The euro area is about to rescue Greece

Facing speculative attacks against the single currency, countries in the euro area were preparing to fly to the aid of Greece. According to a source close to the German government, they would be agreed in principle to help Athens on the eve of a special European summit, convened Thursday evening in Brussels. The information was however not confirmed on Tuesday. "The reports that the euro area has taken the decision to help Greece are unfounded, said Tuesday, a spokesman for the government.

The terms of the rescue would not be arrested, but he could take the form of bilateral aid that is to say, special loans from state to state. Several countries would be involved, including Germany, the largest economy in the euro area, and first funder of the European Union."Whether bilateral or collective aid to Greece will be under strict conditions," warned Michael Meister Tuesday, elected a German conservative party (CDU), quoted by Bloomberg.

So far reluctant to rush to the aid of a country that has lied about its statistics and squandered public finances for years, Germany was forced to intervene again, because it is the unity and stability of the euro area is now in danger. "Germany has a special responsibility vis-à-vis the euro," said German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who will make a statement to the government in Berlin today on the financial situation of Greece.

Trichet advance his return

Persistent for several days, rumors have quieted rescue markets. The euro, which fell to $ 1.34 last week, was pressed Tuesday to over $ 1.38.The Athens Stock Exchange has for its closed up 4.96%. In Paris the CAC 40 finished + 0.15%. Rating agencies, very nervous these days, calmed down. Fitch said Tuesday that there was no reason to degrade the notes of Spain, who still enjoys an AAA, but is affected by contagion from the crisis in Greece.

Tuesday morning, the sudden return of Jean-Claude Trichet in Europe that fueled speculation of a European intervention in favor of Greece. The President of the European Central Bank had to spend two days in Australia to attend a meeting of central bankers. He advanced his departure not to miss the extraordinary EU summit Thursday called by the President of the Union, Herman Van Rompuy.According to the German press, experts from the ECB participate in secret for several days in meetings with representatives of countries in the euro area are working on the rescue of Greece. Two options are under consideration: the conditions under bilateral aid or loan guarantees for Greece in the framework of a European fund.

The treaties prohibit any of these options.Just came into force, the Lisbon Treaty provides in Article 122-2, "the Council on a proposal from the Commission, may grant, under certain circumstances, financial assistance from the EU Member State is in difficulties or a serious threat of serious difficulties caused by exceptional occurrences beyond its control.

Speculative attacks of recent days against the euro, and debt to Member States the most vulnerable have been a trigger for the policy decision.

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Barack Obama addresses with its budget deficit in 2011

He had made his election promise. Controlling the deficit of the federal state is at the heart of the proposed 2011 budget that will present U.S. President Barack Obama to Congress on Monday. The White House announced that the budget for the biennium 2010-2011 (late October 2010 to end September 2011) is forecast at 3.834 billion dollars. A budget of expenditure of 3% higher than the current biennium (2009-2010), who is expected to reach 3.721 billion dollars, according to latest estimates, the official said of the budget at the White House, Peter Orszag, the margins the presentation of Barack Obama.

In parallel, the White House has raised its growth forecast for 2010 to 2.7%, against 2% originally planned. In the fourth quarter of 2009, U.S. GDP grew at a record pace of 5.7%. In 2011, the U.S. administration expects a rise of 3.8% of GDP.Unemployment, however, will remain at 10% on average in 2010, before declining slowly to 9.2% in 2011 to 8.2% in 2012 and 7.3% in 2013. Other forecasts underlying the budget 2010-2011, inflation should remain below 2% in 2010, before falling to 1.5% in 2011.

A record deficit amid recession

Upon his election, Barack Obama had pledged to reduce the U.S. deficit in half by the end of his term in 2013. According to the White House, the deficit would be reduced to 1.267 billion dollars, or 8.3% of U.S. GDP, against a record $ 1.556 billion (10.6% of GDP) expected for the year 2010. It would fall to 828 billion (or 5.1% of GDP) in fiscal 2012 and 727 billion (4.2% of GDP) in 2013.

To achieve these objectives, the executive put on a 19% increase in tax revenue in 2011 to 2.567 billion dollars, with the return of growth.But not only. Rigor requires the White House has confirmed a spending freeze for three years, excluding programs and social security. "The president told his team the task of budget line by line look at the federal budget to see where we can save money," said communications director of the White House, Dan Pfeiffer. A senior U.S. official had assured last week that the budget would propose a "strict freeze" spending "not essential".

Cutting waste is launched

Among the victims of budget cuts, the program of manned space Constellation, which was to send astronauts back to the Moon, will be discontinued no teletrak payday loan . Launched in 2004, this program was highly symbolic for NASA and widely supported by Congress.According to estimates, the U.S. space agency has already spent just over $ 9 billion as part of Constellation. Peter Orszag provides, however, that other investments will be made in research and development.

A budget that reflects "serious difficulties" current

Another priority of the proposed budget for Barack Obama, employment will be stimulated by tax cuts. "We are at war," said Bush, after unveiling his budget proposal to Congress. "Our economy has lost 7 million jobs over the past two years, and our state is heavily in debt after what can only be described as a lost decade."

Unemployment has passed the 10% mark since October and that for the first time since 1983, said Peter Orszag."The budget provides $ 100 billion for immediate investment creating jobs through tax cuts for small and medium enterprises, infrastructure and green energy," said the White House. Tax cuts for the wealthiest households, decided by the predecessor of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, expire, however.

A commission created to achieve balance

Moreover, other sectors will no longer be subsidized, particularly fossil fuels."This budget contributes to lay foundations for long-term economy (…) and examines challenges long neglected, including health, education system, and the move towards Clean Energy, summarized spokesman Dan Pfeiffer.

Finally, the White House has confirmed the creation of a commission composed of eighteen members of Democrats (10 members) and Republicans (8), whose mission will be to examine ways to bring forward a balanced budget, excluding repayment of debt.

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Cetelem creates an ombudsman

BNP Paribas, Societe Generale, Credit Agricole … banks have several years of mediators, solutions of last resort for customers unhappy or distressed. But, strangely, none of the institutions that specialize in consumer credit does not comply were risky. BNP Personal Finance, known in France under the brand Cetelem, just take the plunge.

"There is a big lack of image of the profession. Our image is very sharp contrast to how we work, "explains Thierry Laborde, deputy director general of BNP Personal Finance has chosen Marie-Pierre de la Gontrie to perform this function. A lawyer by training, vice-president of the Regional Council of Ile-de-France, Councilor of Paris, it is also national secretary of the PS in charge of civil liberties and justice."We chose Marie-Pierre de la Gontrie because we wanted an independent person and we are sure it will be," adds Thierry Laborde.

"The group has taken a very strong commitment, he pledged to follow the advice that I will. The company agreed to expose themselves, to stand under a light outside. It's an interesting move, "said the mediator who has just taken office.

The customer dissatisfied, troubled or having a particular application will turn initially to the service consumer payday loan companies . It receives about 800 applications per month.Only in a second time that the mediator will intervene if no common ground was found.

A record three refused

"The creation of the ombudsman is not a gimmick, it is a substantive approach, tangible proof that we still develop our customer relationships," says Thierry Laborde. A number of consumer credit in Europe, he faces a sharp decline in its market. The group, which currently refuses to apply for credit in three, is determined to remain selective. "Sometimes you say no in the interest of the client. Have a responsible approach to credit is knowing renounce the production of credit too risky for the borrower as the lender, "says Thierry Laborde. To grow, it relies on the pension, savings, credits for e-commerce and products designed for bank and insurance partners.Consumers themselves, the law still waiting on consumer credit which must include review of the wear rate and the revolving frame.

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Wall Street opens this year in green

Wall Street started the first meeting of the year on a positive note, while Ben Bernanke and Donald Kohn, respectively president and vice-chairman of the Fed (U.S. central bank), who spoke yesterday, stressed that the rate of interest should remain near zero in the months ahead.

The index futures on Dow Jones are 0.87%, to 10,518.28 points. The Future S & P 500 gained 1.02% at 1126.5 points, and Nasdaq 100 future, less shy, wins 1.37%, to 2300.13 points points.

Earlier this morning, Asian stock markets have evolved piecemeal. But the Nikkei in Tokyo was able to distinguish themselves, rising 1.03%, buoyed by the rebound of Japan Airlines.Manufacturing activity in China continued to rise in December for the 10th consecutive according Index Purchasing Managers (PMI) Chinese official on Friday.

Wednesday Specifically, the ISM will release the same survey the rest of the economy.

During the rest of the week, investors will turn their attention to the minutes of the Fed in December. The debate could be sharp: the report should provide explanations on the choice of means and proposed guidance on the timing of the implementation of drainage of excess liquidity."Considered the first phase of" normalization "of monetary policy, removal of masses of liquidity injected to address the financial crisis will be interpreted as a scout for the first increase in rates," continued strategists.

Will also be peeled, the employment figures in the month of December (Thursday), following the upturn in November.The state's housing market (sales promises Tuesday) and construction costs.

The euro accentuated its gains against the dollar Monday amid European exchanges in a renewed interest in risky investments, while confidence in the strength and sustainability of the economic recovery is enhanced by a good indicator for Europe.

Lower costs at Wal-Mart

The oil companies Chevron (1.89% to 78.45 dollars) and ExxonMobil (1.02% to 68.88 dollars) involved in the rise in the Dow Jones, while a barrel of oil rose from 1 about $ 60 on Monday to 81.46 dollars.

Alcon (-2.64% to $ 160): The Swiss pharmaceutical group Novartis announced this morning have purchased an additional 52% stake in Alcon from food giant Nestle for $ 28.1 billion.

Chesapeake (+5.49% to 27.3 dollars), which was created with the French Total group a joint venture through which Total will contribute to Chesapeake for the acquisition of 25% of the portfolio in the U.S. the Barnett Shale, a $ 800 million to finalize the deal, signed December 30.

Kraft Foods (+0.18% to 27.23 dollars): The giant U.S. food would consider raising the hostile bid it has made since last November 9 to get their hands on Cadbury, the British weekly Britain's Sunday Times.

Wal-Mart (2.12% to 3.86 dollars). The head of Wal-Mart's Eduardo Castro-Wright, has announced its intention to reduce its costs in the Financial Times. The official estimated that the costs could be reduced by 5% to 15% in five years.

Thomson: the debt restructuring approved

The Thomson group, experiencing great financial difficulties, has obtained the agreement of all its creditors to reduce its debt by nearly half, according to a statement.

After the Committee of suppliers and the Committee of the bank creditors on Monday, the Committee of the bond (bond holders of the Company) has approved almost unanimously the plan released December 9. The plan aims to transform part of the debt capital via a capital increase of 348 million euros – and bonds: the objective is to reduce it to 1.55 billion, a decrease of 45%. The debt of the company amounts to 2.84 billion euros.

But there are still some hurdles for the group. The restructuring plan must be submitted to a vote of shareholders of Thomson at the Annual General Meeting and extraordinary will be held January 27, 2010.

Thomson, which employs some 20,000 employees worldwide, intends to rename the name of one of its subsidiaries, Technicolor, and focus on services for film and television, getting rid of other activities, including its subsidiaries Grass Valley (professional video equipment) and Screenvision (advertising for the film).

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Volatility is back in Stock

The miracle did not happen. The CAC 40 has not yet reached this week the "glass ceiling" of 3850 points on which he stumbled past three months. Same thing on Wall Street for the S & P 500 index off the 500 largest U.S. securities, which stalled again on 1115 points.

Good American statistics which show that the activity distributed gradually across the Atlantic have failed to reassure investors. The gap – more and more important by the European mainland where to pick up much softer – has mainly benefited the dollar has rebounded against the euro, after nine months of almost uninterrupted decline.The rebound in the greenback against the euro has been even stronger than the European currency has weakened for weeks by the financial difficulties of many countries in the eurozone, whose head is Greece.

Investors are obsessed with the risk

In reality, rather than adopting the positive news, investors have preferred this week yet, focus on risks that could weigh on financial markets. Among them, investors began to fear a return of inflation could lead to a gradual tightening of U.S. monetary policy.

However, until now, low interest rate remains the primary equity market in the world. A risen too fast in the dollar could also influence the competitiveness of U.S. exporters.This time, the reassuring statements of the President of the Federal Reserve, which confirmed that rates would stay low permanently in the United States, have failed to completely reassure the markets.

The accumulation of signs of geopolitical tensions and the deterioration of the financial rating of several states of the euro area also participate in the general climate of anxiety that prevails today in exchange.

Hope to cross the figure of 4,000 points for Christmas

So the indecision that has dominated this week's stock market and even the CAC 40 was unable to cross the smallest step towards the 4,000 points that all fellows dream of showing up on screens for the St. Sylvestre. There are still two weeks, each comprising three sessions and a half trading to achieve.Not impossible, but gradually as time passes the likelihood of finishing the year above that threshold becomes thinner.

This week, the rating was mainly penalized by the decline in bank stocks, as well as by car values, and Total, which stalled Friday after a sell recommendation issued by a broker.

In the final session Friday, the U.S. indices were significantly strengthened, giving hope for early next week over laughing at the Paris Bourse.

Wall Street is misguided

The Dow Jones fell by 0.93% to 9969 points and the Nasdaq Composite yield 1.31% 2144. One of the economic advisers of President Barack Obama, Larry Summers, said on CNBC television, there was no question of limiting the salaries of executives of U.S. companies."What we need are rules on the form and structure of pay so that regulators" can ensure that some do not take unnecessary risks.

On the macroeconomic front, the index of U.S. consumer confidence measured by the University of Michigan has declined against all odds in October to $ 69.4 against 73.5 the previous month, according to provisional figures published friday.

The values to follow

In a statement, Bank of America (-4.20%) announced a net loss of $ 1 billion in the third quarter, mainly due to asset impairments totaling $ 2.6 billion. Moreover, under pressure from the Treasury, Kenneth Lewis, CEO of Bank Bank of America, has waived his salary and his bonus for 2009, before his retirement.A Treasury official, to oversee the compensation of companies that benefited from government aid, had in effect "suggested that Lewis did not receive remuneration for 2009.

Google (3.46%) presented Thursday profit rose 27% to 1.638 billion dollars (1.097 billion), or earnings per share of 5.89 dollars, against the expected $ 5.42 per analysts. The turnover to 5.944 billion dollars is also above market expectations which projected 4.24 billion dollars. The group says the worst of the recession is over. He said now "ready to invest."

IBM (-4.59%) posted a net profit of 3.214 billion dollars in the third quarter up 14% over one year.Per share, earnings from IBM reaches $ 2.40, while the market was expecting $ 2.38.

The conglomerate General Electric (-3.22%) reported Friday quarterly earnings sharply lower but still above analysts' expectations. Net income fell 44% to 2.419 billion dollars (1.62 billion euros), or earnings per share of 27 cents against 20 cents expected by consensus.

Mattel (-3.22%) reflecting a drop in earnings in the third quarter from 3.5% to 229.8 million dollars, in line with expectations. Net earnings per share were 63 cents.

The second largest producer of AMD microprocessors (-5.49%) posted a net loss of $ 128 million for the period July to September.

Stress: France Telecom questioning all employees

Monday morning, days after a 25th suicide France Telecom, the group's 102,000 employees will receive a questionnaire of 170 questions – including lefigaro.fr became aware – on stress and working conditions. Objective: let them speak to employees and move very quickly to build a "new" France Telecom.

It took a dozen meetings with the leadership of France Telecom, unions in occupational medicine and Technologia, a firm specializing in assessing and preventing occupational hazards and environment to develop a questionnaire to address employees.

It begins with a fifty general questions – based on the Karasek questionnaire, named the North American sociologist and model of the Swiss sociologist Siegrist, -, the workload for recognition through the meaning of work and autonomy.

Followed 120 questions tailored specifically to the "case" France Telecom: a group comprising two-thirds of civil servants – bound by a duty of obedience – and a huge variety of trades.

Measuring the impact of the change in status

Entering the heart of the matter with issues related to the "functional and geographical mobility": the number of position changes in five years? Were they desired? Have they led to removal?

The item "managerial relationship" addresses the issue of decision making: the manager decides he alone? Employees feel that it is responsible itself constrained in its decisions? Finally, is it "too hard on itself towards its employees?".

The category "environmental France Telecom and business communication" will surely highlight the gap between the concerns of telecom operators, international group and that of its employees every day. Are they interested in the place of the group and its evolution in the telecommunication environment, the questionnaire asks? Are they proud to belong to the group?

On the working atmosphere and hardship, and health issues in general, the questionnaire seeks to measure the impact of the change in status of the group: how the work environment, employee health and frequency of work stoppages Have they changed in five years? Recall that it was in September 2004 that the French state has ceded some of its shares to go below the 50%, while France Telecom became a private company.

Following an update on the violence and intimidation, the last part deals with the psychological situation of employees by asking them about the recent past to assess their emotional state they feel "hopeless, thinking of the future, weep-t – it easily, they have memory lapses, fears, fears …

Looking for an answer and Organizational Collective

And after? Technologia The cabinet will present the results of the survey the week of November 30. Note that this questionnaire is only part of the mission conducted by the firm at France Telecom.Technologia, October 19 chosen by unions – on a proposal from the management who had also retained the firm and Stimulus Secafi Alpha – will also this week of November 30 began its audit on the basis of studies in France Telecom (studies requested by the CHSCT, reports of physician work and findings of the branch). On the medical side, the firm will propose an analysis of "suicidal crisis" with a 1st report year-end and a second in February. Finally, are also provided interviews face-to-face with a representative sample of one hundred employees.

The Prevention Plan France Telecom should be completed for April 15. The goal is to provide organizational and collective response, and certainly not an individual response and psychological.Technologia Renault already founded 20 years ago by Jean-Claude Delgenes Technologia was called for the first time on a mission related to suicide a decade ago at Alstom. Prior to France Telecom, Renault is that the firm has recently worked. He conducted a similar approach to the Technocentre automotive group based in Guyancourt near Paris, from May to late 2008, after three suicide. The questionnaire was then raised to 63% of responses on these 12 000 employees. Technologia was then prepared 50 proposals (of HR closer to the ground, an organization of rangeland management review). Before summer, the group has again called on him to lead a new investigation. 77% of employees responded.