Top Economics News

After the loss of triple A, the real estate professionals were inclined rather to an increase in lending rates. But the opposite occurs in February, according to the online broker best rate.

Contrary to the fears widely reported by the loss of triple-A, mortgage rates are down slightly for this month. This is apparent from a study of online broker, Meilleurtaux.com. In February, 45% of banks show declines of 0.15 points on average, 31% have left the stable. Only 24% have made gains. Overall, the average credit rate stood at 4.28% against 4.31% in January.

OAT rates down

"We do not expect this result" surprising Sandrine Allonier, head of economic research meilleurtaux.com. It must be said that the rate of OAT (comparable Treasury obligations), that is to say the rate at which France takes the 10-year bond has not increased. The Hexagon borrows at preferential rates. And on the contrary, it borrows a better rate. "For example, in February it reached 2.89%, whereas before the loss of the triple A, it was 3.40%," says Sandrine Allonier. Second explanation, the rates of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the interbank rate, the interest rate charged between banks themselves, remain stable. Finally, the loss of the AAA had been anticipated by financial markets and banks have rebuilt their capital. Consequently, they can lower their lending rates long and short term.

March, the month in real estate transactions

"Presumably, this slight decline will continue in March, one month is very rich in real estate transactions." Banks are trying to position themselves in relation to competition. Hence their strategy to attract new customers by lower lending rates in the long and short term. "Some had rates at 4.30%, which rose 4% in February. These banks want to take their game," said Ms. Allonier. Before continuing, "the banks are still selective about the cases. All require a contribution of 10%."

Apply for credit up

The increase in the number of credit reports is the second conclusion of the study meilleurtaux.com. A figure up 20% compared with December, while still down 2% year on year. Borrowers do not turn away the real estate market. There are still a safe haven, especially since many of them expect lower prices in 2012, "the order of 5% in some areas," said Sandrine Allonier. However, "there is a caution for future buyers: they are occasionally more likely to assess their borrowing capacity before they have found a property. Those who led a project with a signed sales agreement fell 4% over a year. "

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The new car registrations fell 20.7% in January. The slump was even more dramatic for PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault. The new Renault parked Flins-sur-Seine, near Paris The French car market plunged in January, a victim of weak controls and an unfavorable comparison with the beginning of the year 2011 where he had been supported by the premium to casse.Les registrations fell 20.7% in raw data to 147,143 units, according to the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA). A comparable number of working days, the decline is even greater at 24.3%. The meltdown is spectacular for the two French carmakers. Registrations of PSA Peugeot Citroën have collapsed by 27.4% (30% for Peugeot and Citroen 25%) and those of the Renault group 32.7% (-37% for the Renault brand and -10.5 % for the low cost brand Dacia). unfavorable base effect "It is like the month of January 2011 which was the highest for ten years" with over 185,000 new cars sold, moderates a spokesman for the CCFA. The scrappage scheme, set up by the government to support sales during the crisis, had been reduced gradually and disappeared completely at 31 December 2010. But it was on cars purchased and delivered to date through March 2011.Pour However, the aftermath of his death is not sufficient alone to explain the plunge last month. "We know that the orders (new car, note) were low in December, resulting in registrations," said the spokesman for the CCFA, which warns that the first quarter should be in part difficile.Chômage PSAConcernant orders in January, "they were stable compared to last year" for Renault, said France's commercial director Bernard Cambier. Peugeot, however, rose by 20%, according to the director of Peugeot France, Olivier Veyrier. To face these headwinds, PSA has already planned a week of partial unemployment in February or March for more than 20,000 of its employees to reduce the major German manufacturers stocks.Les gagnantsLes German manufacturers, champions of high-end, n have not this problem. Their registrations rose in January, 18% for the Volkswagen group, 16% for BMW. Only the group runs out of steam Mercedes (+0.8%), due to the underperformance of its brand Smart (-26%). Sales of Nissan Japan also increased, while those of the American Ford, General Motors, the Toyota Japanese, Italian Fiat and Hyundai have décru.La Korean War price until when? To boost sales, the groups are likely to continue the price war in which they are engaged for several months. But "manufacturers can not continue to have sustainable margins deteriorate," warned the president of the National Professional automotive (CNPA) Patrick Bailly. In this context, "the launches of new models of French manufacturers, PSA for the 208 and the new Clio Renault, will have considerable importance," warns Flavien Neuvy, head of the observatory Cetelem.La Peugeot 208 will go on sale this spring. The Clio IV will appear in dealerships this fall. Renault is also counting on the future Dacia SUV, the Lodgy. "This is the heart of their range and sales," said Mr. Neuvy still, for whom the French could enable cars to boost sales to individuals who continue to decline, unlike those companies. Registrations of light commercial vehicles, specialty French manufacturers, have better kept, with a decline of 2.5% in raw data to 32,707 units.

Equity markets have appeared hesitant and versatile throughout the session. The European equity markets ended in a disorganized, while at the same time, Wall Street also hesitated between increases and decreases.

Investors have welcomed the drop in bond yields Italian and Spanish through purchases of securities by the European Central Bank in the secondary market.

Traders also mention the idea that the ECB would lend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to assist countries in the euro area.

But operators remain skeptical, however.

Core values ​​to take on Wall Street Thursday.

* Chevron announced Thursday a 3.8% increase in its quarterly dividend, which will reach 81 cents per share.

* RAYTHEON published adjusted earnings of $ 1.39 per share for the third quarter and a turnover of 6.13 billion, against a consensus Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S of 6.38 billion of dollars.

* Procter & Gamble announced Thursday an increase in sales in the first quarter of fiscal year and an earnings per share in line with analysts' expectations.

With $ 21.9 billion, the revenue exceeds the consensus Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S, which included 21.53 billion dollars.

Earnings per share was announced at $ 1.03, as expected.Turnover was up 14% to $ 1.68 billion (1.66 billion expected, on average).

* BMC SOFTWARE, which develops business software, announced an adjusted earnings per share of 87 cents against 81 cents expected for the second quarter of fiscal year.

Revenues also exceeded expectations, with 556.3 million against $ 540.4 million expected.

* AETNA – The third group American Health Insurance has reported a profit higher than expected for the third quarter due to a small number of claims.

Earnings excluding items rose to $ 1.40 per share.Analysts on average expected $ 1.15.

Net income stood at 490.4 million dollars against 497.6 million a year earlier. The turnover, however, fell 0.7% to 8.48 billion dollars.

* LAZARD – The investment bank saw its net profit fall by 2% in the third quarter versus the same period in 2010 due to lower revenue from business advisory and asset management.

Net income was $ 62.7 million, or 49 cents a share, against $ 64 million (51 cents) a year earlier.

Greece wants a solution to their debt problems that would apply to all of its debt maturing until 2035, said Monday a government source.

"We think of all the Greek debt, expiring until 2035, not 2020 as planned in the previous plan," the source said, adding that "nothing can be done without the European Central Bank ".

Leaders of the 17 euro zone members must agree by the EU summit Wednesday on how the second aid package granted to Greece, including a marked discount on Greek bonds held by the private sector , which represent the 200 billion euros.

"We oppose any unilateral action that could be interpreted as a reconstruction of the debt," the source said.

Whatever emerges from the top of Wednesday, Greek banks are not nationalized, also said the source.

According to the information that leaked a report on the debt of Greece by international inspectors, it seems that the second aid package of € 109 billion agreed in July is no longer sufficient unless private investors n 'accept a discount of 60% on their Greek bonds.

Without it, it would take more than 250 billion euros for Greece is solvent, say economists.

The new organization called the head of Renault after the false spy case will come into force on 2 November as planned and strengthen the power of the CEO Carlos Ghosn with the aim to avoid the fiasco of the early recurrence in 2011.

Two audits were presented last April to the board of the diamond group to shed light on the failures that led to falsely accuse several of its executives of industrial espionage.An audit was conducted in-house and one by the firm Bearing Point.

Among the organizational changes confirmed Friday night in a brief statement included a redesign of the security service of Renault, who was at the heart of the case that began in January and now suspected to be a scam.

The new management of protection and prevention group, the prerogatives extended, will be led by Eric the Great, who was previously a function similar to the Post Office.But in the future to reduce the risk of error, the direction will be doubly locked with the appointment of an Inspector General, Jean-Marc Berlioz, who led a time IGPN (General Inspectorate of the National Police), and who will report directly to the CEO.

"President Carlos Ghosn had communicated its intention to implement all the report's findings as soon as possible," it said in a statement from Renault.

The new organization also confirms the reunification of HRD and the enlargement of the former General Secretariat (support functions, management and legal protection group, the famous security service), Mouna Sepehri told.Both services are now placed directly under the authority of Carlos Ghosn, and not under that of his number two as in the previous architecture.

The responsibilities of the new Chief Operating Officer Carlos Tavares are reduced compared to those of his predecessor Patrick Pélata, ousted after the affair.

Carlos Ghosn turns his back on a tandem operation that has punctuated the history of Renault with famous couples, like the one formed by CEO Louis Schweitzer and the Secretary General Michel de Virville in the 1990s.

So far, Carlos Ghosn had seemed like a time to step back and focus on long-term strategy of the Renault-Nissan, and had delegated for this purpose from 2008 operational direction of the diamond group at Patrick Pélata.

"It's a good thing he is more responsible for Renault, he made it clear from the case that the company was within its responsibility, and employees expect there to be a boss and a single" said a source told Reuters the company.

The state, which owns 15% of Renault, has never hidden its displeasure over the matter.Renault said Friday that Veronica Dosdat named director of public affairs, will be responsible for defending the interests of the group with public authorities in France and worldwide.

REDESIGN THE COMMUNICATION

Audits of spring had never accepted the responsibility of the CEO of Renault.The two reports believed that the president of the company was not part of those "who played a key role in the investigation of the case and / or the anchoring of the belief that it was a case of corruption.

Carlos Ghosn had however provided in January at 20 hours of TF1 that he had "certainty" and evidence "multiple" to support the dismissal of executives.

The espionage case ultimately led to the indictment of Dominique Gevrey, one of the security officials of Renault for organized fraud.The executives were charged for their compensation and, for two of them returned to Renault.

The audit also recommends the establishment of a new management expanded audit and risk management, reporting directly to Carlos Ghosn, whose spokeswoman for Renault said it would be entrusted to Farid Aractingi, who held this function in the previous version of the chart.

Mouna Sepheri had also given the task of learning from the management of the crisis in communications.The audit criticized the internal and external communications have left no room for doubt for several weeks, the group announced Friday the appointment of a new communications director e, in the person of the automotive journalist Florence Goldfiem.

Belgium, Luxembourg and France came Thursday to the heart of the negotiations on their respective participation in the rescue of a new Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, expected to lead discussions in a few days to a dismantling of the group ordered.

The Belgian government has warned Paris that Belgium did not intend to bear alone the financial burden of the rescue of the old world leader in financing local authorities, the first victim of the banking crisis of sovereign debt in the eurozone.

"It is clear that a very sensitive and crucial element in the negotiations, it is fair burden sharing," said Yves Leterme, Belgian Prime Minister in charge of current affairs, radio RTL.

If he declined to go into details of the negotiations, he recalled the nature "systemic" Dexia for the banking system.

His finance minister Didier Reynders also stressed the need for a balanced sharing of effort."Yes, we do not want to be alone with the whole group on our hands," he told reporters before a meeting of a small cabinet in Brussels.

"Do not forget that not only support the Belgian bank but it must continue to fund all the past, and we will not do it alone," said Didier Reynders, stating that it would begin negotiations with France after obtaining a government mandate.

In France, neither the Ministry of Finance or the Treasury or the Bank of France was immediately available to comment on the progress of negotiations on Dexia, whose board of directors to be held Saturday .

REDEMPTION FOR DEXIA BIL

Luxembourg has for its part that it was negotiating the acquisition of the Luxembourg subsidiary of Dexia, Dexia Banque Internationale à Luxembourg, with the help of an international investor.

The Minister of Finance of the Grand Duchy, Luc Frieden, said that negotiations on the resumption of Dexia BIL were in an advanced stage and could be finalized before the end of October, without specifying the identity of the investor.

With the statements of the Luxembourg authorities, the Dexia has suddenly turned down.

At 13:00, the action gave up 0.90% to 11.66 euros after

open up like other European banking shares.The European banking index progressed by 3.2%.

"This should generate a capital gain, which is positive.However, Dexia BIL is certainly rich in deposits, the sale of the blow will not ease the problems of financing the group, "said one trader in Paris.

The rescue plan could weigh on public finances of France and Belgium, already undermined by the crisis, and trigger negative reactions in public opinion.

The scenario being considered involves a backing of the main activities of Dexia in France at the Caisse des Depots (CDC) and the Postal Bank.

In Belgium, the plan could be realized by a partial nationalization of the retail or split it into a separately listed entity.

For the rest of the group, a "bad bank" would be set up to manage a large bond portfolio and an asset disposal program would be launched.

France and Belgium must commit to provide guarantees for the financing of the bond portfolio.

The British authorities to fight against fraud are currently reviewing certain transactions by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs, the Financial Times reported Monday.

The daily said that the investigation is part of a collection of evidence to determine whether certain financial institutions have fraudulently presented some financial stocks to their customers and counterparties is misleading.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) UK has spent the last two years to focus on sales of bonds backed by home loans (ABS) and their possible role in the financial crisis of 2008-2009.

Monday, fifteen minutes after the opening, the action Deutsche Bank lost 5.5% to 24.59 euros.The European sector index banks lost 3.31% to him, in reaction to the fact that the U.S. federal agency oversight of mortgage loans (Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA) filed a complaint Friday against 17 major financial institutions for losses relating to bonds linked to subprime.

Deutsche Bank is already covered since Friday by a complaint from the U.S. federal agency oversight of mortgage (FHFA), which accuses 17 major international financial institutions for a total loss of $ 41 billion in bonds linked to subprime These loans granted without regard to the resources of borrowers.

Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase or Societe Generale are among the other banks involved.

According to the FT, the British SFO also examines transactions Goldman Sachs, which said the file Timberwolf, an ABS fitted by the bank in 2007 and that U.S. authorities are also interested.

The SFO has not yet opened a formal investigation but has appealed for witnesses.

Neither Deutsche Bank nor Goldman Sachs were not immediately available for comment on the report.

In addition, dissemination of minutes at 18:00 GMT of the last meeting of the Federal Reserve, August 9, will tell if the leaders of the central bank were unanimous on the decision to keep interest rates near zero for at least two years.

Values, The News International title fell by 1.76% on opening. Counsel for the media empire of Rupert Murdoch are investigating the journalistic practices of all the British newspapers of the group, reported sources familiar with the matter.

Steve Jobs, Apple's iconic chief, resigned from his position as general manager, said Wednesday night the Apple brand.

On sick leave since January, Steve Jobs has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of Apple and Tim Cook replaces the position of CEO.

"I always said if I ever came to not being able to perform my duties and obligations as CEO of Apple, I'd be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come" he wrote in his letter of resignation.

For many analysts, the resignation of Steve Jobs, predictable long-standing, should not prevent the group from Cupertino to continue on the path he laid out, marked by timed out.A new iPhone could also be marketed in September and the third version of the iPad tablet in 2012.

"I would say to investors not to panic and stay calm. Is the right thing to do. Steve Cook is president and CEO," responded Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial.

At 56, Steve Jobs has survived pancreatic cancer and was on sick leave since Jan. 17.

He was briefly interrupted in March when, emaciated, he came to present the new version of the tablet from Apple, the iPad.Steve Jobs was then photographed at a meal with President Barack Obama.

Since sick leave, Tim Cook held the position of CEO on an interim basis.

Steve Jobs spent all day Wednesday at the headquarters of his company in Silicon Valley, officials said a source close to Apple.

He met with the board and his closest collaborators and intends to play an active role in his new role, they added.

"Investors are very comfortable with Tim Cook, even if Jobs was the engine of innovation.Tim has shown that Apple could totally outperform when he was CEO of Apple, "said Shannon Cross, analyst at Cross Research.

Trading in Apple stock was suspended in electronic transactions. By 2300 GMT, it was indicated down 7%.