National, World, Business News

Vinci said Thursday that its subsidiary had won five contracts Eurovia maintenance of road infrastructure in the UK for a cumulative value exceeding 1.7 billion euros.

The contracts, whose initial terms ranging between five and ten years, covering all aspects of road maintenance, such as routine maintenance, inspection and repair works of Art, emergency response, snow removal and street lighting, Vinci said in a statement.

Two of these contracts were won through a joint venture with the American consulting firm Jacobs.

Areva's strategic plan will not result in job cuts in France, said Tuesday the Minister of Economy, following a meeting with the CEO of French nuclear group.

The government so far ruled out job cuts, leaving the possibility of voluntary redundancies or job cuts by not replacing departures.

The president of Areva, Luc Oursel said at the meeting that the plan would result "no job cuts, no voluntary separation plan, no impact on the French sites," said Baroin reporters.

The Greek government expects a budget deficit reduced to 5.4% of GDP in 2012 assuming implementation of the proposed debt exchange expected to reduce the burden of public debt, according to the proposed final budget submitted Friday in parliament.

Excluding the impact of the debt swap (PSI), the project includes a deficit equivalent to 6.7% of gross domestic product next year after 9.0% this year.

The exchange of debt should lead to an issue of new bonds with a nominal value of EUR 70 billion and the payment to bondholders deprived of 30 billion euros in cash.

The parliamentary debate on the budget next week to begin by examining the text in committee, the plenary vote is scheduled for 8 or 9 December.

A source close to the government, China is considering investing 50 to $ 100 billion in the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF). Nicolas Sarkozy and Hu Jintao in Beijing, April 28, 2010.

China is considering investing 100 billion dollars to help the euro area to combat the crisis of public debt, reported the Financial Times on its Web site Thursday, citing a government source. "China might be willing to contribute between 50 and 100 billion in the EFSF (European Financial Stability Fund) or to fund a new mounted under his leadership in collaboration with the IMF, according to a person familiar with the intentions of the Chinese leadership" , said the British newspaper.

"If conditions are suitable then something a little over $ 100 billion is not inconceivable," said the person at the Financial Times.

Exxon Mobil reported Thursday a 41% jump in earnings in the third quarter, slightly more than expected by Wall Street, thanks to higher oil prices and improved refining margins.

Several major oil companies like Royal Dutch Shell and Norway's Statoil, have reported in recent days of strong quarterly results due to higher oil prices.

The futures contract on crude oil traded in New York has averaged $ 90 per barrel in the quarter, up 18% over the same period in 2010, while Brent crude oil jumped 48% .

An hour after the opening of Wall Street, Exxon earned the title 0.2% to 81.17 dollars, underperforming the S & P of the energy gained 2.34%.

Exxon is investing heavily in the exploitation of shale gas, particularly in North America.

The benefit of exploration activity and production of Exxon jumped 54%, the refining of 36%. The group said that better refining margins helped boost the profit of one billion dollars.

After the improvement of labor market frameworks in 2011, the coming months are more uncertain, according to APEC. Companies are less likely to plan to recruit executives in the fourth quarter. The barometer of APEC are signs of loss of business confidence.

2011 promises to be a good year for executives with a job market that has "resilient" but uncertainties in 2012, with gloomy economic outlook, according to the quarterly barometer of the Association for the use of frameworks (APEC) on Wednesday. "The year 2011 will be a very good year. It is the certainty, it is behind us, as business investment have been supported," said the executive director of APEC Jacky Chatelain, at a conference the press.

"But at the end of this year there are also elements of uncertainty," he said.Thus, if a significant number of companies plan to hire at least a part in the 4th quarter, a smaller proportion than in the third quarter are in fact some of it. 53% of companies with more than 100 employees plan to recruit at least one frame between October and December, an increase of 4 percentage points year on year. But only 69% of these are certain to do so – against 75% last quarter.

In the third quarter, employment remained strong: 57% of companies with more than one hundred employees, or 3 points from the third quarter of 2010, recruited at least one frame. The job assigned to the Apec also increased by 59% over one year in the third quarter. Nearly 140,000 bids were entrusted to the association. "The engine of growth" was the area of ​​the Council and business services: 100% in the third quarter of 2011, against 73% over the same period of 2010).But since then, signs of loss of business confidence have emerged: in September 21% of companies felt that the economic situation had deteriorated over the past year, against 16% in June

Graduates most affected by this pessimism

This loss of confidence seems to work against graduates, for whom the "hiring intentions are down for the first time in two years," said Pierre Lamblin Director of Education and Research APEC.

In a context "uncertain", companies are looking more frames already trained more operational: 41% of companies planning to hire in Q4 target young graduates, a decline of six points in one year, according to the survey, result of telephone inquiries conducted by the company in September Gn operations, with a panel of 750 firms with over 100 employees, representing the private sector."This is not not a disaster," the proportion was only 22% in late 2008, said Mr. Lamblin. "But the question is: will it last and how long?".

While according to the INSEE, the overall unemployment rate in France could reach 9.2% of the workforce in the fourth quarter, the executive is now much lower, around 3.7 or 3.8%. But the conditions of re-employment of executives have deteriorated from the end of 2008 and the long-term unemployment has increased frames. Today, a third of managers are unemployed for more than 12 months.

The action EADS is among the largest declines in the CAC 40 index on Thursday morning at the Paris Stock Exchange, while concerns are emerging about a domino effect on aircraft manufacturers difficulties refinancing of French banks in dollars.

In a market that was down 3.93%, weighed down by the performance of particular financial and cyclical stocks, the parent company of Airbus shows a fall of 6.81% to 21.14 euros at 10:45.

"It lowers the title.This is the first strong example of the effects of the crisis of dollar liquidity for European banks on the real economy, "said David Thebault, head of quantitative trading at Global Equities.

"We must certainly take this into account (the difficulties of banks) in financing equipment for all aircraft manufacturers," judge his side an analyst based in London, in a note.

This risk is relative, however, under the control of German banks to lend and potentially U.S. institutions, said the analyst, who also refers to possible emergency measures on the part of the French state.

"There are ways to deal with it immediately: some will take the place of French banks – U.S. banks and Chinese – and there are other ways to finance an aircraft, especially to leasers (lessors ) and 'vendor financing' EADS ', also adds Christophe Menard, an analyst at Kepler.

These fears of financial difficulties echo the statements of some leaders of the aviation sector in the Istat, a conference on the financing of aircraft, held in Barcelona on Tuesday.

French banks, which accounted for about 31% in aircraft financing transactions in 2010, reduced their availability significantly, said on this occasion the chief financial officer of Ryanair, Howard Millar.

The five major central banks around the world, including the ECB, announced September 15 a coordinated commercial banks to offer loans in dollars in three months to prevent freezing of the money market which would be caused by the debt crisis sovereign in Europe.

European banks, particularly French, have seen their share price fall since the beginning of the summer on fears related to potential recapitalization needs and issues of liquidity in dollars, American money market funds and other traditional lenders Greek dollar fearing failure and potential devastating effects on the markets.

In this context, speculation saying that the French government could be forced to intervene to stop the bleeding is growing, especially as fears of a credit freeze remake regular surface due to the persistence of debt crisis in the euro area.

Politicians and bosses of banks took turns for several weeks to deny any need for new capital, but struggle to convince.

BNP Paribas, which has undertaken to strengthen its equity more quickly, said last week it would reduce the size of its balance sheet of about 10% by the end of 2012 and it would also reduce its needs funding dollar.

Societe Generale for its part intends to strengthen its capital of four billion euros by 2013, including asset sales and reducing their activity.

Wall Street closed down Tuesday for the third straight session, concerns about the debt crisis in the euro area has once again taken an advantage over all other considerations.

The Stock Exchange, closed Monday for Labor Day, but ended above its low of the session.

The market questions the desire of Italy and Greece on the path of austerity, even in Germany voices are heard in protest against the aid given to countries in the area Euro trouble.

The Dow Jones lost 100.96 points (0.90%) to 11,139.30. The S & P 500 drops 8.73 points (0.74%) to 1165.24. The Nasdaq Composite Index gives 6.50 points (0.26%) to 2473.83.

Banks in particular have suffered and KBW index yielded 1.68%.So far only the German Dax and the Nikkei Japanese have sunk.

In terms of statistics, the growth of services sector in the United States has stepped up against all odds in August, ending three successive months of slowdown in the sector.

Sprint has taken legal action because it believes that the transaction will result in higher prices and create a duopoly between AT & T and Verizon Communications.

Sprint lost 4.5%, while AT & T has sold 0.78%. Verizon Communications fell almost 1%.

Total is about to sell its assets in the exploration and production in France, wrote Friday the Bulletin of the Oil Industry (BIP).

According to the daily newsletter, the fields of oil should be sold in Paris Vermilion Canada, which had resumed in 2010 the assets of Esso and is the first French producer with 46% of oil extracted in the country.

The BIP adds that the deposits Aquitaine, Total would be transferred to Vermilion and French Geopetrol, while the Lacq gas field should also be transferred to Vermilion in 2013.

"The sale transaction is being finalized.But the final disposal will take place before the end of 2012 in accordance with French law the transfer of mining assets, "said the newsletter.

A spokeswoman for Total declined to comment on this information.

French production of 21,000 barrels represented Total oil equivalent per day in 2010, world production of 2.378 million barrels throughout the year.

The daily Les Echos that writes the total in the fall should submit a reorganization of scale of its operations downstream, with a planned merger of its refining and petrochemical industries. The group did not want comment on the report Friday morning.

Berlin has revised down its forecast of budget deficit to 1.5% of GDP in 2011. The German Minister of Economy, Wolfgang Schauble, also removes any risk of recession. Wolfgang Schäuble, the German finance minister, by the Bundestag in Berlin September 14, 2010.

Germany has lowered its forecast of budget deficit to 1.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011, in a monthly report of the Ministry of Finance released Monday. April 13, Berlin table again a general government deficit (which includes the accounts, the regional states and municipalities) of 2.5% of GDP. In 2010, public deficits were 3.3%.

"The positive development this year will continue through 2015, which will have balanced accounts in 2014," the ministry's report posted on its website.Public debt "will drop by the end of this year to 80% of GDP and thus be about three percentage points less than last year," the ministry. He expects public debt to about 71% of GDP in 2015. In 2010, public debt was 83.2% of GDP.

"There are no signs of recession in Germany," said also on Monday antenna Deutschlandfunk the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. "The development of the labor market remains very positive," he said. "In Germany, as in the rest of Europe, the second quarter was worse than expected," admitted Mr Schäuble, while ensuring that there was "no reason to worry" and that the country would reach a growth of 3% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2011.

German growth in the second quarter has seen a brake sharper than expected, the German gross domestic product (GDP) increasing by 0.1% over the first quarter, according to figures released Tuesday by the Office for Statistics (Destatis). The growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro area it has slowed to 0.2% in the second quarter, after 0.8% in the first, according to data published by the EU statistics office Eurostat.