International Headlines and Stories

The concentration of IT sector is on. Hewlett-Packard continued its shopping and preparing to resume the U.S. software maker ArcSight, according to several sources. The cost of the acquisition is $ 1.5 billion, an amount in excess of 25% to ArcSight's market capitalization at the close on Wall Street Friday evening.

The computer giant on a buying spree and thus implementing a diversification strategy. There are fewer than ten days, HP has laid hands on the data storage specialist 3PAR for $ 2.4 billion, after a strong battle against Dell. The U.S. group had also offered in August by another name in computer security, Fortify, for an undisclosed sum.

The Californian group, however, was forced to give way against Intel in the race to buy the world's leading antivirus McAfee.The giant micro-processor Intel has spent 7.68 billion dollars to get their hands on McAfee Payday advance.

Transformation of the IT sector

The computer industry is in turmoil. Large groups do swear by cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS). And because these two technologies address the current issues.

Companies increasingly outsource their IT services. Indeed, they need to store large amounts of computer data and sometimes highly confidential and are moving toward outsourcing services from partners such as the cloud ("cloud computing," in English) that has the wind in their sails.

And faced with this massive digitization, companies need more and more security, hence the success of these specialized software security.

ALSO READ:

"Revolutions start in IT

The companies are ill prepared for cyber attacks

"Good news series in computer services

Before donning his new dress Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has already achieved a feat. The Canadian 46 years is the first non-Finnish to take the reins of the world's leading mobile phone.

If the group does not hesitate to go and look at Microsoft, where he heads the Business Division, to replace Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, because he is the man for the technology sector. Recently touted as CEO at HP, Stephen Elop has a resume to the height of his new position at Nokia.

A graduate in computer engineering at McMaster University (Ontario), Bloomberg tells BusinessWeek that the young Stephen Elop is the way to be ranked among the best students while working thirty hours a week next, including installation. .. the first computer network on campus.His impressive career has led him to specialize in technology, the editor in Adobe, then the manufacturer of routers Jupiter Networks, groups that he turn by turn presided. At Microsoft, where he stayed only three years, this father of five children, including triplets, described his own role as that of an outsider. "Steve Ballmer (Microsoft CEO Ed) is still very interested in how I handled a particular problem if I were in a different company," he recounts in a press release containing the results of its first year in the U.S. giant.

Restarting the race for Nokia smartphones

At Nokia, it is his vision of a former Microsoft will be sought."His solid experience in software and its proven performance in managing change are valuable qualities as we strive to complete the transformation of the company," said a statement from the President of the Board of Directors Nokia, Jorma Ollila.

The appointment of Stephen Elop who is not a specialist telephony software but, crown réogranisation the group and the creation of a new flagship "Mobile Solutions" dedicated to smart mobile devices and Symbian operating system. The upcoming release of the latest smartphone N8 marks the beginning of the reconquest of this sector. A phone that works with applications downloaded on the Ovi platform.

And the task is huge for Nokia, whose stock has lost more than 35% in one year.While the mobile sector is booming, the Finnish company failed to turn smartphones. Even if it remains the largest mobile phone manufacturer in world, on this sector, it has been widely outdo Apple and Google. The group's results show it. For the second quarter, the Finn has published a net profit down over 60% to 104 million euros.

If the effects of the arrival of Stephen Elop on the results of the group will not be felt for several months, shareholders, themselves, are already enjoying the man. The price of Nokia shares rose more than 2% to 16.30.

The automotive industry is recovering. Another sign of this improvement, the French carmakers Peugeot and Renault is expected to unveil today an early repayment of their loan in April 2009 with the state, reports La Tribune. And the sum is not small since both groups are expected to announce the repayment of one billion euros each on the six billion borrowed in April 2009, subject to an interest rate of 6%. Initially, the repayments were to begin in 2011 for a deadline in 2014.

The announcement is expected as Prime Minister Francois Fillon has to go today at a PSA Sochaux to "visit devoted to government measures for the automotive sector" payday loans. The Head of State will be accompanied by Economy Minister Christine Lagarde.Besides a review of measures taken by the state to support the sector, Francois Fillon would reveal new features.

In recent months manufacturers have stepped up signs indicating a recovery of the sector. Renault and Peugeot have conducted launches of new models. SAP has announced a new wave of hiring Wednesday of nearly 900 employees after the 1100 recruitments in June And both groups have returned to profit in the first half.

The question of the value of the yuan, undervalued considered by many experts and business partners in China, including the United States and Europe, remains. On Tuesday, China has once again rejected any foreign pressure on the exchange rate of its currency. "We resolutely oppose the politicization of economic and social topics. The rate of yuan reform can not proceed under the influence of external pressure, "warned the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jiang Yu

"The direction in which we are working to change the mechanism of RMB exchange rate will remain unchanged," she continued. However, Beijing pledged in mid-June to let the yuan move more freely against the dollar.But since that announcement, the Chinese currency has remained almost stable against the greenback, while some U.S. lawmakers believe the yuan should be revalued by 40%. The major trading partners accuse China of keeping its currency artificially low to encourage exports unduly, thus increasing their deficits.

Conversely, the dollar fell Tuesday to its lowest level in more than fifteen years against the yen (to 83.52 yen). In recent weeks, the yen benefited in particular from its status as a refuge from the uncertainties of the global economy. On Tuesday, the absence of new measures the Central Bank of Japan to stem the yen's surge once again accelerated the trend.

Calming the game at any price. Nicolas Sarkozy, took up the cause of creation. He does not want to destabilize the economy and finance virtuous cinema in France. He could receive tonight and tomorrow morning before the world of cinema and audiovisual media to reassure and to assure them of his support. Support – it does not fail to remind them – which has already manifested by the establishment of the web laws, preventing piracy of works on the Internet.

So at the highest level of the state that it extinguishes the fire started in the summer by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in search of tax revenue. They would have liked to go back VAT on Pay Television from 5.5% to 19.5%. The sector enjoyed a far reduced rate by virtue of his substantial contribution towards the financing of entertainment and art.This 15% increase in VAT could bring almost 1 billion euros in state budget 450 million from one group Canal +, the first financier of French films and several tens of millions – we are talking about approximately 80 million euros – Numericable.

All last week, operators and the creation of the world have mobilized to protest measures that would have destabilized the entire system, far beyond the cinema alone. Indeed, retailers were planning to scale down the pay channels to the already fragile economy. Finally they also threatened to raise subscription prices, what influence the purchasing power of French pay-TV subscribers. Thus, on average, cable subscribers have seen their membership increase by 4 euros while subscribers to Canal + would have faced an increase of 6 euros.

The Attali commission for the release of growth has reached an agreement after a final meeting which ended yesterday evening, and it expected to report in coming weeks, Les Echos said on Thursday. The Committee advocates and the realization of 75 billion euros in savings by 2013 to meet commitments to the European Commission to reduce the deficit to 3%, reports the Economic Daily.

Experts estimate that 50 billion would be earned in three years due to reduced spending, and another 25 billion euros through a reduction of tax and social niches where the Government seeks a saving of 10 billion.

In addition to reforming the tax loopholes, the committee recommends the establishment of exceptional measures, to achieve 10 billion in savings.The experts say, including the freezing of the index point for staff and expanding the principle of non-replacement of staff on two retiring to local and social security payday advance lenders. Furthermore, control of expenditure in public service should enable savings to 40 billion.

Consolidation of the tax system in order

In addition, the committee "does not advocate new taxes or raising rates, but a broader base of social and tax," said one member to Les Echos. Renowned economists aimed at reducing tax loopholes and particularly those adverse to the environment or dependent status.

Half-word, the committee recommended the end of the tax shield: the collective effort that is taking shape, "the Committee would like the contribution of the most favored is not diminished by the tax shield," Les Echos said, citing a Participants at the meeting.

And if growth is less than 2% on average, economists have advocated the introduction of targeted tax increases. An overhaul of the tax system together with a lower labor cost is considered in the medium term.

Unemployment according to ILO, many job seekers Class A, B or C, accounting for inactive or underemployed … It is sometimes difficult to know how to grasp the reality of the labor market among the many available indicators . And especially since there is no single statistic that alone would get a fair picture of the market at time t. "Sticking to a single figure would give a partial picture," says Jerome Gautié, professor of economics at the Sorbonne and author of "unemployment" in the collection Landmarks. How, then, to find it?

Of the two indicators most commonly taken include unemployment as defined in International Labour Office (ILO), published this week by INSEE, and the number of jobseekers registered at employment center.These two statistics cover between them most of the number of unemployed at a given time.

• Used internationally, unemployment according to ILO calculated by INSEE based on criteria more closely than the figures of employment center. It is also the result of an investigation, not an administrative accounting. Only people who have not worked even one hour during the survey week, and actively seeking employment are considered unemployed according to ILO. This definition therefore excludes all persons working part time but wanting to find a job, and those who are discouraged. In the second quarter, unemployment on the ILO definition was 9.3% of the population in metropolitan France, 2.6 million people and 9.7% with departments overseas.

• In turn, job seekers registered at employment center are divided into five categories (see definitions). In these five, "they better reflect the labor market," Judge Jerome Gautié. Published before unemployment on the ILO definition, these figures also have more influence on the markets, said Dominique Barbet, economist at BNP Paribas.

Category A is close to the ILO definition in that it includes the unemployed out of work required to make an active search. However, if this category is the most frequently raised in the publication of figures from the employment center, it is not sufficient to account for the situation of the labor market because it excludes, as unemployment in the sense ILO, a large number of job seekers."With the development of long-term obligation to seek additional income, nearly 40% of those registered at employment center that is now on the margins of statistical category A," suggests Stephen Jugnot, statistician economist.

In July 2010, for example, 2,676,000 people were listed as category A in France, against nearly 4 million into categories A, B and C, which cover all unemployed have an obligation to search for jobs, even those who are partial activity. The inclusion of these three categories can have an idea of the extent of under-employment in France. The number of job seekers amounted to 4.5 million last all categories, classes D and E including persons not required to do a job search.

• But these figures are still struggling to explain a phenomenon: the "halo of unemployment."It covers people who want work but are not counted in unemployment on the ILO definition because they are not looking for a job or are not available. The discouraged unemployed people contribute significantly to the "halo of unemployment." "Some of these unemployed are among the discouraged job seekers of employment center, but not all," says Jerome Gautié. INSEE identifies therefore, in part, the people who make up the halo. In a publication of October 2009, it identifies and 770.000 inactive wish to work.

• What frequency remember? Variations on a monthly basis the number of jobseekers are not always significant. "We must be careful with this data, in particular whether they are raw or seasonally adjusted.Overall, only the trends for three consecutive months are considered to be significant, "says Jerome Gautié.

Optimism is a great retrour markets in September. For this first day of the month, the CAC 40 allows itself to close up 3.81% at 3623.84 points, above the threshold of the 3600 points he had worked so hard to achieve in August.

The Footsie-100 from the London Stock Exchange finished up 2.70% to 5366.41 points while the Frankfurt Stock Exchange ended with a gain of 2.68% to 6083.90 points. The index's flagship Milan Stock Exchange closed on a sharp rise from 3.22% to 20,370 points, while Madrid Stock Exchange ended on a rise of 3.51% to 10,544.8 points.

Hope the next U.S.

This renewed optimizes General follows the publication in the U.S., an ISM manufacturing index well above expectations. It came out at 56.3 last month against 55.5 in July, 53 expected on average by economists.The under-employment index also rose to 60.4 from 58.6 in July while the prices paid rose to 61.5 against 57.5 in July and 55 expected.

This announcement follows the rebound in consumer confidence in August, Chinese, unveiled on Tuesday. The two purchasing managers' index (PMI) monitored by the markets, the bank HSBC and the Chinese federation, are rising. The index of the China Federation of Purchasing and Logistics rose from 51.2 in July to 51.7 in August. The index of the HSBC bank stood at 51.9 in August from 49.4 in July.

The good mood was not dampened by the unexpected announcement of the destruction of 10,000 jobs in August in the U.S. private sector, according to the monthly survey from consulting firm ADP.This figure, however, gives an overview of what awaits the markets Friday, the day of publication of the monthly report on employment last month. Construction spending in the U.S. have also declined by 1% in July in the U.S. is much stronger than the 0.5% decline expected by analysts. These are the lowest for 10 years.

As a Wall Street where the Dow Jones gained 2.50% at fences European stock markets have preferred to focus on the good news.

Manufacturing: up in France, down in the euro area

Also on the macroeconomic front, growth of manufacturing in the euro area shows in August to its lowest level since February, according to figures released Wednesday by the monthly survey Markit. The PMI purchasing managers fell to 55.1 against 56.7 in July.

In France, it reached 55.1 points in August, against 53.9 the previous month in Britain, it fell to 54.3 in August, after a final figure revised down to 56.9 in July.

Vivendi stock rewarded

The set of interim results continued. Vivendi raised its forecast for this year, after posting a 6.1% increase in sales to 13.9 billion euros. Shares end on a rise of 5% to 19.33 euros.

Lafarge (5.49% to 38.35 euros) also benefits from the increase in the analysts' recommendations Credit Agricole Cheuvreux to "outperform" cons "underperformance."They also raised their price target to 48 euros 46 euros cons.

The investment company Wendel (5.94% to 42.81 euros) in the first half net profit of 124.5 million euros against a loss of 959 million for the same period of 2009.

Tuesday after-hours trade, Bouygues (0.72% to 32.26 euros) issued a revenue down 1% in the first half and slightly raised its full-year sales (30.4 billion cons EUR 30.1 billion previously planned). The value is the largest drop in the CAC 40, about 9:25.

Vinci (4.75% to 36.27 euros) reported interim results exceeded expectations. Its net profit was up 1.9% to 703 million euros and sales rose 2.3% to 15.5 billion euros, thanks to improved traffic conditions and benefits the acquisition of Cegelec.

Finally, Eiffage (-0.46% to 35.82 euros) confirmed its forecast of sales for 2010 thanks to the growth of its backlog and achieved a 40% jump in net profit share Half of the group 70 million euros. The operating profit has however declined by 2.6% to 412 million, within the scope of the downturn in work due to a climate of increased competition.

In the tug of opposing Sanofi-Aventis (2.98% to 46.22 euros) to Genzyme, the CEO of biotech company judge, in an interview with Reuters, the high probability of finding an agreement on Sanofi bid on American group. However, he reiterated that Genzyme will not accept the proposed price of 69 dollars per share.According to sources close to the U.S. group will not negotiate at least $ 75.

In addition, new car registrations in France fell 9.8% in August on a year to reach 102,912 units. In July, new car registrations fell by 12.9% compared to last year, and 15.4% for the only French brands. T Peugeo jumped 3.96% to 21.55 euros while Renault takes off 5.43% to 33.80 euros.