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Dell on Tuesday announced a profit below expectations on account of its fiscal fourth quarter and forecast sales below Wall Street forecasts for the current quarter This has reduced the action in the off-market transactions.

The world number three personal computers is expected to drop 7% of its revenue this quarter compared to the previous. Revenues for the fourth quarter being raised to $ 16 billion, this amounts to provide a revenue of $ 14.9 billion for the first quarter, while Wall Street expects about 15.2 billion.

The fourth quarter result also showed lower than expected despite healthy sales to businesses (5% yoy, to $ 4.9 billion).

But sales to the public sector showed signs of weakness (-1% to 3.9 billion). The consumer sales were down 2%.

"With a turnover of 65 billion dollars, it takes time to move the needle toward the most relevant sources of income of a strategic perspective. And for now, we do sees no sign of progress, "says the analyst of ISI Group, Brian Marshall. "It will take time for Dell to right the ship."

PC makers are struggling with falling demand, as consumers tend to turn increasingly to mobile devices like the Apple iPad, while floods in Thailand restrict the supply of some components.

Excluding items, Dell reported earnings of 51 cents per share in the fourth quarter while the market was expecting 52 cents.

Gross margin for the quarter was 21.1%, against 20% a year ago.

The rumor of an ouster of CEO of Veolia Environnement in favor of Mr. Frérot Borloo, after a maneuver made by the boss of EDF Proglio, close to Nicolas Sarkozy, sparked a lively debate Monday politics. The former minister and the president strongly deny. The Elysée to maneuver to place Borloo Veolia? The accusation is "absurd", according to the Sarkozy camp.

"The arrangements between friends of Fouquet's''," a president of the combined business and "" … These are some qualifications of the various political parties to protest a possible arrival of Borloo to head Veolia. Mentioned by several newspapers, the hypothesis has fueled outrage among rival Nicolas Sarkozy denouncing his intervention in the appointment. According to Le Monde, Libération and Les Echos, the operation was led by Henri Proglio, the boss of EDF remained a director of Veolia. It would "head of Antoine Frérot", his successor, and would be heard "at the beginning of last week" on its replacement by Borloo, former Minister of Ecology.

Which formally denied: "If, for many months, several national and international groups have contacted me in particular so that I bring my analysis informally on their evolution and their business – this was the case recently for Veolia, neither more nor less-everything else is just speculation, manipulation, or even a desire to harm ". The former number two in the government then said: "As I always said, my schedule today is exclusively political. I have confirmed that I have not decided to end my political career and remains focused on building a future for France. "

For its part, Proglio said that Veolia deserved better than "those waves of political rumors". Antoine Frérot, he wrote an internal letter to employees of the group, citing a "company of destabilization".

Source close to the council, seven directors Proglio support the project, seven against and three are still undecided, that seeks to convince Alain Minc, another close to Nicolas Sarkozy. Officially, everyone is silent. In its presidential campaign, all the opposition – left, center and FN together – is leapt to denounce a "conflict of interests" and "arrangements between friends of Fouquet's", the Sarkozy camp trying to extinguish the Fire minimizing simple "press rumors".

Sarkozy: "It's absurd"

"Republic How are we?", Has protested Monday Francois Hollande, the Socialist candidate for favorite presidential polls, Nicolas Sarkozy in lampooning "the candidate of confusion, arrangements". Same story for Europe Ecology Party the Greens (EELV). This is a "farce", denounced the environmentalist Eva Joly, citing a "conflict of interests rarely seen" and "contempt of the Republic". "Before leaving, Sarkozy puts his friends," added the National Front, while the modem call to "turn the page on these practices." "It is abnormal that the policy interferes in the affairs of a private group like Veolia. What credit do we give to the group to negotiate with local authorities?" Railed Deroubaix Hervé, Steward CFDT.

For his part, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, speaking as Minister of Ecology, denied "formally" any government involvement in the possible appointment of Jean-Louis Borloo. "Veolia is a company under private law, the government does not meddle in any way the choices made by its directors. It does not get involved now and do not mingle in it", she said to the AFP. According to Le Parisien, Proglio seek to ensure his rear in case of arrival of the Left to power in May. Nicolas Sarkozy has swept the controversy with the back of the hand. the Head of State called on Monday BFMTV "absurd" the hypothesis of an intervention by the Elysée. "The Elysee is behind a possible appointment" of Borloo to Veolia, the question does one out of his campaign headquarters, in the fifteenth district. "It's absurd," he replied.

Currently, only businesses in tourist areas can open on Sundays. Nicolas Sarkozy, if elected, will extend these conditions, says Frédéric Lefebvre. Frederic Lefebvre, Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, responsible for trade, craft, small and medium enterprises, tourism, services, professional and consumption

President Nicolas Sarkozy wants, if re-elected, "broaden the conditions for opening of shops on Sundays," said a statement read on his behalf Friday by Secretary of State for Trade Frederic Lefebvre. It's "give you more freedom, it's growth for your business is employment for the French," he added, among others, in this statement read to the Estates General of Trade at Bercy.  

This measure is also "purchasing power" for employees and will "strengthen the tourist attraction that France is strong," the statement added, without specifying what form these would take "flexibility" in opening Sunday. The Trade Council of France asked him the opportunity for traders to open free from 10 to 12 Sundays a year, even when they are outside the tourist area.

The Labour Law of Sunday August 10, 2009 can store openings on Sundays that vary with the type of business and location (specific tourist areas or perimeter). Apart from cases under that Act, all stores may open five Sundays a year on administrative authorization.

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.

Social VAT and tax on financial transactions were presented to the Cabinet Wednesday, the last step before a parliamentary debate. The standard VAT rate will increase on 1 October from 19.6% to 21.2% to compensate for 13 billion euros of lower employer costs, announced Sunday, January 29 Nicolas Sarkozy

The proposed VAT and social tax on financial transactions tax of construction sites last five years, were presented Wednesday by the Cabinet before a parliamentary debate and a deferred entry into force of several months.

The draft supplementary budget for 2012 will now be discussed from Monday to the National Assembly for a final parliamentary adoption scheduled for late February or early March at the latest. The symbolic measure of this supplementary budget is called social VAT, a name rejected by the government.  

VAT is to alleviate social, from 1 October, employers' costs to fund family policy, for 13.2 billion euros in a full year ($ 3.6 billion in 2012). These family contributions paid by employers are suppressed for salaries between 1.6 and 2.1 times the minimum wage, and relaxed, on a sliding scale, between 2.1 and 2.4 times the minimum wage. Wages to below 1.6 times the minimum wage already benefiting from such reductions in charges. In all, according to Bercy, 14 million employees are affected by the measure.

To offset the cost of this measure whose objective is to lower labor costs and thus increase the competitiveness of French industry, the government intends to increase by 19.6% to 21.2% the normal rate of VAT, also on 1 October. This measure will yield € 10.6 billion per year in stride.  

Finally, the general social contribution (CSG) on capital income is increased by two points, from 8.2% to 10.2%. This includes income from assets as of 1 January and investment products as of July 1. This measure will report full-year 2.6 billion euros needed to complete the reform so that it is neutral for public finances.

Moreover, the supplementary budget provides for the creation, effective August 1, a tax on financial transactions in France. Transactions in shares of companies whose market capitalization exceeds one billion euros and is headquartered in France will be taxed at 0.1%.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended Friday in a piecemeal, according to a new low of two and a half years in session for the Nikkei, while France and Germany have not reached the day before to convince investors of the imminence of a consensus on the answer to the debt crisis.

The Nikkei lost 0.06% (-5.17 points) at 8,160.01 points, while the Topix, broader took 0.52 points (+0.07%) to 706.60 points.

For the week, the two indexes have lost respectively 2.6% and 1.9%.

At the conclusion of a tripartite meeting in Strasbourg between the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the latter reiterated his opposition to any change in the mandate of the European Central Bank (ECB ) and the introduction of Eurobonds.

"Some investors bought oversold values ​​in the afternoon (Japan), but concerns about the situation in Europe remains" Judge Kenichi Hirano, Tachibana Securities.

Fever market does not seem to stop. So many voices calling for the ECB buys massive amounts of government securities in difficulty to break the panic and speculation. But is this really the solution? ECB

In the state of current market panic, the ECB is more than ever figure of last bastion of the euro area. Provided, however, she agreed to play this role … Italian interest rates still evolving around 7% Thursday, an unsustainable level on the scale of a few months. And fears of contagion from France have propelled the difference in interest rates between Germany and France to a new record (204 basis points difference, France into debt at a cost of more than two times higher).Sign that it is a disruption of markets, interest rates of other states in the euro area AAA rated – such as Finland or the virtuous Netherlands – are also affected.

In this context, increasing the pressure on the European Central Bank in order to redeem government bonds heavily attacked. The Nobel Prize in Economics Paul Krugman recently called for greater involvement of the ECB. "It should send a clear message and say" we buy as many (sovereign debt) than necessary. "In France, many economists on the left are also campaigning on this issue. Even in Germany, there are voices in this sense Like Peter Bofinger, an economist and adviser to the German government. "It's not attractive … But we must clearly realize that it's an emergency.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) could provide up to 74 billion euros in loans to banks in two years in Europe if its own capital was strengthened, including with money provided by its shareholders, according to a document prepared for the finance ministers of the Union.

Prepared for the Council of Finance Ministers of the EU, which meets Tuesday, the report details the means that could be implemented if the credit crunch.

"The risk reduction of leverage by the banks is not negligible and it is important to maintain and even increase of EIB lending to the real economy through the banks," said Bank in this document, dated November 3.

The Irish budget deficit has reduced by 4 percentage points of GDP since 2009. Corporate profitability recovered sharply. But deleveraging too fast may influence the activity against becoming productive. Pedestrians in Dublin

If Ireland is still part of PIGS, it can not be in the same category as Greece or Portugal, as progress in a few months by former Tiger European are important. The Irish budget deficit – excluding bank recapitalization needs – fell by 4 percentage points of GDP since 2009. The current account deficit turned into a small surplus. Finally, corporate profitability recovered sharply.

The experts of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) of the European Central Bank (ECB) and European Commission, who have just completed their assessment mission in Ireland, are seduced. "The ongoing adjustment is solid.The 2011 budget targets will be achieved and the ongoing structural reforms will also contribute to sanitation, "they note in their report.

However, Ireland is now entering a delicate phase. Or the risk of too rapid deleveraging weigh on activity, against becoming productive. The experts of the IMF, the ECB and the Commission to admit the hint. "Ireland will have to find a balance between the imperatives of debt reduction and limitation of the barriers to growth and job creation," they point out in their report. This sentence harmless and a bit blurry could announce a change in strategy for Ireland. The country needs it, says a recent report by Goodbody Broker.

Make concessions

Indeed, in Ireland, over-indebtedness affects both the public sector, private sector and banks.Simultaneously reducing the three is clearly a bad idea, says the report. If Ireland is determined to meet all objectives at the same time, the evolving recovery will be quickly suppressed. A risk highlighted recently by the Finance Minister Michael Noonan. Especially since the motor only turns in exports. The domestic market remains depressed by lower prices (unit labor costs fell by 15% and commercial property prices have been divided by two).

We must therefore make concessions to one side. But which one? As for households, the government can not do much. The debt reached 220% of disposable income, nearly twice the international average. And fall of financial markets could reduce household net wealth of 250 billion euros. The Irish are going to have to tighten their belts for several years.Make concessions on the public debt is also not in a financial crisis. Ireland recorded a primary deficit of 6% of GDP in 2011. This is the worst result of the euro area.

Remaining banks. They must bring their ratios to 122% loan to deposit by 2013. The challenge today is to allow banks to achieve that clean without excessively penalizing the credit. This will doubtless involve additional time but also further aid from the ECB, economists now believe. Lengthy discussion in perspective.

Burberry has released results for the second quarter of 2011 better than expected, supported by new store openings and strong demand in China.

The British luxury group said it had not yet seen any slowdown in demand despite uncertainty about the evolution of global growth.

The group, which manufactures waterproof and leather for a century and a half, announced Wednesday an increase of 29% of its turnover to 463 million pounds (529 million) for April-June

This performance is close to 30% in the first quarter and higher than the average forecast of 10 analysts polled by Reuters, to 448 million pounds (512 million).

Sales in stores, on a comparable basis, increased 16% in the second quarter, against 15% in the first, led by demand in New York, London, Hong Kong and Dubai.

Sales in China rose 30%, a development in line with the first quarter.

Burberry said it maintained its expansion plans, adding that he was ready to adjust if the signals of a slowdown in demand for luxury goods.