Current News Headlines

They were under fire, accused of having caused the financial crisis. The finance minister and central bankers from the G20 meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday reached an agreement on reforming the banking system and large financial institutions. "There was very little disagreement on the subject. The approval process was very simple, "a statement re South Korean representative, shortly before the adjournment. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director s Fund (IMF) he talks about an agreement "historic." "This is the most significant reform ever passed in the governance of the IMF," he said.

Europeans leave two seats

The proposed reform, which must be approved by the Board of Directors of the IMF increases the institution's capital, the headquarters of emerging countries to its board of directors and expanding its responsibilities for monitoring States' economic policies .

After this reform is long overdue, the ten largest shareholders of the institution will be the United States, Japan, four European countries (Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy) and the four largest emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China) payday loans in California. Europeans leave two seats to the emerging countries, what is "really hard for them," acknowledged a senior U.S. official."This reform is long overdue rebalancing the balance of power to make room for all economies according to their respective weights," said Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy and Finance.

The South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak had Friday called for finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 countries to reach agreement on this reform to "strengthen the credibility of the G20 meetings.

Refrain from devaluing

The aim of the discussions were also to agree to reduce trade imbalances and avoid a war of currencies.

The recent wave of central bank interventions to prevent the rise of their currencies against the dollar had raised the specter of a spiral of competitive devaluations and a return to protectionism."The G20 must refrain from implementing exchange rate policies designed to give them a competitive advantage", stated in a letter to the G20 U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. While the U.S. accuses China of keeping the yuan artificially low, many emerging countries complain that U.S. monetary policy that brings down the dollar and adds their exports and attract capital in their volatile and speculative .

Negotiated into the night Friday to Saturday by the Deputy Ministers of Finance, the text has the support of developed countries while Chinese officials have said they "could live with it."The text aims to limit the current account imbalances and not to intervene to devalue the currency, in short to "resist all forms of protectionist measures" to support global growth, as the final communique. "The global economic recovery continues, albeit fragile and uneven. In an economy and a globalized financial system, uncoordinated responses will lead to worse outcomes cheap pay day loans . Our cooperation is essential, "underlined the rich and emerging countries. These commitments could help allay the fears of markets to the tensions around the exchange rate.

The communiqué of the G20, however, should not contain numerical targets in excess of current account or a timetable, contrary to what was requested in its letter M.Geithner.

Pending the outcome of this meeting of G20 finance preparatory G20 summit on 21 and 22 November in Seoul, the main European stock markets finished down Friday: Paris lost 0.25%, Frankfurt dropped 0.08 London% and 0.29%. The NYSE has ended without a clear direction, the Dow Jones lost 0.13% but the Nasdaq gained 0.80%.

(With AFP)

ALSO READ:

The war of currencies, new East-West conflict

"The disruption to the menu of currencies of the G20 Finance

"Phased implementation of Basel III

Following the announcements of the U.S. central bank released Tuesday evening, the CAC 40 tries again to get closer to 3800 points. Investors are reassured by announcements by the Fed to support the U.S. economy.

On Tuesday, the index in Paris closed down 0.52% at 3748.86 points before the meeting of the U.S. central bank. U.S. markets showed a positive reaction, even if tentative, support to the Fed: the Dow Jones rose 0.09% to 11,020.40 points.

On the currency markets, the Fed's announcements continue to weaken the dollar: shortly after the opening of the Paris Bourse, the euro rose 0.34% to 1.3973 dollar.

On the macroeconomic front, the consumer prices in France fell by 0.1% in September as monthly changes, and are up 1.6% year on year, INSEE said on Wednesday.At midday, the Institute of Statistics will release the Consumer Price Index in supermarkets also in September. For the euro area, industrial production in August will be known to 11 hours.

Finally, three U.S. indicators are on the agenda this Tuesday: the import prices in September (14 hours), the weekly inventory of crude oil (16.30) and the balance in September to 20 hours.

Target cash flow statement for Atos Origin

Following the announcements of the U.S. central bank Tuesday night, cyclical stocks such as banks and automakers will follow.

Bank stocks move in a disorganized: Societe Generale gained 0.18% to 42.66 euros and Natixis advance of 0.12% to 4.28 euros.In contrast, BNP Paribas was down 0.72% to 52.13 euros and Credit Agricole loose 1.58% to 11.54 euros, the only two titles to evolve into the red on Tuesday.

Societe Generale launched a bond of at least 300 million Australian dollars (212 million). The yield of this issue four years was set at about 150 basis points over swaps, reported a source who had access to the terms of the transaction. The price should be fixed by Thursday.

Last week, Credit Agricole announced a three-year loan of at least 300 million Australian dollars (200 million euros) cash advance today.

The technology at the top of the SBF 120

Technology stocks are benefiting from the optimism Tuesday by Intel, which saw its profits increase by 59.1% in the fourth quarter a year ago. And thus support the CAC 40.They show the highest increases in the SBF 120: Soitec climbed 2.74% to 7.09 euros, STMicroelectronics, the largest increase CAC 40 rose 1.84% to 5.63 euros, giving itself up Legrand from 1.64% to 26.34 euros.

The podium of the largest increases in the CAC 40 is completed by Lafarge (1.43% to 41.18 euros) and LVMH (1.37% to 111.30 euros)

The IT services company Atos Origin, issued on Wednesday a turnover down 1.5% in the third quarter to 1.21 billion euros. The group also noted its goal of operating cash flow this year to 140 million euros.The value is yet battered stock market, losing 0.70% to 33.20 euros.

Emirates Airbus wants 30 additional

L'Oreal: 0.90% to 82.29 euros

While according to British newspaper Daily Mail, rumors suitable for L'Oreal designs on Avon Products – Offer $ 44 (31.78 euros) per share – the transaction does not seem convincing to analysts, for whom Avon is not the ideal target, despite its high exposure to emerging markets (70% of its turnover). L'Oreal closed Tuesday down 0.12% to 81.56 euros in a market down 0.52%.Avon, meanwhile, grew at the New York Stock Exchange at 4.16% to 34.54 dollars, while U.S. markets gained 0.09%.

EADS: -0.03% to 18.31 euros

Emirates announced on Tuesday will order 30 Airbus A380s term – bringing the new target at 120 – an amount approaching $ 10 billion (7.2 billion euros). changes in the balance: -0.03% to 18.31 euros.

After-hours trading, it was the turn of Casino (+0.48% at 67.10 euros) and Camaieu (-0.02% to 174.97 euros) to present their quarterly revenue.

Discontent growing in popularity according to the poll for Southwest Ifop Sunday to appear tomorrow in South West on Sunday. The results show that 71% of respondents believe that social movement Tuesday against the pension reform is "justified." "The legitimacy given to those events remains both high and stable," said Ifop, with reference to similar results obtained before mobilization days last September.

The novelty of this survey lies more in the rising number of French who consider the strike "totally justified". They are now 42%, 9 points more than a month ago. "In a context where the radical movement with renewed calls for a strike, supporting the view is gaining strength," says the institute.

Women and young people more involved

Ifop notes that women "are more supportive than men mobilization (75% against 67%), which is probably due to the polarization of debate in recent days on the issue of retirement for mothers who discontinued career ". Young people aged 18-24 also provide massive support to the movement. They are 84% to find the case against 55% of more than 65 years and older.

In detail, the working classes, bringing together employees and workers, are 87% favorable to the protests against 66% of executives and 56% of retirees.Similarly, 87% of public sector employees support the mobilization against 75% of private sector employees and 51% independents.

Finally, less surprisingly, supporters of the left are 90% favorable to growl while 66% of the UMP are unjustified.

ALSO READ:

The Senate voted to postpone the legal age to 62 years

"Pensions for the French debate

This morning, the dollar fell to 83.25 yen, its lowest level in fifteen years. Internal elections in the Democratic Party gave the Japanese Prime Minister Naota Kan, a former finance minister, winner. However, it is more favorable to a strong yen as his rival Ichiro Ozawa, who has already expressed its intention to intervene in currency markets if elected.

The Japanese currency is not the only one to be strengthened, since it is also true of his Chinese counterpart. The yuan reached new highs at the beginning of the week. It closed at its highest level in sixteen years yesterday at 6.7618 yuan to one dollar. This morning it opened at 6.7475 and the Chinese central bank has set an exchange rate of 6.7378 record reference, against which the yuan can fluctuate plus or minus 0.5%. The Chinese government is still concerned that inflation is gaining ground, according to figures from last month.Yesterday in his speech at the opening of the Tianjin Economic Forum, the Davos China, "Chinese Premier did not mention the subject of the exchange rate preferring to reiterate its confidence in the growth of his country.

Washington calls for a yuan appreciation

Yet Washington continues, in turn, put pressure on Beijing for a greater appreciation of its currency. Last Friday the Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, in fact estimated that China had not done enough to let its currency rise.

ALSO READ:

"China, mistress of global growth

The firms play the game of real recovery? Their profits are excellent on both sides of the Atlantic in the second quarter. At the same time, growth remains too low to reduce unemployment and the specter of a double dip recession. Economists blame the companies responsible for this widening gap between profits and growth.

"The companies have not shared enough of their profits with their employees, and this could dampen the recovery," says Aneta Markowska, economist at Societe Generale CIB. In the U.S., the share of corporate revenues redistributed to employees has dropped from 59.8% in the second quarter, its lowest level since the Second World War.

Recruitment at half

Paradoxically, "the companies that have entered the crisis with little debt and thus did not need to rebalance their balance sheets, accumulate cash and threaten the recovery," says Aneta Markowska. Their cash is now nearly 6% of their assets, against less than 4.5% before the crisis. A level not seen since the 50s, according to figures from Societe Generale CIB. The most obvious translation of this strategy, they block the hiring.

Natixis, the head of economic research, Patrick Artus, made the same observation. In a classical revival, the increase in profits resulting from investment, thus creating jobs, which in turn produce growth. But this time it's different.'Distortion of revenue sharing to the detriment of employees led to the weakening of wage and salary income, thus accentuating the weakness of domestic demand, "says Patrick Artus in a note. In the U.S., it will need more time to households in debt up to his neck to clean up their finances before eating again.

Uncertainty

If companies are ants and jealously guard their cash flow, because a great uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook. Because of fears of fallout in recession, "they do not know what will be their future profits and (in the U.S., Ed) they have difficulty in measuring what the impact of tax measures on the viability of their projects investment ", according to Societe Generale economist IPC.

Growth at half-profits on the rise, "he will have to get used to the difference," said Patrick Artus, who believes this is a trend. First, large groups are investing in emerging markets with high potential, which boosts their results. Then the credit market freeze that followed the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers has scalded. They now want to finance their own investments and not to depend on external funding.

Place the masons and painters! Members of the Committee on Social Affairs of the National Assembly completed late Thursday afternoon, discussing the draft law on pensions, with a few hours ahead of schedule. Members will now leave the Palais Bourbon completely delivered to artisans who have already begun the usual summer work. Return scheduled Tuesday, Sept. 7, even on Monday night at 6 for a special session will begin by examining the same text, but this time in the Chamber.

"It is in times of transition, summarized perhaps one at the Elysee. The real battle will take place from September. "The for Sarkozy are well aware that this first parliamentary stage was a formality. Not surprisingly, the debates have been looped smoothly."The Socialists have just wanted to make a coup by breaking the lock-in twitter discussions with their phone," is a counselor. What the left willingly admits. For now, she preferred surf the weakening of Labour Minister Caught in the case Bettencourt. Godsend for the Socialists, who are careful not to request his resignation.

Paradoxically, the majority seemed more worried by the progress of the case and its component Bettencourt Woerth that by the turn of the debate on pensions. "The left is going clubbing Woerth in September. He held up? "Wonders already a minister. The Elysee hopes that the summer break will reduce the pressure. Nicolas Sarkozy and François Fillon reiterated that Eric Woerth defend indeed the text on Sept. 7. In other words, he will not be driven to resign by then."It is quiet because we know there is nothing in the record," says the Prime Minister.

"Everything will be decided in September. We are ready for battle. But it also depends on the mobilization in the streets, "says one seat in the PS. Clearly, the left hopes to build on part of the public. Even if the opponents and proponents of reform are divided into two shares more or less equal faxless cash advance.

Unions united

Unions, too, prepare to maturity. For September 7 will also be a new day of strikes and protests against the reform that SF has, once again, on Thursday asked the "withdrawal". In reality, most organizations do not believe and do not even dream to win concessions on key points, beginning with the postponement of the age to 62 years.However, they have not conceded the changes on other aspects of the text during the parliamentary debate.

They rely for that on the "pressure" of the street. Will they exceed the threshold of two million demonstrators, after 1.9 million announced on the evening of the last day of action – successful – last June 24? Not easy to mobilize massively, just days after school starts. Therefore plants have continued their campaign all summer, touring the beaches to the CFDT distributed a booklet "educational" on reform and its "alternative" possible, the CGT.

The unions will have an advantage: their unity restored. Having refused to sign for months, FOR has joined its competitors, and the CFE-CGC has done the same.It is the only organization to accept the decline of legal age, but she believes that the conditions there pose – including a strong financial closure of the reform – are not met.

Faced with this united front, the government has chosen to keep the ballast drop. He has done at this stage, no specific proposals on issues which he is willing to develop: difficulty, and long careers polypensionnés.

ALSO READ:

"SPECIAL – The challenges of pension reform

"Retirement at age 62 endorsed in committee

"Pensions: the project corrected the margin in the Assembly

"DOCUMENT – The draft law on pension reform

"VIDEO – The pension reform in the National Assembly

J-1. That Tuesday morning Eric Woerth will present his Cabinet bill on pension reform. This text provides for the postponement by 2018 the legal age of retirement at age 62 (as against 60 now) and increase by 2020 the contribution period for a full pension at 41 5 installments. It also proposes to raise over 10 years to 10.55% of gross salary pension contribution rate of employees.Meanwhile, the government plans to introduce draft consideration – unprecedented – the strain at work to enable employees who have had a difficult career to continue to retire at age 60 but also extend the system "long careers "which allows people who started working early to liquidate their retirement before age 60.

"Unjust and unacceptable"

Trade unions, traditionally opposed the reforms they consider "unfair and unacceptable" because it would further inequalities have already planned to protest during the presentation of the Council of Ministers."The proposed reform does not respond to questions of employment, particularly youth and seniors, or the reversal of gender inequalities, or to the recognition of the hardship … It refers to the uncertainty of future generations sustainability of pension secured by the division, they were justified in a statement. They also criticized the closure of financial reform that puts "more than 85% of efforts" to employees only and require "a different distribution of wealth produced, particularly through higher taxes than expected capital income and senior income.

Eric Woerth's proposal to improve the bill at the time of the examination to the National Assembly from September 7 on three aspects of the text (strain at work, and long careers polypensionnés) has yet not had the desired effect.Even the beginnings of a better consideration of the prevention of the hardship brought up by the entourage of the Minister of Labour at a meeting with labor, has left them unmoved. "We want a broader discussion, said Friday Eric Aubin, the negotiator of the CGT, after an interview Rue de Grenelle. The position of the government that it seeks to show a continued dialogue. But we ride seriously and it confirms our intention to build a strong mobilization on September 7. "

On this day, the unions have scheduled a new day of strikes and unit mobilization, hoping to do better than June 24 when 800 000 people (and by 1.9 million CGT) had beaten the streets across France to protest against the postponement of 60 years. And thus weigh more on debates in Parliament.They do not despair, no longer convinced by that number of MPs to amend by Social Affairs Committee – where the text will be examined from July 20 to 22 – the bill. The CFDT has also planned to "harass" the summer MPs in their constituency. Act II of the 2010 pension reform does so may just be beginning.

"SPECIAL – The challenges of pension reform

Tens of thousands of trade unionists yesterday converged toward the center of Rome at the invitation of the CGIL, the main federation of workers in Italy (5.5 million members).

Shouting "not only on our shoulders," they denounced the sacrifices imposed by the government of Silvio Berlusconi to reduce the public deficit from 5.3% to 3.9% next year and 2.7% of GDP 2012.

At a rally Piazza del Popolo, Guglielmo Epifani, Secretary General of the CGIL, reiterated that his organization was not opposed to a correction of the accounts of the state. "We reject this maneuver only made budget cuts without structural reforms or measures to support investment, particularly in public education and research," he told Le Figaro before the start of the event."Those who will pay for will mainly employees and the lowest incomes while wealth and annuities will not be affected."

Guglielmo Epifani also calls for a broad mobilization to invite the Parliament, which will begin consideration of the bill next week, "to modify".

The CGIL has launched on June 25 a word of general strike of four hours in the private sector and the public 24 hours.

For its part, the Democratic Party (PD), the main opposition, has announced a rally against the plan "unfair" in Rome June 19 while magistrates, public sector doctors and world culture multiply protests.

The government plans to freeze wages and hiring in the civil service for two years and 10% reduction in the allocation of ministries and local authorities.No new taxes would be raised and the taxation of financial income would continue to benefit from a preferential rate, but a greater effort would be made against tax evasion.

For the Bank of Italy, the austerity plan could result in a reduction of O, 5% of GDP in 2011/2012 "as a result of compression of consumption and investment." Italy expects a growth of 1% this year and 1.5% in 2011.

Events in Germany

Protests against the rigor were also held in Germany. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people marched in Berlin, organizers said. And between 10,000, according to police, and 20,000, according to organizers, Stuttgart.

The German government announced Monday an austerity plan of 80 billion euros by 2013.He wants to save 11 billion euros in the budget 2011, including through budget cuts in military spending and social.

ALSO READ:

"Everywhere in the world, the administration in the diet

The Gaza Strip, a narrow sandy strip with about 370 square miles are home to 1.6 million people, is subject to a strict blockade by Israel since its takeover by the Islamist movement Hamas in June 2007, during a coup against the Palestinian Authority of Mahmoud Abbas.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called last May 18 that Israel end the blockade, in a resolution adopted at the annual meeting of its members. A month earlier, during a visit to the Palestinian enclave, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had said that the Israeli embargo was "not sustainable".

The last European Commission report on the Gaza Strip, published in March 2009, estimated the damage caused by the blockade on the territory's economy, all economic and social sectors together, to 514.3 million euros.GDP in the Palestinian territories has dropped 5% in 2006 to 3% in 2007 and 2.7% in 2008.

• Unemployment

The unemployment rate stood at 38.6% of the workforce in 2009, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics. It was 37% in 2008, according to the CIA, which places the Gaza Strip in 188th place worldwide in terms of number of unemployed.

• Poverty

70% of the population of Gaza lived below the poverty line in 2009, according to the CIA. UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) has estimated that the number of refugees living in extreme poverty in Gaza has tripled since the beginning of the blockade in 2007 of about 100,000 to about 300,000. On the other hand, food insecurity involved 60.5% of households last year, against 56% in 2008, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).In its report, the Commission stresses that more than 90% of the population depends on food aid from UN agencies. In February 2009, the UN had launched an appeal for emergency aid for the Gaza Strip, aiming to raise 613 million dollars (479 million euros) from the international community.

• Agriculture and fisheries

According to the report of the European Commission, 46% of farmland in the region were deemed "inaccessible" or where production was interrupted in late June 2009. Agricultural workers accounted for only 7.4% of the workforce in the fourth quarter of 2009, against 12.7% in the second quarter of 2007, according to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.The commercial organization Palestine Trade Center (Paltrade) said in a recent report that, without the restrictions imposed on the transport of goods, agricultural exports from the Gaza Strip could represent 2,300 tons of raspberries, 55 million cut flowers and 714 tons cherry tomatoes per year. Fishing has also suffered. Since January 2009, the areas accessible to fishermen were again reduced, to 3 nautical miles offshore. Consequently, the total fish catch has dropped by 47% between 2008 and 2009, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.

• Industry, trade and services

According to the report of the organization Paltrade, 95% of 3750 plants in the Gaza Strip have been closed or destroyed, putting some 40,000 unemployed workers (94% of their employees). In 2009, the industrial sector weighed only 5% of the workforce, according to the CIA.Paltrade adds that the 5% of factories still operating in the Palestinian territory that does not rotate between 20 and 50% of their total production capacity. The food industry, for example, has recorded losses of $ 37.1 million in 2009 due to a complete halt to exports. She had only 16 factories last year, against 30 in 2008 and 100 in 2005. Other sectors have been severely affected, particularly the construction, energy, transport and telecommunications. Thus, some 10,000 subscribers have seen their fixed telephone services interrupted, while 330,000 mobile phone users have been affected by these cuts, notes the European Commission.

• Infrastructure

The infrastructure of Gaza has been devastated by lack of materials and construction equipment.A lack which stems directly from the blockade imposed on the territory, "said United Nations Program for Development (UNDP). More than a year after the military operation Cast Lead conducted by the IDF in the Gaza Strip, three-quarters of infrastructure damaged or destroyed are still not rebuilt or rehabilitated, says a UNDP report. The UN program was estimated last year that the cost of damage caused on the roads and bridges in the Gaza Strip rose to 18.6 million euros. His report also highlights that 82.5% of schools are still in ruins.

ALSO READ

The blockade of Gaza "collective punishment" of the population

After the attack on the fleet, the United Nations calling for an investigation

Continental Airlines and United Airlines are about to happen in the ring finger. According to CNBC, a merger agreement between the two U.S. airlines could be signed next Monday.

According to the Thursday edition of The Wall Street Journal, "the Board of Directors of Continental met Wednesday and has scheduled another meeting on Friday (the day, Ed)" with United, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Two years after failing in their negotiations – the two groups did not agree because of unions and integration costs – United and Continental, whose bosses have always wanted to participate in the movement of Contraction sector, would now be on the same wavelength.

These last two weeks, the talks resumed but opinions differed on how the modality of trade action.

U.S. leadership to

This union intervendrait and only one week after the breakdown of negotiations between U.S. Airways and United Airlines. If the proposed merger between Continental and United Airlines led the new group would become the U.S. leader in the sector, ahead of Delta Airlines, with a market capitalization of over $ 6 billion.

It remains to be seen whether the authority will accept American competition this marriage Guaranteed unsecured personal loan. For who says merger often said job cuts and higher fares.What politically wrong.

A refusal has been lived to its reasons for U.S. Airways and United Airlines, almost 10 years ago, when they had proposed a reconciliation.

A need for synergies

While the sector has experienced in 2009 "the worst year's ever known industry, concentration is a single best way to achieve synergies and economies of scale.

The North American companies have suffered a loss of 3.1 billion dollars last year, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

For 2010, although the estimates have been reported by IATA, the performance accrue largely to companies in emerging countries (Asia and South America), while companies in North America and Europe still would suffer heavy losses, the about 1.8 billion dollars for the former and 2.2 billion for the latter.

ALSO READ:

"Air:" The recovery is not affected "

"FOCUS – The companies make up between unanticipated shocks and winds concentration