France "rich tax" Paris means to sell villas

5:00 PM France, means, Paris, villas No Comments

Coldwell Banker

This townhouse in Villa Montmorency, one of the best districts in Paris, is on the market for about 18 million $.

France of new 75 percent lodge income tax on the may not be popular with millionaires. But it is celebrated by another group is: Paris property buyers.

Real estate brokers say that the number of multimillion dollar real estate listings in Paris jumped more than 25 percent compared to the previous year – partly on the threat of new income tax. More than 400 new offers on the luxury real estate market in the past six months come, they say.

It's not a sell-off. And brokers caution that increasing offers a total brings the stocks in the high end to normal levels after unusually slim offers from last year. Due to limitations in Paris and other French cities, buildings, the number of homes for sale is still limited.

There are only about 8,000 properties every year for prices above $1 million or more sold.

Nevertheless, brokers say that the 75 percent tax on the richest French citizens contributed to the decision by many of them to sell their homes in anticipation of a possible move to another country.

"It's a real flow of the French left because the taxes", said Charles-Marie Jottras, President Daniel Feau Group, the luxury real estate agents in Paris.

Brokers say that prices are down compared to the previous year, but only about 5 percent.

"The Paris market is still very popular and it is so small that it is protected by a price collapse," according to Coldwell Banker preview pictures international in France. "There is virtually no new built houses."

Still has the pop for a market that has had historically very little inventory of homes for sale, listings mansion buyer given far more choice.

"There is now a better balance between buyers and sellers," said Jottras.

Brokers say that many of the buyers of French property wealthy foreigners, which wouldn't be affected by new taxes. Russians and buyers up to say, Middle East on the list, followed by Europeans, Americans, Latin Americans, and an occasional buyer from Asia.

So can a few million euro buy in these days in Paris?

No lot. For the equivalent of $5.7 million, you could buy a 1,900 square meter apartment in Saint-Germain-des-Pres. The three-room apartment is located on the fifth floor and sixth floor of an old building and features an "SKYdome"room with kitchenette.

You have more like $11 million left on the other hand, might you be interested in a 4,800 square foot townhouse on the Avenue de Boufflers in Villa Montmorency. The House has six bedrooms, a wine cellar, two kitchens and games room.

For $3.4, you get millions a 1,800 square-foot pad "in an old building with balconies", according to the list. It has two bedrooms and two bathrooms.

For $18,6, you can buy millions a 5,200 square foot House in Paris, at top, with four bedrooms, three living rooms and 1,000 square meters terrace.

St. Tropez is more according to your wish, there is a pink on the water villa for sale for $45 million. The years 1930's Villa was once a hotel popular with celebrities and has a stunning salt water pool overlooking the Bay. It has 6 bedrooms, a 2000-bottle wine cellar and caretaker of the House.

"This kind of sellers would like to sell, but they are not willing to lower their price drastically," Jottras said. "they don't have to sell."

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Germany, France agree on Europe bank bailout

6:15 PM agree, bailout, Europe, France, Germany No Comments

BERLIN — The leaders of Germany and France, the eurozone's two biggest economies, said Sunday they have reached an agreement about how to strengthen Europe's shaky banking sector amid the region's debt crisis.

"We are determined to do the necessary to ensure the recapitalization of Europe's banks," German Chancellor Angela Merkel following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Berlin.

A "comprehensive response" to the eurozone's debt crisis will be finalized by month's end, including a detailed plan on recapitalizing the banks, Sarkozy said at Berlin's chancellery.

"The economy needs secure financing to ensure growth. There is no prospering economy without stable banks," he said. "That is what is at stake."

However, both leaders declined to name a price tag for the new measures or elaborate further, saying the proposal must first be discussed with other European leaders.

Analysts have urged the eurozone to identify all the banks in the region that need to replenish their capital reserves, then decide whether to compel them to raise that money on the open markets and to provide government financing to the ones that can't.

Many experts say the capital cushions of many European banks must be strengthened in order to withstand a possible government bond default by Greece. Some analysts fear that a Greek default could cause a severe credit squeeze that would even threaten banks not exposed directly to Greece's debt because banks could be afraid to lend to each other.

The credit freeze following the collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008 choked off lending to the wider economy and caused a deep recession.

Merkel did not provide details Sunday about how the recapitalization would work, saying only that all banks across the eurozone would be measured by the same criteria in coordination with, among others, the European Banking Authority and the International Monetary Fund.

Any solution must be "sustainable," Merkel added.

Sarkozy said the French-German accord on the proposal "is total."

Germany and France will now submit their proposal to shore up Europe's shaky banking sector to other European Union governments ahead of an Oct. 17-18 summit of the bloc's 27 leaders in Brussels, they said.

Both leaders expressed confidence that a comprehensive European response to the crisis will be finalized before a summit of the G-20 most developed nations in France Nov. 3-4.

"The global economy needs this summit to become a success, and the European Union will do its part" to ensure a positive outcome, Merkel said.

The IMF has said banks across the continent might need up to €200 billion ($267 billion) in new capital. The EU disputes the IMF's estimate, but has warned that lending between banks and from banks to businesses is threatening to freeze up.

Earlier this week, Merkel said that banks must first seek to raise new capital on the market before turning to their government, insisting that the eurozone's newly strengthened €440 billion ($590 billion) bailout fund would then only serve as a backstop if a member state can't cope with shoring up its banks' capital.

France, however, was reported to favor turning to the fund's resources right away instead of relying on a national facility to re-capitalize its banks — who are among the biggest holders of Greek bonds.

But Sarkozy sought on Sunday to dispel the notion of different approaches regarding the European Financial Stability Facility, saying "there are no disagreements."

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his French counterpart, Francois Baroin, also took part in the two leaders' discussions.

Merkel and Sarkozy were set to have a working dinner following the news conference they gave at the chancellery.

Germany and France, which together represent about half of the 17-nation currency zone's economic output, regularly hold talks before EU summits to chart out joint positions.

The implosion of Belgian lender Dexia following its sizable exposure to Greek and other eurozone sovereign debt, meanwhile, added a sense of urgency to the talks.

France, Belgium and Luxembourg announced Sunday they had approved a plan for the future of the embattled bank, but they offered no details. France and Belgium became part owners of the bank during a €6 billion ($7.8 billion) 2008 bailout.

While an all-out Greek default appears unlikely, bondholders might still face severe losses, with some analysts maintaining that Greece's debt must be cut by about 50 percent or more to attain a sustainable level.

Private bondholders agreed in July to take about a 20 percent cut on their holdings of Greek bonds as their participation in a second international €109 billion bailout for the country.

But Finance Minister Schaeuble on Sunday joined Merkel and other eurozone officials in hinting that the agreement might have to be renegotiated.

"It is possible that we have so far assumed an insufficient percentage of debt reduction," he told German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

Such a move will be discussed after the so-called troika of Greece's international creditors — European Central Bank, European Commission and IMF — submits its next progress report later this month, Schaeuble was quoted as saying.

Greece is currently struggling to meet budget and reform targets, but it needs an over all positive progress assessment by the troika to qualify for the next €8 billion ($11 billion) installment of its €110 billion package of international bailout loans to avoid bankruptcy.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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France, Belgium, Luxembourg agree on Dexia plan

8:04 PM agree, Belgium, Dexia, France, Luxembourg No Comments

BRUSSELS — The governments of France, Belgium and Luxembourg said Sunday they have approved a plan for the future of embattled bank Dexia after shares tanked last week amid fears it could go bankrupt.

In a three-sentence statement issued by the Belgian prime minister's office, they said they support a proposal by the bank's management that will be submitted to its board of directors, but offered few details. The board was holding a crisis meeting late Sunday in Brussels amid reports that the bank might be split up.

A spokesman said a bank officials would hold a news conference Sunday evening or Monday morning.

Late Sunday, the Belgian newspaper Le Soir, citing no sources, reported on its website that the Belgian government had agreed to buy Dexia Bank Belgium from Dexia SA, the French-Belgian banking group, for €4 billion ($5.37 billion). The Belgian government would be the sole shareholder, the newspaper reported.

Asked about the report, Dominique Dehaene, a spokesman for the Belgian prime minister, declined comment. Dehaene confirmed that government officials planned to hold a meeting late Sunday after the conclusion of the meeting of the bank's board of directors.

Finding a solution is particularly urgent for Belgium because on Friday Moody's Investors Service placed the country's Aa1 rating on review for possible downgrade, due in part to the expected expense of guaranteeing that Dexia's depositors will lose no money.

The French government, too, is under acute pressure to save Dexia as the bank is one of the country's largest lenders to towns and cities.

The government statement, while giving no details, said the "suggested solution" had been "the result of intense consultations with all partners involved" — which would include the three countries. France and Belgium became part owners of the bank during a €6 billion ($7.8 billion) 2008 bailout. They have promised to ensure that no Dexia depositors lose money. Luxembourg holds a smaller stake.

The terse government statement followed a meeting in Brussels attended by Belgium's caretaker prime minister, Yves Leterme, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon, and Luxembourg Finance Minister Luc Frieden.

Asked whether a resolution would be achieved Sunday, Leterme replied, "It will depend on the board," the Belgian newspaper La Capitale reported on its website. Leterme's spokesman could not be reached Sunday evening.

After Dexia's shares plunged last week, the French and Belgian governments stepped in and guaranteed its financing and deposits. The bank said in a statement Friday that trading in its shares would remain frozen until it could "communicate more precisely on the various choices and options concerning the future of the group."

The bank has significant exposure to Greek debt, and there are fears Greece may default in some fashion. French and Belgian governments have said in recent days that they would step in and guarantee the bank's financing and deposits.

There was speculation last week that one way forward would be to break up the bank and isolate Dexia's toxic assets — totaling €100 billion ($132 billion) — in a "bad bank" while its healthy parts would be sold individually.

Speaking on Belgium's VRT network, Leterme did not want to use the label "bad bank" to describe where the toxic assets may be parked, and voiced his hope that in the long-term they could earn "good money."

If the bank were to break up, it would be the first such casualty of the euro crisis, which has bedeviled European Union officials for nearly two years.

However, there was no confirmation Sunday from either government or bank officials that breaking up the bank was part of the proposed solution.

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Don Melvin can be reached at http://twitter.com/Don_Melvin.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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McDonald's in France to start selling baguettes

1:06 PM baguettes, France, McDonalds, Selling, start No Comments

Almost-food giant McDonald's hopes to conquer Gallic heart and palate, the famous baguette add its menu in France, Le Figaro newspaper said on Thursday.

The food chain, which has initially in France with a range of burgers, fries and milkshakes at the end of which dared to 1970s, concessions to critics over the years, its offer salads and fruits add.

Now it wants that succumb to tradition and the hint of warm baguettes add other odors and sights the variety of its outlets in France.

"In the first 15 years of 1980, what we have done above all people was a slice of America, offer" Nawfal Trabelsi, Senior Vice President for McDonald's-business in France and southern Europe, said Le Figaro.

Today, fast-food chain was part of everyday life of the French and wanted to add a larger French touch, said he.

"The French are passionate about bread and crazy for baguettes," Trabelsi said.

French food nine sandwiches for each individual Burger, the it in, according to a consulting firm, Stow and most of these sandwiches are made with the traditional French baguette stick bread, said the newspaper.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

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