The Competition Commission said in a statement that an institution is denounced by stating that several banks have influenced the benchmark Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) and Tibor (Tokyo Interbank Offered Rate ) for certain currencies.

Libor is used worldwide as a benchmark to set rates on transactions whose total amount is estimated at 350,000 billion. 

The slightest change in these rates calculated daily based on data from a selected group of banks may have a significant impact on rates charged by banks.

"For these behaviors, traders could obtain a distortion of the reference rate in their favor," said the policeman of the competition in a statement.

The Competition Commission is also suspected that brokers will be concerted on the differences between the buying and selling (spreads) of derivatives products, allowing them to sell financial products to ; disadvantageous terms for their clients. 

Investigations of the Competition Commission with respect to 12 major European institutions, U.S. and Japanese: UBS and Credit Suisse, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JP Morgan Chase, Mizuho Financial Group, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

INVESTIGATIONS IN EUROPE AND THE United States

U.S. authorities, European and British also seeking banks have underestimated the interbank rates to reduce borrowing costs and try to ease market tensions during the financial crisis.

At the time, Libor rates had increased, but some had found that this increase was insufficient to reflect the actual prices in the interbank market. 

"We are in contact with the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Commission," said Reuters on Friday Olivier Schaller, Deputy Director of the Competition Commission. "Our focus for now on the problems appeared on the Swiss market. We're just beginning our investigation. "

" We take these surveys very seriously and cooperate fully with the authorities, "said a spokesman for UBS and Credit Suisse

. RBS have refused ; s to comment while no one was immediately available in other institutions for a position

……. .. Suspicions had already emerged in 2011 when a European asset manager sued a dozen international banks, accusing them of understanding to manipulate Libor …… Charles Schwab Corp.

… has also instituted proceedings against eleven major banks for the same reasons. 

In July, UBS announced it had granted immunity in a case of suspected manipulations to Libor in exchange for his cooperation with certain authorities.

The European Commission Wednesday will propose the creation of eurobonds, a system seen by its promoters as a means of achieving sustainable solutions to the debt crisis, but that divides Europeans and has as its corollary a strengthening of fiscal discipline. In a "Green Paper" seen by AFP, the European Commission considers that this pooling of borrowing countries in the euro area could "rapidly reduce" the current crisis.

The Greek bank, purchased by his French counterpart in 2004, lost 617.8 million euros in the first nine months of the year after losing 304.1 million euros the previous year.

"The deteriorating economic environment has had a negative effect on the quality of our loan portfolio and, therefore, our provisions amounted to 377.2 million euros over the period," said the bank.

Geniki also reported a depreciation of 230.1 million euros in its portfolio of Greek government bonds.

The Greek economy is expected to contract 5.5% this year and the country will register a new recession in 2012, due to stringent fiscal austerity measures taken by the government, while unemployment is 16.3% of the labor force.

The loan portfolio of the Greek bank fell by 14% to 3.01 billion euros.

The participation of the General Society in the capital of Geniki increased from 53.9% to 88.4% in November following an appeal for 340 million euros to strengthen the equity of the bank.

Japanese export growth has certainly slowed less than expected in September, showed figures released Monday by the Ministry of Finance, but economists warn that the combination of a strong yen and the persistence of the crisis debt in Europe pose high risks to external demand.

The Bank of Japan (BoJ), which meets Thursday, is likely to cut its economic forecasts because of slowing global growth while keeping intact its monetary policy.

The status quo in Japanese monetary policy, however, may not be sufficient to contain the rise of the yen, the latter continued to figure as a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

"The dollar / yen fell sharply, to a range between 75 and 76 yen in a very short period of time. This is completely speculative and does not reflect at all the fundamentals.This is unfortunate, "said Jun Azumi reporters.

"If this path becomes excessive, we will take tough decisions."

The strong yen will have a major impact on the Japanese export sector, he added, especially for the automotive industry.

Jun Azumi's remarks came after the dollar hit a record low Friday at 75.78 yen on EBS platform.

Since September 2010, the government intervened on two occasions, once alone and once together with the G7, in an attempt to weaken the yen, but the effect of these interventions did not last.

Japanese exports rose 2.4% in September from the previous year, against 1.0% expected, supported by higher sales of automobiles and automotive equipment.In August, they had increased by 2.8%.

Imports on the other hand increased by 12.1% last month, instead of the 12.6% forecast.

Japan posted a trade surplus of 300.4 billion yen (2.8 billion euros), a deficit in August, against a forecast surplus of 198.8 billion yen.

Employees of the Berre refinery owned by LyondellBasell voted on Thursday extended for 24 hours of their strike and blockade of the entire site. Meeting in mid-day general meeting, several hundred of them voted the renewal of the movement, on a site off since Wednesday. A new AG is scheduled Friday at 12pm. The move follows the announcement of LyondellBasell Tuesday the closure of its refinery in the Bouches-du-Rhone.

It employs 370 employees and is located in a petrochemical complex in which 1,250 people work.Wednesday evening, staff representatives were received by the management of LyondellBasell. But it seems to turn a deaf ear to the demand of withdrawal of the proposed closure of the refinery.

Staff representatives also claim an economic viability study of the entire site, with and without a refinery, because they fear that the complex is not only profitable, said the representative of the Inter-CFE / CGC, CFDT, CFTC , CGT and FOR, Patrick Sciurca. They ask, finally setting up "real social measures" if, if, the closure of the refinery were to be confirmed.

Neighboring refineries could be affected by the movement

LyondellBasell announced Tuesday its intention to close the refinery, not having found a buyer for its sale in the spring."Despite the efforts of employees and management, the refinery continues to suffer heavy losses and unable to become profitable," said management. Thursday, employees said, expect "a movement hard and long." "It's better a few days or weeks to strike than to lose everything," commented the coordinator of the CFE-CGC factory Patron Remy. "This movement will perhaps go on but I think we need to think about prospects," he added.

Since the strike began, between 200 and 300 employees remain at the site of Berre l'Etang-to block some being requisitioned to ensure safety, according to Inter, adding that three supermarkets in the region refuel for free. Employees also came Thursday in nearby petrochemical plants, expressing their solidarity but also their concern.

Arkema CGT trade unionists in Fos-sur-Mer explained and have moved to "make news" because they fear that any slowing of the site after the closure of LyondellBasell refinery affects the activity of specific their factory. "Everything is interconnected," they emphasized

According to Le Figaro in its Saturday edition, the Deposit, the Postal Bank and Dexia negotiate the creation of a new public to fund local governments, which would allow Dexia to reduce its balance sheet.

"There is no plan on the table to split Dexia. I remind you also that the ownership structure is the Franco-Belgian.No modification of this is planned, "said Pierre Mariani in The Echo.

"Finally, I wish to emphasize that we have no intention of leaving the job of local government funding," he said.

He confirmed that the Board would take place Tuesday but warned that no announcement was expected the outcome.

The French daily Les Echos wrote Monday that Dexia would be willing to sell 20 billion euros of assets to restore its finances.

Like the rest of the banking sector, Dexia shares rose sharply Monday at noon.At 13:20, she progressed from 7% to 1.40 euros while the European sector index. SX7P> took 4.8%.

Bank stocks have statements by monetary authorities and governments that have reported this weekend that they were ready to support them if necessary.

Total imports in the G7 and the "Brics" (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grew by only 1.1% over the period April to June compared to January-March quarter, during which they had increased by 10.1%.

Export growth has followed a similar trend although markedly, falling to 1.9% against 7.7% in the first quarter.

The only Chinese imports (17% of the total considered) were up 0.7% from one quarter to another, the lowest since early 2009, which contrasts sharply with the increase of 11.1% recorded the first three months of the year.

This movement is partly due to efforts by the Chinese authorities to curb domestic demand and prevent overheating.

Exports from the Republic are divided along the front, rising 10.0% after 2.9%. This double movement resulted in a sharp increase in Chinese trade surplus at $ 54.8 billion, says the OECD.

This trend continued in July, China's exports registering a new record despite new tensions related to the debt crisis in the eurozone and signs of slowing U.S. economy.But Beijing was concerned about increasing threats to recent external demand.

United States, imports have also slowed, to rise from 11.1% to 3.0% while exports amounted to 5.6% to 2.6%.

In total, import growth slowed in all G7 countries and the BRICS with the exception of Brazil, where they rose by 11.2% (against 5.7% in the first quarter).

The agreement, which should be submitted to a vote of both houses of Congress on Monday, provides for drastic reductions in public spending but not tax increases.

The agreement reached after days of negotiations involves a reduction of 1.000 billion dollars in public spending over ten years.A bipartisan commission will also identify ways to reduce the federal deficit by at least 1500 billion dollars.

"There are still some very important upcoming votes in Congress, but I want to announce that the leaders of both parties in both houses have reached an agreement to reduce the deficit and avoid a defect, a defect that would have a devastating effect on our economy, "Obama said during brief remarks to reporters at the White House.

The Democratic president, who called on MPs to "do the right thing" by voting in favor of the compromise, said he would ensure that the U.S. does not relive a similar crisis in 8-12 months, is in full presidential campaign.

He also said that the drastic cuts in public spending would not intervene too quickly, so not to further weaken the weak growth in the U.S. economy.

RALLY THE BASE ASSEMBLY

"This is not the best deal in the world but it shows how we have changed the terms of debate," said John Boehner, for its part, the "speaker" of the Republican House of Representatives.

The compromise, he said, does not include any tax increases and spending cuts that exceed the expected increase in the ceiling of the debt.

The U.S. Treasury, which in May reached its debt ceiling set at 14 300 billion, Congress needs to borrow more.

He warned that if no agreement is reached after 2 August, the U.S. might not be able to fulfill their obligations vis-à-vis their creditors.

It is now up to leaders of Congress to rally their elected officials.

During a conference call with Republicans elected John Boehner, who wants to submit the agreement to a vote of the representatives on Monday, said the compromise did not violate the principles of the Republican Party.

Nancy Pelosi, who leads the Democrats in the House, it was suggested that the agreement might be difficult to accept by all the elected Democrats, including the left wing of the party who accepts evil without immediate increase of taxes on the wealthiest households and corporations.

Asian markets, the announcement of this compromise was greeted in extremis market share, while gold, traditional safe haven, and the dollar retreated against the yen was appreciating.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index has surpassed the 10,000 points, gaining 1.84% to 10,013.90 points in mid-session.

"The declarations of Obama might be sufficient for the Nikkei erases losses the past two days, but the gains of the day rather reflect a temporary relief, not a strong confidence," said Tsuyoshi Kawata of Nikko Securities SMBC.

The main concern of financial market concerns about whether the agreement reached in extremis will allow the U.S. to avoid a deterioration in the sovereign debt rating, currently at Triple A.

The Board of Retirement Guidance (COR) will render an opinion as a new extension of the contribution period required for a full pension, at 41.5 years for women born since 1955, said Sunday Figaro on its website.The contribution period is now 40 and three quarters for the generation to pass in 1951 and 2012 to 41 years for the 1952 generation.

The pension reform of 2010 provided that it would then 41 years and a quarter in 2013 to 1953 and following generations, but nothing is yet decided to post, and the COR should just give a "technical advice" on this Wednesday.

According to Le Figaro, he will vote for an elongation at 41.5 years for women born in 1955. This figure results from a "mathematical application" of the Fillon reform of 2003, which provides that the contribution period should be increased when life expectancy at age 60 increases.If the government were to follow such advice, it should publish in order to that effect before the end of the year.

Questioned by AFP, the Department of Labor declined to respond to the extent that the NRC had not yet delivered its opinion. The key measure of the reform of 2010 was the gradual increase in the statutory retirement age from 60 to 62 years. This terminal determines the age at which an insured has the right to liquidate his pension, while the contribution period needed to determine the condition that it be wound up at the full rate.

Founded in 2000, the ROC is an independent body composed of representatives of social partners, parliamentarians and state. It has a role of expertise and consultation. Its reports in 2010 had enabled to assess the funding needs of pension reform ahead.

The U.S. housing market is reeling from the crisis definitely not. House prices fell for the tenth consecutive month in the U.S. in April, seasonally adjusted data according to Case-Shiller survey released by Standard and Poor's on Tuesday.

In the twenty largest American cities, prices of residential property fell 0.1% from the previous month, after falling 0.3% in March. Standard and Poor's noted, however, that raw data, prices for the first time in eight months, increased from the previous month by 0.7%.

Traditionally, the arrival of new buyers in the spring tends to favor sellers. "Much of the improvement is due at the beginning of the buying season of spring and summer.It is far too early to say whether it is a turning point or merely an effect of warming temperatures, "said one of the authors of the study, said in a statement.

Year on year, the Case-Shiller index fell by 4.0%. This is a drop greater than the forecast of analysts who had forecast 3.9%