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• The facts. Between January 1 and March 31, 2012, it sold 419.1 million mobile phones worldwide, according to figures from research company Gartner reported Wednesday. This is the first time since the second quarter of 2009 as the market retreats.

• Why is it sold less mobile. According to Gartner, the main reason is to be sought in Asia. Demand between January and March, traditionally driven by the Chinese New Year, has slowed, due to deferrals of purchases and a lack of new landmark.

Mobile phone makers have had mixed fortunes, however. So, Nokia has been the most impacted. Its sales have collapsed, from 107 million units last year to 83 million, a global market share of 19.8%. The Finnish group has lost its leading position in mobile, he had held since 1998. Samsung (20.7%), with sales however rose from 68 to 86 million units, an increase of over 25%, is now number one industry.

In fact, manufacturers are well positioned in smartphones that are best left in the quarter. It sold 144.4 million smartphones between January and March, an increase of 44%. Together, Apple and Samsung have concentrated almost half of sales (49.3%), against a little over a third last year. Interestingly, smartphones represent the total sales of Apple and 44% of those from Samsung, against only 16% for Nokia.

• The conservative projections for 2012, despite the iPhone 5. Given this trend, Gartner considers "inevitable" a downward revision of sales forecasts throughout the year. The research institute recognizes that the arrival of new Android smartphones and Windows phone, and the launch of the iPhone 5, will encourage strong growth in Europe and the United States. Similarly, the new BlackBerry, BB10, is expected by the end of the year.

During the first quarter, more than one smartphone sold in two (56.1%) was an Android, against 36.4% a year ago. IOS, the system of the iPhone, is it rose from 16.9 to 22.8% market share. In contrast, all other systems are now fallen below 10%. Smartphones running Microsoft's Windows phone have such great difficulty to penetrate. They represented 1.9% of sales this quarter, or 2.7 million units sold.

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Wednesday after the nationalization of the first network of savings banks Bankia, the Spanish government on Friday introduced a new banking reform, the second in less than three months. Madrid requires banks an additional provision of $ 30 billion. This will add to the 53 billion that should already be provisioned by the end of the year to cover the risk of real estate the most problematic, representing € 184 billion globally, according to Bank of Spain.

This caution will also be extended to 123 billion of property assets considered non-problematic "for their hypothetical deterioration" in the words of Minister of Economy, Luis de Guindos. In total, Spanish banks will be funded 45% of their total real estate assets by the end of the year. Before the first government reform Rajoy, the rate was only 14%, the minister recalled. Other decision, banks will separate the real estate assets from their balance sheets and place them in specialized agencies, to better assess the right price. "It will be mandatory for all entities," the minister said. In the interests of transparency, and meet there at a request of the Eurogroup, Madrid will carry out audits of accounts. "Two independent evaluators" will be responsible for judging the soundness and credibility of assessments.

Recession in 2013

The question is how banks can finance such levels of provision and how much will be deducted from their own funds bad credit pay day loans. Guindos recalled that during the last injection of public money made by the previous government, the fund Frob had lent 15 billion euros to banks. "The total should be this time significantly lower," he thought, noting that the state would receive an interest rate of 10% on money lent. "The Frob keeps 5 billion in cash. We will see how it will be necessary to supplement, "said Guindos. The Minister further stated that this funding through convertible bonds to five years, would cost "nothing" to the taxpayer.

The exercise of clarity has not convinced the markets: the Madrid Stock Exchange immediately plunged 3%, carried away by banks. The chief minister, Mariano Rajoy, nice hammer that the deficit will not be affected, the target of 5.3% of GDP this year, against 8.5% in December, and above 3% target in 2013 , is very hypothetical. The European Commission, which today released its new forecasts for the euro area, anticipates a deficit of 6.3% of GDP in 2012, even worse, 6.4% in 2013. In less than three months, Brussels has revised up sharply the recession, to 1.8% of GDP, against 1% previously. Next year, the economy would be even the only Iberian euro area to be in red.

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The general meeting of shareholders of Dexia, which takes place Wednesday afternoon, from 14 hours in Brussels looks very heckled. For if the fate of the Franco-Belgian seems to be a non-issue in France, he ignites the political debate on the other side of the border.

Concretely, Belgium seems now to enjoy the transition period at the head of the French state to make its case. In two stages. The Kingdom requires the Management Board of Dexia, now led by the French Pierre Mariani. She then wants to renegotiate the terms of its rescue.

Destabilized by the debt crisis, Dexia survives today only because it can be financed with the State guarantee for the time up to 45 billion euros, up 90 billion soon and if the Commission European accepts. However, Belgium – Dexia is a Belgian group legally – bears the burden of 60% against 37.5% for France. Too much in the eyes of the Belgian political.

During the meeting, the confrontation should focus on the vote of "discharge" to management and the board. A legal act by which the shareholders validate the management of the past year and believe that good leaders have acted in the interest of society. "Dexia has been mismanaged," stated Wednesday morning a Belgian secretary of state, Melchior Wathelet.

The subject is divided into the Belgian camp, from one party to another, from one region to another, knowing that are present in both the capital state, regions and holding companies in liquidation. It is highly likely that Belgium refrain from voting majority in the discharge which could then be voted in favor of the voice of the Deposit French (20% stake in CNP with insurance).

Very precarious balance

After the meeting, the chairman of Dexia, the former prime minister Jean-Luc Dehaene, should resign. And Board should co-opt a new member, Karel de Boeck, that Belgium had already placed at the head of Fortis failed in 2008. The Kingdom has made its candidate now occupied by the French Pierre Mariani, Dexia dispatched late 2008. Ultrapolitique become a subject in Belgium where the government opposes the payment of severance pay of French. He also wants to accelerate the appointment of a Belgian so you can negotiate the best possible overhaul of agreements to dismantle the bank.

And France in all this? At this point, it is the Deposit which is first in line, quietly. The institution headed by Antoine Gosset-Grainville seems to defend the status quo. Or acceleration of change of men at the head of the bank or renegotiation of agreements. A firm attitude that justifies the issue: Dexia is now very precarious balance, as evidenced by the loss of 431 million euros in the first quarter (over 11 billion in 2011 remember), released Wednesday morning.

If the plan is derailed, the bank will be recapitalised. Or, worse, the guarantees provided by the States may need to play, a nightmare scenario for France certainly, but especially for Belgium. Dexia shows still 399 billion in assets, is a time bomb in the heart of the fragile euro zone.

In the coming days, it's the French who will leave the wood. Francois Hollande and his team will then display the color vis-à-vis the government of Elio di Rupo, the Belgian Socialist whose presence at Solferino Street Sunday night was noticed. With two options. Either France is trying to recreate a consensus on the decommissioning plan. Or it enters a power relationship with Belgium.

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Presidential in major cities Paris | Leeds | Lyons | Toulouse | Leeds | Sheffield | Liverpool | Bordeaux | Lille

In 2018, there will be two newcomers in the Parisian sky: two all-glass towers whose upper portion is tilted in wave form. Achievement of 500 million euros by Jean Nouvel and funded by an investment fund Quebec, Ivanhoe Cambridge, and an American, Hines.

Specifically, this set will find its place in the ZAC Seine Rive Gauche, the area is being completely remodeled, close to the BNF (Bibliothèque nationale de France) in the thirteenth arrondissement. The first skyscraper peak at 231 m with 38 floors. His little brother will reach 115 meters, 24 floors. Clearly, these IGH (tall buildings) will be much lower than the highest tower of France, First (231 meters and 50 storeys), inaugurated in Defence in May 2011.

"Our city should not become a museum city"

But these skyscrapers, which will be occupied by offices and a hotel, have a symbolic value. They will mark the return of the towers in Paris after a long wait. With their design on tile anti-friendly design and unimaginative, high-rise buildings built in the 1970s (Montparnasse tower, towers along the Seine and the Olympics in the thirteenth arrondissement) had disgusted the people of this type of construction. "We decided to rebuild the towers in Paris because land is scarce and must be used to best effect and because our capital must not become a museum city," argues Anne Hidalgo, first deputy mayor of Paris in charge of urbanism. This policy does not unanimously. The Greens, for example, are opposed.

However, these two skyscrapers of Jean Nouvel announce other. In 2016, a tower of 160 meters and 40 floors, designed by architect Renzo Piano to house the TGI (High Court), should be delivered to the Batignolles in the seventeenth arrondissement. If the project is proceeding normally, Triangle tower installed Porte de Versailles in the fifteenth district would be delivered in 2017. "And we have three other projects of a turn in the thirteenth arrondissement, on the same area as the skyscrapers of Jean Nouvel," said Hidalgo.

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Like every Monday evening, the Ministry of Sustainable Development publishes weekly reports fuel prices in France. For the first time since late January, a liter of unleaded 95, unleaded 98 and diesel show a decline. But it is minimal for the SP 95, a liter costs on average in the hexagon 1.6507 euro (against 1.6664 last week, a record) for the SP 98, it is worth 1.7001 euro (or an less than 1.7095 posted last Monday) and a liter of diesel fuel most consumed by the French, amounts to 1.4295 euro, 1.4362 against seven days ago.

This small decline is explained both by a slight decline in oil prices in recent days, combined with a slight rise of the euro against the dollar. Indeed, in one week, a barrel of black gold has risen from 104.77 dollars to 102.86 dollars on Monday (-1.8%) in New York, while the euro / dollar rose to a , 3077 to 1.3220 (1.1%). Besides these two variants, the price of gas depends on the gross refining margins, those of distribution, the rate of VAT (19 payday loans guaranteed no fax.6%) and the TIPP (domestic tax on petroleum products), attached to around 60 euro cents per liter.

According to a recent study by two economists, gas stations reflected both increases than cuts refined oil prices on their price. Supermarkets are the best students.

If Nicolas Sarkozy was elected president on May 6, so that social VAT would take effect in October. That is to say that the VAT rate will go from 19.6% to 21.2%. If, however, Francois Hollande took power, the Socialist said he would be immediately increased by 1.6 point VAT. He also warned that it would impose a freeze on gasoline prices and would set up a floating TIPP.  

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The government deficit in France in 2013 is forecast at 3.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), far from the 3% target set by the government, according to forecasts biannual International Monetary Fund (IMF) published today.

This year, the deficit would reach 4.6%, says the IMF, against 4.4% in commitment from France to its European partners.

In its "Monitor of public finances", the IMF predicts that France approaches the symbolic threshold of 3% in 2014, with a year behind the official schedule. These projections mean that the next president, whoever he is, will soon adopt a new fiscal tightening after the election of May 6 Indeed, the president-candidate Nicolas Sarkozy and his Socialist rival Francois Hollande, the poll favorite, have both pledged to cut the deficit to 3% in 2013.

For its part, the public debt of France is expected to increase next year the symbolic threshold of 90% of GDP to 90.8%, while all candidates hope to contain it to below this threshold. It would commence thereafter a slow reflux.

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Who has not dreamed of just open my hand to touch the money immediately? Tomorrow is reality, or almost, Japan.

Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank will offer its customers, in September, cash machines with a floppy schema veins, a sensor capable of recognizing the lines of the hand.

Other institutions are already in the Archipelago of biometric authentication technique. But it simply serves to replace the numeric code if it has been forgotten, to prove that the credit card into the machine belongs to the person using it. This time, no need to map. The machine will compare the vascular pattern of the palm, pre-recorded by the bank, with the distributor free business cards. No question that someone other than the card owner uses the account. The margin of error, it seems, almost zero. The idea came, says Takeshi Usui, Executive Director of Ogaki Kyoritsu, the tsunami of March 11, 2011 where thousands of people lost all their identification papers and credit cards.

The only thing that we should not lose is memory. Indeed, distributors will claim any biometric same date of birth of the customer. And a password.

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"If we do not respect the line to reduce our deficits and our debt to the minute interest rates will rise." Wednesday, Nicolas Sarkozy has gone a step further in the dramatization. After Francois Fillon, who suggested Tuesday that a hint of victory would boost Francois Hollande attacks against the euro area, the president candidate has warned against any slippage in the path of fiscal consolidation.

To raise the specter of an uncontrollable ascent rates, the current majority is based on digging for a few days the gap between interest rates ten years French (2.93% on Wednesday) and German ( 1.79%). At 114 basis points, after reaching 135 points Tuesday, this spread has actually widened over 30 points in a month.

Should we see a sign of growing distrust of markets in anticipation of a victory for the left, and expect a speculative attack against France after the second round? If the debate on this subject undoubtedly grows, nothing concrete has yet support this thesis. "The widening gap in interest rates between France and Germany is primarily due to lower rates to ten years German, while at the same time the French rate increase very little," said Patrick Jacq, BNP Paribas. In fact, France borrowed Wednesday cheaper than January 1 – the rate at ten years then stood at 3.20%. At the height of the crisis in the euro area, last fall, the OAT to ten years had reached a yield of 3.70% and the gap with Germany was around 190 points. The position occupied by Francois Hollande favorite in the presidential polls did not even affect the bond markets.

The fact remains that, beyond political considerations alone, the French debt will find itself under strong pressure in the coming days. Several factors will combine. The first is technical. As of Monday, April 16, the derivatives market Eurex will boost the marketing of futures contracts on the OAT need a personal loan with bad credit. Some see an opportunity for traders to speculate on France. "The danger is actually involved as a hedging tool transformed into an instrument of credit risk management," says Patrick Jacq. In other words, that some operators are betting on a French credit event.

Community constraint

Precisely, the second is the threat to a likely downgrade of France by Moody's, which can occur anytime during the next four weeks. On this theme, moreover, that the Socialist candidate responded to the attacks of the UMP: "If there was loss of triple A, is due to the left or right because of?" , asked Francois Hollande in response to declining rating by Standard & Poor's mid-January.

But the main constraint to be exercised on the French debt will be at the community. By coincidence, in the days following the second round, the European Commission must publish its report on the growth prospects of French public finances. However, this report will not consider the program of President-elect. "There is a risk that this be interpreted by markets as a distrust of the new president," worries do we camp in the Netherlands. In fact, it is on structural reforms of the future government that markets deem the French debt. "The benchmark in Europe now, it's Mario Monti and his reform of the labor market," says a senior European official. From this point of view, Francois Hollande is a real risk, arguing such measures as hiring officials or the questioning, even partial, of the pension reform.

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The Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) announced tonight that it has raised its system of crisis to the nuclear Penly, Seine-Maritime. Yesterday, two fire starts in a reactor caused a leak of radioactive water on an attached cooling system. The water was then collected in tanks provided for this purpose inside the building. But following the intervention of the EDF teams and firefighters, "since 4:00 this morning, there is no leakage at the joint of the pump," EDF said in a statement this morning. "This return to normal on the cooling system has removed the internal mobilization plan at 5:15 this morning."

The reactor, cooling down, remain stationary between 4 and 10 days, time to repair the pump circuit and "understand what happened in detail," said the AFP Dominique Mining , director of EDF's nuclear fleet. "The teams were able to re-enter the reactor building" during the night, he said, adding that "there is light, there is no smoke." The repairs could be made from this weekend.

Someone slightly burnt

The ASN provides that "the incident had no impact on the environment" and listed in Level 1 ("anomaly") on account that the seven nuclear safety INES scale.

No radioactive contamination was detected on the 29 persons involved in the reactor building to extinguish the fire starts but one of them was slightly burned during surgery, said last night the Director General of ASN Jean-Christophe Niel. "This is an injury limited" according to information from EDF, he said.

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