Posts Tagged ‘international’

Tensions between China and foreign bosses

July 3, 2010 - 2:52 pm Comments Off

Click on the thumbnail to enlarge the graphics.

The controversy swells daily. After the Europeans, it is now the boss of General Electric to accuse China of putting a spoke in the wheels of foreign companies. "I'm really worried, I am not sure that ultimately they want that we will succeed," he complained to an audience of businessmen from Italy, reported the Financial Times on Friday.

Last Tuesday was a report of the European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, which accused China to increase the discriminatory measures. He denounced a "discretionary application of laws and regulations, the registration process unnecessarily complicated and" inconsistencies in the application of national criteria.

In Beijing, many business leaders say the word to cover: it is increasingly difficult to work in China."They understand that they can leave if they are not happy," says a corporate lawyer. Since April, the party newspaper, the China Daily, had sniffed the wind of revolt and was almost threatening."When foreign companies encounter difficulties in their projects (…) if they do nothing but complain that the foreign media and amplify the case without analyzing the merits and slandering the Chinese economy, they will end up delaying the process of improving the investment environment, "he wrote.

Funny way to appease the spirits when President Hu Jintao says it wants to "take concrete steps to reject any form of protectionism and unequivocal support free trade."

The World Trade Organization said in its latest report "Interest in China and its foreign suppliers of more rapid liberalization of China's service industries.But Beijing, which, in a gesture of goodwill, will leave July 15 rebates for export taxes on certain sensitive products, prefer to believe that foreigners "grunt" on account of wages.

Rising labor costs

Demonstration of support to employees of Foxconn, Hong Kong in June Photo credits: AFP

Now you are not supposed to compromising with your needs just lack of few funds as payday loans are available to you.

Rising to the CAC 40, but the trend remains fragile

June 28, 2010 - 9:48 pm Comments Off

Hostile to a widespread tightening, the G20 has accepted this weekend in Toronto fiscal restraint to the map, depending on the country, and spread over time. The countries have agreed to "reduce by at least half the deficit by 2013, and stabilize or reduce the costs of public debt to GDP by 2016, without specifying binding targets to States.

As a result, financial markets, the atmosphere of uncertainty can be expected.

In Paris, while the CAC 40 has lost about 5% in just three sessions of declines marked – and having earned 10.5% in nine sessions of gains on – the hesitation should be on the agenda this Monday morning.Although at 8:20, the CAC 40 futures contracts predict an opening up of about 0.45%, the trend will remain fragile.

The euro was slightly lower at 1.2362 dollar and gold – the same trend – is still treated in 1256 dollars.

A well-attended American Statistical

On Monday, held a ministerial meeting between OPEC and the European Commission.At the ECB, the figures on M3 money supply and credit to the private sector will be announced at 10:00.

For the U.S., followed the very household income and expenditure for the month of June is available at 14:30 just before the opening of Wall Street.

The statistic most watched this week will be the number of applicants for overseas jobs, which will be released Friday, which should mark a break in the trend with further destruction of jobs expected.

The bank fee: disagreements

Priority of Paris and Berlin, the tax credit has received a cold reception in Toronto at the G20.Despite support from Washington and London, the final communique does not mention the tax lip as a legitimate option for banks to charge up the pieces of the crisis.

Popular Banks Savings Banks According to information Wansquare, BPCE Foncia has decided to withdraw from the sale. The preparation of a new law on directors and the rout of Urbania Group took account of the sale of the land.

Casino Jean-Charles Naouri, CEO of the group, delivered the Figaro its strategy to cope with a sluggish consumer in France, however, offset by continued momentum overseas. The boss has no plans to float Cdiscount and will focus more on small and medium format hypermarkets (6 000-8 000 square meters), rather than the hypermarkets.

Trigano will on Monday publish its turnover for the third quarter of fiscal offset.

Around the world, the administration is making the diet

June 10, 2010 - 4:12 am Comments Off

Washington wants to reduce public expenditure

Barack Obama on Tuesday gave members of his Cabinet until Sept. 13 so they identify reductions of 5% of funds in their agencies and departments. That extra effort the White House to reduce spending in response to American concerns before the expected surge in debt to Uncle Sam more than 100% of GDP in 2012. However, the actual impact of this initiative looks marginal. It will only result in recommendations to Congress may be accepted for fiscal year 2012, not before. In addition, over 60% of federal spending by definition beyond these potential restrictions. These expenses called "automatic" which include debt service, expenses of the pension plan and those of public health systems.

In February, Bush has already requested a freeze for three years (after inflation) of many public spending "not automatic". But the categories have been added untouchable military spending, those relating to civilian security and international aid. But the Pentagon budget alone is $ 700 billion, or half of total discretionary spending. Moreover, the Congress, including Republicans, routinely refuses the few savings proposed by the White House in weapons programs. In point lead Barack Obama now threatening to veto the budget law drafted for the Pentagon by Congress.

Moscow is 20% of staff within

The ad has a taste for rigor, but it is not formally rigorous.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered his administration to make proposals to reduce by 20% the number of officials in the country. "It is obviously, a far too severe, which can not be made mechanically or on the basis of purely financial criteria. We are talking about the fate of people, "said the head of the Kremlin, which gave no further details. Already last week, during a cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin had discussed such a proposal would lead to the removal of 120 Guaranteed pay day loans.000 positions and would save 43 billion rubles (1.13 billion euros). In contrast, half of this allocation would serve to increase the salaries of other cadres of the public.Despite the beginnings of the European crisis that could hit Russia, the government continues to boast its program of social spending that benefits particularly to retirees. In the past, such cost-saving measures have already been proposed, without being acted upon.

Germany on the wagon

Monday is a detailed history of savings – 80 billion euros by 2014 – announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In order of priority expenditures of the federal government. Number of allocations will be scaled down and almost 15,000 jobs disappear in the civil service by 2014.The removal of 40,000 soldiers in the Bundeswehr is also under consideration.

New sections in Hungary

After his rescue in late 2008 by the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union, Hungary had announced an initial dose of austerity with a wage freeze for two years in the public and the removal of the 13th month for pensioners. Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday a detailed budget which provides, in addition to creating a financial tax, further cuts in public spending to the tune of 425 million euros. The revenue cap leaders and the public is considered a strict examination of spending to purchase a car or phone service.

Elsewhere in Europe

It is not good to be official now in Europe.Down 5-15% of wages in Ireland, abolition of 13th and 14th month and down 7% in Greece pensions, freeze wages and non-replacement of a staff of two in Portugal, wage freeze in Italy, Spain, hiring freeze in Great Britain … Besides the cuts in operating expenses that are spreading.

The Paris markets are taking a break

April 8, 2010 - 4:32 am Comments Off

The Paris Bourse takes a deep breath. After recording, the day before, a new annual record over 4050 points, the CAC lost 0.67% to 4026.97 points. Everywhere in Europe, investors took advantage of the strong performance of recent days to garner a share of their profits. London and Frankfurt lost 0.22% and 0.48%.

Wall Street, which also navigates the unknown peaks over 18 months, was also a break. The Dow dropped 0.24% in session and the Nasdaq is 0.20%.

The minutes of the Fed meeting on 16 March confirmed that the U.S. central bank remained committed to maintaining its policy rates "unusually low", "for a period of time."But at the same time the debate on the need to adopt a real strategy for ending the crisis is more urgent and animated.

Concerns persist about Greece

Indeed, the United States but also in Europe, signs of economic recovery are daily becoming more numerous and tangible. Yesterday, activity in the private sector in the euro area recorded in March, its strongest growth in two and a half years.

Other good news, orders to German industry, the mainstay of the economy in Germany, continue to recover. However, the foreign exchange market, the euro retreated further against the greenback falling dollar sitting in 1.335 penalized by persistent concerns about the ability of Greece to refinance its debt and the fear of contagion from the crisis to other countries in the euro zone as Portugal, Spain or Italy.In Paris, profit-taking focused on areas that have risen more in exchange for a year and particularly on banking stocks, as well as automotive and technology.

The Total is indicted for corruption

April 6, 2010 - 1:20 pm Comments Off

A first for a group of ACC 40.Total was indicted on 27 February by the French judge Serge Tournaire, corruption, complicity and concealment of influence peddling in the case called "oil-food cons", echoing the UN program established in 1997 for the Iraqis, when the international embargo following the invasion of Kuwait.

After the setbacks in terms of image for Total, with Erika – Total was sentenced on appeal to pay 375,000 euros – and AZF, this attack could further extend the negative perception of the French vis-?-vis the oil group .

A decision "incomprehensible"

The investigation started in 2002 had directed to various French personalities suspected of having distributed the early 2000s kickbacks to members of the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein that the group continues to source barrels of oil outside the framework imposed program of the UN oil-food cons.

Several officers and employees of the group had been indicted personally since 2006. But this time, it's Total as corporation that is under no faxing pay day loans.

"This decision (of indictment of the Total Group, NDRL) recommence the proceedings," said Master Veil, the lawyer of Total, has told AFP the date of the indictment, and thus confirmed information from the newspaper Les Echos."The judge took this decision against all odds, while his predecessor and the prosecution had held the contrary, at least implicitly," he added, saying the indictment "incomprehensible."

Total will watch his side surprised by this indictment, which "comes eight years after the commencement of the trial, with no new element has been placed on file," according to Les Echos.

Indeed, Serge Tournaire succeeded Xaviere Someone who had requested a non-place for all employees and former employees, and the boss of Total, Christophe de Margerie. In addition, Total said that "the report Volker independent commission of inquiry established by the United Nations had rejected any complaint of corruption."

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Slow mobilization appeal of unions

March 24, 2010 - 3:01 am Comments Off

The mobilization of Tuesday has been much lower than last year. 800,000 demonstrators responded to the appeal of unions on Tuesday by the CGT for a national day of action aimed at influencing government policy on political and social. If this mobilization came shortly after the regional elections, the appointment union had however taken immediately after the Social Summit in February, meeting at the initiative of the Head of State to discuss, among other things, the upcoming construction of the reform pensions.

Tuesday afternoon, thousands of demonstrators began to march throughout France. If 60,000 participants were recorded in Paris by the CGT, 10,000 people marched in Nantes, the source said, police still had no figures available. They were 7000 in Le Mans, police said. In Rennes, the mobilization seemed weaker.Lyon accounted as 10,000 demonstrators by police, and Marseille, between 12,000 and 50,000. Bernard Thibault, the CGT leader, welcomed Tuesday a "mobilization rather good, given the lack of communication media on the day of action, because of elections."

The strike of civil servants was also relatively followed in mid-day. The department estimated that 21% the proportion of striking teachers, estimated at 40% for the SNES-FSU, a rate higher than the previous mobilizations. 11.45% of the postal employees were also mobilized by the leadership. At the station, the strike rate was estimated at 28% by management, and 32% by the CGT.At RATP, it would amount to 14% depending on the direction, the CGT-RATP not yet have figures to communicate.

Pension reform crystallized discontent

Two main points Tuesday crystallized the opposition of unions, following the government reshuffle.

• Pensions: major point of contention between the unions and the government, the pension reform was launched at the Social Summit in February. While the dialogue should begin early April, several union leaders have spoken about this on Tuesday, sending a warning to the government. The CFDT leader Francois Ch?r?que has called for reform reduces inequality cash advance america ."Of course we must change our pension system, but it does not evolve towards greater social justice, this is again a loss of confidence in politics." Therefore, it could "be the sport at a social level," he warns. Jean-Claude Mailly, secretary general of FP, for his part reiterated on Tuesday his commitment to the LCI retirement at age 60, holding "absurd" the solution of longer working hours to alleviate the funding problems induced by the lengthening of life expectancy. "If we follow this logic, women live longer should work longer," he argued. As for Bernard Thibault, leader of the CGT, he believes "we can not impose reform on accounting criteria exclusively, also challenging the objectivity of the Advisory Committee of pensions. "This appointment will be very difficult to carry," he predicted.Probably heard a speech by the new Labor Minister, Eric Woerth, who insisted on Tuesday on the need to "protect" the current system "an equitable reform.

• Employment: while the unemployment rate back above the 10% in the fourth quarter of 2009, the CFDT called for taking further steps to assist employees affected by the crisis. Pleading for an appeal to partial unemployment, training rather than dismissal, the leader of the CFDT has also called for financial support purchasing power and resources center for sustainable employment. The employees "have the feeling that we no longer speak of their real situation since September. An impression they would have in his Sunday expressed through the ballot box. The government must now "give strong signals, and change of method," he said.A view shared by the leader of the CGT, Bernard Thibault, who on Tuesday urged the convening of a new social summit at the Elysee. The meeting, a time desired by the head of state says he would aim to "take stock of the situation regarding employment, economic and social policy and purchasing power for practical decisions for implementing fast.

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Refineries: The CGT wants a national strike

March 10, 2010 - 9:34 pm Comments Off

The SGC of the oil industry, the majority, urged employees of the 13 refineries in the French strike Thursday, April 15, when a national roundtable on the future of refining in France, the union said in a statement Wednesday.

The union claims a "refining industry to serve the economic needs and the country's social and employment areas.

The panel of 15 April under the aegis of government, was obtained during the strike a week for employees of Total's refining industry in late February.

The Total Group announced Monday the end of its refining operations in Dunkirk, one of its six refineries in France, while maintaining the 370 jobs at the site through industrial restructuring, considered insufficient by the employees.

On Tuesday, employees of the refinery had planned to launch a new appeal for solidarity from other refineries in France group.

Total number of unions are to meet Thursday to take a common position.

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"France held its largest export"

February 5, 2010 - 10:36 pm Comments Off

Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Anne-Marie Idrac, will announce Friday morning trade figures in 2009. France's 5th largest exporter, has eroded market share at the expense of its competitors.

LE FIGARO .- What is the balance of French foreign trade in 2009?

Anne-Marie IDRAC .- 2009 was a year encouraging, marked by a significant reduction in trade deficit due to the strong decrease of the energy bill free credit report . But beyond that figure, the major point is that France has held its largest export in a context of crisis. The world demand in our country has decreased by 13% by volume, and our exports have declined in this order of magnitude.But this movement has been marked elsewhere and, unlike Germany or Italy, France has managed to retain its market share vis-?-vis OECD countries, accounting for 6.6% exports.

Unemployment figures depress Wall Street

January 8, 2010 - 9:14 pm Comments Off

Abrupt return to earth to investors who started the session on Wall Street in the red. The unemployment figures in December were worse than expected. The U.S. has destroyed 85,000 jobs in December as the monthly report of the U.S. Department of Labor. The euphoria was not to go because the unemployment rate remains at 10%. Half an hour before the release of U.S. unemployment figures in December, all future pointing upward. Markets expect that job losses have continued into December. Some also not ruled the possibility of new posts.

Now, the Dow Jones fell by 0.4% to 10,563 points, the S & P lost 0.40% to 1137 points while the Nasdaq lost nearly 6% to 2295 points. The day before, the Exchange had ended in the balance.

Values follow

As for values, General Mills lost 1.02% to 70.57 dollars.The group is expected to announce some numerical predictions.

Barclays (1.18% to U.S. $ 20.63) receives a statement of recommendation from UBS from "neutral" from "buy."

Delta Airlines (-0.55% to $ 12.61 million). Information published by the Wall Street Journal announced that the U.S. airline American Airlines, together with the company TPG Capital, now propose to invest 300 million dollars more in Japan Airlines, for a total of 1.4 billion dollars.

Toshiba offers its muscle on Areva T & D

November 6, 2009 - 5:51 pm Comments Off

Candidates for acquisition of Areva T & D sharpen their arguments, while the final submission of bids will take place next Monday.

Toshiba, long neglected in this competition is taken more seriously. He muscled his offer by joining two funds: the Japanese INCJ (mostly state-owned nippon) and a fund of Abu Dhabi Taqa. The latter's arrival in the bidding takes on particular importance, while a French consortium (Areva, Total, GDF Suez and EDF) supported by state battle for months to try to sell EPR Abu Dhabi.

Both funds, which provide additional financial strength to Toshiba, hold 40% of the future entity. The Japanese plans, if carried in case of IPO Areva T & D in five to seven years.The prospect of a listing of Areva T & D new version in Paris would be very well received by NYSE Euronext, which suffers from a lack of major operations and would target an ally of Toshiba on this issue. Such a listing would also be the "guarantor" of a French base of activity, in keeping with the country's global headquarters.

The Japanese, who was inspired by the offer from General Electric, has not forgotten to highlight the character "industrial" in its offer. It builds on the geographic – Areva T & D is absent from Asia and Toshiba contributes nearly one billion euros in sales in China – and synergies in research and development and procurement of raw materials.Main downside: Toshiba, owner of Westinghouse, is a very serious competitor Areva in the construction of nuclear reactors.

French base

For his part, General Electric has also revised its copy. Minority shareholder alongside the investment fund CVC in its initial offer, the U.S. conglomerate will position itself in the majority partner in the new offering will be delivered Monday. A decision making more industrial project and facilitate the granting of bank guarantees to Areva T & D when signing contracts.

The project also provides for GE in France to maintain the headquarters of a subsidiary of Areva and introduce the next five years the stock market. Industrial side, GE is the map of complementarity, it would include T & D to access the North American market, albeit less buoyant than Asia for transmitting and distributing electricity.A flat, however, GE sold it eighteen months a part of its T & D, raising questions about the strategic importance of such an event for the American conglomerate.

The presidents of Alstom and Schneider are also mounted to the wall for defending their joint bid. On Thursday, before the National Assembly, they reaffirmed that there would be no site closures or socially, in case of redemption. Schneider may be a cluster "distribution" of 5 billion euros. It would then match its two main competitors in the field, ABB and Siemens. Not enough, a priori, drawing the ire of Brussels. With the "transmission", Alstom is the world leader in this sector. Problem with this offer: it implies a separation of Areva T & D, an idea which irritates its management.

"Alstom defends its bid for Areva T & D