White Nile lobbying removal from Sudan oil block

(Reuters) - Britain's White Nile Plc is lobbying against a decision to remove them from south Sudan's oil Block B, saying it had halted all drilling work in the swampy area.

South Sudan's industry minister, Albino Akol Akol, told Reuters in July a long-standing dispute over the massive Block B had been resolved in favour of French oil giant Total SA which held rights to the block granted by the northern government.


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Trichet, Poised to Raise Interest Rates, Follows in Bundesbank Footsteps

(Bloomberg) -- The European Central Bank might be
run by a Frenchman; its heart and soul belong to Germany's
Bundesbank.

ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet faces political pressure
to stop raising interest rates, and some of his own policy
makers query the extent of the inflation threat in Europe.
Still, investors are betting he'll push borrowing costs higher,
upholding the legacy of Germany's central bank, which celebrates
its 50th anniversary tomorrow.


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French Stocks Including Societe Generale and Dexia Drop as Michelin Gains

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks including lenders such
as Societe Generale SA and Dexia SA fell while Michelin & Cie.
rose.

The CAC 40 Index added 8.36, or 0.15 percent, to 5652.32 at
1:04 p.m. in Paris. The SBF 120 Index rose 0.1 percent. The CAC
sank 5.3 percent last week for its biggest weekly loss since the
five days ending March 28, 2003.


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Natixis may buy Lazard Capital Markets -report

(Reuters) - The report, which cited its own sources, said talks were taking place in New York and were at an early stage. It added that the negotiations could be concluded by the end of 2007.



The deal would represent a sale of the Lazard Capital Markets business to the French bank's Natixis Bleichroeder arm.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Suez unit to buy Canadian group Ventus Energy

(Reuters) - Suez is currently seeking to merge with French peer Gaz de
France .




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Luxury group Hermes warns on profits, cites Japan

(Reuters) - By Nick Antonovics



PARIS, July 25 - French luxury goods group Hermes International warned on Wednesday that full year profits would fall short of forecasts, citing a slowdown in Japan and unfavourable currency movements.


Read more at Reuters.com Market News

Sarkozy, U.S. Lawyers Shift Battleground Over Class-Action Suits to Europe

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy,
Deutsche Telekom AG shareholders and American lawyers are laying
the groundwork to make Europe the next battleground for U.S.-
style class-action lawsuits.

The unlikely allies are pushing for changes that encourage
group litigation and send a chill through corporate Europe.
Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll PLLC set up a London class-
action practice this year as European regulators plan to make it
easier for consumers to sue cartels and monopolies.


Read more at Bloomberg Exclusive News

French Stocks Drop; STMicroelectronics, Renault and BNP Paribas Retreat

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks slid, paced by
STMicroelectronics NV after Texas Instruments Inc., the world's
largest maker of chips that run mobile phones, reported lower
profit and revenue that missed analysts' estimates.

Renault SA and BNP Paribas SA also led declining shares.


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UPDATE 1-Manpower earnings double as European demand strong

(Reuters) - Manpower's results, helped by the weak U.S. dollar and a
French accounting change, only met Wall Street expectations,
unlike in other recent quarters when they beat by several
cents.




Earnings rose to $160.4 million, or $1.86 per share, from
$80.4 million, or 91 cents per share, a year earlier. The 2007
quarter's earnings were boosted 66 cents per share by a change
in the calculation of French payroll taxes.


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Trichet's Rift With French President Sarkozy Deepens Over ECB Independence

(Bloomberg) -- Jean-Claude Trichet's rebuke of a
French demand for a greater voice for governments in setting
interest rates deepened a rift with President Nicolas Sarkozy.

``Such declarations are not acceptable,'' European Central
Bank spokeswoman Regina Schueller said yesterday on behalf of
Trichet. ``The president of the ECB repeats with gravity that any
attempt'' to influence the ECB violates the European Union's
founding treaty.


Read more at Bloomberg Currencies News

Strauss-Kahn to make lobbying trip on IMF candidacy

(Reuters) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French candidate to head the International Monetary Fund, said on Tuesday he would tour key world capitals in the North and South to convince IMF members of his merits.

European Union countries have said they support Strauss-Kahn's candidature to head the body, but many countries in the developing world question the tradition that a European heads the IMF and an American leads the World Bank.


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Owens to sell two facilities in Belgium and Norway

(Reuters) - Owens Corning also said it was in "active discussions" with
Saint-Gobain on the potential conversion of the proposed joint
venture into an outright acquisition by Owens Corning of the
French company's Vetrotex business.





Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Total sees Shtokman investment at $4-5 bln -report

(Reuters) - Gazprom chose Total as development partner on Thursday in a
sign of closer Moscow-Paris ties, but the move left questions
over how good a deal the French group had won.




Under the deal, Total will receive a 25 percent stake in the
company that will build and own the pipes, rigs and other
infrastructure for the first phase of Shtokman's development.
Asked whether not holding a stake in the production license
was risky, de Margerie said: "A group like ours wishes for a
remuneration that corresponds to the risks taken and the work
that has been made."


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

French CAC 40 Stocks Including Total, EDF Fall; Alstom, Schneider Advance

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks including Total SA,
Europe's third-largest oil company, fell. Electricite de France
SA led utilities lower.

Alstom SA gained after the world's third-biggest maker of
power plants said fiscal first-quarter sales rose 27 percent.
Shares of Schneider Electric SA and Vinci SA also rose.


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Unibail-Rodamco says has 95.74 pct of Rodamco

(Reuters) - During the period, which ended on Tuesday at 1300 GMT, an
additional 16.1 percent of Rodamco shares were tendered, adding
to Unibail-Rodamco's holdings.




French Unibail Holding S.A. declared its offer for Dutch
Rodamco Europe unconditional in June, creating Europe's biggest
listed property company as measured by market capitalisation.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

UPDATE 1-Danone credit rating eyed on Numico deal

(Reuters) - By Natalie Harrison



LONDON, July 10 - French food group Danone's acquistion of Dutch rival Numico has raised the risk its credit rating could be cut, with Moody's Investors Service the first agency to say a multi-notch downgrade may be on the cards.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

Around 30 companies submit bids for Kuwait refinery

(Reuters) - French firm Technip, U.S. firms KBR, Bechtel and Foster Wheeler and Italy's Snamprogetti had submitted pre-qualification bids which were due by July 3, Kuwaiti daily al-Jarida said.




In May Kuwait doubled the planned budget to $12 billion for the plant, which would be the largest single refinery in the Middle East. Rapidly rising costs in the energy industry have delayed the project and threatened its viability.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

France Doesn't Need to Sell Assets to Reduce Its Public Debt, Lagarde Says

(Bloomberg) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy's
government doesn't have to sell assets to reduce debt, Finance
Minister Christine Lagarde said today.

``We don't necessarily need this to cut France's debt,''
Lagarde told reporters at an economic conference in Aix-en-
Provence, France.


Read more at Bloomberg Bonds News

Women's semi-finalists hope for a clear day

(Reuters) - The Wimbledon women's semi-finals begin a day later than scheduled on Friday and the four contenders will have to sit tight and first watch the men wrap up their rain-delayed quarter-final matches.

With world number one Justine Henin the overwhelming favourite against the French 18th seed Marion Bartoli, Saturday's decider should be a reprise of either this year's French Open final or the 2001 Wimbledon final.


Read more at Reuters Africa

French Stocks Retreat; Danone, Arcelor Mittal and Axa Lead the Decline

(Bloomberg) -- French stocks declined, paced by
Groupe Danone SA, Arcelor Mittal and Axa SA.

The CAC 40 Index lost 43.27, or 0.7 percent, to 5910.09 in
Paris at 9:09 a.m. The SBF 120 Index dropped 0.7 percent.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News