Business And Personal Finance

Poul Thomsen, the head of IMF mission in Greece, will have to recognize that slow the pace of fiscal consolidation since the recession is more severe than expected. The head of IMF mission to monitor the recovery of Greek finances, Poul Thomsen (here in Athens November 19, 2011) The head of IMF mission to monitor the recovery of Greek finances, Poul Thomsen, acknowledged errors in the control of the country for two years and called for fewer budget cuts and further liberalization, in an interview published Wednesday. "The budgetary adjustment was based on an exaggerated tax increases, we should have put more emphasis on cost containment is the one area where we could have been more convincing to the government "said the IMF representative, when asked about possible errors of the IMF by the Greek daily Khatimerini." Although much remains to be done, Greece has made good progress, "he said, claiming to understand the discomfort of the Greek opinion against criticism blaming the downturn on the country or accusing him of being unable to recover. "We should be more careful to ensure that we send a balanced message when we say that the program is off the rails," he said. But "reform and the effort required (…) have lost their momentum, we must find her," he ajouté.Poul Thomsen was recognized "worried" at the worsening of the recession-induced these measures. "We need to slow down the pace of fiscal consolidation and advance much faster in the implementation of reforms." He reiterated that among them, he supported measures to wage cuts in the private sector, as expected IMF boost the economy via a gain in competitiveness, but rejected by the Greeks as being at risk of stopping further consumption and activity. Poul Thomsen in particular called for a reduction in the minimum wage, red rag to the unions, stating that 'to 751 euros gross per month was 35% higher than that of Portugal, and from 20% to that of Spain. Despite reservations Greek on these requirements, he found that the negotiations that led to the side its counterparts Commission and European Central Bank with the government to complete the new plan for the country's recovery will be concluded "very shortly, within a few days."Target these days of sharp attacks in the Greek press as too inflexible and challenged him as in the IMF because of the failures encountered by the first bailout of Greece, Mr. Thomsen also emphasized working in full agreement with colleagues at the IMF.

The activity in the private sector in France shrank in October for the first time since mid-2009, according to first estimates released Monday by Markit PMI, which indicate a risk of recession.

The PMI "flash" composite fell to 46.8 from 50.2 in September, falling below 50 which separates growth and contraction and reaching its lowest level in 29 months.

The services index goes well below this bar to 46.0 from 51.5 in September, reaching its lowest level in 27 months.

The PMI industry has, however, rose slightly to 49.0 from 48.2 in September, the activity still continues to contract.

Economists polled by Reuters on average expected the services index and an index to 50.5 from 48.0 in the industry.

"The economy went into decline early in the fourth quarter," said Jack Kennedy, economist at Markit. "Clearly, the impact of the European crisis on the real economy hits hard, demand and confidence were affected."

"At these levels, the PMI figures imply a quarterly contraction of around 0.5-0.6% sensitive," he says. "A recession may be coming unless we see a quick turnaround," said he.

Flash PMIs are calculated on the basis of about 85% of the responses of the sample followed by Markit, composed of 750 companies in services and manufacturing.

He who led the PS group in the Senate for seven years was elected by his peers Saturday President of the Upper House of Parliament. He promises to respect the opposition. Jean-Pierre Bel, an elected Ariège, 59, was elected on October 1 by his peers first socialist president in the history of the Senate.

Jean-Pierre Bel, an elected Ariège, 59, previously unknown to the general public, was elected the first Saturday in October by his peers first socialist president in the history of the Senate and became the same time the second character of the Republic. President of the Socialist Group in the Senate since 2004, he burst onto the front of the stage with the unusual shift to the left of the second chamber of Parliament during the renewal Senate last Sunday.Candidate of the new Senate majority PS, PCF, PRG, EELV, he was elected on the first ballot by 179 votes against 134 votes for President outgoing UMP Gérard Larcher, and 29 votes for the former Secretary of State François Fillon, Valérie Létard, centrist candidate. Jean-Pierre Bel got seven votes more than the absolute majority of votes cast in the individual and secret vote in the gallery.

After receiving félications Gerard Larcher, Jean-Pierre Bel delivered his first address as president. "We also heard the deep anger" of the territories of the Republic "for" have been stigmatized, disoriented, perhaps abandoned their face immense difficulties, "he said. He announced the meeting" soon "to States General of elected officials.'s voice choked with emotion, he paid tribute to his family, and communist resistance, and its southwestern region."We will not go into some sort of bastion," "I'll never be there to serve a clan or a Customer: I want always to turn to the collective interest," promised the sixth President of the Senate since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. He called for a "refurbished bicameralism in which the opposition will be respected." It could well be left to the right as President of the Committee on Finance.

François Rebsamen likely chairman of the PS in the Senate

The first task the new president will also get on with the new governance of the Senate, a site not easy given the narrowness of his majority, 177 elected, two more than the majority. No political group will not hold its own. He expressed support for lowering the threshold for the creation of groups of 15 to 10 senators, as claimed by the 10 senators EELV.This may allow the RDSE (mostly PRG), which had 16 members to survive the departure of its three senators on the right, including Jean-Marie Bockel (GM), who joined the centrist group. It will also order of battle group PS with a new president should be the senator and mayor of Dijon, François Rebsamen.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon has asked "to meet him at Matignon in the coming days." During their telephone conversation, Mr Fillon told him "that he wished the government and the Supreme Assembly to work in a climate of responsibility." Martine Aubry welcomed her as a "great day" for the Republic and "victory rally" of all those "who want to change in our country."For the Mayor of Lille, "the election of a Socialist President shows the frustration of elected officials in the field who are tired of being despised by the outgoing President and see every day our Republic a little damaged." François Hollande, a favorite of the primary PS, said he was also "happy" with the election of his "friend" to the presidency of the Senate, seeing "the consecration of the story of a man who gave a portion of his life to activism. "

Liberal Institute Coe-Rexecode proposes to merge the debts of countries rated "AAA" in the euro area, to eliminate differences in rates between the German and French bonds. This solution would also double the capacity of loans to countries facing difficulties.

To stem the crisis in the euro area, the French Institute of Economic Studies Coe-Rexecode Monday advocated the creation of "eurobunds" which would involve the merger of the debts of many countries "comparable" in the area, which France and Germany. Considering the creation of unrealistic eurobonds, often mentioned in recent months, the institute, near the business, suggests the creation of "eurobunds" with "merger for the debts of seven comparable countries in the euro area as are Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Finland and Luxembourg. "

The merger could lead to a large pool of securities, nearly 5,000 billion, a priori rated AAA by rating agencies, is the highest rating possible, pleaded Michel Didier, president of Coe-Rexecode, during a press conference. It would have the advantage of eliminating the spreads between the German and French bonds, he said. Moreover, such a "fire power" would "have a strong base of potential loans to the peripheral countries" beyond the potential 500 billion of loans from the European financial stability. Which, according to Coe-Rexecode, is likely to cut short the threat of contagion from the debt crisis.

Subsequently, "there would still address the problem of divergences in competitiveness" within the euro area, insisted Michel Didier.Considering the current stock market crisis "clearly European," the institute said that the problems of public funding can be resolved, thanks in part to the European plan adopted July 21, which is "appropriate". But "other scenarios are much worse now possible," he warns. "A sovereign default would lead to poorly controlled behavior very restrictive economic actors (reports of investment projects, increase household savings rate …) and lead to a true European recession," said the institute.

Greece hopes to conclude an agreement Tuesday with its international donors, so you can receive a new tranche of eight billion euros scheduled for October, told Reuters on Monday a senior Greek finance.

"The climate was better than expected," the official said, referring to a conference held on Monday between the Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and the "troika" (EU, IMF, European Central Bank).

The Ministry of Finance said earlier that this discussion had been "productive and substantial" and that it be repeated Tuesday night.

"We are close to an agreement and we hope to conclude tomorrow.The government will make an announcement likely on Wednesday after the cabinet meeting.We will continue the discussion tomorrow, "the official added.

Without this new tranche of aid, tied to the forefront of international bailout which Greece received last year, the Greek government said it would find itself short of resources in mid-October.

To avoid this, Greece has to reduce its public sector and improve its system of tax collection, consider its international donors.

"The ball is in the Greek camp, the key lies in the implementation of reforms," ​​said Bob Traa, the IMF representative in Greece, at a conference.

These reforms are required to Athens to collect a new tranche of eight billion euros in the first part of its bailout.

According to him, Greece has cut jobs in the public, reduce the salaries and pensions of civil servants and improve its system of tax collection rather than creating new taxes.

Bob Traa was concerned about the lack of public support for the IMF austerity program / EU, while saying that other countries in the euro zone were on the side of Athens, provided that the government showed that he was acting to control its deficits.

FIVE MEASURES

The euro, but Wall Street had cut their losses after an initial source of the Greek Ministry of Finance had said that an agreement was near on aid between Athens and the troika.

Earlier in the day, the euro was down sharply and European shares closed down for fear of a significant failure of Greece.

Greek media have published a list of 15 austerity measures that they believe the troika requires the implementation.They include a new deletion of 20,000 civil service posts, a reduction or a freeze on salaries and pensions of the public service, increasing the tax on heating oil, the closure of public deficit, reducing spending on health and accelerating privatization.

The EC stated that it did not ask to Athens to adopt austerity measures in addition to what has already been agreed in the reform program of government."What is on the table is in full compliance with the agreed objectives," said the spokesperson of the EC Amadeu Altafaj.

Asked whether Greece would receive the next tranche of aid, Venizelos responded to Reuters: "Yes, of course."

Even so, many economists and investors believe that Greece will end up in default on a debt that reached more than 150% of GDP, perhaps a few months.

Venizelos insisted on Sunday that the spending cuts would be the priority of the 2012 budget. He predicted a contraction of GDP higher than expected 5.5% this year.

London Stock Exchange confirmed on Friday to discuss the purchase of the clearing house LCH.Clearnet, which is coveted by both the service provider Markit UK by rival Nasdaq OMX.

The LSE, which had been, two months ago, put his hand on the Canadian exchange operator TMX Group, said Friday that it "is currently in discussions with LCH.Clearnet to a potential transaction." He added that discussions were preliminary.

LCH.Clearnet, the majority of whose capital is owned by its customers, had said three months ago, she had been in contact about its possible sale.

The LSE said in late May that he did not discuss with LCH.Clearnet.Media evoked them Markit, a specialist in derivatives traded over-the-counter and Nasdaq OMX, in partnership with NYSE Euronext.

For its part, the Financial Times reported Friday that the LSE has submitted a bid for a majority stake in LCH.Clearnet that values ​​the company around one billion euros.

A takeover of the LSE of LCH.Clearnet would be logical in that, unlike most of its competitors, it does not own its main clearing house.

The LSE is already owner of the Italian clearing house CC & G, which it inherited when it bought Borsa Italiana in 2007.The Director General of Xavier Rolet LSE is keen to diversify its business and to increase the share of revenue under the compensation.

"LSE is not to miss the boat but it is likely he will not be part of a larger group with NYSE and Markit," said one trader in London.

The action LSE lost 1.4% to 919.5 pence in early trade while.

Job creation in the private sector in the United States were below expectations in August, according to the results of the monthly ADP released Wednesday.

It was created 91,000 jobs in August, while the market was expecting 100,000.

The number of jobs created in July was revised down to 109,000, against 114,000 in the first estimate.

ADP Employer Services survey, conducted in partnership with Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, is considered a leading indicator of monthly statistics on employment figures which are expected on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters anticipate 75,000 new posts in the private and the public, but outside the agricultural sector after 117,000 in July.

The CEO of Publicis, Maurice Lévy, the French hope that the richest pay an outstanding contribution to participate in the national effort to reduce the deficit. The CEO of the advertising group Publicis, Maurice, in December 2010.

The President of the French Association of Private Enterprises (Afep), Maurice Levy, said he favored a "outstanding contribution" of the highest incomes to reduce the budget deficit of France, in an article in Le Monde newspaper published Tuesday. Calling for an "outstanding contribution of the richest, most privileged, the wealthy," the CEO of Publicis, considers "essential for the solidarity effort begins with those whom fate has preserved."This recommendation echoes that of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who on Monday called on U.S. lawmakers to raise taxes for the wealthy to reduce the huge budget deficit of the United States.

In its platform, Maurice Levy says will include "all those who can by their means necessary to participate in this national effort" and not just CEOs. The government intends to introduce a windfall tax from 1% to 2% on income tax reference than one million euros. The device will be stopped by the end of September.

To achieve the reduction of public deficit, the president of the Afep also stresses that it is necessary "to cut as much spending as planing or remove tax loopholes."Other measures that advance figure "a deep reform of our administrative structures and social systems", without further details. "This is to bring the deficit to zero and to reduce the tax burden to bring them to the European average," he adds.

About the golden rule of balancing the budget, he "regrets" that it "is not universally supported by all political" because "it is in the future of our country." This "golden rule" is planning to include in the Constitution the principle of "framework laws to balance public finances," who plan on at least three fiscal efforts that France must provide to restate its accounts.This constitutional reform remains to be adopted by a majority of three fifths by the deputies and senators met in Congress at Versailles, while the opposition, denouncing a communication operation of the government, refused to vote.

Rather than accuse Standard & Poor's, many American analysts urging their leaders to build compromise in the fight against deficits. Press review.

Two days after the decision by Standard & Poor's (S & P) to degrade the sovereign rating of the United States, the subject is still widely debated in the U.S. media that detail the causes and consequences. The painstaking agreement on raising the debt ceiling, which narrowly averted a default, has left its mark among columnists and observers: many consider policies unable to leave the United States of the rut.Other pin on the rating agencies, even giving the impression of preferring to kill the messenger.

America stung

Symbolically at least, the blow is more severe: the loss of its "AAA" rating, the debt of the United States, the world's largest economy, is no longer considered completely safe. On Saturday, politicians and economists have begun to accuse the rating agencies, Standard & Poor's in mind, even though so far, "economists and U.S. officials were still spectators [degradation of sovereign ratings of European countries]," observes Brian Blackstone, the Wall Street Journal.

Several critics have quickly emerged. First, the United States would have no lessons to learn from a player who has not seen the credit crunch coming in the fall of 2008."Much of our current debt is directly or indirectly related to the fact that S & P has not done its work before the financial crash. Until the eve of the collapse, S & P gave a triple A certain institutions riskier credit, "recalls, in the Huffington Post, blogger and academic Robert Reich. "Excuse me for asking, but what now allows Standard & Poor's to dictate to the United States of how much debt it has to offload and how?" He asked.

"It's like if a young man who killed his parents then complained of being orphaned," summarizes Paul Krugman in The New York Times. The former Nobel Prize in Economics is also up on the error of 2000 billion as Standard & Poor's have made in the calculation of U.S. debt."[Rating agencies] are the last people to whom we must trust," Judge said.

To William Alden, who also wrote the Huffington Post, the "decision of S & P also plays a critical period of weakness", with growth of just over 1%, a weak manufacturing output and consumer spending down.

A "kick ass" saving

But most journalists and editors do not agree. The prize for irony belongs to John Cassidy, who says in the New Yorker as Standard & Poor's "work is public service.""Losing the AAA will be only one of the many humiliations which the country will face in coming decades if the American political system is no longer able to function any less effective," said he.

Rather than "shoot the messenger", many analysts believe like him that the real responsible for the degradation of the note are to be sought in Washington. 'Since 2000, the U.S. launched two wars and introduced two major welfare programs (…), while cutting federal taxes at their lowest level in sixty years.This is not the behavior of a responsible nation (…), but that of a country that uses its role as world reserve currency debt for low-cost, "Justice John Cassidy.

This is followed by the Washington Post, columnist Jonathan Capehart, whose cries: "Thanks for the kick in the ass, Standard & Poors" Degrade the U.S. debt rating is "all that Washington needed," said one who urged Republicans to more responsibility, and the Democrats to abandon their intransigence on the reform of welfare, to ward off the "dirty fighting" on the ceiling of the debt.

Because that's what it is: the press has clearly not forgiven the humiliating series of debates on raising the debt ceiling, seen as one of the main triggers of loss of confidence in the U.S. economy.While S & P was actually wrong in his projections, "the error does not take away any credit to serious concerns about the stability of American finance, and the fact that Washington is unable to take a drastic measure without a gun to their head "observes the Washington Post.

"The attempt to discredit the Obama administration to S & P only worsens the image of the United States," Judge the Wall Street Journal. As for George Bottom, political reporter for ABC Television News, he understands that the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner himself shares the Standard & Poor's, yet he has publicly criticized …

Lessons to ponder

Several media outlets called the policies of the laws to vote quickly to reassure the markets, including three free trade agreements still pending.But these calls for consensus will be heard? Not sure, according to the first political reaction. The Wall Street Journal in its Monday edition, says "the new hobby of Washington" mutual recriminations among Democrats and Republicans, have caused the loss of the AAA. The first aim of the Tea Party and "the intransigence of the Republicans who, during the crisis in the debt ceiling, a Standard & Poor's believes that the federal government no longer worked, and was less able to cope with rising deficits" .

Republicans attack Barack Obama by pointing their "failure of leadership on the economy," the financial daily.In the camp of the President, at the lower of its popularity, we want to believe instead that the decision of S & P "reinforces the plea to the President for a comprehensive plan for deficit reduction, with the key a tax increase and a decrease social programs. "

Remains to be seen what the real consequences in the short term. "The deteriorating U.S. note requires a review of the concept of risk in the global economy (…). If the United States are not as safe as they have been (…) What country can still boast of being? "asks Michael Schuman in TIME magazine, citing the case of France. But he said the strong dollar and Treasury bonds deprive the U.S. of serious competitors. "The challenge the world now faces, he concludes, is that there is nobody to take the place of the United States at the center of the global economy."

The insurance group Axa said Thursday that improved results in the first half it was validated hopes on its new strategic plan, a set of goals by 2015 to regain favor with investors.

The main parameters of AXA Financial in the first half is better than expected.

Operating income up 10% to 2.222 billion euros, earnings increased 9% to 2.393 billion euros and net income is multiplied by more than 4 to 3,999,000,000 euros thanks to disposals made by the group.

The consensus made by the editor of Reuters on the basis of forecasts of nine analysts showed an average of 2.187 billion euros operating profit 2.275 billion to 3.588 billion and adjusted earnings to net income.

Axa has also highlighted the progress of the new business margin in life insurance, savings, retirement has increased from 21% to 26%, and improvement of 3.8 points in its combined ratio to 99.2% for demonstrate recovery.

If the insurer has depreciated by 92 million euros for Greece in the first half, its low exposure to the country has enabled him – unlike other big financial stocks like Societe Generale – to avoid significant losses .

TRACK

"The results of the first half showed that we are on track to achieve the objectives in our strategic plan AXA Ambition," he said in a statement the CEO Henri de Castries.

If the markets initially welcomed the strategic plan presented in June 2015, the share price has suffered, like the sector, the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area.

Plan Axa several objectives such as to generate 24 billion cumulative operating cash flow available from 2011 to 2015 and 15% ratio of return on equity.

Axa has also redeployed some of its capital to emerging markets and reduce its costs in mature markets.

This strategy resulted in 2010 by selling a portion of its business life insurance in the UK and the acquisition of the Asian operations of the Australian subsidiary AXA APH. The sale of the Canadian subsidiary announced last June is also in the process.

The AXA ordinary share has slightly outperformed the industry in 2011 with a decline of 3.37% since the beginning of the year against a withdrawal of 7.87% for the European insurance.