News Headlines

The Paris Bourse falling off again Friday at the opening in the wake of American and Asian seats in anticipation of several economic indicators, the estimate of U.S. GDP in the second quarter, and the speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Around 9:15 am, the CAC 40 index yields 0.14% to 3470.19 points.

Carrefour leads the ACC increases and takes 1.04%, followed by Lagardère earning 0.68% Thursday after noting its 2010 objectives.

EADS shows the largest decline and fell by 3.06%.The daily Les Echos reported on Friday that its subsidiary Airbus has revised downwards its forecast production rate of the A350.

Outside ACC wins Scor 2.86% after an increase of recommendation from JP Morgan to overweight cons neutral.

London and Frankfurt are treading water, instead yielding UK 0.04% while the German rises of 0.01%. As for the European indices, the EuroStoxx 50 fell by 0.2% and the Eurofirst 300 lost 0.18%.

The Euro remains above 1.27 dollars after its rebound from yesterday, and traded around 1.2707 against the dollar.

U.S. light crude oil retreated slightly and treated around 73.10 dollars a barrel.

Air Liquide confirms its objective of increasing its net income in 2010 after an acceleration of growth in sales in the second quarter, thanks largely to emerging markets, which reduced its activity to levels pre- crisis.

The group, world leader in industrial gases, carried out the first six months of the year a turnover of 6.52 billion euros, up 9.7% year on year as reported and 6 , 3% on a comparable basis (excluding currency and natural gas).

This period reflects an acceleration of growth during the period, since in the second quarter sales rose 7.4% on a comparable year, against 5.2% in the first quarter.

In the gas business and services, the largest group, growth reached 9.5% in the first six months of the year.

"Overall, a solid first half operationally and in terms of present and future growth, with an overall recovery of development projects, which brings us to maintain our goal for 2010, which is a new growth in net profit based on trends that we see today, "said the CEO of Air Liquide, Benoît Potier, during a press conference.

The group has posted over the last ten years an average growth of 8% of its net income.

NEW STRATEGIC PLAN END OF YEAR

Asked about the second half of 2010, Benoît Potier has however denied to a more accurate prognosis, emphasizing that the business of Air Liquide answers to longer cycles.

"The momentum we have instituted is good (…) We are optimistic over the medium term. As regards the second half of the year, the economy may still be in a band with a little turbulence, but which have nothing to do with what we saw, we find ourselves a period a little normal, "he replied.

At 12:25, Air Liquide shares gained 0.86% to 87.11 euros, after having opened down about 2%.At the same time, the German competitor Linde, which has published quarterly exceeded expectations, accounts for more than 3% in Frankfurt.

"The rate of growth for the first half was higher at Air Liquide, Linde but it came the best surprise," said Peter Spengler, an analyst at DZ Bank. "Moreover, there is a recovery effect, the Air Liquide is far superior to that of Linde."

The dynamics observed in the first half due to the return of some mature markets to their pre-crisis levels and by strong demand from emerging countries.They represented 18% of sales of Air Liquide in late June, against 16% in late 2009, and this weight is called to continue to grow.

In total, the group recorded in the first half of a record 13 starts of large units, and twelve starts are planned in the second half.Benoit Potier said he was confident in 2010 as the threshold of two billion euros of investments, including acquisitions and capex.

The efficiencies generated by the strategic plan and savings Alma represented 145 million euros in the first half, and provided a significant leverage effect on operating profit and net profit.

Net income, group share, increased 13.3% to 676 million euros in the first half, while operating margin increased 160 basis points to 16.6%, a record for Air Liquide.

Alma has enabled Air Liquide to save over 750 million euros over three years.The Strategic Plan for 2011-2015 will be presented in early December.

At the end of the semester, the group's debt amounted to 5.69 billion euros, broadly stable compared to 5.65 billion posted a year earlier. Compared to the end of 2009, debt increased by 800 million, an increase attributable to more than half the decline of the euro against the dollar, the yen and the yuan.

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.

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.

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 Nikkei closed up 0.77% Tuesday, rebounding from a low of seven months in favor of including the maturity of Japanese government bonds on Tuesday, leading investors to postpone the actions, even if caution remains the watchword.

The Nikkei gained 71.26 points to 9,338.04 points and the broader TOPIX, took 10.35 points (1.24%) to 847.24 points, despite the renewed investor caution.

The weaker yen, following the remarks of the former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kenneth Rogoff, referring to the beginning of a weaker housing market in China that could affect the banking sector and the economy, encouraged exporters.

The semiconductor equipment maker Tokyo Electron, the specialist digital cameras Canon and carmaker Honda Motor have thus gained between 0.42 and 2.19%.

Societe Generale announced Thursday that entered into exclusive negotiations to sell its Belgian subsidiary ECS group Econocom.

The offer values the shares ECS 210 million (including dividend for 2009 due to the seller), of which 30 million would be financed by a share issue underwritten by Econocom SocGen.

After the transaction, Societe Generale would become a shareholder of Econocom by 9%.

ECS specializes in the management and piloting information systems.Present in 17 countries including Western Europe and East, Morocco, the United States and China, employing over 1,500 people in 2009 and achieved a turnover of 840 million Euro.

"This will allow the new entity to make a breakthrough in the IT services market concentration, where size is a strategic issue," said the SocGen said in a statement.

Econocom, specializing in the management of IT infrastructure and telecom companies, employs 2,300 people and achieved a turnover of 759 million euros in 2009.

Completion of the transaction will be subject to approvals from competition authorities.

The leaders of the European Union should give the green light Thursday to a policy support mechanism to Greece combining bilateral loans from countries in the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, diplomatic sources say on the eve of EU summit.

The objective of this mechanism is to ensure the stability of the euro, which hit a low of 10 months Wednesday after Fitch lowered by the credit rating long term Portugal, and he is not triggered so that Greece will manage to refinance themselves on the market, say these sources.

"We are not in view to publish a simple declaration in the policy or to take money out at once (…) What we seek is a clear political agreement, "said one European diplomat of high rank.

This strategy could be endorsed at a meeting of Heads of State and Government of the euro area, held before the summit opens, and then endorsed by all leaders of Twenty-Seven, even these sources suggest .

The discussion initiated on certain conditions imposed by Germany – a trip as a last resort and tighter European rules of budgetary control – could in turn be subject to further discussions at ministerial level.

The volume of aid is not clear at the summit, but highly placed sources within the European Commission reported that an envelope between 20 and 22 billion euros is planned, with participation of IMF could go up to 15 billion euros.

MATURITY

Diplomatic sources disclose that the next two meetings of the Eurogroup, in Madrid in mid-April in Brussels in mid-May, could be used to clarify these points if necessary.

"The art of the exercise is to give (George) Papandreou assistance requested while leaving, why not care for ministers to specify that possibly the next weeks," said one diplomatic source.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, facing the hostility of a majority of Germans and its coalition partners to any aid to Greece, faces May 9 to major elections in North Rhine-Westphalia .

For its part, Athens will refinance about 16 billion euros of debt between April 20 and May 23 and then hopes to qualify for a lower rate than that imposed upon the markets currently.

The German authorities, who suggested on Tuesday for the first time they could agree to provide aid to Greece to strict conditions, repeated that the issue was not on the official agenda of the summit and they not expect any decision Thursday or Friday.

For its part, Greece, which had threatened to appeal to the IMF if the Europeans brought him no clear support at the summit, now insists that a solution is found purely European.

"We are at a moment when Europe speaks for the future of the euro area (…) We insist that a solution must be found in a European framework because we believe that Europe can and must raise High colors, "said a spokesman for the Greek government.

THE EURO ZONE "not out of"

In Brussels, the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, has abounded in this direction and defended a mechanism based on the euro area.

He then called on leaders of Twenty-Seven to reach an agreement as early as Thursday, if necessary by bringing together the Eurogroup level of Heads of State and Government, because "the euro area is still not off the hook ".

Several European diplomats, the positions of France and Germany, two heavyweights of the single currency have converged in recent hours both on the IMF's participation in the mechanism, to which Nicolas Sarkozy is reluctant, as the organization of a summit of the eurozone, the idea does not appeal to Angela Merkel.

The lowering of the rating by Fitch of Portugal and that doubts about the Greek case led to a fall of more than 1% of the euro against the dollar at 1.3335 dollars, its lowest level since May 2009.(see)

The yield spread between Greek and German bonds (Bunds) to ten years has in turn strengthened slightly, to a level close to 330 basis points against 344 pdb Monday.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued a final decision Tuesday in connection with a complaint against U.S. support provided by the EU for Airbus (EAD.PA: Quote), reported a journalist Reuters Tuesday.

The final confidential report, which will be released in several weeks or months, was handed over to representatives of U.S. trade missions in Geneva and Europe, said the journalist.

The general view, the WTO should give reason to Boeing, which should not necessarily end the transatlantic dispute between the EU and the United States. Grants are at the heart of the battle between the two aircraft manufacturers in the market of civil aviation, as estimated by the aerospace companies to 3.000 billion dollars (2.200 billion euros) over the next 20 years.The United States accuses Airbus of getting a total of 205 billion dollars of soft loans and other aid from the France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom over two decades.