Posts Tagged ‘work’

Day crucial for banking reform

July 15, 2010 - 9:20 am Comments Off

The regulation of the financial world is big today. In the U.S., the proposed revised financial regulations would be voted on today in the Senate after the House of Representatives has given its go-ahead in July. Some measures have been abandoned over the debate, as the proposed tax credit, but the final text is still the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.

Meanwhile, a meeting is being held in Switzerland and covers the establishment of new prudential standards proposed by the committee of "Basel III". The objective of these measures is to raise the level of capital requirements at banks to limit to reduce the risk of bankruptcy of these establishments, and limit the risk of traders in the market, including products derivatives.But even the regulators and central bankers seem to make concessions against their original objectives, under pressure from banking lobby. They are afraid that a new credit crisis since experts believe that these new rules would force banks to raise more than 1.000 billion in new capital. The final text must be presented at the G20 summit in Seoul in South Korea, 11 and 12 November.

Reform in Europe delayed

And in Europe, the Twenty-seven have found common ground on how to conduct stress tests that will be published July 23. However, the reform of financial supervision has been delayed over disagreements between the Parliament and the Council of Europe. It should not come into effect before September, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Tankers have a point against Obama

July 10, 2010 - 1:56 am Comments Off

Eighty days after the explosion of the platform Deepwater Horizon BP, while 35,000 to 60,000 barrels of crude continue to flee each day in the Gulf of Mexico, the Administration faces Obama in the oil industry courtrooms.

Latest twist, a Louisiana appellate court has imposed a setback Thursday at the White House. On 22 June a judge in New Orleans overturned the six-month moratorium on new offshore drilling more than 150 meters deep, decreed by the Obama Administration. The magistrate ruled the gel arbitrary, decided by him without consideration for its regional economic impact. The executive has therefore appealed and lost again on Thursday.

Thirty drilling platforms in the Gulf these are now hostage to this legal battle.The cost of leasing a drilling platform is estimated at 1 million per day. As a result of thirty platforms in the Gulf, the bill accumulated over three months would amount to 2.7 billion dollars for companies exploring the deposits of the Gulf. The extension of the moratorium could put 50,000 employees out of work in Louisiana and the neighboring oil states.

Go drill "elsewhere"

Along with judges, elected Republicans deposit burst of bills or amendments to overturn the moratorium. For its part, the British government also said to be opposed to a freeze of all offshore drilling and focuses on a case by case basis. "We will not allow drilling until we have no assurance that the plans for all wells (…) represent what can be done better," says the UK Department of Energy.

Already, several U.S. companies threaten to go elsewhere to drill. "If the moratorium is maintained, we will have to redirect our resources to other parts of the world we are authorized to work," says one at Exxon Mobil, the first American company. In the U.S., the oil sector is characterized by the presence of a multitude of small companies, which bore alongside the majors. Thus, Swift Energy, based in Houston, told AFP that she was going to drill more in Texas, on land, at the expense of its operations off the coast of Louisiana.

In California, oil companies had rejoiced the green light to drill offshore, given by Barack Obama just days before the spill.The disaster has brought back the White House on this concession to the oil lobby for support of allied Republicans in Congress on the draft energy law discussed step by step for over a year. The company Venoco, which had projects off California, will focus on its land drilling. Problem: the volumes available in the ground are much lower than those buried under the ocean floor.

G20: Sarkozy is located in the Obama camp

June 26, 2010 - 10:20 am Comments Off

In the battle over economic strategy, which raged in the country G8/G20 meeting in Toronto, Nicolas Sarkozy ranks clearly on the side of Barack Obama's hostile plans rigor precipitates. "For France, fiscal consolidation is a long-term need [...] the stimulus must be from 2011, progressively, according to individual circumstances," said one EU source.

Favorable cures severe austerity in Greece, Portugal and Spain, Nicolas Sarkozy calls for budgetary adjustments "progressive" in France and in Germany, in 2011, with "not too many taxes."

The fragile economic and financial worries Europe G8 and the G20. "Our partners Americans and Canadians fear the impact of austerity plans on resuming" said one EU source.The health of banks on the Old Continent is also a major concern in the U.S. No faxing payday loans 1 hour. "There is nothing to fear from that quarter. Our banks are very strong. The results of stress testing in late July will cheer the markets, "say the Europeans.

Faced with the Americans, Germans and Britons facing the G8 steadfast defenders of rigor. "A sustainable growth can not result from a fiscal policy based on the debt?" Repeats Angela Merkel. "Our public finances are in such a state, we have no other choice than a hard adjustment," defends David Cameron.

In this debate, Nicolas Sarkozy wants to distinguish itself from its European partners.Recognizing the need to reduce fiscal deficits in France, he does not want to rush, giving priority to pension reform. If markets were not so vigilant, he would gladly own the warning of Barack Obama: "do not overdo it in 2010 … or 2011.

Obama roundly on the pattern of BP

June 9, 2010 - 12:44 am Comments Off

It strangely resembles a certain case Toyota. Less than four months after having heard the Director General of Operations in the U.S. for the Japanese, Jim Lentz, and its CEO, Akio Toyoda, the U.S. Congress will, next June 17, the testimony of an officer of another giant feet of clay, Tony Hayward, CEO of BP. And for the first time.

Obama wants to "kick some butt"

The only difference with the Toyota case is the fact that the BP boss could resign. Asked by NBC, Barack Obama has hinted he would welcome the departure of Tony Hayward has made frequent statements awkward. "It would not work for me after these statements, had told the U.S. president.We talk with these guys because they are potentially more able to tell me who to kick your ass.

Tony Hayward was heavily criticized after saying a week ago wanted to "get his life before" and the Gulf of Mexico was "a great ocean where the environmental impact of the disaster is very, very modest." Words that had caused such an outcry from the families of 11 victims who died in the explosion and for which he apologized on Facebook. 81% of Americans felt negatively the reaction of BP.

Obama worse than Bush

The position of Barack Obama is not the most comfortable vis-à-vis the American people no fax pay day loan. A poll ABC News / Washington Post, 69% of respondents have a poor opinion of the management of the crisis the Obama administration.By comparison, 60% of Americans disapproved of the action of George Bush response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Tony Hayward, who will be the only witness to a hearing entitled "The role of BP in the explosion of the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon and the oil spill, to answer questions from elected members of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House of Representatives.

Two months after the explosion

The hearing will take place almost two months after the explosion on April 20 of the platform which has killed 11 people and caused a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, affecting the fauna and flora in several states in the southern U.S. coast U.S. including Louisiana.

The head of BP America, Lamar McKay, had already been questioned by several committees of both houses of Congress in May.

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The weight of private debt threatens Spain

June 7, 2010 - 8:00 am Comments Off

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the graphics.

In Madrid

Again, it is a credit rating agency has sounded the alarm. Fitch recently lowered the rating one notch from Spain, was concerned about the weight of private debt for growth prospects. If market pressure in recent weeks has focused on the soaring national debt, the time bomb in Spain could come from private debt.

In 2008, the accumulated debt of households and enterprises was 220% of GDP according to Eurostat, against 159% in France, Italy 138% and 130% in Greece, dunce European government debt. Only Portugal beats the record of his Hispanic neighbor with 255%! The problem is summarized in one word: stone.Even today, real estate receivables represent over 70% of household debt.

The Spaniards pay the crazy real estate boom years of speculation-all does, where developers have built millions of square meters in gigantic projects, where banks have opened the floodgates of credit, increased interest rates by attractive. Since over 80% of Spaniards, Jose Maria Molina has invested his wages in stone. "I decided to buy an apartment because the reimbursement of the credit cost me nothing more than rent," he says. All were encouraged: the tax benefits, the abundant supply and the famous "cultura de propiedad the" culture of ownership. In Spain, a rent was seen as an expenditure and the purchase of a property as a profitable investment … well until the crisis. Jose Maria has the harsh experience.Employee of a security alarm company, he has always honored its debt carefully, paying each month "between 400 and 500 euros. A total flux, since the vast majority of Spanish mortgages are variable rate negotiated. They are indexed on the Euribor, the interbank lending rate for the euro … Russian mountain assured. In 2008, Jose Maria has lost her job. "When I was fired, I was given eight months of unemployment benefits. Then, I have received no assistance. "He stopped paying the bank for nine months, then his home was seized. Today, Jose Maria returned to live with his mother. At 42 years old. Same scenario for José Coy, who had established a small textile company in the region of Murcia. His property, purchased on credit, served as collateral for other loans that financed its activities. But in April 2009, he had to close shop, victim of globalization.Suddenly, he found himself without a business, jobless and soon without control of his apartment. Jose, who paid back 720 euros each month, tried to renegotiate its loans. But taken in the financial turmoil, the bank had granted its loans so easily does not listen anymore. In one year, his property will be auctioned on the market, morose, Spanish property. Meanwhile, Jose Coy has decided to fight back: he took the head of the Platform of victims of the credit of Murcia and claims to assigning his property in lieu to the bank in exchange for the cancellation of its debt.

Time bomb

These slices of life illustrate the squaring of the circle of the Spanish crisis. Victims of the recession that has resulted in tens bankruptcy and pushed unemployment to 20%, households and businesses no longer able to meet their deadlines.Their purchasing power risk of further deterioration as a result of austerity measures, higher taxes and lower social spending. "Private demand will fall further as the private agents tend to focus on reducing debt and it is not public demand, restrained by the austerity plans, which will take over as in 2008 and 2009," says Philip of Sabuco BNP Paribas. Even within the majority, concern is growing: "We have a private sector debt triple that of the public. The challenge is to ensure that the cost of financing does not stifle the economy, "said Parliament this week the leader of Socialist deputies, José Antonio Alonso. Spain can not inject billions as did the United States to stem the subprime crisis.Knowing too much debt – 71% in 2008 according to the McKinsey Institute – is in the hands of foreign creditors, potential lenders stung by fears of the market, especially if they are outside the Eurozone. This is not counting the other bomb that is a possible crash of the banking sector. How companies and banks refinance? At what rate? What implications for the economy in the long term? The IMF has pointed out, the heavy indebtedness of the private sector is a challenge for Spain struggling to revive growth.

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Fillon announced the first cuts in state spending

May 14, 2010 - 7:35 am Comments Off

Until now, the French have not felt the effects of policy, expenditure control has been conducted since 2007. For the general revision of public policies (RGPP) merely cut in the organization of the state, culminating with the non-replacement of staff on two retiring. After the controversy arose in Spring 2008 when Bercy had failed to dent the map "families," the executive had resigned himself to not touch, or marginally so, the expenses of intervention, ie policy social and wider economic (costs targeted exemptions, housing subsidies, RSA, assisted contracts …) and subsidies (crops, including transport).

Today, given the magnitude of deficits, the government changed its tune.In framing the letter he sent to all departments, Francois Fillon requires a 10% decline in value of intervention expenditure in the period 2011-2013. "To meet the target of freezing government spending-load of debt and pensions, we can not content ourselves to work on the only day operation of departments," said Baroin's entourage, the Minister Budget. In fact, operating expenses, such purchases, computers or real estate, representing less than 20 billion euros, while the operating expenses weigh 67 billion. The Prime Minister had already announced a cut of 10% within the past week. Measurement confirmed in the letter of framing.The extension of this plane to political intervention will save 6 billion more to the state by 2013.

Difficult choices

Remains now to determine exactly where the cuts will take place. Discussions between Bercy and the ministries that will lead to arbitrage mid-June, tight ahead, as the operating expenses are political. Social expenditures account for half wicket. For them, it will take "specific reforms," according to the letter of framing. Minister of Youth, Marc-Philippe Daubresse however assured Wednesday that the criteria for awarding the RIAA will not be changed. The other half of the expenditure is made up of sectoral aid.Transport (including rail network of France), agriculture, housing and culture are on the front line.

"More generally, all departments will freeze all spending," insists one at Bercy. Including, therefore, that of Defence, while the military budget law provided an increase in appropriations. But everything should be done to ensure that capital expenditure are chipped to a minimum.

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Apple supports the U.S. markets

April 21, 2010 - 7:20 pm Comments Off

U.S. stock markets are a small step forward Wednesday. The Dow Jones ahead of a timid 0.06%, while the Nasdaq rose 0.24%. The previous day, the Dow Jones gained 0.23% and the Nasdaq 0.81%. In Asia this morning, the same trend with the Nikkei in particular that ended on a positive note (1.74%).

Apple Earnings blaze

The technology sector benefited from the announcement after market, a 90% surge in net income of U.S. computer maker Apple in the first quarter. Inflated by including a doubling of sales of iPhones, the company's net earnings to net apple exceeds $ 3 billion in the second quarter of its fiscal offset. Turnover was up 49% to 13.50 billion dollars.Apple shares climbed 5.64% to 258.38 dollars.

Also in the technology sector, Yahoo! also published after the close a net profit group share in the first quarter more than doubled on year to more than 310 million dollars. In contrast, the turnover has been disappointing. It increased only 1% to just under $ 1.6 billion. Result: the shares fell sharply from 5.77% to 17.32 dollars.

On Tuesday, the financial sector, for its part, was carried by the strong quarterly results from investment bank Goldman Sachs (1.26% to $ 162), whose future remains clouded by fraud prosecutions undertaken by securities regulators in the United States and Great Britain.The firm has more than doubled its net profit in the first three months of the year to nearly 3.5 billion dollars.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro was slightly lower Wednesday as investors watching the talks between Greek officials and teams from the EU, IMF and ECB on aid to Greece due to start Wednesday after a successful bond sale by Athens yesterday. By mid-afternoon, the European currency was worth 1.3401 dollars, down 0.16%.

Today on Wall Street, investors will monitor the traditional weekly crude inventories will be published in late afternoon.

Growth: the recovery continues

March 26, 2010 - 9:57 am Comments Off

After the deep recession that marked the years 2009, 2010 should be the rebound. But "the recovery continues." In these terms as Head of the conditions of INSEE, Sandrine Duch?ne, talks about the situation of the French economy.

And these are not figures of household consumption published Thursday that will contradict that finding. Spending by French manufactured goods suffered a second consecutive decline in February, down 1.2% from the previous month. Nobody expected such poor performance.

More broadly, the economic climate could be worse than anticipated earlier this year.In the update of its forecast released Thursday, the Institute of Statistics has just downgraded the growth of the first part of 2010.

In the first quarter, GDP should grow and not more than 0.2% and 0.3% in the second quarter. To reach the forecasted growth of government, namely 1.4% – should be that activity in France rose 0.5% to 0.6% over the last two quarters. Ambitious!

The beginning of the year was marked by a recovery in the euro zone, both "tentative and mixed, according to Insee. Then it would open in Germany, Spain was left behind.In the wake of world trade, the demand addressed to France should slow down on the horizon in mid-2010.

Employment adjustment

For their part, companies are hesitant to implement new investment projects, "despite improvements in their conditions of funding" payday loans . And this, especially as production capacities are still underutilized.

Among households, nothing euphoric either. In the first half, the purchasing power will continue to slow down (+0.1% in the first quarter, 0.3% in the second), due to a slight rise in inflation and an acceleration of tax burden. Thus, while consumption has resisted during the crisis, it fell in the first half.

The aftermath of the scrapping bonus there is not nothing.End of 2009, auto sales had jumped into effect, households with their anticipated purchases to take full advantage of the generosity of the measure.

As for employment, finally, he would continue to adjust, albeit at a more modest pace. The private sector will lose 80,000 more jobs by mid-2010, after destroying 100au second half of 2009 and around 260000au first. Unemployment would reach in France and 9.8% of the workforce in June. At the end of last year, it was 9.6%.

The French Prime Minister Francois Fillon reiterated on Thursday before the Senate that the unemployment curve "should be reversed in the second half of 2010.

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"France has no lesson to give Germany"

March 16, 2010 - 12:42 am Comments Off

"Surprising." "Moved". "Not yet" … The reactions of economists and analysts to interview with the Financial Times by Christine Lagarde is unanimous. The Minister of Economy French expressed doubts about the durability of a German model which penalizes it believes other European countries.

While Germany has deliberately chosen to stake everything on offer to boost its exports at the expense of domestic demand and of exports and other European countries, "it's still hard to criticize a countries, which introduced considerable reforms over the past ten years and whose discipline enables him to get away well, "said Marc Touati, economist at Global Equities.

France has no lesson to give Germany, and especially could receive, say analysts."It's fun for a country that lacks the courage to take the steps it must take to address a friend and partner, accusing him of being just too good student," quipped Marc Fiorentino, Euroland Finance.

"The remarks by Christine Lagarde is a form of displaced unmanageable," according to Marc Touati, that reservation, however, about the conditions of the interview and the return of his remarks.

Christine Lagarde Where does she come?

"I'm not sure that the German model based on the downward pressure on labor costs is sustainable over the long term," said Christine Lagarde, criticizing the trade surplus in Germany. She called Berlin to develop its domestic demand for the good of all Europe.

For Olivier Bizimina economist at Credit Agricole, these remarks are not really the place to be."There is a structural difference between Germany and France: the German household consumes less than the French household," says he. The Germans, when they have more money, save more and invest more. The French consume.

Moreover, the criticism of the Minister does not seem justified in the sense that "it's not as if there had been a competitive devaluation," he says bad credit payday advance . Germany as France, have in effect the same currency: the euro.

A very contrasting Europe

Christine Lagarde continues to advocate solidarity and convergence between European countries, when Germany chose to focus on its competitiveness and displays its austerity facing European countries in difficulty.In other words, Marc Fiorentino, France asked the European harmony, but that will take place in Germany drawing down "to less jealous, rather than setting goals to the height its neighbor. A vision he considers "pitiful."

The meeting on Monday afternoon, the finance ministers of the euro area in Brussels on aid to Greece, following the joint conference between Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy in London promises to be stormy. The Franco-German tensions would be increasingly felt, according to some analysts, and contrast with the cordial political relations displayed by Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel with the media.

SOS eurozone

In a crisis, while Europe is expected to weld, "such criticism" has no meaning and could "put in pole position the idea of a Europe increasingly heterogeneous," says Marc Touati .It is time the European harmony, reflection on a European "with clear rules for all countries with a federal …», continues bubget economist. Otherwise, "in 2020, the euro area has disappeared.

Marc Fiorentino, in an editorial on BFM radio this morning, has sanctioned the remarks of Minister of Economy of the verdict without appeal: "It is time that we have a cabinet reshuffle. It speaks of Christine Lagarde Foreign Affairs. This is good news, "he quipped.

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Brussels approves the austerity of Greece

February 3, 2010 - 3:24 pm Comments Off

Athens finally got the good report from Brussels. The European Commission ruled Wednesday that the savings plan acceptable Greek. "The Commission shares the ambitious deficit reduction that the Greek government has set, and the fiscal and structural reforms announced in the stability program," she said in a statement.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, had presented new budget measures, including freezing the salaries of all officials at the last moment on Tuesday evening. The Commission appreciated the welcoming approach.

The approval of Brussels is not a blank check Payday Loan for Bad Credit .The Commission "calls on Greece to explain the tax measures announced and the timetable for their implementation in the coming weeks" and ", more detailed measures to be implemented in 2011 and 2012.

Athens will be placed under surveillance and will be an infringement procedure for lack of reliability of its statistics.

After the announcement of the Commission, the Greek bond yields back down to 6.516% against 6.742% on Wednesday morning around 8:30.

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