International News

Mastercard, the U.S. issuer of bank cards, announced this week the acquisition of service provider payment DataCash UK for 520 million euros. Datacash develops and provides outsourced electronic payment systems and fraud prevention, opportunities for alternative payment and reconciliation services accounts.

The deal comes in a turbulent period for the U.S. giant. Like its rival Visa, Mastercard has lost almost 20% of its stock value in the second quarter. It just has to catch up. Investors have punished those titles because they fear that the reform of Wall Street, passed by Congress in June, weighs heavily in their accounts.

Congress wants to limit the fees charged by banks on transactions paid by card.Logically, the banks will seek to pass this shortfall by renegotiating their contracts with Visa and Mastercard. Committees should be limited next year. While regulators have not set the new legal amount, uncertainty will persist for Visa and Mastercard.

Some cheap term life insurance policies may look cheap, but what matters the most is that you must get it.Getting a cheap term policy is not an easy task.

The Commerce Department announced yesterday that U.S. consumer spending had stalled in June Moreover, their personal incomes have also stalled. That had not happened since September 2009. The savings rate to its share rose to 6.4%, its highest level since June 2009. This confirms the alarming resurgence of conservatism in America. At a time when the beneficial effects on the growth of restocking businesses disappearing, the fragility of the recovery in the United States is obvious.

The rating agencies do not trust Japan. "Without a strong fiscal consolidation plan and credible by the Government of Japan notes will be threatened with demotion to the long term," he said Monday in Tokyo Andrew Colquhoun, director of public debt ratings for Asia-Pacific .

The warning is not innocent. It was made just hours before Prime Minister of Japan, Naoto Kan, announces an increase in the consumption tax, now one of the world's lowest, 5%, designed to rebalance country's finances, would not the day "before two or three years" paydayloans.

In the eyes of Fitch, Tokyo is obviously not fast enough, while the country's debt reaches 201% of its gross domestic product (GDP).

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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After two sessions of sharp decline, the Asian stock markets resumed colors Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225, which had fallen below 11,000 points, it brings back, gaining 0.62%, to 10,976 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng up 0.8% at 21,576 points. The S & P / ASX Sydney is 0.33%, to 4931 points. And the Bombay SE Indian wins 0.34%, to 17,459 points.

Bank stocks and airlines have regained some lost ground in recent days, says one local broker, because the complaint against Goldman Sachs for some, and the ash cloud for other

The day before, Wall Street has ended without direction, while European stock markets closed in decline consequent.

The charges against Goldman Sachs continues to be central to the concerns of investors worldwide Fast Cash Without a hassle.The investment banking side has explained to Congress. Sec could go for other banks. And AIG could also file a complaint against Goldman Sachs.

Toyota still reminders

Toyota (-1.89% to 3.625 yen) announced Tuesday the recall of 34,000 worldwide 4×4 vehicles that could run off the road if driven too fast around corners, a new concern for the automotive giant Japanese also regard the Lexus, its luxury brand ultra-lucrative.

This comes as yet another reminder Toyota has agreed to pay a record fine of nearly $ 16.4 million in the United States, where he is accused of being slow to call on other cases of defects.

Since Tuesday, investors are moving away from safe-haven assets following the various signs of recovery in the global economy. The success of Intel promote appetite for risk. What will weigh on the dollar. Just as the maintenance of the speech by the Fed, which promotes interest rates still very low even for long.

EUR / USD – Sessions hectic since early April

After the Easter weekend, there has been a depreciation of the euro against the dollar in a climate of distrust of so-called risky currencies. The operators were cooled in their appetite for risk because of their fear on the issue of Greece. The single currency has lost about 220 pips * from a quotation of dollar 1.3500 1.3282 U.S. dollar on Thursday at 10am (lowest of the week).

Then the tension on the markets have weakened.Speech by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the ECB (European Central Bank) last Thursday, has eased the financial world. He said he pursued the policy of low interest rates up to 1% in the euro area. And it has said that "Greece was able to reduce its deficit" and had already started to employ strong measures.

Nothing better to give a boost to the euro. The last weekend, offering assistance to 30 billion euros – Athens does "not want to use" – the European Union gave a big blow oxygen, allowing the euro to rise around 1 36 dollar on Monday.After two sessions of stagnation (Monday and Tuesday), the exchange rate has increased again, bolstered by renewed investor optimism about the strength of the global recovery due to favorable economic statistics, while comments Fed chairman on a forecast of "moderate growth" have weighed on the greenback.

On Tuesday, the foreign exchange markets have welcomed the issuance by Athens Treasury bills.And on Wednesday, Ben Bernanke (Beige Book) reiterated Wednesday that the rate of the institution should remain close to zero, at which they are set since December 2008, for an extended period, dismissing speculation of an anticipated tightening of Fed monetary policy, which has given new impetus to the euro.

As expected by analysts Realtime Forex Tuesday, which saw the euro test the 1.3541 support for better back, it is mounted to 1.3667 to 18 hours.

CDN / JPY – Same trend

Nippon side, the euro followed the same "trend" * weekly against the yen. The single currency began a decline of more than 400 pips against the yen. On Monday, the euro / yen was quoted at 127.70 to touch a low of 123.40 yen. But from the response Trichet yesterday, the euro strengthened to 125.60 yen to return.

The yen fell for the sixth straight session against the euro, with one course from Wednesday to 127.07 yen against 126.83 yen the day before.

GBP / USD – Sterling held up better than the euro

Across the Channel, the BoE (Bank of England) has also left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, indicating that this was not the time to make an adjustment of rates.

Monetary side, the pound sterling, however, fared better than the euro against the dollar. Like British macro-economic figures emerged this week (GDP 0.4% and manufacturing output up 1.3%), the pound has evolved into a "range *" between 1.5130 and 1.5320 dollar.

* The cable is able to break this channel by treating up to 1.5473 dollar.

Against the yen, the pound again the delay and found almost the level of 144.21 yen on Monday.

CHF / EUR – Swiss Franc still going strong

On Wednesday, the Swiss franc 1.4362 per euro symbol. This is a very strong for the Swiss franc, which traded in 2009 almost all the time between 1.50 and 1.54.

Since the beginning of the year, the Swiss Frabce climbed more than 5%. This is not the business of the Swiss Central Bank, whose foreign exchange policy is heckled.

The yuan under the spotlight of the world

On Wednesday, Ben Bernanke, who appeared before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, reiterated that "the United States must continue to press China to bring it to revalue its currency, the yuan."Barack Obama this week's encounter homolgue Chinese President Hu Jintao on China's trade deficit background.

Most economists agree that the currency is undervalued – by 40% according to analysts and has been used to obtain an economy more oriented toward exports to domestic consumption.

On the one hand, in case of revaluation, China would be ready to counter the speculative bubbles that threaten, and inflationary pressures. But then again, remember that a more expensive yuan will be more expensive for the "Western" to fill all Chinese products.And they will have the effect of melt exchange reserves in dollars of the Chinese, which does allow them to buy as many more U.S. Treasury Bonds, and therefore finance the debt of the United States …

* Definitions

• Forex: For Foreign Exchange, or foreign exchange market

• Technical analysis: analyst or chartist. She studied graphic evolution courses. The research in the historical price behavior involved in a situation to predict the evolution of financial securities.

• Pips: Price Interest Point. Unit rating for foreign currency. It designates the last digit used: in the case of the euro, the fourth decimal place.

• Trend: trend.

• Range: range.

• Support: value as the price has very little chance to pass down.

• Resistant: value as the price has very little chance to overtake on the rise.

• EUR: Euro, USD: U.S. Dollar, or U.S. dollar JPY Japan Yen or Japanese yen, GBP: British Pound, CHF: Swiss franc.

After three days of Easter break and while European markets are closed on Monday, the NYSE should begin the week in green. The recovery of new posts in the United States, announced Friday as the market was closed, has something to restore confidence among investors. In March, the United States have created 162 000 jobs. This is the best performance in nearly three years. It is partly due to the hiring of 48 000 federal agents responsible for conducting the population census planned this year. But overall, the trend shows that employment in the private sector restarts. In industry, in services such as retail and even construction companies have started to recruit. "America still has work to do to restore jobs, but it's the best news in this regard for two years, welcomed the president Barack Obama.In fact, the unemployment rate remains high in the United States to 9.7% in March and February.

Investors scrutinize closely this afternoon two other important indicators: Promises of home sales in February in the U.S. and especially the index (ISM) activity in the service in March faxless cash advances. Experts expect a continued recovery in this sector (which accounts for 80% of jobs-with the exception of agriculture, the country) for the third consecutive month.If these statistics confirm the strength of recovery in the U.S. economy, the Dow Jones, which closed Thursday at 10 927.07 points could cross the threshold of 11 000 points.

Despite the absence of European investors, still Easter weekend, futures on indices of NYSE were well oriented two hours before the opening of U.S. markets. Futures on the Dow Jones traded at 10 890 up 30 points and those on the Nasdaq at 1 960 points (8 points).

Side values, Apple will be closely watched at the market opening. The Americans were indeed rushed during the weekend on the iPad, the new multifunction tablet from Apple. More than 300 000 copies have been sold as of Saturday, the first day of worldwide commercialization of this new high-tech product.