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Societe Generale has succeeded in the first quarter to offset the impact of measures in its financial balance sheet reduction imposed by the crisis thanks to the good performance of its Activity s, mainly in banking and investment banking.

Committed since the fall of a larger plan to restructure its BFI, like many other banks in Europe, the French bank said Thursday it had sold to During the first three months of 6.4 billion euros in assets, continuing to strengthen its financial solvency. 

The group has subsequently confirmed its objective to achieve a capital ratio "hard" between 9% and 9.5% under the new prudential regime Basel III said, dismissing any increase again capital to achieve this.

"The group continues its transformation into an active and disciplined. There is a strong capital generation in the quarter," said Frederic Oudéa, the CEO of the SocGen, during a telephone press conference.

He spoke earlier this year a "strong" enabling "to look forward with confidence".

The net result of Societe Generale, the first French bank to publish its quarterly results came out at EUR 732 million, down 20.1% . According to the Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S, analysts on average expected 748 million euros.

"These figures and the effort of deleveraging (reducing balance, Ed) a little more credibility to the group's ability to achieve its goal of Tier 1 common equity by 2013," said Alex Koagne analyst Natixis, in a research note.

16 BILLION IN ASSETS TRANSFERRED SINCE OCTOBER

In exchange, the action Societe Generale, which was displayed at the opening the largest increase in the CAC 40 index with a jump of nearly 5%, significantly reduced gains by midday. At 24:55, the title took 0.58% to 18.14 euros, underperforming the European sector index stroke (1.33%).

Since the beginning of the year, the stock rose more than 5%, against a 4% increase for the European banking index.

"The underlying results are very good. This happens mainly on the BFI, but retail banking in France has been quite stable," said one financial analyst based in London , who declined to be named.

"The fact that they sold in the quarter of the assets of poor quality, most penalizing under Basel III, is rather good news. In one quarter, they save 600 million (euros) in capital, "he says

. In the end, between October 2011 and March 2012 , SocGen sold for more than 16 billion euros of assets

. Constraints by the European Banking Authority (EBA ) to improve their financial solvency to cope with the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area, European banks must always increase their equity by the end of June, the objective being a minimum ratio of 9%

. At the end of March, one of Societe Generale was 9.4%. Asked about

asset sales, Frederic Oudéa declined to make any comment on e ; ventuelles sales entities or subsidiaries. 

PERFORMANCE OF THE BUSINESS RATE

Particularly monitored by analysts, the activities in which BFI SocGen makes significant job cuts recorded a net decline of nearly 41%.

The bank manages to generate income up 39% in its interest rate, currency and commodities. For comparison, in this sector, the Deutsche Bank had revenues down 8% and Barclays saw its own increase by only 9%.

This performance of SocGen is also welcomed by several analysts.

"The performance of the BFI is remarkable with a decrease in revenues limited to 8%," said Alex Koagne, at Natixis. "This good performance is mainly supported by the FICC (fixed income, currency and commodities, Ed)."

"The activity rate is a surprise," said Tom Van Kempen, an analyst at ING. "They may have reallocated resources in these activities."

After benefiting from a rebound in the stock market earlier this year, the French bank stocks have returned an intense volatility for a month because of a renewed 'concerns about the debt crisis in the euro area.

Investors are also left out of the French banking stocks due to uncertainties related to the presidential election in France, the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande providing sector reform to protect customer deposits and make activities less risky market.

Pierre Mariani denied Wednesday a decision on his replacement as head of Dexia, the Franco-Belgian bank being dismantled, and tried to defuse a polemical ; economic initiated in Belgium he would receive a golden parachute when he left.

Several Belgian newspapers reported that the Belgian government would like to replace Karel De Boeck, former CEO of Fortis. They add that Pierre Mariani was ready to leave his position as Group CEO on condition of receiving severance pay of EUR 1.2 million provided in the contract .

Reacting to the press articles, Pierre Mariani has denied having set conditions for his eventual departure.

"The Group CEO has made no request to the Belgian and French about the conditions of his eventual departure contrary to news reports published so far," he Pierre Mariani informed in an email to Reuters.

"No decision on the replacement of the CEO and President (Jean-Luc Dehaene, Ed) Board has been taken to date" he continues. 

"NO GOLDEN PARACHUTE!"

In Belgium, the assumption of payment of severance pay as described by the press was greeted coldly by the government and by politicians.

"Certainly, this should be discussed with the French authorities, as (with) shareholders. But my position is clear: no golden parachute! "Said Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo on his twitter account

." 1.2 million euros of golden parachute for Pierre Mariani is unacceptable as incomprehensible! ", were on their side exclaimed MPs environmentalists in a statement …… Dexia

… already saved from bankruptcy in 2008 by Belgium, France and Luxembourg, was cornered in the fall due to the dismantling of the crisis of sovereign debt

. Luc Coene, the Governor of the Central Bank of Belgium, said Monday Dexia, which enjoys state guarantees for its refinancing needs, would probably need to be recapitalized again

……. .. Since the crisis, the banking group has seen its market capitalization collapse. It is no longer valued on the stock market than about 370 million with a share price below 20 cents.

"CONFIDENCE TO PETER MARIANI"

Asked by Reuters, Michel Bouvard, president of the supervisory board of the Caisse des Depots (CDC), Dexia's largest shareholder with 17.7% stake, has in turn brought ; support for Pierre Mariani.

"Personally, I have every confidence in Pierre Mariani," said Michel Bouvard. "When you are in managing a complex issue, which is the case, it is better that he who began managing the file management ends until one goes to the next step. "

"I did not speak on matters of internal governance of Dexia," he nonetheless added.

Since the decision late last year to dismantle Dexia, the Belgian authorities have carried out the nationalization of retail banking activities in Belgium while France has decided to return via the CDC and the Postal Bank, the activities of local government financing.

The European Commission must still approve the plan and set the price that Dexia will have to pay in exchange for 90 billion euros of state guarantees provided. 

Dexia posted a net loss of 11.6 billion euros in 2011, and some analysts said the bank could continue to generate losses in the coming years.

Although in sharp decline, the size of the stock of Dexia is considered by some analysts as systemic because a failure to pay the bank would have incalculable consequences for the entire sys European Banking me.

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.

American Diversified industrial manufacturer United Technologies on Tuesday released a quarterly profit above consensus citing better than expected demand of heating and cooling market ; North America.

Carrier and its subsidiary shows a 19% increase in orders for residential air conditioning systems with a sharp improvement in demand in late March. And this demand has remained strong since the beginning of April, said chief financial officer, Greg Hayes.

"The warm weather in March helped but it is also due to low inventory on the market", which has forced distributors to increase their orders, he said during a teleconference ; reference.

Excluding the accounts of three subsidiaries that were sold by the group, quarterly earnings totaled $ 1.26 billion, or $ 1.31 per share, up 19% year on year. It thus clearly exceeds the Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S, which gave a profit of $ 1.19 per share.

After consideration of past depreciations on affiliates to sell and other special items, net income was down 67.4% to 330 million dollars.

The quarterly revenue fell 2% to 12.42 billion against $ 12.71 billion expected.

Outside the U.S., the economic situation is more mixed, said Greg Hayes.

"Europe is horrible, I think it's the simplest way of saying things. Construction contracts have been really anemic and there they remain, so we do not see many signs of recovery in Europe. "

.. In emerging ……, sales remained strong in the first quarter, except in China, where the decline of commercial real estate construction has weighed on demand for elevators, has continued CFO

. United Technologies, the world of elevators and air conditioners, has confirmed its forecast for the entire 2012 , ie an EPS of 5.30 to 5.50 dollars for a turnover from 61 to 62 billion, up about 10%

A

. the New York Stock Exchange, under the United Technologies gained 1.12% to 80.64 dollars around 1300 GMT while the Dow Jones took 0.83%. 

The group will finalize in the coming months its largest acquisition with the purchase of Goodrich aerospace equipment for $ 16.5 billion.

It seeks to give three parallel activities in the smaller sector of capital goods-Rocketdyne, Hamilton Sundstrand and Clipper Windpower.

McDonald's has published quarterly results rise, driven by strong sales in its restaurants in the United States.

Net income for the world's largest fast food reached $ 1.27 billion, or $ 1.23 per share, in the first quarter against $ 1.21 billion, or $ 1.15 per share, a year earlier.

Sales at restaurants open at least 13 months rose 7.3%, while analysts polled by Consensus Metrix had forecast 6.7%.

At the New York Stock Exchange, McDonald's action progressed by 1.8% in pre-market trading.

The budget deficit of the French state stood at 24.2 billion euros in February against 28 billion a year earlier, according to data released Friday by the Budget Ministry.

Expenses (general budget and levies on revenue) reached 63.6 billion in February against 57 billion a year earlier.

Revenues (net of refunds and rebates) totaled 45.4 billion euros against 40.2 billion a year earlier. 

"The positive trend (from February 2011-Ed) is mainly in respect of expenses, for a faster pace of expenditure recognition, and respect revenues, for the record, in January 2012, an exceptional product for the allocation of authorizations to use radio frequencies, "the ministry said in a statement.

"The net tax revenues come up from one year to another," he says. "This positive development is consistent with the forecasts used in the last supplementary budget."

As for spending, their progress "is consistent with the prediction of the supplementary budget for 2012".

The government deficit is the main component of the public deficit, which also includes financial statements and those of local communities.

In 2011, the deficit has been 5.2% according to the first estimate published by INSEE.

France has committed to reducing the public deficit to 4.5% of GDP in late 2012 to return in 2013 to the EU limit of 3%. The government recently revised its 4.4% target for this year.

The Socialist candidate for president, Francois Hollande, currently leading in the polls, has also committed to reducing the deficit to 3% in 2013, after s 4.5% in late 2012. He plans to balance the public accounts in 2017.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Wednesday the payment of 5.17 billion euros in Portugal under the assistance program recovery of public finances.

The IMF cites recent progress in budget reforms including the restructuring of public sector enterprises.

The Fund and the European Union have set up an aid to Portugal over three years totaling 78 billion euros.

The bailout and the austerity measures that accompany it are beginning to bear fruit: Wednesday, Portugal was able to borrow on the market 18 months, the maximum term Long since his ouster issued the bond market in March 2011. 

According to Nemat Shafik, Deputy Director of the IMF, Portugal will ensure a vigorous implementation of the program to regain market confidence. She adds that the deficit target for 2012 should be achieved.

"The implementation of policies under the program has progressed well and the first signs that the economic adjustment required is taking place," said Nemat Shafik.

The IMF has established an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Portugal, which allows faster access to credit. The fund said to have distributed 18.56 billion in this context.

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%).

Poweo released Friday a net loss of 64.3 million euros for 2011 – divided by more than two compared to 2010 – due to poor performance of its generation assets sold in early 2011.

The alternative supplier of gas and electricity French, being merged with Direct Energy, has recorded sales of 503 million euros (-28%) and a gross margin of 47, 6 million (-30.1%).

However Poweo reported net earnings of 6.3 million euros in its new scope, which includes its core activities in the supply and optimizing energy and a gross operating income of 12.8 million and a turnover of 405 million. 

With the implementation of the Law on the reorganization of the electricity market, which gives it access to nuclear EDF, Poweo also stresses that its gross margin s is improved but without covering all of its operating costs.

Due to lack of capabilities to compete with the public electrician, had to sell Poweo early 2011 its means of power generation to its former shareholder of re Verbund conference to provide the resources necessary for the continuity of its operations. 

The group then announced in July the purchase by Direct Energy of the 46% stake held by Verbund, prior to the merger of two French operators, whose boards of directors come from approve in principle which will create a new group of more than one million residential and business customers.

The output growth of French chemistry to slow to 1.8% by volume in 2012 after the 5.9% achieved in 2011, due to the economic downturn and rising cost of raw materials and energy, told Reuters the president of the Union of Industries (UIC), Olivier Homolle.

The annual report of the UIC, released Tuesday, reveals that the performance of France were better than that of the entire European Union, in which the growth of the n 'was only 1.1% last year and should not exceed 1.5% in 2012.

Last November, the UIC had raised its growth forecast to 4.5% in 2011.

In total, the turnover of the industry grew 13% last year to 86.7 billion euros. 

"We see 2012 on a relatively positive but with a number of uncertainties because the world is moving at full speed," said Olivier Homolle in an interview with Reuters, while noting that the level of growth 1.8% expected this year is "very respectable".

He noted that the worsening economic climate in Europe and the slowdown in the entire industry in France had gradually affected the chemical sector, whose stocks have become cumbersome from the second quarter. 

GOOD CONDUCT OF PERFUME AND COSMETICS

The good news, Olivier Homolle continued, "is that there is no reason that Asia does not continue to draw quite significantly the global economy and that since beginning of the year, the U.S. showed signs of significant growth that have a good impact on the overall economy. "

With 5.9% growth in 2011, the production of the French chemical industry came back last year in volume to levels before the financial crisis, it had been drop 1.1% in 2008 and 9.5% in 2009, its worst decline in 20 years.

Last year it was mainly driven by the chemistry for the manufacture of cosmetics, perfumes, and to a lesser extent, cleaning products. 

For export, the demand of foreign markets, especially emerging, was supported in 2011, resulting in increased sales by 9.8% in value. But due to a high level of imports (12.4%), the balance of the sector fell to 4.4 billion euros, against 5.0 billion in 2010. …….

In 2012, export growth should return close to the average level of 2% recorded between 1990 and 2011. European growth is seen at 1.5%.

While oil prices seem set to continue the current high levels, above 120 dollars a barrel for Brent, UIC has urged the French government has become more open to development shale gas.

"The fact that the debate be closed is very worrying," said Olivier Homolle, who is also director of the French division of German group BASF.

"The goal is first to be as competitive as possible. Should at least permit the debate to take place, that we can get an education," said ; Olivier Homolle.