For a group which achieved organic growth 9

You should never assume its forces. There is a risk of blurring the image. In a market that shreds of black investors tend to attach more importance to bad news than good. Two months ago, Schneider had revised upward the objective of growth it was assigned at the beginning of year, from a range of 6 to 8 with a minimum of 8. Yesterday, announcing that its 2008 growth would be around 8, the electrical construction Group gave the impression of going back while it confirms the top of its original range. Excess summer optimism of Jean-Pascal Tricoire has thus been endorsed by a stock market fall of 8 in a totally depressed market, with the downturn to 52 since the beginning of the year. For a group which achieved organic growth 9.3 over nine months, even if there is a gradual slowdown in quarter by quarter, the judgment may appear harsh. As the focus on more conducive sectors and cost reduction policy to build on a record margin of 15. What judge inappropriate treatment inflicted Schneider, almost all killed that Saint-Gobain and Lafarge, whose equations are more delicate. But the unknown extent of the recession plunges its leaders in the blur. And markets prefer now to expect the worse rather than better.

The Queen of apples

For Apple, the question is whether the worm of the crisis is in the fruit. The Phoenix of Cupertino has once more break the ceilings of the profit with an increase of 26 in the last quarter. Its ambitious goal of selling 10 million iPhone has even done with three months in advance. With these phones so "smart" they unseated the BlackBerry, Apple has already become the number three global mobile in sales. The recession is not known Steve Jobs acknowledged that the waves of the crisis secoueraient no doubt his company, but it recovered more strong than ever when calm would be back. Of course, nothing is ever acquired and even the most beautiful fruit go wrong. But the Applemania is responsible for a customer, almost a community, so specifically attracted to the design and ease of use that it seems entrenched. Jobs has therefore no doubt reason to think that customers may delay their purchase but does not betray it to another provider. In other words, time plays for him. As far as free of debt and pledged $ 25 billion of cash, the inventor of the i - Pod, even just to sell 11 million, has thus become rare commodity which will enable it to seize any opportunity that occurs.

Dull blade

In the course of recreation, chisel always wins against paper. In Bic, razors defend systematically pens and lighters. This year, profitability will be almost two lower in 2007 and three times and a half times lower than that of the group. Despite the rebound in the third quarter, the smallest of the three main branches of the King of the disposable, generating about one-fifth of its turnover, barely resist rolling of its market share by the thin blades of Procter & Gamble and Energizer. Already result in periods of euphoria consumer, the gap with pens and lighters becomes untenable in times of economic slowdown, the group financed in returns respectively two emblematic products triple and sevenfold over the first nine months of 2008. As these two engines have their own misfiring, the promotional items of stationery is also more lucrative in period of quasi-recession and lighters following the same downward the number of smokers. Relief operated from the alert of spring has certainly earned yesterday Bic to be the best performance of the Paris stock exchange. But closer level of 2003, its operating margin of 2008 worth to be cleared at the Red Bic.