International & World Report

As announced in Le Figaro, the No. 1 reactor of the nuclear Fessenheim (Haut-Rhin) received clearance from the Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) to continue operating. He "is able to be operated for a period of ten additional years provided you follow a number of requirements," said Monday the president of the ASN, Andre-Claude Lacoste.

The concrete slab on which was built the reactor must be such "enhanced" before June 30, 2013 "to increase its resistance to corium (molten magma resulting from insufficient cooling of the fuel, Ed) in case of serious accidents with piercing of the tank. "Second "major limitation" on the 40 made by the ASN: EDF will have to install an emergency device designed to remove the residual power "in case of loss of the cold source" before December 31, 2012.

Notice of extension published Monday is worth not discharge. Especially since it was made "subject to the findings of evaluations undertaken additional security after the accident Fukushima," said Andre-Claude Lacoste.

These stress tests requested by France and Europe aimed at assessing the behavior of plants in extreme situations. An "appointment" that could lead to the ASN "strengthen requirements," says its president. It will then EDF or the government to decide whether to continue the operation of reactor.

Monday, environmental groups and antinuclear called for "immediate closing" of Fessenheim.Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Minister of Ecology responds to Le Figaro.

Asian stock markets continue to ride a wave of optimism after the Greek Parliament voted Wednesday austerity plan imposed on the country. Allowing it to qualify for the new tranche of international financial assistance of 110 billion euros was granted last year. As clashes continue between now expected between demonstrators and police, MPs are now called to vote on the bill of the plan voted on yesterday.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.36% to 9832.72 points. The increase is significantly more pronounced in Chinese markets: the Hang Seng in Hong Kong climbed 1.70% to 22,436.80 points and the CSI 300 in Shanghai rises from 1.51% to 3045.50 points.

On the other Asian financial centers, the trend is similar. The Taiwan TAIEX advances 0.43% at 8610.54 points.In Australia, the S & P / ASX 200 is 1.49% at 4597.10 points, the FTSE Singapore Straits Times gained 1.04% to 3111.73 points and in India, the BSE Sensex was up 0.24% to 18,738 points.

South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, has lowered its growth forecast for 2011 to 4.5% against 5% originally planned, due to rising oil prices. In addition, inflation is expected to reach 4% for the year, against 3% originally planned. The Kospi gained 0.47% to 2104.21 points.

A successful introduction to Buy Your Dreams

This good news from Greece strongly supports the bank stocks. In Hong Kong, HSBC Holdings climbed 2.17% to 77.6 Hong Kong dollars and Bank of Communications is 1.91% to 7.46 Hong Kong dollars.In Japan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group climbed 2.35% to 391 yen and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group was up 1.97% to 2485 yen.

Note that the Stock Exchange of Shenzhen (southern China), the action of the automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD), in which the American billionaire Warren Buffett owns 9.89%, soared 43.7% to 25.87 yuan for the IPO.

In addition, the South Korean giant Samsung Electronics filed a complaint against Apple to prevent it from importing to the United States several of its most famous products manufactured abroad. At the Seoul Stock Exchange, Samsung lost 0.84% ​​to 826 won.

Oil prices without direction

Oil prices were without leadership in electronic trading Thursday in Asia after sharp rise in the day following the adoption by the Greek Parliament of a tight budget, analysts said.In morning trading, a barrel of "light sweet crude" for delivery in August took 15 cents to 94.92 dollars. That of Brent North Sea crude for August delivery fell by 32 cents to 112.08 dollars.

The mood remains gloomy in the Paris Stock Exchange on Thursday. In the aftermath of a session that saw the CAC 40abandonner 1.49%, morale improved slightly with the release of U.S. indicators better than expected. In the afternoon, the Paris index erased some losses and ended down 0.38% to 3792.31 points after hitting a low of 3743.97 points.

The London Stock Exchange also ended lower, the FTSE-100 index lost 0.76% to 5698.81 points. The Frankfurt Dax finished down slightly from 0.07% to 7110.2 points.

This bad mood, which resulted in Wall Street and Asian markets this morning in the dark red, is mainly due to Greece. Indeed, the financial position and policy of the country bogged down.The special meeting of finance ministers has ended in failure Wednesday, Europeans failing to agree on the role of private creditors in the new rescue measures. Meanwhile, violent demonstrations took place in Parliament of the country, forcing the Prime Minister George Papandreou to announce a reshuffle of his government that is expected to announce on Thursday evening.

Decline in jobless claims across the Atlantic

In addition to Greece, the eyes were again turned to the United States Wednesday, the publication of disappointing statistics showed the weakness of the U.S. recovery, particularly in the industry.On Thursday, the news was, however, quite good: the new jobless claims have declined more than expected and the United States, where 414,000 benefit claims are submitted from June 5 to 11 – a decrease of 4% compared to last week.Analysts had expected 421,000 new registrations.

The housing starts and building permits issued in the United States are also rising again in May, increasing by 8.7% and 3.5%, according to figures released Thursday by the Commerce .

However, the deficit in the current account of the United States has widened in the first quarter to 119.3 billion against $ 112.2 billion the previous quarter, according to figures released Thursday by the Commerce Department.

Manufacturing activity declines in the Philadelphia area for the first time since September, said Thursday the U.S. central bank (Fed), whose local activity index fell to -7.7 against all odds, the lowest level since July 2009.

In the euro area, consumer prices rose 2.7% year on year, after 2.8% in April, according to a second estimate of Eurostat made similar to the first end of May.

On the currency side, the euro has stabilized against the dollar in late afternoon. Around 17:30 the European currency was worth 1.4166 dollars against 1.4182 dollars late Wednesday. In the morning, the euro has continued to fall weighed down by the Greek crisis, and fell to 1.4090 dollars, its lowest level for three weeks.

Values ​​to follow

Banking

French banking stocks are still under attack on Thursday. They are among the largest declines the CAC 40 business cards. Societe Generale lost 3.28% to 37.50 euros, Crédit Agricole loose 2.77% to 9.63 euros, BNP Paribas was down 2.20% to 50.17 euros. Axa Natixis and follow the trend with decreases of 3.60% to 14.60 euros and 1.37% to 3.45 euros.Dexia unscrews for its share of 4.56% to 2.15 euros.

Areva: -2.80% to 25.31 euros; Eramet: -1.83% to 217.50 euros

Luc Oursel, deputy CEO of Areva, is the favorite to replace Anne Lauvergeon at the head of French nuclear specialist, says the newspaper La Tribune.In addition, the group extended for six months its shareholders in companies with Eramet Sorame CEIR and representing the shareholders of the family Duvan.

Bull: -1.47% to 4.68 euros

The French computer group announced Thursday a plan to recruit a thousand employees for 2011, including 400 in France, mostly young graduates.

Sanofi: -0.92% to 51.43 euros

The group announced Thursday the signing of a research collaboration of two years with the Dutch biotechnology company Audion Therapeutics for the development of potential treatments for hearing loss.

EADS: + 0.65% to 21.53 euros

The low-cost Philippine Cebu Air said Thursday it had entered into a $ 3.8 billion with Airbus for an order for 30 A321s and seven A320s.

Renault: -1.16% to 36.27 euros

The Renault-Nissan is about to take control of Russian automaker AvtoVAZ, an acquisition that would propel the world's third largest, said Thursday the Japanese newspaper Nikkei.

L'Oreal: -1.18% to 84.39 euros

The businessman Stephane Courbit explained in a letter to Liliane Bettencourt why he wants to break the financial partnership that had just concluded the head of Lov group and the heir to L'Oreal.

Total: -0.58% to 37.52 euros

The tanker has completed its friendly takeover bid of about $ 1.3 billion over the American SunPower, a majority of shareholders of the company specialized in solar panels have agreed to tender their shares.

Eurosic: + 0.56% to 33.99 euros

Batipart, family holding company specializing in real estate, will launch a takeover bid for Eurosic in the coming weeks after the sale by Nexity and Banque Palatine of all of their shares in the specialist real estate office.

Vivendi: -0.22% to 18.13 euros

Between September and the summer of 2012, SFR will take the rays of the telephone 80 Fnac stores in France.

France Telecom: -0.49% to 14.21 euros

The operator said Wednesday it had issued 670 million euros maturing in 2019 and 2021.

Perno Ricard: -0.42% to 66.46 euros

The group announced Wednesday that its board had decided to pay an interim dividend of 67 cents per share.

After market, Zodiac Aerospace announce its third quarter revenues.

"CONTEST Estimate the Cac 40 in late June

While the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded three notches note of Greece who becomes the country with the lowest rated in the world, the eminent economist Nouriel Roubini sees the end of the eurozone. In an article published in the Financial Times, the man who announced the financial crisis of 2008 estimated that countries of the European periphery abandon the euro within five years.

In the eyes of Nouriel Roubini, the debt crisis that weakens current euro area highlights the flaws in this monetary union. In fact, the euro zone has never been an "optimum currency area", ie a group of countries has any interest in sharing a single currency. There is indeed always been too strong and competitive economic differences between countries in the euro area.The founding fathers of the euro area, however, hoped that the differences between fiscal, monetary and exchange rates are offset by an acceleration of structural reforms within the euro zone countries. These measures would then have enabled the countries of the eurozone converge.

Without economic convergence, the euro area is doomed to failure

But "the reality is quite different," says Nouriel Roubini. Following the establishment of a common monetary policy, countries are folded on the weapon budget to adjust their economic policies. Very different policies have been implemented within the eurozone. Consequently, the lack of fiscal discipline in countries like Greece and Portugal involved in the birth of speculative bubbles in other countries like Spain or Ireland. And finally, the peripheral countries have become less competitive.

Economist reaffirms that to work, creating a currency area must be accompanied by a fiscal policy even as the establishment of supranational sources of income or the issuance of sovereign bonds Commons. In the absence of economic convergence, the euro area is doomed to failure, according to the economist.

Thus, Nouriel Roubini believes that there is now a way to restore the competitiveness of peripheral countries: leaving the euro, return of national currencies and depreciation. Such a scenario seems inconceivable today, is the economist who said that nothing says that in five years this idea has not gained ground, especially if the economies of peripheral countries are stagnating. Unless the idea of ​​a Euro reaches more federal drilling, some European leaders call for that greater European integration.

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The Paris Bourse started the week on a small decline. Has the image of Asian stock markets this Monday morning, the CAC 40 closed at 3942.53 points (- 0.21%). Today, the London hotel market is closed while Wall Street will not open either and will celebrate Memorial Day (as every last Monday in May).

This Monday was followed in particular the impact that will follow the announcement by Germany to shut down its last reactor in 2022. The country became the first industrial power to abandon atomic energy. Already in China, the values ​​related to coal soared when he appears as the best vehicle for investment, better than solar or wind power in the future.

European side, the news is charged.The Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said was confident Sunday in the payment of the next tranche of EU-IMF loan to avoid bankruptcy for rejecting an article of the German weekly Der Spiegelmettant doubt this release. Note that the Athenians flocked in their thousands on Sunday night in the central square of the capital, before the parliament, the fifth day of a successful mobilization against austerity, modeled on the Spanish "Indignant".

Ireland, she may have to request a new loan to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund if it fails to return on the bond market to raise funds next year, said Minister of Transportation the columns of The Sunday Times.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro retreated slightly against the dollar Monday in a quiet market due to the closing of financial centers in the United States and England. Around 0900 GMT (1100 Paris), the single European currency was worth 1.4291 dollars against 1.4317 dollars on Friday night.

Values ​​on the forehead, that Monday is the day of commencement of trading of shares of Areva. The beginning of the session is particularly volatile for the action that keeps change from red to green leaves about 2% to 29.65 euros.

The group's president, Anne Lauvergeon, also believes that the nuclear reactor projects under consideration will be delayed by about 6 to 9 months because of the review of data on plant safety, said Monday its president .

Renault leaves% to 0.70% 38.79 euros while known to be the name of the successor of Patrick Pelata to senior management. Portuguese Carlos Tavares, 53, an avid sports car and head for the Americas of the Japanese Nissan, Renault's affiliate, should be named the number two automaker French.

Dexia 0.21% leaves% to 2.413 euros. The Belgian-French group will pay no dividend for 2011 due to the cost of asset sales announced Friday, said its chairman Jean-Luc Dehaene, Belgian daily L'Echo.

EADS is virtually unchanged (+0.02% to 22.42%).Its executive chairman Louis Welsh said that he supported the introduction of a veto in the defense sector to prevent hostile takeovers, in an interview with Focus magazine. "It's not about bags and luxury goods, we are in an area of ​​national interest," he said.

Technip leaves 0.43% while the group was selected by Samsung for its Floating Shell gas extraction.

Total (-0.23%) acquired 25% of an exploration license offshore Qatar for an offshore field that extends over 5,600 square kilometers.

Petroleum.The Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said Sunday that the government could impose on oil to reduce fuel prices at the pump if they do not justify the price drops enough found so far by the administration.

Hermes pressure

Hermes was down 0.17% to 179 euros while the group holds a very important meeting on Monday. Saddler said the appeal: the voice of Hermes family shareholders, Bertrand Puech denounces "attempts to destabilize" the company by LVMH. The Adam, she filed a lawsuit that the family can not merge into a holding company.

L'Oreal (-0.06%).Daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, June 6 to ask the investigating chamber of the Court of Appeal of Bordeaux to cancel all records Bettencourt, citing a procedural issue attributable to the prosecution Nanterre.

Trading in Meetic is suspended while his American counterpart Match.com Announces Intention to bid for all outstanding shares of the French site. Internet dating site offers 15 euros per share in cash offer for its competitor.Its parent company said already hold 27% stake in Meetic.

Medica (0.83%) announced Monday it had signed an amendment to the credit agreement that was signed in June 2010, taking advantage of favorable conditions in the debt market to increase its financial capacity.

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U.S. stock markets failed to bounce back Tuesday. The Dow Jones closed at a decline of 0.55% at 12,480 points and the S & P dropped 0.04% to 1329 points. Only the Nasdaq managed to get back into positive territory and ended up on 0.03% to 2783 points.

Greece and Portugal, a source of concern

The caution is this Wednesday before the outcome of the meeting of the Eurogroup, which must rule on the case of Greece and Portugal endorse aid. The sovereign debt crisis continues to produce adverse effects on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, the fate of Greece crystallizes all concerns. Discussions on extending the term of the loan could still affect banks in Europe and the United States and creates a strong element of uncertainty in the stock market.

Wall Street is also proven by the uncertainties surrounding the U.S. debt.The U.S. Treasury announced Monday new measures of financial emergency to allow the U.S. federal government to continue to operate while the government fails to obtain an increase in the statutory limit on public debt, which was reached on May 16

Oil down

The market is also impacted by the downturn in the energy sector, while a barrel of crude has dropped more than $ 2 Monday in New York. On Tuesday, the decline continued on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex). A barrel of light sweet crude for June delivery ended at 96.91 dollars, down 46 cents from the previous day."The crude market is a follower, very responsive to the dollar and the stock market," noted Rich Ilczyszyn, Lind-Waldock.

On the foreign exchange market precisely, the euro was changing, however, rose slightly on Tuesday against the dollar at 1.4156 dollars against 1.4153 dollars late Monday.

Bad news on the front of the property

More disturbing for operators, housing starts and building permits for homes have fallen sharply in April, the oversupply in the market, particularly related to foreclosures, discouraging new projects. According to figures released by the Commerce Department, housing starts fell 10.6% on a seasonally adjusted at an annual rate of 523,000 units, against 585,000 units in March (549,000 first announced) and 568,000 units expected by the market.

Moreover, industrial production in the United States remained stable in April, said Tuesday the U.S. central bank (Fed), while analysts believed it was up 0.5% from March.

HP heavily penalized

The side of values, Hewlett-Packard (-7.31% to 36.89 dollars) on Tuesday reported a sharp reduction in its annual forecast, highlighting the impact of the earthquake in Japan and lower sales of personal computers . The annual profit forecast was lowered to "at least five dollars per share, excluding special items, after a previous forecast of between" 5.20 and 5.28 dollars. "

Wal-Mart (-0.96% to 55.52 dollars) Tuesday reported a profit and a better than expected sales in the first quarter and delivered a goal in line with expectations for current quarter.[ID: nWEA1793] Earnings per share (EPS) from continuing operations stood at $ 0.98 over the period from January to March, against 0.95 expected by analysts according to Thomson Reuters I / B / E / S. Sales rose 4.4% to 103.4 billion, against a consensus of 102.93 billion.

Boeing (-1.41% to 76.67 dollars) has won an order from the U.S. Air Force $ 963 million for the construction of 5 C-17 cargo planes.In the same sector, Lockheed Martin hopes to sell 18 fighter jets F-16 fighter in Iraq and Oman by the beginning of 2012 and record orders for 100 additional aircraft F-16 in the world of By the end of the decade.

The casino group Las Vegas MGM (1.32% to 14.54 dollars) hopes to raise $ 1.5 billion public offering in Hong Kong by introducing its China branch, MGM China, a partnership between the U.S. parent and the daughter of the tycoon game that rules over Macau, Stanley Ho, said Tuesday the Wall Street Journal. The IPO is scheduled for early June.

The ambitions of BP (0.66% to 42.74 dollars) in the Arctic have suffered a serious setback after the oil giant announced today that no solution had been found on its proposed alliance with the Russian public group Rosneft in oil exploration.The agreement on a share swap of 16 billion dollars (11.2 billion euros) expired last night and the main obstacle to its realization, namely the opposition of the Russian shareholders in BP's joint venture in Russia , TNK-BP, could be lifted in time. The British oil company said that talks with Rosneft would continue despite the expiration of this Agreement. But people close to the Russian group claimed on their side that it was going to seek "new partners".

Moreover, a prosecutor in New York has opened an investigation into dubious practices to transform mortgage securities, says Lewalle Street Journal.Officials at Bank of America (+0.34% to 11.90 dollars), Goldman Sachs (+0.13% to 140.78 dollars) or Morgan Stanley (1.38% to 24.21 dollars) must be heard in the week by Attorney Eric Schneiderman.

Also note, the battle over the takeover of the transatlantic exchange operator NYSE Euronext (-3.44% to 34.50 dollars) ended Monday with the withdrawal of the cons-hostile bid launched by Nasdaq OMX (-1 , 07% to 25.95 dollars) and IntercontinentalExchange (-1.36% to 120.56 U.S. dollars), who threw in the towel before the opposition of the competition authorities.

The Japanese government thought about it and he did. The operator of the plant in Fukushima Tepco come under his control. The Japanese government has indeed released Friday details of a financial rescue plan to help compensate victims of the nuclear accident that hit Japan on March 11. "The purpose of this plan is not to bail Tepco, said Friday the Japanese Minister of Economy, but to ensure that victims are properly compensated." The operator will be under the supervision of an independent commission to strengthen the de facto government's influence on the conduct of its affairs.The government project, hotly debated within the team of the Prime Minister's center-left, Naoto Kan, has yet to be voted by Parliament.

Between 26 and 43 billion euros in compensation for victims

This plan includes the creation of a structure financed by both state funds and contributions from various private power companies in Japan. This entity will help Tepco through grants of bonds (5,000 billion yen by the Japanese press) convertible into cash, to compensate the estimated 85,000 victims of the nuclear disaster. Japanese media say that the operator should have to pay from 3000 to 5000 billion yen in total (26 to 43 billion euros).Tepco should also pay annually between 100 and 200 billion yen this structure (from 870 million to 1.74 billion euros), according to Japanese news agency Jiji.

The government even asked the banks that have lent 1.4 trillion yen (11.7 billion euros) to Tepco to waive a portion of their claims vis-à-vis the operator. "People do not understand that public funds are injected into Tepco if banks did not give their side a portion of their claims vis-à-vis the operator of the nuclear power plant in Fukushima," says Government spokesman Yukio Edano credit reports free.

TEPCO will have to sell financial assets and properties

Anxious not to appear to give a blank check to the company criticized for his role in the nuclear incident, the government also demanded that she undergo Tepco a number of conditions. The company will mainly sell financial assets and properties in order to concentrate its resources on the production and distribution of electricity.In addition, the eight most senior executives of the company will also waive any compensation and personnel managers to ordinary workers, will also undergo substantial pay cuts.

In addition to the huge amount of compensation, TEPCO will have to pay an extra bill to increase hydrocarbon production in thermal power stations, eleven of its nuclear reactors have been arrested since the disaster, counting those in the central hilly.Group CEO believes that these additional imports of gas, oil and coal would cost him 1,000 billion yen (8.7 billion euros) over budget during the year to April 2011 to March 2012.

Bank stocks fall at the Tokyo Stock Exchange

Result of this announcement, bank shares fell sharply on the Stock Exchange on Friday: Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group sells at the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 3.80% to 2452 yen, Mizuho Financial Group, 2.98% to 130 yen and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group 2.79% to 383 yen.Due to the collapse of the market capitalization of Tepco stock market that has lost more than 80% between March 10 and April 7 last, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) could announce a loss of about 80 billion yen ( 696 million euros), Mizuho Financial Group, 50 billion yen (435 million), and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), 30 billion yen (261 million).

U.S. stock markets take a breather after three sessions of consecutive increases. The Dow Jones lost 0.39% to 12,710 points in early trade, the Nasdaq was down 0.23% to 2865 points and the S & P coward 0.38% to 1352 points.

On the macroeconomic front, more bad news fell. The United States saw their trade deficit widened sharply in March, reflecting among other things of higher oil prices, according to figures released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. On a seasonally adjusted, the deficit rose to $ 48.2 billion against 45.4 billion the previous month.The deficit reached 18.1 billion with the second partner, China.

In fact China, the government announced Wednesday that inflation in the country fell slightly in April to 5.3% against 5.4% in March (less than expected by analysts), while output growth Industrial slowed with an increase of 13.4% in April against 14.4% in the first quarter.

Oil down

These statistics demoralize the Chinese oil markets worried about the state of global demand. Oil prices retreated at the opening in New York on Wednesday before the publication of the state of U.S. inventories.On the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), a barrel of light sweet crude for June delivery traded at 102.88 dollars, down $ 1 from the previous day.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro lost it again a little ground against the dollar Wednesday in a market where persistent concerns about the fragile fiscal position of countries in the euro zone, with a spotlight on Greece. The euro is worth 1.4307 dollars against 1.4410 dollars on Tuesday at the close of Wall Street.

Disney severely punished

The side of values, the media group and leisure U.S. Walt Disney (-4.80% to 41.80 dollars) disappoints.He reported on Tuesday after the close of Wall Street, a decrease of 1% of its net profit in the second quarter of fiscal shifted, to 942 million, far below expectations.

In contrast, Macy's (7.25% to 28.24 dollars) on Wednesday quarterly profit rose, thanks to a stronger middle class consumption, while raising its forecast for earnings and sales business for 2011 quick cash. The quarter ended April 30 ended with a net profit of 131 million dollars (91 million), or 30 cents per share, which is six times higher than the $ 23 million (five cents per share) recorded the previous year.

The British oil company BP (+0.27% to 7.37 dollars), said it had received the final green light from the Brazilian authorities for the purchase of ten exploration blocks offshore Brazil to the American Devon Energy in a transaction of $ 7 billion.

Google (-0.33% to 540.80 dollars) said Tuesday it had set aside $ 500 million in anticipation of the results of an investigation recently launched by the government on the practices of some of its customers in advertising. This provision reduced net income for the first quarter to 1.798 billion dollars against 2.298 billion announced April 14.Advertising has secured 97% of 8.575 billion dollars in turnover during the quarter.

AIG (6.33% to 31.45 dollars) and the U.S. Treasury Department could launch a capital increase of $ 9 billion in May, while analysts expected an increase of 7 to 25 billion dollars, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Chinese airline China Southern Airlines has announced that its subsidiary Xiamen Airlines has ordered six Boeing 787 (-0.24% to 79.34 dollars), the new jumbo "Dreamliner," a list price of 1.1 billion dollars.

General Motors (0.60% to 31.80 dollars) announced Tuesday it would invest two billion dollars in 17 of its U.S. sites. GM says these investments will create or safeguard over 4,000 jobs.

Also note, these Chinese companies will start this Wednesday at the New York Stock Exchange.The first website Chinese dating, Jiayuan. Com, hopes to raise nearly $ 78 million. Meanwhile, China Zenix Auto, which is defined as "the largest manufacturer of wheels for commercial vehicles" in China, will debut on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Wednesday. The offer is expected to total $ 135 million.

While Greece and Portugal have seen worse with a vengeance by the rating agencies in recent months, leaders protest against these messengers of bad news. Latest episode of this unequal struggle, the Greek finance ministry said on Monday that he rejected the further lowering of its rating by Standard & Poor's. A decision "has no validity," he judged.

"This degradation occurs in a period where no new information or decision aggravating the situation in Greece has occurred since the previous assessment, a month ago, has developed the ministry said in a statement. However, "the rating agency decisions must be based on evidence, decisions and real data evaluation of each economy.Otherwise, their validity is questioned. "

"Unfair Practices"

In Portugal, another country recently described by deterioration in score, four economists complained against rating agencies for "unfair practices" have caused "serious damage to state interests and the Portuguese people." An investigation was opened on 3 May, the newspaper Diario Economico. Last month, Jean-Claude Trichet himself, the president of the European Central Bank, which acknowledged that "high concentration" agency "was problematic." They are just three: Standard & Poor's, Moody's and Fitch.

Credit rating agencies have since the beginning of the crisis of sovereign debt, accused of feeding a downward spiral for the countries attacked by the markets.While the financial situation of Greece, Ireland and Portugal are deteriorating, their interest rates rise, adding to the same time the burden of debt. To reflect the worsening situation, the agencies in turn degrade the country and note those decisions lead to new increases in interest rates.

"Easy Target"

"Agencies are an easy target for politicians, it allows them to deceive," relativized a bank economist. "Above all they were not brilliant since the beginning of the crisis: they missed the subprime disaster and have not witnessed the arrival of sovereign debt problems in the eurozone." Until early 2010 All countries in the area benefited indeed flattering notes.Even Greece, while its debt was already over 120% of its gross domestic product.

A country in a precarious balance, however, seems to escape (temporarily?) With the severity of agencies: Belgium. For 11 months without a government, the country had been pressed flat to resolve its political crisis. But Saturday night, Prime Minister Yves Leterme Acting launched its Twitter account "Standard & Poor's less pressing." Under close supervision, Belgium should not be degraded immediately. An austerity plan adopted in April aims to balance public accounts in Belgium in 2015.

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Three raps with a hammer-shaped wooden bottle of Coke. Thus, Muhtar Kent, CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, launched Friday night in Atlanta the weekend of festivities to mark 125 years. The first glass of Coca-Cola has been officially served in a pharmacy in the capital of Georgia, May 8, 1886. "My predecessors had used the hammer to the 50th, 75th and 100th birthdays," said the big boss at the company headquarters. No way to shake up tradition, although modern technologies give some freshness to the event.

A sound and light show ignited the building up to 122 meters. "This is the biggest thank-you cards that we send you," Muhtar Kent has launched its guests, the leaders of North American bottlers and oils from the city of Atlanta, the State and the University of Georgia, or even the local clergy.The famous bottle was projected in 3D on all four sides, in a show of twenty minutes presented as the greatest illumination of a building in the world.

Piracy Alert

The day before, the organizers had a cold sweat. "We realized that students from the University of Georgia Tech, located in front of the seat, trying to hack into the programming of the sound and light," says one officer. We were afraid they are trying to project a naked woman or a bottle of Pepsi. "Neither of these nightmares, the second being the scariest for Coca Cola, has occurred.

In Atlanta, apart in the sky, blue is not red shade at the weekend. Saturday afternoon, nearly 15,000 people attended in the heat to a four-hour concert, the group broadcasts live on the internet to "thank the entire planet." Nothing less.An outdoor show started by K'Naan and his "Wavin 'Flag", a hymn to the success of the last World Cup football, with the refrain "oh oh oh oh oh" has the merit of being included in the 206 countries where Coke is sold.

The host Ryan Seacrest, the American Nikos Aliagas, then invited on stage "the next American Idol" Muhtar Kent, before the governor of Georgia and the mayor of Atlanta did join in wishing happy birthday to the Coca-Cola … behalf of their constituents. Aediles quickly replaced by the former glory of American Idol Kelly Clarkson, the band One Night Only, the R & B singer Ne-Yo, Natasha Bedingfield or, standing ovation for his cover of "Purple Rain". A colorful tribute, no doubt, to the Prince of cola.

In the morning, a good-fair was reserved for employees of Coca-Cola and their families facing the World of Coke museum.Mostly dressed in red T-shirt, they chained face painting and tattooing, before engaging in an artistic activity: design their own bottle of Coke! But the United States, any successful self-celebration can not have a good feeling. Delegates have they bundled packages for families Georgian victims of tornadoes that ravaged the south last month. An operation conducted in partnership with the Red Cross. Red like Coca-Cola, of course …

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