International News

The countdown is triggered. If he wants to present its pension reform around the Council of Ministers on July 14, as expected, the government must balance its bill before the end of next week. Otherwise, the consultation of specific bodies (boards of funds Safely, Higher Council of Public …) required before the Council of Ministers, can not occur within time constraints. But there is no question of falling behind, not to shift the following schedule: study Social Affairs Committee of the Assembly during the week of July 19 – Can not overflow, the Palais Bourbon will work in August ! – And then in plenary on 7 September.

The final version of the bill will be known in a week.But a first draft will be unveiled Tuesday, Wednesday or later (it could have been Tuesday but the government wants to avoid being accused of incitement, while FP calls a strike on the issue of pensions that day … ). Meanwhile, the government will collect the reactions of unions. And perhaps he let go a little ground …

A quarter per year

There remain a few days to make the final arbitration. It is Nicolas Sarkozy himself who will decide, probably during the weekend, surrounded by the prime minister, Francois Fillon, Minister of Labour, Eric Woerth and Budget and Public Accounts, Baroin, and rare employees, including the social adviser at the Elysee Raymond Soubie. For now, nothing is decided. Not even the most expected: the decline of legal age. 62, 63 years? Only the pace of recovery seems likely: one quarter per year.Some – MEDEF in mind – still grow for a semester, but as Woerth Soubie consider this rate too fast to be acceptable.

Must we also announce today a further lengthening of the contribution period for a full pension? Everything depends on the horizon set. Aim Is there balance in 2020, 2025, 2030? The government will in any case to demonstrate that all of its reform can indeed balance financial accounts. This is the only way to justify the early use of a resource that is not sustainable – the Pension Reserve Fund – which now seems inevitable no faxing pay day loans. The seesaw in the medium term, a portion of unemployment contributions to pension funds, also participate in financial closure.

Pan "public" also remains to be determined.If this government has argued in favor of aligning the rate of pension pay of civil servants (7.85%) with that of private sector employees (10.55%), the head of state does not forget he was elected on the subject of purchasing power. If it was baneberry, the measure would be very gradual. She could not even apply to future employees, if this does not pose a constitutional problem of having two officers of equal status, the same post with the same gross pay but not clean … The same doubt remains maintenance of the famous method of calculating the pensions of officers for the last six months of salary. However the possibility of retiring after 15 years of service for mothers of 3 children, should not exist.

Restricted bonuses

The ages at which some officers may retire (50 years for police officers, 55 firefighters …) should be addressed alongside the legal age. And the improvements will be very limited (for example military, only time spent in theaters of operations will result in dangerous quarters "available", while yet an assessment year is given "free" every five years after 15 year career). In return, employees are entitled to the same measures of compensation for hardship than other employees.

These measures will in any case not be decided separately.The social and political acceptability of reform can be gauged as a whole.

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Since one week, the controversy raged in Britain about treatment against multiple sclerosis. The British health authority had signed an agreement in 2002 stipulating that if the drugs did not provide patients with the expected effects, manufacturers undertook to lower its price. Seven years later, the products are much less effective announced … but no reduction in tariff has been applied.

This type of program has nonetheless increased in the UK, Italy and in many other countries. In the case of the cancer drug Velcade, marketed by Janssen-Cilag Laboratory, the contract goes to the reimbursement of drugs to the UK for each patient whose health is not improving.

In the U.S., Sanofi-Aventis has proposed another novel mechanism to health insurers.If patients who use the drug cons Actonel osteoporosis fracture a bone, the laboratory shall reimburse the costs of fracture care insurers.

France is rather "timid face systems of risk sharing," said Vincent Genet, director of health business of the firm Alcimed. The Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS) has played the game two or three times. He then granted a high price for drugs, hoping they would be more effective than was thought studies. One program, designed for type 2 diabetes, resulted in failure. Under the agreements, the laboratory (whose name is a closely held secret) then had to repay Social Security.Anyway, "the use of this method should not be necessary if the drugs have been developed properly," says Noel Renaudin, president of CEPS.

Reluctant to bet on the effectiveness of treatment, health authorities prefer to play the Hexagon on the terms of dosage and volumes online pay day loans. In hypertension, where the proper dosage may be unknown initially, and agreements set out in advance the cost of treatment … and provide for rate adjustments if it appears that the doses required are higher is believed ."More than sharing, this is to remove the risk", welcomes Christmas Renaudin.

250 million euros returned by the labs

For highly innovative products that provide a real therapeutic progress, pharmaceutical companies get selling prices relatively high, generally calibrated on prices in Britain and Germany, under certain conditions. They should be consistent with volume commitments. It follows that, if the number of boxes of medicines sold is higher than expected, laboratories pay rebates to Social Security. On average, 250 million euros and are returned annually by laboratories to Social Security.A little more even if we take into account the penalty (53 million last year) that all pharmaceutical companies must pay back if the growth in drug spending is higher than expected validated each year by Parliament.

Practices are changing slowly but surely. Laboratories justify increasingly high prices of their new products by the care savings generated. "These arguments are valid for medical devices, but rarely based on medicines," grade Christmas Renaudin. The CEPS boss finds that "if the antiulcer emptied gastrochirurgie services, they did not generate savings, by dint of being prescribed en masse. CEPS ready yet to give a high price for a drug that has demonstrated, once will not hurt, it reduces significantly the number of hospital days.

During the past several months, discussions on financial reform should be completed June 26 The Senate and House of Representatives have each passed a different version of the text. Elected officials from each chamber are now trying to work on a common version. Congress hopes to be ready for the G20, to be held on 26 and 27 June in Toronto, where regulation of the financial sector will be a central theme. The final text could be adopted just before the recess of parliament in early July. It will then be submitted to President Barack Obama for enactment.

Proposals expected in Europe in a few weeks

A desire to succeed which is felt also in Europe.On Wednesday, the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have co-signed a letter to José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, urging the agency to "accelerate its work" on "enhanced supervision" of financial markets. They attract attention of the European Commission on the issue of regulation of swaps and CDS. The naked short selling could be banned in the entire European Union.The two leaders also stressed the need for greater transparency in the global markets, that there trading stocks or bonds, sovereign bonds according to their benefit as soon as attention particular.

Proposals of measures could be presented in a few weeks.

A "circuit breaker" on Monday in the U.S.

In the U.S., initial development of markets will be set up incessantly. In its effort regulation of the financial sphere, the system of "circuit breaker" required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could indeed come into force next Monday. It provides for a suspension of trade in a way which would fluctuate more than 10% in less than five minutes on the market.With this rule, the Constable of financial markets hoping to avoid the stock market panic like that of May 6.

The SEC is considering extending these fuses, which concern the companies currently listed in the Standard Poor's 500, over a thousand companies.

This Monday has been the day of surprises. A few hours after completing the rescue funds to the euro, the European Union president Herman Van Rompuy announced Monday night that the EU finance ministers agreed that the Commission consider their national budgets. An agreement all the more unexpected given that some hours before the meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel to be held on Monday evening was canceled at the last moment. Every indication that this was yet another sign of the tension between France and Germany. And even if both sides because they advanced the calendar.Markets do not make mistakes: Shortly after the cancellation, the CAC 40 lost more than 1%, while it had managed to return to balance in mid-session.

Budgetary discipline

Anyway, this agreement will enable Europe to invent a new fiscal discipline. This is especially good news that Germany and France had openly opposed on this issue. We remember especially about the government spokesman, Luc Chatel, who said "this is not the European Commission to approve the budget of the French nation."

The EU finance ministers have also agreed Monday night to create new sanctions against countries too indebted to strengthen the Stability Pact.The agreement envisages the possibility of sanctions even when the current limit of 3% of GDP by the Covenant for public deficits has not yet expired, said President of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, at a press conference. The idea would be to trigger the excessive deficit procedures earlier for countries whose debt is not declining fast enough payday loans. It also put more emphasis on the future monitoring of the overall debt deemed not exceed 60% of GDP, and not just the annual deficits.

A modification of treaties is not excluded

The ministers have asked the European Commission to make proposals to define new sanctions.Brussels thinking, for example the suspension of payment of certain subsidies from the European Union for uncooperative countries. Germany also advocates for the suspension of voting rights at European ministerial meetings in Brussels. "We talked about but everyone is aware that financial sanctions not require a treaty amendment," said Herman Van Rompuy.He added: "We have not ruled out a treaty amendment, but has concentrated on what can be done at short notice and under the current treaty that does not have to go to the ahead and impose sanctions, non-financial, "he added, however, ensuring that there was" no taboos "for the future.

These sanctions, which remain to be defined, could be decided whether a country has ignored warnings from its partners on the drift of public accounts, or if the overall level of debt swells too fast.

In an environment where markets are concerned about the financial situation now in Hungary – which is not part of the Euro-zone, this agreement, which follows the completion of the rescue funds of the euro, should enable bring some stability to financial markets that really need it.

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The Paris Bourse, which sailed around the equilibrium in the morning suddenly stalled in mid-session, disappointed by U.S. employment figures and worried by the fall of the euro.

At the finish the CAC 40 plunged 2.86% to end the session very much below the threshold of 3,500 points to 3,455.61 points exactly. On the whole week in Paris index shows a decline of 1.7% bringing its losses since the beginning of the year to more than 12%.

Reflecting investor nervousness, activity was sustained, with almost 5 billion euros traded on the great values of the Paris stock exchange. Other stock markets in unison dévissaient London lost 1.63% and 1.91% Frankfurt, Milan and Madrid 3.79% 3.80%.The Euro Stoxx 50 index dropped 3.20%.

Investors skeptical of increasing the strength of economic recovery plans for fear that strict hindering growth, obviously await any excuse to sell. They took advantage Friday of a disappointment on the job market in the United States to pass the act.

The euro under $ 1.20

In the U.S., unemployment fell in May to 9.7%, but the net new jobs (431,000) were significantly worse than expected. The NYSE has also reacted badly to this statistic, always closely watched by the markets. Wall Street was changing rapidly decline with the approach of the close of European stock exchanges. The Dow Jones lost 2.16% and the Nasdaq 1.80%.

In Europe, a new front in the crisis began in Hungary.The local currency, the forint, the Budapest Stock Exchange, and covers the failure of Hungarian debt (CDS, credit default swap) tumbled after the alarmist statements about the economic situation on the part of politicians, from the majority place.

Those fears pushed investors to the traditional safe havens like the dollar or Swiss franc. And for the first time since March 2006, the euro fell below $ 1.20. In Paris, financial stocks were once again the front line. Societe Generale lost 7.5%, BNP Paribas and Crédit Agricole over 5%.

While France has 75,000 Internet subscribers high-speed fiber optics, Maxime Lombardini, Chief Free said that France has everything to expedite the arrival of this new technology into homes. While some question the framework put in place in France to deploy fiber, Free hand, considers that promotes investment and competition and allows the French to receive subscriptions less expensive in Europe. Free calls within the regulation, its competitors to invest with him in fifty common.

LE FIGARO. – France takes it from behind in the deployment of fiber optics?

Maxime LOMBARDINI. – Quite the contrary, France is ahead. The advent of fiber optics in homes is accelerating.After three years of work, France is at the forefront in Europe, thanks to a very successful framework that enables rapid deployment of fiber networks without digging sidewalks and minimizing interference in the condominium thanks for sharing. In addition, this framework allows consumers to freely choose their provider and gives them the cheapest in Europe. In France, subscriptions to fiber costs 30 euros a month, against more than 100 U.S. dollars. Operators will deploy fiber in the condo together for 5 million homes in the dense areas. Four operators have begun deployments significant.Result, there will be at the end of the year more than 100,000 subscribers to the optical fiber (FTTH), and hundreds of thousands in late 2011.

Why do operators do not they do more advertising for the fiber?

We do not launch national campaign as the fiber is not everywhere. But when a neighborhood or a town is connected, we inform our ADSL subscribers and the people that for the same price, we offer very high-speed fiber. They have therefore a very fast internet access. Other immediate benefits they can receive television via their optical box on multiple televisions, enjoy high definition, the catch-up TV, 3D programs, etc..

France Telecom has called on its competitors to co-invest with him on a fifty Commons. Free is he leaving?

Sure.We have responded positively to France Telecom, which will pose a dedicated fiber to each home to Free bundle. For Free, this represents an investment of tens of millions of euros. We ourselves will today call for co-investment in more than 50 towns, including Paris, Nice, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes, representing nearly 3 million potential catch. We ask that interested operators to respond to us by early July.

How much will you invest?

In fiber optics, Free has taken 2 million and 1.5 million work in the study. I confirm that we have 4 million homes connected with fiber in 2012. We signed agreements with condominium units representing 350,000. Free has invested 350 million euros in the fiber to date in 2010 and will invest over 150 million. The creation of direct and indirect employment is significant.All this shows that we are in a phase of very concrete investment and our motivation to deploy broadband is strong.

This hampers Does the deployment in parallel, on your mobile?

No. Free has the means to pursue these two sites in parallel: in 2010, over 2 billion turnover, the group will spend more than $ 750 million to capital spending, while remaining one of the least indebted telecom operators to Europe.On mobile, the deployment is well underway, and we, again, created over 1,000 jobs directly and indirectly.

When towns and villages can they expect to be connected to fiber optics?

If governments continue to encourage all operators to invest and participate in construction through big loan, we can begin to connect the less dense areas in 2011.

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AIG will not access the request of Prudential. While the British insurer claimed a decrease of 10% of the purchase price under pressure from its shareholders, AIG said Tuesday in a statement it will not alter the terms of the proposed sale of its Asian subsidiary AIA UK Prudential, whose price is set at 35.5 billion dollars (nearly 29 billion euros).

Prudential acknowledges and will respond "in due course"

In another statement, Prudential said take note of the decision of AIG and said he will make a statement in "due course". He confirmed that he proposed a reduction in price and said that his new proposal is 30.38 billion dollars (24.7 billion euros).This represents a decrease of 14.4% of the purchase price, not 10% as first announced by the prospective acquirer.

To partially finance this acquisition, Prudential would need a capital increase of 21 billion dollars (about 17 billion dollars). What worried shareholders, who must decide on the draft on June 7

Prudential and AIG have resumed negotiations last week to save this agreement, several shareholders of the British insurer has estimated that the price offered to become the dominant player in Asia's life insurance was too high.

After this new twist, we expect that the shareholders of Prudential eagerly await the response that Prudential will this announcement.Prudential Will he finally pay $ 35.5 billion and will reach there to give AIG? Unless the proposed acquisition would not be abandoned.

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