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. "
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%.
Standard & Poor's said Wednesday raising the rating to CCC from the Greek sovereign debt, which is no longer so in default, a decision no surprise since the country has reduced its liabilities by about a third after a debt restructuring complex and unprecedented.
S & P maintains this climate speculative grade ("junk") and warned that a deep recession, the unpredictable outcome of the elections on May 6 and wrath of public opinion against the austerity could threaten the efforts of Athens to redress its finances.
S & P, which matched the rating with a stable outlook, provides that Greek sovereign debt will remain high over the next three years, around 160 to 170% of GDP.
"The rating could be degraded if we believe that a forced exchange on what remains of the Greek private debt appears likely," the agency said in a statement.
Fitch was the first to recover the note by assigning a B-to Greece in the middle of March, after the establishment of the exchange procedure which reduced about 100 billion sovereign debt of the country and cost the private bondholders most of their assets.
S & P warned in February that it would report surely the Greek notes to CCC, upon completion of the exchange procedure.
Moody's is now the only agency to keep Greece in zone fault (likely in his case). She said it would review his notes "on time" but that any recovery would remain limited.
The UK manufacturing growth slowed more than expected in April, demand from the euro area has declined significantly, shows a survey released Tuesday, hinting that the recession risk to be longer than expected.
The Markit / CIPS purchasing managers (PMI) thus fell to 50.5 last month against 51.9 (revised) in March. This figure, the lowest since December, is below the expectations of economists who had expected 51.5.
It remains above the 50 mark that separates growth and contraction, in contrast to similar data in the euro area.
Official statistics released last week showed that the British economy had plunged into recession in first quarter, which could further increase the difficulties of coalition government David Cameron.
Wall Street has stalled Wednesday, impeded in its progress begun several months ago by declining sectors associated with macroeconomic risks, such as finance and energy.
The Dow Jones Industrial 30 yielded 0.35%, or 45.57 points, to 13,124.62. The S & P-500, wider, lost 2.63 points, or 0.19%, to 1402.89. The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 1.17, however, points (+0.04%) to 3,075.32.
The S & P 500 benchmark index fund managers, however, retains a gain of approximately 12% since the beginning of the year.
"We reached a plateau, but basically, the deal has not changed (…) There could be a setback but I see the stock market to grow to 1,430 or 1,450 items, "said Joe Benanti, CEO of Rosenblatt Securities, referring to the level of the S & P 500.
The former real estate sales declined in February against all expectations in the U.S. and inventories of unsold homes increased, according to data released Wednesday by the National Federation of Officers Real Estate (NAR).
This statistic interrupts a recent run of good macroeconomic indicators and a reminder that the housing market, considered key to a sustainable recovery in the U.S., is still not completely out of case.
Despite rising oil prices, the S & P energy grouping values fell 1.04%. That financial stocks lost 0.43% after rising on nine of the last 10 sessions.
"Some parts make me say that we are perhaps at the beginning of a correction of up to 4%: the relative poor performance of industrial and energy , the reversal of financial, "said Seth Setrakian, co-leader of the U.S. equities department at First New York Securities.
"Investors are waiting in general the beginning of a new quarter to regain some of their beads. This can happen earlier if everyone expects the same thing. "
In a note to clients, Goldman Sachs said, however, that the prospects for equity market returns, compared to bonds, are the best in a generation
. "Given the current valuations, we think it should say" goodbye for a long time "for obligations and start" buying long "on shares," said the middle .. The title
……. Oracle fell 2.29% to 29.41 dollars after posting its quarterly results yesterday, marked s in a drop in revenue from hardware sales.
The action Hewlett-Packard for its part, yielded 2.17% to 23.46 dollars after the software giant announced the merger of its divisions PCs and printers as part of a major reorganization designed to generate savings and boost growth.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, heavily weighted in technology, however, was brought up by 2.46% to 13.72 of the action after the developer Zynga online game announced ; redeem OMGPOP, the manufacturer of the game popular "Draw Something".
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.
Untouchables, the movie event of the year, flies very high-ranking competitors in 2011 profitability of French cinema. To determine the rate of return, the French film has compared the box office feature films with budgets. According to the weekly, a film made a good performance from the moment it reaches a depreciation rate of 25 to 30%. Besides the top 10 most profitable films, the production of relatively expensive, at over 10 million, do not cross the breakeven point of 25%. And therefore rely on the DVD release to get there. Inside here, in pictures. 1/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 1. Untouchables: 602.58% Next Photo 2/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 2. War is declared: 150.2% Next Photo 3/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 3. Polishes: 112.29% Next Photo 4/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 4. Nothing to Declare: 102.43% Next Photo 5/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 5. Women on the 6th floor: 99.75% Next Photo 6/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 6. Tomboy: 84.67% Next Photo 7/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 7. I, Michel G, billionaire, master of the world: 78.26% Next Photo 8/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 8. Pater: 61.47% Next 9/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 9. Check out: 59.94% Next Photo 10/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 10. The Artist: 54.86% Next Photo 11/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 34. Halal, State Police: 21.92% Next Photo 12/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 35. My worst nightmare: 21.23% Next Photo 13/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 40. The cruise: 18.67% Next Photo 14/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 41. A monster in Paris: 18.25% Next Photo 15/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 45. Largo Winch 2: 16.84% Next Photo 16/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 59. The Rabbi's Cat: 12.67% Next Photo 17/17
Previous Previous PauseSuivant 61. A happy event: 12.4% Next Photo
The committee of independent directors to investigate the controversial takeover of UraMin by Areva is expected to conclude Tuesday with a "weak governance", says the Sunday newspaper, citing a "source close "group.
Rene Ricol, charged in 2010 by Nicolas Sarkozy to audit the accounts of French nuclear giant, looking for the same argument, although it acknowledges not Lauvergeon, the former President of the Executive.
The latter said he had no knowledge of mining reports dated from 2008 and 2009 from the geology department of Areva, according to Rene Ricol who put labels on mine reserves and opportunities for exploitation.
"If Anne Lauvergeon has not been informed, the least we can say is that this is a concern in terms of governance," he said, adding that he has had not itself access to these documents during the audit.
"This lack of transparency is unacceptable," he adds.
The purchase of Uramin in 2007 to 1.7 billion euros has forced the giant French nuclear to include in its accounts in 2010 and 2011 provisions totaling close to 1, 9 billion euros to reflect the depreciation of its assets following a drop in uranium prices.
The Industry Minister, Eric Besson, said Sunday he expected the committee's report Tuesday to decide.
"I think we should let those whose work is now shed light on this apparent overvaluation, almost coarse, this mine," he said in the e The Great Mission Visit Europe 1 / i> TELE / Le Parisien.
"This is precisely what the committee of independent directors must say and enlighten. Is it simply a gross error of assessment or do it more? It is for this committee on the one hand and justice, as it has received various complaints now, to say it. "
.. …… "unacceptable practices"
Rene Ricol also condemned the investigations by the husband of pharmacies Anne Lauvergeon
. "These practices are completely unacceptable," he said, calling however "paranoid" reaction of the former president of nuclear group
. He called the protagonists of the record-Anne Lauvergeon, the current leader of the group and Luc Oursel Director of Mining activity Sebastian Montessus to keep their cool. "If they do not subside, it will all end badly."
Lauvergeon Wednesday asked the court to appoint an expert to examine the conditions under which the group commissioned a survey in 2010 related to the acquisition of Uramin.
The Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris (TGI) announced that it would make its decision on February 29.
Lauvergeon and his lawyers believe that the recipients of the report, ordered society Apic, did not respect the internal rules of Areva.
They say that they include not having alerted the supervisory bodies of the group while the report concluded Apic a possible "fraud" in connection with the redemption.
Lawyers for Anne Lauvergeon protest against an investigation that would have resulted in an alleged espionage husband of the former president of Areva, Olivier Fric, to determine if the had illegally benefited from the acquisition of Uramin.
The former president and CEO of Areva has defended the purchase of Uramin and considered normal for this type of operation can lead to impairment.
The European Union has every confidence in Greece with regard to compliance with its commitments made at the EU summit last week, when a new aid package of € 130 billion was reached, said Tuesday the two main leaders of the euro area.
"We note the intention of the Greek authorities to hold a referendum," write the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in a joint statement.
"We believe that this agreement is the best for Greece.We have every confidence in Greece to honor the commitments made to the euro area and the international community. "
José Manuel Barroso and Herman Van Rompuy added that they spoke with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and said that the referendum question would be discussed on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Cannes, which runs from November 3 to 5.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou would consider the possibility of consulting the Greeks on solutions to overcome the debt crisis, says the Greek press. The abandonment of the euro would be an option. Athens has denied this information. The Temple of Zeus in Athens.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou would explore the possibility to consult the public in a referendum on how best to tackle the debt crisis, or remaining in the euro area, either by abandoning the single currency, a Greek daily said Tuesday.The Prime Minister would be based on a favorable outcome for the euro to continue its drastic austerity policies applied at the request of the creditors of the country, the euro area and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the daily Kathimerini said, Citing "sources" unidentified.
A text of the bill was under development, understands the everyday., No confirmation could be obtained from official sources on Tuesday morning. The Greek Ministry of Finance on Tuesday denied that information. "It makes no sense," said a source at the Ministry of Finance told AFP. Given the scale of protests in Greece last spring, Mr.Papandreou announced June 19 the holding of a referendum in the fall to concentrate on "the great changes that the government aims for the country", including political reforms as the functioning of parliament, the electoral system as well as an overhaul of the judicial system.
According to opinion polls, the Greeks have lost confidence in their political and judicial system, which has never been able to stem the endemic corruption in the country. The information on a proposed referendum on the euro are published at the time the Minister of Finance negotiates fiercely with the troika of the country's creditors seeking the implementation of austerity measures decided in July (fewer staff, reducing public expenditure) before paying the next $ 8 billion euros of the loan in May 2010 to avoid bankruptcy the country.
