International Business News

Toyota Motor, the leading Japanese automotive, said he expected to experience a substantial increase of its annual operating profit to more than 1,000 billion yen (9.7 billion euros), unprecedented since the outbreak of the financial crisis.

From January to March, Toyota has increased its quarterly profit more than fivefold to 238 billion yen, while analysts expected 223 billion yen.

This increase is partly explained by a gradual return of the group's production to previous levels to natural disasters that have disrupted last year.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal offset has meanwhile risen to 121 billion yen against 25.4 billion last year. 

At a press conference, CFO Satoshi Ozawa has stressed "the extraordinary contribution of cost reduction efforts."

Akio Toyoda, grand-son of the founder of the group, has embarked on a strategy to reduce costs in all segments, Japanese production lines to those of Mississippi, through the design and engineering involved in the creation of new vehicles and equipment.

IMPROVING MARGINS

The aim is to boost margins Toyota and ride the wave of recovery in sales. The group said it expects to improve its margin to 4.5%, against 1.9% last year, allowing it to move closer to its goal of 5% that he wants to wait until 2015.

It is however far from the 7.1% margin posted by Nissan or Honda's 6.5%. It is even less than half to more than 10% of South Korea's Hyundai.

In fiscal 2012/2013 in progress, the group expected to increase its operating profit to 1.000 billion yen, while analysts expect 990 billion. Toyota also predicted a net profit increase to 760 billion yen against 284 billion for the year 2011-2012.

These comparisons are favored by the difficulties encountered last year during which Japan was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami before Thailand, where lies much of its production line, is in turn affected by floods.

Despite the strength of the yen, the main obstacle to its exports, Toyota is committed to build at least 3 million vehicles this year in its factories in Japan, nearly triple production of its local competitors, Honda and Nissan. 

Toyota has also said that its sales in emerging markets were in line with its projects, particularly in China, where sales from January to April will allow him to imagine a million sold annually vee ; vehicles.

Toyota announced in April a new program to reduce development costs by more than 20%, with an emphasis on sharing components.

Action Toyota ended unchanged Wednesday, before the publication of its accounts. She won more than a third since the low hit in late November by the Exchange.

Since same day cash advance is a high risk loan for the lender, the interest rates charged are high. The lender has no security and does not even conduct a credit check.

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 owner of Viking Ocean Cruises canceled its order for two ships passed in December shipyards in St. Nazaire, said Thursday the direction of STX France.

Both boats "high end", representing a total of 4 million hours of work needed to be delivered in spring 2014 and spring 2015.

"This decision is bad news, first for all (of) employees, as it will take several months to try to fill that hole load immediate, especially for its offices studies, whose workload will be directly and immediately affected, "writes the shipbuilding company in a statement. 

Subsidiary of Viking River Cruises, Inc. specializes in river cruises, Viking Ocean Cruises has decided to "continue discussions for the construction project with one of our competitors," said STX, which notes elsewhere "that to date no other site does was given command of ships".

The unions of the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire, the cancellation of the order is due to failure of the financial operation.

"Compared to other European countries, France is missing today in a state bank be able to mount such files," responded Marc Menager, delegate CFDT union of the company, which speaks of a "miserable failure". 

"The state must take the emergency measures imposed by the state to save sites", said for his part-Prinborgne Nathalie Durand, secretary of the Workers' Force, claiming and controlling an aircraft carrier and a fourth helicopter carrier for the French Navy.

Partial unemployment measures had already been announced a week ago by management to face the hollow charge provided on the second half of 2012. They were to receive consulting firms, especially weapons and fabrication shops.

STX France is a branch of shipbuilding group STX South Korean, in which the French state owns a 33.34%.

The company is currently completing the construction of a ship commanded by a Libyan state company, but bought last month by the Italian-Swiss owner MSC after freeze international assets of the Gaddafi regime.

The shipyards of Saint-Nazaire have also started building a small luxury liner on behalf of the German cruise line Hapag Lloyd Cruises and two helicopter carriers for the Russian Navy.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena suffered a net loss of 4.69 billion euros last year and said Thursday it would pay no dividend for fiscal 2011, which is tumbling the stock exchange.

The market was expecting a loss twice as heavy, according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S was -2.13 billion.

The third Italian bank, which is restructuring and has also undertaken to reduce the size of its balance sheet, recorded in its accounts for 4.51 billion euros of writedowns in total.

The capital ratio "hard" was 8.5% at end-2011 excluding 1.9 billion euros of bonds guaranteed by the state written in 2009 to strengthen its capital.

At 10:45 GMT, the share was down 8.2% to 0.3314 Euro, by far the worst performance of the European banking sector index (-1.37%). 

The competitors UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo also recorded huge writedowns on their fiscal 2011.

But analysts say Montepaschi particularly vulnerable because it has to find 3.3 billion euros of capital by June to comply with new European regulatory requirements.

UBS has hired Andrea Orcel, head of mergers and major acquisitions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Europe, to co-direct its investment banking activities alongside Carsten Kengeter.

The Swiss bank said Andrea Orcel, an Italian who has orchestrated some of the largest European banking in recent years, would take up his new duties July 1.

At UBS, he worked under the supervision of one of his former colleagues from Merrill Lynch, Sergio Ermotti, now CEO of Swiss number one industry. 

Andrea Orcel, a forty who is fluent in four languages, have served more than 20 years at Merrill Lynch, where he was appointed manager in September 2009, Global Banking and Markets, a year after s acquisition by Bank of America.

The new recruit UBS is one of the celebrities from the world of investment banking. This is among others in the past occupied the Dutch takeover of ABN Amro by Royal Bank of Scotland and helped to strengthen the capital of Italian Unicredit.

In 2008, he received total compensation of nearly $ 34 million (26 million).

"It is effective, even ruthless when it comes to getting things done. There is a good chance that some of his customers leave with him (at UBS), "said one banker who has worked on several transactions in which Andrea Orcel intervened

. "It always provokes a strong reaction from customers: they either love it or they hate it."

.. …… Bank of America declined to comment

. The U.S. group will also experience the departure of another of its officials, Jonathan Moulds, president for Europe and Canada, who will retire end of June according to an internal memo that was procured Reuters

The station

. Jonathan Moulds Andrea Orcel was proposed but the latter preferred to leave at UBS, said a source familiar with the matter. 

Bank of America is currently under pressure from some shareholders who demand a better performance while four of the six quarters ended in losses and its stock price was battered last year.

BofA has cut jobs in recent weeks in its equities and securitized mortgage loans according to sources familiar with the matter.

Management should be next month how the cost reduction plan launched at the group level will affect the activities of capital markets, asset management and retail banking.

Veolia Environment announced Friday departures of three members of its management team the day after proposing not to renew the appointments of two members of its board of directors deemed close former CEO Proglio.

This series of ads comes as more directors of Veolia, which Proglio, currently head of EDF, has, according to sources familiar with the matter, considered asking for the resignation of the current CEO Antoine Frérot at a council held in late February.

Reputedly close to Proglio, the Chief Executive Denis Gasquet, Veolia leaves the group with immediate effect. Also Director of Operations, he was responsible for overseeing the implementation of cost reductions.

Olivier Orsini, who held the position of Executive Vice President and Secretary General, and Jean-Pierre Frémont, the executive vice president of public authorities and business, also leaving the Executive Committee of Veolia, and at the same time abandoning their duties within the group.

These changes were decided by Antoine Frérot to "accelerate the implementation of the strategic plan approved by the board," said Veolia in a statement.

Sylvain Boucher also joined the executive committee of which he was previously secretary. 

ACCELERATING THE STRATEGIC PLAN

The executive committee now includes, besides the CEO, seven against nine previously. Jérôme Gallot, Jean-Michel Herrewyn, Franck Lacroix, Jean-Marie Lambert, Jerome Le Conte and Pierre-Francois Riolacci to retain their seats.

In stock at 16h58, the title wins 5.07% to 12.755 euros, signing the largest increase in the CAC 40 index, which rose by 0.4% at the same time.

"The acceleration of the strategic plan and tighter around Mr. Frérot teams were well received," said a trader based in Paris.

Another market operator, also based in Paris, points out that these departures had been widely expected by the market, believing that the benefits likely to die as ; knotting of short positions as well as upward revisions of recommendations. 

"The action moves as people cheer the departure of Denis Gasquet: it was at the head of the Environmental Services division during his disastrous performance, and more recently he has overseen restructuring, "he adds.

The strategic plan of Veolia plans to refocus the group on water, waste and energy services and reduce costs of 420 million euros by in 2015.

Veolia also planned to produce five billion euros in sales in 2012-2013 and reduce net debt to below 12 billion at end 2013.

List of stocks covered Wednesday at the Paris Bourse, where the CAC 40 index was up 1.01% to 3,409.69 points at 24:08, notably supported by the comments of the governor of China's central bank promised Europe to support the crisis.

* Values ​​European BANK (2.46%) signed the largest increase in the sector in Europe for about the governor of the PBOC as investors also hope qu'Antonis Samaras, the leader of the Greek conservative party New Democracy, submit his written support for new austerity measures adopted in the country.

BNP PARIBAS (6.22%), which is expected this year to stabilize the crisis in the euro zone but does not anticipate a recession in Europe is ahead of increases in the CAC 40 and SBF 120 index. 

SOCIETE GENERALE advance of 4.11% and Crédit Agricole.

* The CYCLIC are well oriented. The French economy has withstood the fourth quarter with a growth surprise of 0.2%, thanks to foreign trade and investment, while activity ; contracted in Germany and Italy.

RENAULT wins 3.65%, 3.16% and STMICROELECTRONICS LAFARGE 2.2%. The pan-European Stoxx index of auto sector advance of 1.47% and 1.22% of the construction.

* In contrast, PSA was down 1.72%, largest drop in the CAC 40. The group announced new savings and a comprehensive plan for asset sales in order to redress the financial situation of the group after a year marked by a relapse in 2011 net profit.

Moody's placed the ratings under review with the manufacturer as possible downgrade.

* PAGESJAUNES fell 12%, largest drop in the SBF 120 volumes representing already seven times their daily volume the past three months. The group announced that its board would propose as an exceptional pass the dividend for 2011, after registering a decline in its revenues and profit margins last year.

* BIC (4.2%) released 2011 results sharply higher through its consumer business (stationery, lighters and razors) and said target operating margin for 2012 Standardized e "near the record level reached in 2011."

* DANONE (1.59%) stated address with confidence after 2012 achieved its growth targets for 2011 thanks to its good performance in emerging markets where the group re alise today more than half of its sales. 

* Haulotte Group (10.23%) leads to increases in the CAC Mid & Small, supported by the announcement of a 23% growth in turnover in 2011 of the truck manufacturer é ; lévateurs.

* Abandons EUROPACORP 2.55%, the producer and distributor of films that have shown a fall of 58.2% of its turnover in respect of its fiscal third quarter.

Last night was the Superbowl in the U.S.. And as so often with the Americans, unreason was de rigueur. Back on the key figures of the sports event of the year. Giants celebrate their victory against the Patriots after the 2012 Superbowl.

The final of the football championship, best known as the Superbowl, was seen yesterday's New York Giants beat the Patriots in Boston. But the event goes well beyond the sporting aspect.

120 to 500 million viewers

This is the average global audience for a Super Bowl, 90 million Americans. The event is broadcast in 182 countries, representing 88% of world states. It is accessible to a billion people.

$ 250 million in a night of pub

In one night, NBC will have gained about a quarter of a billion dollars. What return on the purchase of human competition, prohibitively expensive. Beginning in 2014, and ESPN TV will pay directly besides $ 6 billion a year to broadcast the entire season. During the Superbowl in 2012, the 30-second spot was coined to 3.5 million. In total, nearly 70 advertisements were broadcast. They are a spectacle in themselves so that some viewers would not watch the match for them. It must be said that brands compete imagination to suggest that the pub looks great. Apple is the gold standard and the video for launch of the first Mac, directed by Ridley Scott and aired at the Superbowl of 1984:

YouTube, the Volkswagen commercial, aired during the Super Bowl 2011, featuring a child dressed as Darth Vader, has amassed 50 million views. This figure is in addition to more than 100 million live views during the game.

This year, the German mark was at it again, with a humorous result. Discover a best of pubs in this Superbowl 2012:

2500 dollars instead

The minimum charge to attend the event. Prices that can rise to $ 800 000 in big suites! In total, there were about 70,000 in the aisles of the stadium in Indianapolis.

4:30 to show …

For one hour before the match only. The Superbowl is more than a sporting event. This is a varied spectacle, with the long awaited national anthem sung by a celebrity (Kelly Clarkson yesterday), but especially the concert halftime. This year, it's Madonna who provided a performance for 30 minutes, whereas in a classic football game, the pause is only 15 minutes.

88 000 match bonus dollars

the amount each player has received the Giants, winners of the match, knowing that a football team has 53 members. The losers, they have still pocketed $ 44 000 each.

Europe has not found a solution to the debt crisis likely to restore investor confidence, said Friday the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, calling, as a remedy, better integration.

"The truth is that, for now, there is no response to the crisis that sovereign restore investor confidence," said José Manuel Barroso to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Portugal.

"As long as this does not occur, we will have very serious problems and debates in Europe."

Asked about the possible role of the European Central Bank to the crisis, the President of the Commission considered that it should remain independent.

Many economists believe the ECB should act as lender of last resort for the most indebted countries in the euro area to address the crisis, or that it should resort to quantitative easing operations as do the Reserve Federal and Bank of England to support their economies.

But Germany has so far been adamant against these proposals, arguing that the ECB should remain independent and that its mandate was to fight against inflation.

"We are confident that the European Central Bank will fulfill its role as it has done so far," said José Manuel Barroso.

The new head of the Italian government announced the implementation of the reform of the labor market as well as delaying the retirement age to 67 years against 65 now. Mario Monti.

The new Italian Prime Mario Monti said on Thursday before the Senate that he intended to reform the pension system and labor market, two structural reforms demanded by the European Union and expected by the markets. The Italian pension system is one of the strongest in Europe but it has "ample disparities in treatment areas of unjustified privileges," he said. The Italian system is based on two pillars.

The system of "old age", in which the retirement age should increase to 67 in 2026, against 65 years now, thanks to reforms adopted in recent years such as providing for the gradual increase in the age based on life expectancy.