(Les Echos) Jean-René Fourtou "Partnering with Bouygues was untenable in terms o

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Link to French Article : {http://bit.ly/PNcM3U}

Jean-René Fourtou "Partnering with Bouygues was untenable in terms of competition"

With the sale of SFR, have you completed your disposal program?
Yes, because our Brazilian subsidiary GVT intended to remain permanently in the group. It is indeed a great tool for us to develop content in this country where the company is already considered the best broadband provider, which allowed him to strengthen in the pay TV and launch its own platform form of music. Regarding the sale of Morocco Telecom Etisalat, it is now almost complete: it will bring us to EUR 4.2 billion, the acquisition of the West African subsidiary of Etisalat in Morocco Telecom is now set and all regulatory green lights achieved. As for Activision Blizzard, we are satisfied we be disengaged from an activity whose growth was based on some great games headlights, included many uncertainties related to the success of the new consoles, and was constrained by the prohibition of certain violent games Yet countries with strong economic dynamism.

What is the profile of the new Vivendi?
We passed an even leveraged in group 13 billion euros in late 2012 to a company that will have cash of about 5 billion euros, while maintaining significant holdings in the companies we cede: 20% in SFR-Numericable should be worth around € 4 billion, we could mobilize if we make an acquisition structuring; 12% of Activision Blizzard would be worth more than € 1 billion after tax. In addition, the results of the new Vivendi permit a great debt capacity.

What will you do with all this cash?
We will make a party to all the shareholders in the form of a special dividend or a share buyback. We will clarify our intentions on this point at the time of publication of the resolutions of the General Meeting of 24 June At this meeting, Jean-François Dubos and I démissionnerons our duties with a sense of accomplishment. As already announced, I will be very happy to provide Vincent Bolloré as chairman. Arnaud de Puyfontaine be CEO. This new team will have the opportunity to comment on its guidance on the occasion of the publication of first quarter results scheduled for mid-May.

At the general meeting of 2012, you announced your intention to refocus activity Vivendi media. Where are you?
Our strategy is to position the group on growth businesses. We invest in new activities that are sources of future growth: service video on demand subscription at Canal +, and more recently in Germany, ticketing, merchandising, partnerships between music and brands .... And also making acquisitions: EMI, the free TV channels D8 and D17, the 20% of Lagardère in Canal + France, the movie studios Hoyts Australia and New Zealand, the UK producer Red, strengthening Canal + Poland. And finally taking stakes in companies similar to ours Trades: 47% in Vevo, Spotify 5%, 14% in helmet manufacturer Beats has just launched its own platform music streaming, and also interests in Firefox and other platforms. These investments increase in value and already weigh together more than a billion dollars.

Basically, why focus on the media while this activity is not without risks?
Our ambition is growth. We do not realize that there are opportunities in music, to speak only of falling record sales and forgetting the success of streaming or downloading. Did you also know that television in Brazil increased by 20-25% per year? Canal + Group generates 40% of its turnover outside France, with a growth of 15% a year abroad? We are the world leader in music and European leader in the cinema. Platforms of distribution being global players, we must be global too. Last year, 62% of the turnover of the perimeter of Vivendi future were made abroad, with a growth of 8%. Starting this year, we will exceed 70% outside France.

What was the decisive factor that led you to choose Numericable?
The feasibility of the operation. A reconciliation Bouygues would have created a group with 47% of market share by value in the mobile, which was untenable in terms of competition. The regulator has asked very important remedies to rebalance the market. The proposal Bouygues sell its mobile network and frequencies Free moving in the right direction, but it would probably take also give customers. Therefore, in the case of a marriage between Bouygues and SFR, we would have ended up with a company facing a decline in over-armed competitor, Free. Execution risks of such a project were really too important.

Bouygues How could he win?
If he had offered 15 billion euros in cash by ensuring that all competitive risks were taken to his office, he would have had a serious chance. But this was not the case. The allowance of EUR 500 million proposed in the case of veto of the Competition Authority was not enough to offset the risk of execution.

The social argument he weighed heavy?
Of course, it was also one of the weaknesses of the project Bouygues. His project involved very significant synergies but with much duplication in staffing. Bouygues Telecom and SFR are very close trades. There would have been 4000-6000 people too, not counting subcontractors. It would have been difficult to manage, even as Bouygues pledged not to lay for three years. SFR is part of Vivendi for 27 years. We can not afford to ship the employees in a project when you realize that there is a third effective too. The representative of employee shareholders and board member of Vivendi stressed this point.

The industrial project Numericable you so convinced?
He especially convinced the council. This is a promising project growth. Activities are highly complementary. There is very little overlap and very little duplication in terms of staff. It is to develop the convergence between fixed and mobile, relying on the growth of high-speed broadband and the generation of new services. This is the winning strategy in telecoms. It is the government's vision and plan France Very High Speed. It also develops everywhere in Europe. Look what Vodafone in Germany and Spain. We strongly believe in the industrial relevance of this project. And that is why Vivendi retains a 20% stake of the future together, because its valuation may increase. There is also plenty to do on the enterprise market. The future is the combination of cable and mobile.

What do you think of Patrick Drahi?
This is a polytechnic, teachers son and especially passionate about telecom. He already knows SFR in every detail, both financially and technically. It is also an entrepreneur with a lot of ambition. Finally, this is a very good financier. When he came to us in February, he had already completed its funding quite secure.

Are you worried that the Bouygues flakes sharing agreement with SFR mobile network, out of spite?
I do not see why. Bouygues Telecom remains a serious partner with whom we work and the sale of SFR is not a ground for termination of mutualisation.

You have been personally implicated because you would have taken a financial interest or applied for a position in the Numericable operation ...
In fifty years of business, I have heard everything! I remember that I have no plans at Vivendi hat, no bonus, no stock options since 2005, and I paid a fixed remuneration of € 700,000 per year, the amount is public. This time, I decided to sue for defamation Mediapart and Le Nouvel Observateur. As the Board of SFR / Numericable, will be set up following the recommendations of regulatory authorities who must authorize the entire project.

Will you retire?
I was already boss in 1972, I did not even have 33 years. The merger between Rhône-Poulenc and Hoechst was the pinnacle of my career. Then merged with Aventis, I participated in the creation of a leading global pharmaceutical which I am still a director. Then they came for me to rescue Vivendi. I was director of a twenty companies. I look forward to delivering a well endowed Vivendi and reformatted!

>>> What to look at this week end.

US Market closed lower - Nasdaq leaded the move (-2,60% lower), market opened on the highs and decline all day...Tech lower and Utilities Higher in a defensive move...Volume were above average with 764mil shares...VIX @ 13,96 +4,41%...


Macro
- Japan Econ Min Amari: PM Abe will tread carefully regarding further sales tax increases

Keep an eye on :
- ATC NA : Altice, Numericable to Finance SFR Offer With Rights Offer, Debt E4,7b 0f Right Issue & E8,8bi if debt
- ANA SM : Acciona, Ferrovial Win EU630m Australia Road Deal: Economista
- AZA IM : JAlitalia-Etihad Deal May be Delayed by Cost Cut Requests: Sole, PMorgan Advising Etihad in Alitalia Talks, Il Sole 24 Ore Says
- STS IM : GE Still Considering Ansaldo STS Acquisition: Beccalli-Falco
- BARC LN : Barclays Sells U.A.E. Retail Unit to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank Buys Operations for $177 Million
- EN FP : Bouygues Says It Submitted Cash Component of 15.5 Bln Euros
- BBVA SM : BBVA Sees Mexico Economic Rebound in Mid-2014: Reforma Link
- CABK SM : CaixaBank Buys 5% Stake in Co. That Controls FCC (Earlier)
- DAI GY : Daimler Shareholders Want to Limit CEO Zetsche’s Powers: FAZS
- DELB BB : Barron's +ve, good restructuring story and strong balance sheet, could be debt free by end of 2015
- EDF FP : France’s Royal Says Fessenheim Nuclear Plant to Shut by End-2016
- EVK GY : Evonik Prepared to Make Acquisitions, CFO Tells Boersenzeitung
- OGZD LI : Gazprom Will Keep German Agreements, Medvedev Tells Handelsblatt
- HOF LN : Sports Direct’s Ashley Buys 11% Stake in House of Fraser, Sanpower to buy the 89% value yhe co at 450mil pnd
- HOLN VX/LG FP : Holcim-Lafarge Deal Would Get Scrutiny From Brussels to Brazil
- HOLN VX/LG FP : Holcim With Lafarge Said to Maintain Listings in Merger
- MEDAA SS : Meda may see Mylan increase offer Dagens Industri
- NESN VX: Nestle’s Brabeck Will Step Down as Chairman in 2017: Le Temps
- NUM FP : Altice Says It Welcomes Vivendi’s Decision on SFR
- PHARM NA : Pharming Says ‘Unlikely’ FDA Won’t Clear Ruconest: De Telegraaf
- RNO FP : Nissan and Renault are firmly committed to Russia operations despite Crimea issue; tensions expcted to fade over time
- SDF GY : K+S Says U.S. Salt Ops Offset Warm German Winter, FAZS Reports
- GLE FP : Societe Generale Seeks Organic Growth in Germany, CEO Tells WiWo
- UCG IM : UniCredit’s Ghizzoni Says Fineco IPO to Take Place by July
- VIV FP : Vivendi Accepts Altice’s EU13.5 Billion Offer for SFR Phone Unit
- VOD LN : Vodafone Egypt Appeals Against Competition Authority: Al Borsa

FT : Dropbox takes capital raising to $1.1bn

Dropbox takes capital raising to $1.1bn

Dropbox, the cloud storage company, has lined up $500m in borrowing, making it one of the best-financed private US internet start-ups at a time when capital has been pouring into the sector.
The credit facility, led by JPMorgan, follows a $350m equity fundraising earlier this year and lifts the total amount Dropbox has raised to more than $1.1bn.

The hefty injection of capital reflects a rush by some of the fastest-growing consumer internet companies to stock up on cash while investors and lenders are clamouring to back the perceived winners.
The money has also enabled some of the best-known to delay their initial public offerings and concentrate instead on rushing to expand their businesses globally rather than lose ground to local copycats.
Ride-sharing company Lyft raised $250m in equity last week in one of the biggest fundraising rounds of the year as it prepares to move into international markets.
Dropbox is unlikely to move forward with an IPO until next year, according to one person familiar with the company. Dropbox refused to comment on the credit facility.
However, one person familiar with the company said the infusion of money was partly to pay for building out its infrastructure as it expands its global operations.
Like most internet start-ups, Dropbox initially relied on renting storage and other facilities from Amazon Web Services, and is now thought to be one of the internet retailers’ biggest customers. It also has its own facilities and has expanded these as it has grown.
Dropbox provides free online storage to a claimed 200m users, enabling them to access their information from multiple devices. It makes money by charging monthly subscriptions to a small percentage who want extra capacity.
The low cost of debt available to Dropbox prompted it to borrow such a large amount, said another person familiar with the company. Most fast-growing start-ups avoid taking on debt, fearing that it would leave them with crippling repayment obligations if business conditions turned against them.
However, user subscriptions promise to give Dropbox a more reliable stream of income. Also, in contrast to cloud storage rival Box, whose marketing costs of selling to business customers exceed its total revenues, Dropbox’s focus mainly on consumers has left it with lower operating expenses.
Some other internet start-ups that have taken advantage of a wave of enthusiasm from investors in the private markets have failed to live up to the high hopes. Daily deals site LivingSocial raised nearly $1bn as its bigger rival, Groupon, went public at the end of 2011. But its fortunes waned as local merchants soured on the use of deals as a marketing tool.

FT : What the world must do to kickstart growth

What the world must do to kickstart growth

The post-crisis panic might be subsiding but medium-term prospects are problematic

The world’s finance ministers and central bank governors gather in Washington this week for the biannual International Monetary Fund meetings. While there will not be the sense of alarm that dominated the convocations in the years after the financial crisis, the unfortunate reality is that the medium-term prospects for the global economy have not been so problematic for a long time.
The IMF in its current World Economic Outlook essentially endorses the “secular stagnation” hypothesis, noting that the real interest rate necessary to bring about enough demand for full employment is likely to remain depressed for a substantial period. This is made manifest by the fact that inflation is well below target throughout the developed world and is likely to decline further this year. Without robust growth in, and greater demand from, these markets, growth in emerging economies is likely to subside. That is even without considering the political challenges facing countries as diverse as Brazil, China, South Africa, Russia and Turkey.

In the face of inadequate demand, the world’s primary strategy is easy money. Base interest rates remain at floor levels throughout the developed world and central banks signal that they are unlikely to rise soon. While the US is tapering quantitative easing, Japan continues to ease on a large scale, and the eurozone seems to be moving closer to this. This is all better than the tight money that in 1930s made the Depression the Great Depression. But it has problems as a growth strategy.
We do not have a strong basis for supposing that reductions in interest rates from very low levels have a big impact on spending decisions. Any spending they do induce tends to represent a pulling forward rather than an augmentation of demand. We do know they strongly encourage economic actors to take on debt; that they place pressure on return-seeking investors to take increased risk; that they inflate asset values and reward financial activity. And we cannot confidently predict the ultimate impact on markets or the confidence of investors of the unwinding of central bank balance sheets.
While monetary policies lower capital costs and so encourage spending that businesses and households judge unworthwhile even at rock-bottom interest rates, many elements of investment exist that can be increased and that also have high returns but are held back by misguided public policies.
In the US the case for substantial investment promotion is overwhelming. Increased infrastructure spending would reduce burdens on future generations, not just by spurring growth but also by expanding the economy’s capacity and reducing deferred maintenance obligations. For example: can it be rational in the 21st century for the US air traffic control system to rely on paper tracking of flight paths?
Japan, with the introduction of value added tax on April 1, is engaged in a major fiscal contraction at a time when it is far from clear whether last year’s progress in reversing deflation is durable or a reflection of one-off exchange rate movements. A return to stagnation and deflation could rapidly call its solvency into question. Japan takes a dangerous risk if it waits to observe the consequences before enacting fiscal and structural reform measures to promote spending.
Europe has moved back from the brink, with defaults or devaluations now remote as possibilities. But no strategy for durable growth is yet in place and the slide towards deflation continues. Strong actions to restore the banking system so that it can be a conduit for a robust flow of credit, as well as measures to promote demand in the countries of the periphery where competitiveness challenges remain, are imperative.
If emerging markets’ capital inflows fall off substantially, and so they move further towards being net exporters, it is hard to see where in the developed world can take up the slack by accepting trade balance deterioration. So measures to bolster capital flows and exports to emerging markets are essential. Most important are political steps to reassure about populist threats in a number of countries, such as where authoritarian governments give signs of disregarding contracts and property rights, and provide investor protection and backstop finance. In this regard passage by the US Congress of authorisation for the IMF to enhance its ability to provide backstop finance, is imperative.
Creative consideration should also be given to ways of mobilising the trillions of dollars in public assets held by central banks and sovereign wealth funds largely in the form of safe liquid assets to promote growth.
In a globalised economy, the impact of these steps taken together is likely to be substantially greater than the sum of their individual impacts. And the consequences of national policy failures are likely to cascade. That is why a global growth strategy framed to resist secular stagnation rather than just muddle through with the palliative of easy money should be this week’s agenda.
The writer is Charles W Eliot university professor at Harvard and a former US Treasury secretary

>>> Meda may see Mylan increase offer

Meda may see Mylan increase offer - report (translated)

Meda may see Mylan make a higher offer for the Swedish pharmaceutical company after yesterday’s rejection, according to Dagens Industri. The Swedish business daily reported that Meda saw its share price rise by around 14% yesterday to SEK 110.5 (EUR 12.3) despite rejecting Pennsylvania-based generic pharma company Mylan’s offer, valuing Meda at SEK 33bn (EUR 3.7bn). The paper wrote that the price increase indicates that the market is expecting Mylan to make a better offer or the possibility of a new bidder.

The paper wrote, without citing any named sources, that Mylan was looking to pay for Meda mainly by shares which is one likely reason for Meda’s rejection. The paper reported, however, that Mylan saw its share price rise by 6% yesterday which could fuel the American company’s interest to increase its offer.

Meanwhile, Martin Niklasson, a Swedish professional within the pharma industry, commented that he sees Mylan’s offer as a possible way to reduce its taxes. An unnamed source from the sector said Mylan is interested in Meda’s strong product portfolio, which would strengthen the company’s position in the value chain. He added that the combination of the two companies would not enjoy any synergies.
Source Dagens Industri

WSJ : Top SAC Capital Portfolio Manager to Start Own Hedge Fund

Top SAC Capital Portfolio Manager to Start Own Hedge Fund
Gabriel Plotkin Expected to Get More Than $200 Million From Steven A. Cohen

One of Steven A. Cohen's most-trusted portfolio managers is planning to strike out on his own, according to people familiar with the matter, the highest-profile departure from the hedge-fund firm since it was tarnished by an insider-trading scandal.

Gabriel Plotkin, a portfolio manager who focuses on consumer stocks and has managed more than $1 billion in positions for Mr. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors LP in recent years, will leave by the end of the year to start his own firm, the people said.

Mr. Plotkin decided to leave in part because he had grown tired of the scrutiny brought on by the charges against others at the firm, according to a person familiar with his thinking.

Mr. Plotkin declined to comment.

Mr. Cohen is expected to invest in Mr. Plotkin's fund. It isn't clear how much Mr. Cohen will invest, but the amount could be more than $200 million, the people said.

The exit is the most notable yet from within SAC's ranks in the wake of an insider-trading scandal that tarnished the firm.

SAC, based in Stamford, Conn., is being renamed Point72 Asset Management and making a transition into a so-called family office. As such, it will manage only Mr. Cohen's personal fortune of roughly $8 billion, along with some money from his family and select employees. That is down from SAC's peak of managing more than $15 billion.

A smaller firm means less money likely will be shared among top managers. As a result, other top employees who have worked alongside Mr. Cohen also are expected to leave in the months ahead, according to a person close to the firm. Some top employees have asked Mr. Cohen to increase their payout to give them incentive to remain at the firm, the person said.

Eight current or former SAC employees were convicted on criminal charges related to insider trading as part of the yearslong probe, with several set to be sentenced this spring. Mr. Cohen hasn't been criminally charged but faces a civil lawsuit for allegedly failing to supervise his employees.

Last year, SAC agreed to settle its own criminal charges, pay a fine of almost $1.2 billion and cease managing outside money, which it did earlier this year. At a sentencing hearing scheduled for April 10, U.S. District Judge Laura Swain will decide whether to accept SAC's guilty plea.

Mr. Plotkin hasn't been accused of wrongdoing, but his name surfaced in one of the insider-trading cases last year. Jon Horvath, a former analyst at an SAC unit who has pleaded guilty to insider trading, admitted he shared inside information about Dell Inc. with two portfolio managers at another SAC unit. One of them was Mr. Plotkin.

An SAC spokesman has previously said Mr. Plotkin "did nothing wrong."

Mr. Plotkin has been at the firm for more than a decade and managed one of the two biggest portfolios there, not including Mr. Cohen's, the person said.

SAC is down to about 850 employees, from approximately 1,000 at its peak, according to an employee memo late last month.

Portfolio managers Wayne Chambless and Christopher Procaccini recently resigned to take posts at Highbridge Capital Management LLC, a hedge-fund firm owned by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., a person familiar with the firm said. Portfolio manager Brian Younger also left for hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management LP.

Altogether, the trio managed as much as $1.5 billion at SAC.

SAC is recruiting for a number of positions as it morphs into a family office, although some say Mr. Cohen may have challenges attracting top talent after the firm's guilty plea.

"It's very tough to hire people when a firm has had bad publicity, because people want to work for top franchise names," says Michael Karp, chief executive of financial-recruiting firm Options Group.

SAC continues to take steps in hopes of avoiding similar problems in the future. It said last month it wants to hire a "chief surveillance officer" to track the flow of external information into the firm and the use of independent research, among other things.

"We are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure we never go through again what we have experienced over the last few years," Mr. Cohen and President Tom Conheeney wrote in the memo announcing the move.

On Wednesday, SAC told employees it had also retained Palantir Technologies, a firm whose government clients include the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to improve monitoring of employee trading.

Mr. Conheeney told employees Palantir had been on-site for the past nine months as part of a pilot program.

The move to bring the company on full-time was part of an effort "to make sense of the disparate pieces of information we already have."

"We are matching our words with actions," Mr. Conheeney wrote in the memo. "I am convinced that these steps will lead to a stronger firm."

FT : Cement merger tries to head off regulators

Holcim and Lafarge will announce plans to sell close to $1bn worth of production facilities on Monday as they try to offset a regulatory backlash over their proposed $40bn all-share merger to bring together the world’s two larger cement makers.
The planned divestitures will represent capacity equivalent to 10 per cent of the combined company’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, according to people familiar with the matter. That figure stood at $8.7bn at the end of 2013.

The pre-emptive move underscores the companies’ expectations of a tough battle to convince regulators of the merits of joining the largest players in an industry that has long been the subject of antitrust concerns.
The cement market is dominated by four global players, all of which have been under investigation by the European Commission for cartel behaviour and price-fixing since 2008.
The blockbuster deal, which the companies said would be a “merger of equals”, will see Switzerland’s Holcim launch a public takeover for French rival Lafarge in shares with a roughly 50:50 split.
The merger, signed off by the boards of France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim over the weekend, will create a group with combined sales of $40bn that will reshape a global cement industry that has for years been plagued by chronic overcapacity. The companies have agreed the terms of that will see Lafarge chief executive Bruno Lafont take the top job at the new industrial giant headquartered in Paris and Zurich.
The two groups have very similar market capitalisations at around €18bn.
The agreement comes amid the fastest start to the year in global M&A since 2007, according to Dealogic, with a series of transactions worth more than $10bn underpinning the market’s return to form.
The details of the deal are set to be announced as early as Monday morning, according to people close to the discussions. Both companies declined to comment, but said on Friday that they were in late stage merger talks.
Bruno Lafont, chief executive of Lafarge since 2006, is set to become chief executive of the whole group. Thomas Aebischer, Holcim chief financial officer, and Rolf Soiron, Holcim chairman, are set to take the same roles but at a group level.
People close to the talks said that consultations have already begun on possible areas where the two companies will need to sell assets to appease competition authorities, with much of the divestments likely to be focused on the developed markets.
Holcim provides no figures but Lafarge estimates that it has 34 per cent of the market in France, 40 per cent in the UK, and 10 per cent in Germany and Spain. More than 40 per cent market share is the rule of thumb for competition problems.
Discussions between the companies have been going on for three months. Lafarge is being advised by BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild and the Zaoui brothers. Holcim is working only with Goldman Sachs, with FX de Mallmann, the bank’s head of consumer retail, leading the talks.

(BFW) Altice, Numericable to Finance SFR Offer With Rights Offer, Debt

Altice, Numericable to Finance SFR Offer With Rights Offer, Debt
2014-04-06 17:57:59.677 GMT


By Matthew Campbell and Francois de Beaupuy
     April 6 (Bloomberg) -- Cos. to finance offer with EU4.7b
capital increase, EU8.8b of debt.
  * Carlyle, Cinven agree to sell 35% stake in Numericable to
    Altice for unspecified amount of cash, Altice shrs
  * Altice founder Patrick Drahi to chair combined SFR-
    Numericable group
  * Altice, Numericable comment in e-mailed statement
  * NOTE: Earlier, Vivendi to Sell SFR Carrier to Altice in $23
    Billion Deal NSN N3M8SX6JTSE8<GO>

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

To contact the reporter on this story:
Matthew Campbell in London at +44-20-3525-8684 or
mcampbell39@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Andrea Snyder at +1-202-624-1831 or
asnyder5@bloomberg.net

FT: Eurozone governments warned not to rely solely on ECB

Eurozone governments warned not to rely solely on ECB

President of European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, Thursday, March 6, 2014, following a meeting of the ECB governing council. The European Central Bank has kept its main interest rate at a record low of 0.25 percent, holding off on more stimulus as economic indicators suggest the modest recovery is gaining strength. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)©AP
Mario Draghi
Senior European policy makers and business people have expressed concern that the debate over quantitative easing by the European Central Bank risks taking the pressure off politicians to pursue structural reforms.
“Monetary policy cannot do everything,” said a senior ECB official at the Ambrosetti Forum in Cernobbio, on Lake Como, this weekend. “People expect too much from central banks.”
The concerns echo a sense of growing frustration at the ECB that governments are keen to keep attention on the central bank’s reluctance to pursue easier monetary policy,to address low inflation, as an explanation for the eurozone’s weak economic performance. At 0.5 per cent in March, inflation in the eurozone is running well below the ECB’s target rate of just below 2 per cent.
On Thursday, Mario Draghi, the ECB’s president, said he would back more radical measures, including quantitative easing, to cope with “too prolonged a period of low inflation”. But he urged governments not to rely too heavily on central bank actions to restore growth.

“Monetary policy is important, but it’s not the only thing,” he said at Thursday’s press conference. “Structural reforms come first, because many of the problems of the euro area are structural.”
Asked about France’s request for more time to meet its 3 per cent deficit target, the ECB president called on governments not to unravel their fiscal consolidation efforts. “It is important that fiscal consolidation [ . . .] should adhere to the pre-agreed rules. Otherwise, trust is undermined,” Mr Draghi said.
Business people in Italy and elsewhere said monetary policy was not the key to stimulating growth.
“There have been years of inaction and there are huge structural issues,” said Rodolfo De Benedetti, chief executive of Italy’s industrial group CIR.
Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman and chief executive of Pirelli, the tyremaker, called for more ambitious action on labour market reform in particular, to improve competitiveness.
“Competitiveness is the priority to create new jobs,” he said.
Company bosses across Europe have said that low inflation is not high on their list of concerns.

“I have few worries about deflation in Europe,” said Joe Kaeser, chief executive of Siemens, the German engineering conglomerate, in February.
“There is no genuine serious deflation risk,” agreed Jim O’Neill, economic adviser to the International Finance Corporation, and former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, at the Ambrosetti forum.
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, an ECB executive board member until December 2011 and now chairman of Italian gas company Snam, said the unconventional monetary easing measures under discussion, such as buying bank loans, were untested and might not succeed. He added that assessing the value the loans the ECB would buy was complicated and that, anyway, banks might not be willing to sell them.
“We still overburden monetary policy with the macro challenges [Europe faces],” said Jacob Frenkel, chairman of JPMorgan International and a former governor of the Central Bank of Israel. “The solution to unemployment is not in monetary policy. It’s a mistake to put all the expectations on the ECB.”