Current News Headlines

In the first six months of the year, the European Central Bank, through the 17 national central banks in the euro area, has withdrawn from circulation approximately 296,000 counterfeit euro banknotes. A figure down 18.8%. As usual, these are the breaks of 20 and 50 euros that have been copied the most, with respectively 43 and 36% of counterfeit notes detected. Thus, the probability of having one day turn a fake is minimal, since currently, 15 billion euro banknotes circulating in the world with 13 billion in the hands of 330 million Europeans.

How to recognize a counterfeit bill? "First is the button: the ticket must be firm and crack when it is bent, and some inscriptions in relief is palpable. Then you look at it: we mark the traditional watermark, the black security, we detect signs of security by transparency, etc..And then tilts: the band or disc holographic silver toggles the face value and the € symbol, "said Francis Coustin, communications director of the Bank of France, stating that there are eight recognizable security features of immediately, then another series of signs visible with ultraviolet light, which traders often have, and finally other signs that only the European Central Bank and national central banks can detect. In all, there are 63! (See the interactive presentation of the security features of the ECB)

The ECB shall ensure consistently maintain its technological edge on the counterfeiters, who face risks thirty years' imprisonment and 450,000 euros fine. The Bank of France, also a civil party, does not claim a symbolic euro in damages.Within the Eurosystem, work is underway to develop a second series of euro banknotes, the theme will look like the current (see box).

A ticket is damaged, torn, not calcined is not lost

Think again if you think the ticket you just go to the machine, or your child has torn, is worthless. While it may legitimately be refused by your merchant, but the Bank of France, she will be able to replace them. In extreme cases – ticket sales, burned, burned, mutilated, wet, soft, bonded, etc.. – It is always possible to be "paid" but for a fee of 20%.

Francis Coustin the occasion of the exhibition Euro: the exhibition at the Cité des Sciences and Industry at La Villette (Paris XX) until September 4 – which comes in a fun way about the history of the euro, its manufacture, the security features of tickets, etc..- Chronicles the misadventures of people who burned their tickets, ensuring that parts of the Vatican, Monaco or San Marino (Italy) should be retained as they are rare … and therefore valuable, but warns, however, that collecting tickets francs (date of exchange limit, February 17, 2012) does not promise any profit, "they will be worth nothing then strictly."

Euro: the exhibition, organized for the first time in France, the European Central Bank and the Bank of France, has already attracted over 100,000 visitors in recent months in Europe, from Barcelona to Tallinn via Rome or Berlin.

Cotton in the mass circulation

• How does one manufacture a ticket?

To make the paper is bleached cotton fibers (only one note is made of cotton) in a water bath at high pressure and high temperature.The resulting pulp is then passed through a paper machine. To obtain the special paper, called Paper Trust, own bank notes, are incorporated in the paper some security features such as watermarks and security thread.

• Where do we manufacture the tickets?

In Europe, paper is supplied banknote paper to the fourteen high-security printers who print the euro banknotes in the European Union. In France, since 1915, tickets are no longer manufactured at Bercy, in Seine-et-Marne, but Chamalières (print) Auvergne – nothing to do with Valerie Giscard d'Estaing, who became finance minister from 1962 to 1966 -, and Vic-le-Comte (stationery). A year earlier, the Paris site was briefly occupied by the Germans, hence the decision to relocate the "safe" to an area less exposed.

• How many tickets are made in France?

In 2010, 2.45 billion tickets were delivered by the Manufacturing billest which 1738 billion euro, central banks outside the euro zone commander in France tickets. Every day, these are some 6.7 million tickets that are born in Auvergne.

• Where do the tickets then?

Once made, the tickets are sent to branches of the Banque de France equipped with crates. Then carriers (Brinks, etc.). Come back to supply banks, which themselves carry out their distributors, or retail, which brews each day astronomical amounts of cash, and merchants.

• How long does a ticket?

Tickets and circulate from hand to hand, and come back regularly and the Bank of France, which sorts all tickets at once, to put back into circulation as tickets safe and in good condition. To do this, sorting machines at high speed are used to check in a split second the authenticity of tickets. Notes unfit for circulation are destroyed and replaced.Finally, an average, the average life span of a 5 euro note is fourteen months and that of a ticket 50 euros for three and a half years.

• Some rules to know:

– A merchant has the right to deny him a ticket that looks suspicious, a merchant can refuse to cash more than 50 pieces in a single payment, a merchant has the right to refuse a big ticket for a small purchase: the customer must to the extra-A trader does not have the right to refuse display notes 100, 200 and 500 euros denying a legal tender banknotes is punishable under the Penal Code-If I a ticket printer or scanner, I am off-the-law.

The design of banknotes and coins

• Tickets continennent all a European monument and a bridge. But if some drawings look fiercely at a known site, none really exists.In December 1996 that ended the contest European models of the euro banknotes, which was won by Robert Kalina, designer of the National Bank of Austria. Gaphisme inspired by the architectural styles of seven periods in the history of European culture: the classic notes of € 5, the novel for those 10 euros, Gothic for 20euros, the Renaissance for 50 euros Baroque and Rococo for 100 euros, glass and steel to 200 euros, and the architecture of the twentieth century for 500 euros.

• As for parts, the idea was that they have a common European side (battery) and the national side (face). A European competition was then held to select the number of common sides. The winner was Luc Luycx, graphic designer at the Royal Belgian Mint. And in the end, the 17 countries of the euro area are some 136 different pieces move.The choice of the national side has done differently in each country. In Italy, the themes were selected by viewers of the Italian channel RAI. In monarchies, the effigies of kings were most often represented.

"Join the game" Rally France Euro 2011 for children aged 9 to 12 on www.euro.ecb.eu

ALSO READ:

"The French still addicted to cash

"We have 37 euros in your pocket

The Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR) announced Friday it had postponed to August 4 decision to initiate or not an investigation of the role played by Christine Lagarde in the case Tapie.

"One of the members of the commission has indicated that he was later forced to recuse himself," said Gerard Palisse, president of the petitions committee of the Court. This is Laurence Fradin, magistrate at the Court of Auditors and wife of Pierre Joxe, former Socialist Minister of Defense and the Interior of François Mitterrand, as was Bernard Tapie. Judicial source, the judge cited a possible conflict of interest.

Gerard Palisse stated that "the alternate member of the Court which could have us make up for his part that he himself was unable to do so immediately without prior knowledge of the case.The Committee decided to defer consideration of this matter Thursday, August 4. "

The survey would be long

The former Minister of Economy and current executive director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is suspected of "abuse of authority" in the arbitration in July 2008 on the case Tapie, Credit Lyonnais on line pay day loans. The businessman, who felt cheated after the sale of Adidas in 1993 with Credit Lyonnais, had obtained 285 million euros of public funds.

In May, the Attorney General of the Supreme Court, Jean-Louis Nadal, asked the petitions committee of the RGC to investigate the matter. He specifically criticized Christine Largarde for choosing private arbitration, but also refusing to appeal against the award, while the number of specialists are encouraged.If the Court decides to initiate the investigation, it should be long and Christine Lagarde would not be considered for several years. The new leader denies IMF, meanwhile, abuse of authority in this matter and have provided "clear conscience".

ALSO READ:

"GRAPHIC: Understanding the business Tapie, Credit Lyonnais

"Tapie case: the threat of an investigation continues

"Tapie case: what awaits Christine Lagarde

Eighteen months after the initial concerns about the European debts, the situation on the old continent is still fragile. However, the euro remains surprisingly strong. The euro hovered around $ 1.45 since April, and rose more than 8% since the beginning of the year, and 15.5% in one year. "The first explanation that justifies the euro strengthens and weakens the dollar is in the interest rates: in Europe, they are likely to be faced by the ECB on Thursday, reaching 1.50% while those U.S. Federal Reserve and will still remain long remain between 0 and 0.25%, "says Bruno Rodier, private banker and portfolio manager at Pictet & Cie.This differential rate encourages investors to take advantage of the "carry trade", this technique to generate returns by borrowing in dollars at a rate unusually low, and place it in euros, which pays better.

"The situation should not change in the coming months because when the European Central Bank has the sole purpose of containing inflation by raising interest rates, the Fed also has the task of supporting growth and employment and maintain long-term rates low and a weak currency to do so, "said Harry Sebag, an analyst at Saxo Bank.He said the Fed will not change its monetary policy anytime soon because it looks especially the real estate market across the Atlantic, the one who caused the economic crisis and financial crisis in the summer of 2007, which is still not out business.

The dollar is kept artificially low

But even more than the strengthening of the euro, especially on the weak dollar that the experts agree. And has been a little more than a year: the Fed announcement as it injects new astronomical quantities (600 billion) dollars in the global economy. Instantly, the dollar lost its value against other currencies, and the effect lasted until now."There is also the effect 'end of world supremacy' of the dollar plays, including the report of the World Bank has recently anticipated that by 2025, that is to say tomorrow, the market currencies will be dominated also by the Chinese yuan, not only by the dollar and the euro, "notes Vincent Juvyns, strategist at ING IM cash advance no fax.

The role of the dollar as the global benchmark fading as global governance wants to reform the international monetary system. In this perspective, little by little, investors include the future landscape of the exchange market and exchange their dollars into yuan and euro. "At the same time, we must take into account the cultural dimension of geographical areas: Europe, under the influence of Germany was a culture of rent, we want to keep a strong currency.This contrasts with the current pattern of currency war, which is to artificially push down its currency to promote its own foreign trade, "said Bruno Rodier.

Europe is going less badly than the U.S.

Finally, if Europe goes wrong, it will hurt less than the United States. Bad news on the macroeconomic front here and on the other side of the Atlantic, lower the respective currencies, but the U.S. figures are still worse than the European data, the dollar fell more than the euro. So the euro / dollar rate goes up anyway. "If you took away the effect debt, the euro was trading at least $ 1.50," Harry Sebag plans.Recently, the growth forecasts for the European Union were found, while those for the United States have been degraded.

Thus, the twists in the case of Greece, or fears of contagion from the crisis of sovereign debt of countries in the euro area peripheral to Italy or France, they have had little effect on the euro itself. "The currency market is highly sensitive to very short term. But in the coming weeks, the scenario of an outbreak of the euro area remains the least plausible of all, "says Vincent Juvyns, underlining that" challenges remain whole in the longer term. " The markets seem optimistic about the ability of European governance to agree to find solutions to problems of public finances of member countries."And Nicolas Sarkozy, Angela Merkel, and Jean-Claude Trichet has always reassuring words to soothe the markets when tensions rise," added the expert.

ALSO READ:

"" The Battle for the euro is essential "

"The yuan is becoming and is evaluated

It unanimously that members have voted to delete one of the cornerstone of the quinquennium of Nicolas Sarkozy. On the night of Friday to Saturday at a little over two hours of the morning, the parliamentarians adopted rule repealing the tax shield, established in 2007 to limit to 50% income taxation. All of the supplementary budget will in turn be a formal vote on Tuesday afternoon.

Strongly contested by the opposition and discussed in the majority, sending checks every year to the wealthiest taxpayers had come to interfere with government. In 2010, a total of 678 million euros that the state has returned to the beneficiaries of this measure, a figure slightly higher than in 2009 (EUR 586 million). Especially, like last year, is only a small fraction of some 592,000 taxpayers subject to the ISF who earned the largest amounts recovered.If the amount of average check totaled 40,908 euros, the richest 7% received 60% of the amount paid, or 381,000 euros on average.

To the dismay of Socialist deputies, the government's plan, however, does not remove the tax shield that from 2012 on taxes paid on income in 2011. According to the deputy PS Jerome Cahuzac, the measure should thus continue to cost the public finances 550 million Euros in 2012 and 200 million in 2013.

Relief ISF

The elimination of this symbolic mandate Nicolas Sarkozy also fits into the context of a broader reform of the taxation of wealth, the members approved each measure in recent days. To parliamentarians, the Minister of Budget, Baroin, endeavored to describe the philosophy of combining text as "social justice" (the end of the tax shield) and "tax justice" (relief ISF) short term personal loan."The government is a simple reform, fair and balanced" has said repeatedly this week Baroin.

On Friday, the parliamentarians approved a reform of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF), which raises € 800,000 to 1.3 million euros threshold of assets at which a taxpayer is taxable to the ISF. Approximately 300,000 people should therefore be exempt from this tax next year. The current rate also eased: below three million, the tax rate increased from 0.55% to 0.25% when it is lowered to 0.5% instead of 1.8 % above. Overall, 250,000 taxpayers should therefore pay less. This reform will result in a revenue decline of 1.8 billion euros.

A shortfall that is projected by the government, be offset by the elimination of the tax shield, the higher taxes on gifts and estates, and the new tax on second homes of strangers, sitting on their rental value. In total, the projected deficit for 2011 however, increases of 596 million euros, 460 million due to payments associated with the Taiwan frigates affair. Remain a little over 130 million bridge to return to the original projected deficit. Baroin promised by the end of the year new savings measures to achieve this.

ALSO READ:

"The tax-exempt donations allowed every ten years

"No enlargement of the ISF to works of art

"The reform of the ISF to benefit small estates

The European Union (EU) comes to the rescue of its farmers. The Agriculture Ministers of the EU meeting in Luxembourg this afternoon, should decide to unfreeze 150 million euros in aid proposed by Brussels on Tuesday morning. This is to cope with the losses suffered by the fruit and vegetables after the psychosis to EHEC bacteria has killed 23 people in Europe.

"We will propose a $ 150 million" financial aid to cover losses of farmers, whose products are shunned by consumers, concerned as salads, tomatoes, cucumbers and others may be carrying the potentially deadly bacterium , told the press the Agriculture Commissioner, Ciolos. The exact amount of aid will however be adjusted estimates by country."We will take the period from late May, marking the beginning of the crisis at the end of June" to calculate the amount of compensation, "said the European official.

Already, the 150 million mentioned seem insufficient, as the amount of losses made by European farmers. The only Spaniards consider that the bill because of the boycott of their products by European consumers has cost them 200 million euros. In France, the bill, according to professionals, is approaching 5 million.

Berlin slammed

Germany on the other hand was roundly criticized for his handling of the crisis by European Commissioner for Health in the European Parliament meeting in Strasbourg on Tuesday. She had made allegations, soon withdrawn, cons of cucumber Spanish after the demonstration of the first cases of contamination."It is critical that national authorities are not lining up to give alerts unproven, because it creates problems and psychosis," warned John Dalli. "It is important to trigger alerts when certain scientific data," he said.

ALSO READ:

"Bacteria: investigators follow several tracks

"Bacteria killer: the trail of bean sprouts

"Bacteria: France wants the aid to its producers

"Crisis of cucumber: 4.8 million loss in France

Monday night, Steve Jobs must have Apple's service icloud. Using a deal with record companies, the Cupertino company will upgrade its online music service iTunes. Customers can purchase their music from Apple's online store and listen to their wishes, where they are. The service called "cloud computing, or cloud computing, grow fast. This is a new revolution in computing. It is to connect to the Internet to access data and applications. Individuals no longer need to store on their PC or hard drive at home, and businesses no longer need to invest in high-performance computers.

The computer then used to open the application as a water faucet or turn on a light.Apple already offers a first service "cloud" to synchronize the network, contacts, emails and diary, from an iPhone or an iPad. The MobileMe service is very expensive (99 dollars or 79 euros per year from France).

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the graphic.

Amazon has shown the way

Google will launch this summer the free operating system for PCs, Chrome OS, designed and filmed for the cloud. "The biggest users of cloud services are already without knowing it, individuals using tools such as Gmail or Google pay services data storage from Amazon," said Lew Tucker, Director Technical cloud at Cisco.With his offensive, Apple created a new front against Google, Amazon and Microsoft.

One of the largest global provider of cloud services Amazon is the world leader in cultural services in line with an estimated turnover in this area at one billion dollars in 2010. The original idea of ​​the champion of e-commerce, which has expanded its services to music storage for individuals, was to lease excess capacity of its own "farms" of computers. "It comes down to your apartment when it is empty during the workday and when you go on vacation," says one expert. All the giants of the Web follow the lead of Amazon. In economic terms, the marginal cost is low for providers of computing power and storage capacity. The additional revenue generated almost as much profit.For ten years, computer manufacturers, software publishers and computer services companies dream of a paradigm shift.

56 billion market

With the development of the Internet and especially because of the economic crisis, companies have converted to cloud computing. "After years of germination, cloud computing takes off. Partly for macroeconomic reasons. The crisis led all organizations to scrutinize their spending. In this context, a solution which can offer more for less is difficult to ignore, "says Ben Pring, vice president of research firm Gartner. For now, most of the market is done by software. The turnover of the software on demand is estimated around $ 11.7 billion in 2010 by Forrester Research. Today, 60% of worldwide turnover is made in the United States.But the phenomenon should spread to other countries. By 2020, the worldwide market will reach $ 56 billion, says Forrester Research.

With about 3 million business customers worldwide including one million in Europe, Google makes between 500 million and $ 1 billion in sales in the cloud. Finally, Microsoft will invest 90% of its budget on R & D in the cloud this year, said Jean-Philippe Courtois, senior vice president of Microsoft. But its sales in the area is estimated at "several hundred million dollars a year," admits a group leader. Each offers its solution. IBM, HP, Dell, Microsoft and Oracle want to use huge "farms" of servers to store and rent computing power to their customers. To this end, HP and Dell have acquired companies in the storage and data virtualization, in order to compete with VMware, a subsidiary of EMC.The market also attracts telecom giants like Cisco, Ericsson and Huawei, and specific actors, such as Akamai, Rackspace Hosting or Salesforce.

ALSO READ:

"Apple launches into the cloud

"The Net Neutrality in the clouds

"Apple's third largest market capitalization

The prospects of a new drug from Sanofi darker. Marketed in France since October 2010, and reimbursed at 65%, the treatment of cardiac arrhythmia Multaq may no longer be reimbursed in France. The Ministry of Health will decide in coming weeks.

Following severe liver failure diagnosed in the Multaq users in Germany and the United States, the Transparency Commission launched a process of reassessment of the medical benefit (SMR) by this treatment and issued end April 1 project a negative opinion, according to La Tribune. If the final notice of this proceeding is unfavorable, the drug will logically be delisted.

Previously, however, a hearing requested by the laboratory of Sanofi will defend his product.Health authorities should also expect that the European authorities, leading in turn to a study on the risk-benefit ratio of Multaq, vote before taking sides.

The delisting in France of one of the few new drugs Sanofi – the Multaq is on the market two years – would lead to a sharp drop in sales. However, this treatment is not essential for laboratory, industry watchers nuance. "It is designed for uncommon diseases, its development and launch were complicated and it is unlikely, anyway, to become a blockbuster, that is to say a drug generating more than one billion in sales, "said one of them.In the first quarter of 2011, the Multaq reached 63 million euros in sales in 29 countries including the United States and key European states, Sanofi said.

Few new treatments

The laboratory has tricolor few new treatments to market quickly alongside Multaq. Its pipeline of only three drugs pending approval of marketing and a dozen products in phase 3, the last stage of clinical development. In addition, most of these treatments are not very innovative, because they are made from molecules that have been used by Sanofi. Chris Viehbacher, Director General of the sixth world laboratory, then put on activities other than drugs from traditional research.

Among the pillars of growth: emerging markets, animal health, self-medication, vaccines or diabetes.All areas which have contributed in 2010 more than half the turnover of the pharmaceutical group. Will be added in 2011, the potential of the U.S. biotech Genzyme acquired earlier this year.

In Brussels

The debt restructuring is no longer taboo Greek nor the Ministry of Finance in Berlin, or Frankfurt, headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB). For the first time on Monday, an official with the ECB discussed a possible rescheduling of debt repayments Greek, which should reach 340 billion euros (150% of GDP) at year end.

The restructuring is "not an option," said the Dutch governor, Nout Wellink, faithful to the official policy of the ECB. But to honor its debts "may sometimes take longer than expected.Sometimes this can lead to a restructuring – but not in the sense that some would defend – which leads to a longer maturity debt, "he added, in response to questions from students at the University of Tillburg, Netherlands.

Although measured, this evocation goes beyond the usual discourse of the ECB, very hostile to the idea of ​​restructuring. Just last week, Governor Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo said that this scenario would be "devastating" to the markets that the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers.

Fear of contagion

The German Finance Ministry, Wolfgang Schäuble, who was the first to break the taboo this winter, yet working very seriously on this assumption.

More recently, Clemens Fuest, chairman of the department advisors, considered this issue "inevitable make quick cash."This weekend, Lars Feld, one of economic advisers to Angela Merkel, said that the restructuring was "the only way forward so that Greece is a little relieved that creditors and help to solve the Greek problem" .

Prudente, Greece prepares the ground for this hypothesis, while repeating that there was no question of restructuring. "It is better that it still extends the repayment period of 110 billion euros that we have lent our partners and we further decline in interest rates," said Monday the Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou, in an interview with Liberation. The EU has already lowered in March the interest rate on its loans and rescheduled repayment.

Concerned about the risks of contagion, Brussels continues to exclude the scenario of restructuring."It does not and will not be part of our strategy," hammered on Monday, European Commissioner for Financial Affairs, Olli Rehn, citing implications "potentially devastating for the country itself and for the eurozone as a whole" . Athens has set up programs "very ambitious," he said. On Monday, the yield of ten-year bond rose by 14 basis points to 15.80%.

Sunday, many children will go to the Easter egg hunt. A religious symbol, synonymous with abundance and renewal, but also an opportunity to enjoy chocolate in all its forms. "Easter is the traditional appointment with the French chocolatiers. The values ​​of sharing and conviviality carried by the support chocolate consumption during the festive periods, "explains Florence Pradier, general secretary of the union of chocolate.

So last year, purchases of other chickens and rabbits chocolate rose by 3.87% over the same period of 2009. In total, 13,400 tons were tasted in France to mark the Easter weekend, an average of 223 grams per person. At the sales charts, eggs, large or small, still occupy the top of the podium, even though dinosaurs or dolphins have appeared in the windows of chocolate."The large eggs or small eggs filled chocolates, milk and black are the most requested," said Arnaud Tavares, manager of the store of the Marquise de Sevigne in Paris' sixteenth arrondissement.

A distribution channel with bakeries and pastry shops account for 15% of chocolate sales in France as against 85% in supermarkets. "For us, Easter is the strongest period of the year before Christmas," Sophie adds, director of the Museum of Chocolate in Strasbourg, where traditionally it is the Rabbits and hares are popular. Taking into account the Christmas sales, which are chewed 33,800 tons of chocolate, these two periods of the year totaled more than 12% of annual sales of chocolate from France payday loans guaranteed no fax.

The price of cocoa beans has doubled in two years

"During holidays, the French are more likely to eat chocolate with an increase of 600 tons sold at Easter and Christmas 2010, the two highlights traditional chocolate consumption," says Florence Pradier. With 6.3 kg per capita in 2010, 378,000 tons, France is the 5th-largest consumer of chocolate behind Germany (11.3 kg), the European leader, and the United Kingdom (10.9 kg), his heir apparent.

In the kingdom of His Majesty, the Gauls are distinguished particularly because they are much more dark chocolate lovers as the rest of the British. The fans see it as the "only real" chocolate. In fact, dark chocolate is 30% of consumption in France, against 5% in other EU countries.During the year, the shelves are especially popular with just under a third of sales, ahead of sweets, appetizers, and other rocks, totaling a quarter of sales. The rest is divided between the spreads (19%), cocoa powder (15%) and chocolate bars (11%).

However, doubling the price of cocoa beans in two years following the civil war in Ivory Coast that supply 40% of the world, has curbed the appetite of the French. The shelf price of which is the benchmark rose 10% in two years. Result: chocolate sales on the single period of 2010 decreased by 2.9%. The question is how the market will evolve after the lull in Abidjan. Difficult to read in the dregs of cocoa!

ALSO READ:

»COMPUTER GRAPHICS – The fate of the chocolate market crisis

In Paris, investors want to turn the page on Tuesday, while the day before the European and U.S. indices were trembling face the prospect of lowering the debt rating of long-term United States from the rating agency Standard and Poor's. At the opening, the CAC 40 gained 0.48% to 3899.68 points. The index has increased its Paris flagship gains the whole morning to show an increase of 0.79% to 3919.11 points in mid-day. The goal of returning to 3900 points is atteint.Un threshold is exceeded after the opening happily in the green on Wall Street. At 16 pm, the CAC 40 is trading at 3920 points (1.02%).

In Germany, the DAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at mid-session gaining 0.43% to 7057 points and in the UK, the FTSE-100 index gaining key values ​​0.61% to 5905 points.

The session is facilitated by a series of publications.This morning already, Essilor, Faurecia and Zodiac unveiled their quarterly sales figures. Tonight, one of L'Oréal is expected. Side economic figures in France, activity in the private sector has increased sharply in April, supported by the services, whose growth reached its fastest pace for over ten years, according to preliminary results of the survey Markit among purchasing managers released Tuesday.

European side, new registrations of passenger cars fell 5% in March on a year within the European Union (EU), show figures released Tuesday by the European Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (ACEA). However, sales have increased in most European markets, notably Germany and France, which recorded a sales gain of 11.4% and 6.1% respectively.

Current accounts of euro area were in deficit by 7.2 billion euros in February, seasonally adjusted data, according to figures released Tuesday by the European Central Bank.

In the U.S., housing starts stand at 549,000 annual rate, while the market was expecting 520,000 after 512,000 in February (revised from 479,000). They display and a recovery of 7.2% over one month after a decline of 18.5% in February.

On the currency front, the euro fell sharply against the dollar on Monday night, however briefly falling below $ 1.42, weighed down by renewed concerns over the debts of the most fragile countries in the euro area, although United States have themselves received a stern warning.On Tuesday morning, the euro resumed at 0.11% 1.4243 dollar.Le oil also fell back after a warning from Standard & Poor's, but the situation in the Arab world will continue to drive prices upward

Faurecia and fly Zodiac

Side values, EDF (5.35% to 28.06 euros) headed the CAC 40 in mid-session. The redemption price of electricity to EDF's competitors is set at 42 euros on 1 January 2012. Eric Besson, Minister of Industry has confirmed the news Tuesday morning on Europe 1.

Faurecia is gaining 4.57% to 25.83 euros.Le group saw sales rise by 24% in the first quarter versus the first three months of 2010, an increase of 15% on a comparable basis.

Zodiac climbed 5.40% to 52.87 euros.Zodiac Aerospace announced Tuesday it raised its forecast operating margin for the year 2010-2011 after having almost doubled in the first half thanks to the recovery confirmed the aviation sector.

LVMH (4.24% to 114.40 euros) saw sales growth accelerate in the first quarter despite the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, while analysts had forecast a slowdown Growth of global luxury goods giant.

Michelin (2.01% to 60.88 euros) announced Monday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Chinese groups and Double Coin Huayi for the creation of a joint venture dedicated to the production of tires for the Chinese market.

Essilor advance slowly from 0.80% to 55.13 euros.Specialist ophthalmic equipment has confirmed its annual targets by announcing Tuesday an increase of 13.4% of its turnover in the first quarter thanks to its good performance in Asia and Latin America.

Archos tumbles

Edenred (-0.79% to 20.17 euros) announced an increase in its turnover and volume of issuance in the first quarter thanks to strong performances in Latin America, while those in Europe are more mixed.

Soitec (+0.09% at 10.66 euros) reported an increase of 34.4% of its turnover in 2010 thanks to a rebound in demand in the fourth quarter and expects a EBIT "slightly positive" for the year.

The manufacturer of glass bottles Verallia, a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain (+0.38% at 43.80 euros), announced Tuesday it had filed with securities regulators its core document, the first stage of its introduction on the TSX Paris.

Audika (1.88% to 20.55 euros) has confirmed its target of annual sales by announcing an increase of 8.6% compared to the first quarter of 2011.

Guyenne & Gascogne (0.90% to 94.95 euros) posted a turnover up 4.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2011, mainly supported by higher fuel prices in during the period.

Le Noble Age (-2.80% to 14.92 euros) has reported a 11.3% increase from its operating revenue in 2010 to 179.9 million euros and said it expects to 2011 on an increase of 7% at constant perimeter.Its operating profit gained 30.3% to 17.2 million while the group of nursing homes and health facilities was counting on $ 16 million.

April Group (+0.40% to 21.30 euros) on Monday announced the acquisition of the Elco, based in Montreal, a broker specializing in risk of damage for which the activity represented 10.5 million euros the last year. Elco, which employs 80 employees, will be consolidated into its accounts from 1 April.

Theolia (-5.63% to 1.34 euros) announced Monday it had charged an operating loss in 2010, hit by a major disposal plan that has sealed its production of electricity for its own account.

The French designer and distributor of consumer electronics Archos (-14.77% to 7.33 euros) will launch a capital increase of 26 million euros to support its growth.

L'Oreal will publish tonight after the close of trading in its quarterly revenue and Spir Communication, and Transgene aufeminin.com.