Challenges :Carrefour and Deliveroo sign a European partnership

Carrefour and Deliveroo sign a European partnership
By Claire Bouleau on 04/06/2021 at 12:28 p.m.
4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE - Carrefour, present on Uber Eats for a year, is now signing a European alliance with Deliveroo. At the same time, the Casino group, already a partner of Deliveroo, landed on Uber Eats. No doubt, the express delivery of home shopping takes on a new dimension, to the delight of distributors and foodtechs.

It is a perfect alliance between "click" and "mortar", which comes at the right time for this third confinement. British foodtech Deliveroo and sixty-year-old retailer Carrefour have just signed a European partnership to offer their customers home delivery of a thousand everyday products, especially food. Picked up from the brand's stores, they will be delivered within 30 minutes. Already launched in Spain and Italy in the second half of 2020, this service, deployed in Belgium in March, is now launched in France, first in Paris, then very quickly in around 20 cities.

Carrefour arrives on Deliveroo, Casino on Uber Eats
It was during the first lockdown that large retailers, faced with an explosion in online orders, knocked on the doors of the food marketplaces Deliveroo and Uber Eats, historic partners of restaurant owners. Carrefour had then signed exclusively with Uber Eats, and Casino, already allied with Amazon, with Deliveroo. A year later, online sales of consumer goods have exploded by 42%, according to Fevad. And alliances are growing: as Carrefour lands on Deliveroo, Casino is teaming up with Uber Eats this week. "We will seek the customer where he is," explains Elodie Perthuisot, e-commerce, digital transformation and data director at Carrefour. "There is a lot of traffic on these platforms. Many Internet users are browsing there in search of a solution and suddenly discover that there is an offer of races. For us, it is another distribution channel, of marketing, but the service is almost identical to Carrefour express delivery: the preparation is done in our stores.These platforms go out to conquer customers, evangelize them on the existence of e-commerce services: they do marketing for us. "

The new boss of e-commerce, promoted after the departure of Amélie Oudea-Castéra for the French Tennis Federation, signed with Deliveroo knowingly, after a year of conclusive experience with Uber Eats. “We realized that this was of great interest to customers,” says Elodie Pethuisot, without revealing any figures. "They favor delivery in 30 minutes, but also Carrefour products, and obviously the price compared to a catering solution. We have instead attracted customers who were not previously delivered by Carrefour. Uber Eats has become a full-fledged e-commerce solution for Carrefour, which is long-term. "

Deliveroo flirt with traders ...
Opposite, Deliveroo, present in 60 French cities, and 300 surrounding municipalities, announced during its chaotic listing on March 31 that trade was becoming a strategic axis. “Of our 20,000 partners, 1,000 are businesses,” explains Laurent Chhuon-Nougarede, responsible for the development of this segment, launched in February 2020. “The major retail brands allow us to attract new customers. The partnership with the Groupe Casino is a success. The urban and Parisian brands Monoprix and Franprix resonate a lot with the clientele of Deliveroo. But we also want to offer more accessible brands. Carrefour brings complementarity in terms of geography and clientele. "

Laurent Chhuon-Nougarede does not intend to stop at the big names in the trade. "On Deliveroo, you will find the big restaurant brands like Burger King, or McDonald's, as well as your small neighborhood pizzeria. We want to offer the same completeness with the food trade part." The objective: to network the territory by rallying small and medium-sized traders: cheese makers, bakers and butchers. Behind, the ambition of the foodtech, which has already signed with the frozen food chain Picard, the pastry chef Yann Couvreur or even the wine merchant Le Repaire de Bacchus, is clear: "That every time the consumer wants to eat, he thinks of Deliveroo. "

... and Uber Eats signs with Sodexo
At the same time, Uber Eats is also refining its weapons. The start-up has just announced this Tuesday, April 6 the signing of a global partnership agreement with Sodexo. "Sodexo restaurant card holders will be able to easily pay for and have their meal delivered through the Uber Eats app," the statement said. The service, first launched in France, will then be extended to other European countries and Latin America. Da

Challenges : Carrefour et Deliveroo signent un partenariat européen

Carrefour et Deliveroo signent un partenariat européen
Par Claire Bouleau le 06.04.2021 à 12h28
Lecture 4 min.
ABONNÉS
EXCLUSIF - Carrefour, présent sur Uber Eats depuis un an, signe à présent une alliance européenne avec Deliveroo. Au même moment, le groupe Casino, déjà partenaire de Deliveroo, débarque sur Uber Eats. Pas de doute, la livraison express de courses à domicile prend une nouvelle dimension, pour le grand bonheur des distributeurs et des foodtechs.

C’est une parfaite alliance entre "click" et "mortar", qui arrive à point nommé pour ce troisième confinement. La foodtech britannique Deliveroo et le distributeur sexagénaire Carrefour viennent de signer un partenariat européen pour proposer à leurs clients la livraison à domicile d’un millier de produits du quotidien, surtout alimentaires. Récupérés dans les magasins de l’enseigne, ils seront livrés en 30 minutes. Déjà lancé en Espagne et en Italie au cours du deuxième semestre 2020, ce service, déployé en Belgique en mars, est à présent lancé en France, d’abord à Paris, puis très vite dans une vingtaine de villes.

Carrefour arrive sur Deliveroo, Casino sur Uber Eats
C’est lors du premier confinement que la grande distribution, confrontée à une explosion des commandes en ligne, avait toqué à la porte des places de marché alimentaires Deliveroo et Uber Eats, partenaires historiques des restaurateurs. Carrefour avait alors signé en exclusivité avec Uber Eats, et Casino, déjà allié à Amazon, avec Deliveroo. Un an plus tard, les ventes en ligne de produits de grande consommation ont explosé de 42%, selon la Fevad. Et les alliances s’élargissent: alors que Carrefour débarque sur Deliveroo, Casino s’associe cette semaine à Uber Eats. "Nous allons chercher le client là où il est", explique Elodie Perthuisot, directrice e-commerce, transformation digitale et data de Carrefour. "Il y a un fort trafic sur ces plateformes. De nombreux internautes y naviguent à la recherche d'une solution et découvrent tout à coup qu’il existe une offre de courses. Pour nous, c'est un autre canal de diffusion, de marketing, mais le service est quasiment identique à la livraison express Carrefour: la préparation est faite dans nos magasins. Ces plateformes partent à la conquête des clients, les évangélisent sur l’existence de services e-commerce: elles font du marketing pour nous."

La nouvelle patronne du e-commerce, promue après le départ d'Amélie Oudea-Castéra pour la Fédération Française de Tennis, a signé avec Deliveroo en connaissance de cause, après un an d'expérience concluante avec Uber Eats. "Nous nous sommes rendu compte que cela intéressait beaucoup les clients", raconte Elodie Pethuisot, sans dévoiler de chiffres. "Ils plébiscitent la livraison en 30 minutes, mais aussi les produits Carrefour, et évidemment le prix par rapport à une solution de restauration. Nous avons plutôt attiré des clients qui ne se faisaient jusqu'ici pas livrer par Carrefour. Uber Eats est devenu une solution de e-commerce à part entière pour Carrefour, qui s'inscrit dans la durée."

Deliveroo drague les commerçants...
En face, Deliveroo, présent dans 60 villes françaises, et 300 communes environnantes, a annoncé lors de sa cotation chaotique, le 31 mars, que le commerce devenait un axe stratégique. "Sur nos 20.000 partenaires, 1.000 sont des commerces", explique Laurent Chhuon-Nougarede, responsable du développement de ce segment, lancé en février 2020. "Les grandes marques de la distribution nous permettent d’attirer de nouveaux clients. Le partenariat avec le groupe Casino est un succès. Les enseignes urbaines et parisiennes Monoprix et Franprix résonnent beaucoup avec la population cliente de Deliveroo. Mais nous voulons aussi proposer des marques plus accessibles. Carrefour amène une complémentarité en termes de géographie et de clientèle."

Laurent Chhuon-Nougarede ne compte pas s'arrêter aux grands noms du commerce. "Sur Deliveroo, vous retrouvez aussi bien les grosses marques de la restauration comme Burger King, ou McDonald's, que votre petit pizzeria de quartier. Nous voulons proposer la même exhaustivité avec la partie commerce de bouche." L'objectif: mailler le territoire en ralliant des petits et moyens commerçants: fromagers, boulangers ou encore bouchers. Derrière, l’ambition de la foodtech, qui a déjà signé avec l'enseigne de surgelés Picard, le pâtissier Yann Couvreur ou encore le caviste Le Repaire de Bacchus, est claire: "Qu'à chaque fois que le consommateur veut se nourrir, il pense à Deliveroo."

... et Uber Eats signe avec Sodexo
Au même moment, Uber Eats est aussi en train de fourbir ses armes. La start-up vient d'annoncer ce mardi 6 avril la signature d'un accord de partenariat mondial avec Sodexo. "Les détenteurs de cartes restaurant Sodexo pourront régler et se faire livrer leur repas en toute simplicité via l’application Uber Eats", annonce le communiqué. Le service, d’abord lancé en France, sera ensuite étendu à d’autres pays européens et en Amérique latine. Dans l'Hexagone, cette alliance permettra de connecter les centaines de milliers de salariés français en possession d'une carte restaurant Sodexo, avec les partenaires d'Uber Eats dans 240 villes. Il y a fort à parier que les concurrents de Sodexo ne tarderont pas à lui emboîter le pas. Le marché de la livraison alimentaire à domicile est bel et bien en train de changer d'échelle.

FT : French state to inject up to €4bn into Air France-KLM

French state to inject up to €4bn into Air France-KLM
Government shareholding in the airline could rise to 29.9%

France will contribute up to €4bn to strengthen Air France-KLM’s balance sheet, potentially doubling its shareholding as it tries to steer the airline through the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The French state, which is already a 14.3 per cent shareholder, will convert €3bn in loans it gave to Air France airline last year into hybrid debt and take part in a planned additional capital raise for up to €1bn. 

Overall, the government’s shareholding could rise to 29.9 per cent, making it the largest single shareholder, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told radio station France Inter on Tuesday morning. 

Benjamin Smith, the airline’s chief executive, said: “These first recapitalisation measures . . . provide Air France-KLM with greater stability to move forward when recovery starts, as large-scale vaccination progresses around the world and borders reopen.”

This volley of aid will only benefit the French arm of Air France-KLM, according to the EU.

The Dutch state, which is also a 14 per cent shareholder, will not participate in the new capital raise, Air France-KLM said in a statement on Tuesday morning, but “is continuing discussions with the European Commission regarding potential capital-strengthening measures for KLM.” 

Tensions between France and the Netherlands came to a head in 2019 when the Dutch government increased its shareholding to roughly match that of the French state’s, to protect its national interests.

After months of negotiation between France and the EU over concessions needed to get the state aid approved, Air France-KLM had to give up 18 slots for its aircraft at Paris-Orly. That represents 4 per cent of its capacity at the airport but fewer than the 24 slots originally sought by the commission. 

Le Maire said there would be restrictions on certain low-cost airlines picking up the slots, to make sure that companies operating at the airport use crews working under French contracts: “We wanted the companies that can recover these slots to strictly respect the social or fiscal rules of the French state. It would have been unfair competition.”

The commission said on Tuesday that France had committed to working out a credible exit strategy within 12 months after the aid was granted, unless the state’s help was reduced below the level of 25 per cent of equity by then.

It added that until the recapitalisation was redeemed, Air France was banned from paying dividends and non-mandatory coupon payments on debt and from making share buybacks. And “until at least 75 per cent of the recapitalisation is redeemed . . . a strict limitation of the remuneration of their management, including a ban on bonus payments, is applied”.

Along with the rest of the sector, Air France-KLM, which was formed by the merger of Air France and KLM of the Netherlands in 2004, has been hammered by the impact of the Covid-19 on tourism and business travel. 

With the pandemic slashing demand for air travel, the group recorded a €7.1bn net loss in 2020. On Tuesday, the group said it expected a loss of €1.3bn in the first quarter.

Air France-KLM has already received €10.4bn in loans and state-backed loans, guaranteed by the French and Dutch governments to help it through the pandemic. The French state-backed loan has been extended until 2023, with the Dutch loan due in 2025.

Shares in the company fell 0.4 per cent to €5.11 on Tuesday morning.

MF Fashion : Giorgio Armani evaluates a future with an Italian group

Giorgio Armani evaluates a future with an Italian group

Link to Article : https://bit.ly/3mmTtza

The statements of the Milanese designer inflame the insiders who draw up a list of possible candidates for a possible joint venture emblem of Made in Italy. There is talk of names like Remo Ruffini and Renzo Rosso but in pole position is Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family, fresh from two fashion acquisitions

Giorgio Armani evaluates a future with an Italian group A portrait of Giorgio Armani

"One could think of the liaison with an important Italian company" and not necessarily a fashion company. Remaining independent is not "so strictly necessary". These are the words of Giorgio Armani himself in an interview with Vogue America that rekindle the spotlight on the future of the Milanese fashion house, which has always been a symbol of Made in Italy fashion and style. The designer also confirms that he planned to pass most of the business to his family, to people such as his three grandchildren Roberta and Silvana Armani, Andrea Camerana and Leo Dell’Orco, his historical lieutenant. The only thing missing is «who says yes or no. There is still no boss. " These are therefore additional details regarding that Armani thought that has always brought the world of fashion to a halt, keeping us in suspense but also underlining how the idea of ​​tomorrow is a priority. A new piece, confirming that logical thread recently anticipated in an exclusive interview with MFF. How is the work on the Armani Foundation progressing? What will your role be in defining the future of the group? "It is a job that we do not advertise, but that I carry on with great enthusiasm because the future of the group is all there and I want to make sure it is continuous", explained Giorgio Armani himself (see MFF of 24 February).



An exclusive photo for MFF by Giorgio Armani Privè. Ph by Nadine Ottawa
"The stock market is not one of my plans for now", added the creative, "if an Italian luxury holding will ever be born? Individualism is in our DNA, and, in my opinion, that's okay. But in any case the times are very different than they used to be and you never know ». The seeds of reflection had been planted and it is interesting to see that parallelism that is naturally created between the designer's vision and Italian fashion in general: the choice of one anticipates the revolution, it almost becomes a trend for the other. Because something is actually happening on the horizon of the Italian fashion system and at this point the reflection on who could be a worthy accomplice for a possible joint venture under the tricolor flag begins. The insiders have already decreed some bets, starting from the latest operations. But in this case, size matters as Giorgio Armani's group is a real empire. If it is true that many Italian funds are in turmoil (see MFF of 23 March), some names in the squad would automatically exclude themselves due to a problem of size.

Remo Ruffini appears in the pool of eligible names and has just completed the Moncler-Stone Island operation, passing through Renzo Rosso and the recent acquisition with Jil Sander, creating his own polo shirt. But the real buzz has a four-lettered sound, Exor. The holding of the Agnelli family has in fact just won 24% of the Christian Louboutin brand, valuing it over 2 billion (see MFF of 9 March). It is his second fashion foray in a few months, after the transaction concluded in December by investing 80 million euros with Hermès in Shang Xia, a Chinese luxury label. Many in the financial community have started dreaming of a new Elkann-led Italian luxury hub. But sources close to the operation contacted at that time by MFF were quick to dampen the enthusiasm, arguing that it was only a good investment opportunity. What is certain is that Exor, which represents one of the major centers in Europe with majority shares in reality including Ferrari, Fiat Chryslerautomobiles, Cnh Industrial and Juventus, would seem a more than suitable name for resources and profile. Armani himself spoke of a group not necessarily a fashion company. Surely, if this operation ever takes place, it would sanction the birth of a new dynasty of Made in Italy.

>>> Europe : Brokers Upgrades & Downgrades - 2nd to 6th of April 2021 V2(+)

>>> Up
* Dustin Raised to Buy at SEB Equities; PT 101 kronor
* Freeport Raised to Outperform at Raymond James; PT $41
* Harbour Energy PLC Raised to Hold at Peel Hunt; PT 21 pence
* Hikma Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 2,600 pence
* Leonardo Raised to Overweight at Morgan Stanley; PT 8.30 euros
* Mapfre Raised to Overweight at JPMorgan; PT 1.98 euros
* Stratec Raised to Hold at M.M. Warburg; PT 112 euros (+)
* Tesla Raised to Outperform at Wedbush; PT $1,000
* TF1 Raised to Buy at Goldman; PT 10.20 euros

>>> Down
* Apple’s PT Cut at Morgan Stanley on Peer Valuation Compression
* Atos Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 57 euros
* Atos Cut to Hold at HSBC; PT 68 euros
* B2Holding Cut to Hold at Pareto Securities; PT 9 kroner
* Chevron Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT $113
* Elettra Investimenti Cut to Hold at UBI Banca; PT 10.60 euros
* Elisa Cut to Hold at SEB Equities; PT 56 euros
* Grupo Catalana Occidente Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 35 euros
* Gulf Keystone Petroleum Cut to Hold at Berenberg; PT 190 pence
* ITV Cut to Neutral at Goldman; PT 135 pence
* Mitchells & Butlers Cut to Neutral at JPMorgan; PT 310 pence
* Solutions 30 Cut to Neutral at Oddo BHF; PT 17 euros
* Telenor Cut to Equal-Weight at Barclays; PT 160 kroner
* Vestas Cut to Hold at Deutsche Bank; PT 1,400 kroner
* YIT Cut to Hold at Handelsbanken; PT 4.80 euros

>>> Initiation
* AB InBev ADRs Rated New Buy at Northeast Securities; PT $74.22
* Banco BPM Reinstated Buy at SocGen; PT 2.85 euros
* BPER Banca Reinstated Hold at SocGen; PT 2 euros
* Horizonte Minerals Rated New Buy at Cormark Securities
* Ordina Rated New Outperform at Oddo BHF; PT 5.40 euros (+)
* Tryg Reinstated Buy at Nordea; PT 185 kroner
* VW Rated New Overweight at Guotai Junan Sec

>>> Call
* AB InBev Momentum Building, Stock Not Expensive: Jefferies
* Capgemini’s ‘Stars Are Aligned,’ Deutsche Bank Boosts PT (+)
* Electrolux Valuation Full, Market Close to Peaking, Citi Says
* Hikma Upgraded at Morgan Stanley on Upcoming Launch Catalysts
* Leonardo De-Leveraging Potential Gets Upgrade at Morgan Stanley
* Sampo to Cut Nordea Stake When Lockup Ends in May: Berenberg (+)
* Spectris Earnings Estimates Raised on Concurrent Deal: Jefferies (+)
* U.K. Banks Rally May Have More Room To Run, Morgan Stanley Says (+)

>>> Stoxx 600 Pre-Market Indications

  • TUI (TUI1 TH) +4.8%
    • Watch Airlines, Tour Operators With U.K. Travel Restart in Doubt
  • Orsted (D2G TH) +4.6%
  • Vestas (VWS TH) +4%
    • Vestas Downgraded to Hold, Deutsche Bank Sees Slow Start to Year
  • Sinch (1I9 TH) +3.9%
  • Rolls-Royce (RRU TH) +3.7%
  • BAT (BMT TH) +3.5%
  • Carnival Plc (POH1 TH) +3.4%
  • BHP Group Plc (BIL TH) +3.3%
  • BAE (BSP TH) +3.2%
    • BAE Secures U.K. Maritime Support Program Contracts Worth >GBP1b
  • EDP Renovaveis (EDW TH) +3.2%
  • Ambu (547A TH) -0.9%
  • Mowi (PND TH) -1.1%
  • WPP (0WP TH) -1.2%
  • Nokia (NOA3 TH) -1.3%
  • AstraZeneca (ZEG TH) -1.4%
  • IAG (INR TH) -1.5%
    • Market Chatter: Former British Airways Head in Running for CEO Position at SAS
  • Pandora (3P7 TH) -2.2%
  • EQT (6EQ TH) -2.4%
  • Metso Outotec (M6Q TH) -2.6%
  • H&M (HMSB TH) -3.2%
    • H&M’s Troubles in Asia Compound Over ‘Problematic’ Map of Region

>>> TradeGate Pre-Market Indications

DAX:
  • SAP (SAP TH) +2.8%
    • Google to Stop Using Oracle Finance Software & Adopt SAP: CNBC
  • Adidas (ADS TH) +1.7%
  • VW (VOW3 TH) +1.6%
  • Infineon (IFX TH) +1.5%
  • BMW (BMW TH) +1.5%
MDAX:
  • TAG Immobilien (TEG TH) +2.3%
  • Thyssenkrupp (TKA TH) +2.1%
  • Fraport (FRA TH) +2%
  • Cancom (COK TH) +1.8%
  • Telefonica Deutschland (O2D TH) +1.8%
SDAX:
  • Deutz (DEZ TH) +4.1%
  • Takkt (TTK TH) +3.7%
  • RTL (RRTL TH) +3.6%
  • Global Fashion Group (GFG TH) +2.2%
  • DWS (DWS TH) +2.2%
  • SAF-Holland SE (SFQ TH) -1.5%
  • Borussia Dortmund (BVB TH) -6.5%

WSJ : U.S. and Iran Agree to Resume Talks on Nuclear Deal

U.S. and Iran Agree to Resume Talks on Nuclear Deal
President Biden has said he wants the U.S. to return to the deal that U.S. exited in 2018

The United States and Iran will take part in talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, the most extensive effort to shore up the accord since President Biden took office in January, diplomats said Friday.

Senior officials from all participants in the accord—Iran, France, Germany, the U.K., Russia, China and the European Union, as well as top U.S. officials—will gather in the Austrian capital starting Tuesday.

For now, Iran has ruled out direct talks on nuclear matters with the U.S. However both countries will attend the gathering, which is aimed at breaking a stalemate over Iranian compliance with the agreement and U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

A face-to-face meeting between officials from the two countries over the nuclear agreement would be the first since late 2017, months before the Trump administration withdrew from the deal in May 2018.

President Biden has said he wants the U.S. to return to the deal, which placed strict but temporary limits on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for a suspension of international sanctions on Tehran.

The Vienna meeting will aim at drawing up two separate agreements, one with the U.S. and with Iran, on steps they will take to return to the agreement and timetables for returning. After senior officials from the various countries launch the discussions, they will leave nuclear and sanctions experts to hammer out the details of the work.

The Biden administration is sending a team of experts to Vienna, though the State Department hasn’t said if Rob Malley, the U.S. special envoy for Iran, will attend.

“This is a first step,” Mr. Malley said Friday on Twitter. “Difficult discussions ahead but on the right path.”

Over the past few weeks, Washington and Tehran have exchanged proposals through European intermediaries on the initial steps each might take, European and U.S. officials said.

But those diplomatic efforts have been frustrated by lingering distrust between the two sides, the difficulty of negotiating technical issues through third parties and divisions within the Iranian ranks, the officials said.

On Friday morning, the remaining participants in the deal spoke via videoconference. In a statement, the EU chair of the body which oversees the nuclear accord confirmed negotiations will take place in Vienna the next week.

The goal is to make headway before Tehran holds presidential elections in June, a milestone that could lead to a new Iranian negotiating team and more delays—and before Iran takes further steps to expand its nuclear efforts and limit international monitoring.

A senior EU official said it would likely take weeks to agree on a timetable for the U.S. and Iran to return to the deal, but that he hoped the discussions could be wrapped up by late May.

It will take additional time to implement any agreement, meaning a possible full return to compliance with the agreement may not happen before a new Iranian president takes office.

“There are really significant technical and really significant political constraints on both sides,” said Henry Rome, senior Iran analyst at Eurasia Group in Washington. “I think ultimately there is enough interest on both sides for making this happen, but we shouldn’t underestimate the challenge of getting to yes.”

The current stalemate stems from disputes that arose in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, describing it as seriously flawed. He called for a new pact halting all nuclear enrichment in Iran, stopping Iran’s development of nuclear-capable missiles and ending Tehran’s support for militant groups.

Iran began to exceed the limits of the nuclear deal in July 2019 and in January said that it had started to produce 20% enriched uranium. In February, a U.N. atomic agency report said Iran began to produce a small amount of uranium metal, which is barred under the accord. Former officials say those steps appeared calculated to increase pressure on Washington to remove sanctions without collapsing the entire 2015 deal.

Biden administration officials have said they hope to use a restored deal as a basis for a follow-on arrangement that would impose more enduring limits on Iran’s nuclear activities and deal with Tehran’s ballistic missile program.

Iran began to exceed the limits of the nuclear deal in July 2019 and in January said that it had started to produce 20% enriched uranium, steps that former officials say appeared calculated to increase pressure on Washington to remove sanctions without collapsing the entire 2015 deal.

On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Iran will only move back into compliance with the deal once the U.S. lifts its sanctions. He also dismissed the prospect of direct U.S. talks.

“No Iran-US meeting. Unnecessary,” he said on Twitter.

In the two months that Mr. Biden has held office, the talks have been through a series of dizzying twists and turns.

European nations that were party to the agreement on Feb. 18 proposed talks at which U.S. and Iranian officials would meet face to face.

But the Iranians refused to meet with the Americans, saying that initial steps to revive the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, should be agreed upon first.

“They messaged us that maybe the best thing would be for each side to make an initial gesture that would pave the way to those talks,” a senior U.S. official said, referring to communications passed through intermediaries. “They wanted some sanctions relief and in return they would reverse some nuclear steps they had taken in contravention of the JCPOA. It was their idea, and we went along.”

Contacts continued between Washington and Tehran, which ran through the other participants in the deal. But when the U.S. proposed some initial steps to unfreeze funds or ease sanctions in return for Iran moves to constrain its nuclear activities, Tehran rejected them as insufficient.

According to Western officials involved in the talks, the first push for a breakthrough came within two weeks, when the three European powers suggested to Tehran, after discussions with Washington, an arrangement that would deliver Iran $1 billion in frozen oil revenue from South Korea that would be used to buy humanitarian items.

This would be in exchange for an initial step by Tehran to freeze the most dangerous of its nuclear proliferation steps, the production of 20% enriched uranium.

Tehran rejected the proposal and demanded that the U.S. unfreeze all of Iran’s export revenue frozen abroad—estimated to be well over $30 billion—in exchange for a month-long pause of its production of 20% enriched uranium. That idea was a nonstarter in Washington.

In recent days, another U.S.-approved offer was floated to Iran. The proposal, earlier reported by Politico, was for Iran to halt its production of 20% enriched uranium and stop work on advanced centrifuges, the machines used to enrich uranium.

In exchange, Washington would allow some frozen funds to return to Iran and issue waivers that would make it possible for Iran to legally export some of its oil. The offer was quickly rejected by Tehran.

On the Iranian side, returning to full compliance would involve setting out clear goal posts for diluting, disposing of or shipping abroad several tons of enriched uranium, including 20% material; shutting down work on uranium metal taking place in a new site and shuttering new underground storage facilities for more advanced centrifuges.

Iran’s work on advanced centrifuges is of special concern because it could allow Iran to move far more swiftly to amass enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon.

The U.S. will have to work out when to suspend the key energy, banking and economic sanctions created before the 2015 deal. Just as politically complicated: It has to decide which of the hundreds of additional Trump administration sanctions listings, frequently for terror designations, it will keep.

FT : UK government takes tough line on bailout requests for Eurostar

UK government takes tough line on bailout requests for Eurostar
Ministers insist struggling train operator should look to shareholders to ease its plight

The government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson is resisting requests for a UK bailout of struggling train operator Eurostar, with ministers insisting that the company should look to its shareholders to ease its plight.

Eurostar is at risk of bankruptcy following a collapse in revenue after passenger numbers plunged during the pandemic.

UK ministers are said to be taking a tough line. One UK official briefed on the situation said: “The tunnel and the rolling stock are there. Someone would take them on, even if the company went to the wall. There’s no appetite for bailing them out at all.”

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in May 2020 a scheme called Project Birch to help strategically important companies but only where “viable companies have exhausted all options”.

Eurostar has £400m loans that are due by June, although they can be extended, say people familiar with the matter. The company called for rescue funds from the UK government in January, when it said there had been a 95 per cent decline in passenger numbers since March 2020. 

But the UK government has maintained that the French state and private shareholders should be primarily responsible for any rescue, with both France and the UK reluctant to move first and lose negotiating power.

The UK sold its stake in Eurostar in 2015, leaving the French government with a majority 55 per cent stake via the state-owned railway SNCF, and Belgium 5 per cent. 

A senior official in Paris said the French government expected shareholders and creditors to make an additional effort before any state aid could be put on the table.

The official added that a solution for Eurostar would have to be found by this summer, and that as it stands France still expects the UK to participate if needed but there had been no high-level political contacts with the British so far.

Shareholders, including the Canadian pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec and Hermes Infrastructure have already put in more than €200m during the crisis. 

SNCF told the Financial Times in March that Eurostar will need new money in “weeks not months” to fend off a looming cash crunch and that both the French and UK governments were in advanced discussions about how to help the company. 

Eurostar and the UK government have held talks over a possible state-backed commercial loan worth £60m to help it through the crisis, but they are yet to yield any results. One person close to the talks said the discussions had not concluded, and there has not yet been a definitive refusal from the government. 

Eurostar owns and runs the trains that travel on high-speed lines between the UK and France, Belgium and the Netherlands but does not own any of the infrastructure it uses, including the Channel Tunnel itself. 

Its chief executive Jacques Damas told the FT last month he was “fed up” with the French and UK governments’ refusal to take responsibility for helping the company. 

Eurostar and shareholders SNCF, Hermes and CDPQ declined to comment.

FT : Italian and French banks revive ‘doom loop’ fears with bond buying

Italian and French banks revive ‘doom loop’ fears with bond buying
Exposure to own countries’ sovereign debt reawakens concern over faultline in Europe’s monetary union

Italian and French banks’ exposure to the sovereign debt of their own countries has hit record highs since the pandemic started, reviving fears about the sector’s links to increasingly indebted governments.

Domestic government securities and loans held by eurozone banks rose more than €140bn to just over €2.1tn in the year to February, according to Financial Times calculations based on data from the European Central Bank.

The exposure of Italian banks to domestic government debt hit a record €712bn last August, up more than 9 per cent from February and dipping only slightly since then. French banks had the sharpest post-pandemic rise in their exposure to their own government, which climbed to a record €431bn in September, a jump of more than 18 per cent since February.

The strengthening of ties binding banks to their national governments has reawakened concerns over a faultline in Europe’s monetary union that was exposed during the region’s sovereign debt crisis a decade ago.

At that time, banks’ vast domestic sovereign debt exposure created a “doom loop”, as a vicious circle between private sector lenders and governments weakened each other and ultimately threatened the existence of the single currency zone.


“Sovereign risk on bank balance sheets has still not been tackled, in contrast to other risk mitigation measures introduced by the [eurozone] banking union,” said Heike Mai, banks analyst at Deutsche Bank. “It remains the elephant in the room. The current pandemic with its surge in public debt highlights the need for reform.”

The region’s sovereign-bank connection is back on the agenda in Brussels as the European Commission is conducting a public consultation to examine potential reforms of the EU’s financial crisis management tools and bank deposit insurance framework. 

“The increase in liabilities going between banks and governments is worrying to me and policymakers should look to address it,” said Nicolas Véron, a senior fellow at the Bruegel think-tank in Brussels. “But the risk seems a bit beyond the horizon that keeps policymakers awake nowadays.”

Eurozone governments have issued a record amount of bonds in the past year to fund their pandemic response, sending indebtedness in the bloc above 100 per cent of gross domestic product for the first time.

But huge bond-buying by the European Central Bank has driven down borrowing costs for eurozone governments close to all-time lows, combined with the EU’s agreement on a recovery fund to provide €750bn of grants and loans to the hardest-hit countries. 


“Banks have to respond to the issuance of bonds by the state because they feel it is a good investment to hold in terms of risk and they are encouraged to do so to maintain liquidity,” said Jacques de Larosière, a former head of the IMF and Banque de France.

Banking regulations treat sovereign debt as a risk-free investment for banks, allowing them to allocate zero capital against such assets. By borrowing money from the ECB as cheaply as minus 1 per cent, there is an easy “carry trade” for banks to make money from buying government bonds.

Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, chair of French bank Société Générale, said regulators may be incentivising lenders to buy government bonds by allowing only those with high capital levels to restart dividend payments. “Banks may want to invest mainly in safe assets to protect capital levels in view of the message coming from regulators,” he added.

While eurozone banks’ exposure to their own governments’ debt had been declining since Greece’s final international bailout in 2015, it started to rise again after the pandemic hit a year ago — particularly at Italian and French lenders.

Amounting to 18 per cent of their total assets and almost double their total capital, Italian banks have much higher exposure to their own government debt than others in Europe. 

The Banca d’Italia said the share of the country’s government bonds owned by foreign investors fell from 25.9 to 23.6 per cent in the first six months of last year, while Italian banks increased their share from 16.9 to 18.6 per cent.

French banks’ domestic sovereign exposure is still well below the eurozone average at only 4 per cent of their total assets and two-thirds of their capital.