International & World Report

The job market is doing less harm to the United States. Published Friday by the Labor Department, the official estimate of 20 000 net job losses in January is consistent with the scenario of an expected return of recruits in the coming months, if growth continues. The most surprising is the fall in unemployment to 9.7%, its lowest level since last August. Economists feared the contrary a rise in unemployment beyond the threshold of 10%.

This rate is calculated from a survey of potential job seekers, while the estimate of creations or deletions of positions from a survey of businesses. But last month the proportion of discouraged unemployed and of persons employed part time, lack of full-time position, declined.So says the rate of "underemployment," the single most severe unemployment, back in January to 16.5%, against 17.3% in December.

Other positive signs are emerging. For the first time since January 2007, enrollment in the manufacturing sector increased (+11 000). This is best supported by increased overtime and raising the average actual working week. The average hourly wage also rises by 0.3% against 0.2% the previous month. Temporary jobs continue their net increase (+ 52 000). While they doubted the strength of demand, companies, out of prudence, first prefer to hire temporary employees, rather than recruiting staff permanently low fee payday loans .

The services sector, largely dominant in the U.S. economy, had destroyed 96 000 positions in December.He has recreated 40 000 in January. The good news is, however, be interpreted with caution, because it largely reflects the hiring of temporary workers by the federal government to carry out the census this year. The states and local communities hit by falling tax revenues continue to reduce their workforce.

Revised estimates

"Judging by the figures of growth in the fourth quarter (+5.7% yoy), reflecting mainly an effort to restock, real final demand is not strong enough to push companies to start of hire.It will take probably six to twelve months to see a trend of strong recruitment, "says Jay Mueller, portfolio manager with Wells Capital Management in Menomonee Falls (Wisconsin).

Reading the figures released Friday is complicated by multiple revisions of previous estimates. November proved much better than we believed, with 64 000 new net posts and not 4 000. But December was disastrous, with 150 000 net job losses, rather than 85 000 as we had originally estimated. Moreover, a massive revision of figures covering the twelve months prior to March 2009 reported eliminations 930 000 additional jobs. This brings to 8.4 million jobs destroyed in the United States for two years.

Is this a consequence of the economic crisis? "We found an increase in rent arrears in 2009," said Lucie Cahn, CEO of Apagl, the Association for access to rental guarantees. "About 30% of tenants in difficulty were unemployed and 25% of them had suffered a decline in their income," says she.

A difficult situation for tenants, but also for landlords, private income sometimes required at the time of retirement. To avoid such a scenario, they can protect themselves by taking out probably next month, with an insurer, the new security risks rental (GRL).

The propriétairesmieux protected

This extends the existing insurance arrangements.It is for rents not exceeding 2.000 euros and the maximum coverage is 70,000 euros and costs about 2% of annual rent.

However, the UNPI (National Union of Property Owners) said the device "inappropriate." "It is quite unfair to bear the brunt of financing the GRL by the lessor while the lessee is is insured and who will benefit from the contract, "sorry Jean Perrin, president of the UNPI.

The relationship between landlords and tenants are not always simple. "While the vast majority of rentals are going well, some cases come up repeatedly," said David Rodrigues, a lawyer for the consumer association CLCV.

The reimbursement by the landlord's security deposit at the end of rental, tops disputes.They are "more and more," says besides a survey released Wednesday by the CLCV, as Le Figaro was purchased.

Since 2008, the amount of the deposit is one month's rent excluding charges (rather than two months). According to the survey, the tenant is unlikely to recover fully after his move: the case of only 10% of tenants. And "in addition to a lease on three (37.5%), the lessor retains the full deposit, according to the survey. The majority of tenants (52.5%) recovered some of their stake. "But only 28% of the amount deposited in average (36% on average in case of dispute).

Withholding part of security deposit can be explained in deteriorating housing, or by UNPI, non-payment of last month's rent … But "this is not always the case," says CLCV."Quite often (28%), donors do not justify the deductions from the deposit," said David Rodrigues. "For this reason, we want the landlord to provide invoices stating that repairs were actually made," he concludes.

While some are preparing to face the cold polar for finding deals, a growing number of consumers will continue this Wednesday, though warm at the computer … The survey conducted by Directpanel Research for the Federation of e-commerce and of distance selling (Fevad), three quarters of Internet users intend to make sales online. 16 million French, constant compared to last year.

Besides the practical aspect of the cyber shopping avoiding transport, cold and congestion, especially Internet landslide rates from Fevad. On the Web, customers have comparators which can not fail sizeable discounts that can reach 90% from the first day of sales.Another advantage, if any error or deception, online stores subject to the regulation of distance selling are required to return the items during the withdrawal period of seven days.

EUR 168 on average

Under existing regulations, the kickoff will be given 8 hours, although some sites have offered to their online shoppers fill their baskets to advance to validate not only the final fateful hour. As in the shops "physical" Moreover, the proposed articles are unsold new sold for over a month.

According to the survey, users hear and spend 168 euros on average. Some 10% of 990 respondents-are even willing to go up to 500 euros. The fashion, female as male, are the products most desired.Accessories, footwear and electronics complete the shopping list type.

Last year, the federation had found a 16% increase in sales over the internet in the first day of sales.

The euro ended the year in small form. For the first time since early September, the single currency rose again Friday to below $ 1.43 and briefly touched a low point, on Monday at 1.4280 dollar. Last month, the euro was trading at $ 1.50 again, "a disaster," was then proclaimed Henri Guaino, special adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, now more discreet about the changes. Once is not custom, it is fundamental to the European economy, considered worse than in the U.S., affecting the markets.

The decline of the euro began in early December with the debt crisis Greek degraded by Fitch. It widened last week when Standard & Poor's followed this movement. "The market remains skeptical about the state budget of Greece, which should continue to dampen prospects for the euro," says Jane Foley cabinet Forex.com.

Debts under surveillance

One Member State trembles, and the whole currency area flickering. Especially that Greece is not alone in worrying the markets. The debts of Spain and Ireland, which have surged with the crisis, are also under close surveillance.

Financial solidarity with countries in distress, implicitly shown by German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the European Council has not been enough to reassure markets. Even if they are all very positive news from the United States seem, by comparison, the best news for investors. "The United States are ultimately not so badly placed compared to other major world economies," says a strategist at HSBC in Hong Kong.

Overseas, unemployment has stopped growing in November, the U.S. economy could even recreate jobs in the first quarter.In 2010, all institutes ensure the growth of the United States looks twice as strong as that of the eurozone. The dollar's rise also reflects an early turning point for monetary policy. The Fed said after its last monetary policy committee that it would leave its policy rate close to zero for a "prolonged period", but it plans to turn a gradual withdrawal of liquidity from month March which will make dollar investments more attractive.

A third factor supporting the dollar this year, said Patrick Artus, Research Director at Natixis: purchases of greenbacks by the Chinese central bank is rife, Beijing had no intention of letting the yuan appreciate against the dollar …

The Committee approved the December 8 and 9 "advisory for a package of proposals to strengthen regulation of capital and liquidity with the objective of strengthening the banking sector," he said in a statement.

These measures will "respond to the lessons of the crisis in the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks," said the committee.

The proposals for capital and liquidity will strengthen the banks and create a financial banking system and healthier, "said the chairman, Nout Wellink, who is also president of the Dutch Central Bank.

It is, however, that a "consultation document" and not a final text, recalled Wednesday a spokesman of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, including hosting meetings.

The 27 "wise men" had already announced in early July an increase of Basel II, introduced in 2004 and requiring banks with a capital ratio weighted overall risk incurred by financial institutions.

Avoiding a new "Lehman Brothers"

To avoid the disastrous consequences of a new financial crisis including the collapse of financial institutions of systemic importance, as the bankruptcy of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the Basel Committee grilled for several months on a building rules governing the banking sector.

In his new proposals, the committee wants to strengthen the quality and transparency of the core capital Tier 1 (core capital of a bank), allowing institutions to better absorb potential losses.

He also wants to improve the level of capital to protect facilities including activities on derivatives and repos (repos).

Debt ratio

Banks should also establish a ratio of debt to contain their debt, financial buffers to cope with difficult situations and a minimum level of liquidity.

The impact of these measures on the sector should be analyzed in the first half of 2010 with the aim to introduce by the end of 2012.

The committee, founded in 1974 and composed of the governors of 27 central banks worldwide, "will ensure that the implementation of new standards is consistent with the financial market stability and sustainable economic growth," assured Nout Wellink.

Central bankers also want to introduce a period of tolerance and accompanying measures "for a period sufficiently long to allow a smooth transition to new standards.

The agency Fitch has not taken into account what is doing the new government. Photo credits: AFP

In addition, the situation in France deteriorated since 2008, when she pointed again at 160 th place. It must be said that 20 countries have lowered their corporate tax this year. "France has made efforts, including the tax-credit research. But this device, for some SMEs, is not included in the study. And in the future, reform of business tax should have a positive effect 'grade Philippe Durand, a lawyer at Landwell (the law firm of PWC).

The tax burden is not the only criterion taken into account

Above all, the tax burden is not the only criterion taken into account in the study. A rightly so because the number one country for low taxes is East Timor, little known for its overall competitiveness.To measure the overall tax appeal, the study also includes the time spent by businesses to report and pay their taxes and the number of payments. But on these two points, France is ranked (40th in the first case, the 9th in the second). She even won ranks.

This is the result of political modernization efforts for several years with the proliferation of TV-declarations via the Internet and creating a single direction at Bercy managing the assessment and collection of taxes (the General Directorate of Public Finance) . Through this effort, France back in the overall attractiveness of the tax from the 66 th place in 2008 to 59th place in 2009.

In the competitive global economy, information is a strategic data. A leak on a response to tender may lose a market. Data protection is a key issue for companies, as control of its communication. To educate businesses, particularly SMEs, to these strategic challenges, the Supreme Council of Military Reserve organized a seminar on Wednesday and Thursday at the Hotel National des Invalides in Paris.

Having explained the concept of intelligence and have identified the countries most active in the field, mainly Anglo-Saxons and China, methodologies have been submitted for planning an operation to protect its information or develop an operational decision.Each topic is synthesized in a small pamphlet, a "Survey" conducted by the consulting firm Strategy ITB, downloadable from its website. "A fifth Handbook, explaining how to develop a strategy of influence, will be available soon," said Brice de Gliame, CEO of ITB. "These concise booklets are intended to help businesses be more competitive, while remaining within the law."

Speakers at the seminar and participating companies explain the challenges of these military methods suitable for businesses: