International & World Report

After several years of strong increases, rents have remained stable in 2009, according to the Center Clamor. "For the first time since the creation of this observatory in 1998, even since the crisis of the early 1990s as rents stagnate," says Michel Mouillart at the University of Paris-X and the host database Clamor (Know the rents and market analysis on urban and rural), fueled by 25 managers of rental parks. Last year, rents for new leases were symbolically rose 0.1% on average compared to 2008. This quasi-stagnation contrasts with the increases of recent years (2% in 2007, +1.5% in 2008). The comparison is even more significant with the average annual increase between 1998 and 2010: + 3% on average. But rising unemployment and falling purchasing power of households slowed."The mobility of households has been greatly reduced. It is the lowest since 1998, "said Observatory best payday advance .

Increase in the average city

This trend continues into early this year. However, like last year, the same time, rents of those who relocate rose 0.6% on average. But new phenomenon, most major cities have their rents reduced while those of medium-sized cities or resist progress. Major declines, there are Neuilly sur Seine (-6.4%), Nancy (-4.5%), Grenoble (-3.5%), Strasbourg (-3.1%), Rennes (-2, 5%), Metz (-1.4%), Bordeaux (-1.2%), Lille (-1.1%), Nantes (-1.0%), Marseille and Toulouse (-0.6%) and even Paris (-0.8%). The most significant increases occur in Clermont-Ferrand and Versailles (5.9%), Courbevoie (Hauts-de-Seine, +5.3%) and Draguignan (+5.2%)."In all of 2010, rents should remain stable," explains Michel Mouillart. "Like last year, rents should then fall to spring and again later in the year."

The euro ended the year in small form. For the first time since early September, the single currency rose again Friday to below $ 1.43 and briefly touched a low point, on Monday at 1.4280 dollar. Last month, the euro was trading at $ 1.50 again, "a disaster," was then proclaimed Henri Guaino, special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, now more discreet about the changes. Once is not custom, it is fundamental to the European economy, considered worse than in the U.S., affecting the markets.

The decline of the euro began in early December with the debt crisis Greek degraded by Fitch. It widened last week when Standard & Poor's followed this movement. "The market remains skeptical about the state budget of Greece, which should continue to dampen prospects for the euro," says Jane Foley cabinet Forex.com.

Debts under surveillance

One Member State trembles, and the whole currency area flickering. Especially that Greece is not alone in worrying the markets. The debts of Spain and Ireland, which have surged with the crisis, are also under close surveillance.

Financial solidarity with countries in distress, implicitly shown by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the European Council has not been enough to reassure markets. Even if they are all very positive news from the United States seem, by comparison, the best news for investors. "The United States are ultimately not so badly placed compared to other major world economies," says a strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Overseas, unemployment has stopped growing in November, the U.S. economy could even recreate jobs in the first quarter.In 2010, all institutes ensure the growth of the United States looks twice as strong as that of the eurozone. The dollar's rise also reflects an early turning point for monetary policy. The Fed said after its last monetary policy committee that it would leave its policy rate close to zero for a "prolonged period", but it plans to turn a gradual withdrawal of liquidity from month March which will make dollar investments more attractive.

A third factor supporting the dollar this year, said Patrick Artus, Research Director at Natixis: purchases of greenbacks by the Chinese central bank is rife, Beijing had no intention of letting the yuan appreciate against the dollar …

The agency Fitch has not taken into account what is doing the new government. Photo credits: AFP