Feb 12 2011

Roland Garros, Paris is favorite but still disputed

Tag: finance, international, opinions, special, top newsadmin @ 5:00 pm

Paris Has it been too sure of his strength? There is just one more year, the possibility of relocation was seen as a joke by the City Council. At the point of not meeting the requirements of the French Tennis Federation, eager to expand the site of Roland Garros in order to accommodate the public, partners and media in better conditions, and to demand a fee from astronomical 2016 (the current lease expires in 2015). "There is a Roland Garros. There is no other. It will be more if it leaves Roland Garros Paris. The love story between Roland Garros and tennis is necessarily the Porte d'Auteuil, on the current site (…) I'm really a city tour to the suburbs but frankly what belongs to Paris is Paris.Roland Garros as the Eiffel Tower is part of Paris, has just recently told Jean Vuillermoz, Deputy Mayor of Paris, in charge of sport in a whiff of superiority. Faced with this situation, the TFF has decided to react by putting Paris in competition.

A hotly contested competition
A bluff? Initially judged as such, the call for entries is taken very seriously. Three suburban sites are then selected to host Roland Garros: Versailles, Marne-la-Vallée and Gonesse. The quality of records that are pushing the proposed FFT to seriously consider a move. "Attitudes have indeed changed," admitted the director Roland Garros Gilbert Ysern, whom we asked last November.Under pressure, the Mayor of Paris reacts through Bertrand Delanoe, who tabled a "vow on the development of the Tournament of Roland Garros in Paris" fulfilling all the wishes of the original Federation. Extending the area of 60% (5 hectares), covering the Central, the construction of a new 5,000-seat stadium, a new concession for a period of 99 years and a charge down the figure indexed business.

An eminently strategic
By choosing to stay in Paris, the FFT would be the choice of conservatism. A choice of heart more than reason? So says Hervé Dupont, executive director of the Plaine de France, holder of record of Gonesse."Either the Federation made the strategic choice to remain in Paris for convenience, for fear of change, because it costs him a little cheaper … Either it moves and in this case we believe we have the best project." Leaving the historic site Auteuil would especially at Roland Garros to catch up and even take the lead, on the other Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Australian Open) in terms of area (over 30 hectares). Pragmatic, Guy Forget is rather favorable to offshoring.

An opinion that disagrees obviously not John Vuillermoz: "Is that what is important is the space, the number of acres? Does the importance of this tournament is not elsewhere? The goal is to get better. There will be an opening to a new space, a new short 5,000 seats. A lawn will replace the short No. 1, which is not beautiful.This will allow spectators to picnic before a large screen that will broadcast all the matches. This is what will stay at Roland Garros in its box, while remaining accessible to the greatest number. This is not just about square meters. "

Dissension
Unlike Gonesse and Marne-la-Vallee, where the political will to welcome Roland Garros is unanimous, the case of Paris, like that of Versailles, is facing some dissension. "We are a democracy, everyone can express themselves. You say there is no opposition would not be true.Now, democracy is majority and in this context, the Paris council has spoken: 12 councilors voted against and 141 voted for! After the Greens, who voted against the Olympic Games in Paris, which are against the top-level sport in Paris and that the residents of the Porte d'Auteuil want to stay together and not to involve the mass is their problem … But the great mass of the Parisians is favorable. All the polls show, "says Jean Vuillermoz, reminding us that Paris can count on support from the weight, partners and sponsors.

Sponsor support historical
BNP Paribas, whose brand is associated with at Roland Garros for 37 years, is actually very clear about this: "We support the continuation of the tournament in the capital. We believe that much of the prestige is that it is in central Paris.Whatever the qualities of offshoring projects, they would not have the same influence. "Same story from Alain Afflelou:" Roland Garros is a prestigious tournament that counts a lot in terms of public relations device. Currently, it is easy to reach, it will be more complicated than 35 km … "Favorite, File Paris nonetheless threatened. Not sure he collects 66% of votes of the 195 voters of the Federation for its victory on Sunday. He could well find themselves with ballot Versailles (the most dangerous rival?). The two finalists then the tie would be within three months, an absolute majority, at a new General Assembly …

The Paris plan:


Feb 10 2011

India: Growth insolent … and vulnerable

Tag: economics, features, publications, top news, worldadmin @ 10:36 am

Source: Natixis, based on figures provided by the IMF (International Monetary Fund) cash advance loans.


Feb 08 2011

French growth accelerating in early 2011

Tag: economic, life, money, news, opinionsadmin @ 12:04 pm

Early 2011, France could surprise. Growth should accelerate in the first quarter and reach 0.8% growth, according to the first estimate of the Bank of France published on Tuesday. The final figure for the fourth quarter of 2010 is not yet known, but activity is expected to grow by 0.6% according to the institution.

"If the forecast of the Bank of France for the first quarter is confirmed, then it is clear that we will reach the government target of 2% growth over the year," says Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas' market, who said he was surprised by this result. The rebound in activity observed by the Bank of France is driven by the industry. The institution observes an acceleration of output in January to 110 points in January against 107 in December. In services, the business climate has earned two points in a month to 101.

"Exports have been very dynamic, with Germany and distant clients who are experiencing very good growth," Dominique Barbet further analysis. "And we're not a champion of competitiveness, advantage is probably that some customers are turning to us because their suppliers are running at full capacity."

However, he believes that this first estimate of the Banque de France for the first quarter growth "appears high." Natixis, which published its leading index Monday to table its share growth of 0.5% over the period.


Feb 06 2011

Groupon placed on the Superbowl for further growth

Tag: business, economy, people, resources, specialadmin @ 3:00 pm

With over 100 million viewers, the broadcast of the Superbowl is an unmissable for major U.S. advertisers. Coca-Cola to General Motors through Disney and Budweiser, they rush to buy advertising space to compete for gold and creativity, hoping to generate much buzz on the Internet. The price of 30-second spot has still set a record this year, reaching $ 3 million (against $ 2.8 million last year). And Fox had passed all the inventory at the end of October.

But a surprise guest has to advertise the festival. The site group purchasing Groupon took advantage of the withdrawal of an advertiser for advertising space at the last minute during the encounter.

"50 million subscribers"

This is a new coup for the site created two years ago, after the rejection in December of a bid by Google for $ 6 billion. "After two years of activity and 50 million subscribers to date, we believe it is time to use television to reach a wider audience yet," justified Rob Solomon, director of operations Groupon in a statement cash till payday advance.

The investment is significant for Groupon, who was unable to secure the place in advertising before and after the game, but timely. Indeed, the site has seen many competitors come and they begin to close the gap. This is particularly true of Living Social, who recently received an investment of $ 175 million of commercial site amazon.com and bought advertising space before the broadcast of the Superbowl.

Dissemination of an advertisement during the Superbowl, the most watched event in U.S. television, and promises to give a major boost to the reputation of Groupon. This is especially important that the company is already preparing its IPO and could intervene in the spring, according to U.S. media.


Feb 04 2011

Housing: 9800 euros spent per household

Tag: economy, opinions, resources, top news, worldadmin @ 7:52 am

The purchasing power of French has been cut sharply last year by soaring housing costs. In 2010, the French spent 297.7 billion euros at their homes. Each household has spent 9800 euros for lodging, cons 9,500 euros in 2009. The budget for housing has increased by 4.2% last year, nearly three times more than inflation (+1.5%), and against an increase of 1.8% in 2009, according National Accounts of Housing released Wednesday by the Department of Ecology.

The energy cost and expenses for the rise. According to ministry figures, energy costs rose 12.1% in 2010 resulting from higher prices for oil and gas where the increase was between 22% and 36% over the last 5 years .Moreover, the volume of consumption has also increased due to mild weather less than in 2009.

The charges, which account for one tenth of the total, have also registered an acceleration in 2010: they increased by 2.2% in 2010 after rising 1.3% in 2009).

Accommodation: First item of expenditure of the French

Conversely, higher rents, which account for three quarters of current spending, slowed in 2010 for the fifth consecutive year online payday loan lenders. It increased by 2.7% against an increase of 3.1% in 2009. The private sector recorded an increase of 1.3%, below that of the social sector by 2.0%, for the third straight year.

Housing remains the largest spending item of the French.In 2009, they spent 21.7% of their disposable income on current housing expenses, twice more than for food or transport, which both occupy nearly 11.5% of expenditures.

Secretary of State for Housing Benoist Appeared acknowledged Wednesday that the housing situation in France was "serious", after the publication of the report of the Abbé Pierre Foundation. According to the association, 10 million French people are victims of housing crisis.

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Feb 03 2011

The job is not enough to convince Wall Street

Tag: economic, online, opinions, resources, specialadmin @ 4:52 am

The U.S. stock market opened slightly lower on Wednesday. The Dow Jones lost 0.11% and the Nasdaq was down 0.23%. Tuesday for the first time since June 2008, the U.S. index has crossed, close Tuesday, the 12,000 points mark, despite the continued unrest in Egypt.

On the foreign exchange market, the euro retreated against the dollar on Wednesday afternoon. To 16 hours in Paris, the euro bought 1.3804 dollars against 1.3831 dollars late Tuesday.

The better than expected U.S. employment in January

On the macroeconomic front, several indicators were expected in the United States. Job creation in the U.S. private sector were higher than expected in January, according to results of the monthly ADP released Wednesday. In total, 187,000 jobs were created during the first month of the year versus the consensus of 29 analysts polled by Reuters had forecast about 145,000.Moreover, the December figures were revised down to 247,000 against 297,000 originally announced.

Late afternoon, the markets will react to stock weekly U.S. crude oil.

Sanofi-Aventis year close to agreement with Genzyme

Genzyme: -0.20% to 73.43 dollars

The side of values, the merger between Sanofi-Aventis and Genzyme has taken another step forward. On Monday, the two sides reached an agreement in principle on the structure of a rapprochement. And Tuesday, a source familiar with the matter said that Sanofi-Aventis would have fallen for that, its offer to just over $ 70 off certificate of conditional value (CCV).

GlaxoSmithKline: -1.47% to 36.84 dollars

In the same area, the British group GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced Wednesday it sold $ 1.7 billion, all of its shares in the American medical diagnostic tests and Quest Diagnostics.

Electronic Arts: 15.16% to 17.99 dollars

Always on the side of values, after closing the American publisher of video games Electronic Arts has quadrupled its net loss during the third quarter of fiscal shifted, to 322 million, exceeding expectations, however. Indeed, excluding special items and reported the number of shares, this amounts to 59 cents beyond the 57 cents expected by analysts. The turnover amounted to participate in its $ 1 payday loan lenders.41 billion, slightly below expectations, and an increase of 4.75%.In addition, the group announced a share buyback of 600 million over 18 months, "a first for many years," says an analyst.

Western Union: 1.03% to 20.50 dollars

For his part, Western Union has reported for the fourth quarter earnings per share of $ 0.38, $ 0.35 cons expected by the market and $ 0.32 last year.

Aflac: -2.27% to 57.20 dollars

Aflac announced for the fourth quarter earnings per share of $ 1.33, $ 1.35 cons expected by the market and $ 1.18 last year.

Broadcom: -7.37% to 42.97 dollars

Also after market, Broadcom has released the fourth quarter 2010 revenues of $ 1.95 billion, in line with expectations against $ 1.34 billion a year earlier. The adjusted earnings per share rose to $ 0.58 against $ 0.32 last year.For the current quarter, the company targets a turnover of between 1.75 and 1.85 billion dollars against 1.46 billion last year.

Ford: -0.31% to 15.84 dollars

The rating agency Standard and Poor's (SP) announced that it raised its rating of U.S. automaker Ford BB-B + cons, together with a positive outlook, citing continuing economic recovery in the United States.

Google: -0.24% to 609.59 dollars

World number one search engine on the internet Google has accused his rival, the Bing website, copy the results it offers users what the computer group Microsoft has formally denied.

Also note, major banks and brokerages on Wall Street have made their employees pay record under past year, two years after the great crisis that devastated the area, according to the Wall Street Journal . The 25 largest institutions have paid their employees an unprecedented $ 135 billion dollars in salary and variable compensation. This amount is 5.6% higher than that paid for 2009.

JP Morgan Chase lost 0.52% to 45.59 dollars, Goldman Sachs was down 0.26% to 164.90 dollars and Bank of America ahead of 0.70% to 14.21 dollars, while Citigroup gained 0.35 % to 350.85 dollars.

Today, Wall Street investors expect another round of results. Indeed, Mattel, Time Warner and News Corp. will announce on Wednesday its fourth quarter 2010.


Feb 01 2011

Cope for a VAT hike

Tag: economy, international, life, resources, top newsadmin @ 12:12 pm

A second stone in the pond. Fifteen months of the presidential election, Jean-Francois Cope is not a lot of ideas to enhance the competitiveness of the French economy. After launching the debate on the abolition of the 35 hours, the secretary general of the UMP to pronounce this time in the columns of "Parisien – Aujourd'hui en France", to lower social security contributions and an increase in VAT . "The only people who pay are the businesses and those who work. We are the only country that does this and that beating down labor costs. It should therefore lower social contributions, which are paid only by a few, and to transfer the VAT is paid by everyone. An additional point of VAT, it is barely visible. We must think about. There will certainly increase, but everyone will win eventually, "said Jean-Francois Cope.

For the mayor of Meaux, the goal of removing 35 hours and the increase in VAT is the same: to boost the competitiveness of the French economy in a context of increased competition on the model of our neighbors across Rhine. "France is not an island. The economic crisis requires us to look at what is happening elsewhere, particularly in Germany, "he says. Not sure as far as the proposals made by the secretary general of the UMP does enthusiasm. The potential removal of the 35 hours already, had not been provided for by the MEDEF, the government was reluctant to put the issue on the table cheap credit report. "The 35 hours, uniform binding, no longer exist," Nicolas Sarkozy had pleaded before the social partners. "Employees would lose in a minute on their payroll," had on his side felt Labour Minister Xavier Bertrand.

As for the increase in VAT is that it is Christine Lagarde, the first, shown opposite. Tuesday morning on RTL, the economy minister has ruled that such action was "certainly not desirable at this time", while French growth remains fragile, and brought in part by consumer spending. "An increase in VAT would result in an immediate increase in the volume prices, so we would not immediately lower payroll taxes," she said. She still felt it was an "interesting way of thinking." To believe Jean-Francois Cope on France Info this Tuesday morning, these liberal proposals are encouraged by the executive, who expects the Secretary General of the UMP that promotes a substantive debate on economic issues before the presidential election 2012."There is no taboo subjects," Nicolas Sarkozy had already held about 35 hours. Not sure as far as the popularity of the Head of State may benefit from these proposals, potentially very unpopular.

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