Reuters - Hollande étrillé par son ancien conseiller Aquilino Morelle

Hollande étrillé par son ancien conseiller Aquilino Morelle

L'ancien conseiller politique de François Hollande Aquilino Morelle étrille, dans une interview au Monde publiée samedi, le chef de l'Etat, un "faux gentil et vrai méchant" qui ne voulait pas exercer le pouvoir mais être "seulement" président de la République. /Photo d'archives/REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
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PARIS (Reuters) - L'ancien conseiller politique de François Hollande Aquilino Morelle étrille, dans une interview au Monde publiée samedi, le chef de l'Etat, un "faux gentil et vrai méchant" qui ne voulait pas exercer le pouvoir mais être "seulement" président de la République.

Aquilino Morelle, qui soutient Arnaud Montebourg dans la course à l'élection présidentielle, profite de la parution prochaine de son livre - "L'Abdication" - pour revenir sur son expérience du pouvoir, trois ans après sa démission sur fond de soupçons de conflits d'intérêts et d'affaire de "cireur de chaussures".

François Hollande a fait dès 2012 "le choix de la résignation", estime l'énarque de 54 ans dans les colonnes du Monde. "Il n’a jamais voulu devenir ce leader d’une nouvelle Europe (...) Il a enterré tout espoir de changement en se résignant à l’austérité, en acceptant, sans véritable renégociation, le pacte budgétaire européen imposé par Merkel et signé par Sarkozy. Ce renoncement inaugural a précédé et déterminé tous les autres."

Après avoir fait planer le doute pendant plusieurs mois, François Hollande a annoncé début décembre qu'il renonçait à briguer un nouveau mandat à l'Elysée, invoquant la nécessité de ne pas diviser davantage la gauche face au danger du "conservatisme" et de l'"extrémisme".

"La vérité est simple et cruelle : François Hollande ne voulait pas exercer le pouvoir ; il voulait seulement être président de la République", estime l'ex-conseiller.

"Ce qui m’a frappé très vite (...) c’est son incapacité à comprendre et à respecter les règles de l’exercice de l’Etat. Il est toujours resté comme extérieur à la fonction présidentielle, qu’il n’a jamais su, ou peut-être voulu, incarner."

"Toutes les qualités de l’homme, celles qui lui ont permis de conquérir le pouvoir, se sont retournées contre lui, une fois à l’Elysée", ajoute-t-il. "Son intelligence ? A force de tout comprendre, il lui est arrivé trop souvent de ne rien décider. Son habileté ? La ruse ne sert plus au pouvoir, il faut alors la force, celle de s’imposer aux autres et aux événements. Son art de 'la synthèse' ? Vain et illusoire quand on est aux commandes, et qu’il faut trancher."

"TRAHI"

Plume de Lionel Jospin à Matignon de 1997 à 2002, Aquilino Morelle, fils d'immigrés espagnols à l'ascension sociale et politique fulgurante, fut l'auteur des discours de François Hollande durant la campagne présidentielle de 2012.

Deux ans après la victoire de ce dernier, il est contraint à la démission en avril 2014 sur fond de soupçons de conflit d'intérêts avec l'industrie pharmaceutique - finalement classés sans suite par la justice - et de révélations sur son train de vie - notamment sur l'entretien de ses chaussures - par Mediapart.

"Ce que je regrette surtout, c’est que le président, que j’ai toujours servi loyalement, se soit abaissé à utiliser cette faute pour se débarrasser de moi", explique Aquilino Morelle au Monde.

"Que pendant un an, alors qu’il avait été mis au courant de ce faux pas, il ne m’ait jamais parlé, jamais tancé. Que pendant un an, il m’ait menti, trahi méthodiquement, me souriant dans le même temps où il organisait mon éviction."

"J’ai commis une faute ? Certainement. Qui n’en commet pas ? Lui a consenti à un coup bas. François Hollande est un faux gentil et un vrai méchant", ajoute-t-il.

A moins de quatre mois de l'élection présidentielle, Aquilino Morelle réaffirme son soutien à l'ex-ministre de l'Economie et candidat à la primaire de la gauche de fin janvier, Arnaud Montebourg, car, "comme des millions de Français de gauche, je suis resté fidèle à l’esprit et aux engagements du discours du Bourget".

Interrogé sur Emmanuel Macron, qui a démissionné du gouvernement Valls pour lancer son mouvement présidentiel "En Marche !", l'ex-conseiller décrit un "homme intelligent et habile" doté d'une "cohérence politique, celle d’un vrai libéral, de l’économie aux questions internationales, en passant par le social et le culturel."

"A ce titre, il est le fils spirituel de François Hollande. Nous verrons bien si ce libéralisme complet et assumé convaincra les Français", ajoute-t-il.

>)>U.S. intel report says Putin directed cyber campaign aimed at helping Trump

U.S. intel report says Putin directed cyber campaign aimed at helping Trump

January 6, 2017 4:11 pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "an influence campaign" in 2016 aimed at the U.S. presidential election with the goal of undermining the democratic process and denigrating Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, a new, declassified intelligence report said on Friday.

"We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," the report said.

"We also assess Putin and the Russian Government aspired to help President-elect Trump’s election chances when possible by discrediting Secretary Clinton and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him," it said.

(Reporting by Warren Strobel and Yara Bayoumy; Editing by James Dalgleish)

>>> US Close Dow +0.32% S&P +0.35% Nasdaq +0.60% Russell -0.34%

Closing Market Summary: Stock Market Ends Week at Record High

The stock market closed the week on a higher note, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq finishing Friday's session higher by 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. The Dow (+0.3%) finished the day 34 points shy of the elusive 20k mark after coming within one point of the milestone early Friday afternoon.

Equity indices started the day flat after the December Employment Situation report was met with a muted reaction from investors. The stock market picked up the pace about an hour into the session, trending upwards to a record intraday high where it remained until the closing bell.

Friday's release of the December Employment Situation report alluded to the fact that the labor market is approaching full employment; job growth is slowing, while wages are ticking up. Time will tell if the Fed sticks to their proposed rate-hike schedule, which calls for three rate hikes in 2017, but the Employment Situation report certainly didn't reveal anything that would suggest a change of plans.

Today's rally was led by the technology sector (+1.0%), which was aided by chipmakers and large cap components. For instance, Apple (AAPL 117.91, +1.30), Microsoft (MSFT 62.84, +0.54), Facebook (FB 123.41, +2.74), Alphabet (GOOGL 825.21, +12.19), and Visa (V 82.21, +1.12) all added between 0.9% and 2.3%, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index finished higher by 0.8%.

Cyclical sectors did slightly better than their defensive counterparts, with three of the six growth-sensitive sectors beating the benchmark index. Utilities (+0.3%) and health care (+0.3%) were the only non-cyclical sectors to perform in line with the broader market. Health care capitalized on the biotech industry's solid showing, evidenced by the 0.9% increase in the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 280.65, +2.54). Telecom services (-2.7%) and real estate (unch) were the only sectors to finish in the red.

Standings for the week look much the same as ten out of eleven sectors finished the week higher, with telecom services (-1.2%) bucking the trend. The week's top performer was health care (+2.9%), followed closely by real estate (+2.2%), technology (+2.4%), and consumer discretionary (+2.3%). The consumer discretionary sector's gain was particularly impressive as the sector had to overcome a poor week from retailers. The SPDR S&P 500 Retail ETF (XRT 43.76, -0.26) finished the first week of 2017 lower by 0.7% after some of its components reported disappointing holiday sales.

Conversely, small caps ended the week on a down note as the Russell 2000 fell 0.4% in Friday's session. On the week, the small-cap index added 0.7%, but underperformed relative to the S&P 500's and the Nasdaq's respective, 1.7% and 2.6% week-to-date gains. Given that the domestically-focused Russell 2000 set the pace for the post-election rally, investors may be concerned about the index's recent struggle.

The Treasury market saw stepped-up selling pressure after the 8:30 ET release of the Employment Situation report for December, but cooled off afterwards. The 10-yr yield closed the day seven basis points higher at 2.42%.

Reviewing today's economic data:

  • Employment Situation Report
    • December nonfarm payrolls came in at 156,000 while the consensus expected a reading of 175,000. The prior month's reading was revised to 204,000 from 178,000. Nonfarm private payrolls added 144,000 while the consensus expected an increase of 170,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.7% (consensus 4.7%).
    • Average hourly earnings increased 0.4% (consensus +0.3%). The average workweek was reported at 34.3 while the consensus expected a reading of 34.4.
    • The key takeaway from the December employment report is that job growth is slowing while wages are rising, which are offshoots of a labor market running near full employment.
  • November trade balance showed a deficit of $45.2 billion while the consensus expected the deficit to hit $42.2 billion. The previous month's deficit was revised to $42.4 billion from $42.6 billion.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the widening deficit will be a drag on fourth quarter GDP, as the fourth quarter average of $61.9 billion for the real trade deficit is 9.4% higher than the third quarter average.
  • The Factory Orders Report for November showed a decrease of 2.4% while the consensus expected a decrease of 2.1%. The October reading was revised up to 2.8% from 2.7%.
    • The key takeaway from the report is that the drop in manufacturing orders was owed predominately to a large retreat in orders for the volatile nondefense aircraft and parts component. Excluding transportation, orders were up 0.1%.

Monday's economic data will be limited to the November Consumer Credit report, which will be released at 3:00 pm ET.

  • Nasdaq Composite +2.6% YTD
  • S&P 500 +1.7% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +1.0% YTD
  • Russell 2000 +0.6% YTD

>>> DONG hires Citi to advise on Walney Extension stake sale - sources

DONG hires Citi to advise on Walney Extension stake sale - sources

Danish utility DONG Energy has hired Citi to advise on a 50% stake sale of its Walney Extension offshore wind farm project, two sources briefed on the situation said.

The sale has progressed to a second round of bidding, the sources said. One bidder has been awarded exclusivity, the first source added. The Danish pension fund PKA is rumoured to be the frontrunner, the second source said.

Walney Extension is located in the Irish Sea, off the coast of Cumbria, Northwest England. It is under construction, and is targeted to be operational in 2019, according to DONG’s website. The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 660 MW and comprise 90 windmills, according to DONG.
PKA, Dong and Citi did not respond to requests for comment.

>>> Cray could potentially end up being takeover target for bigger peer such as

Cray could potentially end up being takeover target for bigger peer such as Hewlett Packard, portfolio manager says

Cray (NASDAQ:CRAY), the Seattle, Washington-based supercomputer maker, could potentially find itself on the receiving end of takeover interest if it is unable to fix the technical setbacks it has encountered, reported The National Post on 6 January.
Tom Antony, president and portfolio manager at Peregrine Investment Management, said in a report from the newspaper's Financial Post section that Cray recently suffered a blow because of technical setbacks with the new Knights Landing chip from Intel. Among other things, he added that if the issues persist, Cray's solid intellectual property could render the company a takeover target for a bigger rival such as Hewlett Packard Enterprise, the Palo Alto, California-based technology solutions company.
Cray's market cap is USD 900.4m.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance:
  • RT -13.3%, GIII -9.2%, (lowers FY17 guidance due to warm weather, persistant lower traffic and challenging retail environment)
  • NVTA -4.8%, SHAK -1.8%, (appoints Zach Koff as COO and announces CFO Jeff Uttz will retire in 2017; remain confident in the 2016 financial guidance ranges)
  • SUM -1.6%, (reports downside Q4 prelim results; launches offering of 10,000,000 shares of its Class A common stock)
  • AMRN -1.3%, (sees FY17 revs $155-165 mln vs $171.30 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 rev exceeding prior range)
Select metals/mining stocks trading lower:
  • SBGL -3.1%, IAG -2.8%, HMY -2.7%, GOLD -1.8%, AG -1.7%, VALE -1.6%, RIO -1.2%, GDX-1.1%, GFI -0.6%, BHP -0.5%
Other news:
  • UEC -7.9% ( files for $100 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
  • REGN -5.5% (following cholesterol drug Praluent ruling)
  • GNK -5.2% (Genco Shipping & Trading files for 27,061,856 share common stock offering by selling shareholders that were issued upon the conversion of the Series A Preferred Stock )
  • JCP -4.1% (reports Nov/Dec comparable store sales declined 0.8% YoY; reaffirms EBITDA target of $1 billion for fiscal 2016), SNY -3.1% (following cholesterol drug Praluent ruling)
  • SMRT -2.9% (reports Dec comps)
  • MYOK -2.8% (files for $250 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
  • P -2.4% (following Sirius XM Radio CFO conference commentary - ultimately dismissing the possibility of M&A deal)
  • FRSH -2.2% ( CEO resigns; Chair of the Board, Jean Birch, has been appointed interim CEO)
  • PES -1.4% (updates Q4 guidance in presentation slides; expects drilling services margin/day to be at the high-end or exceed the guided range of $6.5k-7.0k)
  • MRTX -0.8% (prices an underwritten public offering of 4,350,176 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $5.60/share)
Analyst comments:
  • GPRO -3.7% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at Longbow)