International Headlines and Stories

 

Nestle will soon be able to give free rein to its ambitions on the Chinese baby milk market. After several months of a tight battle with its main competitor, Danone, the Swiss have been selected by Pfizer to buy its infant nutrition business, the Wall Street Journal. The agreement could be signed before the end of the month.

The amount of the transaction be around ten billion. "This operation has a real strategic sense for Nestle, said Andrew Wood, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, because it deals with good grades and good markets and is performed at a reasonable price. "Nestle has maintained through his status as favorite, because of its financial muscle and posture. He chose to go it alone, while Danone had allied his forces earlier this year with the U.S. Mead Johnson. The French had indicated during February to be interested only in "certain assets, certain brands in some countries," adding that he was not on the verge of acquiring a structuring of the type of Numico in 2008. It might have sinned, according to some experts, by his lack of enthusiasm on this issue. The alliance with Mead Johnson made it more complex to build a competitive offer.

Assets to be sold

Danone, however, could catch up. For competitive reasons, Nestlé will indeed be compelled to give up certain activities, including Mexico, Southeast Asia or South Africa. Danone will then compete with Heinz. The king of ketchup, which carries 11% of its sales with child nutrition, waived bid for the branch of Pfizer, but he is interested in potential sales, particularly in Latin America. Nestlé is about to offer a real nugget, who made last year $ 2.1 billion in sales (+15%). Activity following the acquisition by Pfizer in 2009, the Wyeth for $ 68 billion. Pfizer had announced its intention last summer to focus on the heart of its business. Officially, the pharmaceutical group was still hesitating between an assignment and a split.

Returning to the child nutrition branch of Pfizer, world number five in the sector, with over half of its business in emerging countries, Nestlé could catch up in China. With the SMA brand, Pfizer is already comfortably installed, with 6.7% market share.

Arrived late in the Middle Kingdom, the group of Vevey occupies only the eighth (3.7% market share), behind Abbott. But this market dominated by Mead Johnson, which are born each year 16 million babies, weighs 7 billion. It is set to double by 2015, according to Euromonitor. Number 3 in China, Danone sells more boxes of Dumex baby milk in France. In a rapidly growing market, the cards of infant nutrition are about to be reshuffled in the coming months.

ALSO READ:

"Sweet willing to give up its activities in Brazil

Under cash advance loan facility borrowers are not required to fulfill tedious faxing process.

 

The decline in unemployment in the U.S. in March to 8.2% against 8.3%, not fooling anyone. The labor market has actually worsened last month. He created only 120,000 jobs, almost twice less than expected. The favorable review of the February numbers limited to just disappointment. As also those of January proved slightly worse.

According to the Labour Department, the private sector hired only 121,000 people in March, when he was recruited 233,000 people in February. The service sector is the main troublemaker with only 90,000 new jobs, against 204,000 the previous month. Yet on the increase for months, temporary jobs have vanished completely. The new posts have also declined significantly in the transport and independent professionals. In trade and distribution, staff reductions have accelerated.

Even more disturbing was the drop in unemployment is largely due to the cessation of 164,000 job seekers find work. Out of the workforce, they are no longer counted as unemployed.

Misleading effect of a mild winter

Some analysts believe that these figures, on the whole disappointing, confirming the misleading effect of the warm temperatures of winter. We have attributed the relatively strong hiring in December to cyclical factors, while the mild winter would have been an essential support activity. The explanation is not fully convincing because in the construction sector most sensitive to climatic hazards, the trend since February has not changed: the job cuts are modest between 6000 and 7000.

Wall Street will react Monday that these disappointing data, because U.S. markets are closed for Good Friday. The debate on the need for the Federal Reserve, to reconnect with exceptional measures to stimulate the supply of credit is restarted. It had been thought earlier in the week, however, that the continued expansion in industry and services in March, according to the ISM index, the Fed had converted to the wait. If job creation in April again proved mediocre, the U.S. central bank may reconsider the option to buy Treasury bonds to further lower interest rates long term.

ALSO READ:

"The Fed hopes the shower market

"Embellished employment in the United States

"The rebound in U.S. growth remains fragile

 

After Greece, out of bankruptcy risk through the release of a second bailout of 130 billion euros, it was Spain who finds himself in the crosshairs of the Eurogroup, meeting on Monday evening in Brussels. The Spanish finance minister will have to explain on the skids deficits Spanish before his peers, the European Commission and the ECB President.

The prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, had a surprise, on March 2, alongside the European Council, stating that Spain would build his 2012 budget with a deficit target of 5.8% of GDP, while that agreed with the EU was 4.4%, to reach 3% of GDP deficit in 2013.

The market reaction was not long in coming. Following this, the cost of borrowing from Spain to 10 years jumped to nearly 5% more than for the first time in months, that of Italy. Guardian of the future "fiscal pact", the European Commission ordered a "serious blunder", brandished the threat of financial sanctions and sent experts to Madrid to assess the fiscal situation. Last year, the Spanish public deficit soared more than expected to reach 8.51% of GDP in late 2011.

Threat of sanctions

"There is no questioning of objectives," says the Spanish Minister of Economy, Luis De Guindos, in an interview Sunday on ABC newspaper. "Spain is a loyal member of the EU who feels bound by the European fiscal rules," he says.

Engaged in a very severe austerity measures, faces a general strike in late March because of its reform of the labor market, Spain is weighed down by losses of its regions, which have slipped to 2.9% of GDP against only 1.3% under-the Madrid region meets its objectives, which weighs heavily on central government accounts.

Barely out of the Greek crisis, "the euro area can not afford a new speculative attack," recalls one in Brussels. The Commission will ask the government to submit a plan "credible" to bring deficits to 3% in 2013, implying a say in Brussels on the draft budget 2012 Spanish.

Monday night, finance ministers from the euro area will give the green light to launch the second program of aid to Greece. Of 130 billion euros, the IMF should be involved up to 18 billion, said Christine Lagarde.

Even the Germans say they are reassured about the situation in Greece. "I am confident that the measures taken hard by the Greek government will put the country on the road to recovery," said German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, unwilling to speculate on a third plan to help … To parry , the European Central Bank will continue its buybacks of bonds on the secondary market, ensures Coeuré Benedict, a member of the Executive Board of the ECB to Japanese newspaper Nikkei.

ALSO READ:

"Europe is offering a respite delicate background of recession

"Greece: the euro area unblocks EUR 35 billion

"Greece: the more pessimistic than economists policies

"Greece links the laws of rigor to its creditors

 

While the first three mobile operators declared war on the new entrant Free, France Telecom unveiled details of its contract with the fourth operator. The CEO of France Telecom, parent company of Orange, Stéphane Richard said in an interview with Les Echos that the roaming agreement signed with him rent for Free mobile network will report "significantly higher revenue than the original one billion euros" .  

The CEO of the operator partly owned public does not advance on a possible extension of the current contract with free-roaming covering communications for second and third generation-the new 4G standard that will provide mobile users transmission capacity comparable to cable.

Under fire from other operators who feel like Jean-Bernard Levy, CEO of Vivendi and SFR, Orange has offered "the best technological conditions" to Free Stéphane Richard replies that her group has not make gifts to the new entrant. He said that "it is not the economic conditions of homelessness that make attractive offers Free. The controller and the CEO of Iliad, do not they also said that the financial conditions of homelessness clearly incited Free Mobile to invest in its own network? "Stephane Richard also ensures that employees France Telecom is aware "that the contract with free roaming, the recipes for it (…) provides, will partly offset the negative effects of the arrival of the fourth operator in the market." Free delighted 400,000 in Orange, and all operators in a month and a half only, Free Mobile has attracted 1.5 million customers, according to estimates by Stéphane Richard, Free for now refuses to confirm.

Finally, Stephane Richard said he was "quite shocked" by the statements of the President of ARCEP, encouraging operators to draw conclusions from the arrival of Free and reduce costs. The CEO of France Telecom wonders if this is "an invitation to make redundancies, when one tries to save manufacturing jobs throughout the territory," or of "an incentive to share infrastructure. " A track he considers "paradoxical."

ALSO READ:

"The network Free Mobile disrupted

"Where Free Mobile has recruited 1.5 million customers

 

After heavily involved in fundraising efforts of the firewall in the euro area, Japan is preparing to support its European partners. The country plans to provide up to $ 50 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) to enable the institution to help the euro area to cope with the crisis, AFP reported citing an official from the Japanese Ministry of Finance. "Japan considers the precise amount that will provide the IMF," said the official who also spoke up to $ 50 billion, confirming information reported by the newspaper Asahi Shimbun. The exact involvement of Japan to raise funds from the IMF will be announced following a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 which takes place on 25 and 26 February in Mexico City.

However, Japan is not ready to sign a blank check. In a joint forum in the Financial Times, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and his Japanese counterpart Jun Azumi indicates that their countries are willing to increase their contributions to the International Monetary Fund but only on condition that the euro area strengthens its funds Relief and make greater efforts to resolve the long-term debt crisis. "The euro zone countries have made progress but we must still do more to achieve a lasting solution. Japan and Britain are longtime supporters of the IMF and we are ready to make our contribution to the global effort if certain conditions are met, "wrote George Osborne and Jun Azumi.

The institution led by Christine Lagarde seeks in effect to increase its reserves by $ 500 billion to support the euro area. But the IMF's role is crucial in resolving the debt crisis in the eurozone. An official with the International Monetary Fund warned yesterday that if the institution was not associated with the bailout for Greece, the whole edifice would collapse for lack of support from private creditors. "We play a catalytic role. If we are here, both the public and the private sector will join in supporting a country, "said an IMF official, speaking to reporters in Washington on condition of anonymity.

ALSO READ:

"" China alone can not help Europe "

"Very involved in the eurozone, the IMF is reluctant to pay more

 

The absolute independence of the European Central Bank vis-à-vis the policy preventing him from speaking. Mario Draghi has openly acknowledged Thursday: "I received a few minutes ago a call from the Greek prime minister said an agreement had been reached and endorsed by the major parties," said President of the ECB at its monthly press conference in Frankfurt. Thus he was able to announce before everyone else – maybe a little too quickly, given the float that followed in Athens – the good news entrusted to him by Lucas Papademos, the former vice President of the ECB.

But, according to the principle that it is easier to comment on the affairs of others than on his own, he refused to say clearly that the ECB may decide to reduce the debt of Athens, parallel commercial banks: "We are not part of negotiations. But what we hear is that the parts are pretty close to agreement. "

"Prohibited by the European treaties"

Pressed with questions, the successor to Jean-Claude Trichet ended up giving the key to participation of the ECB program "voluntary" Burden Reduction. "If the ECB redistributes some of its profits to the Member States of the ECB … it's not on monetary financing (public debt, which is prohibited by the European treaties), "he dropped. Clearly, it confirms one of the options that have been circulating for a week: the ECB could leave the unrealized gains on its purchase of Greek bonds. Which is approximately 12 billion, knowing that the bonds were acquired on the market at a discount and would be repaid at their face value at maturity.

By hiding again behind the texts prohibiting the bailout States, Mario Draghi shows the difficulty of his task. "The time is long when monetary policy was limited to setting interest rates. Since the debt crisis, the ECB must navigate waters very political, "says economist of a major French bank.

Inflation above the 2%

Monetary field itself, new relaxations are in any case by no means excluded. "Inflation should remain above 2% during the next few months, before falling back below 2%," said Mario Draghi. He worries more than ever a dry supply of bank credit: "We are actually concerned about the slowdown in the credit."

This is why the Governing Council decided to relax the rules on eligibility of collateral (securities pledged as collateral) that commercial banks have to raise cash. These conditions are changed to "temporarily" for seven national central banks, including Bank of France. "Residential real estate loans to individuals are eligible," said a statement released yesterday afternoon in Paris, which lists the technical conditions.

On a neighbor, Mario Draghi provides that the next issue of liquidity to three years, to be held on February 29, could be done "over the range of the previous operation of this type." The banks had obtained, 22 December 2011, 489 billion and 1% over three years.

ALSO READ:

"Clean Sweep in finance

Spanish

"Euro area: the first visit of the year in Brussels

"The ECB defends its massive aid to banks

 

The ultra-LACTEOL for yeast or intestinal disorders, are well known to everyone. Laboratories that manufacture them, and Biocodex Aptalis, are much less. They belong to the hundreds of small labs in the Hexagon making less than 180 million euros in turnover and who feel threatened now.

"Our value is not recognized and we charge more. The 13 taxes for the health industry represents 3% of the turnover of SMEs ", lamented Friday Gerard Dufour, CEO of Amlis, the Association of medium-sized laboratories and healthcare industries. For SMEs to health, which together weigh 11,000 direct jobs and 1.5 billion euros in turnover, "do not disappear", it would cap such fees "depending on the size and profitability as small laboratories, "says the association.

It calls mainly to higher prices. Two-thirds of drugs of its members are, in fact, sold from February to May euros at rates sometimes frozen for twenty years.

One solution would be the dérembourser, advance the association. Provided they do so "consistent" in applying, for example, the same treatment to all drugs of a class.

ALSO READ:

"Slightly lower prices for prescription drugs

"A blockbuster Ipsen déremboursé

"Health expenditure: more drugs delisted

The markets are down conviction Thursday. The CAC 40 fell by more than 2% in early trade then turned around, earning up to 1% in the morning. But mid-term is a reluctance to wait still dominates, the benchmark index of the Paris Bourse advancing 0.8% to 3099.48 points. The day before, the CAC 40 lost 2.17% to below 3100 points.

As on Wall Street and Asian stock markets, doubt seized investors, who are now considering the worst: a contagion of debt in the eurozone. With the center of these concerns, the situation in Italy, including the implementation of austerity measures remains uncertain. The announcement yesterday of the upcoming departure of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has in fact added to the uncertainty, as evidenced by soaring rates in ten years the Italian Treasury payday loan.Interest rates at one year paid by the Italian Treasury this morning reached a new record during a test program.

The concerns of the operators in the financial markets move increasingly towards France. This morning, the rates of French government bonds to ten years has exceeded 3.30%.

Unison concerns of investors, Brussels found the Italian debt situation "very worrying". Ditto for the International Monetary Fund: its director Christine Lagarde said today that "lack of political clarity" in Italy supplied the uncertainties, according to Reuters.

In the second of the five-day strike of cabin crew of Air France, the company claims to have secured 80% of its flights. According to a spokesperson, it will be the same for Monday. Knowing that the day before, "88% of flights, not 80% as announced" were maintained, she said. The conflict creates a battle of numbers between unions and management. According to the latter, there would be 30% of strikers. For the main trade unions, there are between 50 and 60% of agents who have disengaged. Remember, the movement is to protest against the proposed reduction in the number of cabin crew in some planes.

"Management is currently parades, but it can not hold the road in five days," said Gaëlle Sibril, steward of Southern Air. "That's why we filed a notice of strike for five days because we know they can be organized over two days but no more," she added.As at the airport in Toulouse: Toulouse-Orly ten flights on nineteen planned included were canceled, said the Depeche du Midi. The newspaper also states that "last-minute delays are expected." Note that at Nice, the third busiest airport in France, three flights were canceled Saturday to Paris no fax pay day loan. The same applies to Marseille where five flights were canceled in the direction of Roissy and Orly.

In total, about 200 flights on the 1000 planned were canceled Saturday. To service, the company temporarily restricted to 100 passenger capacity of its medium-haul flights from Orly. This management method was chosen to avoid having to put down passengers for lack of a sufficient number of hostesses and stewards. "It blocks the flights a minimum. Is completed according to the presentation of the crews as and when.Traffic should be disturbed until Wednesday, November 2 included.

In 2007, a similar strike, triggered by the same six unions to the same period of Toussaint, had caused major disruptions. Air France was forced several times to review downward its traffic forecast: 90% of flights expected to be provided the day before, this had increased to 60% during the weekend.

Modified or exchanged for free tickets

The company called to check passengers before they leave for the airport, on the website of the company, the list of flights canceled or delayed. They also know the traffic forecasts by sending an SMS to 63654 with their flight number.

Signs of renewed confidence in the euro area is growing. At a time when international financial markets reflected the colors, the single currency rises against major currencies. The euro stabilized early this morning above the threshold of 1.38 to 1.3808 dollars against 1.3617 dollars just yesterday, its highest level since Sept. 16. The euro also advanced against the Japanese currency to 106.52 yen against 104.52 yen a day earlier.

This rise of the single currency is a sign, according to one analyst, "the market seems a little more optimistic." In fact, for several weeks and an acute crisis on debt, the euro was more the subject of a "massive unwinding of positions."

Investors continue to regain confidence in the idea of ​​a solution to the debt crisis.Policymakers ensure that the enlargement of the European financial stability will be ratified soon, Slovakia should indeed turn around in a new vote tomorrow. What can the countries of the euro area together to help troubled banks to recapitalize, to avoid the bankruptcy of an institution that could create a systemic shock.

ALSO READ:

"The Paris Bourse is back on the rise

"Europe prepares its banks to a shock on Greek debt