JPMorgan has been the subject of Wednesday two lawsuits from some of its shareholders, who accused the bank and its executives for taking excessive risks that led to trading losses of at least two billion announced last week.
A spokesman for JPMorgan Chase declined to comment on these two complaints that were filed in federal court in Manhattan.
Barclays Bank has sold its retail banking operations in France, Les Echos reported in its Tuesday edition.
The newspaper announced on its front page "A" that the British group does want to keep in the Hexagon as their operations to large corporations.
It indicates that the Postal Bank and the HSBC Group "could bid".
No one was contacted Monday evening with the French bank for comment.
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.
Lloyds has surprised investors by announcing Tuesday a 36% reduction of its bad debts and a quarterly profit after the loss of 3.5 billion pounds (4.3 billion) realized a year ago.
At midday, the action of the British bank and advanced 2.32% to 31.73 pence while the FTSE 100 London Stock Exchange, the only open in Europe in May 1 , gained 0.24%.
The UK bank has yet announced that it had a fresh supply of 375 million pounds (459 million) in its accounts for the first quarter to cover the reimbursement of customers who potentially overpaid for certain insurance policies.
Lloyds 40% owned by the State since the 2008 financial crisis, said the increase in provisions in the case of insurance policies had been decided e given the increasing volume of complaints received, echoing comments made by Barclays last week about it.
Last year, Lloyds had already funded £ 3.2 billion for the same reasons.
The group also said that the sale of 632 programmed agencies made little progress, while being pessimistic about the UK economy, fallout recession in the first quarter.
"We think the economy will stagnate this year but it will be a long and difficult recovery. We anticipate a resumption of growth in 2013 and a peak in unemployment of almost 9% early next year, "said Antonio Horta-Osorio, Director General ; ral
. Lloyds bank has cleared the first three months of a taxable income Statutory 288 million pounds over the period, against 316 million the previous quarter
. The largest British settlement in terms of customers reported a level of bad debts to 1.7 billion pounds
.
The bill to nationalize the oil company YPF, the Spanish subsidiary of Repsol was adopted Wednesday in the Argentine Senate committee, which should allow the vote in plenary sitting of the text ; re next week.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez announced Monday his intention to nationalize 51% of YPF, the first oil company in the country, drawing criticism from the international community.
Wednesday, the government decided to include the company YPF Gas, another company controlled by Repsol, which distributes propane and butane, in the Bill of nationalization of YPF.
The action YPF, which had already fallen in anticipation of the announcement of the nationalization, has still dropped 28% Wednesday.
Tuesday night, Argentina announced that it had no intention of paying the $ 9.3 billion (7 billion) claimed by Repsol YPF to 51%.
"Everyone knew that the risk of nationalization was high," said an Argentine economist familiar with the matter YPF. "But now we have more information on the price that Argentina wants to pay for a controlling stake in YPF."
The United States said Wednesday that the proposed nationalization was a "negative development" and said they were very concerned.
Spain for its part should ask the EU to avail of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to ensure the open proceedings against Argentina.
A meeting of European foreign ministers is scheduled for Monday to decide how to resolve the dispute between the two countries.
The countries pledged to reduce its public deficit to three points of GDP by 2012. To achieve this, the government announced tax increases and lower spending. The Spanish head of government right, Mariano Rajoy.
Brussels had requested an additional effort of 20 billion euros. Spain is best. The Spanish government on Friday approved its draft budget for 2012, which provides "over 27 billion euros' savings and new revenues, including through the wage freeze for civil servants and lower departmental budgets by 16.9% on average.
"We are facing an extreme situation," admitted the government spokesman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria after the Council of Ministers, and "our first obligation is to return to public accounts cleaned up", while the Spain pledged to cut the end of 2012 the government deficit, from 8.51% to 5.3% of GDP.
Spain is the country with the least restated its fiscal 2011, the experts calculated at Credit Suisse. Its structural deficit (independent conditions) was reduced by 1 percentage point of GDP. A figure that is stain when compared to the effort in neighboring countries: more than 3 points in Portugal and almost 6 percentage points in Greece. To compensate for the delay in 2011, Spain had to work twice as hard. It's done. At least in part.
Most analysts expected the need for Spain to find about 50 billion euros between savings and new revenues, taking into account the recession, which should reduce the Spanish GDP by 1.7% this year. The rest of the effort must come from particular regions and municipalities, the fragile financial health since the bursting of the housing bubble in 2008.
Madrid, in any case, does not completely stifle the economy by embarking on a program of excessive rigor.
The return to a lower deficit will be "not achieved at any price," warned Soraya Saenz, stressing the need to "support those who need it most and does not block growth and job creation "In a country with record unemployment (22.85%). Thus, "we decided to keep the revaluation of pensions, freeze the salaries of civil servants rather than decrease, maintain unemployment benefits and social spending, including grants," she said. Similarly, "we will not raise VAT to not harm the consumer and the economic recovery, but we will increase the corporation tax for large companies."
Barcelona and Madrid are struggling to accommodate "Eurovegas", a project that could generate 164,000 direct jobs and 97,000 indirect jobs. An employment agency in Malaga. Spain has an unemployment rate above 20%
Under the slogan "No Eurovegas", a platform to mobilize citizens to Spain to fight against the project a huge casino complex, inspired by Las Vegas and expected to provide over 260,000 jobs in a country affected by unemployment record.
"It's the return of the economic model of the building to a fault, it's not a sustainable source of employment," denounced one of his representatives, Ana Sanz, during the presentation of the platform form in Madrid on Wednesday. "This project is going back to a model that failed with the crisis," added another member of the group, Carlos Ruiz.
"This project" is a huge complex centered around the game, which are fighting for the two largest Spanish cities, Barcelona and Madrid. "Eurovegas" as he was nicknamed, involves the construction of six casinos, 12 hotels offering 36,000 rooms, nine theaters and three golf courses, according to Spanish media. It will generate an investment of 15 to 18.8 billion euros and the creation of 164,000 direct jobs and 97,000 indirect jobs.
Its promoter: the gaming giant Las Vegas Sands, owned by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is expected to announce in early summer if the giant complex will be the day or not, and if so, which of the two cities is drawn . But official data are not easily accessible and opponents denounced Wednesday "opacity" surrounding the project.
The numbers of jobs "that we are selling are not real," says Ana Sanz also. Mired in crisis, Spain in late 2011 showed a record unemployment rate of 22.85% and almost a quarter of its workforce (24.3%) should be unemployed by the end of the years, according to government forecasts. In this grim context, perspective, even fuzzy, a project expected to generate 261,000 jobs enthusiasm the political and economic leaders.
"More than half of Madrid unemployed could find work", was launched in February the President of the Madrid region, Esperanza Aguirre, saying negotiate with billionaire since 2006. "We will change all the rules need to be changed, so long as is consistent with our principles", she also promised. For its part, the president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has said the project would drain a "quality tourism".
In addition to a return to the worst excesses of the housing boom that fueled the Spanish economy until the bubble burst in 2008, critics of "Eurovegas" denounce them preferential treatment, and legal tax proponents have claimed. "It will be a free zone where laws will be imposed by the investor," worries Carlos Ruiz. He said Las Vegas Sands would have required such that "any request for funding, the Spanish state shall guarantee" that "the project companies do not pay VAT," a moratorium "on ten years of taxes on the game "and further that" it changes the law on money laundering ".
Smoking would be allowed in the complex, while smoking is prohibited in bars and restaurants in Spain since January 2011. "There is a risk of opening the mafia of prostitution," added another representative of the platform, Cristina Fernandez. According to the spokesman for Las Vegas Sands, Ronald Reese, "negotiations with all levels of government are very advanced." "I assure you that these are not agreements that will change the structure (legal) Madrid, Barcelona or Spain," he added last week on public television. However, without reaching to reassure his critics.
The debt-swap plan (ISP) must be completed Thursday night. Lack of agreement with private creditors, Greece risks bankruptcy. The agency Standard
Greece is entering a critical period. Its private creditors have until 2000 GMT Thursday to say whether or not they participate in the swap of debt (the famous PSI).
Why the looping of the PSI is it important?
The success of this operation is vital: through it, the slate of Greece (EUR 350 billion today) should be lowered by more than 100 billion euros. Specifically, private creditors must agree to waive 53.5% of the face value of Greek bonds they hold. They must also agree on a new Greek bonds, a longer maturity and bearing a lower interest rate. The PSI is also the condition for the EU and the IMF in the wake unlock a second credit line of € 130 billion to Greece, private market access. European aid plan that provides more than 60 billion euros in aid to banks, which at least 30 institutions only Greek. This massive support to banks, which aims to try to avoid the repetition of the 1929 crisis, however, is hotly disputed, both in the protests in Greece, as the former Argentine Finance Minister Roberto Lavagna, the main architect of his country's recovery after its bankruptcy a decade ago. All denounce the drastic sacrifices imposed on the Greek population in exchange for aid purely financial.
An agreement will he find?
Not sure, and that is what worries the markets. The Greek government is between 75 and 90% acceptance rate for private creditors. But the financial sacrifice is asked of them is important. Their participation in the exchange is likely to be lower than expected. Below 75%, the government has already announced that the project would be abandoned. Greece would be at risk of a default on March 20, when the country must repay a maturity of 14.4 billion euros. The Eurosceptics, like the British think tank Openeurope, opposed the entire plan of aid to Greece, for their part provide a default inevitable future of the country on the rest of its debt will weigh on the shoulders of taxpayers Europe. In the immediate future, the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which led the negotiations with banks on the side of the Greek government, drew a scenario Apocalypse if the PSI was not adopted at least 75%, in a confidential report was leaked to the press. The IIF has amounted to over EUR 1,000 billion cost for the international economy of uncontrolled bankruptcy of Greece in case of failure of the PSI. The report also refers to the ECB in difficulty, and the rapid contagion in Portugal, Italy, Spain.
Is there already private creditors in favor of PSI?
Yes. The heavyweights of European finance announced on Monday night agreed to participate in the deal: three German Allianz, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, the French Axa, BNP Paribas, CNP Assurances, the Dutch ING Bank, Italy's Intesa San Paolo The three Greek banks Alpha Bank, EFG Eurobank and National Bank of Greece (NBG) and the U.S. fund Greylock Capital Management. According to Bloomberg, the private creditors in favor of PSI represented 20% of total Greek debt by mid-day. We must now reach 50% in the shortest possible time. Indeed, from this threshold, special provisions allow the imposition, under certain conditions – restructuring to all creditors. In this case, the turnout would be at least 86% calculate the BNP Paribas' experts. Meanwhile Thursday, the Greek government shows its serenity betting on involvement "and substantial enough" to PSI, and repeating the recalcitrant creditors that there will be no better offer.
When the direction of the steel giant still does not guarantee the works council restarting blast furnace site, the steelworkers maintain pressure. The "blockers" ArcelorMittal has lit a big fire burning before the plant Florange.
Employees who require restarting blast furnaces Florange dormant for several months, occupying part of the site since February 20. This Friday, they were evicted by the police when he blocked a railway line, an operation of glazed jostling between the police and the steelworkers who sang the Marseillaise while shouting "Thank Sarko".
Find pictures in the fight to save the ArcelorMittal Florange
Meanwhile at the headquarters of ArcelorMittal France in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the management assured the unions that the maintenance of a blast furnace Florange would start "very soon", but without mentioning an upturn in the sector hot site. In a statement, management has confirmed "the temporary suspension of part of its facilities Florange for the second quarter due to the difficult economic environment". "Two million euros will be allocated to additional maintenance work to ensure that the liquid phase can restart in the second half in anticipation of an economic recovery," she said.
This Thursday, Nicolas Sarkozy said on France Inter that the P6 "in the second half would go back" after revealing he had the day before a meeting with Lakshmi Mittal, CEO of the No. 1 global steel industry. But ArcelorMittal had conditioned this boot an economic recovery. The presidential candidate said it had obtained a number of global steel industry that invests 17 million to safeguard Florange.
Find our survey to find out what the ads are really worth of Nicolas Sarkozy?
In any case, unions are skeptical. Further reading: "The promise of Sarkozy, it's cat pee."