Is there a climate conference going on?
In Copenhagen, big companies from Siemens to Shell are making sure you know they care. Full Article | Full Coverage
FACTBOX: Impact of Bayrou's election pledges on French stocks
PARIS (Reuters) - Here are some of the main proposals of Centrist presidential candidate Francois Bayrou and the stocks that analysts say could be impacted if he won the French presidential elections.
- Customized pension plans.
POSITIVE IMPACT: Insurers Axa and CNP.
- Ban conglomerates that generate revenues from government contracts from acquiring a media company.
NEGATIVE IMPACT: Bouygues (TF1), Lagardere (Europe 1, Paris-Match, Elle, Canal Plus), and Dassault family, who own Dassault Aviation and newspaper Le Figaro.
- Hostile to the privatization of EDF and GDF. One of Bayrou's advisers said he would scrap GDF-Suez merger and look for alternatives including closer ties between GDF and Total.
IMPACT: EDF, GDF, Suez, Total.
- Reserve 20 percent of all public contracts for small and medium-sized businesses; Allow firms to create two new jobs free of social charges, apart from pension deductions, for five years, a plan aimed at small/medium companies.
POSITIVE IMPACT: Small and mid caps.
- Make tourism an economic priority.
POSITIVE IMPACT: Accor, Club Med.
(list of stocks established from research notes from UBS, Societe Generale, Barclays, Berstein Research, Lehman Brothers and HSBC)











