Daily International Headlines

Meeting this week in Cannes to show the real estate professionals around the world were rather optimistic, anticipating economic recovery, after having faced the most serious crisis the industry since the mid 90s.

The total investment in real estate business in 56 major countries is expected to jump 30% to 478 billion dollars (362 billion euros) this year compared to 2009, low point of the crisis, after a dive 23% in one year, according to a study by Cushman & Wakefield Council. Including a forecast bolstered by the outcome of the Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who said Wednesday that global economic recovery was "better than expected, with 4% projected growth this year after a recession in 2009.

But "if the economies of Europe, Middle East and Africa emerging from recession, economic recovery will not be uniform in these regions, warns a study by Jones Lang LaSalle board. However, with the hope of restarting the economy, coupled with the attitude of banks willing to finance new projects demonstrating good profitability, the construction sector seems to go back online payday advance !!!???!! !???!!!.

A tower of 37 floors of Defense

The French bank Societe Generale has thus acquired the rights to build a tower of 180 meters and 37 floors in La Defense, the largest European business district, located in the northwestern suburbs of Paris."This is a strong indicator of release of the housing crisis", said to AFP Philippe Chaix, Director General of EPAD, public planning of Defense.

The same optimism prevails as well in Montreal, on the North American continent, to Barcelona in Spain, yet one of the countries most affected by the crisis although it was most struck residential property.

The 21st International Market Professionals Real Estate (MIPIM) in Cannes hosted 18,000 participants (exhibitors and visitors), from 78 countries, the same number as in 2009 but down 36% compared to 2008, according Nadine Castagna, Director of MIPIM. To confirm whether the recovery is quite the appointment in 2010, professionals will meet from November 10 to 12 at MIPIM Asia in Hong Kong.

The veil is lifted gradually. The Labor Inspectorate, in charge of investigating the wave of suicides that has struck France Telecom, has submitted its report to the prosecutor of Paris, February 4 last. According to Le Parisien / Today in France this Saturday, this 82-page report clearly denounced the "political restructuring" implemented by the former management team of the operator in 2006.

The warning had been given

Based on the survey conducted by the firm Technologia since December 14 last, with 500 employees of France Telecom, the labor inspector, Sylvie Catala said that the former management has been warned "repeatedly" effects produced by its management policy of "health workers".Doctors labor union representatives, regional fund Medicare and "even justice" have sounded the alarm since 2006.

Neither worked. Management has maintained the course and put in place its plan Next, aimed at "improving the efficiency, effectiveness and productivity" of France Telecom. By what means? The removal of 22,000 jobs in three years and the transfer of 10,000 people to regions and / or different jobs.In its indictment, the inspection work is directly involved three people: Didier Lombard, the former CEO of the group replaced by Stéphane Richard 1 March but retains chairmanship non-operational, Louis-Pierre Wenes, former director Operations France and Olivier Barberot, former director of human resources, both landed in the heart of the storm check cash advance .

The reorganization at any price

Thus, the inspector cites including about Olivier Barberot required to Staff Group in 2006, referring to the plane Next: "I will have failed if we do not the 22,000 departures. For the group, is 7 billion of cash flow. "The reorganization should be done.At the risk of certain employees remain "at the roadside," according to a formula used by Louis-Pierre Wenes at a convention this year 2006.

The conclusion of the inspection work is final. The organization of work implemented by the management of France Telecom is "likely to cause serious harm to the health of workers, it is written in the document shown by Le Parisien / Today in France. An accusation which excludes the regional operator. The latter "have merely applied the methods and decisions taken at the highest level of the group."

This questioning of France Telecom, which has complained about fifty suicides since 2008, echoed in another report from the inspection work on the floor of Besancon in January, following the suicide of an employee in the Doubs in August last.His verdict: "homicide by imprudence".

Total, Renault and Areva are warned: Nicolas Sarkozy keeps an eye on them special attention. This is the message sent by Nicolas Sarkozy in an interview with Le Figaro Magazine, published on Friday morning. Asked about his plans for the nuclear industry, the President of the Republic has decided: "We will decide in April, when Francois Roussely get me released its report. The Head of State stressed the importance of a complete reorganization of the sector. "At a minimum, requires that the chain is reorganized so that teams of France did not compete do so cons-productive." The lesson of the failure of Abu Dhabi should serve us for the future. "

Nicolas Sarkozy evokes the friction between the two giants of French nuclear, EDF and Areva, vying for leadership of the sector. For him, these "public disputes between the leaders of these companies is unacceptable."The president warned: "The state will place the order."

Nicolas Sarkozy referred to "the question" Areva, which he considers "extremely complex", without mentioning any departure of Anne Lauvergeon, a subject that is the subject of persistent rumors. Not a word, therefore, about the boss of global nuclear leadership. However, the Head of State spoke on Henri Proglio: "We have appointed head of EDF's a very good manufacturer," says he. The CEO of EDF has publicly criticized the strategy of Areva, which does not hide its desire to place EDF as leader of the French nuclear industry internationally.

Renault under pressure from shareholder

The president is very tough on the manufacturer who "has to remember that French was" when the State has paid 3 billion euros "to help end the crisis" .Nicolas Sarkozy denied any policy of relocation efforts "to manufacture outside of the cars we sell in France. A reference to the decision by Renault to produce some of the production of its Clio in Turkey IV.

"This is not the president speaks, the state shareholder holding 15% shares of the group! It is still reassuring for the French taxpayer to know that their money will create jobs in France rather than abroad. "

Reindustrialization forced to Total

The closure of the refinery at Dunkirk by Total also react President of the Republic, while the latter maintains that in the course of 2010, unemployment will fall ( "I am confident that we follow good economic strategy. It will bear fruit this year).Total welcomes Nicolas Sarkozy for his 8 billion euros of profit: "So much the better, and congratulations," he said. But for the Dunkirk refinery, he said: "We could not announce its closure and say to the re-industrialization, we will see later.

Nicolas Sarkozy calls for "respect of persons" and expects "the immediate closure corresponds to a new project of re-industrialization". It thus incorporates the words of his Minister of Industry, Christian Estrosi.

The 35 hours again chipped

These files allow the burning president reaffirmed his rejection of 35 hours, he considers "a very great challenge for our economy." For the past Nicolas Sarkozy had "facilitated the relocation, the deindustrialization and falling wages.He said, "we wanted to destroy the competitiveness of our industry, we did it would not take otherwise."

Hence the need to revive the country's industrial policy. "We are the only country to ask the question of its usefulness" while France "has lost 500,000 manufacturing jobs" from 2000 to 2007.

Nicolas Sarkozy is optimistic for this year: "If we are not yet out of the crisis, the recession is over" and "growth exceeding 1.5% in 2010 is expected. So far, the latest forecast Bercy had forecast a rise of 1.4% PIBB.

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Operation siphoning. Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways increasing flights to Europe. Their goal? Bringing their clients to their hubs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, before sending them to distant destinations, more and more numerous.

Emirates has increased its frequency this year in Nice and open lines on Amsterdam, Madrid and Prague, Qatar Airways has launched Barcelona and has strengthened Paris, Athens and Madrid; Ethiad has multiplied its rotations on Dublin, Frankfurt and Athens.

Meanwhile, 12 new international destinations outside Europe appeared in the list of three companies of the Gulf, including Tokyo, Seoul, Melbourne, Goa and Bangalore.To go to Japan, a client of Lufthansa or Air France has a choice between going through Paris or Frankfurt and transit through Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

In this battle, Gulf companies have strong points to make: their hubs have the best possible geographical position between the U.S. and Asia, and have unit costs of staff 50% lower than those of Air France, Lufthansa and British Airways. "They also have a very good product recognizes a part of an EU airline. They all have strengths to further participate in industry growth than we are. "

Orders for Airbus A380 should also provide them with an armada of large aircraft instant payday loan .While Air France and Lufthansa 27 total orders for the new jumbo Airbus, the three companies in the Gulf will eventually 72.

Competitors very annoying

The subject is considered sensitive by European airlines. It has even been mentioned before Tuesday elected staff at the surveillance committee of the CCE Air France. Lufthansa said that its offer seat on intercontinental flights the group should grow by 4% from 2009 to 2012, against 12% for companies in the Gulf.

These competitors are now considered more annoying than low-costs addressing some profitable lines. This time, it is a battle between European airports to those in the Gulf."For now, we have a better mesh of Europe they, believes the framework of an EU airline, but they are very difficult to prevent, where they arrive."

This competition, hitherto confined to flights to Asia and the United States extends to Africa, far backyard of Air France and Lufthansa. Emirates already offers 16 destinations in Africa, 7 Etihad and Qatar Airways 13. "Gulf companies are even more threatening than their owners are not obsessed with profitability, said a European competitor. They invest a lot and are a showcase for the UAE. "

AOL announced the color in late November. On 6 900 employees, 2 500 people were invited to take voluntary departure, otherwise there would be layoffs. Having only received 1 100 applications for voluntary departure, the Internet group has begun to deploy, yesterday, a comprehensive plan layoffs. In France, management presented a plan to close the staff representatives. One hundred employees are concerned. Germany is also poised to close shop. The AOL offices in Sweden and Spain will close early. The first redundancies notified on Monday, will take effect on Wednesday. AOL, which has left the fold of Time Warner in early December, having provisioned for 200 million dollars in charges.

The meeting had yet begun in a friendly atmosphere, around a few cakes of kings. Tuesday morning, the eighth floor of the MEDEF, after an hour of quiet trade on the carbon tax and social negotiations, the clash occurred without anyone waiting on the highly technical issue tenders Association fund management integration of persons with disabilities. Clash between the two numbers 2 "tie" of the organization, Jean-Charles Simon and Helen Molinari, whose disagreement was notorious. For some, Jean-Charles Simon had treated Helen Molinari of "idiot" and "incompetent" before slamming the door. The person himself, swears that he kept his composure. "I said what she said was false then I left the meeting," he promises, that confirms a witness.

What does not yet know the participants is that they will never again see Jean-Charles Simon.For him, this incident is the straw that broke a vase too full for several weeks. The evidence was that Laurence Parisot, despite assurances that he swears that he obtained in December, no desire to change the allocation of tasks with Helen Molinari. Back down in his office, he sends his resignation by email to the president of MEDEF, asking not to his notice three months, and leaves the building. Definitely. This email, Laurence Parisot discovered in the early afternoon and will act without a call to his ex-delegate-general to understand the decision or seek to hold him.

Things might have stayed there and the MEDEF, after the resignation proved by Le Figaro, could minimize the event. But Wednesday morning, the machine goes.In a statement to AFP, Jean-Charles Simon recalls failures "in decision-making and organizational roles, ranging up to criticize" the professionalism of the leadership "of MEDEF. The employers' organization responds by accusing him, in a statement at your unusually steep "having conducted his own end after a spectacular incident," and provides "support to internal teams Medef that have been proven these unusual methods. " The break was complete.

Denis Kessler Photo credits: Le Figaro

The number of overtime-exempt expenses remained virtually unchanged in the third quarter 2009 compared to the previous one, according to latest statistics from the ACOSS, the federation Urssaf. It now stands at 166.8 million hours, equivalent to 300 000 more than the second quarter. On a year because of the crisis requires, however, it drops by 9.2% but with very strong variations by sector of activity.

In industry, traditionally strong consumer of overtime, and the decline exceeds 20% a year, particularly in the metals and fabricated metal products (- 30.6%).

The downturn is intensifying in the construction, it also adept overtime, since the decline reached 9.1% year, four points lower than the second quarter.

The decline was however more moderate in services, – 5.5% a year, mainly because of reduced degradation in the interim (- 30.3%, after – 47% in the second quarter).

Small firms resist

The amount of overtime was ultimately declined less in very small (- 0.2% in one year) than in large (-12.1%) companies "because of the very small proportion of which remained 39 hours, have a structural use of overtime ", says ACOSS in its statement.

The annual decline is also evident in all departments. To the north and east of the hexagon that the decline is greater (less than – 13%) while the Ile-de-France and most departments of the South experiencing moderate declines in the number overtime (between 0 and – 13%).

Only a few departments, Corsica and the Mediterranean (Languedoc-Roussillon, Gard, Var …) actually experience a slight increase of about 10%.

In total, nearly 40% of companies today continue to seek exemptions from overtime, the lowest rate recorded since the entry into force of the measure contained in legislation Tepa in summer 2007. The more companies are consuming less than 10 employees have benefited from 29.5% to 673.1 million euros granted in the third quarter. The larger the company, the less the volume of aid is therefore the more than 2 000 employees affecting only 8.6% of the total.

This is Bertrand Delanoë, Mayor of Paris, which has reignited the debate. In a letter to Eric Woerth November 17, he "drew attention" of the budget minister on charges that the state charges the communities for the collection of local taxes and he wants to be "put an end to a situation unsound. "

To understand what it is exactly, we must consider the complex relationships that are formed between the state and municipalities, counties and regions in the field of taxation. The tax, at Bercy, is responsible for the communities of calculation and collection of the housing tax, property tax and business tax (TP). In exchange, the state gets a share of local taxes paid by households and firms, namely 4.4% of the amount for "cost of assessment and recovery.Moreover, the State takes a second "commission", set at 3.6% local tax (excluding tax housing the primary residence). These "adjustment costs and non-values". By what justification does it? By the fact that when a taxpayer pays a tax less burdensome than the regular rate because, for example, its low-income (and therefore entitled to relief), the State compensates for this shortfall to municipalities, counties or regions. Overall, with these two committees, 5 billion leave the funds in the state and communities and beyond. In a region like the Côtes-d'Armor, costs were 12.24 million in 2008 out of local taxes of 169 million, a levy of 7.2%.

Inextricable relationship

In Paris, the bill reached 185 million in 2008 and 215 in 2009, a levy of 6.4%.And most importantly, after its mayor, "the total amount collected from taxpayers Parisian clearly exceeds the costs actually incurred by the State for these operations." Bertrand Delanoë supports its contention on the last annual report of the Court of Auditors, which denounces billing on the first commission. At 4.4%, the costs of assessment and recovery are very remote from the actual costs of administration for the State, the Court amounts to 1.75% on property taxes. In 2006, an audit report of modernization precisely estimated these costs at 1.9% for property taxes to 3.86% for the housing tax and 0.9% for TP. "The State communities overcharged 1.3 billion euros a year," says rebels on the Assembly of departments of France (ADF).

Nevertheless, the Court of Auditors in its report explains that the Second Committee, on the rebates … is it under-billed.At Bercy, it says the same thing and adds that overall, the balance is negative: "The state pays 16 billion of relief to communities and supports 2 billion cost management. But it only pulls 5 billion of total costs. "

On the community side, this argument makes leap. "The government will decide on tax concessions. It is normal that the state compensates us! "Storm-t-on to the Association of Mayors of France (AMF).

Reforming the business tax may resolve this dispute. To compensate for the loss of revenue, local governments should recover 2.1 billion cost of assessment and recovery. The cursor could even climb to the Senate. Finally, the only gain nothing will … taxpayers.

"Sarkozy denounces the" fiscal insanity "in regions

The European car still recovering. In a statement released Monday, the rating agency Fitch believes that 2010 will be a "transition year" for the sector, despite the appearance of "early signs of stabilization." But the number of bankruptcies in the sector should also remain high in 2009, provides for the rating agency.

Fitch anticipates that the impact vehicle sales in Western Europe will shrink in 2010, and that this decline could reach 6 or 8%. The rating agency predicts that by 2009 the decline in sales will reach 5%, and that production will open in fall of 20% over the same period.

The rating agency gives such a negative outlook because of the gradual but planned, the premium breaks that currently boosts sales.The impact of the disruption of these measures remains difficult to quantify, especially in Germany, "the largest car market in Europe where about one million vehicles were sold under these incentives," says Fitch. Emmanuel Bulle, Director in Fitch motor, said that uncertainty: "Based on sales growth and the actual ability of manufacturers to meet all these challenges, a stabilization of the ratings outlook could arise in the first half of 2010."

Increased pressures on cash

The sales momentum is indeed not the only challenge facing the sector. The issue of financial strength will also return to the front of the stage, including OEMs, Fitch said in another note."In the absence of specific operations, such as increases in capital or asset sales, abandonment of leverage will be a slow process for companies falling into recession with a substantial financial debt, as Renault, "the statement said. The manufacturer is rated "BB with negative outlook" when rival SAP is rated "BB +, B, with negative outlook."

Given these financial pressures, "the agency expects the trend to selective alliances and partnerships will continue into 2010, as well as downsizing discrete and gradual, which are necessary to support a structure lower cost, more in line with forecasts of declining sales.

Automakers will also adapt to new consumer needs.Fitch notes that "the trend towards smaller cars is another challenge for manufacturers of Western Europe, focused on technology, while margins are generally larger segments for vehicles and premium sedans. "No matter the size! Some prefer to bet on another emerging trend of consumption, mindful of its impact on the environment: Renault intends to become the largest producer of electric cars, since the launch of its first four models of its kind in 2011.

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In the lounge Actionaria, individual shareholders are smiling again. This Friday, November 20, the jostling in the aisles of the exhibition of the Exchange is open until tomorrow evening. The event, held at the Palais des Congres de Paris, Porte Maillot, meets all the financial players: listed companies, banks, brokers, financial media and individual investors.

The companies explain their latest results and present their strategy. On this occasion, small shareholders can meet with leaders of companies. Thierry Le Henaff, CEO of Arkema, goes every year on the show: "This is a very privileged that we can dialogue with our shareholders, and raise their expectations," says he.

Banks, home management and Internet brokers have their products and services.Some offer free training to enable individuals to master the new financial tools (eg CFD) and to discover new markets (such as Forex, the foreign exchange market), with the opportunities and risks of their own.

Individual shareholders Actionaria come to find explanations for technical information on a specific company or even counseling. The appointment creates the most opportunity to take the pulse of the market. "Among the questions we are asked most often, there are particular questions about the soundness of banks, and the prospects of the market," explains Benjamin Villegas, broker trading room at IG Markets in London. Regarding prospects for the CAC 40, the expectations are shared: