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The story is she about to repeat itself? As in 2008, when Belgium, France and Luxembourg had given government guarantees the bank Dexia shareholder governments pledge to support the Franco-Belgian bank which could be dismantled. "The Belgian and French States will meet present as in 2008," assured the French minister of Finance, Baroin, on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg. Luc Frieden, Luxembourg's finance minister, also said that his country would play an active role in restructuring the bank.

Governments will particularly seek to support the activity of deposits in Belgium "by a guarantee of the deposits."Concerning the activity of loans to local authorities, which represents about 80 billion euros of assets, Baroin ensures that "whatever happens, we set up a quick and effective solution that will ensure a lack of drop charge this important activity. "

A cash injection, similar to that of 2008 which had led to bail out the bank to the tune of 6.4 billion euros is it to the agenda? No response yet from the French minister who is content to repeat that "States will meet present as in 2008." A source close to the talks for his part, told Reuters that recapitalization was not provided.

The creation of a "bad bank" proposed

Most talkative, the Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders confirmed discussions around the creation of a "bad bank" structure that will isolate the non-performing assets and portfolios of the bank. "There was much talk of a bad bank, a few possibilities," he said business card. "We need to look at how to change this group. We must remove all the dangerous parts of the bank, this is where the state guarantees come into play then we can give guarantees to customers, both depositors or solicitors of credit. "

Intended as reassuring, Didier Reynders recalls that "there is no reason to be of major concern about this group if we continue to accelerate the disposal of assets.Both France and Belgium are ready to provide a guarantee for Dexia's funding, regardless of the form it takes. "

Replica

Earlier in the morning, France and Belgium had already declared their support for the bank. "As part of the restructuring of Dexia, the Belgian and French, in conjunction with central banks will take all necessary measures to ensure the security of depositors and creditors. To that end, agree to bring their guaranteed funds raised by Dexia, "explained a joint finance ministers of two countries. Baroin said that the crisis in Franco-Belgian bank "is a replica of the Great Depression of 2008."

At the Paris Bourse, these guarantees seem to be a little effect.Dexia shares had lost up to 38% in the morning, cut its losses and was down from 16.46% to 1.086 euros on a market down 2.84% to 13.30. But caution is when a special meeting of the Belgian government is expected Tuesday evening "to take stock."

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Politicians and leaders of employers' organizations concerned regularly extinction risk of thousands of business for lack of buyers. Their fears are great, but it is impossible to quantify accurately the number of companies involved, lack of national statistics. "The market for the transfer of SMEs is opaque," said Gregory Bush, President of Epsilon Research, a consultancy specializing in financial analysis, acquisitions of unlisted companies in Europe.To better understand this market, Epsilon Research and National Society of mergers and acquisitions (CNCFA) created last year, a barometer of the transfer of SMEs in France.

The second edition of the barometer, which analyzes the SMEs employing between 20 and 249 employees and transactions with a value between 1 million and 50 million euros, the market potential is estimated at 4 130 SMEs on a total of 87,000. The SME market for family businesses in 2840 a total of 44,400. It consists of 710 transfers and 2,130 internal transmissions. For SMEs subsidiaries of large groups (42,670 businesses) in 1020 and 260 sales outlets LBO.

Rising prices

Direct consequence of the crisis, the market recorded transactions from the database professional has experienced sharp declines in 2008 and 2009.The value of transactions fell from 5 billion euros in 2007 to 2 instant personal loans guaranteed.1 billion in 2009. "The activity was slightly recovery in 2010 with a 7% increase in volume and 7.5% in value," says Gregory Buisson. The price of SMEs increased by 10% compared to 2009. However, the number of transactions, which had risen to 862 in 2007 was only 698 last year. LBO funds "were the only engine of the recovery," while industry groups have remained cautious in their procurement policy.

Purchasers of the euro area are the most active (35%) on the French market. They regained their 2003 level. Europeans outside the euro area, that is to say mainly the British, are increasing. North Americans are sharply down. They are at their lowest.Asians, who were increasingly active since 2002, are also down.

2011 will probably be a difficult year. The recovery in 2010 seems compromised. "According to preliminary figures, the market fell by 45% by volume in the first three quarters of 2011 compared to 2010," says Gregory Buisson. But the valuations of companies that are fit are high, thanks to the appetite of the funds.

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Unity is strength. Armed with this saying and to respond to the stock market crash that plagues the financial markets around the world, the twenty richest economies in the world decided to act jointly. Thus, after a dinner Thursday in Washington, finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 pledged to provide "a strong and coordinated international response" to the crisis.

No statement should be issued initially. But given the urgency of the situation and "the common observation of the need for a collective response," said French Finance Minister Baroin, the G20 is prepared to take "all necessary measures to maintain stability banking systems and financial markets. " For banks, countries ensure that "they have adequate capital," they keep "sufficient access to finance."Central banks provide them with "the necessary liquidity."

At the same time and in response to a request by the G20 in September addressed to Nicolas Sarkozy, the euro zone countries have pledged to implement "necessary measures to increase the flexibility of the European financial stability and maximize its impact to prevent contagion bad credit unsecured personal loans. "

And G20 members say they are committed to act on all fronts: against "increased risk of deterioration" due to soaring public debt, against "the weakened financial system" and "turmoil" growth "low" and "unacceptable level of unemployment." To do this, they will take action to "support growth" while adopting "credible fiscal consolidation plans."And the time is short since the club 20 is the adoption of "an ambitious collective action plan before the summit in Cannes," in early November.

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Very touched by the toxic loans, these loans whose interest rates can soar, the Socialist Mayor of Saint-Etienne, Maurice Vincent, claimed that the government take responsibility. "The Ministries of Economy and Interior are asking us to manage ourselves the question with the banks negotiating with them. But this can not be a solution! "Storm elected.

St. Stephen was able to renegotiate certain loans: from toxics declined from 70% to 34% of its debt. But not all. Because in some cases, banks are asking the community to pay a cash adjustment to transform the high-risk loans in a normal loan. The principle of the balance is logical: the bank must be "compensated" as she would have received in interest rates high – up to 24% in Saint-Etienne with toxic loans.But its amount, which varies according to market conditions, may be prohibitive. "For a loan of 20 million, Deutsche Bank in early 2010 we asked a cash payment of fifteen million. It had no advantage for us, "said Maurice Vincent. Which concludes that most communities are in this case. The Court of Auditors number between 7 and 12 billion the amount of toxic debt, total debt of a community of 160 billion. The mayor of Saint-Etienne believes that the cash payment to pay to get out is now about ten billion euros, given the market conditions. Or communities can not afford to pay such a sum to get rid of loans at risk.Or more precisely, they could afford at the cost of tax increases – from 15% to 20% in Saint-Etienne after its mayor – and lower public spending.

"That's why I want the government set up a bad bank," concludes Maurice Vincent. This structure would take over the toxic loans communities, which would then be freed of the problem. This would be the banks that finance the bulk structure défaisande. And so that would take the loss. So far the government has been opposed to this idea. And the Court of Auditors as well.

Communities have, however, a weapon used today: the trial. Saint-Etienne sued the Deutsche Bank and RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland), including failure to board. The first verdict next year.And in the meantime, the payment of interest is suspended.

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New blow for SocGen. While the second French bank is particularly turbulent stock market since the beginning of the summer, with a share price halved in three months, she has to face new suspicions. After the unfounded rumors about the supposed risks of bankruptcy, after questioning by U.S. authorities in a fraud complaint on subprime, Societe Generale now sees its relationship with the Gaddafi regime scrutinized. The new Libyan authorities are looking into effect on the investment made by the French bank with the Libyan sovereign fund, the Libyan Investment Authority, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some of these funds would have landed in the hands of people close to the government in place, the paper said.Societe Generale would have paid a certain amount to a Panamanian company, Leinad, to help organize and advise an investment of one billion dollars in 2008. If the exact mission of Leinad is not yet clear, its role has at least been criticized by members of the Libyan sovereign fund, before the start of the Libyan revolt, the newspaper said payday lenders.

For now, the bank declined to comment on its relations with the sovereign fund Leinad or Libya, says the Wall Street Journal. Societe Generale, however, said she has "worked occasionally with financial intermediaries in countries where it is not directly present."And these consultants are "fully selected and monitored in accordance with our procedures and ethics with the law and in full transparency with the customer," said the group, some have "acted in full accordance with the laws and regulations the sovereign ".

Throughout the reign of Colonel Gaddafi, it was indeed common for large groups pay foreign intermediaries, advisors and consultants to do business with Libya.

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The speech will be delivered to a very limited audience, but it will be heard by the entire financial world. The head of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, will speak on Friday afternoon (French time) to his counterparts at the traditional central bankers in Jackson Hole Symposium, Wyoming.

While the U.S. economy slows dangerously, investors expect a tough response from the Fed. But they may be disappointed because, faced with two problems, the central bank runs out of ammunition.

Misdiagnosis

First, Ben Bernanke erred in economic diagnosis. He underestimated his own admission, the low growth in the first half and was counting on a rebound in demand in the second, which for now does not materialize.Problem with its main policy rate at zero since December 2008, the Fed has little room to revive again the supply of credit. Some members of the Monetary Committee refuses to go further. Among the reluctant, Richard Fisher, president of the Dallas Fed. It is estimated that on August 9 promises to continue until mid-2013 interest rates unusually low, the Fed made a mistake: the promise deters businesses and individuals to borrow quickly as they know that the rates are not nearly up.

So what can Ben Bernanke promised? The resumption of purchases of long-term bonds the Treasury is the preferred option by the markets. But given the high level of inflation, the method is risky.In addition, low interest rates leaves little hope that this new "quantitative easing" has a significant effect on credit supply.

Ben Bernanke should focus on technical measures. The Fed could cut the compensation of bank reserves. It would be a way to push banks to lend rather than storing their cash with her. The second measure seeks to change more or less gradually the composition of its balance sheet, which reached 2.7 trillion dollars. To maintain long-term rates as low as possible, the Fed may decide to increase the proportion of its balance sheet invested in long-term securities, while reducing the one placed in short-term securities. The decline in long rates will encourage companies and individuals to refinance their debts and support the real estate.

The race against time for Christmas toys began. The year 2011 is not easy. In addition to the rising price of raw materials, manufacturers and distributors must manage an additional constraint: the implementation, since July 20, the new European directive on toy safety. This significantly strengthens the requirements. So, in laboratories and offices, the list of requests made to the standards continues to grow … "The timing is not ideal compared to year-end holidays," says Stéphane Azoulai , Vice President Lansay.

The new directive, which replaces a text dating from 1988, strengthens the regulation, including through improved product traceability. Each toy must now be accompanied by his "identity card".Which identifies the entire production chain, from raw material origin to the name of the toy factory where it was manufactured. As for the 'CE' (European Community), it must be printed directly on the product or its label and not only on its packaging.

"The goal is to enable consumers to find out where the toy," says Serge Milon, toy expert at SGS, the world leader in inspection and certification. Mistrust has indeed increased in recent years, the list of suspect products (cadmium, phthalates …) have ceased to grow.

The Directive also takes into account the changing attitudes of children. The markings were made more accessible by using shorter sentences and more punchy ("choking," for example).The new text drummed cards especially among manufacturers, distributors and importers in an area where more than three quarters of the products are manufactured in China. The responsibility for quality and safety, is now shared paydayloan. It no longer lies only to manufacturers.

An implementation guide accompanies the 150-page directive to allow decoding risk analysis, monitoring records … If some importers or distributors may prefer a blind eye to the origin of a particular toy, they could now show zeal. Some will have to conduct additional inspections. "This is monstrous files to provide our clients, Stéphane Azoulai sorry.Some signs are up again test the toys in the laboratory. "

Advantage given to European manufacturers

The cost of the new standards, up from 10% to 20%, also changes the game. It takes 1,000 to 4,000 euros per product, depending on its level of sophistication. Products stored for more than three years must also board safety tests. "When 150 references, it starts to do a lot!" Stéphane Azoulai plague. "These high costs lead us to limit the depth of our range, adds Thierry Bertoux, CEO of Jemini, the French soft toys and furniture for children. It is easier for a multinational company to amortize these costs over several million pieces. "

Some companies have chosen to transform their organization to adapt to the regulations.At Lansay, one person was previously in charge of standards and procurement. A team will soon be established.

If it is more restrictive, the new regulations, however, gives a competitive advantage to European companies, "insofar as it creates barriers to entry," said Thierry Bertoux. "Making cost could lead to compromise at the expense of safety, says Serge Milon. It is a way to make quality and safety of products up by applying best practices. "

The Italian government, which has set a target to stop the speculative pressures of markets on Friday adopted an emergency order providing for a new austerity plan amounted to 45.5 billion euros over two years. These austerity measures designed to recover 20 billion euros in 2012 and 25.5 billion in 2013. Their adoption will enable Italy to cancel its public deficit to 3.9% today – by the end of 2013.

For the first time, the prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has agreed to weigh the tax burden with a "solidarity tax" on higher incomes. According to leaks distilled by the social partners, this contribution could rise to 5% for every € 10,000 for employees earning over 90,000 euros, and 10% in excess of 150,000 euros. Self-employed workers earning more than EUR 55,000 will be taxed at 41%.However estates and housing will remain free of taxation. A single tax of 20% will be charged on income from capital, currently 12.5% ​​against and 25% of bank deposits.

Aggressive fight against tax evasion

The introduction of fiscal federalism will be early in 2012, the government hopes to make them more aggressive fight against tax evasion. It will become mandatory to report transactions of more than 2500 euros and harsh penalties are provided for activities not issuing bills or receipts, up to closing. The project plans to make savings, the merger of provinces (38 disappear) and municipalities (in 1500 should be merged). On productivity should be increased with the removal of bridges and the automatic transfer of national holidays on Monday.

The cost of the policy will also be cut with the elimination of 50,000 positions elected at the central government and local communities. Heavy sacrifices will be required to Italians in particular as regards social welfare (social services and family) who will suffer next year the bulk of the effort (about 20 billion euros) all levels of assistance and social transfers to local governments will be affected. However the Northern League had opposed the cuts, pensions will be spared. Women in the private sector will be encouraged to continue working until age 65, or 7 years older than today.

Silvio Berlusconi said his "heart bleeds" to the idea of ​​going against his promise to "never get their hands into the pockets of Italians."But he justified his decision by "the dramatic situation", stressing that the new measures were "inevitable." He added that "the vote in the council of ministers was unanimous." Silvio Berlusconi said that the new measures "are in line of what had been hoped the European Central Bank."

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After considering the price of flour in supermarkets and those of certain financial products, the European Commission is vigilant in fine watchmaking. The competition regulator on Friday launched an investigation into the agreements and dominant positions among manufacturers of luxury watches, trying to see if they have agreed to refuse to supply spare parts to independent repairers.

"The Commission informed the parties concerned and the competition authorities of the Member States of the opening of the proceedings in this case," said the European Commission in a statement.

The investigation follows a complaint filed in 2004 by the European Confederation of Associations of watch repairers (CEAHR) for alleged violation of competition rules of the European Union.Multi-brand repairers had indeed used to make many of the repairs of luxury watches. But from 2002, according to CEAHR, manufacturers of luxury watches began to refuse to supply spare parts to multi-brand repairers who were not part of their repair networks. The CEAHR therefore seeks the condemnation of the practice, saying it could force independent repairers to put the key under the door.

The European competition regulator rejected its complaint in 2008 for lack of Community interest. Then the decision was overturned by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in December 2010. This does not prevent the European Commission to be cautious about this.She stresses that the opening of an investigation does not mean it already has evidence about the existence of an offense. And yet, no manufacturer of luxury watches is specifically under investigation.

Despite strong criticism from politicians, the public and shareholders, the board of directors of the British group BSkyB has renewed their confidence in James Murdoch, who remains in control of the company. "As you might expect, there was a long discussion on the board (Thursday), concerning in particular the role of the president and the board unanimously reaffirmed its support for James," said Jeremy Darroch, the chief BSkyB, the BBC.

In the spotlight since the outcry over the wiretapping scandal in the UK and the abandonment of the News Corp. offer. the entire bouquet of satellite channels paid, son of Rupert Murdoch resisted so pretty well. It must be said that under his leadership, BSkyB can not stop producing exceptional results.During the fiscal year ended June, BSkyB managed to attract 426,000 new customers to over 10 million users. What increase its annual turnover by 16%, to 6.6 billion pounds, or 7 and a half billion euros. Operating profit, up 23%, even more than the symbolic billion pounds (1.14 billion euros). In short, BSkyB is a real cash cow for its parent News Corp., Which holds 39.1% stake. And that is why Rupert Murdoch would put both hands on the entire group. An ambition he had to drop against the scandal caused by tapping the News of the World. The penalty was immediate the London Stock Exchange: title BSkyB plunged nearly 15% in July.

Very angry shareholders

Faced with obviously very angry shareholders, BSkyB multiplies the gifts.The group will hand out a total of one billion pounds through a share buyback program of 750 million pounds and a dividend increase of 20% to 23.28 pence per share. James Murdoch, who is also chairman of News International and Executive Vice President of News Corp., Has certainly won a race, but it is nevertheless not completely out of the woods. The natural heir of the empire, Murdoch could be again required to explain himself to MPs in the summer. British MPs seek, in fact, to understand why James Murdoch supported them, during his hearing, there are about ten days, he was not aware of the extent of fraudulent tapping, as of News International's former colleagues say otherwise.

Besides, sources from the board of BSkyB, quoted by the BBC, the support of the Board of satellite package does not go on forever, if new evidence calling into question the credibility of James Murdoch, chairman of the British broadcasting company since 2007, its role could be reviewed.

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