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The fear of bankruptcy Greek has never been stronger. Sunday, finance ministers of the euro area have again met in Luxembourg to lay the foundations for a new rescue plan, this time involving the private sector.

To address the most urgent, priority was first to validate the fifth installment of the loan of 110 billion made last year in the first aid plan. "We will work to pave the way for the release" of this slice of 12 billion, assured the German Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on arrival. Otherwise Athens, facing deadlines refinancing risk bankruptcy next month. However, the decision could be taken only Monday, after the meeting, warned the President of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker.It is also linked to the IMF agreement, which should provide about a quarter of the promised amount and conditioned his release date for further progress in economic reforms in Greece. But ministers were mostly working on a new rescue plan, with "at least an agreement in principle", according to one diplomatic source. The amount could approach that of the first packet. If the principle is an act, the terms of this extension will however be referred to the next meeting of finance ministers, scheduled July 11. The big question concerns the involvement of banks."We'll talk tonight about the involvement of private creditors, the question is how far it can and must go," summed up Jean-Claude Juncker.

"We play with fire"

Friday in Berlin, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel had outlined the mechanism, with four main principles: voluntary participation of private creditors, approval of the ECB, nor a "credit event" and rapid implementation. But Wolfgang Schäuble Sunday as Chancellor reiterated that the participation of private creditors should be substantial. Germany prefers the idea of ​​longer maturities on debt, where Paris defends the option of "rollover" that would see creditors renew their credit lines in Athens at the maturity of loans.For Europeans, the most important thing is to convince investors that it is not part of a payment default.

"We play with fire," warned Saturday the President of the Eurogroup. Bankruptcy of Greece "may be contagious for Portugal and Ireland and, before Spain, to Belgium and Italy, given their heavy debt." And in this game of dominoes, the Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders, did not rule out that France is also reached, "when you see the level of deficit and debt." The financial world has been rocked in 2008 by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, he said in an interview with The Tribune."Do not repeat this type of bankruptcy."

After the reshuffle of his government, Prime Minister, George Papandreou, has, meanwhile, claimed Sunday the confidence of Parliament in order to get its austerity plan in late June, and thus obtain the release of the new international aid. A vote is expected Tuesday night.

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Coincidence of timing. IMF-EU Troika-ECB chose the last week of the campaign to start in Lisbon's assessment mission. Whatever the outcome on Sunday of the early legislative, the next government already knows he will receive a very limited scope. Winner given according to recent polls, the opposition leader, Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD-center right), should apply as soon as possible the austerity program imposed by the troika, in exchange for an aid package of 78 billion euros.

Click image for larger graphic.

The rigor is no longer appropriate for the big bosses of the banking sector. Aid paid by the state and now repaid their business reaping the effects of recovery, there are incentive bonuses, considering the annual reports and press reports, clearly an upward trend for 2010. While many top executives of French banks had waived their bonuses the previous two years, 2010 has signed the back of generous salaries.

In addition to a salary of 1 million euros, up from last year, the head of Societe Generale, Frederic Oudéa, reaching his first bonus since he took office and the Kerviel affair.Bank boss of the highest paid, he will receive a variable remuneration amounting to 598,400 euros paid immediately in cash, plus a paid deferred until 2015 to comply with European Directive CRD3 applicable since 1 January 2011. In total, the variable compensation paid for 2010 could reach up to 3.2 million euros, according to the calculation of Echos.

It's a little more than Baudoin Prot, CEO of BNP Paribas, which in turn will receive a fixed salary unchanged from the previous year, but a sharp rise in bonuses. About 1.67 million awarded in total, 60% will be paid in deferred over two years with conditions. His total compensation could reach 2.47 million euros as well. Last example, the boss of BPCE, former deputy secretary general of the Elysee Perol, who waived his bonus last year.According to AFP, he will receive 1.05 million euros to this title, for a fixed salary unchanged at 550,000 euros.

Variable pay "balanced"

If the amounts received are variable up substantially, the banks but on the whole complied with certain requirements of European directive adopted in 2010. Transposed into French law by the end of last year, it aims to control the compensation of employees of banks that may affect the risks taken by their institution. To get them interested in long-term results, a fraction ranging from 40% to 60% variable compensation should be paid for example over several years, subject to results.

But according to the directive CRD3, this variable compensation should be "balanced" with respect to the fixed remuneration. And perhaps where the shoe pinches.Because as stated by the MEP "Europe Ecology – The Greens Pascal Canfin this Saturday in Libération, France did not correctly transposed the EU directive, replacing the term" balanced "by one of" appropriate ", denaturing content of the text. He stressed that, therefore, represent bonuses for 2010 "3, 5 or 10 times the fixed fee."

The Ministry of Economy, the entourage said Christine Lagarde told AFP that "France was one of the first countries to transpose the European directive, and after notification of such legislation to the Commission in February , it "made no comment."

The spirit of the directive not respected

It must also be noted that France does not figure in the worst student in the field. British officials are still better off: the new boss of Barclays there has recently been awarded a bonus of 23 million pounds.

Generally, as commented European Commissioner Michel Barnier services in the columns of Liberation, "behaviors have not changed as much as you want. The banks have not complied with the spirit and letter of our directive. " Faced with the inertia of the banking community, the European Commissioner had already threatened in April to further tighten the rules governing executive pay for banks. The newspaper said the European Commission is preparing to "carry out a thorough investigation" on the transposition of the Directive by the Member States of the EU.

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The recovery of Alcatel-Lucent continues. The telecommunications equipment has greatly reduced its net loss to 10 million euros in the first quarter of 2011. Last year, Alcatel-Lucent had accused a loss of 515 million euros in the first three months of the year.

And the group announced the quarterly results exceeded expectations. The adjusted gross margin amounted to 1.3 billion euros, or 36.2% of revenues. As to the adjusted operating income, it stands at 13 million euros, or 0.3% of revenues where analysts on average expected a loss of 68 million. In the first quarter of 2010, the group revealed adjusted operating loss of 195 million euros. The net loss amounted to 10 million euros.In addition, Alcatel-Lucent posted an increase of 15.2% of its turnover to 3.7 billion euros.

Purpose of adjusted operating income of over 5%

With these results, the group has confirmed its annual targets. "With a strong start to the year, we confirm our outlook for 2011 to grow faster than our market (…) with an adjusted operating profit more than 5% of sales in 2011," said CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, Ben Verwaayen said in a statement.

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Robert Zoellick sounded the alarm. "If food prices were not the direct cause of the crisis in the Middle East and North Africa, they have been an aggravating factor," said the president of the World Bank to finance ministers of the G20. Bank, the first institution of development assistance, including Global Food Price Index is an authority considers that prices have jumped 36% in one year. This surge affects most commodities, except rice, and drove 44 million people fall below the "extreme poverty".

The World Bank shares the objective of the French presidency of the G20 to fight against price volatility. As Robert Zoellick explained to Le Figaro, one of the first steps would be "a code of conduct on arms embargoes on the export of food products."It is indeed a constant temptation for producers, when faced with an accident of nature – like Russia, where grain fields have been ravaged by fires last summer – that restrict their sales. Causing a price rise. "At least it should be that embargoes do not apply to humanitarian organizations," Zoellick suggests.

Another avenue to explore "the creation of small stocks of food as humanitarian in areas where there are problems of infrastructure and delivery." Similarly, "it would be useful to have better information on stocks of products." Perhaps most iconoclastic, the former international trade negotiator for the Bush administration calls "that poor countries can use the techniques of risk management, to better cope with price fluctuations."These measures can of course substitute "to efforts to increase agricultural production, for which we are investing $ 7 billion per year," he recalls.

Giving assistance to Côte d'Ivoire

Robert Zoellick acknowledged that he must look beyond the growth rate, which sometimes give an overly flattering in developing countries: "It is a lesson of revolutions in North Africa and the Arab world fast cash. It is not enough to have a good economic policy which brings growth and inflation. If prosperity is not shared and if one fails to mobilize the energies, we will face the risk of revolt. "In Tunisia, it was discovered" a lot of frustrations with bureaucratic barriers to create a professional activity .Bouazizi Mohammed, who was not licensed to sell fruit and thus preferred to die, is emblematic. "

In addition, these countries are poorly integrated into the global economy. To their detriment, said Zoellick, "Take the case of Egypt, whose population is 80 million people, while South Korea has only 50 million. The Korean export more industrial products in a single week than the Egyptians in a year, says the boss of the World Bank. Similarly, if we compare the Vietnam and Algeria, two former French colonies that have experienced wars, Vietnam was inspired by what happened in neighboring countries to open up to foreign investment and create opportunities for its own contractors.Nothing like Algeria, which has yet oil and gas and enjoys an advantageous geographical location for trade with Europe. "

The World Bank says ready to finally bring relief to Cote d'Ivoire. "This is to establish institutions that hostile groups are found, and create emergency infrastructure for water, transportation, energy, said Robert Zoellick, citing the experience of his institution in this type of situation. Simple things such as garbage collection can show people that life back to normal. Besides financial support, with other partners, we must think about discounts on debts, which reach 1.4 to 1.6 billion dollars. "

PSA Peugeot Citroën expects disruptions in its production of diesel engines in Europe, following the supply disruption from one of its suppliers, single component concerned. Japanese Hitachi provides a part mounted on a flow meter integrated in all diesel engines manufactured by PSA in Europe. This part is manufactured in a factory in Japan. And it is in the area devastated by the earthquake of 11 March.

The impact was initially limited due to existing stocks faxless pay day loans. It is no longer possible. Thus, European production of diesel vehicles the group will be affected from Wednesday. The decrease will be between 0 and 60% depending on the site.

The manufacturer will focus on new models, Peugeot 508 and Citroën C4 and DS4, and successful models, Peugeot 3008 and 5008.The group hopes that the plant output from Hitachi will resume within a few days. Meanwhile, PSA will implement measures laid off.

After two sluggish years, the hospitality industry, took over the colors. A study of European Statistician, Eurostat, published on Monday, 1.6 billion overnight stays were booked in 2010 in various hotels of the countries of the European Union. This figure, an increase of 2.8% compared to the number of bookings recorded in 2009, followed two years of decline. The number of nights spent in hotels – for leisure trips as business – had fallen by 3.7% in 2009 compared to 2008, already bad year for the hotel because bookings were down by 0, 3% over 2007.

The real dynamic recovery has been felt at the end of the first half of 2010. Between January and April, the number of overnight stays increased at an annual rate of 1.7% over the same period last year.Between May and August, the trend has accelerated up to 2.6% growth. Finally, the last quarter, the increase was 5.1%.

France in fourth position

The number of overnight stays increased in most European countries. The highest increases were registered in Estonia (+14.1%), followed by Latvia (+11.6%), Lithuania (11.1%) and Malta (+11%). Five European countries however have earned on their own 70% of bookings cheap business cards. Spain leads with 268 million hotel nights, a score increase of 6.8% compared to 2009. Italy follows with 245 million overnight stays, although this result shows a decline of 0.8% over the previous year.Germany totaled 229 million bookings – up 5.8% – and then France (196 million, +2.4%) and finally the United Kingdom (166 million down 2.1%).

More foreigners

Sign of better economic health, the number of nights spent in hotels by people from other countries is rising sharply. It increases by 5.1% when the stays booked by nationals grow only 1.1%. 45% of nights spent in hotels have been by non-residents of the country. Estonia, Latvia (75%), Greece (74%), Austria (72%) and Bulgaria, are the states that received the largest number of foreigners in their residences. France has recorded 66 million room nights booked by non-residents, or 33% of the total. A score increase of 3% compared to 2009.

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If this hand a little in every sense on tax reform – the removal of the shield and the reform of the ISF – "is that we have great ideas. Sunday invited Grand Jury RTL-LCI-Le Figaro ", the Minister of Economy has expressed that he prefers: taxing income from property rather than the stock. But Christine Lagarde outlined above reframed the debate. Because of the ISF, abandoned by most of the neighboring countries of France, "of course he has people who are leaving … We must be stopped to create an illusion that tax." "There is a requirement of fair taxation, fiscal balance and prioritize investment to remain a country of innovation," she insisted.

Alignment with Germany

Therefore, is "we struggle against the excesses of the ISF, or we invent a new tax of Heritage". A conference to be held March 3, "prune a few branches."In other words, the meeting will put some order in the proposals that go all-out on the subject. The next day, the Court of Auditors will report on the Franco-German comparison, "which will work to harmonize with our neighbor, friend and rival."

On the issue of public finances, the Minister of Economy has been very strong. "We need strict discipline to keep the goals of deficit reduction." France has pledged that the deficit reached 6% this year, 4.2% in 2012 and finally 3% in 2013. Recalling that the process of non-replacement of staff on two retiring continued and government spending (excluding interest expense of debt and pensions) were frozen, Christine Lagarde nonetheless argued that "if must take additional steps to meet our commitments, we will! ".While saying he was "no question of a general increase of taxes."

The minister has in any case more than ever on a 2% growth this year. "I am very firm on my prediction," she said – certainly to the attention of some experts who find this figure too ambitious. Based on the confidence indices in industry and in services, "I am confident that growth in the first quarter 2011 will be significantly higher than the last quarter of 2010 (which did not exceed 0.3%, a figure which had disappointed). Finally, the Minister of the Economy "hopes to below the 4 million unemployed this year."

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The news has surprised market observers, and on Wednesday morning. In the race to succeed the French Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, the favorite would have thrown in the towel. Germany's Axel Weber, head of the German Central Bank, the Bundesbank, would in effect told a meeting in a closed circle that he was not interested in another term, Reuters reported, and German media .

"Weber's candidacy to head the ECB is no longer on the agenda," said one source at the news agency. The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, said that Weber said "he would not seek re-election necessarily at the head of the Bundesbank." His interlocutors have deduced that it would withdraw from the race for the presidency of the ECB.The Heads of State and Government should appoint a successor to Jean-Claude Trichet late March in Brussels.

The news of the withdrawal of Axel Weber has dropped sharply, but temporarily, the euro by late morning. The confusion was increased by the contradictory statements of the Bundesbank (Buba). She initially told a news about his boss, then retracted and deny the rumors. According to Reuters citing sources inside the Buba, Axel Weber did not consider it necessary to issue a final statement. It would, however, met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday morning. No information was available about the contents of the call.

A hawkish media

Axel Weber is one of the "hawks" on more media on the Board of Governors of the guardian of the euro.His outspokenness and his vocal opposition to the redemption of government bonds by the ECB reduced its chances of winning, insulation increasingly faced with more moderate colleagues about the conduct of the institution's policy .

The abandonment of Weber in the race for the presidency of Jean-Claude Trichet opens the way for challengers. Foremost among these is the Italian Mario Draghi. However, his visit to the much-criticized Goldman Sachs could be hampering its chances of winning. Personalities from smaller countries in the euro zone also would return to the front of the stage as the Finn Erkki Liikanen or Yves Mersch of Luxembourg. But perhaps another German, Klaus Regling, current president of the European financial stability, which could ultimately prevail, according to analysts at Barlcays Capital.

Closed Thursday because of holidays, the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished Friday's session down 0.65%. Investors, few, were defeated by Japanese securities firms exporting due to a resurgence of the yen vis-à-vis the dollar and euro.

At the close, the Nikkei index of 225 blue chips lost 67.29 points to finish at 10,279.19 points. The broader Topix index of all titles of the first table on his side finished the day down by 4.12 points (-0.45%) to 901.66 points. The trading volume was very low on the eve of Christmas, with only 1.28 billion shares traded on the primary market.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange was closed Thursday as the dollar and euro have weakened significantly since Wednesday against the Japanese currency, the first falling to less than 83 yen and the second in the 109 yen.The rise of the yen hurts Japanese companies that sell to the outside, diminishing profits collected abroad and distorting their financial forecasts. Titles Kyocera and Olympus and have declined by 1.06% and 1.38%. The action, however, Toshiba gained 0.68%, the group announced that it would subcontract the manufacture of chips at South Korea's Samsung Electronics bad credit payday advance.

Crude oil prices mixed

Moreover, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which closed earlier Friday because of Christmas, finished down 0.30%, partly due to fears of a tightening of monetary policy in China.The Hang Seng Index lost 69.17 points to close at 22,833.80 points, for a limited volume of trade to 23.63 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.05 billion dollars).

On the oil market, crude prices were mixed Friday in electronic trading in Asia, suffering some profit taking after hitting the day before a new high for the past two years. In morning trading, a barrel of light sweet crude for February delivery yielded 13 cents to 91.38 dollars, one of Brent North Sea crude for February delivery gained 18 cents to 94.43 dollars. The previous day, oil had climbed to 91.63 dollars during trading in New York, and up to 94.54 dollars in London, levels last seen in early October 2008.Crude prices are supported by the "index of consumer confidence in the U.S., which suggests an increase in gasoline demand," according to a note from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.