Economic Analysis and Indicators

Household consumption of goods is rising again in June (1.2%) after three consecutive months of decline, the statistics released Friday show by INSEE.

The May figure was revised on the other at -0.3% against -0.8% previously.

Fourteen economists polled by Reuters on average expected in June, up 0.5%, with estimates ranging from -0.5% to 1.5%.

Throughout the second quarter, household consumption of goods fell by 1.8% (after 0.1% in the first quarter).

June's increase is largely explained by the increase in durable goods and textile and leather notes INSEE.

Spending on durable goods rose 2.5% in June after a slight drop in May.They fall all over the quarter by 6.3% after rising 2.2% in the first quarter.

Automobile purchases increased 2.2% in June

Purchases of textiles and leather rose 4.3% in June after declining 3.5% in May

Consumer spending in other manufactured goods were up 0.7% after -1.2% in May

As for food purchases, they stand down by 0.4% after -1.4% in May

At the same time the energy consumption grew by 1.4% in June, after rising by 5.0% in May Throughout the second quarter, it fell by 1.1% due to particularly mild weather in April.

Saint-Gobain's acquisitions will accelerate in the second half to take advantage of the recovery of volumes which resulted in the first half with a growth of 6.9% of its turnover.

The world of production, processing and distribution of building materials has already announced the first of the year several acquisitions, including the distribution with a proposed takeover of the network and Build Center for Brossette cumulative amount of 351 million euros and an acquisition in Russia in the insulation and plasterboard in Turkey, who number this time tens of millions of euros.

"There are a number of acquisitions that are in progress, so I can not give you the amount in the second half but it most likely will exceed the amount we had in the first half," said the CEO of Saint -Gobain, Pierre-André de Chalendar, during a media teleconference.

"We have a portfolio of issues in negotiations is important, but we are very strict on the debt, therefore the amounts we are talking about hundreds of millions," he added.

Asked about an interest in the plaster of Lafarge, the cement giant began to separate, he said that the activity in the United States was not an issue on the table today.

Asked if his group, world leader in plasterboard with the brand Placo had watched the back of the Australian Lafarge Gypsum, assigned last week to German Knauf, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said: "It is sold now, so it has a limited retrospective interest. "

"TRUST" IN THE 2011 OBJECTIVES

Saint-Gobain, which also increased its capital expenditure of 500 million euros this year, giving priority to Asia, emerging countries and products with high added value for the energy efficiency of housing, confirmed Thursday objectives 2011.

He said he was "confident" of achieving a double digit growth in operating income at constant exchange rates and organic growth of its sales support.

In the first half, the growth at constant exchange rates and comparable stood at 6.7%, a turnover of 20.87 billion euros, in line with the Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S, which gave 20.89 billion euros from estimates of eight analysts.

Operating income increased 19% to its 1720 million, the group is able to cover its selling price increases in raw material prices, always valued around 600 million euros for the whole of the years.

Net income, Group share, rose about him from 53.3% to 768 million euros.

The packaging sector (Verallia), including Saint-Gobain was forced in June to suspend the stock exchange because of the fallout from the debt crisis of the Greek market, achieved in the first half organic growth of 4% and reached an EBITDA up slightly to 347 million euros, in line with the annual target of the division.

"We always introduce the project Verallia public offering, we will take a decision on whether to restart the process based on market conditions, so I can not say more at this stage," said Pierre- André de Chalendar.

Saint-Gobain, Wendel which is the majority shareholder with 17.5% of the capital, closed Thursday down 2.32% to 39.55 euros, giving a market capitalization of around 22 billion euros.

Since the beginning of the year, the title took about 5% after gaining around 1% for the whole of 2010.

Rexel has improved its second quarter results due to continued growth in the volume of sales in all its geographical areas, particularly in China and control its costs.

The world's leading distributor of electrical saw its EBIT to rise by 17.6% in the second quarter to 174.1 million euros (179.1 million in give comparable, an increase of 22.2%) for margin of 5.5% (60 basis points), due to higher gross margin and the effects of cost reduction measures taken by the group.

Rexel-owned 72% by a consortium of investors including Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (33%), Eurazeo (32%) and BAML Capital Partners (25%) – achieved a turnover of 3.157.6 million euros (+5.1% on a comparable basis and 3.6% as reported) in the second quarter.

In Europe (59% of sales) sales grew by 5.1% in Q2 while the increase was 5.7% in North America (28% of sales) and 5.3% in Asia-Pacific (10% of sales) due to an increase of 16% in China (over 20% of sales area).

"In the second half, we will continue to accelerate the deployment of our strategy which combines organic growth and selective acquisitions (…)" said in a statement Jean-Charles Pauze, CEO of Rexel.

Rexel confirms 2011 target for an improvement in EBIT margin of 50 basis points and a net flow of cash before interest and taxes of more than 500 million euros.

The group repeats that he wants to improve its profitability in 2013 and it is a close EBITA margin of 6.5% with a return on capital employed (ROCE) close to 14%.

At June 30, 2011, net debt stood at 2,363.8 million euros, representing an increase of 90.5 million euros compared to December 31, 2010.

The action Rexel closed Tuesday at 15.52 euros showing a market capitalization of 4.2 billion euros. It lost 4.52% since the beginning of the year after gaining 59.4% last year.

Despite the global crisis, some countries have managed to hold the cords tight budget and debt. But virtue is rather in emerging while the old industrialized countries are often the cicadas, ranked La Lettre de L'Expansion. This ranking is based on a study by Moody's on the 20 richest states in the world. It is the sum of the ranks obtained for the debt (changes between 2007 and 2011) and deficit (average over the period 2008-2011).e "> 10 / 15

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The "bomb" that represent loans "Toxic" made by French local authorities can not be defused only by the creation of a bad bank funded by a tax on banks, say elected socialist.

The Court of Auditors estimated in a report released last week that 30 to 35 billion 160 billion of debt taken out by hundreds of local communities are toxic and that an amount between 10 and 12 billion euros presents a potential risk very high.

She points out that many communities are linked by bonds or derivatives they can not escape that by agreeing to pay an interest rate or a cash payment prohibitive in terms of their financial means.

"The Court of Auditors has denounced the bomb posed by these toxic loans," said Socialist Claude Bartolone, who chairs the committee of inquiry established by the National Assembly on this issue.

Once past an initial period during which interest rates remain low, some public bodies have seen the financial crisis flying rates indexed to parameters such as parity Swiss franc-sterling.

Interest rates are now double-digit streams and strangling local communities.

Maurice Vincent, Socialist mayor of Saint-Etienne, a city severely affected by the phenomenon, initiated a lawsuit against Deutsche Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, who granted the city for 20 million euros in loans.

"Unconscionable contracts"

Christophe Faverjon, the mayor of Unieux (Loire), a town of 8,500 inhabitants near Saint-Etienne, had contracted in 2007 to 7 million loan to the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, which 4 million were found toxic.

In his attempts to renegotiate, Dexia has offered to pay 6.47 million euros in compensation, in addition to 4 million, to return to a fixed rate of 3.9% set in the beginning.

The mayor has decided to file a complaint against the bank Dexia for "failure to counsel" and "unconscionable contract."

Claude Bartolone, chairman of the General Council of Seine-Saint-Denis, by borrowing heavily indebted toxic, filed a complaint against three banks – Depfa, Calyon (now Credit Agricole CIB) and Dexia.

The interest rate on the loan made to his community with the German bank Depfa increased from 1.47% to 24.2%.

These local officials welcomed the report of the Court of Auditors.

"This is a very good value, quality, which confirms what we have said for two years," said Maurice Vincent to Reuters."The only problem is that the court does not favor the creation of a bad bank."

The French government has promised to consider the proposal but there is not a priori favorable.

The mayor of Saint-Etienne, however, intends to maintain the pressure because it "will solve the problem many of these loans between 2002 and 2008 with a solution that approaches" the defeasance structure it advocates.

It accounts for that on the balance of power that would create the Commission of Inquiry of the Assembly, which is due to report at the end of the year with legislative and regulatory recommendations.

A TAX ON BANKS?

The Socialist Group of the National Assembly has also set up a working group chaired by Claude Bartolone to establish by law a bad bank.

Alternatives to its creation are indeed considered unrealistic by the leaders of local communities.

Of course, criticizing the banks, which have not sufficiently informed the public of the risks involved.

But these procedures are likely to drag on, with a very low chance of achieving concrete results.

But a solution must be found quickly, the debt crisis that would result in soaring interest rates.

"Raising taxes? It is impossible.No mayor will not want to do and I first, "said Maurice Vincent excluding also reduce the investment of Commons.

Communities could also refuse to pay, but the mayor of Saint-Etienne does not believe in this solution.

"Then the Minister of Communities who will trust the cities and the government should take the initiative to raise taxes as a result, it will not," said he.

It remains, therefore, the bad bank, "a collective solution that would be better for everyone, for mayors, for communities," said Maurice Vincent.

The latter proposes to create a tax on banks to fund 5 to 8 billion euros of losses engender in his loans "toxic".

Maurice Vincent believes that the state will eventually resolve it to preserve the "triple A" of France, a rating that allows it to borrow cheaply in the markets.

"The government will solve the problem before it alters the note of France. The State may take 1 or 2 billion to its charge, communities take their share as well as banks must collectively get out of this case. "

List of values ​​to follow on Thursday at the Paris Bourse.

* Publicis rose above the expectations of its sales in the first six months of the year, boosted by the acceleration of advertising spending in Europe in the second quarter despite the sovereign debt crisis.

* PLASTIC OMNIUM said Thursday build on 2011 annual results "strong growth" after seeing its sales jump and operating margin improved slightly in the first half.

* Rémy Cointreau has seen its sales climb 16.2% in the first quarter, driven by demand for cognac is not fading.

* VRANKEN-POMMERY has reported a first half sales of 126.7 million euros, up 5%, driven by the growth of its champagnes (+7.8%), especially abroad .

* EUTELSAT. The Strategic Investment Fund (ISF) on Monday rejected a proposed acquisition of joint control of the satellite operator driven by the Spanish Abertis, reported Thursday the newspaper Les Echos.

* Iliad. HSBC, which continues to provide advice to overweight the title, raised its price target on the value at 115 euros, against 103 euros.

* EADS.Airbus is ready to look "seriously" the increase in the production of single-aisle A320 to carry it beyond the already record a goal, but has not so far committed to this, said Wednesday its executive chairman.

* Bank stocks.The banks of the European Union will face fines of up to 10% of their net banking if they do not meet new international requirements for capital and liquidity, said Michel Barnier.

* Unibail-Rodamco said it had signed for 1.1 billion euros of asset sales in the first half and accelerated its development plans after reporting an earnings growth supported by its recurring rental income .

* Ubisoft announced that its sales better than expected first quarter gross margin should support a few days after being heavily penalized by the stock market concerns about future profitability.

* MERSEN issued a turnover up 17% in the second quarter, supported by sales in solar activity, which is the group to provide a statement of objectives for the entire year.

* APRR said it had recorded a traffic decrease of 0.8% in the second quarter 2011, impacted by the decline in light vehicle traffic.

* AUFEMININ.COM announced Wednesday in the evening sales up 17% in the second quarter to nearly 13 million.The group said that the resumption of its activity accelerated during the quarter.

* CEGID has reported a 32% decline in net profit in the first six months of the year to 4.8 million, despite a 5% increase in sales.

The publisher of management software specialist said that last year, accounts for the first half was boosted by a reversal of provision for risk.

* ETAM reported sales up 7.2% in the second quarter to 256.5 million euros.Specialist lingerie and ready-to-wear having had a negative currency impact of 5.8 million euros over the period.

SWORD * confirmed Wednesday its objectives for 2011, ie a turnover of 139.6 million euros and EBIT of over 22 million excluding acquisitions.

Its operating income stood at 10.07 million euros in the first six months of the year to 67.59 million euros in sales.

A plan proposed by six senators could be adopted by the Senate, and would allow the necessary increase in the ceiling of U.S. debt. It includes not raising taxes, but tax reform. Barack Obama said he "did not have much time" before the deadline of August 2 to avoid a default.

President Barack Obama said it was "consistent with (his) approach to" raising the ceiling on the debt of the Senate a new plan presented Tuesday, and said that "progress" had been made in negotiations with his Republican opponents.

"Progress has been made in some of the discussions," saidObama, noting however that "not much time" before the deadline of August 2 to avoid a default.

Faced with the prospect of a close, the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday signed its biggest gains of the year: the Dow Jones gained 1.63% and the Nasdaq 2.22%.

Tuesday, a group of six senators, Democrats and Republicans, dubbed the "Gang of Six", presented behind closed doors a new proposal.

According to a source familiar with the matter, the plan includes spending cuts of 3600-3700 billion over 10 years and proposes changes to the major U.S. social programs.

The plan would also include increased revenues from the federal government, not by raising taxes – something the Republicans are viscerally opposed – but by reforming the tax system.

"This proposal is broadly in line with the approach I have defended," saidObama during a speech to the press at the White House. The President called the Senate plan as "balanced approach".

If the head of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Harry Reid, said Tuesday that it would be "delighted" to use elements of the plan of the "gang of six", he recalled that there were only 13 days before the fateful date.After this period, the U.S. may default and a serious economic consequences, according to the Treasury.

For its part, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, said the plan contained "gaps".

Moreover, according to a poll Pew think tank, the American public is divided over the urgency of acting to raise the debt ceiling of 40% think it is "absolutely essential" while 39% believe that the country may exceed the deadline.

Meanwhile, the President considered it necessary to continue to work on a contingency plan developed by the leaders of the Senate, Harry Reid and Republican Mitch McConnell, "if there would be no agreement."

Mr.Obama also noted that "it is not because we agree in principle with six senators on a set of measures (…) we have an agreement in the House of Representatives or the Senate" .

The "plan B" Senator McConnell would give the president the power to rise three times the maximum debt of 2,500 billion by the end of 2012. But it would leave only the political responsibility of raising the debt ceiling.

There is a gap between Democrats who want a policy of deficit reductions based tax, and Republicans, who do not want to hear about the draconian budget cuts.

Large global banks pose systemic risk will be assessed a surcharge capital from 1% to 2.5% on Monday said Mario Draghi, the chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) at a press conference.

Mario Draghi, who is also governor of the Bank of Italy, also said that only the shares of major systemic banks – called "Sifi" (systemically important institutions Financial) – will be considered for the calculation of this surcharge.

Drawing lessons from the crisis, regulators want to tighten capital requirements imposed on banks whose failure could lead to widespread financial crisis and other bank failures.

"The big international banks will be subject to systemic overload of capital (including, Ed) between 1% and 2.5%," said Mario Draghi at the end of a meeting in Paris from CSF.

"These surcharges will only be made capital of ordinary shares," he added.

On this occasion, the FSB announced that two papers will be published "in the coming days" to be submitted for consultation.

The first will focus on the overhead capital and the second will be on the procedures for crisis resolution in the event of bank failure.

The CSF will then make final recommendations to be proposed to the Heads of State and Government of the G20 summit in Cannes on 3 and 4 November.

This surcharge will be added to capital of 7% minimum capital requirement under the new regulations Basel III.

Thirty major international banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, HSBC, Deutsche Bank or BNP Paribas, should be part of institutions regarded as systemic, that is to say whose failure could cause widespread financial crisis or other bank failures.

But for now, the FSB did not give details on the name and the number of banks that will be part of the list of systemic institutions.

The U.S. president has given notice to the Republicans early proposals "serious" to reduce the debt of the United States, and particularly to accept higher taxes for the wealthy. Barack Obama at the press conference on July 15, 2011 on U.S. debt

The United States might be on the verge of a default, Obama is not ready to accept any agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. The ultimatum Friday and the Republicans is one condition: that their proposals are finally "serious".

"Time is running out," he said as U.S. President during a press conference at the White House. He recalled that he had given on Thursday, 24 to 36 hours to elected officials to reach an agreement."If they (elected officials, ie) show me a serious plan, I am ready to move," he added, while all the negotiations held at the White House with the Republicans have been unsuccessful so far.

For Barack Obama because the Republican plan to reach a compromise without raising taxes is simply "not serious". A new proposal Republican, revealed Friday, suggesting a reduction of 2,400 billion federal spending and limit government spending to a percentage still under discussion in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. She also wants to add a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget, the same type as the golden rule adopted in Germany or under discussion in France. The Republicans want to put this plan to vote next week.

Obama has already disqualified the plan because it contains no tax increases for the wealthy. "Failure to ask for anything more fortunate of us (…) does not seem to be a good plan," he said. He added: "I have not seen a credible plan that achieves 2.4 trillion dollars without affecting ordinary people." Some members of Congress are "stuck in their ideology," he further lamented. As for the balanced budget amendment, "it will not be necessary if we do our job."

Since mid-May, the U.S. federal debt has reached the maximum allowed, an issue that the Treasury does not get around forever and that requires raising the legal limit by a vote of Congress. U.S. debt reached 14.294 billion dollars.The Republican majority in the House of Representatives blocked for now, we want to tackle the deficit, having grown an opposite attitude for years until 2009. Beyond the August 2, the default threat, repeated on Thursday Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

"We're running out of time. We must act" and "take this opportunity to take care of our long-term fiscal problems." Obama, seeking a broad agreement, claims to have done its part by agreeing to sacrifice important public budgets and social programs to receive Medicare and Medicaid, in the heart of his campaign in 2008.

Some economists and business circles fear the shock to the world economy still recovering in the event of default.

But Barack Obama wanted optimistic Friday, saying the United States are not in the situation in Greece, nor in that of Portugal. He even allowed a humorous pic. "I always hope. You do not remember my campaign?" He told reporters, referring to the word "Hope" (hope) as its slogan in the campaign for the 2008 presidential .

These austerity measures should enable Italy, which worries the huge public debt markets, to achieve an almost balanced budget in 2014. The plan still to be finally approved Friday by the House of Deputies. The Italian Senate approved Thursday, July 14 reinforced the austerity plan aimed at restoring fiscal balance in the country in 2014.

The Italian Senate passed Thursday, July 14 in a vote of confidence reinforced an austerity plan, which has yet to be finally approved Friday by the House of Deputies, to avoid contagion from the debt crisis at the Italie.Ces austerity measures should enable Italy, which worries the huge public debt markets, to achieve an almost balanced budget in 2014.

Confidence was passed by 161 senators while 135 voted against and 3 were abstenus.Majorité and opposition had agreed to vote the plan as soon as possible. The opposition of left and center, which has agreed not to make numerous amendments, however, voted against the text and requires the government to resign after final adoption, which it refuses.

To reassure investors, this austerity has been strengthened.The level of measures is therefore now at about 47 billion euros by 2014, against 40 billion originally planned.