Fast decisionmakingAll flows in concrete except the debts

Better late than never. It took more than two years for us accounting Constable puts a little transparency and rigour in the vehicles used by banks to their balance sheet risk. The two new standards issued by the FASB apply to all companies, but nobody is fooled: it is to put an end to the excesses of securitisation, the technique that allows banks to dispose of the credits to investors. The "subprime" crisis of loans to households little or solvent step had plugged in large part the conduits of this gigantic piping that was then out of the shadows. Transactions using "special vehicles" that the title is itself a program the life ("variable interest entities") and fire the QSPV ("qualified special purpose entities") will have to be more transparent. It will be less easy to not consolidate and it will be taken into account in the calculation of capital requirements: the investors were successful despite the ultimate resistance of the banking lobby. Might be necessary however more that European banks lead the champagne: the Fed has already applied the new rules of the game for resistance testing passed on 19 major US banks taking account not of off-balance sheet $ 900 billion.

Divorce in Spanish

The links that are born of the divorce are sometimes more inextricable than those of marriage. Since a little more than a year, Metrovacesa's owners and the tandem of businessmen Rivero-Soler competed the remains of Gecina. The entry stage of the creditors of the Spanish sponsor earlier this year has put an end to sterile combat Curiaces Iberian estate and Horace, and restored a bit of visibility to the second land French listed. If it imposes a balance of power to the disadvantage of Joaquin Rivero, Gecina President who loses his casting vote to the Board of Directors, the General Assembly of yesterday has however sheds light on the management of the land nor nor lifted all the uncertainties on the future governance and strategy. Confirmation, last week, the abandonment of the transfer of 1.9 billion euros of residential real estate of Gecina to Metrovacesa can only strengthen its appeal on the stock exchange. But with a haircut reduced by three months from 80 to 54 from the value of net assets at end of 2008 barely more than Klépierre , title not anticipates more no broken crockery.

Fast decision-making

All flows in concrete, except the debts. The mountains of loans contracted by the cement in an era of growth which, it believed, would rise to the sky as the new tours of Asia and the Middle East, close relentlessly on them for a year with the fall in demand. If many are engaged, the flower to the cement mixer in the battle of the mergers and acquisitions, all are however not today in same sign. When Lafarge, the world leader in the cement out reinforced of a capital increase of EUR 1.5 billion supported by its shareholders, may simply resell for 1 billion of peripheral activities, the number three, the Mexican Cemex, weighed down under 13 billion of net debt, is forced into a more painful choices in disengages from the Australian market. It was therefore a Swiss Holcim in this case, to learn its rivals that external growth there is in hurry, just go to point. The more frugal three until yesterday with only barely 8 billion in acquisitions (net of transfers) since 2003, the number two of the sector made a great leap forward in the land of kangaroos for EUR 1.2 billion or 6.6 years of gross when operational result Cemex had purchased the Australian Rinker in 2007 to more than 14 years. A rapid decision that does not put its shareholders, even if they are called upon to contribute.