International Headlines and Stories

Europe does not go well and its leaders will be within forty-eight two good opportunities for reflection. Parliament invest on Tuesday afternoon the Barroso Commission II, which takes office in financial turmoil, after a slump for several months. Thursday, the twenty-seven Heads of State and Government of the EU are invited to attend an economic summit "extraordinary", where the urgency of defeating more abstract considerations.

Seen from Brussels, failures and hopes dashed accumulate. The Lisbon Treaty would give a strong voice in the union. Alas, two months since she keeps losing steam.To the disappointment of Copenhagen climate, followed by a painful quarrel projectors in Haiti, was added a final existential doubt: the package of Barack Obama the next transatlantic summit because the U.S. president, they say, better to …

The crisis comes together Greek humiliation. After crossing a recession more severe than elsewhere, Europe was already facing a horizon of sluggish growth, against the United States and of course China. In recent days she has to fight attacks on what she believed to be the sanctuary of serenity: the euro area, torn by fiscal indiscipline South and North trade surpluses.

New Technologies

Reduced to a dilemma – should the EU or not replenish it Athens? – The question is inevitably raised at Thursday's summit in Brussels Same day payday loans .

For CGT Peugeot Sochaux (Doubs), the recall of vehicles demonstrates "the limits of the Toyota, denouncing a kind of production with" the minimum time to study and design of facilities, personnel and wages " and "no talk of outsourcing to the death."

The crisis facing Toyota is the task of oil and other manufacturers. Before PSA, the U.S. Ford has suspended production as a precaution for some commercial vehicles in China using the same faulty accelerator pedal as Toyota. This measure concerns, however, less than 2,000 vehicles. Besides the joint venture with PSA, Toyota owns with another Japanese, Subaru.Their factory is located in Indiana, the United States.

Toyota is forced to recall millions of cars around the world for lack of accelerator pedal detected in the United States, Canada, China and Europe. Nothing the United States, 2.3 million vehicles have been recalled over 270,000 points of Canada and 75,000 in China.

In Europe, the number of affected vehicles could reach 1.8 million. Eight models are concerned: AYGO, iQ, Yaris, Auris, Corolla Verso, Avensis and RAV4. The number of cars each country concerned should be seen "running next week," said the spokesman for Toyota.

The Japanese giant's chairman, Akio Toyoda, apologized Saturday for this one problem.World leading manufacturer since 2008, Toyota had already experienced a technical problem that forced him to recall cars in the United States due to a defect in the carpet can also block the accelerator

lefigaro.fr: Pay rates are eroding each year. Life insurance will she lose her place of savings product preferred French?

François Longin: This term is preferred savings often used but it is not really the case for at least two reasons. The first is financial. The product units accounts sitting on the CAC 40 have suffered from the crisis. As for funds in euro, eroding their earnings. 5%, it rose to 4.5% or 3.8% for some. But with returns that remain between 3% to 4%, life insurance remains more attractive than money market products whose performance flirts with 1%.The second reason is related to the reform of inheritance tax since 2007 has lost a little interest in life insurance.

Life insurance is it still a good product transmission?

The tax rules for the transmission of money invested in life insurance have not changed, but the reform of inheritance taken by the Government to facilitate such donations, has lost its interest in life insurance. Particularly as regards the succession between spouses. However, holders of life insurance can now pay up to 150,000 euros to each of their children, not inheritance. This allows for example a couple with two children to give each of them 300,000 euros for free.Beyond 150,000 euros, the transmission is taxed at 20%.

What issues should I consider before choosing a contract of life insurance?

Before choosing an insurance-life, we must address three key points. The profitability, risk and liquidity funds. Profitability, in other words, the compensation offered by the contract is important. It will depend on the type of support. Either you invest in a fund in euros, based on government bonds and the yield will be between 3.5% and 4.80%. Whether you choose the fund units of account, also called multichannel, whose performance is more important because you take more risks by investing in shares or funds to emerging markets. It's more risky, but the year after, people who have invested in French shares have gained 20%.

It must then linger on the liquidity of funds.The money is not actually blocked, but it is more or less detrimental to withdraw money before age 8.

Finally, we must be vigilant about fees: entry fees, which disappear on the Internet, and management fees that range between 0.6% and 1% under the contracts.

At what age is it interesting to take out life insurance?

The tax treatment of life changes during the life of the insured. Over the insured later withdrew the money invested is more interesting. Insurers therefore recommend to take a contract as soon as practicable, to date, and this even if the person is simply placing a small capital without making further payments in the first place.When young, you can also take more risk and choose unit-linked contracts account for more attractive returns.

Can we rely on contracts offered on internet?

They are good products in the sense that it has internet access to the same fund as the insurance contracts traded in the "real world", with more direct access to place orders. Other service not found with traditional life assurance: all orders have a written record, the process is to me more reliably than through an intermediary. The sites of online brokerage also offers advice and simulations. Opting for a contract on the internet, however, implies that one has some experience of financial investments.

Danger on the accounts of the Association for the management of the guarantee scheme of employee claims, AGS. This organization employer advance loans to businesses, where backup, reorganization or liquidation, are no longer enough cash to pay the salaries of their employees, their benefits or even dismissal. In twelve months from October 2008 to end September 2009, the advances made by the AGS soared 47.9% to just under 2 billion euros. The number of beneficiaries has increased from 42.5% to just under 300 000 people.

"The strong growth of our business stems completely from the crisis justifies Météyé Thierry, the director of the delegation Unedic-AGS.We had to manage since the beginning of large media files such as the Camif. The caseload of over 100 employees and is also up sharply: 175 between the early and end of October, against 140 for all 2008 and 120 in 2007. Conversely, the amount of debts recovered caps (when business conditions recovered or recovering the amounts advanced on assets sold in liquidation). In one year, they have barely exceeded 600 million, a decrease of 3.7%. "The recoveries are increasingly difficult to operate," notes Thierry Météyé.

Given the imbalance, the SFA has decided to increase again by 0.1 point premium rate business in early October, to move it to 0.4% of payroll.This would double the rate in six months, exceeding the 700 million currently collected! "This represents a significant increase for businesses, recognizes Thierry Météyé. But it was necessary to meet rising demands in advance. "

Deficit of 215 million

Result, the AGS has a deficit of around 215 million euros. The agency hopes to fill with increasing revenue contribution in early 2010, with an increase in rates and stabilization of recovery levels.

Another note of hope: the decline of almost 40% in the third quarter of 2009 the number of collective proceedings opened. "The trend is particularly pronounced in September," said the SFA. Ditto on the number of backup procedures requiring the intervention of the SFA. In one quarter, they fell almost 20%."We're in a phase of stability," said Thierry Météyé.

"To wage increases in 2010

"Half of the executives were increased in 2008