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Rolls-Royce said Friday it was on track to post strong growth this year, continuing to capitalize on the need for airlines to have had less intensive ké ; Rosene.

The British group, second largest manufacturer of aircraft engines behind General Electric, said the year had started well for him and confirmed its objective of significant growth of beneficial fice in the civil aviation and space.

"For the full year, the group still expects good growth in turnover and profit, excluding exceptional circumstances and with a cash flow to roughly ; s at equilibrium, as we continue to invest in future growth, "says Rolls-Royce said in a statement. 

Airlines around the world to equip aircraft models lighter to cope with soaring fuel costs, which, combined with European debt crisis weighs heavily on the sector.

They will acquire for about 2.7 billion euros of airplanes over the next 20 years to meet demand for flights to and from emerging countries, particularly in Asia, say aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus.

These forecasts highlight the growing demand for single-aisle aircraft like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. Some analysts 20,000 narrowbody aircraft of this type will be produced over the next two decades.

Rolls-Royce, which recorded an increase of 21% of its profits in 2011, has more than 5,000 engines on order, worth a total of 52 billion pounds (64 billion euros).

A new joint venture between Rolls-Royce and U.S. rival Pratt & Whitney to be officially established this year. It must develop the next generation of engines for medium-range single-aisle.

At 10:45 GMT, action Rolls-Royce lost 0.29% to 856.50 pence, but it earns about 16% since the beginning of the year.

The British group is expected to announce a pretax profit of 638 million pounds (786 million) in the first half of 2012, and 1.44 billion pounds (1.72 billion euros) on entire year, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

France has awarded Thursday 7.43 billion euros of long-term debt at better terms than in previous auctions, three days before the second round of presidential elections .

The Agence France Trésor (AFT) has issued an amount corresponding to the top of the announced range (6.5 to 7.5 billion euros).

Three of the four lines of Treasury bonds (OATs) offered the 4.25% in October 2017, the 3.25% in October 2021, the 3.0% in April 2022 (refer to the OAT ence to 10 years), interest rates have declined from previous auctions.

The weighted average rate of the OAT 6.0% in October 2025 stood at 3.31%. The AFT, which manages the state debt, does not provide a comparison, the bond not been available for many months.

The rate of OAT reference (benchmark) 10-year stood at 2.96% against 2.98% in April. After the auction, the rate fell further in the secondary market at 2.93%, the yield spread with the German Bund at 10 years, the euro area benchmark, contracting six basis points to 133.

Auctions of France and that of Spain, now the focus of investor concerns, helped ease the situation in the market for government bonds in the euro area.

The Spanish Treasury has placed 2.5 billion euros of bonds in three to five years – the maximum referred – but unlike AFT, he had to concede a higher risk premium than in previous auctions.

Overall demand for OAT reached 18.64 billion euros, providing a comfortable coverage ratio. 

"It seems that the relative uncertainty of the presidential election has not weighed heavily. They managed to raise the maximum referred to lower rates and with a coverage ratio decent, "said John Davies, rates strategist at WestLB.

"Holland has softened his speech on the new fiscal pact (…) and said he just wanted to add stimulus to growth," he says, adding that the positions of President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi and Chancellor Angela Merkel have also evolved.

"We realize that the pure austerity can not walk. The conflict that the market feared when Holland came to power might not be as insurmountable as we thought at first sight, "said John Davies

…. ….. "Solid as usual, decent rates. Where is the political risk? "Said Peter Chatwell, rates strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in London, about the French auction

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The new futures contract on OAT, due in June, hit a high (126.75) since its launch on April 16 on Eurex, the market for die riveted to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange

Around 12:30, he was earning 57 cents to 126.69 in a volume of more than 11,000 contracts. Open positions reached 43,223 against 58,000 batches on Italian BTP future, launched in 2009 by Eurex.

The Bund future, benchmark futures contracts in the euro zone fell by 14 cents to 141.59 in a volume of more than 202,000 contracts. Positions on maturity in June exceeded the 13 million lots.

The priority given by the European Union to austerity should not be questioned even if the means of stimulating growth are in the focus of next week, has Monday said the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble.

"Fiscal consolidation is not only necessary but is necessary for a specific purpose: to generate sustainable growth, which is the best way to generate employment" , he said during a joint press conference with the Spanish Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos.

"The economic and fiscal consolidation is the first condition. If we now speak of growth, we must not understand this as a change of course. It would be wrong. Priority (for austerity) must remain, "he added, before holding that Spain was on track

… Referring …… French presidential election, he felt that his result would not call into question the European fiscal pact

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European shares rebounded Tuesday to midday, after a session that had brought equity markets in Europe to a low of three months.

The rebound is still limited as tensions persist in the euro area.

In Paris the CAC 40 rose 1.18% to 3135.03 points. In Frankfurt, the Dax gained 0.69% and London, the FTSE is 0.32%. The pan-European index Stoxx 50 in advance for its share of 0.93%.

The values, Michelin, a time reserved to decline, lead of almost 7.11% and the best performance of the CAC 40 after the publication of its turnover for the first quarter showing lower sales volumes offset by price increases.

STMICROELECTRONICS lead of more than 4.50% despite announcing a first-quarter loss attributed to the decline in sales in the segment of products for mobile phones and the impact a court decision.

Essilor rose by nearly 1.61% after announcing strong organic growth over the first three months of the year. 

NOVARTIS was down 1.18% after confirming expect a slight deterioration in profitability this year after a first quarter affected by an interruption production on one of its sites in the U.S. and unfavorable basis for its subsidiary Sandoz.

On the bond market, Bunds are below their record highs Monday, the market pausing, but they remain attractive to the extent that the uncertainty in the euro area is now affecting his core.

After the resignation of the government, the Netherlands, however, successfully awarded two bond lines that allowed them to raise two billion euros. 

Sign of the tensions in the euro area, Italy had to pay Tuesday unprecedented efficiencies since January in connection with auctions of zero coupon bonds or indexed.

Investors also sought a high premium for a tender Spanish short term.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro is changing the balance of around 1.3163 dollar but failed to really bounce back despite the successful bond issue in the Netherlands and after experiencing its worst day in a week Monday.

The European currency hit a 20-month low against the pound sterling at 81.45 pence, weighed down by concerns over the euro area.

Industrial production in France rose 0.3% in February, thanks to the consumption of gas and electricity induced by the cold wave.

Industrial production in France rose slightly by 0.3% in February, thanks to the consumption of gas and electricity induced by the cold wave, is now on the same rate as in January (0.2%, revised), announced Tuesday the National Institute of Statistics (INSEE). In the manufacturing industry alone, which excludes mining and construction, production was down sharply by 1.2% over one month, after a slight increase of 0.2% in January, said INSEE in a statement.

Over the last three months, production was down 1.1% in manufacturing and 0.5% in the entire industry. Over this period, production was down in the "other industrial products" (-1.2%), in the agricultural and food industries (-0.8%) and transport equipment (-0.7%) . The refining business suffers from maintenance outages, with a decline of 7.2%. Manufacturing production for the last three months has significantly decline (-1.6%) compared to the same three months last year. Over the same period, production has fallen sharply in the "other industries" (-2.0%), transport equipment (-2.7%), as well as in electrical, electronic, computer and machinery ( -0.4%).

She also declined sharply in the refining (-13.1%), mainly because of the shutdown of the refinery in Little Crown, according to INSEE. For February alone, refining is down 5.1% after a 12.0% drop in January. The production also decreases in the rubber, plastic and non-metallic minerals because of the cold wave (-6.7%), metallurgy and metal products (-1.7%), chemicals (-1.7%) textiles, clothing, leather and footwear (-1.5%). However it increases by 2.1% in "other manufacturing". It was down in electrical equipment (-4.3%), computer products, electronic and optical products (-2.3%) and remained stable in machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified (0.0%). It remains stable in the other transport equipment (-0.1%) and automotive (0.1%).

The decision of E. ON to forego building new nuclear plants in Britain does not mean that the company turns its back on the entire value chain, said Friday the meadow , chairman of the Executive Group utilities.

"This is not a rejection of nuclear energy, just a decision on how we are investing," said Johannes Teyssen in an interview published Friday by the German newspaper Handelsblatt.

RWE and E.ON announced on Thursday to abandon their plan of 18 billion euros to build new nuclear plants in the UK, which could undermine the objective of London for renewal of the reactor pool. 

Both groups have justified this decision by the choice of Germany to break with nuclear energy, high operating costs of their joint venture and the dice Horizon ; lais required by the construction of new nuclear plants.

E.ON also said Thursday it would continue its project to build a nuclear reactor in Finland through the consortium Fennovoima, in which the German group owns 34% through its Finnish subsidiary.

Declining in most European countries, the activity has only slightly slowed in France in the fourth quarter 2011 before stagnating earlier this year, according to INSEE, which had considered the possibility of a recession. Better resistance does not prevent unemployment to continue rising. French executives come to the business district of La Defense

France is going through a little better air hole that affects the entire euro area. After avoiding a decline in activity in the fourth quarter – unlike Germany, it should just happen to stabilize its GDP over the first three months of the year before starting to rebound slowly, according to forecasts revised upwards published Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics.  

"For France, we expect a stable activity in the first quarter, zero percent growth, and then a sluggish 0.2% in the second quarter," he told reporters Sandrine Duchene, head of the Department of conditions of INSEE. In December, INSEE had planned a short recession with contraction of economic activity in the last quarter 2011 and first quarter 2012, before there is a growth of 0.2% on October to December last year. "We had a shock on the euro area in the summer of 2011 we are coming out" and "recovery is slow," noted Ms. Duchene presenting the note of economic INSEE March. But gross domestic product (GDP) "regain its pre-crisis level in the forecast horizon," that is to say, late June, said during a press conference an analyst of the INSEE, Dorian Roucher.  

The institute has also revised sharply upwards its forecast of growth acquisition for 2012 that would be achieved by mid-year: 0% predicted in December, it would increase to 0.5%. This represents growth of GDP this year if the last two quarters remained the same as the second quarter. Ms. Duchene explains this revision by the better than expected growth in the last quarter of 2011 and the upward revision of its forecasts for the first half.

Consequently, the Minister of Economy and Finance Baroin announced an increase in the government's forecast for growth of the French economy in 2012, now expected at 0.7% against 0.5% previously.

The engines of growth remain low

Optimism, however, must be very measured. The chief economist at INSEE emphasizes that household consumption, the traditional engine of growth in France, "remains low". She would grow by 0.2% in the first quarter before stagnating in the second. And because "a 0.3% decline in purchasing power in the first half."

Several factors contribute to this weakness. Purchasing power would suffer first the relatively high level of inflation (2.2% yoy). In addition, earned income will slow due to the deteriorating labor market. This will not only result in further loss of 49,000 jobs in the first half but it will also affect wage negotiations. Finally, household incomes will be further tapped by taxes, supported by measures enacted in Finance Act which come into force in 2012.

France can not be counted as late last year on exports. Thanks to sales of Airbus, they have indeed been the main driver of growth in the fourth quarter that helped prevent the recession. But their contribution to the activity will become neutral due to weak demand in the euro area.

The context would finally have some good investment: the business outlook remains bleak, the conditions for granting loans were tightened before the massive intervention of the ECB and the margin of the companies is at an historic . Besides factors such as more timely consequences of the cold wave on construction.L business investment would decline so slightly in the first quarter 2012 (-0.4%), before rebounding in the second quarter (+0.8% ).

But the big downside of these forecasts is unemployment. INSEE entails loss of 49,000 in the market sector in the first half after a fall of 54,000 over the last six months of last year. Total employment would nevertheless be supported by intensified supported employment. Finally, the unemployment rate should continue to increase to 9.7% in France in June (10.1% including Dom).

The main European stock markets opened in fall Tuesday in the wake of Wall Street and Asian markets, fears of an economic slowdown in China and Europe prompting investors to reduce their exposure to risk.

In Paris, at 9:30 am, the CAC 40 lost 0.83% (29 points) to 3458 points. London yields 0.56% and Frankfurt was down 1.01%. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index was down 0.96% after gaining over 9% since the beginning of the year, supported especially by abundant liquidity injected by the Bank Central Bank (ECB).

The values ​​of the automobile are among the largest declines. The European sector index losing 2.2%, weighed down primarily by PSA Peugeot Citroen.

PSA lost more than 5% in the Paris Stock Exchange after the announcement of the terms of the capital increase of a billion launched after its alliance with General Motors. The French group also announced it would not pay a dividend this year.

The German Merck was down 1.3% after reporting fourth quarter results below expectations, within the scope of a claim to half mast for the crystal used in the tee ; léviseurs flat screen.

The earnings season in Europe has been relatively poor. According to Thomson Reuters data Starmine, only 49% of STOXX 600 companies have published the results meet or exceed expectations, against 68% of companies S & P 500 on Wall Street.

"The macroeconomic data from the euro area, while the main liquidity operations of the ECB are completed, have aroused fears of a recession and de ; ceived markets. To make matters worse, China has lowered its forecast for growth ", says Koen De Leus for KBC Securities in Brussels.

Markets have also coldly received the message sent Monday by Athens, which it was prepared to force private creditors to take losses on Greek debt. Private investors have until Thursday to say whether they intend to or not participate in the exchange of debt that should allow Greece to erase more than 100 billion euros of its debt, as part of its second bailout of 130 billion euros.

European shares ended sharply up Thursday, supported by jobless claims near their lowest in four years in the U.S. and the new massive injection of liquidity from the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday.

The CAC 40 index closed up 1.37% to 3499.73 points, new peak of year, having stumbled in the afternoon against the bar psychological 3,500 points. London took 1.02%, Frankfurt and Milan 1.25% 2.93%. The pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 index has been 1.45%.

The increase was particularly driven by the banking sector, which jumped 1.85% after the sharp decline in borrowing costs of Spain and Italy on the market ; s bond.

Other U.S. indicators have yet been considered disappointing, including the ISM manufacturing index, which signals an unexpected slowdown in growth in industry in February, and spending construction, which fell against all odds in January for the first time in six months.

Economic growth should be zero in France in the first quarter of 2012, said Wednesday the Bank of France on the basis of its monthly business survey.

In January, the BoF confirmed predict zero growth in the fourth quarter of 2011.

If these assumptions prove, France would be off, just months before presidential and parliamentary elections, a recession (a term used when the product inside Gross contracts two consecutive quarters) feared by some economists.

The business climate indicator in industry published by the BoF was stable at 96 in January.

For services, the indicator fell by one point to 93. 

In industry, "forecasts indicate a continuation of the activity for the coming weeks," reads the statement said.

For services, "the forecast is a stability-oriented activity in the short term."

The rate of capacity utilization in manufacturing industry is almost stable, below its average level of long period.

Order books were close to the normal level, linked to a slight increase in new orders. Stocks of finished goods are kept close to the desired level and finished goods prices continued to increase slightly.

In services, the division recorded a slowdown in growth, due to a decline in temporary work and computer activities. The numbers have stabilized overall and prices have paused in their advance.