Alstom-GE : le gouvernement se veut rassurant
+ VIDEO - Arnaud Montebourg doit rencontrer dimanche le président de General Electric. Le gouvernement sera « vigilant » sur « l’emploi, la localisation des activités et l’indépendance énergétique », assure l’entourage de François Hollande.
Alstom aurait approché General Electric afin de lui vendre l’ensemble de ses activités dans l’énergie. - AFP
Le gouvernement insiste, il sera « vigilant » concernant le dossier Alstom . L’entreprise française aurait approché General Electric afin de lui vendre l’ensemble de ses activités dans l’énergie. Depuis jeudi, tout s’accélère et les declarations des politiques sont nombreuses .
Arnaud Montebourg doit rencontrer dimanche le president de General Electric alors que le conseil d’administration d’Alstom se réunirait le même jour pour discuter d’une offre de rachat de 13 milliards de dollars (9,4 milliards d’euros) de ses activités dans l’énergie par le géant américain.
« Ce n’est pas encore certain mais c’est très probable », a-t-on déclaré au cabinet du ministre de l’Economie et du Redressement productif à propos d’une rencontre avec Jeffrey Immelt, le président de GE.
LIRE AUSSI
Quels scenarios alternatifs possibles pour Alstom ?
Un rendez-vous avec François Hollande, annoncé par une information de presse, a été démenti à l’Elysée. Evoquée par Arnaud Montebourg, la présence de Manuel Valls est incertaine, le Premier ministre étant en déplacement une partie de la journée à Rome pour assister à Rome à la canonisation des papes Jean XXIII et Jean Paul II .
« Le Premier ministre suit de près le dossier. Quant aux contacts, il a chargé Arnaud Montebourg d’assurer les premiers échanges », dit-on à l’hôtel Matignon.
VIDEO - Le gouvernement se mobilise
L’entourage de François Hollande a assuré samedi que le gouvernement serait « vigilant » sur « trois points » concernant le dossier de reprise d’une partie des activités d’Alstom: « l’emploi, la localisation des activités et l’indépendance énergétique ». « Le gouvernement est vigilant sur 3 points: l’emploi, la localisation des activités et l’indépendance énergétique », a indiqué cette source à l’AFP.
Closing Market Summary: High-Beta Names Lead Stocks Lower
The major averages spent the last session of the week in a steady retreat despite receiving a round of better than expected earnings from the technology sector. The Nasdaq lost 1.8%, widening its April decline to 2.9%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, swinging to a month-to-date loss to 0.5%. The benchmark index notched a session low not far above its 50-day moving average (1858) and closed just north of its 20-day moving average (1862).
Market participants received an avalanche of earnings since yesterday's closing bell, with a large portion coming from companies that belong to the technology sector (-1.4%). Even though 32 of 40 tech companies met or beat expectations, the broader sector was the second-weakest performer, finishing only ahead of the consumer discretionary sector (-1.7%).
In large part, the discretionary space was pressured by the shares of Amazon.com (AMZN 303.83, -33.32), which fell 9.9% after the online retail giant missed earnings estimates by one cent and issued cautious guidance. Amazon.com factored into the underperformance of the Nasdaq, while noteworthy losses in high-beta names like Netflix (NFLX 322.08, -21.99) and Priceline.com (PCLN 1157.24, -59.79) also weighed on the index and the discretionary sector.
Staying on the momentum theme, high-beta tech components like Facebook (FB 57.71, -3.16), FireEye (FEYE 41.18, -3.27), LinkedIn (LNKD 158.17, -13.42), and Yelp (YELP 57.63, -5.07) endured a forgettable session, falling between 5.2% and 8.1%.
Today's weakness in high-growth names resembled the aggressive selling that took place at the start of the month, which is likely to invite concerns that the sell-off seen a few weeks ago has not run its full corrective course.
The recent sell-off featured significant weakness in the biotech space and that was the case once again today. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 223.96, -5.66) lost 2.5%, ending right above its 200-day moving average (221.37), which has acted like a magnet for the past couple weeks. Interestingly, the health care sector (-0.7%) held up relatively well, ending just ahead of the broader market.
While the losses in biotech and other high-beta areas fueled the early selling, dip-buyers were reluctant to step in amid continued worries about the situation in Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian officials demanded a statement from Russia, explaining the purpose of its troops massed at the border of the two countries. Additionally, President Obama spoke with his counterparts from France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, agreeing to introduce another round of sanctions against Russia for failure to observe the Geneva accord that was signed last Thursday.
The geopolitical concerns did fuel some safe-haven flows as Treasuries and gold futures posted gains. The 10-yr note added four ticks, pressuring its yield to 2.67%, while gold futures added 0.5% to $1290.80/ozt.
With stocks ending near their lows, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX 14.12, +0.80) climbed 6.0%, suggesting participants hedged their bets.
Participation was a bit below average as less than 700 million shares changed hands at the NYSE.
Today's economic data was limited to the final reading for the April University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index, which was revised up to 84.1 from a preliminary reading of 82.6. The consensus expected the Consumer Sentiment Index to remain at 82.6. Consumer sentiment increased to its highest level since July 2013 when the index reached 85.1. Layoff trends and equity prices both improved over the second half of the month, which contributed to the overall improvement in sentiment. The Current Conditions Index was revised up to 98.7 in the final reading from 97.1 in the preliminary report. That is up from 95.7 in March. The Expectations Index was also revised up, to 74.7 from 73.3.
FITCH RAISES SPAIN SOVEREIGN RATING ONE NOTCH TO BBB+ FROM BBB; OUTLOOK STABLE
- Fitch:
- Risks to Spain's creditworthiness have decreased since the sovereign was downgraded to 'BBB' in June 2012. Financing conditions have improved, the economic outlook is more certain, and the risk of Spanish banks posing an additional burden on the sovereign has diminished.
-Spain's fiscal track record over the past two years has been strong, in our opinion. Its headline fiscal deficit (excluding bank support) declined by 2.5% of GDP in 2012-13, despite a 2.2% drop in nominal GDP over the same period
Alstom GE Executives confirmed to attend expected meetings with the France Govt officials over the coming days to discuss Alstom bid - press
WHITE HOUSE SAYS OBAMA, OTHER LEADERS AGREED RUSSIA HAS ESCALATED TENSIONS IN EASTERN UKRAINE, BUT SAID "RUSSIA COULD STILL CHOOSE A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO THE CRISIS"