Wednesday December 17, 07:35 AM
French and Benelux stocks - Factors to watch on Dec 17
PARIS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Below are leading stories from French and Benelux newspapers and company-related news which could have an impact on the region's markets or individual stocks.
BNP PARIBAS (Paris: FR0000131104
- news)
BNP Paribas' corporate and investment banking unit (CIB) made a loss of 710 million euros ($970.1 million) in the first 11 months of the year and could cut 5 percent of staff or 700 jobs, it said on Tuesday.
The group had warned on Sunday it faced a potential 350 million euro loss from Bernard Madoff's investment activities. It said as a whole, the group was 'largely profitable' over the same period.
DUTCH BANKS
The Dutch government will take over Fortis Bank Netherlands's stake in ABN AMRO (Amsterdam: AABA.AS - news) , a step that will simplify the structure of the state-owned businesses and improve the bank's solvency, the Dutch finance ministry said on Tuesday.
FORTIS (Amsterdam: FORAL.AS - news)
Fortis NV shares to resume trade in Brussels after being suspended on Friday.
AKZO NOBEL (Amsterdam: AKZA.AS - news)
Akzo Nobel said it acquired a 75/25 majority interest in its Kayaku Akzo Co. Ltd (KAC) joint venture with Nippon Kayaku.
ROULARTA MEDIA GROUP
Roularta Media Group NV said it increased its capital by 32 million euros on Tuesday in a an operation fully subscribed by the reference shareholders. The new shares are not dividend-entitled for the 2008 financial year.
AEROPORTS DE PARIS (Paris: FR0010340141 - news)
French airport operator Aeroports de Paris (ADP) said traffic at its Paris airports fell 4.8 percent in November from the same period a year earlier, due notably to a four-day strike.
CIC (Paris: FR0005025004 - news)
Credit Mutuel unit Credit Industriel et Commercial SA said it could have a maximum 90 million euro exposure to the alleged Madoff fraud.
GIMV (Brussels: GIMB.BR - news)
Belgian investment company GIMV has sold its majority stake in Belgian food ingredients group Sfinc to Axa Private Equity , the companies said. The sale will have a positive impact of 7.1 million euros on GIMV's equity value, the group said.
DISTRIGAS
Publigas, a municipal holding, is mulling a possible sale of its 31.25 percent stake in Belgian gas distributor Distrigas to help it weather the financial and economic crisis, De Standaard said on Wednesday. ENI (Milan: ENI.MI - news) , Italy's biggest oil and gas group, purchased the Belgian gas company from France's GDF Suez (Paris: FR0010208488 - news) earlier this year.
RENAULT
Renault (Paris: FR0000131906 - news) is set to to build a new diesel engine in northern France rather than at one of its sites in Spain or Romania, Les Echos reported, citing unnamed company sources. The paper said the final decision will take place in March. Output will start at 300,000 engines, rising later to 600,000, it added.
RENAULT
Renault's Japanese alliance partner Nissan Motor Co (Berlin: NISA.BE - news) said it would cut a further 78,000 units from local production, taking the tally for production cuts this business year to 225,000, or about 6 percent of its original 3.856 million unit forecast.
MANUTAN INTERNATIONAL (Paris: FR0000032302 - news)
Manutan International said it would not give guidance for the current financial year following a general slowdown in business since November and due to economic uncertainties. The company said 2007/08 turnover rose 12 percent, while net profit slid 0.4 percent.
NICOX (Paris: FR0000074130 - news)
Nicox SA said its Naproxcinod drug showed robust blood pressure results in phase 3 pooled analysis of 2,734 patients with osteoarthritis.
COMPAGNIE DES ALPES (Paris: FR0000053324 - news)
Compagnie des Alpes said the outlook for 2009 was currently encouraging although it was ready to take appropriate measures in the event of any deterioration in business during the year. It posted a 14.6 percent rise in 2007/08 sales and a 29 percent increase in full-year net profit.
THALES (Paris: FR0000121329 - news)
A management shake-up at defence electronics group Thales after the purchase of Alcatel (Paris: FR0000130007 - news) -Lucent's stake by Dassault Aviation (Paris: FR0000121725 - news) would lead to Chief Executive Denis Ranque's departure, daily paper Liberation reported, citing unnamed sources. It cited another source as saying the stake sale had gone through. Nobody at Dassault was immediately available to comment and Alcatel-Lucent said it was 'confident' over the outcome of the deal.
Keywords: MARKETS FRANCE BENELUX/STOCKS =2 PARIS
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