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.

It would be more optimistic. But this week, what looked like vile premonitions markets began to be realized. Back to the bad news that destabilized the stock markets. A trader at the New York Stock Exchange, September 22, 2011. The Fed and the IMF say they fear a recession

If grants are all black is that they painted a very grim future. The IMF had laid the groundwork earlier this week by revising down its forecast strong global growth, and considering the "worst case scenario", a recession in major developed countries that would eventually weigh on emerging markets.While the IMF does not make his case a priority – rather table it is growing very soft, the risk has become more consistency Wednesday with what the Fed's emphasis on "continuing weakness" of the labor market United States and the "significant risks" associated with "pressure on global financial markets." This pessimism was immediately stunned the markets. And the more they learned that private sector activity in the euro area was recorded in September, its first decline in two years. And that manufacturing activity had declined in China. If even the Middle Kingdom began to fail …

The failure of Greece is similar

Athens is back to the wall. For the loan of 8 billion euros of its creditors and avoid failure in October, Greece has agreed to a new "social massacre" which includes a tax on income from 416 euros per month.Moreover, the second aid plan in advance of July 21 at idle. Europe seems unable to speed up, as shown by the peak in Poland last weekend. And despite the talk of intentions, the scenario of the failure seems inevitable. Greek media have raised the idea on Friday the government to cancel 50% of the debt. Which would lead to a loss of 25 billion euros for Greek banks, most of which have just been degraded by Moody's. The announcement was immediately denied by the government. Until when?

Standard & Poors downgraded the debt rating Italian

This is a first for the boot, Standard & Poor's downgraded the rating on Monday of the Italian debt. This decision did not sway the markets, which expected, but investors fear the domino effect.Growth prospects of the country are particularly likely to be sealed by the new austerity plan of 54.2 billion euros. In turn, Moody's announced that it would degrade Italy "in the coming months." Rome is not the only "lame duck" of Europe. Portugal, already qualified for a loan of 78 billion euros, is in trouble after the discovery of an undeclared debt 1, 68 billion euros. As for Slovenia, she saw the note be degraded by Moody's on Friday. Only Ireland, recovering, doing well with the announcement Thursday of a 1.6% growth in the second quarter. Rare enough to be highlighted …

Brussels acknowledges the need to recapitalize banks

After weeks of procrastination, public authorities have come to settle international: Some European banks will be recapitalized.After Christine Lagarde, who launched the attack late August, the EU has abdicated this week. The IMF, which recommends that banks can recapitalize directly from EFSF, it is estimated that 300 million bill from the Greek crisis for the banking sector. According to the British press, 16 banks have failed those tests fail to stress – be in the viewfinder of EBA (EBA). But the French, who are yet in the heart of stock market panic, would not be affected. Such as Germany and Spain, France is reluctant to inject new funds to banks on the pretext that they are not facing a crisis of solvency but liquidity. If, as apprehensive markets, Greece is lacking, and that Italy and Portugal a restructuring of their debt, they will not escape.

The United States deplored the European fiscal discipline

The more one goes into the crisis and is more visible: the states are powerless to solve the problems because they are unable to agree. For weeks, markets expect strong political positions. Instead, the summits are linked together without any serious decision is taken. Just this week, the Ministers of Finance of the euro area have found themselves in Poland, and Washington for the opening dinner of the G20 finance. But each time, markets would have found that the more anxious. In addition to the severe lack of European governance, the divisions seem more and stronger on one side and across the Atlantic. The United States to Europe including blaming his fiscal discipline, almost incompatible with the maintenance of growth. A conundrum that nobody wants to decide.Not even the IMF, very poor matchmaker. On Thursday, Christine Lagarde has merely conceded to each other, supporting Barack Obama's plan for employment (447 billion), and commending the efforts of countries involved in the decrease of budget deficit …

Operation Twist Fed is pschitt

The markets had placed too much hope in the meeting of the Fed's Sept. 20. They had been dreaming that her boss, Ben Bernanke, went out of his hat and decisive action to support the U.S. economy. Whereby they have had the formalization of the launch of Operation Twist. This is for the Fed to exchange $ 400 billion in Treasury bonds against short-term securities with longer maturities. The objective of this hocus-pocus giant is to influence the rate of long-term interest to encourage business investment and private individuals.Problem, it is an indirect incentive does not offer assurance of effectiveness. In addition, if the technique is clever, it reveals above all the lack of leeway for the Fed can not lower its rates or already virtually zero, or purchase of new Treasury bills. In other words, after the operation Twist, the U.S. central bank is disarmed. What is worrying the markets.

Hochtief delivered Wednesday a profit above expectations in the second quarter, with new orders rising, and said he was "satisfied" with the progress of the process of selling its airport assets.

The first group of German construction industry has reported a pretax profit of 10.2 million euros in the second quarter, while analysts polled by Reuters on average expected a taxable loss of 7.46 million.

Hochtief reiterated its annual forecast 2011-2013 and said to expect Leighton, its Australian subsidiary in trouble soon finds a solid performance.

"Our Australian subsidiary is in a very stable trend.Leighton will quickly find his usual good performance, "said in a statement Chief Executive Frank Stieler.

He still says "not satisfied" the consolidated net loss recorded by Hochtief in the second quarter, which grew to 155.6 million euros, largely because the group's activities in the Asia- Pacific, against a net profit of 88.1 million a year earlier.

Although orders declined in the second quarter compared to the same period the previous year, they rose in the first half to 13.045 billion euros, against 12.92 billion a year earlier.

In early trade, the action Hochtief yielded 1.31% to 49.05 euros, in the wake of the Stoxx Europe 600 the construction sector (-1.15%).

Hochtief, including Spanish ACS took over in June, has also seemed pleased with the progress of the sale of airport assets, which he hopes will close by the end of the year.

"We are very pleased with the progress of the process so far," said Frank Stieler.

The group also removed a sentence from the CEO in the press release, which Frank Stieler stated that bids were "significantly higher than the figures in the media for tactical reasons."

A sharp rise in loans to 24 hours from the ECB suggests the existence of tensions in the interbank market in the euro zone but the professionals think it is only a temporary situation.

The European Central Bank was asked Monday to the tune of 1.259 billion euros, while the demand accounted for only six million Friday.

The ECB takes a value of 2.25% of this emergency operation, while it requires only 1.5%, the refinancing rate on its regular refinancing operations and the market rate at daily is at 0.874%.

Loans from the ECB at 24 hours had reached a peak at 4.058 billion euros on Wednesday, a day disturbed by rumors of financial difficulties of European banks.

Professionals say Tuesday they are not worried in the short term but they will closely monitor the trend in the coming days.

"If (the peak) is gone tomorrow, someone will have miscalculated or there was an outflow of money too late to be covered by the market," said trading in the euro area.

"If it extends beyond next week, maybe someone has a small problem if it reaches three, then five, then seven billion, so there we can start to worry."

The latest turmoil in the debt crisis in the euro area money market have weakened. However, it has relaxed a bit last week, the ECB has injected emergency funds for six months and then bought Italian and Spanish bonds.

To the extent that the ECB has ensured that Tuesday's regular allocation of unlimited liquidity at weekly, traders believe that the use of expensive at this facility 24 hours will be limited in time.

"It may be that a bank may need money but I have not heard any rumors of any name," said an expert from the money market in the euro area."The MRO (weekly refinancing) is being held today so use (ease to 24 hours) should disappear anyway."

Banks are refinanced to the tune of 148 billion euros at the close of the tender for a week, which is exactly in line with expectations.

The ECB took over last week for € 22 billion of sovereign debt, bringing the total of its program to 96 billion euros.

She will practice in the day an operation "sterilization" weekly, by which banks must deposit an amount equal to 96 billion euros from its counters.

To the extent that the excess liquidity in the market reached 167 billion euros, due to the recent injection of funds to six months by the central bank, professionals believe that the ECB will have no trouble neutralize its bond purchases in the coming months.

"Given the liquidity of the market right now, I doubt that it can not puncture," said another trader money market in the euro area.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who had planned to resign after a long recovery in extremis the legal limit of public debt will remain at his post at the request of Barack Obama, said Sunday the White House.

"The president asked the secretary to the Treasury to stay Geithner and welcomed its decision (to stay)," said the spokesman of the White House, Jay Carney, in a statement.

Geithner had hinted that he might resign after the green light from Congress to increase the ceiling of the debt, but officials said the U.S. administration, the Head of State called him to return to this decision.

"The Secretary Geithner told the President that he intended to remain at his post at the Treasury," said Sunday the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Jenni LeCompte.

Geithner wants to "deal with the challenges that the U.S. economy faces," the statement said.