Un audit officiel publié lundi révèle que la dette des collectivités locales chinoises atteignait 17.900 milliards de yuans (2.100 milliards d’euros environ) fin juin, un montant supérieur à certaines estimations indépendantes et qui plaide en faveur de nouvelles réformes des finances publiques. En prenant en compte ce chiffre, la dette publique de la Chine représente environ 58% du PIB.

D’après la fédération patronale BGA, les exportations allemandes devraient augmenter de 3% en 2014 pour atteindre un montant total sans précédent de 1.142 milliards d’euros, grâce à la reprise de l'économie mondiale. L’excédent commercial allemand devrait donc encore progresser, à 224 milliards d’euros, car la hausse des importations ne devrait pas dépasser 1%, à 918 milliards d’euros, ajoute l’organisation.

Dans ses vœux, qui seront diffusés ce soir mais dont le texte a été publié lundi, Angela Merkel estime que les progrès de l’Allemagne «dépendent, comme cela a toujours été le cas, de l’avancement de l’Europe et d’une résolution pour de bon de la crise de la dette souveraine». Elle précise que l’assainissement de la situation budgétaire et une transition énergétique réussie sont aujourd’hui les priorités de la République fédérale.

Pour la quatrième fois en deux ans, le Conseil d'État a annulé lundi de façon rétroactive des arrêtés gouvernementaux fixant les tarifs réglementés de vente du gaz naturel en France, cette fois pour la période allant du 20 juillet au 31 décembre 2012. Deux arrêtés du 15 avril 2013 sont annulés pour méconnaissance du principe d'égalité, la plus haute juridiction administrative estimant que ceux-ci ont introduit une inégalité de traitement tarifaire injustifiée favorable aux gros consommateurs particuliers qui disposent d’un chauffage collectif par rapport à ceux dont le bâtiment n’est pas résidentiel. La décision devrait être sans impact pour les ménages qui utilisent un chauffage individuel. Le Conseil d'État précise dans un communiqué que les ministres de l’Economie et de l’Energie ont un délai d’un mois pour fixer de nouveaux barèmes tarifaires. GDF Suez n’a pas fait de commentaire.

Deux décrets et un arrêté publiés au Journal officiel ont officialisé la première vague de certification des comptes d’hôpitaux publics. Ainsi, dès 2014, 31 hôpitaux - définis par arrêté - s’engageront concrètement dans la démarche. En 2015 et en 2016, tous les établissements publics dont les recettes dépassent les 100 millions d’euros les rejoindront.

Sur les dix premiers mois de l’année, le déficit public de l’Espagne, hors collectivités locales, a représenté 4,87% du PIB, pratiquement inchangé par rapport à son niveau de la fin septembre. Le gouvernement prévoit un déficit de 6,5% sur l’ensemble de l’année.

Le fonds alternatif de 250 millions de dollars spécialisé dans les matières premières baisse le rideau après dix-huit mois seulement d’existence en raison d’un «manque de stabilité du capital». Le fonds a dégagé un rendement de 7,5% depuis sa mise en place. Le maintenir ouvert aurait nécessité une «réduction importante des dépenses ainsi qu’une restructuration», a expliqué son co-fondateur Jean Bourlot, un ancien d’UBS.

A en croire l’agence officielle Chine Nouvelle, le président chinois Xi Jinping va présider lui-même un groupe chargé de piloter un ambitieux programme de réformes économiques et sociales. Les observateurs s’attendaient à ce que ce groupe soit mené par le Premier ministre, Li Keqiang ou le chef du PCC de Shanghai, Han Zheng.

L’Association nationale des agents immobiliers (NAR) a fait savoir lundi que son indice des promesses de ventes dans l’ancien, calculé sur la base des contrats signés le mois dernier, était remonté de 0,2% à 101,7, l’indice d’octobre ayant été révisé en baisse à 101,5 au lieu de 102,1 - soit un recul de 1,2%, deux fois plus important qu’initialement annoncé. Il s’agit de la première hausse de l’indice depuis six mois.

Le Conseil constitutionnel a retoqué la loi de validation prévue dans le budget. Elle protégeait les banques contre les contentieux de collectivités

Le gouvernement a promis de revoir sa copie dans les plus brefs délais alors que le conseil constitutionnel a retoqué sa loi de validation. Insérée dans le budget, elle devait permettre à Dexia et à la Société de financement local (Sfil) de se prémunir contre les contentieux ouverts par les collectivités locales aux prises avec des emprunts toxiques.

Ils ont augmenté en moyenne de 4,4% au cours de 2013. La poursuite de la hausse dépendra notamment des anticipations sur les taux des prêts

Thierry Brevet, directeur du fonds de dotation du Louvre à Option Finance : Au 28 novembre, le portefeuille du fonds comprend un peu moins de 35 % d’obligations, près de 50 % d’actions, et environ 15 % de cash. Nous détenons aujourd’hui beaucoup de liquidités pour nous prémunir contre une remontée probable des taux d’intérêt à long terme, même si le timing et l’ampleur de cette remontée font l’objet de nombreuses discussions. Nous réfléchissons actuellement à augmenter l’exposition en actions au-delà de 50 % en réallouant une partie de nos liquidités. Nous réfléchissons également à investir dans des classes d’actifs peu liquides, absentes de notre allocation de référence, telles que les loans (corporate et immobilier) ou l’immobilier non coté, à travers des véhicules de placements collectifs. Nous avons renoncé, pour le moment, à investir dans des hedge funds, pour des raisons d’image et réglementaires. Cette catégorie de placements reste encore mal perçue par nombre d’observateurs et le code de la sécurité sociale, qui réglemente nos placements, ne nous permettait pas d’investir dans les fonds les plus attractifs qui, très souvent, ne bénéficient pas du passeport européen. La transposition de la directive AIFM devrait toutefois améliorer l’offre de fonds alternatifs accessibles à des investisseurs comme nous. Nous nous sommes également interrogés sur l’opportunité d’investir dans le private equity, à l’instar des fondations américaines. Mais nous pensons que la taille encore modeste du Fonds de dotation ne lui permettrait pas d’accéder aux meilleurs gérants à un coût raisonnable. Nous serons certainement conduits à revoir cette position dans quelques années.

US banking regulators (Fed, FDIC, OCC, SEC) are planning to pronounce a verdict by 15 January on the potential abandonment of the Volcker rule, which reuires banks to sell off certain bond investments, Agefi reports. Small banks have called for the exclusion from the rule for trust preferred securities (Trups).

Agefi reports that foreign banks located on US soil will be allowed two years before having to separate swap activities from their other activities, as the Federal Reserve (Fed) announced on 24 December. Société Générale, Crédit Agricole, and BNP Paribas will thus still temporarily have access to insurance and the discount rate for services of the Federal government. To ask to benefit from the transitional period before application of the law, foreign banks, affiliates and branches, all, like Americans, have until 31 January 2014, when the terms came into force. The swap market is subject to negotiations between regulators on one side of the Atlantic, and the rules on both sides of the Atlantic, especially for reporting and compensation, are far from agreement. Operators are concerned about the impossible management of contradictory rules.

The former portfolio manager at SAC Capital Advisers, Mathew Martoma, has asked a judge to require that the US government disclose proof that he claims may prove him innocent. The case, in which Martoma is defending accusations of insider trading, will begin next month, Investment News reports. Martoma will ask the prosecutor to provide transcripts of conversations between the government and lawyers for the two doctors who are reported to have helped to obtain confidential information about clinical trials of Alzheimer medication for major pharmaceutical groups.

The Volcker rule passed in mid-December, which is part of the Dodd-Frank rule, is subject to a lawsuit filed by the American Bankers Association against the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC), Agefi reports. The lobby of regional credit establishments wants to suspend the application of the aforementioned rule by the end of the year. A particular term concerns them, related to trust preferred securities (Trups). These hybrid instruments, issued by vehicles which issue banking debt, are widely used by regional banks. The ones which had issued Trups are themselves subscribed to CDOs which the Volcker rule now includes in the list of funds which are subject to investment restrictions, the newspaper warns.

According to the CEO of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), cited by the Daily Telegraph, lawsuits against more bankers and traders will be engaged, as part of the case of the Libor rate manipulation scandal, Agefi reports. David Green described the investigation as “gigantic;” it involves nearly one third of all SFO personnel.

Japanese hedge funds are expected to finish the year with record returns, according to Bloomberg. Managers are betting that reforms engaged by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe will combine to set Japan on the path of growth. The Stratton Street Capital LLP warrant fund posted returns of over 300% in 2013, while the Hayate Japan Equity Long-Short Fund nearly doubled its gains last year. The Eurekahedge Japan Hedge Fund, which tracks the performance of 80 funds, posted gains of 24% between January and November, which is expected to be the best annual result since the beginning of statistics in 2000, Bloomberg notes. In 2012, the index was at the bottom of the table, with returns of 6%. Funds specialised in Japan saw their assets rise by USD451m in second half 2013.

Fidelity Investments has announced that from January 2014, Ramona Persaud will be responsible for the management of two funds, the Fidelity Dividend Growth Fund and the Fidelity Advisor Dividend Trowth Fund, which have a total of nearly USD10bn The current manager, Lawrence Rakers, who had managed the two funds since 2008, will begin in his new role in the asset allocation department of Fidelity, says Nicole Goodnow, a spokesperson for the US asset management firm, according to Investment News.

Erste Asset Management has launched the Erste Responsible Bond Emerging Corporate fund (ISIN AT0000A13EF9), which invests in corporate bond from emerging countries. These businesses are selected according to criteria of sustainability, fondscheck.de reports. The benchmark index defining the investment universe is the Corporate EMBI (CEMBI) from J. P. Morgan. The management team excludes bonds rated below B-, the website adds.

Clean Capital has closed its closed fund CC Solar 7, fondsprofessionell notes. The subscription period for the fund, launched in autumn 2012, has been extended until the end of this year, the website says. Assets in the fund, which invests in two photovoltaic projects located in Germany, total over EUR3m. Clean Capital states that it has worked in collaboration with a new fund constructed on the same principle as its predecessor, which will comply with the AIFM directive.

Shanghai Securities News reports that the Chinese banking regulatory commission (CSRC) earlier this month published a document which details the conditions which the requirements to be respected to create a companies in Chinese cities and states must be complied with. According to the new documentation, all companies created locally will have to have CNY1bn (EUR120m) in owners’ equity. It will also need to have professionals among its directors who are able to manage depreciated assets, have strengthened governance, internal controls, and risk management systems.

The bank Lombard Odier will participate in a US programme to resolve a tax dispute with Switzerland, according to romandie.com. The bank will opt for category 2, it announced on Friday. The private bank nonetheless reserves the option to join category 3. Lombard Odier states that “US private clients have never been a target market” and that the firm “has for many years appliced a strict policy with respect to this.” Category 2 includes bank which have good reasons to think that they have violated US tax law, while category 3 includes banks which claim that they have not violated US tax law.

The Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) is expected to invest JPY10bn (USD95bn) in private equity and venture capital in the next 10 years, according to a head and adviser to the government in matters of retirement, Bloomberg reports. The pension fund – the largest in the world – which has JPY124bn in assets – is first expected to invest up to JPY3bn in private equity and venture capital in April 2015, and will increase its investments up to JPY10bn in 2023, says Yasushi Ando, an adviser to the liberal Democratic part specialised in retirement. The fund would then be “in line” with global standards established by competing pension funds for investments of this nature.

The AFIAA, the investment foundation of 29 Swiss pension funds focused on international real estate, has recently added to its portfolio with the addition of two prestigious office properties in Lisbon. With the purchase of these buildings, Espace and Explorer, the AFIAA has sought to make an anticyclical investment to take advantage of advantageous sale prices and attractive returns, while betting on good outlooks that the ongoing economic recovery in Portugal offer, a statement says. The AFIAA currently has a portfolio that includes 30 direct investments locted in Europe, North America and Australia. The total volume of investments comes to about CHF1.3bn.

Alma Capital is continuing its expansion. Two new sub-funds, Alma Hotchkiss & Wiley US High Yield Opportunities Fund and Alma DoubleLine Emerging Markets Debt Fund were licensed by the CSSF, and will be created as soon as a sufficient amount of seed capital (USD50m) has been gathered. Hotchkiss & Wiley has USd24bn in assets under management in Los Angeles; it is a value style asset management firm, which will soft close a US fund with 125 positions when it draws near USd2bn, though it currently stands at USD1.5bn. The sub-funds come in addition to three sub-funds which had already been launched, which are licensed for sale in France by the AMF, including the Alma DoubleLine US Small Cap Gorwth Equity Fund lauched two months ago, with USD7m. Its assets now total USD8m in 60 positions. A new sub-fund, the Alma Eikoh Japan Large Cap Equity Fund, managed by the Anglo-Japanese firm Eikoh, is also in the process of being licensed by the CSSF. Overall, assets in the ACIF Sicav from the French firm Alma Capital now total USD109.1m.

The realty firms Icade and Silic on Friday, 27 December announced their merger, effective from 31 December 2013. The operation will give birth to the Grand Paris realty company, a joint statement says. Concretely, the general assemblies of shareholders have approved the merger and absorptionof Silic into Icade, on the basis of a parity exchange of 5 Icade shares for 4 Silic shares. In size, the new entity will become the largest owner of offices and other campuses in Europe. The combination of teams as well as the complementarity of the geographical footprints of the two companies will mean that the best conditions exist to explore potential single development of 2 million square metres in five growing areas of Paris: Paris–Saint-Denis–Aubervilliers, Paris–Orly, Paris–La Défense–Nanterre, Paris–Villejuif and Paris–Roissy. At the time of completion of the merger, Icade will, in application of the exchange parity, increase its capital by a nominal EUR2,212,786.34, bringing it from EUR110,456,512.52 to EUR112,669,298.86, through the creation of 1,451,687 new shares awarded to shareholders in Silic (with the exception of Icade and Silic, including self-owned shares). The new Icade shares will be admitted to trading on the A segment of Euronext Paris under the ISIN code FR0000035081. When the merger is completed, Icade will substitute for Silic in its obligation to (i) holders of Silic subscription option shares, (ii) holders of Silic shares which are available to be purchased and (iii) holders of Silic bonds with a redemption option in cash and/or new and/or existing shares (ORNANEs). Silic ORNANEs will continue to be subject to trading on Euronext Paris, while those held by Icade will be cancelled. In 2012, Icade earned consolidated net earnings of EUR1.4993bn, and ongoing net cash flow of EUR251.4m. As of 30 June 2013, re-evaluated triple net EPRA assets totalled EUR4.0795bn. For its part, Silic has properties totalling over 1,224,000 square metres of mixed office and other properties in the Paris region.

The Danish asset management firm Jyske Invest has announced the launch of a low-volatility global equity fund, the website fondscheck.de reports. Jyske Invest Equities Low Volatility (ISIN DK0060512358) is managed by Brian Kirk. The manager selects 80 to 120 companies which have good fundamentals. The value strategy of the fund is strengthened by additional selection criteria related to momentum, the website states.

In an interview with the Greek weekly Realnews, cited by Agefi, the Greek finance minister has announced that he is preparing a return to the markets for the country in the second half of 2014. Yannis Stournaras has stated, however, that it would be possible on the condition that Greece run a primary budgetary surplus and return to growth next year.