese in the Brazilian mobile operator Vivo.
In Latin America, which generates 40% of sales, group sales rose 10.2% and gross operating income of 6.1%.
The control of Vivo should allow the group to increase the number of subscribers in Brazil, giving it top spot in this coveted market.
For its part, France Telecom said Thursday a decline in sales and profit margins in the second quarter, but he confirmed the level of its dividend until 2012.
The pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis, seeking a major acquisition, has approached the U.S. biotech Genzyme, we learn the source familiar with the matter.
Discussions are still in their infancy and there is no agreement expected in the immediate future, it says.Issues such as price and management have not yet been addressed, it adds.
The Wall Street Journal, which has revealed the information, officials of Genzyme, which specializes in products for the treatment of orphan diseases, are studying the amount that Sanofi would pay.
In Stock, Genzyme is 14 billion dollars (10.8 billion euros) but the group can require a significant premium given its portfolio of drugs, analysts said.
"If we take as a starting point the figure of 20 billion dollars that has been discussed before, this puts Genzyme to $ 75 (per share)," said Michael Yee, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
In exchange, the share of Genzyme blazed nearly 18% to 63.84 dollars at end of session.
Sanofi declined to comment.
Faced with competition from generic drugs, many pharmaceutical companies are looking for external growth.
In early July, the rumor gave Sanofi-Aventis, faces the expiration of patents on several important drugs, looking for acquisitions in the United States.
The sales of Sanofi made in the USA by its anticancer Eloxin fell sharply after the launch of generic versions, while its other cancer drugs, Taxotere, will drop its patent to the public in November in Europe and United States.
In late June, Sanofi announced the acquisition of American TargeGen for 560 million dollars (458.5 million euros) in order to strengthen the fight against cancer.
Late June-early July, the French laboratory has met its board of directors on the topic of acquisitions, had been taught to the time source familiar with the matter.
Friday, Biogen and Allergan, whose names had been mentioned as potential target for Sanofi alongside Genzyme, lost 5% and 2.5% in stock.
The New York Stock Exchange opened higher on Tuesday, supported by better than expected results released Monday evening by Alcoa.
A few minutes after opening, the Dow Jones industrial average thirty largest U.S. took 1.09% to 10,327.29 points, the S & P 500 index fund manager, gained 1.15% at 1091.15 and the Nasdaq, heavily weighted to technology, advanced 1.17% to 2225.89.
Alcoa, the first value referenced in the Dow, accounts for 2.21% at the opening after reporting late Monday results exceeded expectations under its second quarter, prompting investors to hope that other heavyweights the economy in their turn to share optimistic news.
The railroad company CSX also pleasantly surprised markets Monday and its shares gained 1.43% in early trade.
The avalanche of results which will soon go off just in time for investors who were reluctant in recent weeks on how to proceed.
"The problem in markets is that there was a lack of visibility and now we have," said Wayne Kaufman, John Thomas Financial in New York.
U.S. stocks finished lower Friday as investors questioned the robustness of recovery after the announcement of job losses in the U.S. were added to several indicators considered disappointing.
The Dow Jones ended down 0.47% at 9686.48 points, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index also lost 0.47% to 1022.58 points.The Nasdaq composite yielded 0.46% at 2091.79 points.
For the week, the Dow lost 4.5%, the S & P 5% and the Nasdaq 5.9%.
The U.S. economy is destroying jobs last month – 125,000 – for the first time since the beginning of the year, with the end of thousands of temporary contracts in the public sector related to the identification and recruitment of fewer than expected in private.
The unemployment rate however declined to 9.5%, its lowest level since July 2009, the final output for the labor market of some of the unemployed.
The sharper drop than expected industrial orders in May also weighed on the trend.
Another sign of concern, the moving average 50 days of the S & P 500's fell below its moving average 200 days. This configuration, which sees an average short less than an average long known as the "cross of death".
The phenomenon between the moving averages at 50 and 200 days happened the last time in December 2007, shortly after the market had begun a decline that had led the S & P to its lowest in 12 years.
On the front of values, financial values and sensitive to economic cycles have been neglected.The S & P 500 financials fell 1.1%, as well as some consumer values.
Volumes were thin, many players who left the office earlier in the weekend of Independence Day. The markets will be closed Monday.
In contrast, values were sought after biotech news reports that Sanofi-Aventis prepare a large acquisition in the United States.
Biogen gained 5.76% to U.S. $ 49.42, Allergan 62.29 dollars to 7.21% and 5.9% to Genzyme 52.80 dollars.
Why oil markets do not react to the catastrophe of BP in the Gulf of Mexico?
It is true that oil prices have finally been little impacted by this disaster. For two reasons. First, it was thought a few days after the disaster, the movement of tankers in the Gulf would be disrupted, which could affect the evolution of very short-term U.S. oil inventories. This was not the case. Meanwhile, outside the six-month moratorium on the exploitation of new platforms, markets await the outcome of the commission, (introduced by the Obama Administration) regarding the future development of deepwater drilling. For the moment nothing has filtered out on the progress of discussions. Yes, President, stuck in the oil slick bomb on his chest and hardens ecological discourse.But for the United States, deprive themselves of deepwater drilling and oil from the Gulf of Mexico equivalent to increasing its short-term dependence on foreign and thereby increase its imports and the movement of tankers. But from a strictly ecological point of view, the likelihood of oil spills associated with tanker accidents is much higher than that related to problems occurring on a platform …
The survival of BP is threatened?
BP is not dead but its future is very bleak. The total cost of the disaster will obviously staggering, at least about 10 billion dollars. But the slate will not pay a single blow and will be paid over several years, which does not undermine the cash short-term business.It remains, however, the cost in terms of reputation and image especially in the United States. Can you imagine, when referring to obtain from the U.S. Administration to permit new drilling in the United States that This case does not come back on the carpet. But the U.S. market is essential for BP. It represents 26% of its oil and gas worldwide, 40% of its sale of petroleum products and 56% of its refining capacity. This ecological disaster is challenging deep and lasting development of BP across the Atlantic.
The coffee burns. Around 1000 GMT (1200 Paris), Arabica for September delivery traded on the NYBOT-ICE touched 162.95 U.S. cents per pound, its highest level since early March 2008, garnering over 12% compared to Friday last. Robusta (September) traded on Liffe in London soared to 1,595 dollars per tonne, its highest since early March 2009.
"The explosion in prices is explained by fears of supply failing to keep up with demand," commented analyst at Commerzbank.
Indeed, the tight supply from Vietnam and Central America support prices, as fears about the effect expected from the ongoing harvest in Brazil, the largest producer of coffee, according to Michael Hewson, an analyst at CMC Markets.Furthermore, demand continues to strengthen in key import markets such as Europe, Japan and the United States.
"The markets are catching up after a while to take into account" the tension on the fundamentals of supply and demand, noted Kona Haque, analyst at Macquarie, to the extent that the rebound is reinforced by a renewed interest to speculative investors taking advantage of a slight weakening of the dollar.
"The supply-demand balance of the arabica market suggests another deficit in 2009/2010 season, also highlights the analyst, noting also that the European stocks of coffee have shown a decrease in April .
The greenback fell Wednesday to 1.2353 dollars per euro, its lowest level in two weeks, making them more attractive purchases of raw materials denominated in dollars for investors provided with other currencies.
