News Headlines

South Korea's LG Electronics, second largest manufacturer of televisions, publishes a profit fall 90% in the second quarter, a decline much steeper than expected.

The range of smartphones in the group, yet undeveloped, is suffering from competition from Apple and Samsung Electronics, which is expected to increase further in the second semester with the launch of new models of smartphones by the rivals.

"Results are not encouraging until the third quarter but that should improve next quarter with the launch of the new smartphone equipped with the Android operating system," said Nam Dae-jong, an analyst at SK Securities.

A fragile economic recovery and growing uncertainty surrounding the European fiscal crisis could also discourage the demand for flat screen televisions and other appliances such as washing machines or refrigerators.

The group reported an operating profit of 126 billion won (81.7 million euros) in the second quarter, against 1,240 million won a year earlier, Thomson Reuters and a consensus of 210 billion won .

Sales of televisions have been affected by a decline of nearly 10% of the euro against the dollar last quarter, inflating the cost of flat panel displays and other production materials priced in dollars.

Europe accounts for about 40% of turnover generated by the segment LG TVs.

With an operating loss of 120 billion won in the quarter, the mobile phone division remains the weak point of the group that plans to double its production in the second quarter. But everything should depend on the success of its smartphone running Google Android to be launched this quarter with 120 operators.

LG Electronics believes that sales of mobile phones should have little upside in the current quarter.

The group has passed 30.6 million phones in the second quarter, against 27.1 million the previous quarter.

Title LG lost 2.88% to 101,000 won on the Seoul stock exchange.

The organizer of resistance testing, the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS), will try to find out why six German banks, including Deutsche Bank, were not released Friday details of their holdings of sovereign debt, announced his secretary General to the Financial Times on Monday.

CEBS, said Arnoud Vossen financial daily, had reached agreement with banks on the publication of their holdings of sovereign debt at the time of release of results of resistance tests on Friday.

Now, six German banks have not released the amount and distribution of their deposits in government bonds: Deutsche, Deutsche Postbank, Hypo Real Estate, one German bank to have failed the tests of strength, the cooperative DZ Bank and WGZ Bank and Landesbank Berlin.

Arnoud Vossen said he will call to the tax authorities, the BaFin and the Bundesbank, to ask them the reasons for this silence.

Postbank, which narrowly passed the tests, said Monday it had refused to reveal its exposure because it would have been the publication of old figures dating back to late March.

According to a spokesman for Postbank, the bank's exposure to sovereign risk Portuguese accounted for 50 million euros on July 20. The Italian paper assets totaled 4.6 billion the same day. For Ireland, the figure was 300 million euros, 1.3 billion of Greece and Spain 1.2 billion.

Deutsche Bank declined to give the reason for his silence.It could say more when publishing its second quarter results Tuesday.

Six U.S. bank Friday were declared bankrupt by the regulatory authorities, bringing to 102 the number of establishments in this situation the United States since the beginning of the year.

In 2009, the figure of one hundred banks in bankruptcy had been reached in October.

The banks involved in Friday's announcement is the Sterling Bank of Lantana (Florida), the Crescent Bank & Trust Company Jasper (Georgia), Williamsburg First National Bank of Kingstree, South Carolina (), Thunder Bank Sylvan Grove (Kansas), the Community Security Bank of New Prague (Minnesota) and the Southwest USA Bank in Las Vegas (Nevada), said the authority of deposit insurance, the FDIC.

The largest of the six, the Crescent Bank and Trust, has eleven branches and approximately $ 1.01 billion in assets.Its deposits reach 965.7 million dollars.

According to the FDIC, which guarantees individual deposits up to $ 250,000, the six failures will cost about 394 million dollars added to its compensation fund.

Nokia reported a sharp drop in earnings in the second quarter, increasing a little more pressure on his ailing CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo.

The Finnish group, which manufactures mobile phones sold in three in the world, proceeded to the quarter two profit warnings and a reshuffle of his leadership when he barely keep pace with Apple in the smartphone.

We learned this week that Nokia sought a replacement for Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who has spent more than half his life in the company.It could even be removed from duty as this month, The Wall Street Journal.

A Nokia spokesman declined to say after the publication of results if the Director-General retained the support of the board of directors.

Aged 57, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who is married to a longtime advocate of Finnish group, has called for an end to the rumors about his departure.

"There have been many rumors about my position on myself, in recent weeks and it is not good for Nokia and should be completed one way or another," he said on TV channel CNBC.

At 13:15 GMT, Nokia shares gained 3.2% to 7.215 euros while the Stoxx 600 index of European technology stocks took 1.5%.

"The issue of change management is more important for the course of action that results in time," said Thomas Langer, an analyst at WestLB.

Competition intensifies

Earnings per share excluding exceptional items fell 27% as expected to fall to 0.11 euros per share.

Nokia had warned June 16 that sales and profits of its mobile division would be lower than what was previously anticipated, the group has been forced to sharply reduce its prices to meet competition from the iPhone Apple and phones using Google's operating system.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, who is known as "OPK" within the group, said that Nokia was counting on the N8, its first phone using the new Symbian software, which should give users a superior experience for all other smartphones until been manufactured by the company.

"OPK said that the N8 will bring the best user experience ever experienced with Symbian.This is good but what about this experience unmatched by the competition? That's what matters and we do not think it will be enough, "said Carolina Milanesi, analyst at Gartner.

Nokia said its operating margin on its mobile phone division fell to 9.5% in the second quarter and warned that this trend may continue in the third quarter.

In this case, the group expects a non-IFRS operating margin of its mobile division and service of between 7% and 10% the third quarter of 2010.Nokia also expects that its market share by volume remained stable in 2010 compared to last year.

"What is slightly worrying is the margin guidance for Q3 (…) Now, everything depends of the fourth quarter. Competition is intensifying," said Kulbinder Garcha from Credit Suisse.

The N8, which should be commercialized at the end of the current quarter, will compete with Apple's latest iPhone and google-phones "Samsung and Sony Ericsson in the fourth quarter, which is strategically with the Christmas holidays.

Nokia shares tumbled about 20% since the beginning of the year, sharply underperforming the index of technology stocks which gained 7%.

The U.S. Abbott Laboratories has reported quarterly earnings slightly better than expected, driven by strong growth in sales of prescription drugs, medical devices and nutritional products.

Net income for the second quarter was virtually unchanged at 1.29 billion dollars (one billion euros), or 83 cents per share.

Excluding items, earnings in the quarter rose 13.5% to $ 1.01 per share. Analysts on average expected $ 1.00 according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Worldwide sales increased 17.8% to 8.82 billion dollars, a result consistent with the consensus that almost amounted to 8.84 billion dollars.

The action goes off in BP down Monday after the detection of a new oil spill near the well damaged in the Gulf of Mexico, traders reported.

In the morning, BP is losing more than 5% while the FTSE 100 index of London Stock Exchange gives him 0.4%.

BP engineers detected an underground oil spill near the well that could be damaged due to the new dome containment set up last week, had informed U.S. authorities on Sunday.

In a statement released Monday morning, BP makes no mention of these leaks and said that the tests are continuing on the site.

Sony Ericsson Friday reported a second consecutive quarterly profit, while reaffirming its forecast for a slight increase in volumes of the global market for mobile phones this year.

The mobile manufacturer, owned jointly by Ericsson and Sony, posted pretax profit of 31 million euros in the second quarter against an average forecast of analysts of 16.5 million according to Reuters.

During the same period of 2009, the group had suffered a loss of 283 million euros.

"Sony Ericsson maintains its forecast of a slight increase in the global market in 2010," the company said in a statement.

Sell Picard Frozen wants to seduce his prospective buyers by promising a steady pace of store openings in France, increased its "share of stomach" by the customer and the "seeds of growth" that could include plant in Sweden .

Estimated at around half a billion euros, the French leader in frozen, advised by Rothschild, must convince the private equity funds that focus on the record already with over 850 stores under his belt and a number Business of 1.15 billion euros in 2009, the best in terms of growth is still to come.

Among potential buyers, the names of investment companies as HVAC, Lion Capital, Bain, Eurazeo or Clayton Dubilier & Rice are cited.

The current majority shareholder, the fund BC Partners, has entered the capital in 2004 when the group had almost 600 stores.Some analysts doubt that the expansion of the group, whose range of products ranging from frozen vegetables for basic dishes upscale, can continue indefinitely.

The CEO of the group receives for his part no signs of market saturation frozen.

"There is still potential for more than 300 stores in France", or growth for seven or eight years at the current pace of opening, said in an interview with Reuters Philip Pauze.

The former executive director of Carrefour said they did not fear the "cannibalization" of sales from its stores – unlike what happened for example to the Starbucks cafe – thanks to extensive studies of "geo-marketing.

If the sign to flake advantage in France of a comeback of local shops, it also faces competition from large retail groups such as Carrefour's former owner, who reinvest the inner city through small surfaces.

SHARE OF STOMACH

"We want your food to make purchases at more than Picard in a supermarket at the fish that the local baker or your neighborhood because our competitors were also artisans," says Philip Pauze who should win the "shares stomach "for its customers and ensure the growth of existing stores.

Philip Pauze is currently facing many funds to mount the third LBO (leveraged buyout) in the history of Picard, but already the arguments he rode will expand to fit the fourth in a few years.

"The strategy in the next three years is to continue to develop in France while planting seeds abroad that will generate buzz for the fourth LBO (leveraged buyout)," said he, Assuming that Picard could eventually attract a large distribution group or a multinational agribusiness.

The key to this new step would be to prove that the group can export its model abroad and in several countries.

For if the mark has become essential in urban France, some professionals are questioning his ability to conquer rural areas and especially the rest of Europe.

The company wants to continue its development in Italy where it has 30 stores and aims Turin, Milan and also Rome, "a city that consumes a lot of frozen.

The refrigeration specialist has chosen the North of Europe as a new stage of its expansion and more specifically Sweden, because of the palace "refined" its consumers.

"It is a good market to take more, even if there are not many people, there are 50-60% higher than consumption in France in the frozen," enthuses CEO evoking consumption "huge" country's ice.

Belgium is also seen as a natural market, especially in Wallonia and Brussels, but the market size is limited to the group that there could still open a few stores.

Picard could also try to find their way into North America, with priority given to Canada, because of existing cultural links with the six million French-speaking countries.

The methods of making and release of stress testing banks continued Tuesday to divide the states of the European Union, which will continue discussions on this subject in the coming days.

Meeting in Brussels on the occasion of the monthly meeting of Ecofin, the finance ministers of the Twenty-Seven have reported an agreement in principle to have the greatest possible transparency in the publication of test results but no have not provided clarifications on the exact criteria that will be made public.

"Introducing stress test, which was held this morning and repeated by the Commission, Ministers, Central Bank, it really will give the greatest possible transparency," said the Belgian minister Finance Didier Reynders, on behalf of the six-month presidency of the European Union.

"This is the reason we have confirmed that States were ready to respond with action if necessary to consolidate the position of either institution," he added.

Nearly one week after publication by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) from the list of 91 banks that are under the stress tests and outline the options chosen, the exercise remains unclear.

According to several European sources, several countries have expressed reluctance to publish certain ratios obtained in these tests.

PUBLICATION IN TWO TIME

France, in a contribution to the work of the Economic and Financial Committee (EFC), the body which prepares the meetings of the Ecofin council, has asked these days in particular the question to reveal whether or not the exposure of banks to sovereign debt ., "said one of those sources.

She also stressed the difficulty of harmonizing one institution to another to calculate the ratio of Tier commitments of a bank compared to its equity "hard".

Finally, a ratio to take into account the exposure of banks to a potential liquidity shock is also one of reflection and discussion with other countries, "said this source.

Regarding publication, it will be done in two stages, Didier Reynders said: July 23, the consolidated results of the 91 banking groups will be published then, within two weeks, institutions with branches of other countries will detail the results unbound.

Asked how he decided whether a bank will succeed or not the tests, the Commissioner of Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, has said his side should be that banks are resistant to the criteria individually, but also in whole.

"All this will be covered by stress testing," he said.

These discussions around the criteria for publication are particularly difficult and sensitive because they can greatly alter the ranking between banks need recapitalization and healthy banks.

"Everyone looks at his door (…) And everyone has their own definition of transparency," said one diplomat.

TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONS

Didier Reynders said the CEf had been instructed to continue technical discussions to coordinate and organize the publication of results.

"There is no problem on the selection (criteria).It is simply a problem of coordination, ensuring at the same time to publish all the figures, "he said.

Monday, after a meeting of the Eurogroup, the French Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde, said that several criteria had been detailed by ministers.

"These include situations are very stressed in higher CDS (credit default swaps) and spreads," noted the minister, while noting also that the deliberations and discussions would continue until the eve of publication of results, scheduled for July 23.

"Our work will continue until July 22.There will also Teleconference (finance ministers) that day and the conversations will take place until the last moment, "she said.

Asked about possible bank recapitalization, the minister said several countries had "underfoot", including France, Spain or Germany, which plans to support the sector, introduced at the height of the crisis in late 2008 are still active or can be reactivated.

L'Oreal reported a slowdown in organic growth in the second quarter compared to the first, despite a very strong sales growth in emerging countries.

The global cosmetics giant has seen its sales climb 12.4% to EUR 4.945 million, slightly above the consensus of analysts polled by Reuters writing (Euros 4,897,000) which has benefited from the positive effects the decline of the euro.

Its organic growth has in turn emerged at 5.2% against 5.6% forecast by analysts, on average, marking a slowdown from 7.4% in the first quarter had benefited from more favorable basis for comparison (- 4.3% first quarter 2009 and -2.1% in the second).

Citing "important breakthrough" in the new markets, including China, Brazil, Russia, India and Indonesia, the group said in a statement to "tackle the second half with confidence."

While sales in Western Europe have increased modestly (+1.1% on a comparable basis), they increased by 4.2% in North America and, especially, have jumped from 11.1% in emerging countries, with increases of 11% in Asia and 18.4% in Latin America.

Sales of luxury products (Lancome, Armani, Helena Rubenstein and Yves Saint Laurent Beauty) have signed the largest increase (+7.6%) of the four major divisions.

These consumer products (L'Oreal Paris, Garnier) rose 4.1%, those of professional products for hairdressers took 4.7% and the products sold in drugstore rose 6.7% .

Against the trend, The Body Shop chain has seen sales stagnate (-0.1%).

The L'Oréal closed Monday down 0.86% to 82.09 euros on the Paris Stock Exchange for a market capitalization of 49.2 billion euros. The sign value up 5.2% since January, while the CAC down 9.37% over the period and the diverse European index of consumer goods ahead of 12.05%.