Today Hot News

Monday, August 29 at 10 am, Alexander Pugachev, the owner of France-Soir, and Remy Dessart, the managing editor, will meet with employee representatives in a council. At that time, leaders should inform staff that they have requested placement in the daily backup process, as revealed PressNews.

The newspaper, which lost 32 million euros in 2010, is expected to lose at least fifteen this year. Reportedly, the group does not bend under the weight of debt. It supports about 2 million in payables. In fact, the financing of the newspaper is provided by Alexander Pugachev himself, who regularly feeds the current account of the newspaper to pay the bills.Figaro in an interview last November, he declared: "France-Soir has no bank debt … We lose about 2 million a month and every month I put money on account."

This backup procedure, if accepted by the Commercial Court of Paris, will allow the appointment of an administrator. Its role would be not to negotiate with creditors, but rather to address the structural and economic reasons that make the newspaper is in permanent deficit. France-Soir and will be until the release has not reached the 150,000 to 170,000 copies by the admission of its owner.However, at present, the paid circulation of the title revolves around 74,000, despite the relaunch of the title made in January 2011.

The cost structure

Alexander Pugachev, who has already invested 50 million euros in the title, was prepared to inject 20 million euros in 2011 to run the newspaper and energize. But today, it raises the question of the cost structure of the paper. The selling price, even back 50 to 60 cents, and low advertising revenues do not find a financial balance. The equation is complicated Alexander Pugachev. To reach 150,000 copies, the newspaper needs to invest in editorial quality and a strong distribution. But this is expensive. It might therefore seek partners to share the burden.

One more! Taiwan's HTC has come to swell the list of phone manufacturers in lawsuits against Apple for patent infringement by filing a complaint on Tuesday night. He joined Motorola and Samsung in this. And all three are pursued by Apple are accused of having copied its phones and tablets. To believe that the trial is a way like another to manage a patent portfolio of brands. The complaints became so numerous that more and more industry observers blame the mobile phone companies to spend more in legal fees only to pay engineers. At the expense of innovation.

A drift that Apple, as a party plaintiff or defendant in a number of ongoing trials, is no stranger. The firm seeks to protect its technologies as well as its distinctive (packaging, product development, wiring).Apple targets are far from accidental. As for Samsung, HTC and Motorola, it indirectly addresses its main competitor in the mobile phone: Google's Android, which equips the devices of the three brands offending and weighs 43% of this market.

The game is risky for Apple, which is far from winning all its trials. After graduating last week a ban on the marketing of the Galaxy Tab Samsung in Europe, Apple has finally seen its competitor be allowed to sell the tablet in Europe, except Germany. Apple is also regularly attacked by some "small" sector, like Creative, to whom he had to pay $ 73 million, accused of using its expertise in digital music player for his iPod payday loans guaranteed no fax. But these repeated attacks are proof of the incredible ability of Apple to seize the zeitgeist and often improve the copy.Which in terms of "victims" is no excuse. Especially as unwilling to compromise, Steve Jobs, the CEO prefers to go to trial, even if it means losing. Another failure in the face of Nokia. Apple was ordered to pay a lump sum and use rights, which amounts have not been made public, some patents.

A dangerous game

A similar logic to that which led Microsoft to claim $ 15 a smartphone sold to Samsung. The U.S. already collects $ 5 from HTC. For its part, Oracle accuses Google of violating some of its patents to develop its operating system for smartphones Android, and is seeking $ 6 billion.

"Apple has it gone to the dark side of the Force?" The question made the rounds of blogs devoted to the subject, concerned about the prosecution of the brand.We are far from "nice" Apple label won in the late 1980s and early 1990s, as opposed to "bad" giant Microsoft, which dominated the world. Apple, so concerned with his image of "challenger" and an alternative to the dominant model, probably not only take the risk to see it tarnished nor disappoint his fans.

"If a new outbreak of disease occurs tomorrow in Kenya and Mexico, what should be the response of a health minister? Doing nothing is obviously wrong, decide the day after the onset of the disease in this country to immunize all the French media is not a point of view of our public finances. " Any resemblance to a situation that existed would not be purely coincidental …

Less than two years after the vaccination campaign against influenza A (H1N1) from Asia, which cost 700 million euros to the state (France had ordered 94 million doses before returning to 45 million for … that finally only 5.3 million French people to get vaccinated) is the illustration chosen Monday by the Director General of the Center for Strategic Analysis (CAS), Vincent Chriqui, at the outset of a study on the "calculation of risk in public investments. "Purpose of this report, led by Christian Gollier, head of the Toulouse School of Economics: to show that it is possible to take into account the risk and uncertainty before launching expensive projects.

"A position of equilibrium"

For this, the document recommends "a balancing of possible or probable gains with losses likely, or unlikely but possible" (sic)! Concrete expression to this current example chosen by Vincent Chriqui: "The catastrophe of Fukushima reminds us how the apprehension of risk and its assessment is an essential component of a public investment program."

Take into account not only the approach of the engineer, doctor, biologist or climatologist, but also that of the economist.The report stresses the importance of considering cost-benefit, cost utility and cost-effectiveness and integration of risk in the economic calculation. CAS advocates actually define rules that would result in "a position of balance" between spending and risk reduction. It offers among others a "mainstream" risks in the economic evaluation of investment projects in fields as diverse as new drugs, transport infrastructure and energy production or the urbanization of areas exposed to natural hazards …

It is "necessary" to take into account the benefit that a project can bring to the community risks associated with climate change, changes in oil prices, economic growth, the report says.It should, for example, remember that oil prices could rise in coming decades, when evaluating the benefit of a railway line.

The report also introduce a "risk premium" in the calculations when the fundamentals of a project are strongly correlated to economic activity. This would in some downgrade in the order of priorities "to guide public policies for projects that reduce the risks borne by households."

The Center for Strategic neglects, however, in size: large investments must be decided according to their degree of economic rationality, certainly, but also political choices or ethical. They can even be taken under the fear of lawsuits.This is precisely what has weighed against influenza A: After the tragedies of contaminated blood or the heat, the top priority policy was that the French can not blame them for not being vaccinated when they wished.

While the ongoing wrangle with Casino in Brazil has shifted in favor of its competitor, Carrefour has released Wednesday a turnover in line with expectations. Group sales in the first half amounted to 44.6 billion euros, up 2.7% at current exchange rates (+ 2.5% at constant exchange rates) and 0.1% in comparable excluding petrol, adjusted for the calendar effect. Sales for the second quarter amounted to 22.4 billion euros, up 1.6% at current exchange rates, but down 0.2% on a comparable basis, excluding petrol and excluding the calendar effect .

While the group had mid-June, revised down its operating income to 35% in France, it now expects a decline of 23%, due "mainly to France."Lars Olofsson said that "Carrefour has set up an action plan in order to achieve the target set by the Group to grow its sales and EBIT in 2011."

Uneven performance in France

In France, the performance is mixed. Lars Olofsson deplores a "unsatisfactory performance of hypermarkets," whose sales are down 3.3% excluding petrol in the second quarter and adjusted for the calendar effect, after falling 1% in the first quarter.

However, Carrefour welcomes the performance of its stores. Carrefour Market and saw its sales grow by 1.3%. As for Carrefour Planet, "the four stores models continue to show sales growth in double digits."In Asia, growth remained at 5.3%, with an increase of 8.3% in China.

In exchange, Carrefour began declining after the announcement of these results. After losing 3% on opening, the title was eventually closed up 1.52% to 22.325 euros in the last trade. The CAC finished up 0.51%

ALSO READ:

"Casino takes advantage of Carrefour in Brazil

"Carrefour is lowering its forecasts and stock market fall

The NYSE will try to rebound Thursday. At least this shows that the index futures that link upwards to just over an hour of opening. Than the Dow climbed 0.25% to timidly 12,305 points, the Nasdaq's advance of 0.43% to 2330 points while the S & P gained 0.26% to 1315 points.

Yesterday, U.S. markets have taken a double slap with first a series of bad macroeconomic indicators that raise doubts about the health of the world's largest economy. Then with Moody's decision to degrade three notches note of the Greek debt. The rating agency has cooled the financial markets had begun to hope that a solution be found to stabilize the financial situation of the country.

On Thursday, investors will try to turn the page of this session was the worst recorded since August 2010.But the excitement is palpable, while another set of indicators is important in the program. There will, before the start of trade, weekly jobless claims and productivity quarterly. Then, later, industrial controls and weekly oil inventories.

On the currency side, the single currency continues to rise against the greenback. Before the opening of U.S. markets, one euro was worth 1.4464 dollars. For their part, the oil prices were slightly higher in European trading. A barrel of Brent North Sea crude for July delivery traded at 114.90 dollars on the InterContinental Exchange (ICE) in London, up 37 cents from the close on Wednesday.In electronic trade the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) the barrel of light sweet crude (WTI) delivered to the same maturity gained 26 cents to 100.55 dollars.

Google and China: Paper

Internet giant Google will be monitored after the announcement of a hijacking Gmail accounts by hundreds of Chinese dissidents and American officials. While Google suggests a Haker Chinese, Beijing denounced the remarks "unacceptable."

The distributor Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net income of $ 324 million in the third quarter of 2010-2011 (73 cents per share), up 6% over the same period last year. Based on the number of share, earnings were 73 cents. Turnover was up 16% to $ 20.2 billion, with a jump of 12% on a comparable basis.

Limited Brands has announced a 6% increase in May same-store constant at 717 million dollars. But this figure is below expectations of analysts who had forecast an increase of 7%.

The mining equipment manufacturer Joy Global has reported a profit of 34% to 162 million in the second fiscal quarter, or $ 1.52 per share. Income climbed 19% to 1.06 billion. It's better than $ 1.35 per share and $ 1 billion expected by markets. The group also revises upward its forecasts. It now expects earnings per share between $ 5.60 and 5.30 against 5.10 to 5.40 before.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) will make a decision of great importance to Airbus and Boeing on Wednesday afternoon (16:30). After six years of litigation between the two aerospace giants, the WTO will tell whether or not she believes that Airbus has benefited from illegal subsidies that would have allowed, according to Boeing, to take away its position as number one world.

The sums involved are enormous. If the WTO ruled in the U.S., Airbus might have to pay several billion euros. Nothing on the folder 380, the bill could reach one billion. And the A 350 loans that were granted to Airbus amounted to four billion.

Meanwhile, the European Union has filed suit against the United States, also accused of aiding illegal Boeing. In March, a panel of judges has accused the U.S. of having received five billion dollars in aid from the United States.Both parties filed an appeal.

As the complaint against the European aircraft manufacturer is at a more advanced stage than its U.S. rival for the European Union fears that Airbus is forced to stop receiving public assistance before those of the U.S. Boeing are suspended.

Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS, announced Wednesday its intention to increase the production rate of its single-aisle A320 aircraft from 36 to 42 products per month from the fourth quarter of 2012 to meet strong demand for this type of devices.

The monthly rate will steadily increase to 38 aircraft in August 2011 to 40 copies in the first quarter of 2012, said the aircraft manufacturer, claiming a backlog of more than 2,300 A320 aircraft still to be delivered.

Airbus delivered 510 aircraft in total by 2010, including 401 A320 family, and had already delivered 132 single-aisle end of April, which puts him "on track to surpass in 2011 the number of deliveries last year. "

"The legislation governing the couples and the Labour embarked on a chase. The great divorce reform of 1975 was followed in 1979 by the introduction of fixed term contracts (CDD).

Lawyers are rubbing their hands across the Atlantic. The market for divorces finally woke up after two years of torpor. "They started to leave at the end of 2010, when their numbers had fallen by 24% in 2008 and 57% in 2009, has awarded Linda Lea Viken AFP, the president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. It's not just the legal profession to be welcomed in a country that counts normally breaks matrimonial 4.95 per 1000 inhabitants each year. World record is almost two and a half times more than in France. The upswing of the "separations" better expresses the country's economic health.If the Americans dare to part again is that they feel strong enough to face a financially costly operation.

Cheers flexibility, spring's traditional America, its prosperity and its mores, whether contracts of employment or marriage. United States, the standard is ten times change employer in his life, likes to recall former President Bill Clinton. This is much less in Europe.A study of the ad hoc International Labour Office, the German spends an average of 10.7 years in the same company and the French 11.3 years.

More than one in two marriages ends in divorce

For their part the French would they be more mobile in their private lives and in their professional life? That is what the sociologist Jean Viard says: our countrymen remain in their seven years and twelve couples with the same employer, had launched the author of In Praise of mobility, at a conference of parliamentarians UMP shocked by such a revelation . These statistics do were confirmed either by INED, National Institute of Demographic Studies, or by INSEE, the trend is real and underlined.

To judge the divorces in France, it is obviously misleading to report their number (130,601 voted in 2009) to that of marriages in the same year (251,478).And conclude that "more than one in two marriages ends in divorce." This rate of "divorce", a term the Ministry of Justice does not provide information on behavioral changes. Demographers proceed otherwise. They restore, generation after generation, the fate of unions. According to figures provided by France Prioux, a demographer at INED, 30% of marriages registered in 1970 ended in divorce, and this rate has steadily increased. It was 40% for marriages contracted in 1986 and 43% for married year 1992 payday loans with no fax. These projections, we said France Prioux only way to compare the routes, not yet complete, of generations as far as 1970 and 1992.

The side of the job market, things seem less clear.INSEE has just informed us that in 2009, 42.1% of employed persons in the same company for over ten years, all sectors combined (a photograph of the labor market in 2009). With peaks at 50.2% in industry and 57.3% for farmers. The crisis has prompted employees to remain in their company when they have not been dislodged by a "social plan". They were only 41.8% have a tenure exceeding ten years in 2008.

Since the early 1970s, couples and laws governing the Labour Code have embarked on a bizarre chase. The great divorce reform of 1975, establishing the procedure by mutual consent, was followed in 1979, still under the seven-Giscard d'Estaing, the introduction of fixed term contracts (CDD).In 1999, the creation of the PACS (Civil Solidarity Pact) offered a substitute for marriage, including homosexuals. Then the new simplified procedures for divorce in 2004 encouraged Florence Parisot, the president of MEDEF, in 2007 to ask (and get) a "divorce by mutual consent" between the company and the employee. But for now, advantage to love, including leases, more and more temporary, could in future be shorter than the labor contracts.

Ode to mobility

This hymn to mobility also money, third vital point of the triangle. "It is easier to change bank woman, ironically there are still some great banker instead. He stigmatized the administrative complexities inherent in this kind of operation.This is less true since the legal obligation in 2008 to establish a service in each establishment of "mobility aid" to its customers.

As for transport, their progress is measured in kilometers. In 1950, every French walked five kilometers a day, while he performs now 45, likes to emphasize the sociologist Jean Viard. Unfortunately, the ease of such material has to travel daily to more expensive counterpart perverse unprecedented housing in downtown. "There all is order and beauty, luxury, calm and pleasure", but inaccessible to the homeless near ", which should mobilize their time and energy to get to the grind. Should there be one day avoided the elevators in the big cities in order to reintroduce a social mix? In the nineteenth century, the less fortunate living on the upper floors where they climbed on foot. A lesser evil.

The earthquake of magnitude 9 followed by a giant tsunami that devastated Japan on March 11 last weigh heavily on the Japanese economy. Japanese factory output has fallen by 15.3% compared to February, the highest since the introduction of this indicator in 1953.

The industrial base has been hit hard by the disaster. The automotive sector is one of the most affected by the earthquake. Several subcontractors parts are indeed more able to provide builders, who are forced to reduce their rates of assembly sites. The automotive industry has seen its output fall by nearly half in March, components and cars combined.

And this sector, hit by supply disruptions affecting production lines in Europe and the United States is not alone in suffering from the brunt of the disaster.Thus, "the damage in semiconductors and other electronic products were higher than expected initially," said Hideki Matsumura, economist at the Research Institute of Japan.

Besides the physical destruction of plants and buildings, estimated at 210 billion euros by the authorities, shortages of electricity related to the nuclear disaster and loss of infrastructure is a real obstacle to the resumption of production rates . Thus, firms located in Tokyo and the region should not return to their consumption of electricity prior to the disaster before this summer.

Consumption lowered

Meanwhile, the Japanese have drastically reduced their spending. The average household consumption has slumped and 8.5% in March compared to the same month of 2010, a record since the inception of this indicator in 1964.The road and rail transport were disrupted for weeks, hampering the industrial logistics, and popular of the Japanese convenience stores have experienced supply problems. Moreover, the Japanese have reduced their spending "non-essential" such as recreation, buying a car or clothes.

But the Japanese economy is expected to resume next month. Thus, according to a government survey, industrial production could restart as early as April, although at moderate pace. And if automakers would suffer from lack of supply until the fall, construction, heavy industry and telecommunications will benefit from significant orders.

A view shared by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which also put on a rebound of the economy to fall. The institution has also kept its key rate between 0% and 0.1%.The BoJ did not want to change its monetary policy on Thursday, wanting to know more precisely whether the impact of the earthquake of March 11 may jeopardize the return of the economy to a moderate recovery.

ALSO READ:

"S & P lowered its outlook on Japan

"France must break with the drift of public accounts to ensure that macroeconomic stability is threatened." The study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), presented Monday, delivers a verdict without appeal : Paris has no choice, it is now a question of balance and credibility.

The Secretary General of OECD, Angel Gurria said that the Organization was within its growth forecast for France to put this year from 1.6% to 2% and a "modest recovery" was engaged. He also – and especially – insisted on "the context of turbulence in some bond markets in the euro area" which is a "priority" fiscal consolidation.

France is far from being a good student in this field.Even if Economy Minister Christine Lagarde reiterated Monday now a public deficit target to 5.7% this year, 4.6% in 2012 and 3% in 2013, the path to get there may not be without pain.

As Bercy does not, for now, its way of doing this, the OECD's own recipe book: the effort to reduce the deficit will be targeted on spending, "making government more efficient and better by beating the age-related spending. " On the revenue side, we must continue to prune the niche tax and social ineffective and "consider raising taxes are the least harmful, such as taxes on environmental externalities, property and the VAT, the report recommends.Which states that the reduced rates of VAT for goods and services (food, building …) have a cost of around 15 to 20000000000 and it would be welcome to meet them.

"Golden Rule" budget

To avoid drift budget, the OECD recommends to include a "golden rule" in the Constitution – a rule which the government is working, but is unlikely to emerge to the extent that any constitutional amendment Membership requires a three-fifths of Parliament. The Organization, however, sees an "interest" since this rule could be "based on expenditure ceilings and revenue floors in a multi-annual budgeting and an independent fiscal council."The goal is not only greater control of the deficit but also to reach a debt back to 60% of GDP, according to European commitments.

Moreover, the Organization recommends improving the functioning of the housing market but also to further reform the labor market "in a country that suffers from a high deficit of jobs for less than 25 and those over 55 years. These age groups showed a deficit of 1.5 million jobs compared to the average of OECD countries.An improvement on this front "greatly relieve public finances, strengthen social cohesion and level of life," pleads the organization.

It recommends in particular to "continue to draw on the experience of Danish flexicurity" – generous unemployment benefits and increased access to training and assistance for job search, in exchange for protection Use limited and a strict obligation to accept offers of employment valid. Otherwise, warns the OECD, the pace of growth will "probably be insufficient to rapidly fall unemployment."

LE FIGARO. – How do you respond to the mobilization of 10 March for the Safeguarding of the cargo?

Pierre Blayau. – I do not understand the meaning of this mobilization, nor that of the poster campaign. She calls the station only when we have fulfilled our commitments. Today, the difficulties are more in the camp of RFF and the state. We are waiting for more decisions to achieve the objectives of the Grenelle Environment Forum, representing 25% of non-road freight by 2022. I confirm this, but if we are given the means to train ten companies that operate in France.

What do you mean exactly?

Our first expectation for regulating traffic. Courtesy of trucks of 44 tonnes is not really going in that direction.Secondly we also expect an improvement in the availability of slots, the slots allocated by RFF (Réseau Ferré de France) for the movement of trains. The situation continues to deteriorate in effect. Since the beginning of a train in three is affected by a change of course and last minute schedule. This is catastrophic! Finally, we expect decisions concerning the authorization to operate longer trains and kick off the Atlantic rail highways and increasing the capacity of the highway rail Alpine.

What are the goals you say you held?

They are many. We have reorganized the management of individual wagons, trains developed massive in Europe. We relaunched Novatrans and recapitalized, the leader of the handset. We relaunched Lorry-Rail in amount to four round trips and buying new cars.We were engaged two years ago to invest one billion euros in seven years. Moving into the highway rail Atlantic, we have already reached 400 million. Similarly Fret SNCF should publish in September its first indicators of carbon footprint. The commitments in terms of employment and training have been met.

With the reform of the wagon, you are accused of killing in this small fire by focusing on ordinary freight rail highways …

This is not the case. We found agreement with 95% of our customers affected by this reform, without raising tariffs in most cases. When it was dedicated solutions, we proposed increases of 5 to 30%. There will always be dissatisfied with any large group.I'm surprised some industry giants who have published excellent results react a bit exaggerated with modest rate increases absolutely free credit score. SNCF did not at all intend to disengage from this activity. We estimate in 2011 to make 200,000 cars against 300,000 in 2008 isolated.

How do you respond to those who say the station focuses on road freight to rail freight?

SNCF has always been a road haulier. Ten years ago, when I arrived at the head of Geodis, the station was already a shareholder. I now have two tasks: ensuring the best possible development for Geodis, the first French logistician with nearly 7 billion euros in sales and 30,000 employees. Meanwhile, I am dedicated to the restoration of rail freight. The two businesses are totally linked.Our clients ask us to move goods from one place to another. We offer solutions combining rail, road or river transport. It is true that we prefer the road.

Your optimism Fret SNCF will there soon be visible in your business and your results?

Starting this year, Fret SNCF is expected to increase traffic. Our growth is likely to be 10% at end 2012 compared to 2010. Hard to believe, but we refuse now freight trains because of problems of availability of train paths. Regarding our results, the reverse path in 2011 and we should be closer to 300 million loss in 2011 against 400 in 2010, mainly because of lower costs.But as noted by the firm Secafi Alpha, which has inspected our accounts, the economic model is far from easy.

Beyond your roadmap, which can improve the freight tracks you watch closely?

Two major issues are. Port logistics, first. The issue is very important for freight, including rail. Today the port is operating at about 30% of their technical capabilities. A real transformation would increase the volumes. The train engine and must be beneficial. An estimated one billion turnover is achieved by SNCF Geodis in our European ports. The second subject is transportation of goods in major cities. We work with several major cities including Paris, Lille, a new urban logistics.One can imagine putting up major platforms goods at the entrance of the localities served by train and then a delivery service for the last miles in vehicles. We subscribe to do in the dynamics of Greater Paris, where logistics is seeking its place. We must be imaginative. Look at Amsterdam, who chose not to let the city that trucks filled to 60%.