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Unemployment in the UK fell to 8.2% in March after 8.3% last month. However, he could brush against 9% in 2013. Mervyn King, head of the Bank of England expects lower growth than expected.

Unemployment fell in March in the UK, according to official figures released Wednesday better than expected by economists, who provide a rare good news for UK economy into recession. Unemployment in the UK fell to 8.2% in March after 8.3% the previous month, while economists on average expected a rate of 8.4%.

The number of people looking for work fell by 45,000 over the three months ended in late March, reaching 2.63 million people, said Wednesday the Office for National Statistics (ONS). "The employment figures are remarkably strong." But they "really do not stick with the fact that the UK is supposed to be in recession," said James Knightley, an analyst at ING Bank.

The government, which expects an increase in private employment to offset job losses in officials as part of its austerity plan, hailed a "step in the right direction." But the general secretary of the union confederation TUC, Brendan Barber, for its part held that the figures were "mixed", with a drop in unemployment accompanied by the increase in part-time work and pressure on wages.

Observers of the coup remain cautious thereafter, believing that the upturn is unlikely to last, while the purchasing power of households remain under stress and that economic prospects in the UK as in the euro area are adjacent to the less mixed. "The labor market still does not come in support of a recovery based on consumption", and Judge Vicky Redwood, economist at Capital Economics. Howard Archer, economist at IHS Global Insight cabinet, table and on a peak in unemployment to 2.82 million people in the second quarter of 2013 with a rate of 8.8%.

These predictions stick with the diagnosis of the Bank of England (BoE). Economic growth in the UK in the short term will be "weaker" than expected, said Wednesday its governor Mervyn King at the presentation of the quarterly report of the institution on the economy. In this report, the Bank of England lowered its short-term forecasts, with an annual growth to below 1%, whereas in previous estimates, in February, she anticipated over the symbolic.

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The first five Spanish banks will have provisioned an additional EUR 15 billion to cover the risk associated with their loans, putting further pressure on their finances while Spain tries to restore confidence in its banking sector.

Friday, the Spanish government has imposed on its banks to provision 30 billion euros, in addition to the required 54 billion in February, to cover both their claims to outperform their loans risk.

The move comes as part of a reform which is the fourth bank bailout in four years of Spanish banks. These have heavy losses with the collapse of the housing market in 2008, raising fears about a possible aid to Spain.

The 30 billion euros of additional provisions weigh heavily on banks as investors worried about where the institutions will be able to find the money and if this will be sufficient.

The Spanish government said that the state provide public assistance limited to 15 billion euros, and only in the form of loans convertible into shares, the banks which lack capital.

At the Madrid Stock Exchange, banking reform has not convinced investors. The Ibex 35 fell by 2.26% at 12:30 GMT, weighed down by banking stocks. Bankia, which the state took control last week, fell by 9.42%, 5.21% of Banco Popular, BBVA 3.63%, 2.98% of Banco Santander and of Bankinter 2.31%.

The yield spread (spread) between the Spanish 10-year bonds and German bunds, which serves as a refuge, for its part, reached 485 basis points, the highest since the introduction of the euro.

PROVISIONS FOR EACH BANK

BBVA, Spain's second largest bank, said Monday it would increase supplies of some 1.8 billion euros to comply with new rules on capital announced Friday by the Government .

The new provisions will be reflected in the annual accounts and will have a net impact of around EUR 1.3 billion, the company said. 

For its part, Santander, the first credit institution in the country, will have to register in its books 2.7 billion euros in provisions, in addition to 2.3 billion euros announced in February.

Banco Popular said it would set aside 1.7 billion euros in provisions, but added that he would not need public funds to achieve this. The bank nevertheless said it would take two quarters to comply with new requirements.

Banco Popular will merge with its smaller rival Banco Pastor, which amounts to 2.3 billion euros in total amount of reserves required.

For its part, La Caixa, which is currently buying Banca Civica, will have to set aside 3.4 billion euros.

For most Spanish banks in difficulty as Bankia, the fourth largest bank in Spain following the merger of several small savings, the new provisions will constitute an additional burden. The parent of Bankia, BFA, said she needed $ 4.8 billion to meet government requirements.

Although these banks said they did not need assistance from the State to comply with new capital requirements, the need for additional reserves could change this.

Already, the increasing problems of Spanish banks and government interventions, including the safety of Bankia, have revived the wrath of public opinion in Spain, a year after the outbreak the movement of "Indignant".

Tens of thousands of Spaniards took to the streets and plan to stay until at least Tuesday. The demonstrators had planned on Monday to close their accounts at Bankia to protest against the rescue of the bank.

China doubled the maximum fluctuation of the yuan, to 1%. The measure was hailed as a step towards greater liberalization of the exchange rate of Chinese currency. At the opening Monday, choinoise currency was down against the dollar. A 100-yuan face a $ 100 bill.

The Chinese currency was a downward trend against the dollar on Monday for the reopening of the foreign exchange market after the announcement over the weekend to double the range for the yuan against the greenback. People's Bank of China (PBOC) authorized as of Monday a maximum fluctuation of 1%, down as well as up, around a central rate fixed by day, against 0.5% previously. The measure was hailed as a step towards greater liberalization of the exchange rate of the Chinese currency, which gives the low level by major trading partners of China an unfair competitive advantage to its products.

By late morning Monday, the Chinese currency was trading at 6.3145 yuan per dollar, while the central rate was set early in the day at 6.2960 yuan to one greenback. This downward trend reflects investors' fears fueled by the publication Friday of growth below expectations in the first quarter, to 8.1% annual rate. "The Beijing consensus is that the margin of appreciation (the yuan) seems quite limited," according to Lu Ting, an economist at Bank of America – Merrill Lynch. This is partly due to the slowdown in export growth as well as a small current account surplus to 2.8% for 2011, which make "the external pressure on China for an assessment … has dissipated, "said the analyst.

"There was recently a series of reforms affecting the yuan and the financial sector at large, which all go in the direction of greater liberalization," noted for his part, Mark Williams, Asia economist at Capital Economics . "The enlargement provides the basis for a system of exchange rates more volatile and more based on the market in the future", according to this analyst. "The signal sent by China, it may be that the unilateral (Chinese currency) has expired," said his side to AFP Sun Junwei, an analyst at HSBC in Beijing. In March, Premier Wen Jiabao had estimated that the level of the Chinese currency was "close to balance".

Crude prices have come down on Friday, announcing a slowdown in Chinese economic growth led investors to harbor doubts about the changing demands of the consumer of the second pe PETROLEUM.

On the Nymex, the May contract on U.S. crude (WTI) ended on a loss of $ 0.81, or 0.78%, to 102.83 dollars a barrel.

For the week, a barrel of WTI lost 48 cents, 0.16%, recording a fourth weekly decline in the space of five weeks.

Analysts warn, however, it is still too early to suggest a downward trend, especially as several geopolitical files remain on the table, including Iran.

Europe is ready to support Portugal in the implementation of economic reforms necessary for the country, said Thursday Olli Rehn, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs .

"To me, the solidarity of its European partners in Portugal gives the time required for the implementation of reforms," ​​he told the Portuguese parliament after he has e ; tee Lisbon asked if he needed a second aid plan after the first, 78 billion euros, decided last year.

Olli Rehn that he was not constructive to discuss the possibility of a second plane for Portugal, adding that the country should focus on its program of fiscal consolidation and re ; structural forms. 

Some economists believe that Portugal, like Greece, will need a second international aid plan.

Wednesday, Olli Rehn had felt that the situation in Portugal was not comparable to that of Greece.

He also said that Portugal was on track to achieve the goals set by the bailout of 78 billion euros.

PSA Peugeot Citroëna unveiled Tuesday the terms of the capital increase of about 1.0 billion euros related to its alliance with General Motors, an operation marked by a substantial discount to the American group that will take 7.0% stake.

This capital increase, announced last week at the presentation of the alliance between the two automakers, will open on Thursday and until 21 March inclusive.

The operation with maintenance of preferential subscription rights will be on the basis of 16 new shares for 31 existing shares, said in a statement PSA. 

The subscription price is set at 8.27 euros, showing a discount of approximately 42% over the closing price on Monday (14.2050 euros), and 32.4% compared to the theoretical subscription right off (12.23 euros).

Discount as the French group finance director, Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon, a relativized in a teleconference with reporters.

"What must be considered as haircuts, the calculation is compared to the theoretical price after issuance of one billion, ie about 32%, and this de ; rating is quite usual in the market, "he said. "What matters now is the time and size of the capital increase."

The action PSA yielded 2.56% in pre-market transactions in Frankfurt after the announcements.

For analysts at CM-CIC Securities, "this discount is explained by the fact that the success of the capital increase would condition the entry of GM capital of PSA and thus the birth of the alliance ".

PRIORITY INVESTMENT

The Peugeot family, the largest shareholder group, 45.4% exercise of his rights for $ 140 million and sell its remaining rights to General Motors. The latter will invest a total of 304 million euros in the operation, including the purchase of these rights and the acquisition of treasury stock (4,400,000 shares).

Following the capital increase, the Peugeot will own 25.2% stake in GM and PSA 7.0%.

"This round of money for PSA Peugeot Citroën will fully intended to fund our strategic projects with General Motors," said Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon.

"These investments will enable us to accelerate our globalization strategy and go upmarket, and (…) access to technologies and projects much faster and mania re wider ", he added.

Priorities for which he also argued for the decision of PSA do not pay a dividend this year. 

"We need our cash to fund these investments," he summarized.

Last month, SAP announced a major plan asset sales totaling 1.5 billion euros after the publication of annual results marked with an operating margin born NEGATIVE activities in the automotive industry, a "free cash flow" negative EUR 1.6 billion and a doubling of the debt in six months.

The New York Stock Exchange opened slightly lower Friday, the market pausing after rising last days in the absence of indicators and key results.

In early trade, the Dow Jones yielded 0.06% (7.80 points) to 12,972.50 points. The Standard & Poor's, wider, fell by 0.06% (0.83 points) to 1,373.26 points while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.05% (1.50 points) to 2,987.47.

The S & P 500 should still show on its third consecutive week.

Among the values ​​for the power group Sara Lee earns more than 4% after the announcement of the demerger of its activities next coffee and tea, along with a special dividend.

BASF being undermined expectations of contraction this year by announcing Friday that its results and its turnover increase this year in favor of a rebound second half.

"We believe the global economy will accelerate in the course of 2012 after a modest start," said Kurt Bock said in a statement, chief executive of the world's leading chemicals with the number business.

There is a risk of the uncertainty surrounding the issue of debt in the U.S. and Europe, while "the positive momentum of the chemical industry will once again mainly in emerging markets" .

The action gained 2% in pre-market.

Analysts anticipate a decline in turnover and operating profit this year. The C.A. was 73.5 billion euros and operating profit of 8.4 billion euros in 2011.

Operating income for the fourth quarter, adjusted for exceptional items, fell 14% to 1.51 billion euros, according to Reuters.

The quarterly revenue it has increased 10% to 18.1 billion euros.

Operating income will be down in the first half but it will be up the next semester, said BASF.

Sign of the optimism of the chemical group, the annual dividend is raised to 2.50 euros per share against 2.20 euros last year and EUR 2.39 predicted by analysts.

"The positive outlook for the global economy and BASF is amazing," said Peter Spengler, an analyst at DZ Bank.

Natixis reported Thursday a net profit above expectations in the fourth quarter of 2011, the bank is able to compensate for the decline in revenues in market activities s by controlling its expenses.

The bank, a subsidiary of BPCE (People's Bank-Saving), reports that fourth-quarter net income of 302 million euros, down 32% compared to last quarter of 2010.

According to the Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S, analysts on average expected a net profit of 263 million.

In FY 2011, net income stood at Natixis 1.56 billion euros, down 10% compared to 2010. There is $ 2.6 billion for its parent BPCE.

Relatively less exposed than other French banks to sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone, Natixis said to have yielded in the last quarter of 2011 to 1.6 billion euros in assets in his bank Financing and Investment Banking (CIB) and two billion euros in assets in its portfolio of toxic assets.

In exchange, the Natixis shares gained 7% to 2.50 euros to 10.30, outperforming the European Banking (0.74%). At this price level, the title wins 28.5% since the beginning of the year after falling 41% in 2011.

In a research note, CM-CIC Securities said the "resilience of the economic model" of Natixis.

In corporate banking and investment income of Natixis were down 20% in the fourth quarter. However, they grew 6% in the Investment Solutions division and 2% in specialized financial services.

Constraint as the other banks to adapt its activities to the crisis, Natixis plans to eliminate nearly 280 positions in the BFI. It takes the same time be more selective in choosing clients and wants to stop certain activities of non-strategic markets.

Natixis will pay a dividend of 0.10 euro per share for 2011.

For comparison, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale have finished 2011 with profits of respectively 6 billion and 2.4 billion euros. Net income for the Crédit Agricole group stood at 812 million euros.

In late 2011, the capital ratio of hard Natixis, said core tier one, stood at 10.2%.

Barack Obama pleaded Monday for important stimulus for growth and for raising taxes on high incomes, at the presentation of his budget proposal for fiscal year 2013, the Republican camp has once strongly criticized.

President of the United States, which will run for a second term in November at the White House, plans to spend $ 350 billion (265 billion euros approximately) to programs creations jobs and 476 billion (360 billion euros) to major works, including on road and rail networks and the construction of schools. 

The budget for fiscal year 2013, which begins on October 1, further provides for allocating funds to increase staffing in the areas of education, police and firefighters, while extending tax breaks designed to boost employment.

Of revenues, Barack Obama proposes to tax the income of millionaires at 30%, main idea of ​​his speech on the state of the Union last month, and expects 4000 bn e ; economies ten years, according to the plan unveiled in September.

There are also plans to set the tax rate on dividends at the highest tax bracket, currently 35% but must be raised to nearly 40% next year. 

"We built this budget around the idea that our country has always given the best of himself when everyone had his account," Obama said during a trip to , Annandale, Virginia. "It challenges the economic policy of 'make do', which has widened the gap between rich and poor Americans."

"As our economy growing again and creating jobs at a faster pace, we must do everything we can to preserve the recovery," he added.

AID HELD IN EGYPT

The proposed budget provides the outgoing president an opportunity to present his program and to present his Republican opponents as candidates of the rich. The conservative movement denounced for his reckless spending and accuses him of wanting to increase taxation.

"The Obama budget is an insult to American taxpayers," ruled Mitt Romney, a favorite of the race for Republican nomination for the presidential election of November 6.

"This project is not at all a financing law is a platform of campaign," said his side Mitch McConnell, Republican minority leader in the Senate. "It is bad for job creation, bad for retirees and it will worsen the economic situation," he continued.

The draft budget forecasts a deficit of 901 billion dollars against 1,330 billion this year. This sum, higher than the estimates made in September by the White House, represents 5.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expected in 2013, against 8.5% in 2012.

Obama pledged in 2009 to halve the budget deficit by 2013. But the White House argued that the magnitude of the recession that occurred after his arrival to the presidency dictated emergency measures and believes that it was more important to pre server growth than imposing austerity measures.

Regarding overseas, Obama proposes that the U.S. military assistance grant of $ 1.3 billion to Egypt, a level equivalent to that of previous years, despite ; tensions generated by the lawsuits against U.S. NGOs in Egypt. Some MPs had wanted the suspension of financial assistance to Cairo if the record of NGOs was not set.

Obama also proposes to release $ 800 million economic aid for countries in the "Arab spring" in the Middle East and North Africa, where authoritarian regimes have been overthrown ; s last year. The text does not stipulate how much money will be allocated to each country.