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Lafarge announced Friday an increase in its turnover and its operating income in the first quarter thanks to emerging markets and improved pricing, allowing the world's leading cement to reduce its debt.

The group, which now generates 60% of its sales in emerging economies, achieved the first three months of the year sales up 5% to € 3.35 billion, slightly above the consensus reached by the editor of Reuters estimates from eight analysts who gave $ 3.3 billion.

Ebitda rose to its share of 8% to 516 million euros while operating profit rose 28% to 267 million. 

However, net income, group share, shows a loss of 44 million euros, against -29,000,000 a year earlier, reflecting restructuring charges corresponding in particular to the 500 job cuts engaged around the world as part of the reorganization of the group. Excluding these charges, Lafarge has emerged over the period with net income of 18 million euros.

"The group continues to anticipate an increased demand for cement, and maintains its estimate of market growth between 1% and 4% in 2012 compared to 2011," the group said in a statement .

"Emerging markets remain the main driver of demand growth (…) The prices should be up on the year 2012, and cost inflation more moderate e in 2011. "

CONTINUATION OF ASSET TRANSFERS

In the first quarter, net debt of Lafarge fell 13% year on year to 12.4 billion euros. One quarter to another, it is clear, however, up 3%, a trend linked "to normal seasonal variations in working capital (working capital needs)," said Lafarge.

The group's debt, inherited largely from the acquisition of Orascom in 2008, is still expected to decline "significantly" this year, without elaborating.

As part of its debt, Lafarge intends to limit to 800 million euros investment and reduce by at least 400 million euros in 2012 its costs. The group also maintained its target of over one billion euros of asset sales over the year, of which 71 million were made during the quarter.

Both activities are the subject of rumors of transfers, the plaster in North America, last active group in a trade which it is almost released last year, and cement in South Africa . The group must also achieve significant asset sales in Britain required by the Competition Authority to give its green light to the proposed joint venture between Lafarge and Anglo American.

"It is not impossible that these divestitures can be made in 2012," said the CEO of Lafarge, Bruno Lafont, during a teleconference.

The stock closed Thursday at 29.97 euros. Since the beginning of the year, the title took about 10%, after -42% in 2011.

NYSE Euronext reported Monday a sharp drop in its first quarter results, citing "difficult operating environment" and the resulting costs of its failed merger with Deutsche Börse.

The exchange operator announced for the period net profit down 44% to $ 87 million (65.71 million euros).

The total turnover declined 17% to 952 million.

"Our first quarter results reflect the difficult operating environment that continued in 2012 and will continue to be felt in the short term," said Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext.

The group said to include $ 31 million cost, including $ 16 million of costs associated with the aborted merger with Deutsche Börse. 

NYSE canceled the merger to $ 7.4 billion in early February after the agreement was rejected by the European antitrust authorities, making this operation the fourth merger canceled since early last year.

Since the failure of this transaction, NYSE Euronext has refocused on the opportunities presented by new markets such as the creation last month of its own clearing house for transactions and eventually moved away CHL. Clearnet, its supplier to date.

This creation comes as its main rival the London Stock Exchange plans to finalize the acquisition of LCH in the fourth quarter of this year.

Wall Street opened sharply lower Monday, as foreshadowed future, weighed down by the constant concern that represents the European debt crisis and by poor statistics in the euro area.

The result of the first round of French presidential and the imminent resignation of Prime Minister of the Netherlands with the prospect of early parliamentary add a touch of additional uncertainty coming from Europe.

The contraction of private sector activity in the euro area has increased more than expected in April, which could jeopardize the upcoming release of the region of the recession.

In early trade, the Dow Jones lost 0.9% to 12,909.08 points, the S & P 500 drops 1% to 1,364.87 and the Nasdaq Composite 1% to 2969.65.

Pfizer lost 0.66%. Nestle said Monday it agreed to buy child nutrition activities of the pharmacist to 11.85 billion U.S. dollars (8.99 billion euros) in cash, beating well on Danone.

Hasbro reported Monday a net loss of $ 2.6 million in the first quarter, amid lower sales in North America. The action yields 2.87%.

Xerox has released a quarterly earnings decline, investment in services has weighed on its margins. The action still earns 2.8% after the maker of copiers and printers has said it expects a rise in profit in the second quarter.

Sodexo announced Thursday for its first half 2011-2012 sustained growth in results due to the dynamism of Latin America and North and its recent acquisitions.

The group, whose results are in line with expectations, remains cautious, confirming its overall annual forecast, but tightened its organic growth target of sales around a range of 6 to 7% against 5-8% previously.

Beyond this internal growth, acquisitions should make an additional contribution of about 4% in consolidated sales, said Sodexo, which has also maintained its aim of increased about 10% of operating profit for the year. 

"We must be cautious in a macroeconomic climate remains uncertain and is still marked by inflationary pressures on food costs," he said during a conference call on Group CEO, Michel Landel.

The growth of continental Europe should remain "soft" by the end of the year, he added.

In the medium term, the world number two behind the catering Compass UK confirms its objective of achieving average annual growth in its consolidated turnover by 7% and reach an operating margin ; rational consolidated 6.3% at the end of the fiscal year 2014-2015. 

Operating income increased 14.5% to 559 million euros in the first half of the year based on a turnover of 9.07 billion euros, up 6.4% organic. This result reflects a favorable accounting adjustment of EUR 26 million related to the cost of pension plans of the group in the UK.

Around 9:25, the title showed a slight decrease (-0.5% to 60.07 euros). Revenues rose 8.3% since the beginning of the year for a market capitalization of 9.4 billion euros.

The activity of Sodexo was supported in the first half by a series of acquisitions in France, Brazil and the United States (with Lenotre respectively, Puras do Brasil, Broset Roth) and by the services provided by the group during the Rugby World Cup.

The group, whose rate of net debt to equity is 38% against 26% a year earlier, will continue to focus on organic growth but did not exclude small acquisitions.

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.

Key values ​​to follow Tuesday on Wall Street.

* GOOGLE. The Android mobile operating system Google has been the most widely used in China last year, far ahead of that of Apple, according to the firm Analysys.

In late December, controlled 68.4% of the Android market in number of smartphones sold, against 33.6% at the end of first quarter 2011. The market share of Apple rose more modestly, from 4.1% to 5.7%.

* Chevron discovered a leak in the Roncador oil field, off the Brazilian coast, 500 meters from the deposit Frade, already responsible for a tidal Black in November. The leak occurs at the ocean floor and no trace is visible on the surface of the water, say the Brazilian authorities.

Leaks were detected in November and March to deposit Frade, which led to it suspend the activity and triggered lawsuits against Chevron and its contractor Transocean .

* ALCOA. The aluminum giant, often presented as a barometer of the U.S. economy, starts the earnings season after the close, with its e financial statements for the quarter January to March.

In a report in late March, the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs denounces malfunctions in the purchase, adaptation and monitoring of training job seekers. Agency employment center in Nice

Procurement procedures by training employment center for the unemployed are too rigid to be fully effective, agents lack a simple tool to identify a suitable training to all job seekers, underlines the Igas in a report in late in March. While Nicolas Sarkozy has made training for the unemployed a hot topic of his campaign and he expects in the coming days the proposals of Senator Gerard Larcher UMP to get the number of trained unemployed 10 to 40%, the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs estimates that the "excessive rigidity" group purchasing system "undermines the quality of training purchases."

Training, subject to competition rules, are subject to tendering procedures with bidding. Procedures to reduce and respond more quickly to the needs of the regional employment center buy training packet. Based on a survey conducted in four regions (Brittany, Picardy, Poitou-Charentes and the Rhone-Alpes), the peak Igas a series of malfunctions: bidding "when no match was found necessary "or" training provision was anyway available in the region ", and especially tools" still often craft "in the hands of advisers employment center," which is a major obstacle to access seekers job training ".

"The rate of filling internships are only up to 100%", generating "additional costs" for the employment center for the training are paid hourly and ordered not to the number of students present, is still Igas . The economy of scale is not to go: Poitou-Charentes, the actual average cost is 4,500 euros per student in group training, against € 1,800 in individual training. This principle of payment should be reviewed in the next framework agreement laying down the purchasing of training, employment center told AFP. The Igas also criticizes the weakness of monitoring tools for trainees and training organizations who "deserve to be professionalized."

It suggests defining monitoring indicators (time to begin the program, fill rate, rate of return to work), that are among the very few actors in training, unlike other countries. To increase productivity and reduce the workload of councilors employment, "the establishment of + platforms + training entrusted with the functions of + back office + (registration, payment, recovery certificates, etc..) Should be generalized," continues the 'Igas. The calls finally Igas better "joint" with the regions, who buy them as training for the unemployed: skills training for the regions, training for rapid re-employment to employment center. Employment center has a monopoly in the prescription of training the unemployed but the fact that some funds (17% in 2010), the remaining regions the major funders (57%).

Low-fat diet for households and businesses, slashing the state budget and credit crunch could lead bank for Spain by years of economic stagnation, and force her to ask, such as Greece, an international aid.

Forced by the European Union to reduce the deficit and meet the new budget rules, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy promised that the draft budget presented Friday would be "very, very austere." 

While the Spanish economy is already on the verge of its second recession in three years, that unemployment exceeds 22% and that the costs of bonds go up, Some economists predict the country a "lost decade" like the one Japan experienced in the 1990s and which he never fully recovered.

Others, including the Italian Prime Minister, Mario Monti, consider that Spain could result in the entire euro area a new crisis.

"We signed a suicide pact, Europe, accepting that everyone could save," said Luis Garicano, an economist at the London School of Economics and a researcher in the circle reflection Spanish FEDEA. "Europe must admit that this creates a downward spiral that does a disservice to anyone."

The Spanish economy, characterized by a debt of nearly 70% of gross domestic product (GDP) and private debt among the highest in the euro area , represents more than twice those of Ireland, Portugal and Greece combined, which excludes its partners leaves the sink.

DRYING OF CREDIT

In financial markets, the financing costs of the Spanish debt have certainly receded after last year reached their highest levels for 14 years, but the recent renewed concern weeks resulted in a rise in yield spreads between Spanish and German bonds. 

"There is a risk that Spain forced eventually to seek financial assistance in order to borrow at reasonable interest rates," said Ben May at Capital Economics.

The draft government budget Rajoy will include at least 35 billion euros in savings and new revenues, including an increase in certain taxes and wage cuts and staffing in the Public .

And Budget 2013 promises to be just as rigorous.

Problem: Spanish domestic demand, a key driver of growth in the boom years before the crisis, is now more to go.

The country's GDP expected to contract 1.7% this year. In turn, property prices fell 11.2% in the fourth quarter of last year and some are predicting 30% price decline further. The construction sector, flourishing during the housing boom, collapsed after 2008, which resulted in several million additional unemployed.

The unemployment rate in Spain is thus twice the average for all EU and approach 50% among youth. The kingdom also displays the rate of development of the highest poverty in Europe.

POLICY DANGEROUS TURN

The situation of enterprises is not much better and even the most promising sectors are cutting their workforces, like tourism (11% of GDP), where the group Sol Melia had sell assets in late 2011 to reduce its debt, despite the increased number of visitors favored by the Arab spring.

"At this stage, in the absence of significant changes in reservations in view of the first book, we prefer to adopt a wait, and especially if we take into account the weak position of the Spanish market, "said the group managing director, Gabriel Escarrer.

Bank credit, it is virtually at a standstill. The financial sector, captured by a vast movement of consolidation and mergers, has instructed the government to strengthen its financial strength by injecting 50 billion euros in its balance sheets.

"I do not expect any credit growth this year: it will not accelerate as the economy slows," said a senior industry.

This drying up of lending in Spain affects both large, established companies that families bold enough to ask for a mortgage.

"We are one of the strongest Spanish companies but banks simply will not lend," says an executive from a leading company, who requested anonymity. 

His group nevertheless manages to borrow in the bond markets, which are obviously inaccessible to smaller businesses.

Some economists believe the situation in Spain is unfortunately similar to that of Japan in the 1990s. At the time, the shift to austerity operated by Tokyo in 1997 while the private sector was working to pay off debt had resulted in five quarters of contraction Japanese GDP and a soaring budget deficit.

"The recession will last much longer if the government continues to insist on fiscal consolidation at a time when the Spanish private sector debt reduction," said Richard Koo, Nomura Research Economist Institute in Tokyo.

"It took ten years in Japan to recover from this error policy. I would hate to see Spain follow the same path."

A disappointing statistic relating to properties in the United States a pretext to the consolidation of stock markets Wednesday. European shares ended little changed in exchanges provided little in the wake of Wall Street at the same time.

In Paris the CAC 40 finished with a decline of 0.1% to 3,527.37 points. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index of European banking achieves the worst performance, with a 0.9% decline, due to the unexpected drop in home sales in the old United States.

Home sales in the former fell in February in the U.S. and inventories of unsold homes increased, according to data released Wednesday by the National Federation of Estate Agents ( NAR).

After two sessions of declines, investors hoped that this statistic would be in line for a confirmation of the recovery in the United States.

According to observers, after the pause in Wall Street and European markets, markets will start rising. 

At the macroeconomic level, the British government announced a lower top rate of income tax and new taxes on large estates by unveiling a budget expected to provide better re ; partition of the burden of austerity while strengthening the announced reduction in the deficit.

In 2011, advertising revenues have stagnated with growth of 0.1%, according to an annual study Irep France pub. But all media are not housed in the same boat.

The advertising market has avoided the crisis in 2011, despite uncertainties about the European economy. Communication costs of advertisers rose 1.9% last year to 31.4 billion euros, according to the study Irep France Pub, the only net to provide data, thus reflecting the reality of the sector. But it is above the "non-media" that has led this growth: namely, direct marketing, exhibitions and fairs, sponsorship and public relations.

The media, themselves, have received only a much weaker performance of their revenues from 0.1% to 10.7 billion euros. "We can speak of a stabilization, which occurs after one year in 2010 up 3.9% and a historic collapse in 2009, which was the largest decline in the market since we measure the" summed Philippe Legendre , Managing Director of the Irep.

Winners of 2011 …

Like the Oscars, the winner is … film with revenue up 16.5%, to 105 million euros. "This is a segment that works well correlated with total attendance and films that perform. It has been three years since the film is growing, it was the same in 2009, is an" old " publicitairement media that works well, according to Mr. Legendre

. Less surprisingly, Internet display advertising (banners and inserts) always exhibits a strong momentum with a 14% jump in advertising revenue, to 616 million euros. And yet this figure does not include it sponsored links. Mobile advertising jumped 37% even, but the volume is still very limited: 37 million euros last year.

In the area of ​​print, Free news saw its advertising revenue increase by 5.5% last year to 145 million euros. And the regional daily press manages to snatch up 0.2%, to 937 million euros.

On television, revenue totaled 3.5 billion euros, up 1.6% year on year. Increased primarily due to the strong performance of new channels, which recorded a 18% increase. As for radio, it also increased, by 0.6%, to 748 million euros. But this good result is obtained only by a jump of 4.4% of local advertising. National advertising was down 0.4%.

… And losers

Taken as a whole, the press continues to fall. In total, 3.49 billion in advertising revenue, down 3.2% yoy (against -1.6% in 2010). Those of the national dailies fell 3.7% as magazines (- 0.7%), and the specialized press (-2.9%).

As for the free press as a whole, it has seen advertising revenues fall by 13.8%. The trend is driven by print ads whose revenue continued to fall by 18.8%.

Finally, on television, the five channels "historical" are declining at 1.8%.

For 2012, experts of this instutit provides market stability, with an increase limited to 0.8%.