International & World Report

Nicolas Sarkozy delivering a public and unambiguous support his Minister of Labour. On Saturday, the president said he had "absolutely nothing wrong with Eric Woerth. "You can not blame him, it is an excellent minister," it was said at the Elysee. The previous evening, Eric Woerth had assured that he had "given no instructions to the tax authorities of any nature whatsoever not to engage in transactions of fiscal control in the case Bettencourt, suspected of tax evasion.

Three new revelations raise yet the question of the role of authorities in the case Bettencourt they were aware of alleged tax evasion of billionaire? If yes, what services were? Have they closed their eyes?

According to the weekly Marianne, the court was aware since 2008 of the possible tax evasion billionaire but failed to alert the tax authorities and has not triggered the investigation into the case. In support of these assertions, Marianne published in its Saturday edition of extracts from documents in the preliminary inquiry by the prosecutor in Nanterre, on the complaint of the daughter of Liliane Bettencourt cons photographer François-Marie Banier.

One of these pieces is a letter from François-Marie Banier to billionaire, dated May 19, 2005, where the artist makes reference to Arros Island, Seychelles. An island that he told him he "has to buy.But the tax on capital 2007 Lilliane Bettencourt, including Marianne also publishes an extract, made no mention of this island. But "the judiciary chose to close his eyes," says the weekly, indicating that the prosecution was under the legal obligation on the basis of these elements, "seize the treasury that it is launching an investigation" .

"Nothing has been hidden"

Contradicting these findings, the prosecutor Philippe Courroye said Friday that "tax administration was warned Jan. 9, 2009 that this issue was likely to highlight elements of tax evasion." "The administration is aware of all the evidence.Nothing has been overlooked, "said the prosecutor, adding that the prosecution could not decide alone to grab a result of tax evasion.

According to the website bakchich.info, Bercy could anyway not ignore the "chow" tax between the photographer and heiress. Indeed, says the site, the department has recovered in 2008 a list of 500 French tax evaders in Liechtenstein, including Francois-Marie Banier. The case of the latter was even transferred, according Bribe, to the National Audit tax situations (DNVSF), responsible for the peel. Two years later, there would always be.

A tax adjustment for Francois-Marie Banier

Labour Minister, Eric Woerth, has responded to this information have launched Friday by announcing in 2009, when he was Minister of Budget, fiscal control of the artist Francois-Marie Banier."There was a notice of recovery, accepted and resolved," said his lawyer Temime. "It is unrelated assets abroad or with the proceedings" on donations made by Ms. Bettencourt Francois-Marie Banier.

Asked on Friday on France Inter, Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said she was "very surprised" that the billionaire is not the subject of tax examinations regularly every three or four years, "as in the case for all very large estates.

On Saturday, the modem has meanwhile said it was "very difficult to drive an issue like pensions while being the subject of everyday revelations." Francois Bayrou who was speaking at a press briefing in the House, insisted: 'The French clearly see that there is a concern.There is a weakening of the government and all those who, in his name, driving a number of reforms. "

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Spain, drawn into the same tub as Greece, is an emergency that Europe would have gone well. The Twenty-Seven, which are at the summit in Brussels on Thursday, hoping to overcome the crisis of the euro and the purging of public finances. Clearly, raising the horizon and talk to new growth and employment.

Not a chance for those who preach another message that the turns of the screw and the bailout: it is once again under pressure from the markets that European leaders will have to prove themselves. The "economic government", a body that lacks even a roadmap, build the first German thoroughness prior to use in French voluntarism.

Not surprisingly, the centerpiece of this one-day session will be "the strengthening of budgetary discipline," according to the draft final declaration.With incentives but also early and graduated sanctions for those who violate it. Challenging the susceptibilities of national parliaments, the political body of the EU will also confirm the introduction in the first half of 2011 a collective monitoring of budget proposals from each Member State.

To this arsenal already included in the text, could add further punishment policy, advanced Monday by Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy: the suspension of voting for the worst offenders. The rest of the EU has not yet ruled. Probably necessary, modification of treaties implies unanimity.

Question of credibility approach on the G20 in Toronto, the bloc wants to take the rut European financial regulation.Despite the effects of repeated ad since 2008, the new architecture of banking supervision remains stalled with Parliament, as the framework for hedge funds, including hedge funds.

Tax on banks

The Commission, it has not yet formulated its code for derivatives (CDS and selling). On both fronts, the summit will mark her impatience. It will push the flames of a European tax on banks and, perhaps, a tax on financial transactions desired by Paris and Berlin.

So busy filling the gaps in the past, EU leaders will find good reasons to expect with the confirmed entry of Estonia into the euro in 2011 and the opening of negotiations almost gained entry to Iceland EU.But the chapter devoted to the crisis and the real upturn in business, hoping next year is looking pretty thin.

The Twenty-Seven "finalize" the growth strategy adopted by the Commission for ten years. It assumes, for each country, employment goals, training, research, "social inclusion" and the fight against global warming. Originally called "EU 2020, this catalog has been renamed for a good cause: it is now" The new European strategy for jobs and growth ". But she does not elaborate on how to restart the machine.

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Very bad trading day Wednesday for the title again BP. In London, the stock fell 4.24% to 391.55 pence. On Wall Street, the same day, the stock has tumbled 15% to just 29 plsu dollars.Pour many observers, the cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is likely to jeopardize the very existence BP. "The action suffers now fears the very future of BP. It is no longer just a noise reduction of the dividend. Now it's survivability in question, "said Jon Najarian, founder of the news website optionMonster.com.

At the London Stock Exchange, the fears were mostly related to the fact that BP would eventually suspend payment of its dividend. "We are resigned to the fact that there may be a suspension of the dividend," said Tony Shepard, an analyst at Charles Stanley, quoted by Reuters.

Last Friday, however, BP has reaffirmed its intention to announce to its shareholders on July 27 the amount of its interim dividend by way of the second quarter. Dividends paid by the group representing some 10.5 billion dollars (8.7 billion euros) per year.

Yet another bad news for the oil group that is not due to his inability to pay, but the fact that the U.S. authorities there are not favorable. "It does me no problem that BP complies with its legal obligations (to its shareholders, Ed), but I want them to know they have a moral and legal obligations here in the Gulf, warned Tuesday Barack Obama.

The U.S. authorities have also sent an ultimatum to compel them to BP by unveiling its plans to 72 hours to stop the leak.

"BP must state its plans for its parallel initiatives ongoing and alternative oil recovery, including establishing a timetable within 72 hours after receipt of this letter," says the letter from the admiral-cons Coastguard James Watson chief operating officer of BP, Doug Suttles, and dated Tuesday.

With the installation of a funnel, BP has accelerated since last week the recovery of oil leaking from the wells to 1,500 meters below the surface of the water for more than seven weeks. But the water continues to move towards the U.S. coast and crude oil continues to flow.

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In the wake of americans markets reassured by the progress of the case Greek, Asian markets were changing all the green around 7:00. The Tokyo stock market closed Thursday, evolves, this Friday, up 1.45% to 11,083.67 points, Hong Kong climbed 1.13% to 21,013.28 points, ahead of South Korea 0.77 % to 3666.52 points, Australia rose 0.48% to 4808.80 points, India is up 0.69% to 17,623.88 points and Singapore grants itself an increase of 0.40% to 2970.80 points.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Japan decided Friday to leave its rate unchanged at 1%.Shortly before the country announced nippon over one year to March to lower consumer prices by 1.1%, up 4.4% of household consumption, an increase of 0.3% industrial production and a slight increase in unemployment from 4.9% to 5% cash fast online. Only Taiwan displays a small decrease from 0.01% to 8053.51 points.

As for values, but the South Korean Samsung Electronics posted an operating profit up 643% to 3.99 trillion won (2.7 million) in the first quarter of 2010, and a number of business up 21% to 36.64 billion won (24.8 million euros). The group was expecting an operating profit of 4.3 billion won (2.9 million euros) and a turnover of 34 billion won (23 million euros).

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 propri?tairesmieux 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.

In a large show held at the Carrousel du Louvre in Paris, Guillaume Pepy, the SNCF President, presented the major innovations that the railway was completed or tested in 2009, and especially those which it has proceed in the years to come. Some of them concern the heavy infrastructure such as Highway Railway Luxembourg-Perpignan, whose rate of rotation has been doubled to four daily return. Also programmed a line Bayonne-Lille and medium-term line of Great Britain to Italy through France.

The key innovations, however, concerns the field of multimedia.And such service "station line", available on 3G phone, which lists 600 stations to allow users to know the times of departure and arrival of trains, the number of platforms, location or price of the car … In 2010, SNCF will launch a radio, a little image of FM Highway, we will receive on his mobile phone or Internet. With a team of 30 journalists, all 15 minutes will flash information on traffic conditions and disturbances. Between the flashes, there is provided a musical thread, who wants very heterogeneous because it will "attract a clientele that ranges from 7 to 77 years.

Tariff Schedule

On the website "Voyages SNCF, a tariff schedule will allow customers to better understand and especially to see ticket prices depending on the train. A first version for small prize will be available in first quarter 2010.After the air is the railway, through the barcode and card flyer, opening gradually to the e-ticket, thereby avoiding the printed ticket. Tested over 14 destinations in 2009, this service will be extended in 2010 to all France, and international relations with Luxembourg, Switzerland and Germany.

Finally, the SNCF will use the experience of Thalys on Internet connection and gradually equip the 52 TGV Est network. Thus, passengers traveling to Metz, Nancy and Strasbourg can surf the Internet while traveling. An investment whose cost is 500,000 euros per ream.

In the field of health, SNCF began to equip the trains of the TGV defibrillators. Since last summer, 150 stations have been equipped. It's now the turn of the TGV trains to the East and Switzerland. Eventually, the entire network will be equipped.An investment of 10 million euros for 2,000 defibrillators.

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

Despite the significant impact of successive delays made the program of the new jumbo Airbus A350, the chairman of its parent, Louis Welsh, said in the columns of the Financial Times that his group will not appeal markets.

The boss of aerospace group EADS has nevertheless conceded that such delays "have an impact on cash Airbus, which suggests the London daily that the group's treasury could melt rapidly due to lower deliveries of had expected next year, raising questions about the long-term funding of new programs.

"We have over 8 billion euros in net cash. When you're in that situation, you do not request funding for your shareholders, "said Louis Welsh. The cost of developing the A350 is generally estimated at over 10 billion euros.Louis Welsh also ensures that the financial difficulties of Dubai, one of the largest customer of Airbus, will have no impact on the European group.

EADS shares evolved to equilibrium at around 11.00 to 12.37 euros, or -0.08% over the closing price last Friday at the Paris Bourse.