(BFW) Uber Can’t Be Prohibited in Netherlands, Minister Kamp Says


Uber Can’t Be Prohibited in Netherlands, Minister Kamp Says
2014-06-19 13:59:21.530 GMT


By Elco van Groningen
     June 19 (Bloomberg) -- Uber is a taxi-service not a taxi-
carrier, Economic Affairs Minister Henk Kamp says in parliament
today.
  * Says large Dutch cities can only impose rules on taxi-
    carriers
  * Official taxi drivers using Uber do have to abide by rules,
    minister says

For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Elco van Groningen in Amsterdam at +31-20-589-8517 or
vangroningen@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Simon Thiel at +44-20-7673-2814 or
sthiel1@bloomberg.net
James Cone

>>> Sony CEO says not thinking of splitting off entertainment business

(Reuters) - Sony Corp Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said on Thursday that the Japanese consumer electronics company was not thinking of splitting off or listing its entertainment business.

Hirai was responding to a question at an annual shareholders meeting.

Sony rebuffed a proposal last year by investor Daniel Loeb, chief of hedge fund Third Point, to partially spin off its entertainment business to unlock shareholder value. Hirai has repeatedly said since then that retaining full ownership of the entertainment unit is important for synergy across Sony.

Hirai also acknowledged at the meeting that Sony had not responded quickly enough to tough market conditions in its electronics division, which he has failed to make profitable despite promises to do so when he took the helm two years ago.

>>> Index Rebalancing Tomorrow 20/06 - a lot of names!!!!!!!!

+ : Buy / - : Sell

There is more changes that these ones, I have tried to put all the main ones, if you need more details and more precise list let me know

DAX :
VOW3 +0.41 mil. shares to trade (33% ADV)
DBK +9.92mil shares to trade (74% ADV)

IBEX
EBRO SM : -2.41mil shares to trade (-565% ADV)
ABG/P SM : +14.79mil shares to trade (122% ADV)
ACS SM : +1.23mil shares to trade (104% ADV)
FER SM : +2.87mil shares to trade (106% ADV)
FCC SM : +0.40mil shares to trade (30% ADV)
GAS SM : +2.35mil shares to trade (47% ADV)

CAC
FR FP : +2.15mil shares to trade (461% ADV)
VK FP : -3.27mil shares to trade (-182% ADV)

AEX
None

BEL
None

STOXX (Main only)
ALPHA GA : +19.189mil shares to trade (64.6% ADV)
ATC NA :.+ 0.262mil shares to trade (53.2% ADV)
BMPS IM : +6mil shares to trade (10.6% ADV)
BBVA SM : +3.59mil shares to trade (10.6% ADV)
SAN SM : +7.72mil shares to trade (12.8% ADV)
BNP FP : +2.41mil shares to trade (33.1% ADV)
CABK SM : +1.79mil shares to trade (13.8% ADV)
DLG LN : +2.1mil shares to trade (28.7% ADV)
EDP PL : +0.985mil shares to trade (9.3% ADV)
FUM1V FH : +2.862mil shares to trade (119.5% ADV)
GALP PL : +0.295mil shares to trade (16.3% ADV)
GFC FP : +0.025mil shares to trade (23.3% ADV)
GENL LN : -0.106mil shares ot trade (-11.4%ADV)
HPOLB SS : +0.127mil shares to trade (+256.8% ADV)
HOLMB SS : -0.255mil shares to trade (-149.7% ADV)
HUFVA SS : -0.592mil shares to trade (-157.6% ADV)
IBE SM : -6.343mils hares to trade (-19.5% ADV)
SDF GY : -3.32mil shares to trade (-170.5% ADV)
KCR1V FH : -0.252mil shares to trade (-95.8% ADV)
LLOY LN : +42.472mil shares to trade (+18.9% ADV)
LUX IM : +0.117mil shares to trade (+14% ADV)
MEO1V FH : -0.108mil shares to trade (-13.5% ADV)
MUV2 GY : -0.271mil shares to trade (-39.3% ADV)
NOVOB DC : -0.601mil shares to trade (-19.2% ADV)
ORP FP : +0.176mil shares to trade (+117.6% ADV)
REP SM : +4.109mil shares to trade (+10.4% ADV)
RXL FP : +0.128mil shares to trade (+7.8% ADV)
RDSA NA : +0.439mil sahres to trade (+5.8% ADV)
SGO FP : +0.968mil shares to trade (+32.6% ADV)
SCHP VX : -0.013mil shares to trade (-8.6% ADV)
SHB LN : +0.126mil shares to trade (+15.5% ADV)
SKAB SS : +0.092mil shares to trade (+6.9% ADV)
SOW GY : -0.02mil shares to trade (-5.9% ADV)
SXS LN : +0.029mil shares to trade (+8.5% ADV)
SZU GY : -0.39mil shares to trade (-18% ADV)
SREN VX : +0.134mil shares to trade (+11.2% ADV)
SY1 GY : +0.049mil shares to trade (+9.9% ADV)
TKA AV : -0.096mil shares to trade (-8.5% ADV)
TOP DC : +0.023mil shares to trade (7% ADV)
TUI1 GY : +0.136mil shares to trade (+10.3% ADV)
UCB BB : +0.052mil shares to trade (+17.1% ADV)
WDI GY : +0.051mil shares to trade (+11.6% ADV)

(Le Point) "The United States has indirectly benefited from sanctions against Ir

"The United States has indirectly benefited from sanctions against Iran"

Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry Hossein Esfahbodi says that sanctions against Iran have served the interests of France. Interview.

The CAC 40 is holding its breath. At one month of the expiry of the deadline for the conclusion of a final agreement on the Iranian nuclear talks resume in Vienna between Iran and the 5 +1 (the five countries of the Security Council + the Germany ). The objective for the international community, is to ensure that Iran does not develop an atomic bomb. For Tehran, it is for the lifting of sanctions that stifle the Iranian economy. What dangle Western companies lucrative contracts with a country of 80 million inhabitants, with moreover the second gas reserves in the world and fourth in oil. While in Paris , Dr. Hossein Esfahbodi, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry and President of the International Exhibitions Company Iran says the Point.fr that sanctions against Iran have served the interests of France and benefited the United States. Maintenance.

The Point.fr: negotiations on the Iranian nuclear can they quickly reach a final agreement?

Hossein Esfahbodi: I am very optimistic, especially that from the beginning the negotiation process was transparent. Everyone reaches out. Delegations are increasing in Iran. Watch France: two hundred entrepreneurs belonging to the MEDEF delegation visited the country in February, while eight hundred people had signed up to come! The negotiations were successful, and many countries have followed. Germany, Italy, Korea, the delegations from around the world.

But it is of economic, political delegations not ...

That is true. But it is the economy that dictates its law in this world. And countries have succeeded in Iran, many of whom were not only made in recent years. And when they set foot in Tehran, they were surprised to see a powerful country, with plenty of opportunities for economic investment, as recalled the recent delegation of the Committee on Finance of the Senate came to end Iran April. This is why I am optimistic.

Do you have signed agreements with the MEDEF?

Most French business leaders saw their Iranian counterparts and wish to start a collaboration. There was a series of agreements, contracts have actually been signed, but with the sanctions, companies do not go either to shout from the rooftops. It is likely that some, with the own way they found, have already been implemented.

By unlawful means?

Not at all. Legal channels. Many activities can be legally made in Iran through smaller structures, smaller banks. Do you really think that our country rested for all these years? That all companies were out? We continued to work. But it was harder, raw materials were more expensive for both sellers and customers. For example, we easily continued our trade with Italy or Germany. On the one hand, because the gap between their government and the private sector is smaller and, secondly, because it is easier to work with smaller amounts. We also continued to export worldwide. Now, the group of 5 + 1 lifted some sanctions. I hear around me that had a positive impact, not only on the psychological level. Production and exports are rising. When the economy is accelerating, I feel that we are getting closer to a political solution.

An Iranian politician, who recently traveled to Paris, deplored the delay in France politically compared to other European countries ...

This is actually harder for what the French government, not the private sector, even though France is lagging behind other countries. On the political level, some countries such as France are much more conservative than others. This attitude they will not be profitable.

In Iran, the firmness of France on nuclear seems to have left traces.

All these issues are set aside for what is the economy. It is said that if Peugeot has left Iran, it is he who pays the price today, even though we too have suffered, but much less than men. Today, Peugeot and all other companies that want to come to Iran are welcome. It is in all our interests.

However, thundering declarations of Laurent Fabius has earned him the nickname Little Satan in Iran ...

Iranian officials do not think so. They want to restore the bonds of friendship so that both parties can benefit. When my interest in me dictates that you disrespected me there are six months of no consequence. You know, they say that the conflict has no place in business. Now, two candidates, we choose the one that we did not hurt.

Iran also criticizes U.S. sanctions, which have forced companies like Peugeot and Renault to leave the country ...

One example: we organized it two months ago a seminar on oil. The United States were present. You must understand that. The facts show that Americans have indirectly benefited from the sanctions, to the detriment of Europeans. This means that they have sanctioned Iran, that Europeans have suffered and the Americans have benefited through other countries. Let me ask you a question: why should we, because of the attitude of the Americans, a country such as France towards its own interests be upset? Imagine that in your family, prohibits a person you do one thing and that same person does not apply the same discipline to his side. This situation is acceptable?

Do not you enjoy the competition between American and French companies to quickly get a final agreement on nuclear?

Altogether. I am very optimistic about the conclusion late July a very good agreement that will benefit the world.

(Le Point) "Les États-Unis ont indirectement profité des sanctions contre l'Iran

"Les États-Unis ont indirectement profité des sanctions contre l'Iran"

Le vice-ministre iranien de l'Industrie Hossein Esfahbodi affirme que les sanctions contre l'Iran ont desservi les intérêts de la France. Interview.

Le CAC 40 retient son souffle. À un mois de l'expiration du délai prévu pour la conclusion d'un accord final sur le nucléaire iranien, les négociations reprennent à Vienne entre l'Iran et les 5 + 1 (cinq pays du Conseil de sécurité + l'Allemagne). L'objectif, pour la communauté internationale, est de s'assurer que l'Iran ne développera pas la bombe atomique. Pour Téhéran, il s'agit d'obtenir la levée des sanctions qui étouffent l'économie iranienne. De quoi faire miroiter aux entreprises occidentales de juteux contrats avec un pays de 80 millions d'habitants, disposant qui plus est des deuxièmes réserves en gaz au monde et des quatrièmes en pétrole. De passage à Paris, le docteur Hossein Esfahbodi, vice-ministre iranien de l'Industrie et président de la Compagnie internationale des expositions de l'Iran, affirme au Point.fr que les sanctions contre l'Iran ont desservi les intérêts de la France et profité aux États-Unis. Entretien.


Le Point.fr : Les négociations sur le nucléaire iranien peuvent-elles rapidement aboutir à un accord final ?


Hossein Esfahbodi : Je suis très optimiste, d'autant que, dès le début, le processus des négociations a été transparent. Tout le monde nous tend la main. Les délégations se multiplient en Iran. Regardez la France : deux cents chefs d'entreprise appartenant à une délégation du Medef se sont rendus sur place en février, alors que huit cents personnes avaient signé pour venir ! Les négociations ont été fructueuses, et un grand nombre de pays ont suivi. L'Allemagne, l'Italie, la Corée, des délégations sont venues du monde entier.


Mais il s'agit de délégations économiques, pas politiques...


C'est vrai. Mais c'est l'économie qui dicte sa loi dans ce monde. Et les pays se sont succédé en Iran, dont beaucoup qui ne s'y étaient pas rendus au cours des dernières années. Et lorsqu'ils ont mis un pied à Téhéran, ils ont été surpris de voir un pays puissant, qui regorge de possibilités pour les investissements économiques, ainsi que l'a rappelé la récente délégation de la commission des Finances du Sénat venue en Iran fin avril. C'est en cela que je suis optimiste.

Avez-vous signé des accords avec le Medef ?

La plupart des chefs d'entreprise français ont vu leurs homologues iraniens et souhaitent entamer une collaboration. Il y a eu une série d'accords, des contrats ont bel et bien été signés, mais avec les sanctions, les entreprises ne vont pas non plus le crier sur tous les toits. Il est même probable que certains, avec la voie propre qu'ils ont trouvée, ont déjà été mis en application.


Par une voie illégale ?


Pas du tout. Une voie légale. Beaucoup d'activités peuvent être réalisées légalement en Iran par le biais de plus petites structures, de plus petites banques. Pensez-vous réellement que notre pays s'est reposé pendant toutes ces années ? Que toutes ses entreprises étaient hors service ? Nous avons continué à travailler. Mais c'était plus dur, les matières premières étaient plus chères, tant pour les vendeurs que pour les clients. Par exemple, nous avons facilement poursuivi notre commerce avec l'Italie ou l'Allemagne. D'une part, parce que le fossé entre leur gouvernement et leur secteur privé est moins grand et, d'autre part, parce qu'il est plus facile de travailler avec des montants plus petits. Nous avons également continué à exporter dans le monde entier. Maintenant, le groupe des 5 + 1 a levé certaines sanctions. J'entends autour de moi que l'effet a été positif, et pas uniquement au niveau psychologique. La production et les exportations sont en hausse. Lorsque l'économie s'accélère, j'ai le sentiment que nous nous rapprochons d'une issue politique.

Un responsable politique iranien, qui s'est récemment rendu à Paris, a déploré le retard de la France sur le plan politique par rapport aux autres pays européens...


C'est effectivement plus dur pour ce qui est du gouvernement français, pas du secteur privé, même si la France est en retard par rapport aux autres pays. Sur le plan politique, certains pays comme la France se montrent beaucoup plus conservateurs que d'autres. Cette attitude ne leur sera pas profitable.


En Iran, la fermeté de la France sur le nucléaire semble avoir laissé des traces.


Toutes ces questions sont mises de côté pour ce qui est de l'économie. On se dit que si Peugeot a quitté l'Iran, c'est lui qui en paie le prix aujourd'hui, même si nous aussi nous en avons souffert, mais beaucoup moins qu'eux. Aujourd'hui, Peugeot ainsi que toutes les autres entreprises qui veulent venir en Iran sont les bienvenues. C'est dans notre intérêt à tous.


Pourtant, les déclarations tonitruantes de Laurent Fabius lui ont valu le surnom de petit Satan en Iran...


Les responsables iraniens ne pensent pas ainsi. Ils souhaitent rétablir les liens d'amitié afin que les deux parties puissent en profiter. Lorsque mon intérêt me le dicte, le fait que vous m'ayez manqué de respect il y a six mois ne porte pas à conséquence. Vous savez, on dit que le conflit n'a pas sa place dans le business. Maintenant, entre deux candidats, on choisira celui qui ne nous a pas fait de mal.


L'Iran fustige également les sanctions américaines, qui ont obligé des compagnies comme Peugeot et Renault à quitter le pays...


Un seul exemple : nous avons organisé il y a deux mois un séminaire sur le pétrole. Les États-Unis étaient présents. Il faut comprendre cela. Les faits montrent que les Américains ont indirectement profité des sanctions, au détriment des Européens. Cela signifie qu'ils ont sanctionné l'Iran, que les Européens en ont souffert et que les Américains en ont profité par le biais de pays tiers. Laissez-moi vous poser une question : pourquoi faudrait-il, en raison de l'attitude des Américains, qu'un pays tel que la France voie ses propres intérêts être contrariés ? Imaginez que, dans votre famille, une personne vous interdise de faire une chose et que cette même personne ne s'applique pas la même discipline de son côté. Cette situation est-elle acceptable ?


Ne profitez-vous pas de la compétition entre les entreprises américaines et françaises pour obtenir rapidement un accord final sur le nucléaire ?


Tout à fait. Je suis très optimiste quant à la conclusion fin juillet d'un très bon accord qui profitera au monde entier.

(Le Figaro) The secret weapon of General Electric to provide Alstom

The secret weapon of General Electric to provide Alstom

Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE, has an appointment Thursday afternoon with Arnaud Montebourg, the Minister of Economy, to finalize the negotiation of a new offer.

General Electric does not intend to let the energy industry 's Alstom escape. The American group since late April offers to buy EUR 12.35 billion, but the French government "unacceptable as is" this offer. Arnaud Montebourg afford the retoquer and the emergence of a rival project with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries .
Jeff Immelt , CEO of GE, has an appointment on Thursday afternoon with the Minister of Economy to finalize the negotiation of a new offer. It will offer him to yield to Alstom Transport activity railway signaling GE, whose turnover is estimated at 600 million euros, against 1.4 billion to Alstom signs. Moreover, it will forgo to buy all the energy of the French group, which he proposes to remain a shareholder of the grid branch (transmission networks). Both changes go beyond the promises made by Jeff Immelt Francois Hollande on April 29, and could allow the government to present the new offer as a political victory. Still waiting Bercy guarantees on turbines for nuclear power plants, and GE had promised significant.
Some worry the conditions laid down by Mitsubishi

They were freed from the threat of a veto of Bercy, the directors of Alstom could vote Monday entered into exclusive negotiations with GE. This scenario seems more probable that some of them are concerned about the conditions laid down by Mitsubishi in the project. According to a paper Le Figaro was able to consult, the Japanese group, which proposes to buy 2.3 billion euros 40% of the steam turbines Alstom activity requires a veto to the participation of this joint venture to any tender exceeding an important threshold. According to Alstom, Mitsubishi is present on the market for steam turbines, and the risk of conflict of interest is important. In the entourage of the CEO of Mitsubishi, which had denied any veto Figaro , it ensures that this is negotiable.
In addition, the draft Mitsubishi to buy 10% of Bouygues, Alstom (the 29.3% held by the group BTP) is subject to the entry BpiFrance in Alstom at a level at least equal and conclusion of a shareholders' agreement. However, France has not yet officially supported such a project.

FT : Six banks sued over trustee roles

A group of big investors including Blackrock and Pimco are suing six different banks including Deutsche Bank and HSBC for their role as trustees of mortgage-backed securities in the lead up to and during the financial crisis.
In six similarly-worded suits, filed on Wednesday at the Supreme Court in New York, the investors alleged that the banks - which also include Citigroup, Bank of New York Mellon, US Bancorp and Wells Fargo - ignored “pervasive” deficiencies in the underlying loan pools and the servicing of the loans.

Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Citi and Wells Fargo declined to comment. BNY Mellon and US Bancorp did not immediately respond.
Blackrock declined to comment and Pimco did not respond to a request.
Banks in the US have faced years of legal wrangling with both big investors and the government over their practices in the lead up to the financial crisis, costing them more than $100bn in fines, penalties and settlements.
But, the new focus of this investor group, which alleges billions of dollars in damages, is on whether these banks fulfilled their fiduciary duties on large pools of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2004 and 2008.
As trustees, the banks would be expected to protect the rights of investors by overseeing the enforcement of terms on these pools of mortgage-backed securities.
Investors can be protected by repurchase agreements that force lenders to buy back loans if the credit quality turns out to be worse than pledged when they were sold.
The suits were first reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier on Wednesday.
The other investors include Aegon, Brookfield, Kore, Prudential, Sealink and TIAA. The plaintiffs, represented by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesman for Charles Schwab, confirmed that Schwab was party to the suit but declined to comment further. Prudential, TIAA-Cref and Brookfield both declined to comment. AEGON USA, and DZ Bank did not respond to requests for comment. Sealink, which has been party to similar suits in the past, could not be reached.
Blackrock and Pimco have teamed up alongside other big investors against the banks before, using the law firm Gibbs & Bruns, demanding billions of dollars from the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. Those suits are ongoing.

FT : Paris pushes GE to concede French stake in Alstom

Paris is demanding continued French minority ownership in Alstom’s energy assets as the price for approving a $16.9bn bid from General Electric of the US over a rival offer from Siemens and Mitsubishi.
The socialist government is pressing GE to allow Alstom to preserve a minority stake in the turbine business, with potentially a “tiny symbolic” stake for the French state as well, a senior official said.

The demands come as Jeffrey Immelt, the chief executive of GE, flew back to Paris for a new round of negotiations with government officials on Thursday. Alstom’s board have until Monday to decide between the two offers.
The French government has given itself an effective veto over the deal. It is intending to make a decision on its preferred bidder by the weekend, the senior official said, who described the two offers as currently running “neck and neck”.
Siemens is offering €3.9bn for Alstom’s gas turbines business, while Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy and partner Hitachi would pay €3.1bn to take a minority stake in a joint venture with Alstom in its steam, grid and hydro divisions.
The offer from GE is more straightforward, offering to buy Alstom’s energy assets outright, although agreeing to a number of concessions on employment and preserving centres of decision making in France.
With intense talks still under way with both sides, the government viewed Mitsubishi-Siemens as having a “slight advantage” because their proposal was based on forming a partnership with Alstom, not a takeover.
But if the GE offer “ticked the sovereignty box”, the bias would shift its way because its proposal was more straightforward to implement and was favoured by the Alstom board, the official said.
The government also wants GE to ring fence Alstom’s nuclear turbine operation, which it regards as a strategic national priority, and wants full joint venture terms for Alstom’s grid and renewables businesses.
The official said the government meanwhile needed more clarity from Mitsubishi on its long-term intentions for Alstom’s steam turbine operations in which the Japanese company proposes taking a 40 per cent minority stake.
Paris wants to know whether Mitsubishi would look to merge them with its existing joint venture with Toshiba.
The Alstom board is leaning towards supporting the GE offer in part due to concerns about how the rival offer would give Mitsubishi the power to veto future tender bids that competed directly with the Japanese group, according to people close to the talks.
The Mitsubishi-Siemens deal would see the Japanese group become a 40 per cent shareholder in Alstom’s steam turbine business, which is also its direct rival, regularly competing for projects across Europe and Asia.
Under the proposal, which has been seen by the Financial Times, at least one of Mitsubishi’s four board members would have to support any major commercial decisions, including “any open-bid process” over a certain size.
Mitsubishi said in a statement that it intends to use this right to “promote the autonomous commercial interests of Alstom JV . . . in compliance with our common interests and, more importantly, with our business ethics.”
Under the proposal, Alstom Steam’s chief executive officer and chief of sales would be designated by Alstom, while the chief financial officer and one of the two chief technical officers by Mitsubishi and partner Hitachi, according to the document.