Kraft Foods posted a quarterly profit Tuesday as expected and said anticipating a growth in operating income of at least 9% this year, despite pruning announced its range in North America.

The first U.S. food group, which holds particular LU biscuits and coffee Carte Noire, will split into two companies later this year.

One will be dedicated to its snacks marketed worldwide as Cadbury chocolate and biscuits Oreos, the other brands in North America specifically, the e ; door leaf thereof being referred to shrink. 

To prepare for this separation, the group will fund a special charge of $ 1.6 billion to $ 1.8 billion (1.2 to 1.4 billion euros).

Kraft has said it expected a net increase its turnover by around 5% in 2012. This forecast takes into account the negative effect of around one percentage point reduction in its range in North America.

The group said also anticipate an increase of at least 9% of its operating profit at constant exchange rates, despite higher taxes and pension costs.

The action Kraft gained 1.9% to 38.73 dollars to 4:20 p.m. GMT on Wall Street, while the Dow Jones progressed from 0.37%.

The group recorded a fourth quarter profit of $ 830 million, or 47 cents a share, against $ 540 million (31 cents) a year earlier.

Excluding items, earnings per share were 57 cents, according to Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S.

Turnover increased by 6.6% to $ 14.7 billion. Organic growth – is out acquisitions, disposals, calendar effects and exchange – rose 7% in North America, 3.1% in Europe and 7.2% in emerging markets.

2000 French were interviewed by the firm OC & C for the fifth year on their perception of prices in a sixty nine brands owned by different sectors. The survey measures the gap between the actual price of a brand and the idea that consumers will make. Results: advance leaders still considerable. The report found that the French had one very realistic prices. "No wonder. The discount was born in France and consumers are accustomed to comparing prices," said Jean-Daniel Pick, cabinet member.Previous useSuivant Leroy Merlin (52) Next Photo 11/14

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The bill was rejected UMP to 175 votes against 168. A Mixed Commission will now be convened before a return to both Houses of Parliament. View of the Senate in the Luxembourg Palace

The Senate on Wednesday rejected by 175 votes against 168 the bill UMP to govern the right to strike in the airline, criticized by the unions of Air Staff.

Most PS, CRC (Communist), RDSE (mostly PRG) Ecologist and passed a motion prior procedural motion which amounts to a rejection of the text. The centrist and right UMP voted against.

Filed by a deputy of the Right People, Eric Diard, before movement of airport security officers, PPL already adopted on 25 January by the National Assembly is to implement in the air including the existing and the SNCF RATP. Left and Right have competed strongly in the hemicycle of the Palais du Luxembourg, where the shouts are increasing with the approach of presidential elections.

"The airline industry is highly confrontational: 1131 strikes in the last three years, 63 days last year. This is no longer acceptable. Freedom of strikers must end or beginning of the passengers," insisted the minister Transport, Thierry Mariani. "The sky is open air. You, too, show a little opening and let yourself go with the interests of passengers, not that of a minority of employees," he told Catherine Procaccia (UMP). "Passengers are the cannon fodder of the malfunctioning of social dialogue," exclaimed Louis Negro (UMP).

"You do not have a monopoly on empathy with users stuck in airports. It is always the strikers who are responsible for everything, you never put the responsibility on employers, however, social dialogue takes two, "replied Jean Desessard (Greens)." If employees have to leave it because of the strikes of 1936 and if they do not fly is that they do not have money, you are the emissaries of big business "has swept Borvo Nicole Cohen-Seat, Chair of the group CRC (Communist). "No more business would be immune to similar restrictions to a fundamental right: the right to strike," protested George Labazée (PS). "The goal is to flatter a certain opinion public without worrying about the consequences of employees whose situation is often precarious, "blasted the rapporteur Claude Jeannerot (PS).  

This text requires the strikers, under penalty of law, to declare individually 48 hours before each day of the strike and employers to forecast traffic no later than 24 hours before the disturbance. Employees waiving participation in a strike or deciding to resume their service will also, under penalty of disciplinary action, inform the employer within 24 hours prior to their participation or anticipated recovery. This obligation to inform the employer of a change of mind will also apply to land transport, thereby altering the symbolic law of August 2007, improperly called law on "minimum service".

The airline unions have the four days last week strike demanding the withdrawal of a text for them violates the right to strike. They do not exclude other mobilizations. The PPL is registered emergency, a Mixed Commission (CMP, seven senators, seven MPs) will now be convened before a return to both houses but the Assembly has the last word.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the Greek parliament as MPs must vote in the late afternoon a bill consisting of austerity measures demanded such drastic and unpopular es by the EU and the IMF in exchange for a new rescue plan.

Greek Prime Minister of Greece Lucas Papademos warned against the "economic chaos" in case of rejection, while Germany has warned that Greece should stop being a "well bottomless "`.

After three days of tension and political threats, Parliament began shortly after 14:00 (12:00 GMT) to examine the bill to save 3.3 billion euros thanks to lower wages, pensions and job cuts public. 

The vote must take place before midnight (2200 GMT), said the finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, "because on Monday morning, the banking and financial markets should have received the message that Greece can and will survive. "

"If the law is not adopted, the country will go bankrupt," warned the Minister that a Communist deputy threw the pages of the bill on the floor of the Assembly.

About twenty members of the coalition of Lucas Papademos have threatened in recent days to vote against the text and six government members submitted their resignations, but the Prime Minister will still theoretically supported by a large majority. 

Outside the parliament, police fired tear gas to try to disperse demonstrators who threw stones and Molotov cocktail at Syntagma Square.

This is the largest mobilization since the month of demonstrations against the security measures. Most protesters retreated but clashes continued in the middle of the afternoon.

"There is tear gas into the interior of the Assembly," said one Communist deputy, Panagiotis Lafazanis.

"Bottomless well"

The new austerity plan is the price to pay for the release of an aid program of 130 billion euros from the EU and the IMF – the second since 2010.

Greece has to touch the money before March 20 to repay a state loan of 14.5 billion euros.

Germany has turned up the heat a notch Sunday warning that Europe expected actions and not words.

"The promises of Greece are no longer sufficient for us," warned the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. 

Referring to the new austerity plan in which the Greek deputies must vote this Sunday, the minister said in an interview published by the Welt am Sonntag that the previous did not e ; tee implemented in their entirety.

Wolfgang Schäuble said that the Germans are largely in favor of an international aid to Greece. "But it's important to say that it can be a bottomless pit. This is why the Greeks will finally have to clog the well. Then we can put something. At least people are now beginning to realize that it will not work with a bottomless pit.

"Greece must do its homework to become competitive, it requires a new rescue plan or some other way that we do not want to (…)" he says referring to an output the euro area.

Asked if such an outcome is possible, Wolfgang Schäuble responds: "Everything is in the hands of the Greeks themselves. But even in that event, on which no table, they remain an integral part of Europe ".

"We are pleased to offer our assistance, but we should not give others the impression that they have not done enough. Each state is responsible for itself," explains he said.

Eiffage reported Friday a net sales increase of 4.8% in the fourth quarter of 2011, thanks to its good performance in work and in the concessions.

The construction group and concessions, owner of motorway networks Paris-Rhin-Rhone (APRR) and Area (Ain), said in a statement that its turnover reached 3 , 61 billion euros, 1.04 billion for the construction division.

Of all of fiscal 2011, revenues grew 3% to 13.73 billion euros.

Eiffage also know that its backlog at January 1, 2012 was up 25% over one year to 13.5 billion euros. It represents more than 11 ½ months of activity of divisions.

At the Paris Bourse, the action Eiffage closed Friday at 26 euros, down 2.14%, showing a market capitalization of 2.26 billion euros.

Ben Bernanke on Tuesday reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. Federal Reserve to do anything to prevent the financial crisis does not penalize the European economy United States, repeating comments made in the Senate Thursday before the House of Representatives.

"We are in regular contact with European authorities and will continue to closely monitor the situation and take all possible measures to protect the U.S. financial system and the economy, "said the Fed chairman, according to the text of a speech for the Budget Committee of the Upper House. 

Ben Bernanke remained cautious citing the economic outlook in the U.S. and did not allude to the release Friday of unemployment to its lowest level in nearly three years.

"We still have a long way to go before we can say that the labor market is behaving normally," he thought, using formulas similar to those of his speech on Thursday.

The crisis facing the euro area is systemic and it requires its members a greater commitment than they are now showing, said Wednesday José Manuel Barroso.

"Today we are facing a crisis that requires a truly systemic even greater commitment of all major and additional measures", said President of the European Commission to the European Parliament.

He added that a further fiscal integration in the euro area was needed, without creating divisions with the 10 EU countries over 27 who are not members of the single currency.

Once this integration budget will be in place and new tools of governance have been decided, European bonds – seen by many economists as a solution to the crisis – will then become "natural," he further said.

The consumer prices rose 0.2% over the month and 2.3% year on year.

The index of consumer prices in France, one of the barometers of inflation, rose 0.2% in October from the previous month and rose 2.3% year on year, said Thursday the National Institute of Statistics (INSEE). The increase in October "comes from the purpose of promotions in the clothing and footwear, and food," said INSEE.

The price of tobacco (2.7% compared to September) rents and services, water and garbage also increases but the increases are partly offset by lower prices of other manufactured goods and other services.

European shares increase their gains early Friday afternoon after the release of employment figures better than expected in the U.S. for the month of September.

The CAC 40 in advance of 0.92% against 0.1% before the announcement of U.S. employment figures.

The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 1.2% against 0.2% prior.

The U.S. index futures have turned up.

From June to August, the number of housing starts rose by 8%, while the increase was still 35.5% in the first half. But the outlook is not good. An employee on a construction site offices and housing in Marseille.

The rebound Summer housing will be nine-lived. Indeed, despite a better than in August 2010, the pace of recovery in new residential construction is slowing, according to official figures for the first eight months of the year. "The sky darkened on the sector as the recovery is in the process of disappearing," says to AFP Mouillart Michel, professor of economics at the University of Paris West.

From June to August, the number of housing starts amounted to only 74,646, an increase of only 8.1% over the same period a year earlier. While the growth rate was still 35.5% in the first quarter.Over the last twelve me, the number of starts, with 350,991 housing starts, an increase of 19.2% over the previous twelve months. Result: The year 2011 should be completed below 360,000 housing starts that were previously hoped for, still far from strong year in 2007 (415,000), the last before the crisis, Mr. Mouillart prognosis.

Yet in August, with 24,002 housing starts rose by 17.9% over last year. "But apart in 2010, we must return to 2002 to find a low in August as" notes Mr. Mouillart.

Corsica, Normandy and Poitou-Charentes in the "red"

By region, the situation is very mixed.While housing starts rose sharply over 12 months in Rhone-Alpes (30.0%), Aquitaine (26.2%), Champagne-Ardenne (24.2%) and Midi-Pyrenees ( 20.7%), some others have already slipped into the "red" as the Corsica (-5.8%), Basse-Normandie (-1.7%), Haute-Normandie (-0.5%) and Poitou-Charentes (-0.3%).

Concern also for building permits that have reached 116,397 units from June to August, an increase over one year of only 9.8% to 427,456. Again in August, with 36,650 permits filed, 14.4% is higher than in 2010. But it is the area of ​​house, the middle classes that often become homeowners for the first time, that worries the most. With 10,689 permits, it is even decreased by 6.4% over August 2010. "Except in 2008, we must go back to 1998 to find such a bad August for building permits for individual homes pure," said Mr.Mouillart.

"INSEE showed the concern of households on employment and purchasing power. In addition, part of the wealth of these households took off in the stock market crisis," said the expert. Announcements of the increase in the taxation of real estate capital gains on second homes and rental investments (the device says "Scellier") may also contribute to a possible trend reversal. These will inflict the same next year a new look in "plane" on the rate of tax reduction.

Another fear: a shortage of mortgages from the banks affected by the debt crisis of the states. The Secretary of State for Housing, Benoist Appeared, yet remains optimistic.He says that the numbers of housing starts this summer, "a result of market recovery which began at the end of 2009 after the crisis," lie "to the middle level of the previous decade." "Anything can happen after the announcements on Wednesday when presenting the budget 2012: a consolidation of the sector or a decrease," said Mr. Mouillart.