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500, 700 or 1 trillion? The euro area has an appointment this Friday in Copenhagen for the latest additions to its financial firewall and anti-crisis to its arsenal, while the political fatigue sets in Europe against austerity.

The divisions that have come to light between Paris, Berlin and Brussels on the future size of the bailout fund serious concern to markets, while in bad times, according to the OECD. Thursday, the Milan Stock Exchange fell 3.30%, that of Paris lost 1.43% and the euro retreated to $ 1.32.  

After months of negotiations, the seventeen ministers of finance of the common currency must agree on how the European Stability Mechanism (MES), the permanent emergency fund that will begin to relay the temporary established in 2010 .

The lending capacity of the firewall, initially set at 500 billion, will undoubtedly raised to 700 billion or more through a tardy concession of Germany, the main funder. For their part, the European Commission, IMF, OECD and France, through the voice of Baroin, grow to a figure of around 1 trillion.

Haggling

But setting this ceiling, watched by the markets, is largely theoretical. The ultimate capacity of loans depends on the leverage chosen, from a capital contribution set at 80 billion, for all seventeen countries. It also depends on the timing of national inputs, the speed of repayment of loans and additional committed instant payday loan lenders. In practice, the total actually available would increase from 250 today to 500 billion in the summer of 2014, according to internal documents.

The other unknown in Copenhagen is the estate of Jean-Claude Juncker, for seven years as head of the Eurogroup. The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, appears as a favorite difficult to unseat. But several factors could delay his consecration. Other seats are vacant at the European Central Bank (ECB), the EBRD (European Bank of Development) and the MES, and the capitals hear bargain their support. In France and Greece, the decisive elections also prohibit release too fast or too openly extra power in Berlin.

Among all these bargains is a reluctance on course to be risks that creep. Except Germans, Europeans impatient with an austerity too severe. Spain is a general strike and Portugal still struggling to finance its debt, despite EU support. Ireland hopes to win the support of the ECB to deal with an immediate deadline. The Netherlands, once model of rigor, in turn sink into an endless government crisis against a backdrop of budget cuts emergency.

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Shop for less cost on your insurance policy and you'll soon find that even your present insurance carrier may be able to assist you with a low rate car insurance policy.

 

This is one of the heaviest penalties ever imposed in France for price fixing. The Competition Authority condemned Tuesday the largest producers of bagged flour French and German in total fines totaling 242.4 million euros.

As Le Figaro had revealed (read our editions of March 29, 2011), the institution has identified two antitrust cases, one involving French millers having agreed on prices, and the other a Franco-German cartel to limit to 15,000 tons, from 2002 to 2008, German exports in the Hexagon.

Flour France, sentenced to 8.3 million euro fine, and Axiane Milling, who scoop the most severe penalty (44 million), have decided to appeal. "We have taken note of the decision, which amazed us, said a spokesman Axiane. The penalty amount is disproportionate to the activities of the company, who made last year 167 million euros in turnover which only 15% correspond to the sale of flour in bag. "… ….. A first

This is the first case of this magnitude in the food industry. The Competition Authority has estimated that 11% of the costs to consumers. Moreover, it is the second time a consumer product is concerned by this affair. Last year, a cartel of manufacturers of detergents was sentenced to 361.3 million euros in fines. In both cases, this is a leniency application made by one of the protagonists who revealed the agreement.

"The Franco-German entente has been sheltered from competition German millers French, which enabled them to segment the market and respond with one voice to calls for major retailers such as discount stores," summarizes a spokesman for the Authority's view that the distributors were not aware of these practices.

The severity of penalties is due to the unprecedented duration of the agreement. In fact, since its inception in 1965, France Flour, owner of the famous brand Francine, leader in France, was at the heart of a system of understanding that allowed him to sell the output of its seven shareholders millers. "This is a transparent system of grouping that existed openly and everybody," protests Axiane Milling, one of its shareholders.

Considered a "false nose" Flour France was dissolved in mid-January and Francine brand was sold to one of its shareholders, Nutrixo. The Competition Authority should soon make its decision in another case involving the millers. This time it concerns the sale of bulk flour to bakers.

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Twitter users who have an American Express card will be able to save money on their purchases. The financial services provider has developed a range of coupons to be distributed by the microblogging platform in the United States.

To qualify, users must involve affected their American Express card to their Twitter account, a dedicated website. They can then post a message on Twitter ("tweets") with a keyword identification ("hashtag") to receive a gift certificate for their card, which will be used in several merchant partners. For example, writing "I will redo my wardrobe # AmexHM" on Twitter, the user gets a $ 10 discount on their next purchase over $ 50 at H & M. The brand's ready-to-wear, and Dell, Virgin America, Zappos, FedEx and McDonald's are among the partners in this new advertising offer.

An offer for mobile

"American Express converts the content of Twitter in business offer, by linking the card holders with traders, offering added value to both parties", welcomed Ed Gilligan, vice president of American Express in a statement. Above all, American Express is attempting to upgrade the "tweets" for advertising purposes, which are more and more on Twitter. The microblogging platform was cautiously introduced advertising on its service in April 2010, with "Promoted tweets", inspired by the sponsored links on search engines. Many brands – especially American – have therefore tried to use the service that boasts over 100 million monthly active users.

Last week, the start-up went into high gear, announcing the launch of a commercial for its mobile applications. "It's been almost two years since we launched the sponsored tweets, the first of our advertising products. Meanwhile, Internet users around the world have increasingly accessed Twitter from a mobile terminal, "the company said in a note to blog. Broadcast on the mobile site, tweets and accounts Sponsored advertising will now also distributed in mobile applications for Android and iPhone Twitter. "This will allow people to see the tweets of major brands that matter to them," says Twitter.

An announcement that coincided with the launch of Facebook, a mobile advertising offering for the service and coupons

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Apple plays spoilsport. Tuesday night, while most manufacturers of tablets showed their latest Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​the media were invited to attend the following week, the launch of the next iPad from San Francisco.

For four days, the electronics giants have yet done everything to make us forget the iPad and mark their difference. Two of them, Samsung and LG, have chosen to deliver their new tablets with a stylus, following HTC, which was launched in the last year in this niche. This accessory, which allows you to write or draw and more accurately on the screen, is rejected by Apple, who believes only the touch screen.

Much of the Samsung booth and was dedicated to the Galaxy Score, available in two versions. The smallest, launched in October, is midway between the tablet and smartphone (screen 5.3 inches diagonally) and can act as telephone. The new model, twice as large (10.1 inches), is a format closer to the iPad. Samsung will install software specifically developed for the stylus and a suite of creative software designed by Adobe.

LG, whose stand was a short walk from the Samsung, also gave a large place with a touch pad accompanied by a stylus. Also able to act as a (big) phone, the LG Vu takes a screen in 4/3 assumed to be more enjoyable to read books or magazines. Initially sold in South Korea, it will come with tools for professionals, facilitating note taking and annotation of web pages.

No innovation in displays

Apple's other competitors, who have not succumbed to the fashion of the stylus, for their part have chosen to focus on the graphics power against the iPad fast cash advance. Chinese Huawei and ZTE, prominent during the Barcelona show, presented every two shelves featuring quad-core chips, twice the current iPad. Asus has preferred him with originality Padphone, a laptop that can turn into a tablet or smartphone.

During the show, no manufacturer has, however, ventured into the field of screen resolution, where the iPad 3 is highly anticipated. The new Apple tablet should indeed be able to display twice as many pixels on the same surface, and achieve the same quality as the high-end smartphones. This type of screen, says "Retina display", is more complicated to produce, and therefore more expensive. It could cause supply problems iPad 3, as the site DigiTimes.

Apple's competitors have proposed no major advances in the software. They are in fact dependent on advances of Android, they do not control development. However, the system suffers from a lack of applications and is not yet as attractive as in smartphones, has recognized the head of mobile at Google, Andy Rubin. In two years he has sold 12 million Android tablets, against 50 million iPad. To reverse the trend, Google wants to encourage developers to write software compatible with all types of screens.

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The end of the franc is big to the Treasury. The latest * franc notes were redeemable at branches of the Bank of France until February 17 at midnight. Ten days after the end of the countdown, the institution is taking stock. A total of 1.5 million tickets have been reported for a total value of 378 million francs (57.6 million), from 1 September 2011 and the deadline of February 17. According to the Bank of France, there is 55 million franc banknotes in circulation, hidden under the mattress, forgotten in old bags or kept by collectors nostalgic. A nest egg estimated at 526 million euros.

And this balance, called "base emission" will be donated to the State. Indeed, the notes and coins in circulation are considered a debt, on the liability side of the central bank. "To annulerla debt, the value of the tickets not presented for exchange is repaid to the State," said the Bank of France in a newsletter. All these francs lost, forgotten or become so jealously preserved revenue to the exchequer.

The countryside of the Banque de France will not have been very successful, despite his repeated reminders to the holders of francs in recent months and the creation of a dedicated website (www.jechangemesfrancs.com). The franc banknotes still in circulation became indeed a treasure of 602 million euros in late 2010. Yet the French had thrown at the offices of the institution's approach to the deadline. "Just under 200,000 cuts were exchanged in December 2011, but nearly 367,000 in January 2012 and 733,000 cuts on the first 17 days of February," says the Bank of France. A record was set on February 17, with 91,000 tickets reported.  

The large denomination reported mass

For latecomers or those who have not managed to get hold of these small economies too well hidden, they have "no choice but to keep their tickets as a souvenir or sell to coin collectors," warns we at the Bank of France. But beware, all tickets will not take the value. "Better to have kept the cuts of 20 francs or 50 francs Debussy Saint-Exupery," said Michel Prieur, specialist of currencies within the Compagnie Générale de Bourse (CGB.fr). Now demonetized, only small values ​​will make a "margin buxom." A lesson that apprentices numismatists have understood. "Two thirds of the reported cuts are notes of 200 francs and 500 francs," says the Bank of France, which states that "the average volume of trade amounted to 15 tickets per transaction, for an average value of 3627 francs (553 euros). "

* The range of notes that can be exchanged against euro: CHF 20 bills bearing the image of Debussy, equivalent to 3.05 euros, the "Saint-Exupery" 50 francs (7.62 euros) , the "Cezanne" of 100 francs (15.24 euros), "Gustave Eiffel" of 200 francs (30.49 euros) and the "Pierre et Marie Curie" of 500 francs (76.22 euros).

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The tension is still up a notch on the site ArcelorMittal Florange in Moselle. About 300 steelworkers blocked since Thursday morning the release of shipments of the site for the restart of two blast furnaces, at a standstill for several months. At a central works council (CEC), management has confirmed the arrest of these furnaces in the second quarter. She said it was a "temporary suspension" and that the situation for the third quarter would be considered "in the month of May." The group, which invokes a slowdown in demand, provides a target restart facilities "as soon as market conditions permit".

Far from being reassured, the unions are convinced that management has signed the "death warrant" of Lorraine site, with imports of Russian steel to fuel its business outside furnaces.

"The management was committed to restarting our blast furnaces if Dunkirk was unable to feed, here, in steel," the mill hot strip mill, which produces steel for automotive technology, said Edward Martin , responsible CFDT. "And now she announces in CEC purchase of 60,000 tons of metal" to a "competitor" Russian laments there. Broccoli for Walter, FO, this purchase "constitutes an admission that Florange not restart."

According to management, 500 employees of ArcelorMittal are affected by the shutdown of blast furnaces, the other 2300 employees working on site production tools downstream. "We try to find a solution for each employee" affected, said Hervé Bourrier, CEO for France.

 

The possible appointment of Jean-Louis Borloo at the head of Veolia react keenly the opposition. Monday, politicians railed against a possible intervention of Nicolas Sarkozy in this case, as reported by Libération and Les Echos.

The Socialist Party, through the voice of Pierre Moscovici, denounced "little arrangements in Fouquet's friends no faxing payday loans." Canal +, the campaign manager Francois Hollande evoked "the game of musical chairs comfortable to oust a man of political centrists and avoid certain temptations."

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"We will put patterns Florange unemployed by taking control of the plant." Edward Martin, representative of the CFDT EWC ArcelorMittal, wants offensive. The occupation of the site, scheduled for tomorrow, is a direct consequence of the extension until 30 June of the closure of two blast furnaces Florange, the last of Lorraine. "The direction we to understand that, barring a miracle, this closure would last all year," says Edward Martin.

For several months, the largest producer of steel has many announcements to reduce its production capacity. Spain, Belgium and France but also Romania and Czech Republic were affected. Today, only the blast furnaces in Liege never reopen. Other closures are for the moment, temporary.

A temporary measure reaffirmed to the minister, Eric Besson

Bourrier Hervé, President of ArcelorMittal France, reaffirmed that "temporary" to Eric Besson, Minister of Industry, last week. Employees such as trade unionists fear yet more than this closing becomes final. The clues that point in this direction are beginning to be numerous.

"A blast furnace is designed to run continuously, says an industry expert. It degrades when it is not the case. "The first blast furnace Florange is closed since June. The second since October. Investment and maintenance are reduced. Some were made late last year but "there is nothing for a month and a half" notes François Pagano, CFE-CGC delegate. "The industrial base is deteriorating, laments Edward Martin. With the cold, some lines broken. "Worse:" The founders began to be reclassified in the group. Leaders do not take it otherwise if they had close Florange. "

The recovery of orders has not changed all that

The recovery of orders failed to revive the plant. Aditya Mittal, CFO of ArcelorMittal, said on publication of results in 2011 that "shipments are much better than the fourth quarter of 2011, but we are still far volumes 2006, 2007 and 2008." What does surprisingly, these years being excellent.

Francois Pagano explains that "the business unit North, including Dunkirk, Florange, Benelux and Germany, recorded 3.7 million tons of orders for the second quarter of 2012 while its production capacity is 3.8 million . So the plants are running at 97% capacity. At this level, it would be possible to reopen Florange to avoid a potential bottleneck. "

Finally, the closure would be consistent with the group's strategy to focus on very large production units in coastline at Dunkirk and Fos sur mer in France and Bremen in Germany. The justifications for the closure of Liege seem perfectly applicable to Florange. "ArcelorMittal is considering a gain of 56 euros per tonne, which would be credited to the closure of Liege and transfer the production of slabs (Note: raw material for the manufacture of sheet metal) to Dunkirk," says the firm Laplace Council A study commissioned by the Walloon region. The forward gain is identical to Florange: "The leaders explain that ArcelorMittal bring slabs from Dunkirk saves 50 euros per tonne," confirms Francois Pagano.

With increased action "punch", although some have put Florange in the heart of the current election campaign. "Getting a formal commitment of a private company seems complicated," admits to the entourage of Eric Besson. A conclusion which adheres Francois Pagano whose only solution is to "convince Lakshmi Mittal's economic interest Florange".

"Ulcos" or last resort

All actors in the Lorraine steel cite Ulcos project, the acronym for "steel making process at very low CO2 emissions," as salvation for Florange. Launched in 2004, this is a program to find new techniques to produce steel with less carbon dioxide (CO2). Investments for carrying out are huge: 650 million euros! The French government has already pledged 150 million euros of funding. And Brussels could bring 250 million additional. ArcelorMittal leaders have vowed to launch Ulcos, and bring the balance of funding, if EU subsidies are granted.

Except that many obstacles have arisen in recent months. First techniques. The processes developed by Ulcos involve capturing and storing carbon. But experts are beginning to question this technique both for environmental reasons and efficiency.

Then the price of CO2 allowances collapsed in recent months, making plans to reduce CO2 emissions less urgent to implement. And nothing suggests that prices will go up quickly. In difficult economic times, as is currently the case, companies may be reluctant to invest in such technologies if there is no immediate financial implications.

Finally, there is little doubt that ArcelorMittal will decide to raise, or not, Florange on the basis of the only economic criteria. "The management of ArcelorMittal has told us clearly that Florange restarted if the market justifies it, and not only if Ulcos born," stated Michel Liebgott recently, area MP Florange.

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The opening of Sunday shopping has become a topic of this Friday's presidential campaign. Nicolas Sarkozy, the president now officially a candidate for reelection, took hold of the States General of Trade to revive a debate that has never really stopped since the adoption of the "law Maille". The Act of August 10, 2009 allows the Sunday opening of shops in some towns and tourist areas and hot springs and in some big cities. More generally, the Labour Code provides for the possibility for all stores to open five Sundays a year authorized by the mayor or the prefect.  

"If the French put their trust in me at the next presidential election, the first step that I will implement will be to continue the flexibilities already made with regard to Sunday opening of shops for you to adapt to changing lifestyles, "it said in the statement that was read by the Secretary of State for Trade, Frédéric Lefebvre. "Broadening the conditions for opening of shops on Sundays, giving you more freedom, it's growth for your business is employment for the French, it's purchasing power for your employees , is the strengthening of the tourist attraction that France is strong, "argued the head of state, resuming his campaign slogan. Already in 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy had placed Sunday working at the heart of his campaign, when he presented himself as the candidate of purchasing power and it boasted its famous slogan: "Work more to earn more" .

And since, traders remained dissatisfied. In his "Pact for the development of commerce", presented in November 2011 with the intention of being sent to the candidates in the presidential election, the Board of Trade of France (FPS) requested the opportunity for each merchant to open " freely from 10 to 12 Sundays a year ", even if his store is located" out of area tourism. " The association already put forward "changing lifestyles" and "ambition tourism in France" to justify its request. During sales in January, Frédéric Lefebvre assured that some foreign tour operators were programming does not weekend in Paris because their customers can not be done shopping.

"A little air"

The issue of Sunday opening is sized. With 730,000 businesses, trade accounts for 20% of private jobs in France and 10% of GDP. Its annual sales reached 1.4 trillion euros, said the FPS. However, the federation does not argue for an opening of "all the shops, every Sunday throughout France." "What we want is a relaxation, a little air," said its chairman Gerard Atlan, quoted by AFP. "The dealer should be there when there is revenue to do, when there is none, it closes."

Like Nicolas Sarkozy, the Socialist candidate Francois Hollande has taken hold of the subject. In a video broadcast on the same Estates General of Trade this morning, he says he will engage in "negotiations" on the issue "controversial" work on Sundays. Last date flowage in a parliamentary report prepared last November that voluntary employee to work on Sunday in the authorized areas was "not sufficiently guaranteed" by some companies. For Francois Hollande, it is to find "a balance between the rights of employees" and concern for traders to "respond to new forms of competition." First union to respond, the CFTC has regretted the "social choice" favored by Nicolas Sarkozy, according to the union, further open the way for the "hyper-consumerism."

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The surprises could affect 100,000 to 200,000 homes. According to Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France, households may not be taxed so far include paying the income tax this year. The head is the second austerity plan announced by the government last November and froze the tax scale.

Previously, the tax brackets, which forms the basis for taxation, were reviewed annually to reflect inflation increases the cost of living. By freezing for at least two years tax brackets, all persons whose incomes rose in 2011 could potentially be affected by the reform if they are left with taxable income greater than 5963 euros, the threshold first tranche of 5.5%. For the government, the money will have to pay these homes will be relatively low because the IRS does not claim the tax payment when it is less than 61 euros. Le Parisien-Aujourd'hui en France underlines that the sudden imposition could have more serious consequences for households as much aid as those granted to the school canteen and transport are related to the absence of taxation. Some families might therefore lose those benefits.

Changing slice

Another mechanical effect of freezing the scale, other households may already taxed, them, cross the threshold of the top tax bracket and thus having to pay more. This extra tax is not yet visible on the view that taxpayers received early this year to pay the first third. The surprises will come in September, when paying the balance. According to calculations of national union unified tax (Snui) quoted by the newspaper, the increases will be spread from 1.17% for a wealthy couple with no children at 12.57% for a single. The government expects in any case additional EUR 1.7 billion of tax revenue for 2012 and double that for 2013.

Finally, the richer will also be affected, because the scale of the solidarity tax on wealth (ISF) has also been frozen. The government expects 44 million of additional wealth tax in 2012 and 88 million more in 2013.

* The normal situation after indexing takes into account an inflation rate estimated at 2.1% in 2011.