(Boursier.com) — THE TREND
The CAC 40, which started the session below 7,700 points, is now down another 2% to 7,550 points this midday… The Parisian index has thus fallen by 5.5% since Monday in the wake of the announcement. the surprise dissolution of the National Assembly which caused the appearance of a political risk in France which greatly worries investors. The rate spread with Germany continues to widen, enough to keep the financial sector under high pressure…
The French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire, warned this Friday of the risk of a “financial crisis” in France if the union of the left or the extreme right were to prevail in early legislative elections. Asked to say on franceinfo if the political unknown born from Emmanuel Macron’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly on the evening of the European elections carried financial risks, Bruno Le Maire responded in the affirmative: The required risk premium by investors to hold French government bonds reached its highest level in more than four years on Friday. The ten-year OAT yield is on track to experience its largest weekly increase – of more than 25 basis points – since the euro zone debt crisis in 2011. The OAT yield is thus moving to 3 .18% and the “spread”, i.e. the difference between French and German 10-year borrowing costs, reached 78 bp.
The yield on the ten-year German Bund, the benchmark for the euro zone, is down more than 8 basis points to 2.40%…
“We now borrow more expensively than the Portuguese,” underlined the Minister of the Economy. “It is not the question of the balance of public finances, it is the question of the projects which are on the table to know whether we can, yes or not, finance this debt”. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), which is leading opinion polls ahead of the legislative elections, is calling for a reduction in VAT, particularly to 5.5% on energy, food and ‘essence. Ratings agency S&P Global, which recently downgraded France’s credit rating, warned this week that policies advocated by the far-right party could have consequences for the rating…
The left-wing parties, who announced Thursday an agreement on a common program with a view to the legislative elections, for their part wish to lower the retirement age and introduce a new wealth tax. “With the projects of the far left and the far right, the debt cannot be financed,” added Bruno Le Maire.
On the macroeconomic side, the latest reassuring statistics on inflation in the United States validate a scenario of a soft landing for the American economy and therefore that of a rate cut by the Fed… Not enough however helping the trend in Europe and particularly in Paris.
The Michigan consumer confidence index, published this afternoon, will confirm or not this scenario which is once again the majority in the minds of investors for the September meeting of the Fed in mid-September (59% according to Fedwatch tool). The euro fell this midday to 1.0670/$. Bitcoin falls to $66,980.
RISING VALUES
Atos (+17%) announced the receipt of a non-binding confirmatory offer letter from the French State concerning the potential acquisition of 100% of the activities of Advanced Computing, Mission-Critical Systems and Cybersecurity Products of the BDS (Big Data & Cybersecurity) division of the company. This non-binding confirmatory offer concerns a global enterprise value of 700 million euros. The Board of Directors of Atos, under the aegis of the Conciliator Maître Hélène Bourbouloux, and the management of the company will discuss this proposal with the State, it being specified that no certainty can be provided as to the resulting from the negotiations and the conclusion of a final agreement between the parties. Furthermore, the company confirms its objective of reaching a definitive financial restructuring agreement with the Onepoint consortium and its financial creditors.
JC Decaux : +1.5M with Tikehau (+1%)
Savencia : +0.5% followed by Stedim, Sanofi
FALLING VALUES
SMCP : -14% followed by S30 (-10%) and Genfit (-9%) with Lhyfe
BigBen : -8% followed by Assystem, AB Science
Dried : -7% with Nexity, Phaxiam
Nacon : -6% followed by Bastide, Exail, Eramet, Ose, Derichebourg
Forvia : -5% with Guerbet, Ayvens, Elis, Spie, CGG, Thales
SocGen : -4% followed by Aramis, AXA, Saint-Gobain, Crédit Agricole
BNP Paribas (-3.5%) and BPCE have a project to create a strategic partnership in payments. With this project, the two partners wish to take a new step by equipping themselves with the best technology in terms of ‘payment processing’ for cardholders and merchants…
Accor (-1%) and LVMH (-2%) have entered into a strategic partnership to accelerate the development of Orient Express, a legendary house associated with the most exclusive travel experiences for over a century. Since the inaugural journey of its train in 1883, Orient Express has enhanced the discovery of the world for customers looking for a unique and refined adventure. A symbol of elegance and daring, Orient Express embodies an art of living cultivating the extraordinary and the dream.
TotalEnergies (-1%) has entered into an agreement to sell its wholly-owned subsidiary TotalEnergies EP (Brunei) BV to Hibiscus Petroleum Berhad, an independent Malaysian oil and gas exploration and production company. The transaction, worth $259 million, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. TotalEnergies EP (Brunei) BV holds a 37.5% operated interest in Block B, alongside Shell Deepwater Borneo (35% ) and Brunei Energy Exploration (27.5%).