Archive for September, 2010
Sanofi-Aventis is considering an increase from next week's tender offer he made to the American Genzyme, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The French pharmaceutical group, who offered $ 69 per share Genzyme, "looking for" an increase of a dollar or two, said Bloomberg, adding that Sanofi has not excluded a hostile bid, but would prefer friendly negotiations.
The action of the biotechnology company ended Tuesday at 71.50 dollars on the Nasdaq.
Sanofi leaders and advisers of the group will meet this week to discuss how to proceed, the agency wrote in quoting its sources.
A Sanofi spokesman declined to comment on this information.He reiterated that the lab had made an offer to 69 dollars per share and there was no other offer made or discussed with the Board of Directors of Genzyme, the direction of the company or its shareholders.
Furthermore, President and CEO of Genzyme, Henri Termeer, told the Financial Times that he would resign next summer, which the newspaper said, could facilitate the resumption of society since Henri Termeer was "considered as an obstacle to a takeover. "
Henri Termeer, who turns 65 in 2011, said he was ready to leave after the confirmation of test results last phase of treatment of Genzyme against multiple sclerosis, Campath, expected by mid-2011, writes FT.
"We can work very well independently. I'm not shocked (by the attempt by Sanofi-Aventis).They must recognize our worth than to be opportunistic, "said Henri Termeer also quoted by British newspaper who sees" more openness "to a takeover by Sanofi.
"The company stands up and takes a significant value," said Henri Termeer, quoted by the FT.
The board of directors of Genzyme had no discussions with a "white knight", he said.
Last month, Genzyme has rejected a proposal from Sanofi $ 69 per share, valuing Genzyme $ 18.5 billion (13.6 billion euros) and thought it was very understated and does not warrant a entered into discussions.
According to some sources, Genzyme would offer at least $ 75 per share that Sanofi can examine its accounts.Some investors have set a price of 80 dollars per share.
Southwest Airlines announced Monday it would buy AirTran Holdings for $ 1.04 billion in cash and stock, allowing it to strengthen its presence on the East Coast.
The merger announced Monday is the first in the airline industry low cost, and the second this year in the airline industry as a whole after the merger of United Airlines, a subsidiary of UAL Corp. and Continental Airlines.
"The acquisition of AirTran represents a unique opportunity for growth for Southwest Airlines in key markets in which we are not yet present," said Gary Kelly, CEO of Southwest.
The agreement will enable Southwest to operate the airports of New York LaGuardia, Boston Logan and Baltimore / Washington.The company will also win his ticket to Mexico and the Caribbean, tourist destinations with high potential.
The merger puts pressure on competitors such as Southwest or JetBlue Airways U.S. Airways will have to redouble efforts to find a partner.
At 1400 GMT, the title of AirTran jumped 58.46% to 7.21 dollars while Southwest took 3.82% to 12.76 dollars.
The merger is subject to approval by shareholders of both companies and approval of the U.S. Department of Justice.
British banks will be subject to a thorough review that will examine the possibility of a split between investment banking activities and those of retail banking, as well as options for stimulating competition, even if no possibility is for the time being preferred.
The Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) has received three months ago by the British government to assess the state of the banking sector following the financial crisis, during which the state had to bail out financial institutions.
While work continues, the CBI on Friday issued its first findings.
The committee says it will examine the division of banking and retail investment banking, as well as supervision of transactions and investments for own account in order to stimulate growth and reform the banking sector .
"The list is not exhaustive and the Commission has (…) no preferred option at this stage," it said in the release of CVI.
Despite the virulence of the political class in recent weeks for investment bankers, many industry players and analysts believe it unlikely that a division of British banks are finally imposed.
Vince Cable, the Minister for Enterprise, said this week that a new tax on banks was possible.
HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered have warned it could quit Britain if the regulatory framework were to harden.
The commission has until the end of next year to make its assessment, and analysts believe that the British state should not sell its approximate 83% stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds 41% before the report of the CVI.
Around 7:45 GMT, Lloyds, Standard Chartered and RBS yielded between 0.48 and 0.97%, while that HSBC was virtually unchanged (0.01%).
Economic activity contracted in Ireland in the second quarter, beating forecasts of economists who expected a continued recovery, which amplifies the pressure on Prime Minister Brian Cowen who is trying to convince investors that his country is not threatened by a new financial crisis.
The gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 1.2% over the first three months of the year, against a 0.5% increase expected by economists on average.
The statistics also show that consumers have continued to reduce their expenses while undergoing a public austerity.
The premium investors demand to hold the Irish debt to ten years rather than the German benchmark bonds of similar maturity has reached a new high record since the adoption of the euro after the publication of these figures which precede a fall tax revenue.
"This will probably result in more severe budget," said Stephen Taylor, an analyst at Dolmen Stockbrokers.
"To be honest, they should probably consider moving the budget a little to calm the bond markets," he adds.
The Minister of Finance, however, told Reuters the government had no intention to expedite the publication of its draft 2011 budget, which must be presented on December 7.He also stressed that the pace of decline in consumption and investment slowed.
Brian Lenihan, on radio, also reaffirmed the government's goal of reducing the deficit to 3% of GDP by 2014 and eliminated the risk of a relapse into recession in Ireland.
ANGLO IRISH THE BURDEN
The government is trying to regain control of the largest deficit of any European Union and wants to convince the markets that he will manage the disastrous consequences of a housing bubble that has knelt the country's banks.
The rising cost of Anglo Irish Bank bailout should further push up the deficit to at least 25% of GDP this year, offsetting the benefits of earlier austerity budgets.
The Irish authorities have emphasized that this increase was exceptional and was due to accounting rules of Eurostat, the bill's bailout of the nationalized bank to be spread over 15 years. But markets are not reassured.
The government must announce in the coming weeks its final estimate of the invoice for Anglo Irish and hopes to restore calm among investors.But analysts point out that Dublin will also make difficult decisions for its budget.
Gross national product (GNP) in Ireland, considered by many economists as a more accurate indicator of changes in the economy because it excludes the profits of multinational corporations, fell 0.3% in second quarter the first three months of the year, while economists projected a 0.3% increase.
The Statistical Office has also revised down its revenue growth adjusted for seasonal variations in the first quarter to 2.2% against 2.7% originally announced.
Year over year, Ireland's GDP shrank by 1.8%, while the consensus gave back 0.4% only.The GNP has it declined 4.1% while the consensus was
-2.7%.
The gold price hit a new record Wednesday, while the euro touched its highest level in five months against the dollar.
The precious metal posted its third straight session of record, supported by the weak dollar and uncertainty about the economic outlook.
Around 9:20 GMT, spot gold was quoted at 1,294.40 dollars an ounce, against 1,285.90 meeting late Tuesday in New York. The futures contract on gold for delivery in December has meanwhile hit a historic high of 1,295.80 dollars.
The greenback's weakness also reflected in particular against the euro.The single currency touched 1.3380 dollars a time, its highest level since late April, which represents an increase of almost 1% on the session.
The Federal Reserve of the United States said Tuesday after its policy meeting that it could inject extra liquidity into the financial system to sustain the recovery, which hurt the dollar and resurrects fears about economic outlook in the United States.
Traders also speak of buying euros by a U.S. investment bank.
The single currency also hit a two-month high against the pound sterling at 85.25 pence.
Nissan Motor plans to double its production to China to bring it to 1.2 million vehicles by 2012 to achieve its goal of a market share of 10% over the first global car market, said Monday its CEO Carlos Ghosn.
The new forecast marks a 20% increase over the previous target announced by the Japanese automaker and reflects his interest in the Chinese market.
Carlos Ghosn also said that Renault, Nissan's controlling shareholder, which is currently only present in China through a share of his partner, had no intention of starting his own production in the countries.
The manufacturer with the diamond might instead join the timely Nissan joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group, said Carlos Ghosn to the press on the occasion of the inauguration of the first factory 4X4 joint venture located in Zhengzhou, in the center of the country.
At the opening ceremony for the site, Carlos Ghosn said Nissan also planned to expand two other production sites in the country.
"(With) our three manufacturing bases in Zhengzhou, Huadu and Xiangfan, we will almost double the current capacity of Nissan in China to 1.2 million vehicles by 2012," he said."This represents more than 200,000 cars compared to what we announced at our annual results in May," he added.
RENAULT-NISSAN DO NOT BUY SHARES ACCOUNT GM
The new factory 4X4 represents a total investment of one billion yuan (114 million euros) and will be managed by Zhengzhou Nissan, the joint venture of Japanese and Dongfeng.
The site is expected to produce 180,000 vehicles annually, enabling the joint venture that owns another plant to achieve a total annual production of 240,000 units by 2012, Zhengzhou-Nissan said in a statement.
Carlos Ghosn also told Reuters on the sidelines of the inauguration that the Renault-Nissan had no intention to acquire shares in General Motors during the upcoming IPO of U.S. carmaker.
Auto sales in China jumped nearly 60% annual rate in August, posting a strong rebound after several months of slowing with measures to aid the purchase of more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Carlos Ghosn said Nissan had the ambition to control 10% of China's car market but did not provide a timetable.
"Among Japanese automakers, which account for 20% of total sales in China, Nissan ranks number one position," he said.
"However, we believe we have the potential to get a higher market share through our partnership with Dongfeng and Nissan Zhenzhou. Our current target is 10%," he added.
Among Japanese automakers, Nissan is in first place on the podium for sales in China ahead of Toyota Motor, with a range of models including small cars eligible for government assistance measures.
The Paris Bourse takes the path of rising in early trade Friday after two days off, pending a series of U.S. indicators in the afternoon (consumer prices, real wage index and the Reuters-University of Michigan).
Around 9:35, the CAC 40 index showed a gain of 1.18% to 3780.57 points, after losing as much in two sessions.
Carrefour, largest increase in ACC, won 5.1% after announcing an ambitious plan to boost its European hypermarkets. BNP Paribas Exane raised its recommendation from "neutral" to "outperform", Natixis and its target price of 43-49 euros on the news.
All values of ACC in the green, including ArcelorMittal takes 1.9%.Oddo has withdrawn the title from its list of values to avoid after the severe under-performance as the steelmaker since the beginning of the year.
Other major European markets are also rising: London and Frankfurt gained 0.86%, 0.86%. As for the European indices, the EuroStoxx 50 is 0.97% and Eurofirst 300 rose 0.84%.
The euro is trading at 1.3140 / 43 dollar against 1.3076 the previous day, while U.S. light crude gained 41 cents to 74.98 dollars a barrel.
Carrefour hopes to soon open its first store wholesale (cash and carry) in New Delhi and is always looking for a local partnership to launch hypermarket in India, "said Thierry Garnier, Executive Director in charge of international partnerships.
"We should, in the next few months, opened in New Delhi Cash & Carry store of 5,000 square meters," he told Reuters on the sidelines of the presentation by the group's program to revive its hypermarkets.
Number two worldwide in distribution, which wants to enter India for seven years, is also seeking a local partner to open hypermarkets and supermarkets in countries with high growth.
"Today we continue to analyze all opportunities for partnerships with Indian companies to start hypermarket," said Thierry Garnier.
In India, foreign companies do not currently have the right distribution channels with several brands.The ban, designed to protect small retailers and local channels, forcing large groups has partnerships to penetrate the Indian market.
"In the long term we could have (in India) a development similar to China", said Thierry Garnier.
Earlier this summer, press reports indicated that the Indian government would be prepared to legislate to allow multibrand foreign retailers to launch their own operations in the country.
A law being drafted, could increase the maximum detention of foreign direct investment from 51 to 100%.
Carrefour has already bought land in New Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad and is about to enter its fifth acquisition of land in Bombay.
Wal-Mart and Germany's Metro are already established in the country through local partnerships.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange ended down 0.24% Tuesday, hampered by the strong yen and investor caution pending the results of the ongoing primary for the Democratic leadership in power in Japan.
The Nikkei index closed at 9299.31 points and the Topix broader yielded 0.33% to 834.87 points.
The Japanese are suspended from the outcome of the primary within the Democratic Party, which confront the leader of the outgoing government, Naoto Kan, in office for three months, and Ichiro Ozawa, considered the "master of the shadow" PDJ.
This primary, the results should be known around 6:30 GMT, could lead to a change in the leadership of the government, which would develop so his sixth Prime Minister in three years.
This situation led the yen to hit a new high of 15 years against the dollar, which has weighed on the stock exchange on exporting groups.
Sony Corp., Advantest Corp. and Toyota Motor fell 0.36% and 1.66%.
The major Japanese banks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group have won the other hand respectively 0.73% and 1.2%, continuing to benefit from the agreement reached Sunday on the new banking regulations, known as "Basel III" .
The richest countries of the world must extend support plans for the economy and job creation initiatives, said Monday the director general of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The IMF notes that more and more people are unable to find sustainable employment, which undermines social cohesion and increases the risk of disorders that could threaten some democracies.
"The labor market is going through a very bad time," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn at a conference in Oslo, adding that the recession had left behind a sea of unemployment.
"We must recognize that the crisis will not be complete until unemployment has not declined significantly," he said, adding that the issue of growth and employment were the most burning.
According to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who also attended the conference organized by both the IMF and the International Labour Organization, the high level of unemployment could cause a crisis of confidence in Europe.
"The worst crisis is a crisis of pessimism, distrust, resignation," he said, before explaining that job creation was the top priority in Spain, where 20% of the workforce is deprived of work.
Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, said it would "breathe a little oxygen in democratic institutions."
As the European Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Laszlo Andor, he described the year 2010 "annus horribilis of" employment.
"If we do not, 2011 could be an 'annus horribilis' for social cohesion," he added.
USE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE DEBT
The IMF believes that support extended to the economy deserved a higher debt they allowed to fight unemployment, according to him more expensive for some companies whose workers are at risk of sinking into despair, losing savings a life or leave the labor market.
The severity of the crisis prompted the IMF to defend the principle of extending unemployment benefits, to support both the application and the morale of those involved, while giving incentives to companies that prefer the shorter Work and wages at the expense of job cuts.
The IMF chief has defended the role of the Fund on the job, believing that it was not the caricature by reducing its function to the austerity he recommends cures sometimes.
Unemployment is more than a "simple matter of payroll," said Dominique Strauss Kahn.
In developed countries, the unemployed have more health problems while their children have lower academic achievement.In societies poorer employment is sometimes a matter of life or death, which may cause violent conflict, "even war," he said.
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