International News

Decisive day for the mobilization against the pension reform. The objective of unions is clear: to gather more demonstrators than previous events, which led to another since the beginning of the year. On 27 May, between 395,000 and one million people (according to the police and unions respectively) took to the streets.

Since then, times have changed. The government has announced plans for pension reform last week. A text that unions have unanimously considered "unfair." Guests this Thursday on RTL, the secretary general of the CFDT, Francois Chérèque, regretted "being faced with a country that is willing to change, but change in the wrong direction." Therefore, he hopes an "exceptional mobilization" for this inter-action day.

"The hope was to surpass the one million demonstrators.I think that this figure will be exceeded is obvious, "said François Chérèque, saying that" perhaps two million people "will demonstrate this Thursday. And this, especially since "more than 200 gatherings" are already planned across France. And calls for strikes in the business (as in Saint-Gobain, Michelin, Total, Airbus, BNP Paribas, L'Oreal, France Telecom, La Poste …) have followed since the beginning of the week.

At the Post, some 19.86% of staff were on strike Thursday morning, said the Directorate in a statement against 12.80% last May 27. For its part, the direction of the station has recorded 39.8% of strikers among the railway workers in mid-morning, against 23.2% during the last day of action interprofessional.

The teachers were 31.9% to strike Thursday in schools and 10.3% in secondary schools (including 18.7% in colleges), according to figures from the Ministry of Education published in mid-morning. The schools were little affected, the degree requires organization. On the day of 23 March, the mobilization in the primary had reached 29.8% of strikers, the ministry said.

Another sector to have mobilized public broadcasting had a strong participation in the strike on Thursday. Several television and radio have been deleted throughout the morning. The directions of France Televisions and Radio France, however, had not reported figures to the mid-day. Finally, the publication of several regional newspapers has been disrupted. To major national newspapers will not seem morrow Fridays.

For the secretary general of the CGT, Bernard Thibault, the one million demonstrators should be passed this afternoon. "If that's not enough, we have the sequence of ideas, this is not the end of a cycle, only the announcement of a bill," he warned in a interview with the newspaper 20 Minutes. "I've seen governments fall as safe as this one, particularly on the subject of pensions, has finally found the union leader.

If Nicolas Sarkozy pledged on Tuesday to be "tuned" during discussions with the unions this summer, and it spoke of "possible developments" of the reform bill late last week, some key points text does not change as raising the legal age to 62 years in 2018. And, whatever the mobilization this Thursday."The mobilization will certainly strong, we expect, we do not fear," warned the Labour Minister, Eric Woerth.

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The world leader in chemistry, German BASF, is expected to sign Tuesday the acquisition of fellow Cognis according to the Financial Times Deutschland. Owned by Permira and Goldman Sachs, Cognis manufactures additives for cosmetics and detergents.

According to sources close to the case interviewed by the newspaper, the transaction amounted to 3.2 billion euros. In 2009, sales of Cognis representing 2.6 billion euros and EBITDA was $ 364 million. On its website, the company states employ approximately 5,600 people and be present in thirty countries.

Originally, Cognis was a subsidiary of Henkel, resold in 2004 to 2.5 billion euros. In 2006, the efforts of its new owners to sell it failed. In recent years, the company split from two of its five subsidiaries.BASF has already bought in 2009 the Swiss Ciba for 3.8 billion euros to strengthen in the mill.

Ten weeks after the arrival on the shelves of stores of its nearest competitor, Nespresso is on the offensive … judiciary. Nestle, the world leader in food and owner of Nespresso, sued Friday in front of the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Paris the U.S. Sara Lee, which sells in France for use in coffee pods Nespresso machines under the brand Gold ( coffee house).

According to our records, Casino is also covered by this assignment, as distributor caps Gold. However, neither Carrefour or Leclerc or Auchan, which also sell, have received blue paper. Nestle has obviously wanted to spare its main customers in France.

In fact, the Swiss Casino attacks because it sells, in addition to pods Gold, its own brand caps, also compatible with Nespresso machines.Available for less than one month, they were designed by CSC, a company founded by a former boss of Nespresso, which claims to have found a way around the patents by the Swiss group. The best advertising we could do that Nestle would drag us to court, "repeated John Paul Gaillard, head of CSC. The latter will have to wait to see if it will receive such a boost from his former employer.

1700 patents

Nestlé experts (engineers, mechanics, lawyers), which took ten weeks to complete their technical analysis of the capsules, however, have not yet completed its review of those Casino."This assignment is a clever shot pool with three bands, according to a avocat.Casino will prepare his defense for Gold, while avoiding having to contradict itself in any future case."

Nestle has taken the risk of him a (bad) publicity to defend its brand and its margins."We welcome fair competition, the company said, but we will take all appropriate measures to defend our intellectual property rights."

With the Nespresso coffee machines tailored to accept (in theory) that caps his coffee house and sold exclusively in a distribution network owned, Nestle has a nugget that was made last year a number of business by 1.94 billion euros (up 22%) and whose profitability, kept secret, is close to levels recorded in the luxury industry.

The 1700 patent cover both Nespresso pods, machines, and the mechanism that provides the link between the two. The assignment of Sara Lee would focus on these last two points, not the pods themselves. While those of Nespresso, aluminum, are completely sealed, those of Gold, plastic, are already holes.The panel discussion promises to be tricky. Pending the outcome of the proceedings, which could take 12-18 months (unless an agreement was reached earlier), provides Nespresso not have noticed the slowdown in its rate of growth since the arrival of new competitors. Sara Lee and sell between 1.1 and 1.5 million capsules of coffee … ten to twenty times less than Nescafe.

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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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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%.

According to Les Echos, Veolia Environment and Suez Environment, the two companies negotiating with SEDIF (Union Water Ile-de-France) for a giant contract to supply water to 144 municipalities in the Ile-de-France, outside Paris, have both received a letter.

Following this letter, only Veolia was invited to continue the development of the contract. This means that the number one global services to the environment is only now vying for the contract of ten years, possibly extendable to twelve years, which shall become effective on 1 January 2011 cash advance america. Suez Environment has indeed confirmed on Tuesday he was excluded from the tender. Veolia Water, part of Veolia Environnement holds the contract since 1923.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has just been presented with a request for assistance from Greece. Until now, the IMF provided only technical assistance to Athens. The team of experts is hard at work in the capital of Greece. "We are ready to act quickly in response to this demand," said Dominique Strauss-Kahn Friday, IMF Managing Director. And Youssef Boutros-Ghali, chairman of the board of the institution, recalled: "Aid to Greece will take time. This can not happen from one day to another. "Especially since the Papandreou government is engaged in negotiations on a plan" covering several years. "

So far, the IMF had not been involved in developing the plan of the European Union. This is not a member of the board of the fund. The proposals could therefore engage the IMF, said it does in Washington.It is expected to "several weeks" of negotiations. The amount of the full plan could exceed the record $ 58 billion set by Korea in 1997 with the conditions negotiated by the IMF.

The multilateral institution also assumed that the share of aid to Greece will represent one third of the package agreed by the other countries of the euro area. But this figure could possibly change after the verdict of the negotiators of the fund. The absence of a margin for adjustment by devaluation, however, seriously complicates the terms that the IMF should negotiate with the Greek authorities.This is not entirely without precedent: for example, Latvia has received 1.7 billion euros from the IMF in 2008, as part of an international package of 7.5 billion, while keeping its currency indexed euro.

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After two sessions of sharp decline, the Asian stock markets resumed colors Tuesday. In Japan, the Nikkei 225, which had fallen below 11,000 points, it brings back, gaining 0.62%, to 10,976 points.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng up 0.8% at 21,576 points. The S & P / ASX Sydney is 0.33%, to 4931 points. And the Bombay SE Indian wins 0.34%, to 17,459 points.

Bank stocks and airlines have regained some lost ground in recent days, says one local broker, because the complaint against Goldman Sachs for some, and the ash cloud for other

The day before, Wall Street has ended without direction, while European stock markets closed in decline consequent.

The charges against Goldman Sachs continues to be central to the concerns of investors worldwide Fast Cash Without a hassle.The investment banking side has explained to Congress. Sec could go for other banks. And AIG could also file a complaint against Goldman Sachs.

Toyota still reminders

Toyota (-1.89% to 3.625 yen) announced Tuesday the recall of 34,000 worldwide 4×4 vehicles that could run off the road if driven too fast around corners, a new concern for the automotive giant Japanese also regard the Lexus, its luxury brand ultra-lucrative.

This comes as yet another reminder Toyota has agreed to pay a record fine of nearly $ 16.4 million in the United States, where he is accused of being slow to call on other cases of defects.

Since Tuesday, investors are moving away from safe-haven assets following the various signs of recovery in the global economy. The success of Intel promote appetite for risk. What will weigh on the dollar. Just as the maintenance of the speech by the Fed, which promotes interest rates still very low even for long.

EUR / USD – Sessions hectic since early April

After the Easter weekend, there has been a depreciation of the euro against the dollar in a climate of distrust of so-called risky currencies. The operators were cooled in their appetite for risk because of their fear on the issue of Greece. The single currency has lost about 220 pips * from a quotation of dollar 1.3500 1.3282 U.S. dollar on Thursday at 10am (lowest of the week).

Then the tension on the markets have weakened.Speech by Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the ECB (European Central Bank) last Thursday, has eased the financial world. He said he pursued the policy of low interest rates up to 1% in the euro area. And it has said that "Greece was able to reduce its deficit" and had already started to employ strong measures.

Nothing better to give a boost to the euro. The last weekend, offering assistance to 30 billion euros – Athens does "not want to use" – the European Union gave a big blow oxygen, allowing the euro to rise around 1 36 dollar on Monday.After two sessions of stagnation (Monday and Tuesday), the exchange rate has increased again, bolstered by renewed investor optimism about the strength of the global recovery due to favorable economic statistics, while comments Fed chairman on a forecast of "moderate growth" have weighed on the greenback.

On Tuesday, the foreign exchange markets have welcomed the issuance by Athens Treasury bills.And on Wednesday, Ben Bernanke (Beige Book) reiterated Wednesday that the rate of the institution should remain close to zero, at which they are set since December 2008, for an extended period, dismissing speculation of an anticipated tightening of Fed monetary policy, which has given new impetus to the euro.

As expected by analysts Realtime Forex Tuesday, which saw the euro test the 1.3541 support for better back, it is mounted to 1.3667 to 18 hours.

CDN / JPY – Same trend

Nippon side, the euro followed the same "trend" * weekly against the yen. The single currency began a decline of more than 400 pips against the yen. On Monday, the euro / yen was quoted at 127.70 to touch a low of 123.40 yen. But from the response Trichet yesterday, the euro strengthened to 125.60 yen to return.

The yen fell for the sixth straight session against the euro, with one course from Wednesday to 127.07 yen against 126.83 yen the day before.

GBP / USD – Sterling held up better than the euro

Across the Channel, the BoE (Bank of England) has also left interest rates unchanged at 0.5%, indicating that this was not the time to make a recovery rate of payday loan lenders.

Monetary side, the pound sterling, however, fared better than the euro against the dollar. Like British macro-economic figures emerged this week (GDP 0.4% and manufacturing output up 1.3%), the pound has evolved into a "range *" between 1.5130 and 1.5320 dollar.

* The cable is able to break this channel by treating up to 1.5473 dollar.

Against the yen, the pound again the delay and found almost the level of 144.21 yen on Monday.

CHF / EUR – Swiss Franc still going strong

On Wednesday, the Swiss franc 1.4362 per euro symbol. This is a very strong for the Swiss franc, which traded in 2009 almost all the time between 1.50 and 1.54.

Since the beginning of the year, the Swiss Frabce climbed more than 5%. This is not the business of the Swiss Central Bank, whose foreign exchange policy is heckled.

The yuan under the spotlight of the world

On Wednesday, Ben Bernanke, who appeared before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, reiterated that "the United States must continue to press China to bring it to revalue its currency, the yuan."Barack Obama this week's encounter homolgue Chinese President Hu Jintao on China's trade deficit background.

Most economists agree that the currency is undervalued – by 40% according to analysts and has been used to obtain an economy more oriented toward exports to domestic consumption.

On the one hand, in case of revaluation, China would be ready to counter the speculative bubbles that threaten, and inflationary pressures. But then again, remember that a more expensive yuan will be more expensive for the "Western" to fill all Chinese products.And they will have the effect of melt exchange reserves in dollars of the Chinese, which does allow them to buy as many more U.S. Treasury Bonds, and therefore finance the debt of the United States …

* Definitions

• Forex: For Foreign Exchange, or foreign exchange market

• Technical analysis: analyst or chartist. She studied graphic evolution courses. The research in the historical price behavior involved in a situation to predict the evolution of financial securities.

• Pips: Price Interest Point. Unit rating for foreign currency. It designates the last digit used: in the case of the euro, the fourth decimal place.

• Trend: trend.

• Range: range.

• Support: value as the price has very little chance to pass down.

• Resistant: value as the price has very little chance to overtake on the rise.

• EUR: Euro, USD: U.S. Dollar, or U.S. dollar JPY Japan Yen or Japanese yen, GBP: British Pound, CHF: Swiss franc.

After three days of Easter break and while European markets are closed on Monday, the NYSE should begin the week in green. The recovery of new posts in the United States, announced Friday as the market was closed, has something to restore confidence among investors. In March, the United States have created 162 000 jobs. This is the best performance in nearly three years. It is partly due to the hiring of 48 000 federal agents responsible for conducting the population census planned this year. But overall, the trend shows that employment in the private sector restarts. In industry, in services such as retail and even construction companies have started to recruit. "America still has work to do to restore jobs, but it's the best news in this regard for two years, welcomed the president Barack Obama.In fact, the unemployment rate remains high in the United States to 9.7% in March and February.

Investors scrutinize closely this afternoon two other important indicators: Promises of home sales in February in the U.S. and especially the index (ISM) activity in the service in March faxless cash advances. Experts expect a continued recovery in this sector (which accounts for 80% of jobs-with the exception of agriculture, the country) for the third consecutive month.If these statistics confirm the strength of recovery in the U.S. economy, the Dow Jones, which closed Thursday at 10 927.07 points could cross the threshold of 11 000 points.

Despite the absence of European investors, still Easter weekend, futures on indices of NYSE were well oriented two hours before the opening of U.S. markets. Futures on the Dow Jones traded at 10 890 up 30 points and those on the Nasdaq at 1 960 points (8 points).

Side values, Apple will be closely watched at the market opening. The Americans were indeed rushed during the weekend on the iPad, the new multifunction tablet from Apple. More than 300 000 copies have been sold as of Saturday, the first day of worldwide commercialization of this new high-tech product.