International Business News

The net private capital flight from Russia has already reached $ 43 billion in April. At this rate the figure of 80.5 billion recorded in 2011 could be beaten. Vladimir Putin.

The election of Vladimir Putin in March may have ended the political uncertainties but not the flight of private capital observed for two years in Russia. "Capital flight continued in April, to $ 8 billion, according to our preliminary estimates," said Monday the Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency. And the Russian official expects a continuation of mouvenment in May.

"Capital flight is much stronger than expected," added Mr. Klepach. In April, the Russian Central Bank (BCR) had indicated that net private capital flight from Russia had reached nearly $ 35.1 billion in first quarter 2012. In 2011, she had more than doubled compared to last year, to $ 80.5 billion, against $ 34.4 billion in 2010.

To explain this phenomenon, the leaders of the Russian Central Bank has repeatedly complained of the poor investment climate in Russia. The acceleration of this phenomenon is also due to the global financial crisis, making loans harder to obtain, put a stop to capital inflow in Russia, according to rating agency Standard and Poor's. The agency had also discussed the "political uncertainties" that weighed before the presidential election of March 4, won by the country's strongman, Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. places have opened on a slightly downward Thursday, torn between statistics on jobs better than expected and concerns about U.S. consumer Publications mixed after several distributors.

In early trade, the Dow dropped 0.08% to 13,258.81 points. The Standard & Poor's, wider, yielding 0.11% at 1400.55 points while the Nasdaq composite lost 0.23% to 3052.65 points.

The number of jobless in the U.S. fell more than expected during the week to April 28, showed the figures published by the Labor Department.

But concerns over consumption weigh on the market, while according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters of 15 distribution groups that have published their sales figures, seven were worse than pre ; seen by consensus.

U.S. investors did not react to the announcements of the ECB and its president Mario Draghi. The central bank has maintained the status quo on rates.

Values, Costco Wholesale fell by 1.3%. The U.S. distributor saw sales grow by 4% in April on a comparable basis, while analysts expected a more pronounced increase of 5.1%.

In the same area, the retail giant Home Depot fell by 0.6%, the largest decline in the Dow Jones.

General Motors gave 0.7% after surging more than 6% in pre-market trading. The automaker reported earnings higher than expected in the first quarter, driven by strong demand in North America and a smaller loss than expected in Europe.

Kensey Nash Corp. soared 32.4% after the announcement of its acquisition by the Dutch group of food chemistry and DSM for $ 360 million.

The sanitation system of pensions and social benefits is underway. The state expects to save over 800 million euros a year. Three of the four ministers of the Greek far-right party Laos opposing the new austerity measures demanded by the creditors of the countries presented their resignations Friday, February 10

The Greek authorities have discovered two years about 200,000 cases of fraud and pension benefits, and expect the fight against these practices an annual saving of over 800 million, sources said Tuesday the Ministry of Labour.

Taking advantage of the carelessness and corruption of large parts of the administration, this large-scale fraud was on a range of schemes, pension after death that relatives of the deceased continued to receive disability pensions granted to Greeks perfectly valid, said the same sources. A total of sanitation system of pensions and benefits, via a generalized computerization underway, should allow Greece to save more than 800 million euros a year.

Assisted by police, the Ministry of Labour now back as a new track, that of firms reporting imputed social contributions – some 4,000 cases have already been identified – to sell at full price coverage for uninsured assets, nearly third of the workforce. About sixty of these companies is currently in the crosshairs.

With some 7 billion euros of social benefits per year, including $ 2 billion for unemployment benefits, Greece is the European average, but the effectiveness of these funds in the fight against poverty and exclusion is less to that country partners. Over the revelations of fraud have occurred in recent months, including the Greeks had discovered the case of the island of Zante in the Ionian Sea, showing an abnormally high rate of blind or that of the island of Kalymnos (southeast ), which appeared afflicted with high rates of mental illness.

The consortium led by Russia's Gazprom to develop the giant Shtokman gas field in the Arctic in June will announce an overhaul of this project, which accuses several years of delay, have we learned from several sources within the consortium, industry and Russian authorities.

Gazprom and its allies in this project, which include the French Total and Norway's Statoil, plan to give up on the Shtokman gas transit to Europe through pipelines in favor of production liquefied natural gas (LNG), the sources explained.

They stated that no decision on this point had been adopted so far, but several sources have said that the consortium had canceled all tenders already started to build. 

A redesign of the project could result in a delay in the production field, currently scheduled for 2016.

"For now, the technical configuration of the project not suitable for any of the shareholders, so they are not willing to take a final investment decision," said a source in the consortium.

Signing a new agreement could intervene at a meeting of investors in St. Petersburg in June, she added.

"After that one year might be necessary before a final investment decision. They need time to launch new tenders and find new suppliers. "

The European Banking Authority (EBA) would like to see banks of the Old Continent to restructure in order to raise funds directly in the markets without relying on cash-rate cut by the Bank Central Europe (ECB) and the regulator intends to propose measures to this effect at the end of its meetings Tuesday and Wednesday.

The debt crisis weighed heavily on the financing capacity of European banks, leaving them little choice but to resort massively in recent months to two injections of liquidity to three years ECB. Spanish and Italian banks will be among those who most borrowed during these operations.

"The ABE discusses possible policy measures that could accompany this process of deleveraging and restructuring to ensure it takes place in an orderly and measured, allowing banks to maintain a regular supply of credit to the real economy, "said Chairman of the EBA, Andrea Enria, in a dossier presented to finance ministers of the European Uni ; enemies last week.

European regulators want banks such as replacing their short-term financing through funding of longer maturities, to avoid having to call too often investors. 

Such a development would also help banks prepare for the scrutiny of their business models in a new series of stress tests ("stress tests") pre ; for next year.

The EBA also seek this week to ensure that banks with 31, according to its criteria, a total need of fresh capital of 115 billion euros take the necessary steps to fill the gap by the June 30

Andrea Enria estimated last week that the recapitalization plan was "on track" but that some banks were based on "overly optimistic assumptions" about how they plan to raise capital. 

SPANISH AND ITALIAN BANKS: CAUTION, FRAGILE

In the opinion of analysts, the Italian bank Monte dei Paschi, particularly should struggle to achieve by June 30, the goal of a capital ratio "hard" 9%.

The managing director of the bank, Fabrizio Viola, said last week that Montepaschi fill nearly a third of its capital requirements – which amount to € 3.3 billion – by converting hybrid securities into shares. Italian media reported Sunday also that the bank plans to cut heavily into its portfolio of sovereign debt and close 150 branches.

Some Italian banks like to see the EBA to backtrack on its requirements for emergency funds to the crisis, citing the easing of tensions on sovereign debt markets since the two operations rations refinancing three years of the ECB.

The Governor of the Bank of Italy, Ignazio Visco, told Saturday that ABE could relax its requirements for capital. But he said it was a medium-term and that the EBA should not take any decision on this matter at its next meeting.

Spanish banks are also in sight, many are afflicted by the bursting of the housing bubble and the deterioration of the economy.

In case some institutions could achieve their own funds by the June deadline, Andrea Enria proposed that the new emergency fund in the euro area, the mechanism Europé in stability (MES) can directly inject funds to troubled banks after its introduction in July.

At this stage, the MES is designed only to assist States. 

The EBA board will also consider progress made by banks in limiting bonuses was decided in January 2011.

The EBA report is expected after Easter.

Siemens has offered concessions to the European Commission as part of an investigation into Areva NP joint venture specialized in nuclear reactors it had negotiated with Areva, said on Wednesday the EU executive.

The survey of Brussels is to determine whether a non-compete agreement between Areva and Siemens as part of their joint venture and still valid after the release of the German finalized in March 2011, violated Community rules.

"The Parties undertake to allow Siemens Areva NP to compete without restriction from the date on which Siemens has lost control of Areva NP joint," said the EC in a statement. 

Areva has finalized the acquisition in April 2011 for 1.62 billion euros for 34% of Siemens in Areva NP, which the German group announced the sale in early 2009.

The French group had previously obtained in late 2009 that Siemens can not complete its proposed alliance with Russia's Rosatom in nuclear power as an arbitration procedure on the price at which the German group it would sell its share in Areva NP would not be complete.

The EC says it is awaiting comments from third parties to determine whether the proposed concessions are sufficient to allay any fears competition.

If so, the EU executive continues, the concessions could become legally binding for Siemens and Areva.

According to Airbus, the final WTO report confirms massive subsidies granted to Boeing. The U.S., by contrast, talk about a great victory for the American aircraft manufacturer in this case. Airbus delivered 534 aircraft in 2011, a record.

The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus said Monday that the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) confirmed and extended the same sentence on subsidies granted to U.S. rival Boeing. "The report of the Appellate Body confirms and expands the scope of the conviction by the WTO on massive subsidies granted to Boeing illegal," he said in a statement Airbus (EADS), which still considers its commercial harm to $ 45 billion.

Airbus issued this statement even before the official announcement of the decision of the Appellate Body of the WTO. In this case, the judges of the WTO had estimated March 31, 2011 at trial that some of these U.S. aid constituted subsidies inconsistent with global trade rules. The judges then had amounted to "at least $ 5.3 billion" for the period 1989-2006.

"This report confirms the existence of illegal subsidies paid by the U.S. to Boeing," said the manufacturer according to which grants "a few billion dollars resulting from today's decision" is in addition to " at least $ 5.3 billion "subsidy initially estimated. Airbus estimates that the Appellate Body rejected "almost 90% points of the appeal filed by the U.S. against the earlier findings of the WTO and validates all of the call of the European Union ".

The U.S. response was not long in coming. According to a statement the U.S., the WTO ruled that the aircraft manufacturer Boeing had received four to six times less public subsidy than its European rival Airbus. The U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk exterior even boasts a "great victory" in the WTO, stating that "comparable figures", the Geneva organization had identified only "three to four billion dollars" of illegal subsidies of American States United, against $ 18 billion in illegal subsidies from the European Union.

According to the U.S., EU subsidies have cost the equivalent of 342 aircraft orders to Boeing, while conversely the U.S. subsidies have lost the equivalent than "a little over 100 "aircraft orders to Airbus.

"The view of the United States has prevailed," welcomed Mr. Kirk. "It is now clear that European subsidies to Airbus are much more important – and it amounts in multiples – and caused much distortion that may have done everything the United States for Boeing," has he added. "This decision is a victory for the great industrial and American workers," said Mr. Kirk.

However, Washington has also, communicated before the WTO itself does not make public its judgment on appeal. This is expected later Monday.

At just over 24 hours of the deadline, creditors who have declared themselves in favor of the plan of exchange of obligations still account for only 39.3% of the country's debt. Greece in the storm

Private creditors had already decided in favor of the exchange of Greek debt does currently represent 39.3%, or 81 billion euros, the amount covered by this operation, said Wednesday the committee private creditors in a communiqué.Cependant, the 50% threshold, from which Greece can possibly forcing some creditors to participate, is approaching.

The deadline to tender its shares to the exchange is set at 9:00 p.m. Thursday (2000 GMT). The exchange for 206 billion euros of debt held by private creditors (banks, investment funds, insurers, etc.). In total, the Greek debt than 350 billion euros.  

Greece has already indicated that it would not proceed with the exchange if the turnout did not reach at least 75% of this part of the Greek debt held by private creditors. She also announced that if this threshold was disappointing, it could compel, through collective action clauses (CAC), all private creditors to submit to the exchange.

To date, no non-Greek financial institution holding a significant amount of Greek debt has not officially spoken out against the exchange. Several major banks, insurers and investment funds have not yet publicly announced their decision.

The committee, meeting under the auspices of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents major global financial institutions, in a statement cites 30 banks, insurers and investment funds that have made public their support for the plan. This is mainly European companies, supplemented by the management company American Greylock Capital Management and the U.S. insurer Metlife.

Moreover, contacted by AFP, the largest regional German bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) said it would participate in the exchange. The approximately one billion euros of Greek bonds it holds are now housed in the bad bank established with the support of the German state, called Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA).

Another rallying not taken into account by the press, that of German reinsurer Munich Re, said Wednesday that the agency Dow Jones, he would take part in the operation. The gross value of its securities amounted to 1.53 billion euros in late September.  

First holder of Greek debt outside Greece, the German bank Hypo Real Estate (HRE), has not spoken publicly since the agreement on the new conditions of the plan, in Brussels on February 21, but had previously expressed its intention to contribute. The bad bank of HRE, called FMS, held at the end of the first half of 2011, about 8.1 billion euros of Greek debt.

The group of transportation and logistics Dentressangle Wednesday announced financial results increased in 2011 but noted that economic conditions had deteriorated in late 2011.

The company saw its turnover increase by 5.6% at constant scope and exchange, to 3.576 billion euros. The gross operating surplus (EBITDA) increased 17% to 130.4 million euros while net income rose from 57.2 million to 63.3 million.

"Dentressangle has seen since the end of 2011 signs of slowing economy and observed high volatility of demand for its customers early this year , "the group noted in a statement.

The company, which does not give forecasts for 2012, will offer its shareholders a dividend of 1.25 euro per share for fiscal 2011, against 1.10 euros a year before.

Doubts about the effectiveness of the plan of aid to Greece and rising oil prices weighed on the market

actions on Monday and promoted the decline of the safe havens, but the relative strength of Wall Street and rising values ​​

Oil and defensive allowed European markets to limit their losses late in the session.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index closed lower by 0.31% to 1,073.81 points but well above its low of the day.

In Paris the CAC 40 dropped 0.74% to 3441.45. Among the other major European markets, London has sold 0.33%, Frankfurt

0.22% and 1.09% Milan.

Before German lawmakers met to discuss aid to Athens, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the effectiveness of

plan reached last week was not 100% guaranteed. The Bundestag, however, adopted the plan of aid to Greece.

Doubts about the evolution of the debt crisis have encouraged profit-taking, including penalizing banking stocks.

The Stoxx sector index was down 1.42%, Societe Generale and UniCredit loser respectively 2.95% and 2.31%.

Meanwhile, the energy sector rose by 0.3% and that of food and drinks from 0.36%.