Top Economics News

French banks fear that the project of President Francois Hollande to reform regulated savings in France deny them a windfall of cheap liquidity, while debt crisis in the euro area again threatens the ability of banks to refinance themselves on the European markets.

The new head of state, who voted in favor of a pact to support growth of the Agreement on budgetary discipline approved by 25 of the 27 countries of the European Union, wants to mobilize savings of the French to strengthen financial leeway of the state for housing and corporate finance. 

His presidential program provided including a doubling of the ceiling of Booklet A and Booklet Sustainable Development (LDD), currently limited to 15,300 euros respectively and 6,000 euros. They are currently paid at a rate of 2.25%.

Francois Hollande hopes to encourage the creation of new social housing and transform the LDD in "savings book industry" dedicated to SME financing and business innovation.

If investors can not appreciate these reforms, credit institutions such as BNP Paribas and Societe Generale may see whole areas of savings leave their record to head the Caisse des Depots (CDC) that centralizes regulated savings in France.

According to Pascal Decque, an analyst at Cheuvreux, some 83 billion euros of savings could then migrate to the CDC. 

Such a transfer would be another blow to banks

French who have already lost 90 billion euros of deposits last year due to concerns of investors about banks' exposure to Greece and the financial crisis.

"You have liquidity pressures in all sectors for French banks," said Andrew Lim, an analyst at Espirito Santo. The program of Francois Hollande "will put pressure on the deposit market."

Societe Generale has declined to comment on the subject while at BNP Paribas messages left unanswered.

NON-DISCLOSURE OF BANKERS

This regulated savings, which comes mainly from the Booklet A, is collected by the banking networks and centralized at the CDC in exchange for a commission paid to banks. The funds raised finance housing projects, infrastructure and other public projects.

According to statistics from the CDC, the outstanding book A and the LDD reached 295.1 billion euros at end-March.

Leaders of French banks, already reluctant to the idea of ​​a banking reform that would isolate the activities according to their usefulness or not the economy, principal concern is that beyond the housing market deposits and the financing of major projects is entrusted to a public bank.

"Liquidity is our raw material, (Reform Booklet A, Ed) does not help us," said May 10 Perol President BPCE (People's Bank, Savings Bank), parent company of Natixis, radio BFM Business. "It's weird to send money to the Deposit which has no bank branch when there are French banks have 40,000 branches."

"French banks (…) have employees willing to work and to make loans to businesses that need," he added.

The CDC is well mobilized, through its infrastructure fund and Axa Private Equity and Vinci, to fund future high-speed line (HSL) between Tours and Bordeaux, an investment of more than seven billion euros.

"Is it necessary to finance SMEs by the CDC and insurers?" Plague a Parisian banker who requested anonymity. "With Francois Hollande, there is the return to France with the idea that the state does better. This is an old French fantasy. "

Reform of regulated savings" will destabilize the banks, "he says

. While many observers believe that with the new Basel III prudential banks can no longer finance long-term projects, some believe, however, that the state will not only fulfill these investments

. "The challenges of financing long-term investments can not be met if we depend only of a public actor, "says Gerard de la Martiniere, former president of the Federation of French society ; s insurance (FFSA)

.

Personal business cards are considered primary marketing tool for any type of business. It is the string of bondage that you build to create a long-lasting relationship with your customer and associates.

General Motors announced Wednesday consider selling its manufacturing plant in Strasbourg gearboxes and be looking for investors willing to maintain the site activity.

The U.S. automaker, which announced in February an alliance with PSA Peugeot Citroen, has appointed an advisory bank and committed a "strategic review" concerning both the production engineer neering and development of this plant, says in a statement.

He was willing to explore the internal and external solutions to find "viable alternatives and potential solutions to secure the future of the site".

General Motors intends to favor buyers who will continue the work site, which employs a thousand people. 

This file may be one of the first industrial sensitive topics for the new president Francois Hollande, in a context of overcapacity in the hunt for European automotive sector.

Last year, the plant produced 280,000 automatic transmissions with six speeds, mainly for GM brands and BMW, mostly for vehicles assembled outside Europe.

This is the second time that General Motors is trying to lease the site. During the 2008 financial crisis, the company charged with liquidating the assets of the American manufacturer had not found a buyer. In 2011, a year after his brief for the procedure of bankruptcy, GM had bought the plant for a symbolic euro.

At the time, employees had accepted a two-year wage freeze in exchange for guarantees on jobs.

"There are several commitments in place to continue the manufacture of transmissions for years," assured Jim Cain, spokesman for GM.

Deutsche Lufthansa on Wednesday released a quarterly loss higher than expected, attributed to the surging cost of jet fuel.

Operating loss for the first quarter amounted to 381 million euros against a negative balance of 169 million a year earlier. The consensus gave a loss of 289 million euros.

The German airline, which must publish all of its accounts Thursday, has also reported a turnover up 5.6% to 6.6 billion euros.

Lufthansa has also reported a net loss of EUR 397 million against a loss of 507 million a year earlier.

It anticipates for 2012 an operating profit of around 500 million euros.

The CEO of Qatar Airways has expressed interest in studying the case of aircraft developed by countries such as China, given frequent delays at Airbus and Boeing.

Akbar Al Baker, who regularly criticizes two giants of the aerospace industry not to take their time, said Monday that delays of up to three years had thwarted growth plans of carriers in the Gulf region, which now constitute much of the Western demand for appliances.

Qatar Airways has ordered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Airbus A380 superjumbo and the A350, three devices that did not meet delivery dates announced. 

The airline has also ordered smaller devices to 150 seats, as the A320neo. She ordered 50 during Dubai Airshow in November.

Asked if he would consider buying Chinese equipment, Akbar Al Baker said: "Why not? If it is safe, effective, advanced and that it meets the requirements."

The Chinese Comac develops a 150-seat aircraft.

Industry leaders argue, however, it will take at least ten years before China can compete with Boeing and Airbus on larger aircraft.

Takeda Pharmaceutical announced Wednesday the purchase for $ 800 million (609 million) of URL Pharma, a U.S. laboratory specializing in the treatment of gout.

The first Japanese pharmaceutical company will provide further value based on future performance from 2015.

Japanese pharmacists are engaged in a flurry of overseas acquisitions, Takeda announced in the May 2011 takeover of Swiss laboratory Nycomed for € 9.6 billion.

URL Pharma achieved a turnover of about $ 600 million in 2011. Its main product is Colcrys, a drug for the treatment and prevention of gout.

Net sales Colcrys exceeded $ 430 million in 2011.

EDF Energies Nouvelles and Alstom are the big winners of the first tender for wind turbines off the French coast of the Channel, the second one being planned in the second half to achieve the target set for 2020.

This tender, intended to kick-start the offshore wind sector, should help France catch up it has accumulated in other European countries in terms renewable energy and reduce its dependence on the nuclear-vis.

The Industry Minister, Eric Besson, announced Friday the award of contracts representing a total capacity of 2,000 megawatts, the equivalent of two small nuclear reactors. 

These capabilities are less than a third than originally expected, the field Tréport (Seine-Maritime, Somme) has not been allocated for lack of sufficient competition.

The consortium formed by Alstom and EDF with Danish Dong Energy and won three of the five fields involved: Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique), Fécamp (Seine-Maritime) and Courseulles-sur-Mer (Calvados), or a volume of about 240 wind turbines.

Spain's Iberdrola and the French group Areva will see their side of the field jointly awarded the Saint-Brieuc (Côtes d'Armor), which should bring 100 turbines.

GDF Suez, which had also formed a consortium with Areva, gets nothing at this stage but will compete in the second tender. 

"This decision will enable France to continue the development of renewable energy that are, next to nuclear power one of the two pillars of our policy e ; nergétique, "said Eric Besson at a press conference.

"A NEW INDUSTRIAL SECTOR"

He confirmed the target of 6,000 megawatts of capacity by 2020, as set by the Grenelle Environment for offshore wind and marine energy. The latter also include turbines, turbines use the energy of ocean currents, for which a separate tender is planned within two years.

The second tender will involve particular area Tréport and that of Noirmoutier, he said.

The selection of candidates announced Friday an investment of seven billion euros and the creation of 10,000 direct manufacturing jobs, argued Eric Besson.

"The foundations of a new industry and export are asked," welcomed his side in a statement the consortium led by EDF Energies Nouvelles, a subsidiary of EDF.

While Alstom plans to invest 100 million euros and generate up to 7.500 jobs with its partners, the challenge will be for the group to impose its new generation of turbine Haliade, inaugurated on March 19 to book (Loire-Atlantique).

Alstom, which confirmed Friday the establishment of four plants in Cherbourg and Saint-Nazaire for its wind Haliade says that orders, amounting to over two billion euros, will occur by field field from 2014.

Areva has now put forward his experience and that could create 4,000 jobs in France, including 1,000 in its single perimeter, while GDF Suez has raised up 'to 6,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Salaries revved up on the Asian continent. In some Chinese provinces, the minimum wage is the same as in Romania. But China is really less competitive? A factory in China flat panel displays.

Competitiveness of Asia is it falling? The English-language newspapers and French launch debate, astonishing figures to support. The Wall Street Journal, remuneration ignite the entire Asian continent. In Thailand, the minimum wage should be increased by 40% in early April. In Indonesia, it has already increased by 20% in many areas in recent months. In China, wages have jumped 181% since 2004. In several parts of China, the minimum wage is now at the same level as Bulgaria and Romania, the newspaper Les Echos.

This surge in earnings, barely slowed by the crisis, he signs the end of the "low cost" in Asia? It is still too early to tell. Certainly, if one believes the economics textbooks, China and its neighbors will lose, with wage growth, competitive advantage in sectors intensive in labor, such as textiles and electronics. A phenomenon which should result in a second step, an upscale Asian.

Except that on the ground, it's not really what we observe, notes Francoise Lemoine, China economist at CEPII. In recent months, China's exports, for example, slowed less quickly than international trade. In other words, the weight of the Middle Kingdom in trade has rather strengthened over the recent period, although the announcement of a record trade deficit has cooled the market!

Moreover, China still has a structural advantage in competitiveness. Wages are only part of the story. We must also look productivity, says Francoise Lemoine. It increases by 10% per year. And foreign companies operating in China are careful not to let this figure decreasing through investments. Indeed, even if wages increase rapidly, especially in the eastern regions which provided further in 2009 nearly 90% of exports, their growth does not exceed that of productivity frankly. Ultimately, the competitiveness of China is still largely preserved.

Especially since the Middle Kingdom has another asset: its reservoir of manpower. China continues to move part of its production in the inland provinces, where wages are lower. Of course, Beijing began a decade ago a rebalancing policy, which should eventually lead to an increased weight of consumption over exports. But do not misinterpret this policy: China has not given up being an exporting nation, says Francoise Lemoine.

In fact, given its advantages, China may well remain very competitive for ten years. However, its scope for growth in the markets today is much lower than that of a decade ago, due to wage increases of course, but also because of the proliferation of protectionist measures, such as the segment solar panels. One statistic sums up the situation in China. Its share in world exports of manufactured goods reached 16%. But in the past, this level has always been a peak for the major exporting countries, whether the United States, Germany or Japan.

Arnaud Lagardère, the General Partner of Lagardère, was sold for eight million shares of the group founded by his father Jean-Luc Lagardère.

According to advice published by the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the shares were sold in five lots between 12 and 16 March. Arnaud Lagardère has sold 346,653 shares, representing 0.26% stake in media group.

Prior to these assignments, Arnaud Lagardere held directly and indirectly 9.62% of Lagardère, or 12,610,893 shares, as the group's annual report in late 2010.

These sales of securities came as the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Holding is mounted to the capital of Lagardère in its interest to 12.8% against 10% previously. The Qatari fund since December is the largest shareholder group.

"The sale of shares made these days on behalf of Mr. Lagardère held as part of the unwinding of a financing package set up by BNP Paribas in 2004 to opportunity of settling the estate of his father and under the relevant contract ", simply commented Lagardère in an email to the press.

"Mr. Lagardère has signed, as such, a term of disposals programmed, September 30, 2011 and including the AMF was informed," says the company. "The declarations of leadership assignments are made directly to the MFA by the operator."

Lagardère, which owns a 7.5% share in EADS, has suffered a heavy loss in 2011, 707 million euros due to massive writedowns past ; are about sports.

This diversification, considered strategic by Arnaud Lagardère, ended last year with an operating loss of six million euros, after sales performance below expectations, loss of several contracts and litigation.

Qatar has raised its stake to 12.8% stake in Lagardere and intends to seek a position on the supervisory board of the media group, we read in a notice published Monday by the Authority ; financial markets.

Qatar Holding said hold 12.83% stake in Lagardere. society, which belongs to the sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Autority, said it had also surpassed the 10% voting rights, 10.05%.

She added that it reserves the possibility to further increase its stake in the company but said not wanting to take control.

However, it indicates it intends to seek a position on the supervisory board and "talk to all interested actors, as appropriate, in light of strategic partnerships to create value in ; long-term shareholder, with the stipulation that there is currently no specific plans in this regard ".

Inflation rebounded 0.4% last month after falling in January. Blame the price of energy, those of fresh products and services.

The consumer prices fell by 0.4% in January in France, they bounce from 0.4% in February. This gives an inflation rate of 2.3% a year, said Tuesday the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The indicator of underlying inflation, that is to say non-price (volatile petroleum products, fresh produce …) and administered prices (electricity, gas, tobacco …), however, has shown steady to 1.4% yoy.

In fact, the origin of the rebound in February lies partly in these volatile products. The pursuit of higher energy prices has thus resulted in an increase of 1% last month (7.8% yoy), in the wake of rising crude oil prices. This rise has affected the price of fuel (1.3% in February and 8.5% year on year) and those of liquid fuels (4.1%, 16.1%).

Fresh products also recorded a rise unevenly high (3.0% against 1.3% in February 2011; 0.2% yoy). These increases were particularly concerned vegetables (+8.7%). The particularly low temperatures have indeed affected the production and delivery of products.

Excluding fresh food, the food prices are increasing is only slightly (0.2%, 4.4% yoy). The price of spirits has continued to grow (1.9%, 5.8% yoy) and taxation of soft drinks has affected the prices of soft drinks, juices and syrups (0.9%, 8.5% on a year). Ultimately, food prices rose in February by 0.6% and 3.8% year on year.

Service prices are also victims of seasonal increases. Totaling an increase of 0.5% last month (1.6% yoy). With winter school holidays, accommodation holiday surged by 30.8% (5% yoy), while package holidays are appreciated by 9.8% (0.8%). Automobile insurance also rose by 2.6% (2.8% yoy), tolls and parking of 1.8% (2.5%), the Clean Water 0.8% ( 5.8%), distribution of 0.4% (2.8% yoy) and nursing homes by 0.3% (2.7%).

Prices of manufactured goods remained virtually unchanged, however (0.1%, 0.7% yoy). Excluding tobacco index of consumer prices rose in the same way from 0.4% in February (+2.2% yoy) and, seasonally adjusted, it rose 0.1% ( 2.3% yoy).

This decline

Conversely, price decreases were observed on the "other networks" (-2.9% -2.5% yoy) and telecom prices (-1.3% -7.6 % year on year).  

Among manufactured goods, clothing and shoes were flat (+1.7% yoy). Bedding rose 3.1% (7.7% yoy), perfume and beauty products by 0.6% (2.0%) and watches, jewelery, gold 1.7% (12.1%).

Promotions were the cause of the decline in new car prices (-1.4% +0.8% yoy). As for the price of pharmaceuticals, they fell again (-0.7% -1.7%) as those of Photographic and cinematographic equipment (-1.1% -13.9% yoy) and audio-visual (-0.5% -13.1% yoy).