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Sales distributors in the United States have reached record during the long weekend of Thanksgiving, which marks the beginning of the holiday season and New Year, buyers are coming in numbers to take the early opening of shops and attractive promotions.

These sales were up 16.4% over the same period a year earlier to 52.4 billion (39.25 billion euros), according to data released Sunday by the National Federation of the distribution ( NRF).

A total of 226 million people traveled between Thursday and Sunday in stores or on online sales sites.This is also an unprecedented level, compared with 212 million last year.

Among the big winners of the weekend appears Best Buy, one of the stores that opened its doors at midnight on the night of Thanksgiving.

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The rise in house prices in the capital could be interrupted, the professionals are predicting. The price per square meter reached 8,350 euros on average in the capital. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gcattiaux/

Rising prices of old apartments in Paris will soon be interrupted after a new record in 8350 euros per square meter on average this summer, due to a decrease in transactions caused by the new tax on most real estate gains. "The decline in the number of transactions due to the number of goods withdrawn from sale by investors, who fear they do not give in quickly to be affected by this tax, and the fact that sellers do not want lower their prices, "said Bernard Cadeau, president of the branch network Orpi.

From June to August, 44,300 existing homes were sold in Ile-de-France, down 2% over the same period in 2010 and 7% compared to the boom in housing markets (1999-2007) indicates the monthly note on real estate markets released Tuesday by the notaries in Paris and Ile. The decline in sales, which has increased this fall as real estate agents, is much brighter in Paris where it reaches 5% for 8500 apartments sold between June and August.

"Almost all transactions for the studios and 2 rooms and the property over € 1 million," laments Ricour Gilles de Bourges, president of the National Federation of Real Estate (Fnaim) to Paris and Ile-de-France.For Philippe Buyens, Network Director Guy Hiccups, "is a rather classical vendors more easily take into account higher prices than lower prices ahead." Indeed, almost immediate consequence of the decrease of transactions: the latest projections of prices calculated on the promises of sales, "confirms that rising prices will soon be interrupted" in the capital, say the lawyers.

Record at 8350 euros per square meter

In intro-muros Paris, prices rose only 0.8% for the period June-August compared to the period from May to July, instead of a monthly increase of 1.5% over the same period in 2010. The deceleration is also clear from the peak reached in March 2011 when prices had risen by 2.5% in a month.

But this does not prevent prices from reaching Paris this summer a new high of 8,350 euros per square meter on average, 835,000 euros to 100 m2. The price hike is still very strong in the capital with an annual increase that reaches even 21.3% at end-August. But began to fade in comparison to previous months (23% annual growth in June). "Vendors want to sell their goods too expensive and look at china dogs with buyers until at least mid-November is the deadline to sign the final act before February 1 in order to escape taxation for investors and holders of a second home, "said Laurent Vimont, president of Century 21 network.

The record reached in central Paris displace more three categories: first-time buyers, the middle classes and tenants."We noted in our offices down 17 points in the percentage of buyers for the first-time buyers and middle classes," notes Mr. Vimont. For Mr. Ricour Bourgies of "investors rush to sell studios and 2 rooms yield to the households become homeowners, which reduces the number of units for tenants, another perverse system taxation of capital gains "

European shares, which declined during the first hour and a half of transactions, have turned upward Wednesday mid-morning, with the cyclical, in the hope that European leaders would find means to agree on measures to facing the euro debt crisis, despite the "no" of the Slovak Parliament to strengthen the EFSF.

In Paris, around 9:10 GMT, the CAC 40 gained 0.77% to 3177.81 points, after losing more than 1% in early trade. The index has crossed an area of ​​strength identified by analysts graphics around 3130 points.The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index is 0.75% and 0.44% Eurofirst 300.

The leaders of the member parties of the Slovak government were to meet Wednesday resigned those of the main opposition party, the Smer to negotiate support for the project to strengthen the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF), announced a spokesman of the party the majority.

Greece can avoid bankruptcy if itself and the other European countries stick to their agreement to reduce debt, said the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet.

The euro hit a high of three weeks vis-à-vis the dollar, the trend had also returned in the hope of a solution to the crisis.Around 11:00, the European currency is trading at 1.3663 / 1.3647 dollars against 66 the previous day in the afternoon.

Cyclical stocks are leading the gains, including mining, driven by the rise in metal prices. The indices of the car gains 2.4%, largest increase sectoral and commodity index 0.7%, while the two indices showed the largest declines in early trading. The bank index is stable.

Total announced Wednesday the acquisition of a 40% interest in five licenses offshore Lamu Basin, Kenya, to develop its presence in exploration and production in the countries of East Africa.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Kenyan authorities, the oil group said in a statement.

The field of operation, located off the Lamu archipelago, covers an area of ​​more than 30,500 square kilometers in water depths between 100 and 3,000 meters.

Total has recently engaged in the exploration and development of reserves of Lake Albert, Uganda, and was selected to develop exploration activities in Tanzania.

The deposit is located over 2,000 meters deep off the coast of Guyana. But it is too early to estimate its potential. The permit allows the drilling to 6000 meters deep and angered environmentalists.

Oil was first discovered off the coast of Guyana, as Total and Shell. The deposit was located in deep water, in more than 2,000 meters deep, about 150 kilometers northeast of Cayenne.

"We are pleased with the preliminary results of the first ever undertaken exploratory drilling off the coast of French Guiana," said an official with the exploration department of Shell, David Lawrence. The "major" Anglo-Dutch holds the largest share (45%) of the project. She said it is too early at this stage to assess the reserves, but the initial results are "encouraging."

A spokesman for Total, which owns 25% of shares, confirms that this is the first discovery of oil off the French department. Guyana, region and overseas department of French, whose per capita income is one of the lowest in the country, has never produced oil.

A basement as rich as the Gulf of Guinea?

The finding revives hopes for a new Eldorado in the department overseas, prompted by the recent major discoveries in the north-east coast of neighboring Brazil.

Geologists assume that the basement of the northeast coast of South America is similar to the rich in hydrocarbons, Gulf of Guinea in Africa. The two were indeed connected before the continents formed and drift away from each other.

The exploration permit is operated by Guyanese British company Tullow Oil, which owns 27.5% of the project.It allows drilling to 6,000 meters (2,000 feet of water and 4,000 m in the oceanic basement). The installation in March of this platform had attracted the wrath of environmentalists, who worry about such a possibility of operation after the disaster of the Deepwater Horizon platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to Total, the drilling has already reached 5711 meters below sea level "After a campaign of intermediate measures, the drilling of the GM-ES-1 will resume soon to reach its planned final depth. The production potential and scope resources will then be identified, "said Total. "The joint venture will continue its drilling, evaluate results and decide next steps," said Shell.

Hermes has released the results Wednesday rose sharply in the first half and said that the financial crisis had not affected the attendance of its stores at this time.

The saddle on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore, in which LVMH acquired a 21.4%, further confirmed its growth targets for all of 2011, statements in July, the group for an increase in its Sales at constant exchange rates between 12% and 14%.

Hermes also confirms that its annual operating profit "should be close to the historic high reached in 2010."The margin reached a record 27.8% last year, driven by growth also historical (+19% at constant exchange rates).

"We have not seen a drop in attendance in our stores, not even in Japan," said Patrick Thomas, CEO of Hermes, at a conference for the presentation of interim results.

"That does not mean there will not be," he added, however.

"In July and August, growth is not quite in the first half for reasons mainly the presence of products in shops," he also said Patrick Thomas, referring to the very low stocks in the group.

"The trend is still very good but it is lower than the first half (…), It is not at all a problem of declining attendance in the stores. "

"It is our policy to be as moderate as possible in price increases for next year (…), even if we find a strong increase of certain raw materials," also said the manager of Hermes.

THE DECISION 15/09 ON APPEAL OF THE ADAM

The manufacturer of Kelly bags or silk scarves saw operating profit rise by 37.3% to 418.1 million euros, increasing by 3.7 margin points to 28.3% against 32% a year earlier.

Net income rose 49.5% to 290.5 million euros against 271 million expected by analysts according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Patrick Thomas said the floating of the group was now "much reduced" and reiterated that Hermes had to purchase its own shares since early June to cover the programs for free shares to its employees.

He emphasized that such purchases had ceased since the course has exceeded 250 euros, the maximum purchase price authorized by its shareholders, suggesting that LVMH could in turn have continued to increase its stake.

Between early June and late August, Hermes acquired for 242 million euros of its own shares.

The Association for the Defence of Minority Shareholders (Adam) is also seeking to block the creation of a holding company by Hermès family control to counter a possible takeover bid by LVMH.

Hermes was granted a derogation from the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) to the obligation to redeem all the minority in the context of the creation of its holding.

Patrick Thomas was of a "serenity" vis-à-vis the decision of the Court of Appeal of Paris on an appeal of Adam against the exemption, expected Sept. 15.

In exchange, where it operates more at the mercy of speculation than on the performance of a group whose float is now below 7%, as Hermes was down 0.75% to 262.95 euros at 11:35, showing a up close to 68% since the beginning of the year for a market capitalization of around 27 billion.

Delta Air Lines said Thursday it ordered 100 aircraft to Boeing 737-900ER for a total of $ 8.5 billion (5.9 billion euros) at list prices.

Delta launched last year a tender for the supply of up to 200 aircraft to replace its oldest aircraft. The airline announced this year it was in talks with Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS, Embraer and Bombardier and Boeing.

"The 737-900ER aircraft is perfect to replace those that are the oldest and least efficient of our single-aisle fleet," said in a statement from Delta CEO Ed Bastian.

The Boeing 737-900ER is the latest addition to the family of next-generation 737.

Wall Street opened sharply higher Monday, buoyed by the rebound in stock markets around the world on the purchase of defensive stocks.

A few minutes after the start of trading, the Dow Jones gained 1.84% to 11,016.24 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index 1.91% to 1144.97 points and the Nasdaq Composite 2.15% to 2392.20 points.

The S & P 500 has lost more than 13% since the beginning of the month and some investors think the rate and extent of the losses on Wall Street suggest that the market is oversold.

Investors, however, watch carefully for signs of possible new measures to support the Federal Reserve the U.S. economy, when its central bankers will meet Friday in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

"Just this month there was a question of a lack of confidence and if Bernanke announced new incentives, then it may be that the markets believe that really did something, which should at least mitigate the volatility of the time, "said Tim Speiss (EisnerAmper).

The earnings season draws to a close, with those of Heinz, Applied Materials and Tiffany & Co expected in the week.

In values, Lowe's Companies took 2.17% after announcing it would spend five billion dollars to buy back shares over a period of two to three years.

The stock markets worldwide have tumbled this week. The cause of persistent fears weighing on the strength of U.S. growth and a risk of contagion from the crisis of debt in the eurozone.

The Paris Stock Exchange dropped 1.26% Friday, August 5, ending at a new low since July 2009 and signed its tenth straight session of declines, the most since the creation of the CAC 40 index in 1987. Good employment figures led to a slight American will rebound ephemeral. In fact, no stock has been untouched by the downward trend this week, culminating Thursday with a meltdown in the markets: Wall Street dropped from 4% to 5%, like the European stock markets mostly down over 3%, while the index of market volatility is highest in a year."You can say, it is indeed a crash summer even if the word is often whispered half-heartedly," writes in his daily note Philippe Cohen, manager at Barclays Stock Exchange.

Concerns about the recovery in the U.S.

The markets are worried about the health of the global economy. As well as one side of the Atlantic than the other, the news is bad. United States First, the political crisis surrounding the raising of the ceiling of debt is certainly over, but doubts about the strength of the economy are stronger every day, with the accumulation of worrying signs. Manufacturing activity is down, consumer spending and hold the GDP grew by only 1.3% in the first half. If Friday's unemployment figures are better than expected, it remains very high level of 9.1%.

Fear of contagion from the debt crisis in Europe

In the euro area, the second Greek rescue plan developed in July is not enough to reassure markets and fears of contagion from the debt crisis continues to worsen. Italy and Spain are again under pressure from the markets. Now Jean-Claude Trichet failed to allay fears on Thursday. It certainly has announced a special operation to refinance in six months, and especially his decision to make new purchases on the debt market, while the ECB had not done since May. Except it turned out that these purchases related only Irish and Portuguese bonds and that the problems are now in Spain and Italy, who, between them, weigh 30% of GDP in the eurozone.

Markets revved

The markets tumbled was also due to a runaway effect and conformism that leads investors to sell their shares en masse. "The movements are always rough due to runaway. It is anticipated that others will anticipate and so on", says Gunther Capelle-Blancard, Professor of Economics at Paris 1. This effect, potentially explosive, was at work during the financial crisis in 2008, after the fall of Lehman Brothers, then in May 2010 at the outbreak of the debt crisis in the eurozone. "We're starting to get used to three years of steady decline 3 to 4% daily, which was extremely rare in the past," says Mr. Capelle-Blancard.

The psychological dimension is even stronger than the market goes into the summer, traditionally more volatile.The magnitude of the changes is also fueled by technical reasons, certain thresholds achieved by the index, triggering sales orders from institutional investors. In addition, the mathematical algorithms used by some operators, which is difficult to know the real impact on the movements are abrupt and may increase volatility. Overall, the market reaction is "exacerbated but not irrational" as the economic fundamentals are deteriorating, warns Mr. Capelle-Blancard.

Limited options

The bad news is that there is not much to be done to stabilize the situation. As noted by Henry Blodget on Business Insider, the crash of 2000, the Fed rate was 6.5% and were immediately lowered. During the 2007 crisis, it was 5.25. Today, however, it is 0.25. The U.S. central bank can no longer play on the lever.While fiscal stimulus is also impossible. In Europe and the United States, the time is at best, no question of setting up new stimulus measures. Again, the situation is more restrictive than in previous crashes. In 2000, the U.S. budget was in surplus during the 2007 crisis, the deficit was only 200 billion. Today, it reached 1.4 trillion.

Again, it is for the central banks to play firefighters. The Fed will probably have to launch a third wave of quantitative easing (EQ3), ie purchase of treasury bills. It could announce the end of August. As for the ECB, market rumors suggest possible debt buybacks Italian and Spanish.One member of the Governing Council, the Belgian Luc Coene, has not ruled in any case to do so, provided that these countries make the necessary efforts in advance. In the longer term, however, the ECB seems to maintain its forecasts on inflation risks and did not rule out further up interest rates.

The Dutch institution Rabobank said on Wednesday it would cut more than 1,200 jobs in its headquarters to save 219 million euros in the next two years.

UBS and Credit Suisse are also about to announce thousands of layoffs at a time when they face lower volumes in their brokerage operations and higher costs, according to a Swiss newspaper.

Unlike its rivals ABN Amro and ING Group, Rabobank did not seek public assistance during the financial crisis and had not suffered losses during this period by one of the few banks with a credit rating Triple A.

Rabobank, which employs 59.000 people worldwide, said she wanted to improve its profitability in its headquarters in Utrecht has developed a new complex in the center of the university town.

The proposed downsizing of Rabobank is not related to a loss of interest in its products or to economic uncertainty, said Manel Vrijenhoek, spokesman for the bank.

"We have to monitor our effectiveness.On a long term basis and in light of our competitiveness, we work more effectively as possible? This examination is normal, "she said.

A number of "significant" of these reductions will affect IT sector but the bank declined to give details, adding that the issue still needed to be discussed internally with employees of the group.