ALL FINANCIAL FOREX NEWS on ONE PAGE » European equities http://www.us-forex.us Just another FOREX and TRADE NEWS Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:49:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 Keys for EUR This Week: Periphery Yields, European Equities, 2Q GDP http://www.us-forex.us/2011/08/keys-for-eur-this-week-periphery-yields-european-equities-2q-gdp/ http://www.us-forex.us/2011/08/keys-for-eur-this-week-periphery-yields-european-equities-2q-gdp/#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2011 01:49:03 +0000 Forex-Master http://www.us-forex.us/2011/08/keys-for-eur-this-week-periphery-yields-european-equities-2q-gdp/ Keys for EUR This Week Periphery Yields European Equities 2Q GDP

Keys for the euro this week periphery yields, equities, GDP data

1. How do Italian and Spanish bonds behave this week. We ended last week with Italian and Spanish debt near 5%. The more calm things are on this front, the better chance the Euro has to rally.

2. Are the French fears that rocke…
read full news

Published: Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:49
]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2011/08/keys-for-eur-this-week-periphery-yields-european-equities-2q-gdp/feed/ 0 Ongoing Struggle At LOreal – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ongoing-struggle-at-loreal-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ongoing-struggle-at-loreal-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:14:43 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ongoing-struggle-at-loreal-us-forex-us/ Billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, L’Oreal’s largest shareholder, does not have much to look forward to this year. Not only will her private life be scrutinized in a much-publicized legal battle between her daughter Francoise and photographer Francois-Marie Banier-who stands accused of wheedling nearly 1.4 billion out of the 86-year-old Liliane-but the woeful performance of L’Oreal is also not expected to improve. It is no secret that the company has suffered from its strong exposure to mature markets like the United States, where consumers are no longer quite so ready to shell out for Maybelline cosmetics or Kerastase hair care, but even the “green shoots” of economic recovery later this year are unlikely to change things. L’Oreal’s profitability is falling as it spends more on advertising and promotion to try to offset sluggish sales, and analysts think demand might not fully recover until 2010.”Any revenue growth we expect to be anemic at best [in the second half of 2009],” said Alex Molloy, an analyst at Credit Suisse. “Margins we now expect to show little or no recovery.”Although L’Oreal
did report slightly better sales growth in the second quarter, up 2.6%, than in the first quarter, up 0.3%, the cost to its bottom line from increased advertising will only become clear when it reports a full breakdown of six-month results on August 28. Molloy expects profits to be down 16.5%, to 1 billion euros , and for the whole of 2009 sees L’Oreal earnings down 9% over the year, to 1.9 billion euros . Shares of L’Oreal were down 0.6%, or 38 euro cents , to 58.91 euros , during morning trading in Paris on Wednesday. The stock is trading at a price-to-earnings multiple of 18, higher than rival Beiersdorf
, which owns the Nivea cosmetics brand, and Henkel
, owner of the Fa and Theramed brands. Sanford C. Bernstein Andrew Wood ranks L’Oreal as the worst of the European consumer goods sector, rating it “underperform.” “It is still expensive,” he told clients on Thursday, “and we see further downside from here.”

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ongoing-struggle-at-loreal-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 Germanys Electric Car P.R. Stunt – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/germanys-electric-car-p-r-stunt-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/germanys-electric-car-p-r-stunt-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:14:36 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/germanys-electric-car-p-r-stunt-us-forex-us/ European carmakers are struggling to reinvent themselves in an effort to fight falls in sales; on Wednesday Berlin predicted 1 million electric cars on Germany’s roads by 2020, as Europe’s largest economy tries to create a positive impact on the ailing automotive sector. But adding electric cars to the mix won’t do the trick, say analysts.“The program is aimed at having a positive impact on investment decisions, give producers security and support the sale of electric cars,” according to a copy of the plan obtained by the Associated Press.According to press reports, specifics on the finances are still to be discussed among the country’s legislators, but the idea has already faced criticism from industry analysts. “At a first glance this sounds rather like a nice p.r. story,” said Gregor Claussen, an analyst with Commerzbank. “But more will have to follow. Without the help and the right framework from the politics, it will not work,” the analyst said. Analysts also believe the push for the market will be too small to even be noticed. “This plan envisions 1 million electric cars in 2020 on Germany’s roads, which means that from now until 2020 only 1 million electric cars will be sold in sum in Germany. Keeping in mind that this year alone about 3.7 million cars will be sold in Germany, the 1 million additional sales will have only a minor effect,” said Heiko Moehringer, an analyst with LBBW. Contrary to foreseeing a substantial increase in sales, analysts have been expressing their concerns about a looming drop in demand as scrapping schemes-which have artificially boosted demand-expire in Germany and across Europe. LBBW estimates sales in Germany will fall from 3.7 million cars to 2.8 million units sold next year.
Yet carmakers in Germany are still going ahead with their plans to produce electric cars. Volkswagen
hopes to introduce its first electric cars on the market in 2013, while Daimler AG is working with California electric car maker Tesla Motors on developing better battery and electric drive systems for vehicles destined for the consumer market.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/germanys-electric-car-p-r-stunt-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 Switzerland Caves In To IRS Demands – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/switzerland-caves-in-to-irs-demands-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/switzerland-caves-in-to-irs-demands-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 03:14:32 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/switzerland-caves-in-to-irs-demands-us-forex-us/ To assist the U.S. government Switzerland has lifted its veil of secrecy and has agreed to give 4,450 banking client names to the Internal Revenue Service. The international crackdown on tax evasion has been gaining ever more momentum as governments, smarting from the economic crisis, seek to claw back as much revenue as they can. As a result, Swiss banking is crumbling and Switzerland’s reputation for financial discretion is suffering as well.The agreement between Switzerland and the United States announced on Wednesday could set a precedent for American authorities to go after more names, from more Swiss banks. Until now, Switzerland has, like other tax haven countries, only shared banking records with foreign law enforcement agencies if they’re investigating an action that would be considered criminal under Swiss law. Switzerland hasn’t changed any of its laws but has changed its interpretation of existing laws that cover “tax fraud and the like.” It won’t be known how far-reaching this precedent will be for another 90 days; Swiss and U.S. authorities are keeping some of it secret because the IRS is hoping that U.S. depositors in tax haven nations will come clean on their own.In its essence, Wednesday’s deal came from a diplomatic dance that saw Switzerland agree to reinterpret what it classed as tax evasion. It allows UBS
to give up account information requested by the IRS to the Swiss Financial Tax Administration to then release to the IRS, without breaking Swiss law. The newly tailored agreement is based on terms of a double-taxation agreement that has existed between the United States and Switzerland since 1996 but which on its own has done little to help the IRS identify tax evaders. Now clauses in the new agreement could allow the IRS go against other Swiss banks if they can assemble similar sorts of information to request of the Swiss government. “There are further avenues for the DOJ and IRS to pursue,” said Richard Murphy of the British tax consultancy Tax Research. Both Switzerland’s and UBS’ reputation for banking secrecy has already been permanently scarred. But confirmation that the IRS will get names from UBS will compel a flood of more wealthy individuals who have Swiss bank accounts to come forward to meet the voluntary disclosure deadline set by the IRS of Sept. 23, a date agency announced on Wednesday. Those who fess up after that deadline will face harsher penalties. Many offshore banking clients have until now been in wait-and-see mode for the outcome of the UBS case. Robert McKenzie, a partner at law firm Arnstein & Lehr and former officer with the IRS Collection Division, is currently advising approximately 50 such clients on the IRS disclosure issue-some are not clients of UBS but of other offshore banks and are concerned about the impact of the Swiss bank’s case.
Yet around 15 of them have wanted to wait for Wednesday’s final announcement. Unbelievably, there was hope that UBS might actually win its case against the IRS. McKenzie says a recurring comment among lawyer circles is that a surprising number of clients have been procrastinating on disclosure. Waiting seems to be a mistake, since UBS will notify only 500 clients within the next 90 days that their account details will be given to the IRS-most UBS clients will still be in the dark on Wednesday about whether they are one of the 4,450. “What happens if the IRS serves Credit Suisse
next,” said McKenzie, “and tells it to give us the clients that meet this criteria meet with Swiss government, and you’re past the Sept, 23 deadline?” Cue harsher penalties. UBS account holders will be allowed to appeal the decision to disclose their names in court, but three sources consulted by Forbes, including one at UBS, suggested that most of these appeals would be unsuccessful. Swiss banking clients may think that the best thing to do is consult their tax advisor, but that’s where things could also get complicated. “Every time I bring a person into the IRS for voluntary disclosure-let’s take a client with a Cayman Islands account-I have to give them the name of the tax advisor, or the people who advised those clients,” said McKenzie. With more advisors coming forward for voluntary disclosure ahead of the Sept. 23 deadline, the IRS has a growing database of advisors from whom it can request names of all U.S. clients they have assisted in setting up offshore banking accounts or trusts. McKenzie says appeals against such requests will fail-his own attempts to prevent the IRS from disclosing the names of tax clients advised by former accounting firm Arthur Anderson failed in September 2003. The DOJ’s recent statement on California resident John McCarthy, the fourth U.S. citizen to turn himself into the DOJ as a client with a secret bank account with UBS, also raises questions about people who have advised clients with such accounts. The DOJ’s statement on McCarthy says that UBS “worked closely with his Swiss lawyer to keep McCarthy’s funds from leaving Switzerland and helped McCarthy move additional monies out of the United States undetected by the federal government.” Assuming that Swiss lawyers who help Americans evade tax services are committing wire offenses, are they subject to extradition proceedings or even arrest if they travel to the United States? “If the U.S. decides to go down that route and make Swiss individuals criminally liable for what they’re doing, that’s going to have a radical impact on practice inside Switzerland itself,” said Murphy. There are currently 929 lawyers listed as financial intermediaries in Switzerland, according to the Swiss Financial Action Task Force.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/switzerland-caves-in-to-irs-demands-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 En Route VW And Porsche – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/en-route-vw-and-porsche-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/en-route-vw-and-porsche-us-forex-us/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:50:45 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/en-route-vw-and-porsche-us-forex-us/ Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is finally taking over Porsche after agreeing on Thursday to buy a 42% stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche, ending months of fractious relations between the two companies. Volkswagen expects the deal to be completed by 2011 and provide a total of 700 million euros in savings from synergies. The carmaker will launch a capital increase in its preference shares in the first half of 2010to protect its credit after the merger and to fund the acquisition, it added. Analysts said VW is getting a good deal. Nomura said VW is acquiring “a strong asset” for a “good price”.Last month, Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking agreed to step down after the Piech and Porsche families ended a longtime struggle over the future of the debt-laden German sports car maker they are part owners of. The logic was that new management would be better placed to smooth the path to a merger. Initially, Porsche’s plan had been for the takeover to work the other way around. But in its efforts to raise its 51% stake in Volkswagen to 75%, Porsche built up huge debts as its plans coincided with the global credit crisis and falling demand for cars. Porsche also said on Thursday that its board had appointed Martin Winterkorn as chief executive of the new company with effect from Sept. 15. Winterkorn said the deal marked “a new era” for both companies. “Porsche is a real enrichment for our company’s portfolio,” he said.Winterkorn also said the Porsche and Piech families would be the largest shareholders in the merged firm. The German state of Lower Saxony, which owns a 20.1% minority stake in Volkswagen, will retain its blocking vote.
The integrated company will have 10 brands, adding the Porsche brand to a portfolio that already includes Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Skoda, Seat and Lamborghini. VW has pledged it will give Porsche “independence” and it said it would preserve its “solid financial base.”Nomura analysts, however, said that Volkswagen investors might be put off by the capital increase announced by the company for the first half of next year. Others share their concern: “The plan could curb the share price development of VW preference shares,’ said analysts at LBBW in a note to clients. UBS questioned the need for a capital increase and the timetable for raising the cash. “The capital increase in the first half next year is obviously a massive dilution for VW preference shareholders,” said Gregor Claussen, an analyst with Commerzbank.Shares of Volkswagen
fell 2.2%, to 58.80 euros , while Porsche
rose 11.3%, to 49.64 euros in morning trading in Frankfurt.
Thomson Reuters contributed to this article.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/en-route-vw-and-porsche-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 VW And Porsche United- US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/vw-and-porsche-united-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/vw-and-porsche-united-us-forex-us/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:50:40 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/vw-and-porsche-united-us-forex-us/ Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is finally taking over Porsche after agreeing on Thursday to buy a 42% stake in the sports car unit of debt-ridden Porsche, ending months of fractious relations between the two companies. Volkswagen expects the deal to be completed by 2011 and provide a total of 700 million euros in savings from synergies. The carmaker will launch a capital increase in its preference shares in the first half of 2010to protect its credit after the merger and to fund the acquisition, it added. Analysts said VW is getting a good deal. Nomura said VW is acquiring “a strong asset” for a “good price”.Last month, Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking agreed to step down after the Piech and Porsche families ended a longtime struggle over the future of the debt-laden German sports car maker they are part owners of. The logic was that new management would be better placed to smooth the path to a merger. Initially, Porsche’s plan had been for the takeover to work the other way around. But in its efforts to raise its 51% stake in Volkswagen to 75%, Porsche built up huge debts as its plans coincided with the global credit crisis and falling demand for cars. Porsche also said on Thursday that its board had appointed Martin Winterkorn as chief executive of the new company with effect from Sept. 15. Winterkorn said the deal marked “a new era” for both companies. “Porsche is a real enrichment for our company’s portfolio,” he said.VW’s Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Poetsch said the Porsche controlling families expect to take a share of between 35% to 39% in the new firm, while the Qatar Investment Authority “would become the third biggest shareholder” at Volkswagen with a “substantial stake”. Qatar made an offer to invest in Porsche and to purchase options in Volkswagen last June. The German State of Lower Saxony, which owns a 20.1% minority stake in Volkswagen, will retain its blocking vote. A new name for the company is yet to be decided.
The integrated company will have 10 brands, adding the Porsche brand to a portfolio that already includes Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Skoda, Seat and Lamborghini. VW has pledged it will give Porsche “independence” and it said it would preserve its “solid financial base.”Nomura analysts, however, said that Volkswagen investors might be put off by the capital increase announced by the company for the first half of next year. Others share their concern: “The plan could curb the share price development of VW preference shares,’ said analysts at LBBW in a note to clients. UBS questioned the need for a capital increase and the timetable for raising the cash. “The capital increase in the first half next year is obviously a massive dilution for VW preference shareholders,” said Gregor Claussen, an analyst with Commerzbank.Michael Tyndall, an analyst with Nomura International in London, said the rights issue is likely to have a negative effect on the share price but synergies could provide relief to the stock in the long term.Shares of Volkswagen
fell 5.4%, to 56.91 euros , while Porsche
rose 10.8%, to 49.43 euros in afternoon trading in Frankfurt.
Thomson Reuters contributed to this article.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/vw-and-porsche-united-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 The Opel Saga Continues – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/the-opel-saga-continues-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/the-opel-saga-continues-us-forex-us/#comments Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:50:36 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/the-opel-saga-continues-us-forex-us/ It had seemed like a done deal. Canadian auto parts supplier Magna said it had reached an agreement in principle with General Motors’ management over a contract to buy a stake in GM’s European unit Adam Opel. But on Friday, Opel’s other bidder, Belgium-listed holding RHJ International, said it is still “very much” in the race to buy the struggling carmaker. “We are working on the offer all the time and want to optimize the offer. So it is still work in progress,” said Arnaud Denis, a spokesman with RHJ International in Belgium, adding the company is constantly talking to both GM and the German government. Denis said his company has an “extremely compelling” offer for all parties. “It is simple to implement,” he said. “We are not closing any plants in Germany nor in the U.K. and there will be less head count reduction.” The spokesman also said RHJ’s bid required less tax payer’s money. On Thursday a source told Reuters the private equity firm is prepared to seek less than 3 billion euros in state aid for the deal, over 800 million euros less than it originally sought.Denis added RHJ International was “puzzled” as to why Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel was so keen to back Magna if the Belgian offer was much better. It emerged on Friday that Merkel would be discussing the bid by Magna and Russia’s Sberbank to buy Opel, after receiving an invitation Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
GM has denied having reached an agreement with Magna
. “Yesterday was a pretty busy day in the media, with many outlets reporting that Magna/Sberbank and General Motors had reached an agreement regarding Opel. At the risk of repeating myself, that’s just not the case,” wrote GM’s Vice President John Smith in his blog.
Smith also added that GM will compare the latest Magna proposal with the offer it has on the table from RHJ. Publicly, however, the lack of details disclosed on the Magna and RHJ offers had made it difficult to judge which bidder has the best offer. Opel has been a hot political topic, as it employs a total of 54,500 workers across Europe, with 25,000 in Germany. Berlin has played an increasingly central role in the negotiations and Merkel backed Magna publicly several times. But GM
has expressed its reservations about a deal with Magna on the grounds that its proprietary technology in Opel is protected in any partnership.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/the-opel-saga-continues-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 Britain Expected To Back A350 – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/britain-expected-to-back-a350-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/britain-expected-to-back-a350-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:46:13 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/britain-expected-to-back-a350-us-forex-us/ European airplane manufacturer Airbus is likely to get a positive boost to its A350 jet program on Friday, according to industry sources, as British business secretary Peter Mandelson will very probably announce financing support for the mid-sized airliner and might even specify a sum of close to 1 billion at a press conference.Several industry-watchers told Forbes on Thursday that Mandelson, who is scheduled to make an announcement at Airbus’ British site in Filton Friday morning, would be keen to present any financing package or work-share agreement as a boost to the British aerospace industry. If a loan of around 1 billion is confirmed, Britain may likely silence critics by saying that France and Germany will pay the lion’s share of overall development costs.”I can confirm that we will tomorrow host Lord Mandelson for his announcement,” said a spokesman for Airbus. But he would not confirm or deny the rumors that the announcement would concern the A350 or support for a financing package.A spokeswoman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills refused to comment.Analysts estimate Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space
is looking to raise around 30% of the A350′s total 15 billion in development costs from launch partners France, Germany, Britain and Spain. Britain is unlikely to pay as much as France or Germany, which are expected to advance 2 billion and 1.5 billion respectively, but a loan of up to 1 billion would be an important step. It might also add momentum to ongoing discussions between the partners, with Germany reportedly taking a reticent line.”It’s probably very true that the U.K. is looking to its own interests first [by securing more work for British industry],” said Doug McVitie, chief consultant at Arran Aerospace, “but it is also I’m sure to put more pressure on those who have not yet signed up.”
Not everyone thinks Mandelson’s announcement will involve specific financing terms. Evolution Securities analyst Nick Cunningham said any launch aid announcement would risk Britain’s close relationship with the United States, which has filed complaints against Airbus at the World Trade Organization over what it sees as “illegal” aid from states. Morgan Stanley analyst Rupinder Vig also said that it seemed unlikely that Mandelson would announce a done-and-dusted deal, at a time when Prime Minister Gordon Brown was on holiday and when other European leaders weren’t planning any announcements.But given that EADS is under pressure to succeed with the A350-not just because it has landed fewer orders than the Boeing
787 Dreamliner, but also because its A380 “superjumbo” program has yet to make any money-it is hard to see why else it would allow Mandelson to take center-stage at Filton. EADS issued a one billion-euro corporate bond earlier this month, even though it is already sitting on 8 billion euros of cash; clearly the future of commercial aircraft is not entirely rosy, and the stakes for the A350 are high.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/britain-expected-to-back-a350-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 Magna Closing In On Opel- US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/magna-closing-in-on-opel-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/magna-closing-in-on-opel-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:46:21 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/magna-closing-in-on-opel-us-forex-us/ The Adam Opel saga is finally coming to an end. Canadian auto parts supplier Magna has reached an agreement in principle with General Motors’ management over a contract to buy a stake in General Motors’ European unit Opel, according to reports.The news follows weeks of constant bickering between the bidders – including Italy’s Fiat and private equity fund RHJ International – as they tried to strike a deal with the struggling carmaker. Fiat
was swiftly ruled out as it was proposing to cut more jobs than the rest. On Thursday Magna
Co-Chief Executive Siegfried Wolf told Reuters the last sticking points in a potential deal had been resolved and that Magna and GM need to approve the deal before trustees formerly in control of a 65% stake in Opel can give their final consent. At the time of writing, Magna was unreachable for comment. The lack of details disclosed on the Magna and RHJ offers had made it difficult to judge the outcome. However, both bidders had to improve their offers, and according to Gregor Claussen, an analyst with Commerzbank, GM had favored RHJ while German politicians – Chancellor Angela Merkel included – had favored Magna. “[This is] probably because Magna’s bid allowed for less dismissals in German factories,” said Claussen. Opel has been a hot political topic, as it employs a total of 54,500 workers across Europe, with 25,000 in Germany. Berlin has played an increasingly central role in the negotiations and Merkel backed Magna publicly several times. In July, Merkel’s spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm even said that the German government had a preference for the Canadian company’s plan, which is also backed by the four German states where Opel has plants and by the carmaker’s unions.”At first glance a deal with Magna smells a bit like a political solution. But we will have to see what the offerings from Magna and RHJ looked like,” said Claussen.
However, a deal with the Canadian firm could rile GM
,which has expressed its reservations about a deal with Magna on the grounds that its proprietary technology in Opel is protected in any partnership. GM has also said that the Opel sale was not expected to be reopened to any party beyond Magna and RHJ.Of course the deal that Magna – and its Russian partner Sberbank – has struck does not necessarily mean that competing Opel bidder RHJ International is out of the race entirely. According to some media reports, RHJ might be ready to sweeten its offer for Opel.
One source told Reuters the private equity firm is prepared to seek less than 3 billion euros in state aid for the deal, over 800 million euros less than it originally sought.
Thomson Reuters contributed to this article.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/magna-closing-in-on-opel-us-forex-us/feed/ 0 AB Inbev Tiptoes Into Second Half Of 2009 – US-FOREX.US http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ab-inbev-tiptoes-into-second-half-of-2009-us-forex-us/ http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ab-inbev-tiptoes-into-second-half-of-2009-us-forex-us/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 14:46:22 +0000 Forex-Publisher http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ab-inbev-tiptoes-into-second-half-of-2009-us-forex-us/ There’s no reason to get excited yet. Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brewer of Stella Artois and Budweiser, said on Thursday profits grew 28% in the second quarter but warned that it will come under significant pressure in the second half of the year as beer volumes drop.Shares of AB InBev
, which have more than doubled since a November low, fell 4.7%, or 1.43 euros , to 27.46 euros in Brussels during morning trading on Thursday after the company’s chief executive acknowledged “challenges” ahead.”We have strong operating momentum going into the second half of 2009, but recognize that many challenges remain. The beer industry, while resilient in most of our key markets, is not immune to economic pressures,” Chief Executive Carlos Brito said.Brewers have been badly hit by a fall in consumer spending, customers switching to other drinks such as wine, and people trading down to cheaper brands from premium ones.
The brewer of Beck’s beer said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, or ebitda, rose 18.5% to 3.6 billion, compared with the average 3.2 billion in a Reuters poll of 15 analysts. Overall cost of sales decreased by 5.6% in the second quarter, thanks to brewery productivity enhancements, the company said.Analysts are forecasting a mixed picture for the rest of 2009. Sales in the U.S. are expected to become slightly weaker in the third quarter as Bud Light Lime added an extraordinary 2% in sales in the same quarter last year. On the other hand, sales are expected to improve in Brazil and in Western Europe as Germany and France have apparently emerged out of the recession and the rate at which other economies are shrinking has slowed.
AB InBev reiterated its goal of bringing in merger savings of 1 billion in 2009, and said the second quarter had yielded 315 million, bringing the total for the first half of 2009 to 610 million. The company became the world’s largest brewer last year when InBev took over Anheuser-Busch for 52.0 billion.
Thomson Reuters contributed to this article.

]]> http://www.us-forex.us/2009/08/ab-inbev-tiptoes-into-second-half-of-2009-us-forex-us/feed/ 0