Archive for the ‘life’ Category

Few women on boards of directors

May 18, 2012 - 1:52 pm Comments Off

 

Only one company, Publicis, shows a perfect parity between men and women. "The Lady-boom run out of steam already?" Asks Caroline to Marnierre, president of Capitalcom by identifying the number of women who will be entering this year in these boards. A total of 17 women will be appointed at general meetings of shareholders, which is twice less than in 2011 (33 women), according Capitalcom. "The 2012 vintage is characterized by a marked weakening of the dynamics observed in 2011," the study said. "Increasing diversity is mainly due to the increased number of women holding more money."

Slow progress

The law provides that Cope-Zimmerman boards must include 20% women by 2014 and 40% in 2017. She timidly begins to bear fruit: the board will count 23.4% women on average this year, against 20.8% in 2011 and only 8.5% in 2007! And 27 major groups on the French side have already fulfilled their obligations for 2014.

In a quarter of them, the rate of mixing is even greater than 30% (BNP Paribas, Bouygues, Credit Agricole, Publicis, PPR, Safran, Societe Generale, Total, Vallourec and Vivendi). Although still scarce, women are increasingly involved in the boards, the study notes, which is "evolution in the number of women who chair a committee (33%)."

Who are they? They averaged 55 years and are mostly French (63.64%). The CAC 40 also account for 7.3% and 6.4% American administrators of the British.

Despite little progress this year, the mix of boards should gain ground in the future. Especially since the European Commission intends to introduce quotas for women on boards of directors and supervisory boards.

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Late fees; car payments, an unexpected hospital visit. Those are legitimate reasons to secure a fast cash personal loan.

The "My Documents" is freely available by the employer

May 11, 2012 - 4:48 pm Comments Off

 

At the office, beware of personal files and other sensitive information. Contrary to popular belief, an employer is absolutely the right to see the entire hard disk of the workstation of its employees, without their permission. The collected files (images or pornographic films mostly, but also documentary evidence of contacts with competitors or disparaging the company from third parties) can then be used as evidence for a dismissal. One exception: personal files.

But how does one determine that a file is personal? The Court of Cassation rendered several decisions to this effect in recent years. The latest, released Thursday, says that a file stored in a folder named "My Documents" can not, despite its name, be considered personal, and can be accessed freely by the superior of the employee concerned.  

Appoint his case with his initials or his name is not enough either. The Supreme Court issued two decisions in 2009 explaining that the names were not enough to identify these records as private.

Personal files can be viewed in the presence of the employee

To ensure that certain files can not be accessed without his knowledge by his employer, the employee must create a folder named "Personal" quick pay day loan. For added security, better also add "Staff" in the name of files in the folder.

But beware! If the employer does not have the right to inspect documents "Personal" without asking permission of his employee, this does not mean it does not look right. The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that the opening of these files should be done in the presence of the employee, or following a phone call to warn him, "unless a particular event or risk justifying the deprivation of life private. "

Better to be cautious by not leaving anything to rest on his workstation outside its business documents. If a sensitive document must pass through your desktop, upload it to a support belonging to you, as an external hard drive, USB drive or smartphone … staff.

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The CEO of Yahoo! accused of having lied on his CV

May 5, 2012 - 3:52 am Comments Off

 

Inflate his resume … "inadvertently"? It is possible, according to Yahoo!, which has adopted this line of defense when one of its shareholders accusing its CEO had lied on his resume.

The investment fund Third Point, which is mounted to 5.8% stake in Yahoo! in a few months, denounced in a letter to the Board an anomaly on the resume of Scott Thompson, CEO of Yahoo! since January.

In the financial records of Yahoo!, Carol Bartz's successor is introduced as a degree in accounting and computer science from Stonehill College. Now the university has begun offering this course in 1983, four years after Scott Thompson finished his studies there!

For Third Point, this embellished resume "undermines its credibility as an expert in technology" and gives a poor impression when his "character" bad credit personal loan lenders. Incidentally, it also tackles the activist fund board, which would not properly investigated and considered the nominations for the position of CEO.

The risk oversight, however, be difficult to argue, to the extent that this error has been made several times on the resume of Scott Thompson. Previously President of the payment service Paypal online, a subsidiary of eBay, it is always presented as a computer science graduate of the Australian editions of these two sites

.

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Users angry launch "Operation Phantom TGV"

April 21, 2012 - 9:32 pm Comments Off

 

The ras-le-bol rises among users of TGV Nantes / Angers / Le Mans / Paris. And also the response … The members of the collective defense of Subscribers Line Atlantic (Ladala) took a new step in their protest movement against the repeated delays of the station, on the line leading to the capital. The trick to reach the railway portfolio. To do this, they have not hesitated to launch a "ghost TGV" massively by booking every seat of a TGV line in question. Of seats they will not play of course. Each member buying between 5 and 10 seats, 800 seats have already been blocked, all classes, as pointed out this morning on RTL Pascal Mignot, the representative of the collective.

Reaction except the SNCF, the train should travel empty, which would result in a serious shortfall. Because the protesters are concerned subscribers, a status that gives them access to places for a mere $ 1.50. And the date chosen is not trivial since the 250 members of Ladala have set Wednesday, May 16, the eve of Ascension Day and the weekend so great starts.

Greece of tickets

This is not the first time Ladala tries to voice his displeasure. Mid-March, the group had launched a strike of tickets and passes, along with daily rallies in trains and on platforms. Faced with the continuing delays and lack of financial consequences for the SNCF, the association thus increases the pressure, also taking on its website a statement of the duration of the movement, and delays on this line poor credit personal loans.

Faced with the accumulation of failures since the schedule changes in December 2011, their demands are clear: rate freeze on packages (over 500 euros per month), on-time to avoid disputes with employers, indemnity 2.5 euros per 10 minutes late, and got 150 euro for subscribers to compensate for failures of January, February and March. In total, officials estimate that the collective duration of 14 hours cumulative delays over this period.

Side of the Authority of the quality of service in transport (AQST, dependent on the Ministry of Ecology), although the figures show a surge in failures since November, with up to 30% of trains delayed . But since February, the trend seems to be improving. Apparently not enough to calm those subscribers, still wearing a badge "subscribers on strike," which also launched an online petition and sent a letter to presidential candidates. Denouncing a 18% increase in travel time on an ordinary trip to Le Mans / Paris, they have finally created a Twitter account inviting followers to list all the failures of the Atlantic line. An initiative that has been emulated the Creusot subscribers and Amiens have since joined the movement.

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Fuel prices: the stations seem to play the game

April 19, 2012 - 5:28 pm Comments Off

 

Fuel prices soar notably due to higher oil prices. But is that they will decline as the black gold flow back on world markets? Yes, according to an academic study published last weekend by economists Erwan Gautier (University of Nantes) and Ronan Le Saut (Ecole Polytechnique). Their work is based on data collected daily by the Ministry of Economy between 2007 and 2009 with 10,000 service stations.

Contrary to the fears of the authorities and consumers, "the downward variations are as numerous as the variations on the rise, and they are of the same magnitude," the researchers said. They found instead that managers affect only three-quarters of price changes in international prices of a liter of diesel and two thirds for gasoline. "This gap is consistent with the importance of raw material-the-refined oil in the price of a liter at the pump (between 75% and 85% of total costs)," said Erwan Gautier.

Clearly, if the pump price varies to a lesser extent than international prices, it is because other costs that come into account in calculating the price, they do not move. These findings partly confirm the results of a study by the Ministry of Economy dated June 2011. According to the latter, which examined the evolution of prices for a few weeks, the drop in world prices was reflected better on diesel than on gasoline.

The two economists, however, lead to more accurate results. The petrol stations affect price movements in Rotterdam, where the refined oil is traded in the 5 to 10 days on average. The French Union of Petroleum Industry (UFIP) explains this delay by the time of transport for the supply of pumps and the need to sell existing stocks purchased before the price changes. Prices are revised, preferably on Tuesdays and Fridays, every 5 days on average for diesel, every 6.5 days for gasoline.

Supermarkets change prices more often

All market players are not as quick to change the prices, they detect. Supermarkets, for example, change more frequently and more significantly than other gas stations, belonging mostly to oil companies. This can be explained by the cost analysis Erwan Gautier: "Supermarkets share some expenses related to the operation of the pumps with their store." On the other hand, their margin is extremely low on fuel: it s' is for them a loss leader to attract customers and they are undercutting prices.

In reading the study, the existing competition in the market seems to push the players to pass on price movements as honestly as possible. The proximity of a gas station and a supermarket equipped with pumps, for example, the first incentive to adjust its prices more nimbly. On the other hand, the highway stations, away from any competition, the less impact of international price movements. And, with the exception of the Paris region, rates move slightly more often in urban than in rural. The stations offer many services and high quality fuels also adjust the lowest price movements.

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Buffett suffers from prostate cancer

April 18, 2012 - 1:56 pm Comments Off

 

Less than three weeks of its annual general meeting, it is very bad news just learned that the 40,000 shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. Buffett suffers from prostate cancer.

"This note to say that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer stage 1. The good news is that my doctors told me that my health does not put anything in my life in danger or does not weaken me enormously, "says legendary investor highly respected in the financial community, in a letter. In his message, he explains that he and his doctors decided he would undergo radiation therapy for a period of two months starting in mid-July.

This protocol will restrict its ability to move, but not prevent it to work everyday, he said. The shareholders of its holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, will be required to the evolution of his health, he further said.

However, the American billionaire sought to reassure its shareholders. "I feel very well – as if my health was perfect – and my energy is 100%" guarantee multibillionaire. More importantly, this announcement comes six weeks after the guru of finance said that the estate is already assured. He concluded: "I will inform the shareholders (Berkshire Hathaway) immediately if my health changed. One day, of course, it will happen. But I am convinced that this day is still far from us, "he concludes.

Kindy takes the brand Achile

April 12, 2012 - 2:40 pm Comments Off

 

Kindy clothing, French leader of the sock, was to announce Thursday at the bar of the Commercial Court, the acquisition of Achilles. A small mark, also born in France in 1987 and which reached its heyday in the 1990s thanks to its range of fancy decorated characters and other cartoon heroes.

In receivership, Achilles did not realize more than 2 million euros in turnover to around 500,000 euros in losses. Since 2003, its sales have fallen by half. "Achilles, sleeping beauty, has lost ground due to lack of export, but is very well known and strong presence on the Web, retailers and Galeries Lafayette," said Joel Petillon, CEO of Kindy, income profit in 2010, whose turnover exceeds 45 million euros.

It takes the brand, "whose great fame is inversely related to turnover", and 9 out of 13 employees Business Card Holders. It will boost exports and gradually relocate production for summer 2013 collections, the site of Moliens Kindy (Oise), whereas it was outsourced to Morocco and Turkey.

High value added

Kindy fact itself, since last year, again Moliens knitting socks with high added value, "technical", sports, and allied to allergic or diabetic. But the majority of his socks are made in Turkey, Portugal or, for only 15%, China. It is marketed under the claws Kindy, Sun, or under private labels.

Achilles is not the first acquisition for Kindy, who notably restored color to children's shoes GBB, repurchased in 2006.

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Apple will take care of the Chinese workers

March 31, 2012 - 8:04 am Comments Off

 

Times are changing. Apple also. Tim Cook, CEO of the group, visited China this week. This is the chief executive of the Apple brand to do so. Territory that Steve Jobs has ignored many years before the first open an Apple Store in 2008, but he never went. Thursday, the world's factory and especially Apple, China today is a tremendous reservoir of consumers. The Chinese world – mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan – is already the second largest brand, behind the United States.

No question of the destination then sulk. "China is very important to us and we look forward to further invest and grow here," and said Carolyn Wu, spokesman for the brand in one of the few interventions official Apple communication very stingy on the Overall the visit Tim Cook. Received with honors by the Vice-Premier Li Keqiang, tipped to succeed next year in the current prime minister, Wen Jiabao, also met with California leading operators China Unicom and China Telecom. First local operator, China Mobile still in talks with Apple to launch iPhone on its network. Moreover, an intellectual property litigation on the brand "IPAD" claimed by a Hong Kong company, slows sales of iPad in China, where the latest version has not yet been launched.

Wave of suicides at Foxconn

But the trip leader California also sought to address criticisms been rising, from around the world, on the manufacturing conditions of its high-tech products no fax payday advance. In 2010, a wave of suicides had given to Foxconn, Apple's main supplier that produces iPhone and iPad in China, a fatal reputation, yet tarnished by an explosion in a factory and workers of poisoning by chemicals.

An image so disastrous that earlier this year, the American actor Mike Daisey had no trouble getting across the Atlantic believe that Foxconn, children 12 years working in factories guarded by armed guards, before admitting that this information had been made.

No wonder Tim Cook will be split from a visit to the new Foxconn factory in Zhengzhou, south-west of Beijing, including the official photos showed smiling employees. The Apple brand is committed to improving working conditions in its factory in China, signing an agreement with Foxconn on the hiring of tens of thousands of employees, improving safety and solving the problem for hours additional illegal.

Earlier, China had the opportunity to lecture foreign companies invited by Li Keqiang to "take more care of their workers," according to comments reported by the official daily English-language China Daily.

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Germany prepares to take 12% of EADS

March 26, 2012 - 9:08 am Comments Off

 

Louis Welsh, CEO of aerospace group EADS, Airbus' parent company, for another few months, had assured him a few weeks ago the BBC: "We will continue and we will resist external interference." The confirmation of the German Ministry of Economics of a possible rise of Berlin the capital of the group could make the mission more difficult. The German government has indeed made a provision that could be used to repurchase additional shares of EADS.

Last November, Berlin had confirmed the recovery of half of the shares of the automaker Daimler, or 7.5%. The aim of the German government was not to lose ground against the French government retaining these shares in the lap of Germany.

But Berlin could therefore go beyond. The government has made a provision so that the public bank KF – who had already intervened in the case Daimler – can optionally be able to take additional units, the ministry said. In Focus, 4.5% stake now held by a group of private investors, shareholders also 60% of a consortium named Dedalus. This last group of public and private investors, includes, alongside great names of German finance Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank and Allianz, regional states in which EADS operates in Germany (Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Bremen ). Dedalus has a total of 7.5% of the aerospace group payday loan lenders.

Power relations

By the end of the year, the consortium Dedalus might decide to sell 4.5% stake. If he offers to the German State, it will be obliged to redeem them, the ministry said. Deutsche Bank and Allianz, who took 10% of each Dedalus at the time of formation of the structure in 2007, did not comment. According to the Financial Times Deutschland, the provision of government reach 1.6 billion euros. The new acquisition would amount to 12% of Berlin's participation in the capital of EADS. According to Les Echos, it could reach 13% if we add the 1% held by the public bank KfW in Dedalus. In front, France has 15% stake, and Lagardère 7.5%.

The balance of power at EADS are a sensitive subject. Recently, the German government has expressed its fears of excessive weight of France in his eyes in the division of roles and assignment of key posts, including the changeover from the center of gravity of EADS in Toulouse. Thomas Enders, Airbus President and current successor of Louis Galois, had proposed to his headquarters in Toulouse.

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CMA CGM account back on track

March 8, 2012 - 3:32 am Comments Off

 

The year 2011 was tumultuous for CMA CGM. While in 2010, the third world shipping company had posted net income of $ 1.62 billion, in 2011 she accused a net loss of $ 30 million. Revenues increased 4% from last year to $ 14.8 billion, but its profitability has declined. Operating income from CMA CGM has increased from 2500 to 711 million dollars. "That's because the economic environment has become difficult as we have in place operational partnerships with our competitors MSC and Maersk," said Rodolphe Saade, chief operating officer of the Marseille group.

Clearly, the three major groups pool their fleets on certain routes to amortize the high cost of fuel. It is true that rising fuel prices accounted for an additional cost of one billion dollars in 2011 for CMA CGM. The French group has implemented a program to slow the speed of its container to reduce its consumption. The rotation between Europe and Asia should thus lie in seven days.

A debt of $ 5 billion

The company also suffered from extremely low freight rates. Since the beginning, however, the different maritime groups have all revised upwards their prices. On the road between Europe and Asia, the price of shipping a forty foot container expected to rise from 1200 dollars to 2700 dollars at CMA CGM.

But the group that came close to defaulting in 2009 continues to be weighted by a debt of $ 5 billion. 'E have met Tuesday with banks to reschedule debt, says Chief Operating Officer payday loan lenders. We were not able to meet financial commitments whose ratios were established according to the year 2010 was historic. "The negotiations with 72 banks, led around a creditors' committee of a dozen French banks and international, should continue into late June. The call for strategic investment fund (FSI) could also be considered even if the previous call to the ISP of the foot had resulted in a setback. "We had realized that we did not need the ISP finally, remember Rodolphe Saade. The door was not closed and this could be a possibility again. "

The difficulties do not prevent the group's leaders to consider in 2012 with optimism: "The worsening economic situation in Europe was offset by strong performance of South America, Africa, Russia, the India and even the Americans on the transpacific route. We plan to return to profit in 2012, "said Rodolphe Saade.

In the longer term, the leaders of CMA CGM could even go to the market: "To sustain growth and development of the group, we will need funds and as banks are very reluctant to invest in shipping, we plan, if the market permits, an IPO in 2014, "said Rodolphe Saade. It would be a turning point for the family group.

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