International News

The board of managers of the Society of Editors of the World (SRM) would have voted on Friday morning in favor of the project's trio Pigasse-Niel-Berge (GDP) by eleven votes in favor and one abstention. The vote therefore recommends that the General Assembly of the RS, representing the journalists of the daily evening to vote for the BNP bid, to the detriment of the competing offer.

Still, as revealed by the website of Le Nouvel Observateur, the association Hubert Beuve-Mery (HBM), without representing the current personnel of World, would it, in favor of the offer Perdriel-Orange Prisa.

In this context, the absence of a clear majority on Friday afternoon for the one or the other offer, the arbitration will be Monday in the supervisory board of the World.Because Monday's effect on the 20 votes to be voted on Monday SupervisoryCouncil World (including eleven called internal, referring to the personal and the HBM and 9 persons from external), 9 votes External likely to weigh very heavy much heavier than those of the staff of the World by shifting votes in favor of a project that would not have the support staff themselves …

The world leader in chemistry, German BASF, is expected to sign Tuesday the acquisition of fellow Cognis according to the Financial Times Deutschland. Owned by Permira and Goldman Sachs, Cognis manufactures additives for cosmetics and detergents.

According to sources close to the case interviewed by the newspaper, the transaction amounted to 3.2 billion euros. In 2009, sales of Cognis representing 2.6 billion euros and EBITDA was $ 364 million. On its website, the company states employ approximately 5,600 people and be present in thirty countries.

Originally, Cognis was a subsidiary of Henkel, resold in 2004 to 2.5 billion euros. In 2006, the efforts of its new owners to sell it failed. In recent years, the company split from two of its five subsidiaries.BASF has already bought in 2009 the Swiss Ciba for 3.8 billion euros to strengthen in the mill.

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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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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In an email sent Wednesday to news agencies that Credit Agricole has made the announcement. The financial institution said its commitments related to the Greek state reached 850 million euros, 600 million for its Greek subsidiary Emporiki. No further comment was made.

The news comes as the crisis Greek climbed a step, revived by the relegation of the country score in the category of speculative investments by the rating agency Standard & Poor's. Many analysts believe that Credit Agricole is one of the banks most exposed to the current crisis in Greece.

More generally, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the French banks in Europe are most concerned with exposure estimated at 75.12 billion dollars (57 billion euros), followed by German banks with exposure estimated at 45 billion dollars (34 billion euros).

French banks are the only institutions to have bought Greek Emporiki to Credit Agricole and Societe Generale for Geniki. The latter has not yet discussed the amount of its commitment.For its part, the general manager of BNP Paribas, Baudouin Prot, said Wednesday that his institution's exposure to Greek banks was "absolutely negligible" fast cash loans.

The sector battered stock market

The markets are in any case a very dim view of the involvement of French banks in a country attacked by the rating agencies. Investors fear that such consequences could lead to default or restructure the debt of Greece.

Results: The bank is breaking titles in stock. The action of the Credit Agricole fell 3.41% Wednesday to the Paris Stock Exchange, after declining more than 7.6% during the session. It lost 9.57% over the five days and 10.60% since the beginning of the year.

Societe Generale has limited the damage on Wednesday with a decline of 0.33% in closing. But the fall is much heavier since January 1 of that Credit Agricole, with a decline of 16.42%.

For its part, BNP Paribas dropped 3.48% on Wednesday at the close of Paris, and 8.80% since the beginning of the year.

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The pressure rises another notch on Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, CEO of Nokia. The action of the world's largest mobile phone has dropped by nearly 15% Tuesday in Helsinki. Investors are tired of poor results of the Finnish telecom giant. Its net income in first quarter to 349 million euros, below expectations. Its revenues, to 9.52 billion euros, rising only 3%. Finally, its forecasts have been downgraded savings account payday loans.

The poor results follow each other. In the third quarter of 2009, the group had published its first quarterly loss since 1996. On Thursday, the CEO admitted "continue to face a very tough competition in the smartphone and market conditions very difficult for Infrastructure Network.

Caught between the Asian and Apple

Goldman Sachs began his defense alone. According to the report in the Financial Times, Lloyd Blankfein, the chairman of the bank, alleged organizer of the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud surrounding the collapse of the U.S. housing market, a slab as counsel yesterday. He allegedly spent part of Wednesday's call customers to restore the reputation of Goldman Sachs. The officer believes that the case rests primarily on political elements.

Lloyd Blankfein should be heard next week by the SEC, probably with a former trader, Fabrice Tourre, suspected to have developed structured products involved in this case alleged fraud by Goldman Sachs. The list of those candidates is not yet official.The names of those called to testify before the Senate subcommittee investigation on the financial crisis could be unveiled this Thursday payday loan no faxing.

But the suspicions of the SEC against Goldman Sachs are dehorned by the potential beneficiaries of the alleged fraud. The billionaire John Paulson and Paolo Pellegrini, a former head of its fund Paulson Co, assure for their Paris on the falling U.S. housing market, now at the heart of the controversy over Goldman Sachs, have been prepared under the rules art, and that their pronouncements t?aient public. They promise to provide evidence of such transparency in a timely manner.

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"AIG could pursue legal Goldman

The shockwave of the complaint Friday Constable American markets spread throughout the weekend. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accused a number of Wall Street and the first investment bank in the world to be guilty of fraud. She says the bank, especially one of its French employees had deliberately misled the clients to whom it sold in 2007, complex products linked to subprime, which were highly toxic. The move was made for the benefit of another client, the famous hedge fund Paulson & Co.

This brutally violent blow brought to Goldman Sachs by an American authority has given new force to the criticism that rained down on the bank already, although it became a symbol of a fund that has too quickly found the way of profits.For the first time since 1986, when the first attack against the bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, the SEC declares the war a pillar of Wall Street! And this time, Goldman Sachs sees his reputation reached in a way that can impair depth to his "business" as it is accused of having "played" against the interests of its customers.

In Germany, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said that her own financial policeman, BaFin, demanded an explanation from the SEC and considering, where appropriate, prosecutions: one of two customers cheated named to United States is another qu'IKB, a German bank bailed out that Berlin. Asked by the BBC, the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was "shocked" by what he calls "moral bankruptcy" of investment banks. He asked that the FSA, British counterpart of the SEC, in turn opens an investigation.Finally, the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Olli Rehn, has promised an investigation "deep thrust" on the role of Goldman Sachs vis-?-vis Greece. The bank, which he denies and which has been cleared by the U.S. Federal Reserve in this regard has been criticized for several weeks helping Athens to hide, via financial products, the actual deficit.

The lawyers are already working actively to bring proceedings against Goldman Sachs on behalf of other investors potentially affected by the product under investigation by the SEC. In addition, the whole complex financial instruments and addicted to subprime will be winnowed at Goldman Sachs, but also in other banks.

In turn, the bank Goldman Sachs has reacted strongly against the accusations made against it in civil also, and not criminal.First line of defense: it has itself lost $ 90 million in the case, for only $ 15 million of revenue. The SEC estimated the total loss for investors to 1 billion. Then Goldman would reject the caricature of IKB, for example, an investor easily fooled. IKB had an active market sophisticated CDOs, says the firm on Wall Street.

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A "golden boy" among many other French

The wheel turns for Volvo Cars. In the early 1990s, the flagship of the Swedish car industry had snubbed a merger with Renault before finally being bought by the American manufacturer Ford in 1999. Sunday, Volvo has fallen into the hands of rival China Geely.

A good deal for the Chinese, who will spend 1.8 billion dollars (1.34 billion), four times less than the $ 6.4 billion paid by Ford in 1999. This acquisition, the largest made by a Chinese group in the sector, marks a turning point. She spends the rise of China in the global automotive industry.

Virtually unknown in Europe, Geely began decades ago as a supplier of parts for refrigerators, before becoming the first private carmaker in China.His boss, Li Shufu, an engineer who founded the group in 1986, is 123rd Chinese capital, with one billion dollars. Employing 12 000 people of which 1 600 engineers in China, Geely manages six assembly plants, has 500 dealers and 600 service stations across the country. With approximately 300 000 cars sold last year, Geely number ten is the sector in China.

With its success, Geely intends to leave its borders. According to Volvo, the group also covets the black taxis in London.It is in talks to take control of Manganese Bronze, the company that manufactures the famous 'black cabs' London, which already owns 20%.

Continuing plants inEurope

While Volvo employs 19,650 employees worldwide, the jobs are threatened in Europe? Li Shufu has already notified its intention to build a factory in Beijing which will be manufactured 300000Volvo per year for the Chinese market no teletrack payday loan . But the group also said it intends to continue operating plants in Europe, the main ones being located in Torslanda (Sweden) and Ghent (Belgium).

"I see Volvo as a tiger, on Sunday launched Li Shufu at Volvo headquarters in Sweden, where the Chinese flag was hoisted. The tiger belongs to the forest, it can not be put in a zoo in a small enclosure. We must free the tiger.The heart of the tiger is in Sweden and Belgium, but its power must be projected around the world. I see China as a market where Volvo has shown its ability to release the horses. "

A reluctant time, unions have seemed reassured and have supported the acquisition. "I will not go into details but we got an answer to our questions," said Glenn Magnusson, president of the union LEDARNA. In reality, neither Volvo or its owner, Ford, had a genuine choice.Specializes in sedans and station wagons upscale, Volvo, founded in 1927, saw its sales plunge because of the economic crisis that has benefited small affordable models

As for Ford, the second American manufacturer and the only one not to have resorted to using the federal government during the recession, the agreement with Geely will enable it to reduce its balance sheet and focus its marketing efforts on Ford brand.

By selling Volvo, Ford, however, puts an end to its ambitions in the high end, having sold the luxury brands Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover a few years after their acquisition price.

Good news: 3,600 farmers have chosen to convert their farms to organic in 2009, is 20% more than last year. "This is a historic increase in the last ten said Elisabeth Mercier, director of the Bio Agency, the body responsible for promoting bio in France. The increase in 2009, is the total of seven years earlier. "

Better yet is no room for complacency: the organic still represents only 2.4 to 2.5% of the agricultural area in France. To meet the objectives of the Grenelle of the environment, it should reach 6% in 2012 and 20% in 2020 …

A French two consumes Bio

The barometer 2009 Agency bio makes it clear that organic products are completely integrated into the everyday consumer. "A French consumes two organic at least once a month, says Elisabeth Mercier.It is a structural trend, we can not really speak of fashion. "Despite the crisis, all indicators are green: 84% of French believe that organic agriculture should continue to grow and 25% of consumers of organic intend to grow in the next six months their consumption (against 22% in 2008) while they are 71% want to keep it low fee payday loans . New organic buyers also progressing with 20% of consumers who are being less than two years. They are also often to feed a newborn in the family.

Price of success, imports of organic products should rise further in 2010. The Agency considers the bio to 30% on average with significant differences depending on the product.If the local supply of meat, eggs or wine can meet the demand, much less the case for milk, cereals and products of high culture. As for fruits and vegetables and groceries dry areas on which the demand is strong, imports represent up to 50% or 60%. Since it takes three years for a farmer to convert to organic, the offer is not about to join the request.

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