International Headlines and Stories

Controllers return to work gradually. After La Rochelle and Paris Sud Est (Gare de Lyon), several sites have voted Friday morning to return to work, like Bordeaux, Reims, Chambery, Dijon, Lyon, St Etienne, Toulouse or Besancon. Other websites should take a similar decision at general meetings planned in the afternoon. The management of the SNCF

Many controllers SNCF had exercised their right to withdraw on Thursday afternoon to work after the announcement of the attack on a colleague on a train on the Corail Lyon-Strasbourg. In an interview with Figaro.fr, the president of the SNCF appealed to the coolness of the railway to resume work soon and would discuss with the unions to turn.Management has undertaken to present an emergency plan with the security services.

Traffic TGV, Corail and TER is still disrupted, although the situation has improved significantly over the entire network, including 8-9 in 10 TGV from and to Paris and a TER of 2. To find out if their train is running, users are encouraged to consult regularly Infolignes site, or call toll free (free from a landline) 0805 90 36 35.

Toll and information site

SNCF always invites customers to delay their trip or take alternate means of transportation. Ticket holders whose train was canceled may obtain a refund, or take any train leaving for the same destination without the need to exchange their ticket. Good news however for users Transilien (train network in the Île-de-France), the Thalys and Eurostar.Traffic on these lines is normal according to SNCF.

"There is no point in penalizing travelers"

The strike controller led Thursday the cancellation of all trains at night, and created a big mess all over the country. According to the station, all passengers stranded at the station in the evening were able to reach their destination or were assisted to find accommodation for the night. According to the Ministry of the Interior, it was not necessary to set up emergency housing plan.
Board trains at the Gare Saint-Charles in Marseille. Photo credits: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Astrium Geo-Information Services, a subsidiary of Astrium and ex-Spot Image, aims to be selected as the supplier of the Brazilian military and federal government satellite imagery. Maps urban civil and military ones. Brasilia wants to update. The task, gigantic, is the extent of this vast country which ranks Brazil fifth in the world by land area with 8.5 million km of which 62% of forest and 16,000 km of borders.

Faced with the challenge, Astrium-Geo Information Services in 2009 created a subsidiary 100% owned and based in São Paulo. "We presented our offer to the Department of Defense," said Pierre Duquesne, Executive Director of the subsidiary, the latest implementations of EADS in Brazil.The company presented the armed capabilities of a new satellite earth observation Spot Image of the constellation Pleiades to be launched by the Russian Soyuz rocket by the end of the year from the spaceport of Kourou. The satellite will collect images that, once retired, will offer a very high resolution of 50 cm. The Ministry of Defence who wanted to start the process of buying the pictures this year shifted a few months, normally 2012.

On the front of civil contracts, Astrium Geo-Information Services Brazil relies on feedback from pioneering three states with which it has contracts. "State of Mato Grosso, Para and Rondonia have established a precise mapping of their territory by purchasing our images with a resolution of 2.5 meters.Their experience serves as a benchmark for the federal government has decided to extend the operation to the whole country, "says the CEO of the subsidiary that conducted in 2010 4 million in revenue against 2.5 million in 2009.Ces states are particularly affected by the operations of deforestation by wild cattle and rape creditreport.

The deforestation in the Amazon increased by 15%

Time is running out. As part of the Copenhagen summit on climate in 2009, Brazil agreed to reduce from 36.1 to 39.8% its emissions of greenhouse gas emissions and 80% deforestation of the Amazon rainforest that is home 30,000 different species and contains 12% of freshwater on the planet. The Brazilians must take stock of their efforts at the summit in June 2012 "Rio +20" which marks the anniversary of the first Earth Summit, held in Rio in 1992.However, 80% of these emissions are the direct result of deforestation. Add to this the effect of climate change. To act, replanting trees, protecting certain areas … Brasilia needs to observe its territory to establish an environmental and rural cadastre. The idea is to look closer to the evolution of the Amazon forest which still covers 62% of the country but also to see if farmers comply with the legislation in terms of width of the forest along the rivers in their areas crops and forests etc. and identify the illegal loggers.

A study by the Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), the deforestation in the Amazon increased 15% between July 2010 and July 2011.Clearly, 2654 km2 of vegetation have disappeared, especially in the states of Mato Grosso and Para.

In the short term, the government purchased for several tens of millions of reals (1 euro = 2.5 reais) at Astrium-Geo images collected by the SPOT satellites or belong to space agencies such as ESA. "Secondly, Brasilia could decide to buy satellites to Earth observation," said Pierre Duquesne.

"Against the interview hooded" by Cadremploi

What remains of it bias? It was a theme of Jean-Marie Le Pen there twenty years. It was the time when the country was not hit by the consequences of globalization. The stranger was a threat, he had just "eat the bread of the French."

Years later, Marine Le Pen took over the torch gently but one senses that the heart is gone. Difficult to show the French that limiting immigration would be freed up more spaces for "national". If immigration remains a favorite theme of the National Front, it seems that even the Navy Pen no longer believes in national preference in the fight against unemployment.Admittedly, equivalent jurisdiction, it says it will recruit French, but it does not tell a foreign jurisdiction, provided, of course, it is in good standing.

The way forward in the field of employment shows that some backward-looking arguments are less popular in the far-right party no faxing payday loan. It is the same for the wage-feeding. If her father was attached, it was clearly because a society where women care for children was more consistent with his vision of the family. Her daughter from this point of view is more modern. For her the work done by women at home must be paid but they willingly leave the choice to work.

In this regard, Marine Le Pen is a woman of her generation.Remains the personality that emerges from the maintenance and which is finally consistent with the public image of the candidate: she does not like bent (those "curves"), requires that he realizes (management of the head ) and admits that it would be difficult to work with a personality as strong as hers and complainer. In the end, the heiress gives the impression she is quite capable of leading the small family business, which does not mean that it is able to run a government. That's another job, and it does not only depend on her.

A new week high voltage for Greece and the euro area. In fact, Sunday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that a delegation will travel to Athens this week to determine whether or not the country can benefit from the sixth round of eight billion euros of the loan in May 2010 , aid became vital for the country. The CEO of the institution, Christine Lagarde, has indeed met the Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Sunday to discuss the conditions for the return of the IMF in the country to complete the fifth audit of the Greek economic program. The mission "will certainly place this week," said Fund.

In parallel, Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek finance minister, yesterday met with Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the ECB, to negotiate a restructuring of the Greek debt at a discount of between 40% and 50%.The minister said that "there is no alternative to restructuring." He said at the annual meeting of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), an association of 450 banks in the world: "We are ready to take the necessary whatever the political cost." And said it was confident about the outcome of the vote in parliament of the new austerity plan, condition of the granting of new loans of the troika, because according to him "which member will take responsibility to lead Greece to a default? ".

Germany mobilized

A view shared by the French Minister for European Affairs, Jean Leonetti, who said Sunday that "Greece will avoid bankruptcy because it is the interest of the Greek state, the Greek people and is the interest of us all.If Greece were to fail tomorrow, it would cost more than if it did not go bankrupt, "he said on Radio France International business card.

The Heads of State and Government in July found an agreement to rescue Greece and broaden the scope of intervention of the relief fund of the zone (EFSF), including providing it with an instrument enabling it to market purchases of debt of states in difficulty. This agreement is being ratified by 17 national parliaments in the area. The vote of Germany, the country is the biggest contributor to EU aid plans appear on track.In a television interview Sunday night, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has indeed shown the outcome of the confidence vote scheduled Thursday in the Bundestag.

In addition, the German Chancellor said that allowing Greece to fail would destroy investor confidence in the euro area and could cause infection comparable to that following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The rising social discontent in Greece

But Greece will probably have to wait beyond the holding of a Eurogroup meeting on Oct. 3 before a decision on the release of the next tranche of aid."Given the delay by the Troika mission (IMF, ECB and European Commission), I do not think that the next meeting of the Eurogroup, October 3, a decision on the sixth installment," said Sunday Washington Deputy German Finance Minister, Jörg Asmussen

In addition, the rising social discontent in Greece. Further strikes are planned next week before a general strike on October 19.

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After a rebound during the session, Wall Street has finally caught up by letting the gloom hanging over global stock markets for two weeks at the close on Friday, the Dow Jones gives 1.57% to 10,818.48 points and the Nasdaq, dominated by technology loses 1.32 points 2341.86.

After opening in the red, the indices of New York had yet managed to climb briefly into the green. Before ending again in the red. Of all black this week, the Dow Jones lost 3.71% and the Nasdaq fell 6.53%.

This Friday, the NYSE has not been spared by the new storm that struck the European stock exchanges and which had already shaken the stock markets in Asia. Yesterday, as elsewhere, the New York Stock Exchange closed down a massive, affected by disappointing indicators released during the meeting confirming the poor performance of the U.S. economy.Moreover, operators, already worried by the economy of the euro area, were cooled by the large loan dollars awarded by the European Central Bank (ECB) to a bank in Europe, whose identity has not been revealed. This action has reinforced doubts about the ability of banks to refinance the region. The euro also declined against the dollar and is trading around 1.4290 dollars against 1.4319 on Thursday.

Finally, Morgan Stanley confirmed the fears of a global economic slowdown by scaling back its growth forecasts for 2011 and 2012. The bank also said the United States and Europe were "dangerously close to recession."

Evidence that the operators' confidence is at its lowest, gold, a safe haven par excellence, is powered from yesterday to new heights.On Friday, an ounce reached a new record in 1864 dollars after jumping up to 1867 payday advance.30 dollars in the morning. For its part, a barrel of U.S. light crude oil, which fell 6% yesterday, still lost 12 cents Friday to 82.26 dollars a barrel. Over the whole week, he lost 3.12 dollars, or 3.65%, registering a fourth weekly loss in a row. Contracts on October Brent have lost them for their $ 1.63 to 108.62 dollars a barrel.

Values ​​of the day

On the corporate side, this session will be marked by a slump in Hewlett-Packard, which lost just over 20% to 23.60 dollars. The group published its results on Thursday lowered its annual forecast for the third consecutive time. It now expects an annual turnover of between 127.2 and 127.6 billion dollars, against a previous estimate of between 129 and 130 billion.The group, which has made a takeover offer for the British publisher of software Autonomy, has also announced plans to dispose of its business in personal computers. Another major surprise: HP goes out of business in the mobile, arresting the development of tablets and smartphones.

Bank of America (-1.14% to 6.93 dollars) will remove 3500 positions during the quarter, according to an internal document cited by Reuters.

Autodesk (-11.69% to 23.41 dollars) has reported a 6% increase in revenues in the second quarter and a net profit better than expected at 71.2 million euros, or 30 cents per share.

Gap (-8.61% to 10.67 dollars) on Thursday posted a quarterly profit above analysts' expectations despite lower sales to a number of store.Net income for the group totaled $ 189 million (131.8 million), or 35 cents a share, against $ 234 million, or 36 cents per share a year earlier.

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The group of environmental services warned on Friday: in 2011 it will not reach the objectives it set itself in terms of growth in profits. It's something confirmed on Thursday, while the specialist services in the water, waste and transport unveiled a net loss of 67.2 million euros in its first half, due to early provisions past for its plan to focus geographically, and non-recurring write-downs. Without these items, which account for 800.3 million euros, Veolia announced a net profit of 188.1 million euros, still always decline (-28%). Sales for the period rose for its 4.4% on a comparable basis to 16.28 billion euros (+15.5% at constant exchange rates).

A voluntary separation plan envisaged

As announced last week, the group led by Antoine Frérot said to have encountered difficulties in Southern Europe, North Africa and the United States, that led it to implement further restructuring and strengthen the redeployment of its activities to concentrate on "a small number of countries."

By 2013, Veolia Environnement wants to actually be present in fewer than 40 countries, against 77 at present. For example, he announced a withdrawal "significant" in some areas and trades, such as the withdrawal of transport activities in Morocco, cleanliness in Egypt, or Marine Services in the United States and southern Europe. This acceleration of focus is not without consequences on the accounts.In a statement, Veolia said that 686 million euros in writedowns were recorded under the operational difficulties encountered in Italy, the United States and Morocco. Hence the fall in operating profit recorded over one year of 1.101 billion to 252 million euros.

As part of its reorganization, the group also announced it would establish voluntary severance schemes in France, in the water sector.

Doubts about the dividend

Given these results and further steps that need to be implemented, Veolia will therefore not committed to a growth in profits for the year 2011.Not surprisingly, however, the group confirms its other annual goals, including organic growth of its business and asset sales for at least 1.3 billion euros, a positive free cash flow after payment of the dividend.

At the meeting presenting the results, Antoine Frérot explained, however, he was not able to guarantee that Veolia would maintain its dividend in 2011 at the same level as that of € 1 paydayloans.21 paid in 2011.

Other objectives, Veolia is a recurring operating income "slightly down" at constant exchange rates (excluding the consolidation of Transdev Veolia confirms that the group will introduce a stock exchange), and finally, cost savings of 250 million euros.On this last point, Veolia plans to accelerate its cost savings in the longer term, with an expected positive effect on operating profit of at least 150 million euros in 2013 and 250 to 300 million in 2015, and more of 250 million mentioned above.

The title Veolia has lost 25% of its value in five days

Despite the warning last week, and the fall of 9.5% of the title that had followed, investors have been very hard on the tooth that bad publication. After opening down sharply from 8.04% to 13.15 euros, the title was abandoned among the first on Thursday in a market panic. Veolia ends with an impressive plummeting 18.88% to 11.60 euros.

Overall, Veolia has lost a third of its value within five sessions …These results are disappointing especially since yesterday, Suez Environnement, the French rival Veolia has published interim results rather reassuring, thanks to the good performance of the water division, and finished the session at the Paris Bourse rose 0.68%, despite a plunge of more than 2% of the Cac 40.

Since Friday, the penalty did not expect that the part of analysts, with numerous recommendations degradation. Monday, Goldman Sachs withdrew Veolia from its list of preferred European values, lowering its recommendation to neutral, for a revised price target of 26 to 20.50 euros. For his part, Oddo has also lowered its recommendation from neutral to reduce to a revised target of 24 to 15 euros. CM-CIC Securities is left to buy but has revised its target price of 24.1 to 19.6 euros. BNP Paribas expects a still under-performance but reduced its target from 21 to 15 euros.Finally, HSBC rose Tuesday from overweight to neutral, slashing its target from 21 to 17 euros.

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Today, Genevieve Lethu almost a pioneer. It's been almost ten years since the specialist tableware decided to repatriate most of its production in France. The group did not wait for the rising costs of transportation and wage inflation that affects a part of Asia to relocate its production in France and Europe. While 40% are still manufactured in Southeast Asia in 2002, this proportion has now dropped to 9%. Aim of the operation to improve the quality of its products.

According to Edmond Kassapian CEO Genevieve Lethu and origin of this strategy, the manufacturing conditions in emerging markets were no longer satisfactory. "We see a lot of flaws too: for example, the colors were sometimes not good.Moreover, China does not always meet the hygiene standards required by the manufacture of kitchen utensils, "said he. Three or four people were paid full-time, just for the after sales service. Manufacturing defects that the company, positioned on a medium-high-end, could not pass up. With a significant portion of its customers for export, being a French brand was not selling enough. "Our customers are demanding products made in France, not South-East Asia," said Edmond Kassapian.

Especially these failures were added to other problems. "Our own suppliers copied our collections to sell at lower prices," recalls the CEO. Occur in Asia also means longer production lead times, which complicate inventory management.In addition to transport by ship, which takes about two months, the status of "world factory" in China in some areas it is a work organization to lean. In this context, start or restart a production cycle requires a waiting period of up to six to eight months.

Model difficult to transpose

By bringing back most of its production in France, Geveniève Lethu won as responsiveness and quality. But this shedding was not built without problems. "Finding plants in France and Europe that can ensure our production has not been an easy task. Invest in tools, machinery was necessary. The repatriation was ultimately effective only from 2004-2005, "said Edmond Kassapian.Despite the cost of transportation and the "huge mess" deplored by the specialist tableware of its products made in China, produced in France is generally two to three times more expensive.

Why the model Genevieve Lethu is not easily transferable. "Some activities simply can not be relocated. Products requiring significant labor to manufacture or those who stand out from the competition will cost products in Asian countries. Our relocation was only possible because we are positioning ourselves in the middle and high end because the argument made in France for us was a selling point, "Edmond analysis Kassapian.

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"Offshoring destroy 36,000 jobs per year

The countries of the euro tried Tuesday to better figure than the day before, when the long meeting of their finance ministers had led to no decision on the treatment of the Greek crisis. While financial markets had begun their day with a new rout, especially in Italy and Spain, three elements have helped bring a little calm.

The fall was first halted at midday by the sudden intervention of the European Central Bank, which bought the debt of Italian and Spanish markets to contain the bleeding. Bond yields eased, and banking stocks have rebounded.

Then, after the ministerial meeting, the idea of ​​a summit of heads of state of emergency in the euro area by the end of the week has been mentioned, but not confirmed at this stage .Brussels has not been known for over a year, at the height of the Greek crisis. At the time, Athens had to escape bankruptcy and avoid contagion to other peripheral countries. This time, the issue would be of a different order: stop the contagion to Italy, that is to say, in the heart of the euro area.

Aware of the seriousness and urgency of the situation, the leaders of the eurozone reiterated on Tuesday their "absolute determination to maintain financial stability in the euro area." The panic that swept requires quick and accurate response on the second bailout of Greece, originally presented to September.From Washington, Christine Lagarde, Executive Director of the IMF has also urged Europe to a "rapid implementation" of its promises in favor of Greece.

In Brussels, however, the debate on how the rescue of Athens has remained mired in quasi-theological discussions on the involvement or not of national treasures, the – voluntary or not – private creditors, and the possibility that Greece is formally in default.

The seventeen remain divided.Mezzo voce, increasing numbers of ministers want to raise what they consider to be a taboo that prevents Greece and other countries of the euro at bay to renegotiate its debt on more favorable terms, as do businesses and individuals.

Greek debt buyback

"With this ban, there could have substantial involvement of both voluntary and private sector," said a diplomat from northern Europe. Without it, the creditors can engage in the exercise may be painful but saving the spreading of the debt of Athens, or restructuring. Tuesday, the head of the ECB, Jean-Claude Trichet, however, was still open resistance to any idea of ​​failure on the part of Athens, as Greece itself."No option is not ruled out one account of what works," says the French Minister, Baroin.

The Eurogroup is exploring avenues to ease the debt burden for Greece. The EFSF, European Financial Stability Fund, may buy back part of the Greek debt (or finance the purchase by Athens) deep discount on the market since it is considered high risk. This track would be more or less to replace the Greek bonds Eurobonds under joint signature. The project has so far faced the hostility of Angela Merkel, keen not to "federalize" the budgetary transfers in the euro area. But the conflagration that threatens growth, perhaps the Chancellor to change the view again.

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Europe is gaining time, but did not extinguish the fire in Greece. Following a conference call Saturday, finance ministers of the euro area have given the green light to release "by July 15" 8.7 billion euros in loans that should add 3.3 billion paid out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This decision was expected after the adoption this week by the Greek Parliament of the austerity program imposed by his European creditors. "It (the decision) strengthens the international credibility of Greece", immediately congratulated the Greek finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos.

As the new Executive Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, to take office Tuesday, the organization welcomed the developments."We welcome the commitment of the Eurogroup to a funding strategy that ensures that the Greek economic program is fully insured," said the spokesman for the IMF, Caroline Atkinson. No details however were given about a possible date on which the Board could meet to release the funds.

Berlin puts pressure

If these 12 billion euros to Greece should avoid going bankrupt in the short term, it is not enough to save the country permanently and fully reassure the financial markets. For this, the country has called for a second bailout International 110 billion euros. Finance ministers of the euro zone have promised yesterday decisions "in the coming weeks." For its part, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, more prudent, spoke of an agreement by the fall only.Berlin looks indeed to be certain that Greece implement austerity measures quickly that the country has promised. "After the release of the fifth installment of the countries of the euro area and the IMF, the next step must be addressed decisively: the measures passed in Athens should be implemented quickly. Privatization, for example, must be launched without delay, "responded the German Minister of Finance. Response of Athens: the austerity plan of 28.4 billion euros will be implemented before mid-September.

Ireland, Portugal, Italy and Spain could knock on the door

These two months of rest should also help to advance on a second rescue plan 110 billion euros. Finance ministers of the euro area have not spoken on this subject last night.They expect to clarify the private sector, banks and other creditors, imposed by Berlin to a new plan to help decide. "The details and extent of the involvement of private and official sources of additional funding will be determined in the coming weeks," they said.

Time is running out: Ireland and Portugal may need a new international aid. As for Spain and Italy, both countries are under pressure from rating agencies. "The failure of European political leaders to resolve the crisis quickly and decisively hits the rest of the euro area," says Ben May, economist at Capital Economics. The United States pressed more in Europe to solve its debt problems to avoid a global impact."If Greece fell deeper into recession following the new austerity measures, it could reduce the willingness of governments to implement additional fiscal measures," says Ben May.

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While the rating agency Standard & Poor's downgraded three notches note of Greece who becomes the country with the lowest rated in the world, the eminent economist Nouriel Roubini sees the end of the eurozone. In an article published in the Financial Times, the man who announced the financial crisis of 2008 estimated that countries of the European periphery abandon the euro within five years.

In the eyes of Nouriel Roubini, the debt crisis that weakens current euro area highlights the flaws in this monetary union. In fact, the euro zone has never been an "optimum currency area", ie a group of countries has any interest in sharing a single currency. There is indeed always been too strong and competitive economic differences between countries in the euro area.The founding fathers of the euro area, however, hoped that the differences between fiscal, monetary and exchange rates are offset by an acceleration of structural reforms within the euro zone countries. These measures would then have enabled the countries of the eurozone converge.

Without economic convergence, the euro area is doomed to failure

But "the reality is quite different," says Nouriel Roubini. Following the establishment of a common monetary policy, countries are folded on the weapon budget to adjust their economic policies business card. Very different policies have been implemented within the eurozone. Consequently, the lack of fiscal discipline in countries like Greece and Portugal involved in the birth of speculative bubbles in other countries like Spain or Ireland. And finally, the peripheral countries have become less competitive.

Economist reaffirms that to work, creating a currency area must be accompanied by a fiscal policy even as the establishment of supranational sources of income or the issuance of sovereign bonds Commons. In the absence of economic convergence, the euro area is doomed to failure, according to the economist.

Thus, Nouriel Roubini believes that there is now a way to restore the competitiveness of peripheral countries: leaving the euro, return of national currencies and depreciation. Such a scenario seems inconceivable today, is the economist who said that nothing says that in five years this idea has not gained ground, especially if the economies of peripheral countries are stagnating. Unless the idea of ​​a Euro reaches more federal drilling, some European leaders call for that greater European integration.

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