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.

The last thing you want to do is default on your bills because you can't afford to pay a medical, auto repair or home maintenance bill as well as your regular bills, as that could have many serious repercussions. In this scenario, a cash advance no faxing could be the solution.

In the shadow of the Greek psychodrama, it was necessary progress on the major issues of international economic cooperation. Review of some successes and many failures G20 Cannes. Nicolas Sarkozy has ended with a G20 Cannes press conference, November 4, 2011. REUTERS / Yves Herman (FRANCE – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

He wanted to make a summit unforgettable symbol of his power. But the setbacks in Europe, and the announcement of the referendum at the last minute Greek – have been abandoned, the chairman of the G20 in Cannes, Nicolas Sarkozy, in great difficulties. In the shadow of European psychodrama, the Head of State has still attempted to advance the cause of international economic cooperation. With mixed success. Balance sheet.

To read the official press release here.

Tobin Tax: A Small Step U.S.

It must have been one of the key topics of the French Presidency.Nicolas Sarkozy had even managed to convince Angela Merkel to go along with this idea of ​​a tax on financial transactions to support the development. But not surprisingly, no consensus could be found, too many countries there are still opposed. The head of state, however, has been commended for supporting Barack Obama on this theme, declaring that France and the United States "had a common analysis to help the world of finance to solving the current crisis. "

The Belgian, French and Luxembourg reaffirmed Sunday after a meeting held at midday in Brussels their solidarity in the search for a solution that ensures the future of Franco-Belgian bank Dexia .

In a joint statement, the Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme and French François Fillon stated that the three governments give their full support to the proposals of management of the banking group, presented at a Board of Directors scheduled to begin at 15:00 in Brussels.

"The proposed solution, which is also the result of intense consultations with all relevant partners, will be presented to the Board of Directors of Dexia which is responsible for approving proposals," added the two prime ministers.

"I am confident in our ability to reach an agreement with our French colleagues and Luxembourg and will be then the board of directors of Dexia to decide", for his part said Yves Leterme on Belgian television.

The activities of the Franco-Belgian bank, first bank in size in Europe to be a victim of the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro zone could be split and the most risky assets confined to a separate structure.

The Belgian, French and Luxembourg Sunday began discussions on the future of Dexia, in order to reach agreement on the terms and their participation in the new rescue plan for the former world leader in financing local authorities, supposed to lead on an orderly dismantling of the bank.

Brussels and Paris are trying to agree on the guarantees afforded by the two countries to the hive to accommodate the bond portfolio of 95 billion euros in Dexia, hoping not to aggravate the situation of public finances .

The rating agency Moody's has also increased pressure on the Belgian camp Friday night: it has placed the sovereign rating of Aa1 by explaining kingdom under surveillance will include assessing the costs and liabilities that the state could play in supporting Dexia.

VALUE TEST

Negotiations on the dismantling of Dexia, already saved from bankruptcy in 2008 after that of Lehman Brothers, will be a test for investors who want to see in the folder Dexia the ability of European leaders to overcome their differences to solve the banking crisis and the crisis of sovereign debt.

According to the most likely scenario, the dismantling of the Franco-Belgian bank should go through a nationalization of the Belgian branch, Dexia Bank Belgium (DBB), which specializes in bank deposits.

According to the Belgian daily L'Echo, the trail of a takeover of DBB by a foreign bank is considered and several institutions have expressed interest, including Deutsche Bank, Rabobank, Crédit Mutuel and BBVA.

Another key point of discussion: the distribution of the financial burden of dismantling between Belgium and France, whose participation combined with that of the Caisse des Depots (CDC) is around 25%.

Yves Leterme and Didier Reynders warned Thursday the French government that Belgium would not only rescue the financial burden.

In France, a dismantling of Dexia should result in a link-financing activities of local communities in a structure owned jointly by the Deposit and Postal Bank.

Friday, François Fillon has announced that the Deposit would release three billion euros to finance the French local authorities until a new entity formed by the Deposit and Consignment Office (CDC) and the Postal Bank to take the Dexia relay.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, has to go on his side Sunday in Berlin for talks and a working dinner with Chancellor Angela Merkel before the summit of the euro area of ​​17 and 18 October and the G20 of Cannes and the three November 4.A bilateral meeting during which the larger issue of the recapitalization of banks in Europe should be addressed.

Pending the outcome of negotiations and decisions of the Board, the listing of the Dexia shares was suspended Thursday in Brussels. It will resume Monday morning.

Before the suspension, Dexia shares worth 0.85 euro.

The U.S. economy has created far more jobs than expected in September and the new posts of previous months have been revised upwards, according to official statistics released Friday that could mitigate fears of a return to recession.

Last month, 103,000 non-farm jobs were created, according to the Labor Department, while economists on average expected 60,000 creations.

The unemployment rate was unchanged from a month to month to 9.1%, in line with analysts' expectations.

The right numbers in September are based in part on the reintroduction of 45,000 employees of Verizon in the number of jobs created, they were not in August because of a strike.By excluding these employees, 58,000 new jobs were created.

Statistics disappointing August, which reported zero job creation, for its part has been revised to bring out 57,000 new jobs. That of July was also revised upward to 127,000 against 85,000 previously.

Overall, the private sector has created 137,000 jobs, 100,000 against and 42,000 expected in August. The public sector has eliminated 34,000 jobs to him.

RELIEF

These employment figures are one more sign that the U.S. economy could avoid falling into recession despite a sluggish summer.Last week, the growth of U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter was revised up to 1.3% against 1.0% in the first estimate.

Recent indicators of the manufacturing sector, business spending and auto sales leave now think the economy is doing better than expected third quarter.

Hourly wages have also increased by 4 cents in September after falling all the previous month.They then recorded their first decline since October 2009, pushing the savings to its lowest level for over a year and a half.

"The increase in job creation and revisions of the statistics is comforting and exciting to the market," said John Kilduff, partner of Capital hedge fund in New York Again.

"But it seems premature to use these numbers to say, regarding the economy in general, we are out of the woods," he tempers.

In September, the U.S. economy has eliminated 13,000 manufacturing jobs, after having destroyed in August 4000.

Some economists fear that the debt crisis will derail the U.S. recovery, not a fear expressed Thursday by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

"We're still not at a job that can bring down the unemployment rate, which remains a key concern important to the economy," warns Ellen Zentner, economist at Nomura Securities in New York.

The economy must grow by at least 2.5% per year and create jobs 150.00 per month to prevent the unemployment rate to rise.

Nokia, faced with declining sales and profits, announced Thursday the elimination of 3,500 positions, including the upcoming closure of its plant in Cluj, Romania.

The closure of the Cluj result in the layoff of 2,200 persons.Nokia also plans to eliminate 1,300 positions in its other division Rental & Commerce, which includes the world leader in digital mapping Navteq.

These staff reductions are in addition to a program unveiled by the group in April to achieve 1 billion euros in savings, and including the removal of 4,000 jobs.

The world's largest maker of mobile phones by volume is facing a decline in sales and earnings after announcing in February that now employ the operating system from Microsoft for its smartphones.The first of them well equipped arrive on the market later this year.

The action Nokia has lost half its value since February, investors feared that the group would lose much market share until the launch of its new smartphones and no longer able to fully regain thereafter.

Around 9:10 GMT, the action to Nokia gained 0.96% 4.22 euros, while the European sector index electronics progressed from 0.17%.

Nokia also announced it would inject with Siemens € 500 million in their joint venture Nokia Siemens Networks, headed by Jesper Ovesen would succeed Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, former CEO of Nokia.

According to Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, if movement of the plane generally niches from the Grenelle Environment Forum will also be involved. France-Info on Tuesday, Minister of Ecology says the tax loopholes of the Grenelle Environment Forum will be involved where the "general movement of the plane."

The tax loopholes resulting from the Grenelle Environment Forum will be involved where the "general movement of the plane," said the Minister for Ecology Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet France Info radio Tuesday. "We understand that it's easier to spend than to save 10 billion 10 billion. And when you have to save 10 billion it has to be that everyone puts it," said the minister.

"I think if there is a general movement of the plane, from the niches of the Grenelle Environment Forum will also be involved," she added, stressing defend their "efficiency".The minister did not say what niche could be affected and to what extent.

In 2010, Tax Assistance "green" had already been a movement of the plane, including the tax credit on equipment in support of sustainable development (installation of thermal insulation, condensing boilers ,…) or that the photovoltaic systems.

The French will be more better off put to three years, the time to reduce the deficit, but the government should ensure the right balance to avoid an exodus of the richest, said Wednesday at the Reuters chief executive of Publicis Maurice Levy.

The French executive, who is about to announce a package of measures to meet its deficit reduction targets, including considering a contribution of more privileged who could take the form of an exceptional tax the highest incomes.

"The whole problem is to calculate the contribution so that it is not only symbolic and it is not a discouragement for the ruling classes, or advantaged people who say 'this If I go, '"said Maurice Levy, who also chairs the French Association of Private Enterprises (AFEP).

"So it's a balance to be struck so yes it is an effort, it is limited in time, it allows to solve problems, it is significant but it is not discouraging, "he said in an interview with Reuters.

In an article in Le Monde in mid-August, Maurice Levy floated the idea of ​​a contribution of the richest in France, before being joined by a dozen other CEOs.

The government and several officials of the majority suggested that the key contribution income over one million euros annually.The approximately 30,000 households concerned and would pay a total of about 300 million euros in additional taxes next year as determined by the UMP rapporteur of the budget in the Assembly, Gilles Carrez.

No cups ADVERTISING INVESTMENT

Some voices were raised to denounce a cosmetic measure, which would not affect the distribution of wealth in France.

"I do not want this to be only symbolic, I think it has to be a real contribution," said Maurice Levy, who initially pleaded for an effort of limited duration, without excluding a subsequent more comprehensive overhaul of the tax system.

"I think it takes three years to redress public finances if they have a sustained and vigorous," he added."Then we take stock, and if after three years you realize that it's better to reform the system, we will reform the system."

Maurice Levy was confident in the ability of France to redress its finances, while stressing the need for structural reforms.France suffers particular, he said, a cost of labor made too high payroll taxes, and a labor law particularly complex, especially with regard to restructuring.

Maurice Levy is leading advertising group in the third world in terms of turnover, whose activity is sensitive to changes in economic conditions.

While stock markets have come through three weeks black leaded by fears of a slowdown in the global economy and the problems of sovereign debt in the euro area and the United States, the head of Publicis said he did not see the signs of downturn.

"What we've done so far in August, is to call many of our customers and try to understand what was going to happen on future investments," he said. "For now, the indications we have are indications of continued investment without much change."

He was optimistic for next year, which will be marked by two major sporting events: the London Olympics and Euro 2012 football.

"With these two events, we already know that it adds between 80 basis points to 120 basis points for growth," he said.

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.

Barack Obama, vacationing on the island of Martha's Vineyard grouse, on Saturday accused the Congress of a slow economic recovery by blocking measures "common sense" meant, he says, help create jobs and growth.

In his traditional speech recorded weekly radio broadcast Wednesday on his tour bus in the Midwest, the U.S. president that the draft law, currently at an impasse, concerning the construction, trade and taxes, would "boost "an economy half-mast.

"The only thing that prevents us to pass these texts is the refusal of some on Capitol Hill to put national interests before those of their party.This is the problem today is that hinders the country, "he said in his speech, also available on the Internet.

With a national unemployment rate stuck at over nine percent, the chances of re-election of Democratic president may depend on its ability to convince the electorate's ability to get the economy back on track.

He was criticized for the choice of Martha's Vineyard as a summer resort, the island, located on the east coast of the United States, is a haven for millionaires, when 14 million of his compatriots are unemployed.

The White House insisted that the Chief Executive, who is a regular at this place for family vacation, spend most of his nine days off to "floor" of a recovery plan and the fight against unemployment that it will issue in a speech scheduled for early September.

CALL TO REPUBLICANS

In his speech on Saturday, Barack Obama acknowledged that the United States were far from healthy.

"We are in a difficult situation. We are in a terrible recession.So we need people in Washington, people whose job is to manage the affairs of the country, the people you elected to serve – we need to solve problems by putting aside our differences, "Has he said.

The Republicans control the House of Representatives while the Senate is in the hands of Democrats.Both parties are at loggerheads on how to get the country out of its massive debt.

In a statement on behalf of the opposition Republican Governor John Kasich of Ohio, for his part, felt that President Barack Obama was wrong to impute to others the responsibility for the current impasse on Capitol Hill.

"Divided government is no excuse for doing nothing," said the former chairman of the Budget Committee of the House.

"It does not replace the authority of the President of the United States.I hope that President Obama listen to his fellow Republicans as well as to get the economy back on track by creating jobs and manufacturing growth ".

The governor of Ohio has also invited his side to show more interest in the trade-offs.

"It is equally important that the Republicans are not rigid about working beyond the party lines when the stakes are high," he added.

"We can compromise on policy as we do not betray his principles."

From Tokyo to Wall Street, via Frankfurt, Paris or London, the world stock markets have been strongly shaken on Monday by the deterioration of the credit rating of the United States. The specter of a new stock market crash is on everyone's mind. In Asia, the Shanghai Stock Exchange closed down 3.79% Monday, August 8. Why stock markets loosen?

Initially, it is the debt crisis of the Greek and European, who threw the trouble in the markets. Even the European rescue plan last July 21 is reached only very briefly restore investor confidence. Since every day is bad news was sinking deeper into the red exchanges. In late July, the U.S. announced a low growth in the first half (+1.3%) and something unique, a downward revision of growth earlier.The slowdown in industrial activity, lower consumption, and uncertainty on global growth while adding to the uncertainty room. At the same time, fears the strongest focus on the U.S. debt crisis, for which the consensus seems impossible to find. On 2 August, a few hours of the deadline, Democrats and Republicans finally agree to increase the ceiling on the debt. But markets were not satisfied with this agreement as a minimum, no resolutions have been taken seriously to reduce the deficit. The rating agency S & P, which called for an agreement is reached 4 trillion dollars of debt reduction ends up putting his terrible threat. Friday, it fell for the first time in its history the U.S. debt rating to AA +.The perfect ingredients for an explosive mix together: the problem of rising debt and sluggish growth concerns, which eventually self-sustaining. On the European side, where stock markets have dropped tremendously due to the debt crisis of the European, the penalty is double, the markets continue to tumble.

Companies are they for something?

Companies are not completely foreign to the decline. The second quarter results have indeed disappointed the markets, especially in Europe, where companies suffer from the downward revisions of growth in Asian countries. Some of them are even forced to carry warnings about results, after first quarter yet considered excellent. In the United States on the other hand, companies have greatly benefited from sustained growth in Latin America and favorable foreign exchange effects.Thus, in the second quarter, 71% of U.S. companies have published the results above expectations, against only 46% in Europe. In detail, the most battered markets are industrials, technology and raw materials, that is to say the most exposed to global growth … However, the health of companies is not as bad as it sounds, and has participated only slightly in summer stock unscrewing. "The CAC 40 companies for example are for the most beneficiaries. What more shocking is the difference between the optimism a few months ago and gloom," said Christian Parisot, an economist at Aurel Level .

Can we talk about stock market crash?

The definition of crash-sudden and precipitous decline in the index of one or more places worldwide, is not absolutely clear.Economists agree that there is crash when the index lost more than 10% in one session, and / or 20% in a few days, which only happened twice in the twentieth century, 1929 and 1987. Even in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis, we have not seen a stock market crash, but only to a very high price volatility. This does not mean that the situation is not alarming either. Since the last above, July 22, several European indices like the CAC 40 lost more than 15%. Moreover, the concern of investors is more about the resulting decline in prices on the magnitude of this decline: from 10 days now the markets are falling continuously, including a first for the CAC 40. This means that in 15 days, any economic indicator, no technical rebound has allowed the evidence to blow.

How far this can go down?

This day of Monday is crucial. All weekend, governments and central bankers worldwide have struggled to find solutions to avoid the emergence of a new Lehman Brothers. In France, Nicolas Sarkozy has stepped up calls with its European counterparts, particularly with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The G7 finance ministers also met in the night from Sunday to Monday and pledged to "take all necessary measures to support financial stability and growth." Understand the central banks are ready to inject liquidity in the markets in a panic. As for the ECB, it was prepared to buy back the debt if the Spanish and Italian investors deserted.The result was encouraging since at the opening of European stock, the dreaded crash did not occur. But as and when the day, the situation has worsened. At 4:30 p.m. in Paris, the benchmark index fell nearly 4%, as investors kept their eyes on Wall Street. Almost an hour after opening, the U.S. stock markets lost more than 3%. The crash is not excluded.

In the longer term, it is very difficult to predict what will happen in the markets. "Everything will depend on the credibility of political solutions in place to absorb the debt crises on one side and across the Atlantic, said Christian Parisot. While at present, governments have made important decisions, their implementation is delayed. "In Europe including the pace of the support plan, which must not pass the national parliaments by the end of September, largely contributes to the crisis of investor confidence. Moreover, "everything depends on the practical implementation of plans to reduce deficits. If growth continues despite the cuts, then the market can regain some momentum," said Christian Parisot. But for the latter, as any good macroeconomic indicator will not be published, global indices remain capes, investors are not willing to pay dearly in the future of stock exchanges as unstable.