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Fnac has unveiled Tuesday a five-year strategic plan, dubbed "Fnac 2015", which should enable it to boost sales after a disappointing performance.

The distributor of cultural products and consumer electronics including set on increasing its store network and enrichment of its offer to address the erosion of its markets and to competition from internet.

"(…) Fnac 2015 is a plan of conquest and expansion, as new customer requirements, technological change and new patterns of consumption, "said in a statement Alexandre Bompard, the new CEO of the distributor .

The amount of planned investment was not disclosed.The group also refused to provide any numerical target for the approach of the publication of interim results of the PPR Group, July 29, said a spokesman.

The retailer plans to expand its network primarily in France, where he directed 65% of its turnover, with the opening of 30 new stores primarily targeting the outskirts of large cities.

Fnac also wishes to develop a new network of fifty stores, the smaller size (300 square meters), called later to be managed franchise.

Openings are also provided for international but they have not been quantified at this stage, said the spokesman for the distributor.Fnac now has 152 stores, including 82 in France and 72 abroad, mainly in Europe.

FIND THE PATH TO GROWTH

To help guide its customers in its stores, Fnac also plans to review the organization of its rays, now centered around the products to redirect the consumer uses.

The music department will offer soon and CDs, music DVDs as well as MP3 players or tickets to concerts.

In the area of ​​mobile telephony, the retailer announced last month a partnership with the operator SFR to whom he will assign all of its rays.

Fnac also aims to expand its services and products including the opening "Kids Universe" in each of its stores that will target smaller.

With this plan whose implementation is spread over five years, the company that promised to the sale by PPR in connection with its focus on luxury goods and "lifestyle", hopes to find the growth path.

In the first quarter of 2011, sales were down 3.2% on a comparable basis. In 2010, they had gleaned 1.3% to 4.5 billion euros, an operating margin stable at 4.2%.

The distributor of cultural products is suffering from sluggish consumption in France and the decline of its major markets: technical products (hi-fi, video, television), music (CDs) and movies (DVD).

In the book, the group, which remains the largest bookstore in France, has suffered from competition from e-commerce, especially the giant Amazon.

The European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said Tuesday that there was a very strong commitment in Europe to protect the stability of the euro area.

"Let us be very clear, there is the highest commitment to the highest level to do whatever is necessary to safeguard financial stability," said Herman Van Rompuy to the press during a visit to Lisbon after s be met with Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

Portugal, with Greece and Ireland, is among the countries of the euro zone for which the European Union and the International Monetary Fund organized a bailout.

European Commissioner for Justice attacked the monopoly of Moody's, Standard and Poor's and Fitch, and proposes to create competitors in Europe and Asia. European Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, demand the dismantling of three major agencies.

European Commissioner Viviane Reding of Justice threatened the three largest credit rating agencies to dismantle the world, according to comments reported Monday by the newspaper Die Welt. "I see two possibilities: either the states of the G20 decided to dismantle the three agencies. The U.S. would then have to turn the three agencies in six companies. Or European and Asian competitors are created," said Viviane Reding.

The Americans Moody's and Standard and Poor's and Fitch Anglo-American dominated the market in the rating of the creditworthiness of companies and states.The recent decision by Moody's to degrade sharply and strongly note of Portugal, however, engaged in a program of economic reforms, caused a heated debate in Europe about the power of these agencies, accused of aggravating the crisis of debt in zone euro. "It is not possible that a cartel of three U.S. companies decide the fate of entire states and their citizens," he said Viviane Reding.

Anne Lauvergeon, a former leader of Areva replaced by Luke Oursel late June at the head of the nuclear specialist public, criticized in an interview to Le Monde the inconsistency of the state shareholder.

While the state denied him a third term as president and CEO of Areva, Anne Lauvergeon also emphasizes that its tense relations with the boss of EDF, Henri Proglio, in part cost him his job.

"We could have asked for a more consistent state! In a public company, the shareholder must be a great strategist," said Anne Lauvergeon in an interview published in Le Monde on Friday.

While the state owns nearly 87% stake in Areva, the former president of the group stresses that governments have in turn wanted to marry Alstom, promised an opening of its capital before abandoning, considered dismantling and hindered its development in wind energy.

"In this context, we can only blame me for wanting to keep a single line and constant maintenance of the integrated model, development of CO2-free energy and capital increase, finally obtained in 2010 … Seven years after the first request !, "said Anne Lauvergeon, which also mentions the" fluctuating policy of the state ".

"I was told that the same rule applied to the president and the president of Areva: two terms only.The other reason that you gave me about my relationship with Henri Proglio. "

European values ​​have come down sharply on Wednesday in the wake of U.S. economic indicators confirming the assumptions of an economic slowdown in the U.S..

The CAC 40 sold 1.05% to 3964.91 points. Other major European markets also finished in the red, London and Frankfurt lost 1.02% 1.05%. Of the European indices, the Eurofirst 300 fell 0.98%.

The energy values ​​have yielded 1.5% and were among the most notable declines.

Nokia has limited its losses to its profit warning yesterday on rumors of a takeover by Microsoft, denied later.Nokia ended down 0.76% to 4.714 euros.

Axa has awarded 1.45% to 15.0550 euros after announcing a development plan over five years to increase its profits.

The Swiss Logitech, the world of computer mice, continued its gains in the previous sessions and gained 3.5% to 10.91 Swiss francs on takeover rumors.

The profit-taking after four sessions are growing up in the Standard & Poor's 500, while the latest economic indicators show that growth remains lackluster.

Jobs created in the U.S. private sector were significantly less than expected in May, which may be ominous for the official employment figures expected on Friday.

According to the ADP survey released Wednesday, only 38,000 jobs were created last month, is the lowest figure since last September, while economists polled by Reuters expecting 175,000 creations. In addition, the manufacturing sector reflected a sharp slowdown in May, according to the ISM. and

Yahoo loses more than 3% to 16.05 dollars. According to some sources, the Internet portal would have resolved its dispute with its Chinese partner Alibaba Group about the transfer to the Chief of the latter, Jack Ma, the popular payment system online.

Research In Motion fell 6.5% after profit warning from Finnish rival Nokia.Like Nokia, RIM is growing competition from Apple's iPhone and devices based on Google's Android technology.

Ford and General Motors suffer from declining sales figures in May and lost respectively 2.95% and 2.45%.

Greece must avoid restructuring of its debt and continue its program of austerity and privatization to overcome its difficulties, said this weekend the Prime Minister George Papandreou and officials from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Athens is under pressure because Fitch has lowered again on Friday attached to the country sovereign rating, pushing it deeper into speculative grade.

The rating agency also stated that equate any form of "reshaping" of the Greek debt to default, while EU ministers discussed for the first time restructuring "soft" earlier this week, especially through lengthening the maturity of securities issued by the country.

"A debt restructuring is not discussed," said Greek Prime Minister in an interview with the Sunday newspaper Ethnos.

Asked if a "reshaping" was intended, George Papandreou said the government "does (have) not in public debates on such scenarios.

Ewald Nowotny, a member of the Governing Council of the ECB, echoed his view by saying that Greece had no other option but to continue its fiscal adjustment plan.

"The ECB's position is unique and clear: we must implement their commitments," said the governor of the Austrian central bank to Greek daily To Vima.

For its part, Germany's Juergen Stark, member of the ECB board, said in an interview with Kathimerini newspaper that any restructuring would endanger the return to Greece on the bond market and undermine reform efforts.

"Greece might not be back on the market for a long period, even if it succeeds, to pay in future a higher risk premium," he said.

"We are at a critical moment, what is needed now is action."

New austerity plan

The Greek press reported Saturday that the government planned to implement new austerity measures to try to get extra help and he would discuss Monday a plan of fiscal adjustment and privatization in the medium term.

The program could include reduced premiums for officers and employees of public enterprises, as well as increases in taxes on a number of products and occupations, write and Isotimia Ta Nea, which cited no sources.

The Socialist government in particular could raise taxes on soft drinks and certain types of fuel or running a range of products to a higher VAT rate, according to other newspapers.

George Papandreou pledged this weekend to take all necessary steps to ensure additional funding for his country.

"Greece has to convince everyone of his determination," he said.

In an interview published Sunday by the Bild am Sonntag, the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said that steps additional aid could be granted to Greece if certain criteria are met.

Additional support "is only conceivable if it is confirmed that the private creditors such as banks, do not opt ​​out of Greece, leaving European taxpayers assume full responsibility," he said.

But before a new aid is considered, it will consider the report of inspectors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU) and the ECB is currently in Athens, "he said.

George Papandreou has also promised to accelerate the privatization program that would enable the Greek government to release 50 billion euros.

In this context, the President of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker urged Athens to establish an independent institution to carry out these operations, like that which was privatized companies in East Germany after the Wall Berlin.

He also indicated in the columns of the German weekly Der Spiegel that the prospect of restructuring "fresh" should only be considered once Greece has consolidated its finances.

"Only then we could consider extending the maturity of public and private loans and lower interest rates," he judged.

Investors should approach with caution next week, while the looming end of the earnings season and the decline of raw materials should curb the risk appetite of investors.

Falling commodity prices this week has strongly penalized linked securities sector, which showed some of the best performances over the last two quarters.

The S & P sector finished the week down 7%, posting its biggest weekly decline in a year.

"It is difficult to identify when a bubble will burst and it is difficult to swim against the tide.When it explodes, it's usually brutal, "said Nathalie Trunow, Calvert Asset Management Company.

With the end of the earnings season and also the program of asset purchases by the Federal Reserve, stock markets could be vulnerable in the short term, she says.

The S & P 500 posted its worst weekly performance since March, despite a rebound observed on Friday in favor of good employment figures in the United States.

ALWAYS FOR OPTIMISM

However, over the long term, the sentiment remains positive, and the market should be supported by fundamentals.

The announcement of new jobs than expected in April, the private sector posting its strongest pace of job creation in five years, has reassured investors about the health of the U.S. economy, analysts say .

In this context, the numbers of jobless claims and retail sales, barometers of labor market and consumption, will be closely watched next week.

Some distributors also publish their results, like Macy's, Nordstrom or Kohl.

The estimated results have been revised upward since the beginning of the season publications.Profits of listed companies on the S & P 500 would have increased 18% in the first quarter from the previous year, against an initial estimate of 13% in early April, according to Reuters data.

So far, 69% of groups who published their results beat the consensus.

Altran has exceeded its goals in the first quarter by signing up at double-digit revenue and announced the sale of all its subsidiaries in Brazil.

In a statement issued Monday, the specialist in High Technology Council has also expressed anticipate a significant improvement in current operating profit in the first half compared to the same period last year.

The group, which counts among its customers France Telecom, Airbus and Areva, has emerged on the first three months of the year a turnover of 387.7 million, up 10.1% on a constant basis.

In early February, the group said that organic growth in turnover in the first quarter would be at least 8%, in line with that of the fourth quarter of 2010.

In its statement, said to have concluded Altran, April 26, an agreement to transfer all of its Brazilian subsidiaries, which recorded a loss last year.

The stock closed Friday up 5.23% to 5.33 euros.

Improving the job market was broadly confirmed in March in France, but its weaknesses have continued to rise, according to figures released Wednesday by the Department of Employment and job center.

The number of jobseekers in Class A has dropped 21,100 (-0.8%) in metropolitan France, down for the third consecutive month, reaching 2,680,000 people.

By adding people engaged in a Pool (Class B and C), the number of jobseekers has instead slightly increased (4700 people, or +0.1%).

"This sharp decline for the third consecutive month (…) Is a strong signal of crisis ", welcomed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Xavier Bertrand, stressing that this is the biggest drop since February 2008.

"The commitment to the job of the government is beginning to bear fruit will not falter so that the year 2011 is that of the decline in unemployment in our country," he says in a statement.

There were 4,045,400 registered late March in categories A, B, C and 4,306,200 with departments overseas.

Over a year, rising unemployment is 0.7% for category A and 3.8% for categories A, B, C.

The black dots that make up the long-term unemployed and persons aged over 50 years have continued to rise.

The number of long-term unemployed (registered for more than a year employment center) has increased by 0.4% in categories A, B, C, bringing the increase over one year to 12.7% in France.

As the number of unemployed persons aged over 50 years, it increased by 0.4% for category A (+13.0% yoy) and 1.2% by adding categories B and C (+14 2% over one year).

Another negative sign, jobs collected by employment center fell 5.3% last month (+3.3% yoy).

Offers of permanent jobs (more than six months) and offers of temporary jobs (one to six months) fell by 1.2% and 11.1%, while vacancies occasional (less than a month) increased by 1.9%.

The annual budget increase was approved by the Japanese government 33 billion euros. An engine found 30 meters from the railway, Minamisanriku in Japan, a city that was almost completely destroyed.

The Japanese government on Friday approved a budget increase of approximately 4,000 billion yen (33 billion euros) to finance the initial reconstruction needs in the north-east of the country devastated by an earthquake and tsunami, media reported .

This request additional appropriations to supplement the initial budget for the current fiscal year (April 1-March 31), however, must be passed to Parliament for final endorsement. An examination of the text should be started on April 28.

This extension includes an amount of about 1.209 billion yen (10 billion euros) for the rehabilitation of public infrastructure, about 363 billion yen (3 billion euros) for the construction of temporary housing, more 350 billion for the treatment of waste and 270 billion to restore schools and enhance their seismic.

"The total amount is very large compared to the initial budget for reconstruction after the Kobe earthquake (west) in 1995, which was only 1.223 billion yen," he reminded the public broadcaster NHK.

The center-left government of Naoto Kan estimated at 25,000 billion yen (210 billion) the cost of damage caused by the disaster, not counting the losses to businesses from disrupted by power failures or the consequences of the nuclear accident in Fukushima.

Wanting to avoid more debt the state, the government promised not to issue new bonds to finance these unexpected expenses, while Japan's public debt is about twice its annual GDP. Savings will be made on other posts, with the abandonment of an increase in family allowances, the partial suspension of free highways and reduction of official development assistance to foreign countries.

The Japanese Parliament voted late March an initial annual budget record 92,400 billion yen (more than 800 billion euros) for the year from April 1 to March 31, 2012, knowing that one or more extension should be decided by later to help the country recover from the worst tragedy endured since the war. The earthquake of magnitude 9 on 11 March and especially the tsunami that followed killed some 28,000 people dead or missing in north-eastern Japan.