US & World News

Aon Corp., the world's first insurance broker, announced Monday it would buy the company for HR services to Hewitt Associates, about 4.9 billion dollars (3.9 billion euros) in cash and stock.

The offer represents Aon Hewitt $ 50 per share, a premium of 41% over its closing price Friday.

The transaction will allow Aon to gain a foothold in the area of human resources and benefits outsourcing and compete and Mercer, a subsidiary of Marsh and McLennan rival.

Aon plans to merge Hewitt with his own business consulting and outsourcing and expects an annual turnover of 4.3 billion dollars for the new entity to be called Aon Hewitt.

Russ Fradin, CEO of Hewitt, Hewitt will lead Aon.

Aon expects the transaction will have a positive impact on its performance in 2011 and 2012 and expects about $ 355 million of cost reductions in 2013, mainly administrative.

It is the second major operation in a year in the area of the board after the merger between Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt for $ 3.5 billion, which gave birth to the number one global human resources consulting.

Aon intends to fund the acquisition with a bridge loan of 1.5 billion dollars and a bank loan of one billion dollars.

The action of Hewitt jumped more than 30% before the official opening of trading after closing Friday at 35.40 dollars at the NYSE. Aon closed at 38.34 dollars.

Wall Street finished up Friday, ending the week at its largest weekly increase since the beginning of the year when the new season begins Monday results.

The Dow Jones industrial average thirty biggest U.S. has been 0.58%, 58.73 points to 10,197.72, while the S & P 500 index fund managers, has awarded 7.68 points, 0 , 72%, to 1077.93.

Supported by the announcement that Google will be able to resume its activities in China, Nasdaq, heavily weighted in technology, advanced 21.05 points, 0.97% to 2196.45.

For the week, the Dow took 5.3%, the S & P gained 5.4% and the Nasdaq was up 5%.

"Investors are putting their concerns to the background because they expect a good season of results," said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan in San Francisco?

"But chances are that next week is volatile. The results could certainly good but the forecasts may not be."

Google announced on Friday that Chinese authorities had renewed his license, a decision that allows him to remain on the largest Internet market in the world.

The Internet portal closed up 2.39% to 467.46 dollars.

Alcoa will open Monday after closing the ball of quarterly results.Experts say the findings by the American aluminum should satisfy investors, even if the decline in metal prices has prompted analysts to revise their forecasts downward. Alcoa has been 2.05%.

A reversal of the trend, Johnson & Johnson dropped 1.37% to 60.54 dollars after announcing that it had recalled more Tylenol and prescription drugs after complaints from consumers.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its forecast for global growth in 2010, citing the strength of the economies in Asia and rising private demand in the U.S., while warning against the risks inherent in the crisis sovereign debt of the euro area.

The downside risks have increased significantly, mainly because of turmoil in financial markets again since the beginning of the crisis of sovereign debt, but it is unlikely that we are seeing a recession "W", says IMF .

It carries its global growth forecast to 4.6%, while it predicted 4.2% in April, but left unchanged at 4.3% for 2011.

"In our baseline forecast, there is nothing like a recession in 'W'," said Olivier Blanchard, chief economist of the IMF during the presentation of the document.

"In this context, the new forecast is based on the implementation of measures to rebuild confidence and stability, particularly in the euro area."

Olivier Blanchard said that the statement of results of resistance testing was a step towards greater transparency while stressing the need for a return of public spending to sustainable levels.

Austerity PESERA IN GREAT BRITAIN

Under one scenario considered by the IMF, based on the assumption that the consequences of the crisis of European sovereign debt as violent as those of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the global GDP growth would be reduced 1.5 percentage point in 2011.

The continuing fragility of the U.S. labor markets and housing problems of the euro area and the slowdown in manufacturing activity in Asia have raised many questions among investors who wonder about the possibility of a sudden slowdown in growth for the remainder of the year.

The IMF lowered its growth forecast Thursday for 2011 in Great Britain, Canada, in the euro area, emerging economies and Japan.

According to IMF forecasts, GDP growth in the euro zone will be limited to 1% this year, according to what it expected in April, but it should stand at 1.3% in 2011, 0.2 percentage point less than what was previously announced.

The U.S. economy should she enroll at 3.3% in 2010, against an estimate of 3.1% three months ago, and 2.9% in 2011, against 2.6%.

The most brutal review announced Thursday is to the liabilities of the UK whose new government has begun a course of austerity that may affect growth.

The IMF expects UK growth of 1.2% in 2010, 0.1 percentage point lower than April and 2.1% in 2011, down 0.4 percentage points.

PSA Peugeot Citroen announced a 16.9% jump in sales of vehicles in the first half, including a one-point increase its market share in Europe, which should increase over the year.

The first French car manufacturer and number two in European sales confirmed, however, anticipate a decline of about 9% of European car market, while China is expected to grow at double-digit pace in Latin America with a number.

PSA sales totaled 1.856 million units in the first half, including 1.618 million for assembled vehicles (+16.8%)

In Europe, PSA registrations rose 7.7% to 1.214 million units in the first half, giving a market share of 14.6%, up one point.

The group estimates that the global auto market grew 13% over the period, with leaps of 27% in China and 11% in Latin America contrasts with a fall of 27% in Germany, while France fared with an increase of 6%.

Automakers are preparing an overall drop in sales in the second half, with the gradual disappearance of scrap premiums and caution potential buyers respond to economic uncertainty.

In France, the new car registrations fell in May and June, marking the last stages of the effect of scrappage, reduced on 1 January 1000 to 750 euros and reduced to EUR 500 this month .

PSA, which will publish its interim results on July 28, said in April anticipate a largely positive EBIT in the first six months of the year instead of a simple return to the green before.

The group, whose sales growth has exceeded expectations in the first quarter, however, had warned that the environment might be difficult in Europe in the second half.

Renault will release its own trade performance Thursday.

PSA Action closed up 3.63% to 21.56 euros on Tuesday, giving a market capitalization of 5.05 billion euros. It lost 8.9% since the beginning of the year after surging 95% in 2009.

Retail sales in the euro area rebounded in May after heavy fall in April, despite the credit crunch which has affected consumer confidence, show statistics released Monday by Eurostat.

Retail sales in the 16 countries adopting the single currency rose 0.2% after a decline of 0.9% the previous month (revised from -1.2%), but show an unexpected increase 0.3% over one year, after -0.5% (revised from -1.5%) recorded in April.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast an average increase of 0.4% a month to month and a decline of 0.3% over one year.

Eurostat said that sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose 0.2% in May and 0.3% compared to last year.

For non-food products, the increase was 0.4% compared to April and 1.0% over one year.

Bank of China, one of China's four largest banks, announced its intention to undertake a capital increase, the amount could reach 60 billion yuan (7.0 billion euros).

The bank offers to shareholders to obtain up to 1.1 Right to subscribe for 10 shares held.

"All the products of this rights issue (…) should enhance the bank's balance sheet and improve the ratio of financial solvency of the bank," she says in a statement.

This announcement does not specify whether the parent Public Bank, Central Huijin, subscribe to this offer.

In Hong Kong, under the BoC was trading at 3.97 Hong Kong dollars Wednesday, and he treated at 3.4 yuan in Shanghai on Friday before the suspension of trading.

MASSIVE CAPITAL RAISING

The bank, which raised 4.7 billion euros last month by issuing convertible bonds in Shanghai, is looking like its main rival China to strengthen its balance sheet and to comply with the stringent requirements of regulators in terms of ratios solvency.

Agricultural Bank of China (AGBANK), China's third largest bank, has launched its next capital increase of almost 16 billion euros via an IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

According to local press, Chinese authorities have given their approval to raise capital totaling 287 billion yuan (33.6 billion euros) for the four largest banks.

In recent months, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank have also announced increases in capital.

Bank of Communications, the fifth-largest bank, raised its next 2.0 billion euros in Shanghai.