Actualité de la gestion privée

German banks may be forced to reduce their lending activity in order to drastically increase their capital base under proposed new regulation, Germany's private banking federation said on Monday.
The possible introduction of a strict ratio linking banks' capital to their lending activities would be "counter-productive" since banks would be forced to reduce their loans, Germany's BdB federation said in a statement.
"Going too far would threaten the economic recovery and positive developments on the labour market," the statement said.
The Switzerland-based Basel Committee -- the main international forum for banking regulation -- is expected to meet on Tuesday to discuss tighter rules aimed at trying to avert another global financial crisis.
The new rules are set to go for final approval before a meeting of the Group of 20 developed and emerging economies in Seoul in November.
The BdB federation said that implementing all the new regulations would force Germany's top 10 banks to raise 105 billion euros (135 billion dollars).
The German government has expressed some reservations but has not directly opposed the new rules and has said it hopes for a long transition period.

Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou said Sunday he would support candidates from the left and the right in forthcoming regional elections, when his Socialist government faces its first electoral test since the financial crisis.
The candidates, who range from an ecologist to a former culture minister for the opposition centre-right party, were "capable" and could "bring great change" to Greece, Papandreou said.
The national council for Pasok, the ruling Socialist party headed by Papandreou, also announced it would support the non-political candidate George Kaminis for mayor of Athens, bringing a small left-wing party into the fold.
In Greece's second-largest city Thessaloniki, a longtime right-wing stronghold, Pasok said it would support a wine producer close to the ecologists, Iannis Boutaris.
For the role of regional prefect in the Peloponnese, Pasok has opted for a candidate on the right, supporting the independent Petros Tatoulis, ex-culture minister and dissident from the main opposition party, New Democracy.
The regional elections, which will take place on November 7, will be the first electoral test for Papandreou since he took power in October 2009 and after he was forced to give drastic shock therapy to the economy in a bid to save Greece from bankruptcy.
Pasok continues to have a good lead in polls, but surveys also reveal strong dissatisfaction among voters over the government's major austerity measures.

The auction house that is putting Michael Jackson's memorabilia under the hammer in Macau has dismissed accusations that the sale goes against the singer's wishes, a report said Sunday.
More than 100 items once used by Jackson -- including a pair of crystal-studded gloves and a set of Jackson 5 jumpsuits -- will go on a sale by US-based Julien's Auctions in the glitzy gambling haven of Macau in October 9.
But in an interview with British tabloid Daily Star in August, Jackson's former lawyer, Brian Oxman, said the late star had tried to stop the auction, and the sale in Macau would be tantamount to selling off his children's Estate.
"This is an outrage. Back in May of 2009 there was to be an auction. Michael demanded it was stopped. He never wanted this material to be auctioned," Oxman was quoted as saying to the tabloid.
"He would be furious. He would be turning in his grave. This was to be his legacy to his children, and the legacy of his children is being sold off," he said in the report.
In response, Darren Julien, president and chief executive of Julien's Auctions, told the South China Morning Post that Oxman was "only seeking publicity" in levelling accusations against the auction house.
"None of the items are consigned to us by the Estate of Michael Jackson. The items come to us from some of Michael Jackson's family members and friends who he gave them to when he was alive," Julien told the Hong Kong English daily.
"We would never and have never done anything that would hurt them [the Jacksons] or that they would not be supportive of. Brian Oxman on the other hand is only concerned for himself," he told the Post.
Jackson last year authorised Julien's to hold a sale of more than 1,300 items taken from his sprawling Neverland Ranch in California, which the singer left and never returned to following his acquittal on child abuse charges in 2005.
But the auction was scrapped after a settlement had been reached between Julien's and Jackson's lawyers shortly before the 50-year-old eccentric pop star passed away in June last year.
The auction house said at the time that they believed the sentimental reaction of Jackson's fans following news of the dispersal of the Neverland collection had made the singer think twice about going ahead with the sale.

The uproar sparked by a German central banker's remarks about Jews and Muslims could muddy the waters for Bundesbank chief Axel Weber's bid to become head of the European Central Bank, commentators say.
Analysts believe the controversy is a fleeting issue for Weber however, and some say he might have done himself more harm in May with outspoken criticism of ECB purchases of public debt as part of a European Union (EU) rescue plan.
In the end, Weber's chances of getting the top ECB job probably depend on staunch backing from the German government, and that might have been reinforced by his handling of the "Sarrazin affair."
On Thursday, Weber and the Bundesbank board called for the dismissal of Thilo Sarrazin, a Bundesbank director who claims Muslim immigration and a high birth rate among Germany's Turkish residents will undermine Europe's biggest economy.
Sarrazin, who has just published a book, also told an interviewer that "Jews Share a certain gene," reviving the spectre of claims used to justify their persecution by the Nazis.
Only Germany's president can dismiss a central bank board member however, and Christian Wulff seems set to take the unprecedented action following the bank's recommendation.
Sarrazin has made provocative remarks about immigrants in the past and has fueled an impassioned debate on German attempts to integrate minorities.
"A raw nerve has been touched. There is a lot of social psychology involved here," said Irwin Collier, an economics professor at the Free University in Berlin.
Some speculate about the affair's affect on Weber, 53, a leading candidate to become ECB president when Jean-Claude Trichet steps down in October 2011.
"Weber has not performed well on the matter -- the turbulence has revealed his lack of political feel," the business daily Handelsblatt said.
"Weber seems passive and driven by recommendations from politicians," the Financial Times Deutschland added.
Trichet and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have both expressed confidence however in Weber's independence and ability to manage the situation.
"He has done as people would have expected," Barclays Capital economist Thorsten Polleit said after the Bundesbank decided to recommend Sarrazin's dismissal.
"The government's backing will not have changed after this decision, rather the contrary," ING senior economist Carsten Brzeski told AFP.
"Weber clearly knows that his stock depends on the favour of Angela Merkel and the present government," Collier added.
Merkel has not sought high EU posts for German candidates and many feel she has reserved political capital for Weber's ECB bid.
The next president will be chosen by eurozone heads of state in a few months and with Germany's economy acting as a locomotive for the rest of the 16-nation bloc, Weber's chances would also appear to be on track.
Foreign reaction to the Sarrazin controversy has not laid blame on the Bundesbank president, "and I think that's what matters," Polleit told AFP.
"I think outside of Germany this has no further significance," Collier added.
In May however, Weber publicly criticized ECB purchases of government bonds in support of heavily indebted eurozone states, a rare move by a key governing council member that earned him sharp rebukes.
"It was probably counterproductive, that's for sure," Brzeski said.
But he added that Weber "is much more pragmatic" than many believe, and that by the time the ECB presidency is settled, "people will have forgotten" or at least have decided to forgive.
Jean Pisani-Ferry, director of the Breugel research institute in Brussels, was not sure all will be forgotten but was also not convinced Weber's action "will weigh decisively in the decision."
A key factor will be France, which Brzeski said could face deteriorating public finances next year and might "want to keep the Germans as friends."
"I hear the criticism but simply given the political forces I would still think that it's going to be Weber" at the head of the ECB, he concluded.

Brussels should be able to reach agreement on how to regulate speculative hedge funds in the coming weeks, European commissioner Michel Barnier said Saturday.
"We are in the home straight," Internal Markets Commissioner Barnier told reporters at an economic forum in Cernobbio, northern Italy.
"I am hopeful that in the coming weeks we will get an agreement on this regulation of hedge funds and private equity, which on certain days account for half the trading on the markets," he added.
He hoped that the European Parliament and the European Council, which comprises the leaders of member states and the top European Commission officials, would be able to finish the job after a breakthrough last week.
Barnier announced on Thursday that EU states, the European Commission and European lawmakers had reached a deal in principle to establish three agencies to oversee banks, insurers and the markets.
This is subject to the approval of EU finance ministers, who meet in Brussels on Tuesday and the European Parliament later this month.
"A lot of work has been done," said Barnier, although there were still a few sticking points, such as how to treat countries outside the EU region.
Europe is lagging behind the United States in efforts to regulate the financial sector as President Barack Obama signed into law in July the most sweeping reform of Wall Street since the 1930s.
In May, the EU agreed new curbs on the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry despite stiff opposition from Britain, home to 80 percent of Europe's hedge fund industry.
Germany and the Netherlands in particular have led the charge against the trading, which has been blamed for speculative attacks, in particular on currencies, that have led to sharp drops in the markets.
Another issue had been their lack of transparency and what critics see as their willingness to take financial risks with large sums of money in the search for short-term gains.
Hedge funds lost some of their lustre during the economic downturn, but still handled between 1.2 trillion and 1.3 trillion dollars worldwide in 2009.

Branches of Afghanistan's biggest private bank were crowded Saturday with government employees queuing to be paid and customers wanting to withdraw their money following corruption allegations.
Kabul Bank has been the subject of US newspaper reports alleging large-scale corruption by executives, though the government and central bank have said it is solvent and there is no need for customers to panic.
Banks were closed on Friday for the weekly holiday, providing respite after a day of mild panic following the reports, which saw the Washington Post say the Kabul Bank had been taken over by the central bank.
The governor of Afghanistan's central bank, Adbul Qadir Fitrat, said the bank had not been taken over and along with the finance minister reassured depositors their money was safe.
US newspapers, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, reported on Wednesday that the central bank had replaced the bank's two top executives -- chief executive Khalilullah Ferozi and chairman Sher Khan Farnud -- and ordered Farnud to hand over 160 million dollars' worth of luxury property purchased in Dubai for himself and for cronies.
Fitrat denied the reports, saying the men had resigned voluntarily as new regulations no longer permitted shareholders to hold executive positions.
Finance Minister Hazrat Omar Zakhailwal reassured Kabul Bank customers the institution was solvent, saying the administration of President Hamid Karzai gave its full backing and cash was being delivered to branches nationwide.
He said 100 million dollars had been deposited in the bank to cover government salaries, which were due to be paid Saturday.
Many people crowding into Kabul Bank branches in the capital and the northern commercial city of Mazar-I-Sharif on Saturday wished to withdraw money ahead of the upcoming Eid holiday, when Muslims buy gifts, clothes and special foods to celebrate the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Mohammad, a 35-year-old doctor, said he came to withdraw 800 dollars from his savings of 2,500 dollars at Kabul Bank's main branch in the capital "because Eid is approaching and I need the cash".
"I don't believe the bank will go bankrupt," he said.
Gul Mohammad, another customer at the head office, said he wanted to close his account, and planned to withdraw his 5,000 dollars.
"I heard the government say the problems will be solved but I am still suspicious," he told AFP.
The Washington Post said on Friday that the US Treasury Department had despatched a team to Kabul to help deal with the crisis, and said that a brother of the president had called for Washington's intervention.
The US embassy did not answer queries.
In Mazar-I-Sharif, Kabul Bank branches were crowded with government employees waiting for their pay, an AFP reporter said.
Many also wanted to make withdrawals in case of solvency problems, with one man, Mahommad Shafi, saying he was planning to empty his account of 600,000 dollars.
"I've been here three times since Thursday because the bank won't give it to me all at once," he said.
The US newspaper reports said a cash crisis at the bank could undermine the stability of Afghanistan's financial system, and the effort to quell a nine-year-old Taliban-led insurgency.
In a report Saturday, the Washington Post quoted Ferozi as saying he had warned Afghan officials that a change of senior bank personnel could be destabilising.
"I was saying, 'You have to be very cautious and careful about these changes'," it quoted him as saying. "This didn't take place, and when I resigned, people started panicking."
Finance ministry spokesman Aziz Shams told AFP: "A change in the leadership of the bank is a normal thing. The government of Afghanistan has always supported the private sector, including private banks.
"People are always chasing rumours and speculation," he said, referring to the reports.
"There is no real problem in this bank. We support the bank and we are not concerned that it will collapse."
In the main southern city of Kandahar, branches of Kabul Bank were also crowded with customers hoping to withdraw their savings.
"I didn't sleep all last night," said 35-year-old Mohammad Nadir. "I have 10,000 dollars in the bank, it is everything I have.
"I've come to get it out but I'm not sure I will be able to because there are so many people here," he said.
strs-lod/mmg/mtp

World tourism rebounded strongly this year from the global financial crisis, led by Asia and the Middle East, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) said Friday.
But the Madrid-based body also urged caution, noting that some major developed nations have not yet fully emerged from the economic doldrums.
International tourist arrivals totaled 421 million in the first six months of 2010, up 7.0 percent on last year but still 2.0 percent below the record year of 2008, the UNWTO said in a report.
The results follow "one of the toughest years for the tourism sector" in 2009, when tourist arrivals declined by 4.2 percent following the global financial meltdown.
It noted that growth was modest in April due the closure of European airspace following the eruption of the volcano in Iceland, but results were strong in May and June.
"Growth was positive in all world regions, led by a robust performance of emerging economies, expanding at 8.0 percent compared to 6.0 percent in advanced economies."
Asia and the Pacific, where tourist arrivals were up 14 percent, and the Middle East, where the figure was 20 percent, "continue to lead growth in the first half of 2010 with the majority of destinations in both regions posting double digit growth rates.
"Asia in particular is experiencing a very dynamic rebound," it said, noting strong results in particular from Sri Lanka, Japan, Vietnam, Myanmar and Hong Kong.
Tourism in the Americas was up 7.0 percent, and Europe 2.0 percent.
But UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai warned that "although we are witnessing a clear recovery in international tourism, we must remain cautious."
"In many advanced economies, namely in the USA and in some major European markets, economic recovery has still to consolidate," he was quoted as saying in a UNWTO statement.
"To this we must add the recent introduction and increase in taxation, most specifically those which directly impact the tourism sector, such as air transport taxes."
For the whole of 2010, the body maintained its forecast of 3.0 to 4.0 percent growth in international tourism.
"Current growth rates, coupled with an improving global economic environment suggest that end-year results are likely to be closer to 4.0 percent, and may even exceed this figure.
"However, high unemployment continues to be a major cause of concern and the austerity measures as well as the rise in taxation implemented in several advanced economies to fight public deficits represent a clear challenge to many leading outbound markets."

Taliban insurgents in southern Afghanistan are facing a "financial crisis" as NATO-led troops have disrupted the center of their lucrative opium trade, a top US general said on Thursday.
With drug labs and supply routes under growing pressure, the insurgents have less than half the cash they had a year ago, said Major General Richard Mills, who leads coalition troops in Helmand province, the key poppy-growing region for the Taliban.
"We have intelligence that indicates to us he has a financial crisis on his hands, he has a cash flow problem," Mills said of the Taliban.
Since a mostly American force pushed back the Taliban in the Marjah area of Helmand in February and targeted the militants' opium "treasury," the insurgents had less money to resupply fighters, buy explosives and attract new recruits, he told reporters by video link from Camp Leatherneck in Helmand province.
"We believe that the local insurgency here within the province has less than one half of what they had last year in operating funds," said Mills, citing "sensitive intelligence" reports.
A blight on the poppy harvest this year, along with efforts by local Afghan authorities to offer farmers alternative crops, had also helped undermine the Taliban's opium profits, the general said.
He said coalition and local forces were making steady progress in Marjah and across Helmand province, and that the Afghan army and police soon could be ready to take over security duties in some districts.
"I do believe in the coming months ahead there will be areas in which we can turn over a significant portion of the security to them for their execution," Mills said.
He cited the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, and Nawa and Garmshir as towns where Afghan forces could gradually take on more responsibility from foreign troops.
The allied strategy in the war hinges on building up Afghan army and police units so that they can take over from foreign troops, with President Barack Obama promising to begin pulling out some US forces by July 2011.
Violence has spiked in southern and eastern Afghanistan with US and coalition troops suffering record casualties over the summer.
A total of 326 US soldiers have been killed in the Afghan war in 2010, compared with 317 for all of 2009, according to AFP figures based on the independent icasualties.org website.
The number of international troops killed in Afghanistan so far in 2010 stands at 493, not far off the 2009 total of 521.
The commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, has said coalition troops have seized the initiative against the Islamist insurgents.
The United States and NATO are building up their troop numbers in Afghanistan to almost 150,000, with Obama's surge of an additional 30,000 soldiers almost complete

The European Central Bank on Thursday published its latest forecasts for inflation and growth in the euro area.
The following is a table of the ECB's projections, which it releases each quarter. The figures are expressed as percentage changes.
A midpoint value of a range is used in AFP stories to clarify the bank's forecasts, and the previous forecast from June is in parenthesis.
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The European Central Bank on Thursday raised its growth and inflation forecasts for the 16-nation eurozone, with the economy now expected to expand 1.6 percent this year and 1.4 percent in 2011.
In June, the ECB had forecast growth at 1.0 percent in 2010 and 1.2 percent in 2011.
ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet noted that "recent economic data for the euro area have been stronger than expected, partly owing to temporary factors.
"Looking ahead, the recovery should proceed at a moderate pace, with uncertainty still prevailing."
Earlier Thursday, the European Union reported second quarter eurozone growth of 1.0 percent, compared to quarter-on-quarter growth of 0.4 percent in the United States and 0.1 percent in Japan.
The ECB also revised its inflation forecasts for the eurozone to 1.6 percent in 2010, from 1.5 percent previously, and to 1.7 percent in 2011, from 1.6 percent.
The new estimates remained well below the ECB's medium-term inflation target of just under 2.0 percent.
ECB policymakers meanwhile left the bank's Benchmark interest rate a record low 1.0 percent, as was widely expected.

The most important lesson to come from the financial crisis is that banks must not be allowed to become "too-big-to-fail," Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.
Stressing the need for banks to hold more cash in reserve and face stricter regulations, Bernanke also told a panel investigating the causes of the economic crisis that the central bank's policies did not spur the collapse.
"If the crisis has a single lesson, it is that the too-big-to-fail problem must be solved," he said in prepared testimony.
He cited ongoing negotiations on the amount of reserves banks must keep to cover their operations and recently passed US legislation as the key tools to tackle the risks posed by big banks.
The near collapse of the US financial system was widely blamed on the troubles at a handful of very large banks whose reach spread throughout Wall Street and beyond.
Troubles at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and AIG triggered waves of concern across the financial system as banks up and down Wall Street rushed to call in their loans, bringing the financial system to a standstill.
But criticizing banks for taking excessive risks in buying up dodgy mortgage-backed securities, Bernanke denied that the Fed had fueled risk-taking by keeping the cost of borrowing excessively low.
"Cross-national evidence also does not favor this hypothesis," he said, pointing rather to "optimism regarding house prices" and "significant capital inflows."
He also denied that the Fed could have stepped in to stop the bubble from popping by raising interest rates.
"Monetary policy is a blunt tool; raising the general level of interest rates to manage a single asset price would undoubtedly have had large side effects on other assets and sectors of the economy."

The European Central Bank revised its inflation forecasts for the eurozone economy on Thursday to 1.6 percent in 2010 and 1.7 percent in 2011.
In March, the ECB had estimated inflation for the 16-nation bloc would come to 1.5 percent this year and 1.6 percent next year.
The new levels remained well below the ECB's medium-term target of just under 2.0 percent.

The European Central Bank raised its forecasts for eurozone growth upwards on Thursday to 1.6 percent in 2010 and 1.4 percent in 2011.
In June, the ECB had estimated the 16-nation bloc's economy would grow by 1.0 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday that the ECB would continue to provide exceptional funding for banks in October, November and December.
Exceptional three-month loans "will be carried out in October, November and December 2010 as fixed rate tender procedures with full allotment," meaning banks can borrow as much cash as they need, Trichet said.
He spoke after the ECB governing council kept its main lending rate at a record low of 1.0 percent for the 16th month running to underpin an economic recovery in the 16-nation eurozone.

India's government on Wednesday began allocating third-generation (3G) bandwidth for cellphone services to mobile operators after a multi-billion-dollar auction of licences.
The auction for high-speed 3G services raised 15 billion dollars for the government from successful bidders who included leading mobile companies Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar, among others.
"We have started the allocation," a spokesman for the telecom ministry told AFP, declining to be identified.
The government had promised to start allocating 3G spectrum on September 1.
The government's auction of 3G bandwidth for cellphone services, which ended in May, saw the winning bids for 71 licences in 22 service areas soar to up to five times the original reserve price.
For at least the first year as 3G is rolled out, the main focus is expected to be on improving call quality. India's 2G spectrum is congested and, as well as serving high-end users, the 3G spectrum will also allow operators to free up bandwidth for more voice users.
3G uptake in India is expected to be slow in the initial stages as 3G handsets are costlier than second-generation handsets.
The country is following in the footsteps of fellow emerging market giant China, which started offering 3G services last year.
3G allows mobile phone users to surf the Internet, video conference and download music, video and other content at a much faster pace than the current second-generation service.
Analysts say India's rural areas offer huge market potential but rolling out infrastructure to support 3G networks will be costly and the main, immediate battleground for 3G customers will be in urban areas.
For telecom firms the high bids reflect the importance of retaining an edge in the world's fastest growing mobile market, which has more than 636 million subscribers and has been adding up to 20 million customers a month.
Seven of India's 14 mobile operators won the right to offer 3G services in different regions, but none managed to secure bandwidth in all 22 areas. Bharti and Reliance led the pack, securing 13 areas each in the bidding.
Companies are expected to form alliances so they can offer 3G service nationwide. State-owned telecom firms BSNL and MTNL were awarded 3G spectrum last year provided they matched the final auction price.