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This is the first major asset sale Technicolor Group (formerly Thomson) since its financial restructuring completed in 2010. Part professional broadcast Grass Valley, which includes all the facilities for the audiovisual sector, is the subject of a transfer agreement with a U.S. investment fund, Francisco Partners. This activity is the most important of the former Grass Valley, cut into three pieces (professional broadcasting, transmission networks and head) in order to facilitate its sale. The game sold today employs 1457 people in 23 countries, of which only 200 people in France. It generates 272 million euros in turnover but a deficit of 47 million euros.

This operation removes a thorn from Technicolor. The group disposes of an activity that consumed about 50 million euros in cash per year. An economy, certainly, but not a bargain.Firstly, to pass the baby, Technicolor begin by Francisco Partners to transfer 20 million euros in cash for the operation of the business. Then, the investment fund will pay its acquisition in 2016. It issues a promissory note for 80 million euros due six years, but bearing interest at 5% per year. In other words, by 2016, Technicolor will affect only 4 million euros per year. Finally, in 2010, Technicolor will take a loss in its accounts related to the difference between the value of the sale ($ 100 million) and the value of this activity at the balance sheet. Already in 2009, Technicolor had depreciated its assets transferred 379 million euros, of which a large part due to Grass Valley.

Accordingly, this assignment s gonna in no financial position of Technicolor. Frederic Rose, Chief Executive since September 2008, had warned.It is not easy to sell assets when they lose money and the seller is pressed. The important thing is to stop the bleeding. Since early this year, the new boss has renegotiated the debt with creditors, reducing it from 2.8 billion euros to 1.4 billion, and he raised 350,000,000 euros of fresh money. Its mission today is to cut off the rotten branches. He still has to sell the two other activities of Grass Valley and the advertising company Screenvision.

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After two years of hangover, Champagne sees the end of the tunnel. Monday evening, wine producers and traders have agreed on the amount of grapes they can reap in the next harvest. This year, from mid-September, the owners of vineyards can recover from the vines which produce 301 million bottles of champagne. That's 8% more than last year.

For the first time, players of Champagne, accustomed to hear only a few days before the first shots of secateurs, have chosen to define rules in the middle of summer. "We wanted to send a sign of serenity," said Ghislain de Montgolfier, the president of Champagne houses.It was harder last year. "At that time, negotiations had resulted in a stormy painful compromise, after which the harvest made possible the production of only 277 million bottles, or 30% less than 2008.

The Champagne was going through a major crisis and was with a stock of 1.2 billion bottles on the arms, well above the sector's needs. The crisis was finally serious than feared months: after falling by 5% in 2008, sales declined 9% in volume last year … and 16.6% in value.

Since then, sales leave. In the first five months of the year, they rose 20% in volume. "The market was very well presented in recent months, and the tendency of June confirms May's figures," says Le Figaro Ghislain de Montgolfier cheap credit report.Sales rose 9% in France, 25% in the European Union, and even 69% in the rest of the world.

However, compared to a year, higher volumes is still only 2.7%. The end of the year represents the bulk of the activity. For all of 2010, the Interprofessional Committee for Wine of Champagne (CIVC) said that sales will reach 315 million bottles, representing an increase of 8% compared to 2009. Some players even think that sales will recover their level two years ago.

Optimism not shared

"We're out of the hollow, recognizes Ghislain de Montgolfier. Our only problem is to anticipate the year-end sales. Everything will depend on the general level of consumption, particularly in Europe. In case of decline, we might have to suffer. "

In Champagne, everyone does not share the optimism of some."Sales volumes remain below those of 2008, and there will be loss of value, fears Dominique Pierre, CEO of Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte. There are still a lot of sales of champagne, entry-level or on promotion. We can not talk about the crisis. With the economic austerity policies in Western Europe must be realistic. "

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Financial regulation in the United States is running. The most comprehensive reform in this area since the 1930s has been passed by the U.S. Senate by 60 votes against 39. A key legislative victory for Barack Obama after the reform of health coverage in March.The U.S. president did not hesitate to declare last May: "Wall Street has failed," referring to lobbyists who tried to prevent the adoption of this project.

Pending the promulgation by the President

Obama can now enact this historic piece to prevent another financial crisis and economic such as the United States had known in autumn 2008.

"Today the Senate will take action and send the bill on the president's office, so that the country can finally feel the effects of reform on which we have discussed for so many months," said Thursday Senator Chris Dodd, one of the main authors of the text with the Representative Barney Frank.

The text of over 2300 pages of the law "Frank-Dodd", aims to extend regulatory control over whole sectors of finance, which escaped him.It thus provides for the creation of a consumer of financial products within the central bank and it prevents the rescue of large financial institutions at taxpayers' expense.

For regulators play now

Among other measures leading text include a provision for better control of the vast market of derivatives traded over the counter, these tools have been speculative in the heart of the recent financial crisis in the U.S. pay day loans.The text finally contains a measure dubbed the "rule of Volcker," the name of Barack Obama's economic adviser, Paul Volcker, whose idea is to encourage commercial banks to focus on their lending activities and take fewer risks .

While most Democrats have supported this project, the Republicans have signaled their opposition to the text, notably in that it gives too much power to regulators who failed to prevent the recent financial crisis.

The Chairman of the Central Bank of the United States, Ben Bernanke on Thursday hailed an "important step" with the vote by the Senate of legislation to reform financial regulation, which gives them considerable powers of oversight at the institution.

The ball is now in the hands of regulators. "We will pay with meticulous application and our responsibilities under the new law," promises Ben Bernanke.Legislation passed by the Senate because the Fed responsible for regulating all major financial institutions in the country, more than 50 billion dollars in assets.

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Since one week, the controversy raged in Britain about treatment against multiple sclerosis. The British health authority had signed an agreement in 2002 stipulating that if the drugs did not provide patients with the expected effects, manufacturers undertook to lower its price. Seven years later, the products are much less effective announced … but no reduction in tariff has been applied.

This type of program has nonetheless increased in the UK, Italy and in many other countries. In the case of the cancer drug Velcade, marketed by Janssen-Cilag Laboratory, the contract goes to the reimbursement of drugs to the UK for each patient whose health is not improving.

In the U.S., Sanofi-Aventis has proposed another novel mechanism to health insurers.If patients who use the drug cons Actonel osteoporosis fracture a bone, the laboratory shall reimburse the costs of fracture care insurers.

France is rather "timid face systems of risk sharing," said Vincent Genet, director of health business of the firm Alcimed. The Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS) has played the game two or three times. He then granted a high price for drugs, hoping they would be more effective than was thought studies. One program, designed for type 2 diabetes, resulted in failure. Under the agreements, the laboratory (whose name is a closely held secret) then had to repay Social Security.Anyway, "the use of this method should not be necessary if the drugs have been developed properly," says Noel Renaudin, president of CEPS.

Reluctant to bet on the effectiveness of treatment, health authorities prefer to play the Hexagon on the terms of dosage and volumes online pay day loans. In hypertension, where the proper dosage may be unknown initially, and agreements set out in advance the cost of treatment … and provide for rate adjustments if it appears that the doses required are higher is believed ."More than sharing, this is to remove the risk", welcomes Christmas Renaudin.

250 million euros returned by the labs

For highly innovative products that provide a real therapeutic progress, pharmaceutical companies get selling prices relatively high, generally calibrated on prices in Britain and Germany, under certain conditions. They should be consistent with volume commitments. It follows that, if the number of boxes of medicines sold is higher than expected, laboratories pay rebates to Social Security. On average, 250 million euros and are returned annually by laboratories to Social Security.A little more even if we take into account the penalty (53 million last year) that all pharmaceutical companies must pay back if the growth in drug spending is higher than expected validated each year by Parliament.

Practices are changing slowly but surely. Laboratories justify increasingly high prices of their new products by the care savings generated. "These arguments are valid for medical devices, but rarely based on medicines," grade Christmas Renaudin. The CEPS boss finds that "if the antiulcer emptied gastrochirurgie services, they did not generate savings, by dint of being prescribed en masse. CEPS ready yet to give a high price for a drug that has demonstrated, once will not hurt, it reduces significantly the number of hospital days.

This Monday has been the day of surprises. A few hours after completing the rescue funds to the euro, the European Union president Herman Van Rompuy announced Monday night that the EU finance ministers agreed that the Commission consider their national budgets. An agreement all the more unexpected given that some hours before the meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel to be held on Monday evening was canceled at the last moment. Every indication that this was yet another sign of the tension between France and Germany. And even if both sides because they advanced the calendar.Markets do not make mistakes: Shortly after the cancellation, the CAC 40 lost more than 1%, while it had managed to return to balance in mid-session.

Budgetary discipline

Anyway, this agreement will enable Europe to invent a new fiscal discipline. This is especially good news that Germany and France had openly opposed on this issue. We remember especially about the government spokesman, Luc Chatel, who said "this is not the European Commission to approve the budget of the French nation."

The EU finance ministers have also agreed Monday night to create new sanctions against countries too indebted to strengthen the Stability Pact.The agreement envisages the possibility of sanctions even when the current limit of 3% of GDP by the Covenant for public deficits has not yet expired, said President of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, at a press conference. The idea would be to trigger the excessive deficit procedures earlier for countries whose debt is not declining fast enough payday loans. It also put more emphasis on the future monitoring of the overall debt deemed not exceed 60% of GDP, and not just the annual deficits.

A modification of treaties is not excluded

The ministers have asked the European Commission to make proposals to define new sanctions.Brussels thinking, for example the suspension of payment of certain subsidies from the European Union for uncooperative countries. Germany also advocates for the suspension of voting rights at European ministerial meetings in Brussels. "We talked about but everyone is aware that financial sanctions not require a treaty amendment," said Herman Van Rompuy.He added: "We have not ruled out a treaty amendment, but has concentrated on what can be done at short notice and under the current treaty that does not have to go to the ahead and impose sanctions, non-financial, "he added, however, ensuring that there was" no taboos "for the future.

These sanctions, which remain to be defined, could be decided whether a country has ignored warnings from its partners on the drift of public accounts, or if the overall level of debt swells too fast.

In an environment where markets are concerned about the financial situation now in Hungary – which is not part of the Euro-zone, this agreement, which follows the completion of the rescue funds of the euro, should enable bring some stability to financial markets that really need it.

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The Paris Bourse, which sailed around the equilibrium in the morning suddenly stalled in mid-session, disappointed by U.S. employment figures and worried by the fall of the euro.

At the finish the CAC 40 plunged 2.86% to end the session very much below the threshold of 3,500 points to 3,455.61 points exactly. On the whole week in Paris index shows a decline of 1.7% bringing its losses since the beginning of the year to more than 12%.

Reflecting investor nervousness, activity was sustained, with almost 5 billion euros traded on the great values of the Paris stock exchange. Other stock markets in unison dévissaient London lost 1.63% and 1.91% Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid 3.79% 3.80%.The Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 3.20%.

Investors skeptical of increasing the strength of economic recovery plans for fear that strict hindering growth, obviously await any excuse to sell. They took advantage Friday of a disappointment on the job market in the United States to pass the act.

The euro under $ 1.20

In the U.S., unemployment fell in May to 9.7%, but the net new jobs (431,000) were significantly worse than expected. The NYSE has also reacted badly to this statistic, always closely watched by the markets. Wall Street was changing rapidly decline with the approach of the close of European stock exchanges. The Dow Jones lost 2.16% and the Nasdaq 1.80%.

In Europe, a new front in the crisis began in Hungary.The local currency, the forint, the Budapest Stock Exchange, and covers the failure of Hungarian debt (CDS, credit default swap) tumbled after the alarmist statements about the economic situation on the part of politicians, from the majority place.

Those fears pushed investors to the traditional safe havens like the dollar or Swiss franc. And for the first time since March 2006, the euro fell below $ 1.20. In Paris, financial stocks were once again the front line. Societe Generale lost 7.5%, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole over 5%.

AIG will not access the request of Prudential. While the British insurer claimed a decrease of 10% of the purchase price under pressure from its shareholders, AIG said Tuesday in a statement it will not alter the terms of the proposed sale of its Asian subsidiary AIA UK Prudential, whose price is set at 35.5 billion dollars (nearly 29 billion euros).

Prudential acknowledges and will respond "in due course"

In another statement, Prudential said take note of the decision of AIG and said he will make a statement in "due course". He confirmed that he proposed a reduction in price and said that his new proposal is 30.38 billion dollars (24.7 billion euros).This represents a decrease of 14.4% of the purchase price, not 10% as first announced by the prospective acquirer.

To partially finance this acquisition, Prudential would need a capital increase of 21 billion dollars (about 17 billion dollars). What worried shareholders, who must decide on the draft on June 7

Prudential and AIG have resumed negotiations last week to save this agreement, several shareholders of the British insurer has estimated that the price offered to become the dominant player in Asia's life insurance was too high.

After this new twist, we expect that the shareholders of Prudential eagerly await the response that Prudential will this announcement.Prudential Will he finally pay $ 35.5 billion and will reach there to give AIG? Unless the proposed acquisition would not be abandoned.

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Pressed by the markets which seem to question the reality of the support plan for Greece, the central bankers in the euro zone agreed Sunday on the financial terms of emergency loans to Athens. "An agreement has been reached" at a meeting of experts in Brussels, assured on Friday, several European sources. "A very important decision has been taken," said Sunday Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou on television.It can be triggered at any time if Greece requests.

Any aid to Greece based on bilateral loans of at least 30 billion euros, which would be made at a rate of about 5%.

"For loans up to three years, the rate of special drawing rights (SDR) plus 300 basis points plus 50 basis points of service charge, claimed Friday from European sources.

Under discussion for ten days, the interest rate was a crucial point of the plan, anxiously awaited by investors. Germany insisted that loans be granted to Greece "no subsidy" that is to say, the market price, while France and Italy were ready to make a flower in Greece.

Berlin was right partners, obtaining successful even in the smallest details."A premium of 350 basis points above the SDR rate – the benchmark for the IMF – is the average for the market this week," said Dominique Barbet, head of market research at BNP Paribas. "For a country of the euro area is very expensive," he adds. "But at least Greece is attached to his fate," said the economist.

What interest could she Greece to seek EU aid, if the price of loans is not less than the market? "In the markets, lenders are not obliged to lend, even if the price is attractive: it is all the difference," said Dominique Barbet low rate payday loans.If Greece asks EU aid, she knows she will obtain a price fixed in advance, which will never be below the market price, because the latter will naturally.

Spectrum of banking crisis

For now, Athens has not seen fit to seek the help of the euro area and the IMF, even if the markets will grow, calling for a rate of 7% for loans to ten years, or surcharge of 4% compared to Germany.

Although the markets have calmed down a bit Friday, Greece is at the foot of the wall. It may not only failure refinancing at its next bond issue, but also a banking crisis. Fearing bankruptcy, the Greeks have already withdrawn 10 billion euros of deposits and place them in foreign banks.

On Friday, ratings agency Fitch lowered the debt by two notches to BBB-Greece, citing "budgetary challenges" growing."The sharp rise in interest rates will make it harder for the government to achieve its goal of reducing the budget deficit to 8.7% this year," says the rating agency. Fitch is particularly heard it was the first to degrade Greece December 8, 2009, giving the signal for the Greek financial crisis.

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We knew the loopholes in the tax and social in the sights of government. Fran?ois Fillon reiterated Thursday that he did not intend to scale back its ambitions in this area. Before the senators, the Prime Minister has once again stated that the government would propose the "elimination or capping of tax and social niches. Lower taxes for donations to associations, loan interest deductions for a property purchase, VAT at 5.5% for other work and reduced taxation for life insurance contracts now know what to expect !

Bercy's goal to reduce by 2 billion euros per year tax loopholes, and for 3 years. An ambitious goal that requires the Department of Economics at all look under the microscope, one by one. "There are two ways to act: either to consider each of the niches and see the feasibility of its abolition.Or set up a rule on all tax and social niches, "said Thursday the prime minister. In other words, the planing.

In late January, in an interview igaro F, Francois Fillon was e indicated that the government does would create "no more". "Then we must question their effectiveness: some of them are not, or more strategic. We will limit the other in time – to force us to regularly check if they meet their goals – and minimize their ceilings, "he explained.

Decisions mid-May

The government has made a religion on the subject for many months already.For even if the deficit was revised slightly downwards for this year – 8% of GDP instead of the initial estimate of 8.5% – a considerable effort will need to be made to the path of public finances on leave again the right slope, having slipped sharply during the crisis.

Politically, addressing niche has an advantage: it is the best way to increase taxes without seeming to. But the task is not easy technically. Touching the niches that benefit businesses? The government is not keen, not to nibble again their competitiveness, it has worked so hard to restore it elsewhere. Last week, Secretary of State for Employment Laurent Wauquiez, was thus excluded from the touch – even slightly – to employer contributions, because "the relief load is undoubtedly the policy tool of the job more effective. "It finds that, according to the minister, a report issued a few weeks ago by the Inspector of Finance, Jean-Luc Tavernier. According to the report, 21 billion of relief support enjoyed by companies on low wages would save between 600 000 and 800 000 jobs. Unable to touch in times of high unemployment.

Addressing niche enjoyed by individuals? Difficult also, without taking the risk of being accused of sacrificing the wallet of the French. On this issue, the prime minister has also several reports in his drawers for the inspection of Finance. One focuses on tax loopholes related to inactivity. Another niche on the taxation of savings. One thing is certain: the topic will be addressed at the national conference of the deficits projected for mid-May Nicolas Sarkozy has already announced that the decision "important" would be taken.