GDF Suez bid for International Power

The rumors have picked up this weekend in the British press about GDF Suez and the acquisition of British rival International Power. The group confirmed in a statement Monday morning that "discussions are continuing" on a rapprochement between the two groups.

"This merger would be achieved by issuing new shares in International Power profits of GDF Suez, which would become the majority shareholder of the new group International Power," the statement said.

The Mail on Sunday newspaper suggests an offer of 6.4 billion pounds (7.6 billion euros), or 420 pence per share. It is expected that International Power pays a special dividend in cash to compensate its shareholders.

"The new group International Power is listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, also states the release.

The Financial Times and the Mail on Sunday explained that negotiations between the two groups, which had ended without success in January, resumed two weeks ago. Through this transaction, GDF Suez wants to both increase its electricity production capacity from 68 to 100 GW and develop its international activities.

Fraud against European subsidies is well

Fraud increases but is a good sign. This is the ironic conclusion drawn Wednesday by the European Commission in a report dedicated to the illegal use of EU funds.

According to Brussels, the increase in cases of mismanagement is not due to the proliferation of financial crimes in Europe, but better tracking by member states for fraud.

You'd think they were particularly pugnacious this year. Three times as many cases of suspected fraud were detected in the use of agricultural subsidies and twice more for regional grants from 2008. The sums involved amounted respectively to 13.3 million euros and 109 million euros.

Same trend towards aid allocated to countries applying for accession, including the amount of suspected fraud increased from 13 to 57 million euros in 2009.Bulgaria alone has 92% of suspected fraud in the management of a fund dedicated to the modernization of its agriculture. Anomalies in the invoices or purchase orders, payments in cash, big difference between the estimated price of an investment and actual cost … a body of evidence exists to detect the rogue actions.

France, a very good or very bad student?

France is characterized by a number of suspicions of fraud very low. The country has seen 20% of farm subsidies between 2006 and 2009 – which is considerable – but reported only 11 cases of alleged fraud, against 25 for its Belgian neighbor that affects a much leaner about 0.3% of agricultural budget over the same period.

Again, the result can be interpreted in two ways: either France demonstrated exemplary management, or it does not endeavor to transfer cases at issue in Brussels No fax pay day loans. Last summer, Le Parisien had raised such a hare revealing hundreds of millions of euros of aid unduly paid to producers of fruits and vegetables.

France declares little fraud as it says little irregularities. In the latter case, there is no real desire to harm (omission of an invoice for example). In 2009, the country has reported that 127 irregularities in Brussels on agricultural subsidies, which is four times less than Spain.

"We have no evidence but the fact is that France is still reporting a low number of defects in comparison with other member states.The European Commission and the Agency for Combating Fraud Office (OLAF is a kind of European financial police, ed), does not conduct audits in Member States. We must therefore assume that their reporting is accurate and reliable, "says one side of the European Commission.

Despite these shortcomings, the work of Olaf has identified some emblematic fraud. A company based in Luxembourg is ordered to reimburse for example 2 million euros of EU funds have placed in an account offshore instead of investing in the recruitment of a hundred people. In late June, a Bulgarian was sentenced to 12 years in prison for falsifying invoices: he pretended to buy new machines for receiving EU aid. The machines were actually purchased used, which enabled it to illegally gather 7.5 million euros.

The Paris Bourse is limping along

After a pause Wednesday after six consecutive sessions of gains, the CAC 40 has clearly accused the coup on Thursday. The benchmark index of the Paris Stock Exchange lost 1.41% to close at 3 581.82 points. In London, the Footsie loose 0.88% to 5 207.50 points. The German Dax was down 1.10% to 6 141.52 points.

After dégradaton U.S. growth prospects announced by the Fed and the slowdown in Chinese growth in the second quarter, mixed economic indicators from the United States have significantly penalized equity markets in France.

Indicators mixed U.S.

The jobless claims fell to their lowest level since August 2008, during the week ended July 10.

The producer prices fell in June for the second case consecutive month according to figures published by the Department of Labor.After adjustment for seasonal variations, prices for finished goods charged by producers fell 0.5% from the previous month, having already fallen by 0.3% in May and 0.1% in April. Analysts had expected a decline, but much less marked (0.1%).

Finally, industrial production in the United States in June posted its twelfth consecutive month of rise, increasing by 0.1% according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. central bank.

The Federal Reserve has revised the outlook for U.S. growth to decline and now expects growth of between 3% and 3.5% this year, against a range of 3.2% to 3.7% in a previous estimate. The decline in unemployment should also be slower than expected. Further support measures are also envisaged.

Another new arrival is somewhat reassuring to China this morning.The country has announced that the GDP growth amounted to 10.3% from April to June, a slowdown from the first quarter (+11.9%) and the last three months of 2009 (10 , 7%) fast payday loan no faxing.

Several publications in the program

As for results announcements, trucks U.S. could also evolve global ratings: JP Morgan Chase, Google and AMD will lift the veil on their performance in the second quarter.

In Paris, many companies also publish their sales figures this Thursday. This is the case of Carrefour (second quarter), Seb (first quarter), Pierre et Vacances (second quarter), or Stallergenes (second quarter).

The bank suffered

The bad macroeconomic news weigh on the banking sector.This document draws down: Dexia was the biggest drop of ACC (-2.28%). BNP Paribas is also in the red (-2.10%), as Societe Generale (-1.42 %) and Credit Agricole (-1.54%).

The automotive sector resists. The Association of European Automobile Manufacturers (ACEA) has announced a 6.9% decline in registrations in June to 1.34 million units sold last month. Advance Peugeot and Renault gleaning 0.39% 0.03% to 34.78 euros. From his side wins Michelin 0.59%.

Moreover, Metabolic Explorer (-3.82% to 5.29 euro) company specializing in production processes by organic industrial chemicals, announced on Thursday before market sales nil.The group reiterated its goal of placing on the market the first products of technology METEX in 2012.

Eurofin explains on its website on Thursday it recorded a strong improvement in its operating performance and profitability in the second quarter. The group will not give more detail before the publication of its results on August 30 next. Titles leap of 12.92% to 37.49 euros.

Wall Street supported by the results of Alcoa

The U.S. stock markets are another step forward Tuesday. Following the better than expected results from Alcoa, the New York Stock Exchange, like European stock markets continue their progress. The Dow Jones gains 1% to 10,318 points, the Nasdaq rose 0.90% to 2219 points and the S & P 500 climbed 1.03% to 1090 points. The night before, after long hesitation which direction to take, the New York Stock Exchange finished the session up into smaller, undecided before the start of the season results with the aluminum producer Alcoa. The Dow Jones gleaned 0.18% to 10 216.27 points and the Nasdaq 0.09% at 2 198.36 points.The broader index Standard & Poor's 500 index of leading his side to finish by 0.07% to 1 078.75 points.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro dropped sharply against the dollar Tuesday, weighed down by the lowering of the sovereign rating of Portugal in the ratings agency Moody's, which relaunched the concerns about the fiscal health of the member countries of the euro area .

On the side of macroeconomic indicators, the U.S. Department of Commerce must publish the figures for trade balance in May while the Treasury will unveil the state of the U.S. budget.

Publications for

On the side of values, Alcoa started the ball rolling quarterly results yesterday after the close of the NYSE. The group returned in the green in the second quarter, with net income of $ 136 million, against a loss of $ 454 million a year earlier, and expressed "great prospects".For a year, Alcoa had recorded one quarter in the green, in summer 2009, but the whole of 2009 was marked by a heavy loss to the tune of $ 1.15 billion .

Always on the side of values, the burst of U.S. results will continue this week with the technology companies Google, Advanced Micro Devices or Intel and banks JPMorgan and Bank of America. Citigroup and General Electric will unveil their findings Friday.

Also note, a hedge fund, the fund Cambridge, filed a complaint against Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and ten other banks in the hope of recovering lost $ 1.2 billion in securities backed by mortgages subprime .

The internet group Google on Monday launched a new tool, "App Inventor", which should allow all users to create their own applications

Resumption of hiring on Wall Street

At the spot where the financial crisis began, the recovery is apparent. Wall Street hiring like crazy in anticipation of better days, according to a study published this weekend by the New York Times.

Nearly two years after the fall of Lehman Brothers and plunging into the worst recession the country since the Great Depression, while the U.S. continues to languish with a persistent unemployment rate to 9.5%, the financial heart of New York recovers to beat him.

It has hired 2,000 people since February. A modest number apparently under the rescue plan 700 billion implemented by the government to save the banks, and 28,000 jobs lost on Wall Street since its peak in 2008 when the industry employed 189 000.

If the sector has hit bottom in terms of job five months ago, hiring is divided since.The pace continues to accelerate, and this recovery is even stronger than the one after the stock market crisis of 2001-2003, according to the New York daily.

This improvement reflects the revival of the New York Stock Exchange, which has made 61.4 billion dollars in profits in 2009, a record high. Deutsche Bank has hired 414 people in New York since the beginning of the year, Credit Suisse hired 600 people in the first quarter worldwide, mostly in New York, Goldman Sachs has created 600 jobs in the first quarter in a global the beginning of the year 2000 and JP Morgan.

Return of the lavish bonuses

At the same time, the copious bonus reappear instant credit report. Despite the recent passage of financial reform, Wall Street returned to "business as usual".Richard Stein, president of Sage Global headhunter, says that a dozen golden boys were offered jobs to more than one million dollars annually.

As jobs continue to disappear or progress to sentences in other sectors such as construction (- 22% since June 2008) or manufacturing (- 14%), the reputation of Wall Street is not close to s' improve nationally.

The recovery of the financial New York nevertheless raises some optimism among economists. When Wall Street goes, America goes well. "Wall Street traditionally hired for a takeover, and it was felt that the economy has hit bottom and it is slowly improving," says Rae Rosen cautiously, an economist at the Federal Reserve of New York .

The health of Wall Street is also great news for the city and the state of New York.20% of tax revenues from the state sector, which contributes 12% of the budget of the city. With wages assumed to average 392,000 dollars a year, against 64,000 for the rest of the workforce in New York, the wealth generated on Wall Street will finance a bloated public sector, with hundreds of thousands of employees in administration of the city, in education and in firefighters …

Why BP is its own insurer

BP has already spent more than three billion dollars to repair the damage from the disaster of the Gulf of Mexico. While adding a little more gets heavier every day, analysts argue the most pessimistic estimates of total bill of 100 billion dollars. The amount is even more impressive that BP is not guaranteed.

The tanker has decided there fifteen years to support himself in a reinsurance subsidiary (a "captive") the management of all of its risks. Given its size, BP did not see the benefit of paying premiums to pool their risks in a relatively small market.

Its subsidiary, Jupiter Insurance, may surrender to its parent up to $ 700 million per event. A rather small amount compared to the competition.For example, Total has a coverage of 1.3 billion dollars for its offshore drilling activity, which 250 million are made with the mutual oil, OIL, born in the early 1970s.

"After a well blowout offshore offshore California and the refusal of the insurance market of the time to cover this risk, tankers have decided to create a mutual dedicated to coverage of risks pollution, explains Gérard Naisse, director risk assessment and insurance group To tal. BP has been a member of OIL before withdrawing. "

Rising premiums

The capacity of offshore insurance is divided between the mutual OIL and Lloyds of London, the first global insurance market absolutely free credit score.In 1988, the explosion of a well off Scotland cost the members of Lloyd's 8 billion pounds. For BP, the amount of the final bill will depend on ongoing legal proceedings and from which he will return.

BP is indeed not the only company involved in the operation of wells. And the big oil struggles to court to best allocate the bill with its partners, which are, themselves, insured market.

Before knowing the exact extent of damage, the insurers have preferred to take the lead, and it shows in their prices. "For renewals of July, there are requests for tariff increases of around 25% for the covers of drilling in deep offshore, notes and Gerard Naisse. It remains to see if oil will agree to pay these prices."Meanwhile, the mutual OIL spark a renewed interest from oil that had opted for self-insurance as BP.

The disaster should not have repercussions beyond this niche of the insurance of offshore drilling. "It's a limited market, rather compartmentalized analysis John Money, head of the energy division of Aon. The accident at BP should not have any impact on other branches of industrial risk. "■

"The accident at BP should have no impact on other branches of industrial hazard"

Brussels limits the traders' bonuses

Bonuses for traders and bankers in Europe, accused of encouraging rampant speculation during the crisis, will be capped for the first time from next year, following the final adoption of a text with meaning Wednesday.

Two years after the outbreak of the financial crisis of 2008-2009, part of the United States with the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the European Parliament in Strasbourg approved the text, which was the subject of a June 30 Agreement between the elected and the states of the EU.

In 2011, the bonus must not be disproportionate to the fixed salary and cash bonuses will be capped at 30% of the total premium, or 20% on premiums particularly important.

End outlandish bonuses

Much of the bonus will be paid immediately and will not be after a period of at least three years to allow the employer to recover some cases where investment would not work as expected.

Finally, at least 50% of a total bonus will be paid as contingent capital, which can be recalled in case of banking difficulties, so that taxpayers do not end up in the front line when a bank gets into difficulties.

In the case of banks that receive public subsidies, the text also provides that "no variable compensation should be paid the officers of the institution unless it is justified."

"Europe gets the rules of coaching salaries of bankers and traders with the most aggressive in the world," said a French Green MEP, Canfin Pascal, who negotiated the text. "By limiting the proportion of variable pay in total compensation, this text will finally put an end to extravagant bonuses synonymous with extravagant risks," he added.

A text to the liking of the banking sector

"Two years after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, these tough new rules on bonuses will transform the culture of bonuses and incentives to end the excessive risk-taking", claimed that his side the Socialist Arlene McCarthy, parliamentary rapporteur on file at the agreement in principle on June 30

The text is however not to the liking of the banking sector."We believe that the agreement goes too far, because at the international level, there are already some principles" in the form of recommendations that were made including the Financial Stability Board (FSB), had informed the AFP secretary general of the European Banking Federation, Guido Ravoet after the tentative agreement. "We believe that this is not the public authorities to make amounts, percentages," he added, saying that this responsibility should be left to banks.

"If the international level, it does not follow Europe, European banks have a competitive disadvantage," says Guido Ravoet, who believes that "financial centers like New York, Singapore and Hong Kong will benefit."

Ten structural measures to promote access to RSA

Marc-Philippe Daubresse the new Minister of Youth and Active Solidarity, presented Tuesday 10 measures' technical and structural "simplifying and improving the RSA enjoyed by 1.78 million households. The goal? To better inform potential recipients of RSA (base and activity) to accelerate the build-up of these two devices created by Martin Hirsch 13 months ago. "Many individuals do not use the RSA of ignorance, complex procedures or for fear of being thought of welfare," said Marc-Philippe Daubresse justified.

To improve access for audiences to information, the minister will send a letter in September to eight million of housing "simply explaining the scheme and encouraging them to do a simulation" of rights on websites of CNAF or MSA.The application forms for entitlement to the RSA will be simplified by the end of October to make them more understandable. Leaves quarterly reporting resources will be reduced to one page and syringes "on the model of the tax return.

A "checkbook services"

The Minister will also launch in September a committee comprising all stakeholders of the RSA and "to examine the changes made to the mechanism in terms of practices but also the legal" payday loans.A second referee RSA will also be appointed within each agency employment center to link with their counterparts in the general councils to strengthen coordination between the two institutions.

Good practices to facilitate the payment of the allowance of personal re-employment (APRE) – which aims to take over all or part of the costs incurred by a beneficiary when an activity begins or resumes – will be broadcast on the throughout. A "checkbook services" – composed of good standard in exchange for a service – designed to accompany the resumption of employment will be created."The establishment of this checkbook will be appraised in September and proposed gradually, as needed, to departments wishing to use them," said Marc-Philippe Daubresse.

The government also proposes to organize in each department a day devoted to the development of integration pacts "which in particular define the modalities for coordination of actions undertaken by different actors to promote social and professional integration of beneficiaries the RSA. The first day will be held in December 2010.

Nuclear repeated delays to the EPR

The EPR, the flagship of the French nuclear technology, today faces an unprecedented wave of questions. After the failure of tendering Abu Dhabi and pending report Roussely devoted to the articulation of the French industry, design, price and export capacity of this tool crystallize debates . At that point, for some observers, the EPR would already hit the "syndrome Concorde: a true performance machine, but particularly difficult to assemble, expensive and unmarketable.

Provisions repeated Areva's Olkiluoto site have largely supported this suspicion. But, after Finland, behold, the EPR Flamanville, built by EDF, also maintains the possibility of "industrial accident".

Garden Party: caterers minimize cancellations

The garden party at the Elysée has it been canceled too late? The caterers will they be reimbursed? Taxpayers will pay the note they? After the announcement of the cancellation of approvals under the Ministries of Interior, Overseas, in the prefectures and sub-prefectures, these issues are on everyone's lips. Especially since the member Rene Dosière (related PS) spoke for the receipt of an invoice 313 618 2009 euros. The debate, then fed by Ségolène Royal in an interview with the Nouvel Observateur, however, is minimized by the main actors of the case.

"There was no cancellation in the legal sense. These are the tenders that have been canceled. Today, nobody can say 'I lost the case, because no one had been chosen "slice Lars Bernard, vice president of Synhorcat, a leading professional trade."So there is no impact because in this profession, we do not prepare anything in advance. A caterer is not Picard, irritated the union representative.

Same story on the side of the Elysee usual caterers. "We were still at the stage of tendering. We filed our application and we expect the answer. We have therefore incurred no expenses, "said Francois Raynier, owner of upscale catering Raynier Marchetti, who denies the passage strengthened its team of 150 people in anticipation of the Garden Party. "150 is our average size," says he.

"From homemade

The prefecture also announced that the cancellations last minute should incur any costs because the buffets are mostly prepared in-house. "We use the kitchen of the prefecture," says one in Rennes.In the Sarthe, everything is "homemade" due to "credit limit". The few jurisdictions involving caterers explain – as is the case in Mayenne – they were still "at the stage estimates.

In the Alpes-Maritimes, the services of the prefecture are in this case state spending "very minimal" to "a few hundred euros": "We're pooling with the city of Nice and the General Council of Alpes-Maritimes limit spending from outside caterers, "says a spokeswoman.

Flexibility

Even if there had been a contract between two parties, there is no fixed schedule for repayment in the profession, making negotiations on a case by case basis between the provider and client. "It's the law of business but we always find common ground," says Bernard Bras.In case of cancellation, the situation remains manageable, "he assures," It is a profession without visibility. Sometimes some customers confirm the case only 3-4 days before the big day We are accustomed to this kind of situation. "

At the forefront of the controversy, the food critics temper this speech. According to them, traders are well advised not to claim compensation for the expected win lucrative contracts in the future. "It's flattering to prepare the buffet or the Elysee Matignon is a commercial asset, an honor, a good card," says Claude Lebey, editor and author of restaurant guides.

Rebound

The representative of Synhorcat still regrets the loss of activity represented by these cancellations. "We are talking thousands of hours of work.For the Elysee, the decision could also have been taken earlier this year when the budget is fixed ….

For the future, the profession remains optimistic. The idea of a snowball effect of cancellations is scanned. "On the corporate side, which represent nearly 80% of our business, we see a rather significant recovery from last year," says Lars Bernard. "These are not exceptional receptions for when the box is bad, do not 'do too much peter cap'. But when there is a quick turnaround, we must celebrate. This is happening today. " The other big market traders – that of individuals – is also on the mend: "over time, we notice that people continue to celebrate events," notes vice president of Synhorcat. The public sector, the smallest of openings, should be the one to be hit hard.

"End 2008-2009, business has plummeted because of last minute cancellations of contracts. In the worst of the crisis, some professionals have lost 40% activity. 2010 is therefore a year of healing. Regarding cancellations, we are entitled to think that this will not be like that all year, "concludes Lars Bernard.

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