After Hours Summary: ETH +12% gains on Q1 outlook update while VYGR -12% drops on regulatory update for VY-HTT01 programAfter Hours Gainers:
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: ETH +12.0% (issued upside Q1 guidance)
Companies trading higher in after hours in reaction to news: IVA +11.3% (received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for lanifibranor in NASH), DIS +5.4% (announced strategic reorganization of media and entertainment businesses to accelerate DTC strategy), EXC +5.1% (Bloomberg report suggests co is evaluating potential spin of non-utility assets), SRNE +3.2% (announced exclusive license agreement with Personalized Stem Cells for rights to mesenchymal stem cell program), WSM +1.6% (increased dividend, resumed share repurchases, and paid down $500 mln revolver)
After Hours Losers:
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to earnings/guidance: N/A
Companies trading lower in after hours in reaction to news: VYGR -11.8% (notified by FDA of clinical hold for IND submission for VY-HTT01)
Closing Stock Market SummaryThe S&P 500 rose 1.6% on Monday in a steady advance driven by the mega-cap stocks. The Nasdaq Composite outperformed with a 2.6% gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.9%) and Russell 2000 (+0.7%) underperformed with gains under 1.0%.
Apple (AAPL 124.42, +7.45, +6.4%) and Amazon (AMZN 3442.93, +156.28, +4.8%) stood out with impressive gains in anticipation of their iPhone 12 and Prime Day events on Tuesday. Those were the attributed catalysts, but the stimulus impasse in Washington may have also contributed to the transition of recent leadership to the mega-caps from the cyclical stocks.
Accordingly, the S&P 500 information technology (+2.7%), communication services (+2.4%), and consumer discretionary (+2.2%) sectors, which are home to the mega-caps, finished atop the sector standings. No other sector outperformed the benchmark index, and the materials sector (-0.2%) closed lower.
Briefly recapping the latest on stimulus, House Democrats and Republican Senators rejected the $1.8 trillion offer from the White House for different reasons. Based on the relatively broad-based advance in the market, investors presumably remained in agreement that a deal will eventually be reached, either under the current administration or new leadership in 2021.
The financials sector (+1.1%), undeterred by the lack of deal, had a solid outing ahead of earnings reports from several big banks tomorrow morning. Elsewhere, PepsiCo (PEP 142.13, +3.69, +2.7%) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citigroup, and Twilio (TWLO 329.72, +23.48, +7.7%) agreed to acquire Segment for approximately $3.2 billion in stock.
With the U.S. Treasury market closed for Columbus Day, commentary mainly focused on the bullish price action in equities. Consequently, it's reasonable to believe that a fear of missing out on further gains was another factor that fueled the positive momentum in the market. The S&P 500 closed within 1.5% of its all-time high.
WTI crude futures fell 3.1%, or $1.26, to $39.34/bbl. The U.S. Dollar Index finished flat at 93.05.
Investors did not receive any economic data on Monday. Looking ahead, the Consumer Price Index for September, the Treasury Budget for September, and the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index for September are scheduled for Tuesday. Note, the September Treasury Budget is often delayed to allow more time for fiscal year end reconciliation.
- Nasdaq Composite +32.4% YTD
- S&P 500 +9.4% YTD
- Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.1% YTD
- Russell 2000 -1.2% YTD
Ex-Wirecard clients scramble to process payments in Singapore
Regulator’s decision to stop the German payment group’s local operations disrupts businesses
Businesses across Singapore have been left scrambling to process payments for everything from hotel stays to telephone bills after the city-state’s regulator shut down the payment services of fraudulent German group Wirecard.
Cafés, restaurants, hotels and mobile network providers were left with no payment processing systems after the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the de facto central bank, late last month ordered Wirecard to cease payment services in the city-state.
Some banks in Singapore had advised their clients to consider switching payment processors after the disgraced German fintech filed for insolvency in June. The MAS that month pointed to “alternative payment service providers available to merchants” and the day it ordered Wirecard to terminate operations said: “Customers who have not yet made alternative arrangements are encouraged to do so promptly.”
But many businesses were caught off guard and now, almost two weeks later, are asking customers to make payments via bank transfers, cash or external digital platforms.
“On October 1 it [Wirecard’s payment terminal] stopped working,” said an employee at Paul, the French café chain, adding that Wirecard’s shutdown led it to lose some customers. “Some go to the ATM [to get cash] and never come back.” Paul declined to comment.
Capella Singapore — the five-star hotel that hosted the 2018 summit between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un — was also a Wirecard customer.
While “the shutdown was certainly disruptive” it did not lead to the hotel losing customers, Capella said, adding that it had “received no prior warning” about Wirecard’s interruption.
Capella clients may now pay using cash, bank or digital fund transfers as well as online credit card platforms. The hotel has shortlisted Singaporean bank UOB to reinstate credit card payments.
Wirecard services were widely used in the city-state, with thousands of merchants across the island operating the German group’s payment terminals.
The fintech’s competitive pricing helped make it popular. “Wirecard was the cheapest,” said the Paul employee. “That’s why everyone had it. Wirecard charged 2 to 3 cents per [card] transaction [while] others charge [up to] 20 to 30 cents.”
Once the darling of Germany’s fintech sector, Wirecard collapsed after admitting that about €1.9bn in cash was missing from its accounts. The Financial Times last year reported allegations of fraud at Wirecard’s Asia headquarters in Singapore, prompting a police raid at the company’s offices and the launch of a criminal investigation.
“The sudden cessation of Wirecard . . . took everyone by surprise,” said M1, a Singaporean telecommunications company which has sent out texts asking customers to pay bills via its app given recurring monthly payments were temporarily unavailable after Wirecard’s shutdown. Clients may also use digital payment platforms or fund transfers. M1 expects to resume credit card bill payments in two weeks via a local bank and a new payment processor.
“It is a hassle,” said a Singapore-based commercial manager and M1 customer. “Pretty much all the normal utility bills you have set up to automatically debit on your card have been stopped.”
In 2017, Wirecard acquired 20,000 merchant clients of Citibank, spread over 11 Asia-Pacific countries, in an ambitious deal that was intended to make the company a household name across the region. Citigroup has said it exited the business globally.
Neles/Valmet: buy valve anatomy
Swedish group looks to veto Alfa-Laval’s $2bn bid for Finnish engineer
Neles must wish it could stick one of its emergency valves into its own takeover. These shut everything off when pressure mounts too high. The Finnish engineer has agreed to a $2bn bid from Alfa-Laval. But Valmet, the deadly rival of the Swedish industrial goods group, is trying to shove a spanner in the works. This takes the form of a fat shareholding in its compatriot Neles.
Such “blocking stakes” can allow the owner to veto takeovers of the hapless issuer. Valmet’s has the classic form of just under 30 per cent of Neles acquired on the market. Any more, and Valmet would have to launch a full offer. Instead, chief executive Pasi Laine evidently hopes to drive Alfa-Laval away and transact a merger with Neles paid for mainly in shares.
It does not matter that Valmet’s approach has been heavy on rhetoric while lacking such crucial detail as a share exchange ratio. To make a full takeover, Alfa-Laval needs the support of investors with two-thirds of Neles’s equity — difficult to get with Valmet squatting on the share register.
Large, diversified Alfa-Laval offered €11.5 for each Neles share in August, a 33 per cent premium to the undisturbed price. That valued Neles at over 25 times two-year forward earnings. The deal would give Alfa-Laval exposure to the fragmented industrial valve sector, while its financial firepower would accelerate Neles’s growth plans.
Valmet is smaller and works mostly for Scandinavian pulp and paper manufacturers. A full cash bid would be too expensive, so equity is the main deal currency. The pro forma contribution from Neles to the bottom line of a combined group would be just one-fifth of the total. But on current market values, Neles shareholders might own 35 per cent of the merged business.
Mr Laine must hope to strike a deal somewhere between those two price points — if he can send Alfa packing. Minority investors should demand a share premium at least as generous as Alfa-Laval’s cash offer. Finland’s takeover code meanwhile merits re-plumbing to discourage siege tactics.
Unilever’s London-base move approved by shareholders
FTSE 100 group could face €11bn exit fee for leaving Netherlands
Shareholders have backed Unilever’s plans to become a London-based company, a significant step in the consumer group’s attempts to simplify its corporate structure.
However, the FTSE 100 company must still overcome growing support for a bill that would hit the Anglo-Dutch group with an €11bn exit fee for leaving the Netherlands.
Unilever on Monday said that more than 99 per cent of investors in its UK arm had voted to base the group in London. It came three weeks after the group’s Dutch shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the move.
A successful move to London would end the dual structure of the business that has been in place since Unilever’s formation from the merger of a Dutch margarine company and British soap maker Lever Brothers more than 90 years ago.
Two years ago, the company failed in its bid to transfer its entire business to the Netherlands.
Unilever said it planned to unify on November 29, but growing political support for a Dutch law that would hit multinationals leaving the Netherlands with billions in exit taxes could still scupper the plans.
Last week, the Green party in the Netherlands said it would press ahead with a vote on a private members bill which, if approved, would impose a retroactive €11bn exit fee on Unilever for choosing to relocate to the UK.
Unilever said earlier this year that if the initiative became law, the company would be forced to reverse its decision to relocate from Rotterdam. The planned law is designed to penalise companies with revenues of more than €750m that depart from the Netherlands for low-tax jurisdictions.
To become law, the measure needs to be passed by a majority in both houses of the Dutch parliament — a bar it may struggle to cross — and a process that could play out over many months.
Bart Snels, the Green MP in charge of devising the exit law, said on Friday that he would not withdraw the bill despite key independent legal advice suggesting the initiative would violate EU law.
Warren Ackerman, analyst at Barclays, said Unilever “ought to be concerned” if a vote on the bill is scheduled, as Green party representatives “know that if the vote succeeds, Unilever’s legal entity will remain in the Netherlands”.
“They also know that in 2018, Unilever suspended its last unification attempt, so there is also a precedent of Unilever changing its mind relatively quickly as circumstances dictate,” he added.
The Dutch government had originally tried to woo the group by scrapping a dividend tax on big companies, but retreated after a public backlash in 2018. Unilever was around the same time forced to drop plans to unify the company into a Rotterdam-based structure, following pressure from shareholders.
Silicon Valley Pay Cuts Ignite Tech-Industry Covid-19 Tensions
Bay Area staffers move to less-costly locales to work remotely in pandemic, triggering cost-of-living salary reductions and stoking debate
Tech workers fleeing the San Francisco Bay Area to work remotely amid the pandemic are facing a new reality: pay cuts.
Over the past several months, Covid-19 has shaken traditional notions of where employees can work. In Silicon Valley, which has a relatively high cost of living and an employee base with access to state-of-the-art remote-work tools, companies are devising plans for a future with decentralized staffs. In some cases, changes can include cutting salaries by 15% or more depending on where someone moves.
The nascent pay-cut movement stands to create tension between some of the most profitable companies in the world and skilled employees who enjoy high salaries.
Companies point out that changing pay based on the local cost of living is standard practice for many organizations, including the federal government—with decisions to raise or lower salaries related to housing costs and other factors. Letting someone take a San Francisco salary to Wyoming could be considered unfair to present and future remote hires in cheaper cities who might receive a lower wage.
But Silicon Valley companies have spent years going beyond standard corporate norms to endear themselves to their workers. In an era where companies rain free food, massages and yoga studios on their software engineers, the cold rationality of geography-based pay risks alienating employees used to being courted.
“If anyone should be standing up for high pay, equal pay and great talent, it should be these companies—I find it to be pretty hypocritical,” said Jason Fried, chief executive of Basecamp LLC, a Chicago-based maker of workplace software that has a remote workforce. Tech companies are so profitable they can easily afford to do what is right, he said. “You’re hiring a person and the skills they bring.”
In May, Facebook Inc. FB +2.12% said it was shifting toward a substantially remote workforce over the next decade and that location would affect compensation. A spokeswoman for Facebook declined to share any salary data by market. Twitter Inc., TWTR +3.53% among the first to announce it would allow employees to work remotely permanently, has said it has a competitive approach to pay localization.
More companies have followed suit. Microsoft Corp. MSFT +1.45% said last week that it will let some employees work remotely on a permanent basis, according to a blog post. Some will be allowed to move domestically in the U.S., pending approval, but benefits and pay might change based on the company’s compensation scale by location.
Payments company Stripe Inc. has started offering employees leaving San Francisco, New York or Seattle a one-time bonus of $20,000 to relocate, but they would have to take a pay cut of as much as 10%. For employees at VMware Inc., a cloud software provider, moving from the Bay Area to Denver could mean a cut of as much as 18%.
From the corporate perspective, salary reductions based on geography are a matter of simple logic. The Bay Area is far more expensive than Boise, Idaho, or Topeka, Kan.—and anyone moving to a low-cost city would have trouble finding a local job that pays San Francisco wages.
Adjusting pay based on local costs has long been a policy at companies such as software provider GitLab Inc., which had a fully remote staff before the pandemic. The company lets employees calculate on its website how much more or less they would be paid in a certain city.
But as remote work becomes a large-scale, long-term practice amid Covid-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus, some hiring consultants and headhunters are questioning the idea that salaries should be tailored to a cost-of-living calculator. They resist the notion employees should be paid less to do the same job—even if the work is done from a lower-cost location.
Sherveen Mashayekhi, CEO of Free Agency, a tech talent agency representing clients primarily in the Bay Area, New York and Los Angeles, has been advising his clients to negotiate if they are forced to take a salary reduction to relocate to a less-expensive city.
One of Mr. Mashayekhi’s clients is a product manager at Facebook who is planning to leave the Bay Area. Concerned about his long-term earning potential if he took a pay cut to move, he used his potential relocation to jump-start a conversation about a promotion to offset any reduction. The client declined to comment through Mr. Mashayekhi, citing continuing negotiations.
Mr. Mashayekhi said he doesn’t view one-time bonuses like the one Stripe offered as good for workers in the long term.
The impact on careers “is quite negative,” he said, if the overall pay band for engineers decreases by a range of 10% to 20% over the next several years because of relocations tied to remote work.
It is still early to know the volume of people who have left the Bay Area or what is happening to wages across the industry as they leave. Some companies, such as Facebook, have asked employees to notify the companies of plans to move by Jan. 1. According to the preliminary results of an October survey of 240 U.S. tech companies by tech consulting firm Sequoia, 33% are undecided about their policies for employees who relocate permanently. About 22% of those surveyed said they are readjusting salaries and 20% said they won’t.
The move to cut pay also can backfire on employers. Kevin Akeroyd, CEO of the contingent-workforce-management company PRO Unlimited and a former executive at several large tech companies, said cutting pay for workers who want to move to cheaper areas can lead to unhappy workers who quit in high numbers.
Still, the idea makes sense to many. A September survey by Blind, a platform for employees to discuss their jobs anonymously, found that of more than 5,500 workers nationwide, 44% would be open to a pay cut if moving to a city with a lower cost of living, while 48% said they wouldn’t be. About two-thirds of Blind’s users work in the tech industry.
“The cost of living usually falls more than the paycheck,” said Brian Kropp, research chief of the human-resources practice at Gartner Inc. Even with a 10% or 20% pay cut, software engineers can still live a far more lavish life in Austin, Texas, or Nashville, Tenn., than in San Francisco.
Mr. Kropp said when employees have a negative response to the practice, it is often “more emotional than rational.”
Bruno Le Maire, a minister in the Suez backwaterINVESTIGATION - The Minister of the Economy, by failing to impose the line of the State shareholder, suffered a failure in the Suez file.By Bertille Bayart(Le Figaro)The battle for water has turned into a fist fight. A great mess of which it would be illusory to pretend to have been the organizer. Last Monday, the Engie group sold 29.9% of the capital of Suez to its competitor Veolia . Against the will of the Suez group. Against the advice of its own largest shareholder, the State. In Bercy, Bruno Le Maire must take his loss.“It's a shipwreck,” comments a banker, “Bruno Le Maire comes out weakened. And the State as a shareholder with it ”. Half of the Parisian business microcosm fell on the back of the Minister of the Economy for failing to save Suez from the trap set by Veolia. The other half accuses him of having meddled in what did not concern him and of having put sticks in the wheels of Veolia. "He had only the choice between bad solutions anyway," says one expert."READ ALSO - Bruno Le Maire:" Suez-Veolia-Engie, that everyone take their responsibilities "Failing to have won, to have found a compromise that would have put Suez and Veolia in agreement, Bruno Le Maire is putting panache in the defeat. Villepin comes out of this body! "It was the honor of the State" to refuse this operation under these conditions, said the former adviser to the Prime Minister of Jacques Chirac. And if it had to be done again, he "will do it again (t)". Because we "do not set an ultimatum to the Minister of the Economy", and above all, we "do not twist the arm of the State", he often repeated to his interlocutors during these weeks of negotiations ."Veolia was well aware of this side ... whimsical, a little chivalrous, of the character", smiles a good connoisseur of the file. “ When studying the previous Renault-Fiat-Chrysler , it was obvious that he was capable of going all the way. It was an element to take into account in the tactics ”. In June 2019, Bruno Le Maire had demanded a deadline to examine the marriage of the two manufacturers, refusing the part of hostility towards his Japanese partner Nissan that Renault's tactics assumed. The State shareholder of Losange (15% of the capital) had thus torpedoed the project of the French group. Road roller strategyIs it for this reason that Antoine Frérot, CEO of Veolia, first secured the support of the Prime Minister? When he revealed his project, on the evening of Sunday, August 30, it is in any case the prior information from Matignon that is put forward in the communication of the giant of water and waste. An originality which does not escape the place of Paris. “When we are preparing a merger-acquisition operation, we talk about it at the Élysée and Bercy. The first line is there. Matignon is on principle, and if we have the time, ”explains an investment banker. Jean Castex's attachment to the territories is one element of the explanation: Veolia had to deal from the outset with the concerns that would certainly arise among local elected officials, who are primarily interested in the future of their service providers."READ ALSO - Antoine Frérot (Veolia):" We can reach an agreement with Suez "Bruno Le Maire, he had met Antoine Frérot on Friday 28. At the Élysée, it is Secretary General Alexis Kohler who is in the loop. The State is seduced by the check that Veolia plans to sign to Engie. It would be - finally! - a clarification of the strategy of the energy group whose hesitation vis-à-vis Suez, the former Lyonnaise des Eaux, gave rise in 2018 to the worst arbitration: the status quo. And Antoine Frérot promises a "super world champion" to France. He prevents the withdrawal of Engie from opening the door to Suez to "funds or investors not very presentable", implying not French, as a senior official said.On September 3, during the presentation of the recovery plan, Jean Castex evokes an operation "which makes sense". In business grammar, on the measurement scale between benevolent neutrality and overt support, these words are powerful. Result: everyone hears the “yes” of the state, but not the “ifs”. The conditions - employment, competition… - set by the State are hardly raised. Besides, the Prime Minister does not insist on the necessary dialogue between the two companies. This point, raised in August in a note from the State Participation Agency and underlined by Bruno Le Maire who is concerned about a hostile operation between two French industrialists, takes a back seat. For a time.At Suez, the president, Philippe Varin , and the managing director, Bertrand Camus , are stunned by the offensive of Veolia, despite all the warning signs. Stunned too. Veolia seems to have already crisscrossed the field. The CEO of the Caisse des Dépôts, Éric Lombard, welcomes the idea of a new world champion. The insurer CNP, controlled by the Post Office, is enlisted by the Meridiam fund, an ally of Veolia to take over the “water” assets in France, which will be resold for competition reasons. The Minister of Labor, Élisabeth Borne , whose word is still controlled, publicly reassures those who are worried about employment. The associations of elected officials, in particular the powerful Association of Mayors of France of François Baroin, are absent subscribers. Antoine Frérot can carry out his steamroller strategy and defend a project which has, in his eyes, "the force of the obvious". “It's the business of his life. It looks like he has revenge to take, ”comments a person close to the case. "In the middle of the shooting range"However, the beam works, as Édouard Philippe would have said. The more days go by, the more this forced marriage in Suez poses a political problem. Can the State, as a shareholder of Engie, guarantee it? The deputies, under the leadership of Roland Lescure and Eric Woerth, launch hearings. The strange coalition of circumstances that is forming to defend Suez, from Henri Proglio (ex-CEO of Veolia and EDF) to Jean-Louis Borloo, including the former Suez (Jean-Louis Chaussade, received at the Élysée ), and Engie (Gérard Mestrallet), agitates all the networks that Veolia has not yet mobilized. Within the executive, some are convinced, like Antoine Frérot, that time will only worsen the conflict. But as a shareholder, the government cannot trample on the values of responsible capitalism that it has carried high with the Pacte law. The position of the state becomes this: we must negotiate. And it is Bruno Le Maire who is on the front line, "in the middle of the shooting range", describes a person close to the file.»READ ALSO - Engie, Suez, Veolia and the risk of captivating capitalismSEE ALSO - Véolia-Suez: "The State will not give in to any ultimatum", announces Bruno Le MaireThe negotiation is going badly. On September 18, Bruno Le Maire revealed that he was positive for Covid. He who likes to play his meter 90, plant his blue gaze in that of his interlocutor to play the scene of "The State, it's me", must for a week lead this part from home, sick and tired, by phone. At the board of Engie, where it would be necessary to convince that the administrators cannot be satisfied, as one close to the file says, to “look at the pile of gold”, the minister speaks by elements of language and via a young official of the 'Agency for State Interposed Participation. It is not even Martin Vial, the director of the powerful management of Bercy, who sits at Engie, and the deputy post is vacant.The actors shy away. Antoine Frérot snubs the first invitation to a mediation session in Bercy. Affront. Suez bunkerated and resorted to foreign law to create a Dutch foundation protecting its water activity in France. Scandal. Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, boss of Engie, displays his neutrality, but means to the Ardian fund that an offer competing with that of Veolia, which would not be firm and on time, would be unfavorably received. Discomfort. Secret meetings are revealed by press releases. Anger. Sunday October 4, Bruno Le Maire takes a stab at the blood. “I have other things to do!” He shouts to his interlocutors on all sides. Since 7:30 am, he has been calling each other in double call, a luxury intermediary between two companies which in reality already have nothing more to say to each other. Business case lawsuitIn public, Philippe Varin salutes the "courage and commitment" of the minister and Jean-Pierre Clamadieu his "meritorious efforts", Antoine Frérot says he "heard (his) concerns". Behind the scenes, Suez suspects Bercy of driving for Veolia, and Veolia suspects him of driving for Suez… Paris attends the show. “The state is multiple. Everyone would not necessarily be unhappy to see “BLM” crash, ”slips a good connoisseur of the file. The Minister of the Economy is one of the few that the first wave of the epidemic has reinforced. Bercy has become an impregnable fortress, the tenant of which, with an even larger perimeter, has become the minister of "whatever the cost". The Mayor has the State checkbook in his hands, and cultivates his direct working relationship with the Head of State. Enough to refresh relations with the rest of the government, including the Prime Minister.On October 5, until the last minute or so, Bruno Le Maire tries to get an agreement. In vain. Alexis Kohler asks Antoine Frérot for a final delay. The CEO of Veolia is not moving. "A delay to obtain an agreement, it was possible for him", supposes an expert, "but to save the face of the minister and to risk that Suez to profit from it for new diversions, that did not make sense". As the days go by, it is around the table of the board of directors of Suez that positions have become radicalized. A circle of personalities whitewashed by this hostile operation, and, some suspect, motivated by personal agendas. We find Isabelle Kocher, ex-general manager of Engie, for the departure of which Jean-Pierre Clamadieu worked; Anne Lauvergeon, who has scores to settle since her ouster from Areva; Delphine Ernotte, recently renewed as President of France Télévisions, against the advice of the President of the Republic, it is said; and then Brigitte Taittinger, the wife of Jean-Pierre Jouyet who is promoting his memoirs these days and expressing her bitter disappointment with regard to Emmanuel Macron.The Head of State may have stayed very far from the file, he is in the crosshairs. As soon as the operation was voted on by Engie on the evening of the 5th, the business case trial was launched. Arnaud Montebourg is having a great time on the sets. It does not matter if the State voted against the sale, it is suspected of having organized its own impotence to allow this operation for the benefit of Veolia. "We had seen them arrive with their big hooves", slips a close to the file. "From the start, the left has sought to identify all those who have had a bit of proximity with the president."One more reason for Bruno Le Maire not to regret the state's vote on the board of Engie last Monday. If he had abstained or had drawn the consequences of Suez's “intransigence” by rallying to Veolia's offer, the controversy over the “Banana Republic” would have been much more noisy. If he had overturned the table at Engie's to move Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, he would have further destabilized the group.Bruno Le Maire accepts failure. The Head of State does not hold it against him for this episode. The minister has moved on. The health defense council, the new expansion of the solidarity fund, still a few billion to be released to face the crisis ... the week has been busy. The Suez dossier, which promises fierce guerrilla warfare in the weeks or even months to come, is not over. Who knows if he won't come back to his desk? However, says a relative, "the minister has a long memory".Click here to read the article published on the Le Figaro websiteAll rights reserved LE FIGARO-0- Oct / 12/2020 10:32 GMTRecommended StoriesECH10/11Suez: justice suspended the Veolia merger projectDISCLAIMER
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