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Industrial production grew only by 9.3% in April against 11.6% in the first quarter. This is the lowest figure since May 2009. Retail sales, exports and investment also slow. A factory in China flat panel displays.

China announced Friday a slowdown in inflation but also the smallest increase in industrial production in almost three years, two factors that should prompt the government to further relax its monetary policy to stimulate growth.

Industrial production grew only by 9.3% in April against 11.6% in the first quarter. This is the lowest figure since May 2009 when the increase was 8.9%. "The Chinese economy is even weaker than expected, with growth of industrial production in the single digits for the first time since the global financial crisis," said Alistair Thornton, economist at IHS Global Insight, based in Beijing.

Any effect of the second world economy is also reflected in a slower increase in retail sales, gauge consumer spending, which rose in April by 14.1% year on year, against 15.2% in March and 14.8% for the entire first quarter. "The figures of consumption and production (industrial) showering even more hopes for a resumption of rapid growth in China," said Mark Williams, an analyst at Capital Economics.

Finally, investments in fixed capital, contributing to over half of the formation of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of China also see their rise on a year to slow to 20.2% for the first four months of the year, whereas it was 20.9% for the first quarter. These weaknesses of the economy should prompt the government to ease its monetary policy, especially since the rise in consumer prices slowed to 3.4% yoy in April, against 3.6% in March.  

The level of inflation remains well below the 4% threshold set in March by the government, which closely monitors the evolution of prices to maintain social stability in a politically sensitive period, with the coming to power a new generation of leaders scheduled for the fall. On a year, food prices remain the main contributor to the rise, with 7% growth, which disproportionately hits the poorest households because they spend a larger portion of their income on food. But about a month, food prices fell 0.9% in April.

"The priority for the Chinese economy is not inflation but rather how to maintain economic growth," he told AFP Liao Qun, an economist at China Citic Bank International in Hong Kong. The producer price, which provides an early indication of future inflation, for their part, declined year on year by 0.7% in April. They had already declined in March but only 0.3%. "The extremely low index of producer prices will be one of the main factors that will force the government to further easing" monetary policy, according to Mr. Thornton.

Monetary easing seems all the more necessary that the Chinese economy is less and less driven by export growth, which suffer from the debt crisis in Europe, and struggling to find a relay in domestic demand. In April, growth in exports over the year fell to 4.9% and imports were virtually flat with only 0.3% increase, according to figures released by Customs on Thursday. These figures are significantly below the target of foreign trade growth of about 10% by government decree in 2012.

This smaller increase in foreign trade of China has contributed to the slowdown in growth, from 9.7% in first quarter 2011 to 8.1% in the first quarter of this year. To support the activity, the central bank will soon lower the reserve requirements for banks, allowing them to lend more, analysts said. Two drops of these reserves, very high in China, have already taken place in December and February.

The field of business has expanded in a broad way, and one area that is common is the business of financing people who are on paychecks. The opening in this business has grown to a greater extent, and now, people have limitless options, including one of getting payday loans online.

The American public and private sectors have hired in April 25% of people below the previous month. A brake that is accompanied by a decrease in trompe l'oeil in the unemployment rate to 8.1%. The unemployment rate in the United States has still not deflated. "They need a job" REUTERS / Jason Reed (UNITED STATES – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS Civil Unrest)

The controversy over the unemployment figures in the U.S. is not going to stop. The unemployment rate has indeed declined despite a decline in recruitment. According lenquête conducted by the Ministry with companies, the U.S. economy created 115,000 more jobs than it destroyed in April. Or 25.4% less than in March, and a figure lower than the estimate of analysts (162,000). A trend that confirms the investigation of the slowdown in hiring in the private sector alone.

Curiously, this poor performance has not prevented the official unemployment rate to fall by 0.1 points compared with April, amounting to 8.1%, its lowest level since January 2009, according to the Ministry of working. This decline is a surprise since the median estimate of analysts gave unemployment stable at 8.2%. Government figures show that the decline in unemployment has resulted primarily from lower rather marked in the labor force. According to investigations conducted by the ministry of households, the number employed appears to have declined for the second consecutive month, just slightly slower than that of people unemployed.

Apple announced Tuesday the results well above expectations, thanks to strong demand for its iPhone and iPad, numbers that advance the action of the American group of more than 7% in exchange for after-hours trading.

The first global stock market capitalization has reported earnings per share for the second quarter of 2011-2012 and $ 12.30 a turnover of 39.2 billion.

Financial analysts had expected, respectively 10.04 and 36.82 billion dollars, according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Apple said it sold 35.1 million iPhones in the period, an increase of 88% from a year ago. Analysts had expected about 30 million deliveries.

"The iPhone sales have exploded internationally," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's chief financial officer, during an interview with Reuters.

The number of elapsed iPad is 11.8 million, an increase of 151% over the second quarter of 2010-2011.

For the third quarter, said the group anticipates earnings per share of about 8.68 dollars and an annual turnover of about $ 34 billion, against expectations of 9.93 dollars and 37 respectively , 45 billion, according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Gross margin for the second quarter stood at 47.7% against 41.4% a year ago. 

"The margin is very high, which means that concerns about subsidies, price pressures were exaggerated. This shows that the group of flexibility on price, not only among consumers but also among operators, "said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee.

The way Apple had finished down by 1.99% to 560.28 dollars, due to movement of profit taking at work for several sessions.

The action group is more than up some 39% since the beginning of the year, against an advance of nearly 60% earlier this month.

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.

European shares closed sharply lower Friday, weakened by the tensions of the Spanish sovereign debt and growth of Chinese considered disappointing first quarter.

In Paris the CAC 40 lost 2.47% to 3,189.09 points, regaining its level of more than two months.

For the week, shortened because of Easter Monday, the index lost 3.94%.

The decline was accentuated in the afternoon after an indicator of U.S. consumer sentiment slightly below expectations and statements of Klaas Knot, member of the Board of Governors of the European Central Bank, hoping to avoid having to resort to new purchases of government securities. 

"After rising yesterday as investors returned to the real problems of the Spanish debt. Klaas Knot's statements have put water on the fire," said Pierre Barral, portfolio manager at Convictions AM.

Klaas Knot, at a conference in Amsterdam, said:

"The instrument has not been used for a long time but it exists. I'm glad it was not used, I hope we will never to use it. "

"I do not think we are approaching the precipice, I think the markets have overreacted a little" (for Spain).

The London Stock Exchange yielded 1.03%, 2.36% Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid 3.43% 3.58%. Of the European indices, the Euro Stoxx 50 lost 2.58% and 1.63% Eurofirst 300.

Bank stocks and cyclicals suffered the largest declines sector in Europe, with a loss of 3% for the bank and 2.6% for cars.

The euro a little more resistant than shares and lost 0.8% against the greenback around 1.3080 dollar.

STMicroelectronics (ST) announced Monday that an arbitral tribunal ordered it late last week to pay $ 59 million (45 million) to NXP Netherlands, leading manufacturer of semiconductors ; to lower its margin guidance for the first quarter.

"This award follows a dispute between ST and NXP that involved a claim by NXP for certain operating expenses to be added to the price of chips provided by NXP from 1 October 2008 and 31 December December 2009 to the joint venture created by ST in the field of mobile, "the company said in a statement.

"This award will be reflected in the income statement of our first quarter 2012 and we believe it will negatively impact our cost of sales. This will in turn have a negative impact on our gross margin by about 2.6%. "

ST adds thereby lower its pre ; cédente forecast results for the first quarter as a result of this unexpected exceptional charge, to about 30.4%

.

Values ​​to follow Tuesday at the Paris Bourse.

* GDF SUEZ announced he would propose to its shareholders to receive shares in a portion of the dividends for 2011 and 2012 to complete the refinancing of its tender offer to minority shareholders of Britain's International Power.

* PSA Peugeot Citroën has signed with a subsidiary of Ivanhoe Cambridge real estate arm of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, a sales agreement for the sale of its headquarters Avenue de la Grande Armee in Paris.

* BOLLORÉ. The mutual insurer Groupama said Monday it has sold all its shares, or 3.10% stake in the diversified group.

* AIR FRANCE has placed its short and medium haul business in the center of its turnaround plan and said that the maintenance of this activity depend on a "radical restructuring" and reduced "drastically costs ".

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."

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."

The rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Monday the credit rating of Greece to "SD", a level corresponding to "selective default. Anti-austerity protesters in Parliament in Athens on 7 February 2012.

. The rating agency Standard and Poor's downgraded Monday the credit rating of Greece to "SD", a level corresponding to "selective default", to reflect the restructuring of government debt launched Friday. S & P said in a statement it plans to raise the rating of the country to CCC rating assigned to issuers of poor quality with a real risk of default, when this operation has been fully carried out, probably around mid- in March.

The decision of the U.S. Agency was expected since it had indicated in the past it would raise the note by Greece SD begin as soon as the implementation of the Agreement on Cessation of Athens claims made by private financial institutions. However, "if a sufficient number of bondholders (public) Greek did not accept the exchange offer," wrote S & P said in a statement, "we believe that Greece would present an imminent risk of default characterized payment "to the extent that the release of the rest of the assistance promised to the country by the euro area and the International Monetary Fund is subject to the successful debt restructuring of Athens.

A default is characterized reflected in the note "D" in the notation of S & P. "I take note of the decision" S & P, said the leader of Finance Ministers of the euro zone Jean-Claude Juncker, in a statement released in Luxembourg, adding that he expected a "strong participation "of private creditors in the operation launched Friday.

This exchange transaction should allow Greece to obtain a cancellation of debt of 107 billion euros. Greece aims to give private creditors participating in the operation of shares worth 53.5% less than those they currently hold. A quarter of those titles that creditors will receive bonds from the European Stability (EFSF), presumably with a maximum maturity of two years. The rest will consist of new Greek bonds with maturities ranging from 11 to 30 years, a period much greater than those they replace.

The goal is to push the repayment schedule of Greece on the amounts it still accepts honor, for giving him time to recover. If successful, "we should consider that the incident of the partial failure of Greece belongs to the past," wrote S & P, for which the possible increase of the rating to CCC would then account "the economic growth outlook uncertain of the country "and its" public debt remains strong ", even after restructuring.