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Observers who doubt the competition in the French energy market may return to their position. This is a Spanish group that emerges winner of the European tender for the Syndicate of the gas and electricity in the Ile-de-France (Sigeif) for the supply of natural gas and energy efficiency services to benefit 267 communities and public institutions in the region. Gas Natural, the first Iberian gas, gets the two most important lots, or 73% of the volume allocated to the tune of 1,100 gigawatt hours (GWh). The amount of the contract, which runs over two years (from 1 July 2012), reached 50 million euros.

EDF and Poweo hunted

Behind Gas Natural, GDF Suez won a lot – the power of public offices of housing and hospitals, 320 GWh in all – a market of 13 million euros. Finally, the alternative supplier Altergaz, a subsidiary of Italian oil Eni, retrieves the provision of the reception center and hospital care of Nanterre – a single site for a volume of 40 GWh. The three operators selected by the Sigeif renew completely the range of partners. For the previous command (over 2010-2012), were respectively selected suppliers EDF, Tegaz, a subsidiary of Total, and Poweo. Therefore a triplet hunting another.

"The competition was tight. As for larger volumes, all operators are interested, soberly summarizes Jean-Jacques Guillet, President of Sigeif and also deputy mayor of Chaville (Hauts de Seine). Both sides win. While suppliers have visibility, our members enjoy good purchasing conditions. "

In view of the regulated gas prices, the prices obtained show, according to the batches, gains from 18.9 to 24.7%, a reduction of the annual bill of 19 million euros for members of the group of commands . This bill would be $ 84 million with regulated prices. In detail, the Regional Council of Ile de France, through the power of high schools, carried 4.4 million euros in savings. And nearly 8.8 million for the 122 municipalities grouped by the Ile Sigeif. "Certainly, in the previous tender, we got a discount of about 40%, but back then we were in the gas bubble. It is no longer the case today, "says Jean-Jacques Guillet.

The tender of Sigeif is the largest in France in the energy, to the extent of a Parisian crown representing some 5.3 million people. This procedure in the field of gas on the rise: already, new communes want to be associated with orders for the period 2014-2016. "The expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with its ease of delivery, gives flexibility to the gas market. We wish more than ever to enjoy, "concluded Jean-Jacques Guillet.

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No matter which option you are considering while doing comparisons of health insurance, you will still want to know you're getting the best price possible, so the easiest way to be sure that's happening is by getting quotes from a variety of health insurance companies.

 

The final product of the electric range of Renault, the ZOE, will be launched in September. It will complement the Fluence, Kangoo ZE and Twizy.

Electric cars are the most striking example of the efforts made by manufacturers and their suppliers to reduce vehicle fuel consumption. "The first reason for this trend is the cost of fuel for consumers," acknowledges Sébastien Amichi, partner at Roland Berger.

Second reason: the regulation. In Europe, Brussels will impose financial penalties on manufacturers based on grams of CO2 emitted per kilometer traveled. The purpose is to emit less than 130 grams per vehicle range, on average, end of 2015 and less than 95 grams in 2020.

The major manufacturers put a lot of money on the table to achieve this. "We spent 500 million euros over five years to develop our range of diesel hybrid," explained William Faury, Director of R & D of PSA Peugeot Citroen to launch this range. For him, the PSA group spends "50% of its R & D to reduce emissions."

"The range of opportunities for manufacturers is extremely broad," says Sebastian Amichi. Electrification to-tal and is the last rung of the ladder, which passes through the microhybridation (the system startup "Stop and Start"), all hybrid, popularized by To-Yota with its Prius, or the Hybrid.

The success of these different modes of consumption reduction is difficult to determine. If PwC expects 1% of electric vehicles worldwide in 2017, Roland Berger is considering a rate of 4 to 5% in 2020. The use and type of vehicles used can also play. "In the U.S., where there are very few and very large diesel vehicles, the hybridization rate could be much higher than that achieved in Europe," says Sebastian and Amichi.

Lighter vehicles

Electrification is not the only point on which manufacturers and suppliers work. Weight is also a field of expression of the fight against pollution. "Reducing the weight of a car saves 10 kilograms 1 gram of CO2 per kilometer," says Lawrence and Burelle, CEO of Plastic Omnium.

The steel is still very present in cars, but it is increasingly challenged by other materials such as aluminum or composite. The French Plastic Omnium, the world's leading manufacturer of bumpers and tanks, has invested 10 million euros in its R & D Sygmatech, near Lyon, to strengthen its expertise in the field.

Proof of this relief strategy: the new Peugeot 208, launched a few weeks ago, is lighter than its predecessor, the 207. This is a first for a compact vehicle.

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Five employees of the ferry company SeaFrance, liquidated on January 9, were indicted on Thursday for "theft by an organized" and "breach of trust", a judicial source said. Six men in all had been placed in custody at Portel (Pas-de-Calais) Tuesday. One of them was left open, and five others were brought before a judge Thursday afternoon before being indicted.

Justice investigation into reality since April 2010 about alleged fraud on sales on board ships. The prosecutor of Boulogne-sur-Mer has opened a preliminary investigation following a complaint from the management, the auditor has identified numerous "gaps" and "errors" in accounting for sales on board ships. An audit is a shortage then estimated at 3 million euros per year. According to a source familiar with the matter, the damage would amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

A technique known in the restaurant industry

The "scratch" has always existed on the way: at the time when the duty-free still existed, smuggling of cigarettes, alcohol duty-free perfumes or thrived, public knowledge, with the approval of marine accomplices. The fraud continued afterwards. The code of silence about these illegal practices has gradually cracked along with the company came close to bankruptcy free credit report and score.

Of the five defendants for "forgery and uttering false", "breach of trust", "theft by an organized" and "concealment", three bartenders and a "supervisor" employees of the company, potential followers of the "casting ", a technique known in the restaurant industry of keeping-roll by itself a part of the goods intended to be sold at the bar, liquor and food. "In this case, the casting had particularly large proportions," says a close case.

Substantial gains

The two leaders of the CFDT union SeaFrance, Didier Cappelle, the secretary of the Maritime Union North, and Eric Vercoutre, secretary of the company are not part of the team presented to the judge Thursday.  

Occurred in police custody this week, however, are the first since the start of the investigation and should announce further in the coming weeks. In this case, the union house is believed to have covered the traffic, which would have allowed some sailors to take substantial gains.

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Inequalities between men and women managers are not in the gender pay gap. In terms of mobility, too. The Association for the employment of executives (Apec) Thursday released a study showing that both sexes are in fact not at all accommodated in the same boat. If their rate of mobility, internal and external, are strictly comparable, however, there are big differences.

Women executives in, especially before thirty years, more precarious than men, they leave their companies more frequently following an end of CSD (14% of cases for the former against 4% for the latter). Result, levels of responsibility found following these mobilities are very different, with women less likely than men to keep the same level as before their departure (two-thirds of men against 57% for women). Their male colleagues have also promoted more often in cases of internal mobility (43% against 36%).

Another consequence is that wage increases are less frequent after a mobility in women than in men, especially when the transition took place without any period of unemployment. 62% of men see the amount of their payroll advance, against 54% of women. As for the perception of the future, women have less confidence (65%), their mobility was internal or external, and want to move less than men in their company. They also fear more than being unemployed (43% against 36%).

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During the crisis, tensions continue. The markets had another busy day, Thursday: doubts about the ability of the euro area to overcome the debt crisis have sealed the shares. They weighed on bonds issued by France and Spain led to a further surge in rates especially Spanish and Italian in the secondary market – the debt of "opportunity." The French rate also rose, to a lesser extent, before new Italian bond purchases by the ECB do a general relaxation.

European capitals are still struggling to unite, despite these new turbulence. Or because of them. Thus, the debate on the role of the European Central Bank it off again with a vengeance payday loans.The ECB's independence is considered an insuperable line in a country that is traumatized by hyperinflation of the 1930s. For Berlin, the only way to restore confidence in the euro area is to institutionalize fiscal discipline. Changes in the European treaties must strengthen the powers of Brussels to punish offenders, said Angela Merkel.

The Chancellor reiterated Thursday its opposition to further action by the ECB. "The European treaties such as we see them do not give the ECB the opportunity to resolve these problems," she says.

The success of Uniqlo store in Paris, opened in 2009 near the Opera, gave wings to the patrons of the Japanese brand. "We want to open 10 to 20 stores in Paris as soon as possible," Le Figaro reveals Nobuo Doma, chief Europe and the United States of Fast Retailing, the Japanese group owner of Uniqlo, but also Comptoir des Cotonniers and Princesse Tam Tam . Uniqlo opened yesterday XXL version of his store of Defense, opened in 2007, whose size has increased from 200 to 2,000 square meters payday loans for self employed.

Among the addresses targeted next by the brand, working with the developer Unibail to deploy in France, are "the Champs-Elysées, the Rue de Rivoli, the Rue de Rennes and the Forum des Halles," said Nobuo Doma. Once these projects, Uniqlo will other cities "like Lyon."

A new session promises to be eventful Thursday on Wall Street. Futures on the Dow Jones fell by 2.06% to 10,831 points, those on the Standard & Poor's let go of 2.23% to 1136.10 points and the Nasdaq lost 2.32% to 2208.20 points.

Like European and Asian stock markets, Wall Street should not escape the anxiety of investors pessimistic after the U.S. central bank on the global economy. The central bank has held that the U.S. economic recovery was "slow" and threatened by "high risk".

For this, the Fed announced an operation to extend the maturity of the assets it holds up to 400 billion dollars by June 2012."One can interpret this decision by the Fed as the will not to launch a" quantitative easing "3 (monetary easing to boost the U.S. economy) in the immediate future, says Arnaud Poutiers, executive vice president of IG Markets short term personal loan. Indeed, "Operation Twist" is intended to influence the long bond rate, but without increasing the size of the Fed's balance sheet, so without creating money ".

On the currency markets, the euro continued to sink against the dollar: the euro back below the $ 1.35 (-0.91%).

On the corporate side, Moody's lowered the credit ratings of Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup. The agency that the state may fly to their rescue.

United Technologies will buy the equipment for Goodrich Aircraft $ 16.5 billion (12.2 billion euros) in cash, a transaction that would be the largest acquisition of U.S. industrial giant in 10 years.

FedEx has reported an EPS according to the consensus of $ 1.46 per share in the first quarter, a turnover of 10.52 billion dollars (against the consensus of 10.32 billion dollars).

New blow for Societe Generale. While the second French bank is particularly turbulent stock market since the beginning of the summer, with a share price halved in three months, she has to face new suspicions. After the unfounded rumors about the supposed risks of bankruptcy, after questioning by U.S. authorities in a fraud complaint on subprime, Societe Generale now sees its relationship with the Gaddafi regime scrutinized. The new Libyan authorities are looking into effect on the investment made by the French bank with the Libyan sovereign fund, the Libyan Investment Authority, reports the Wall Street Journal. Some of these funds would have landed in the hands of people close to the government in place, the paper said.Societe Generale would have paid a certain amount to a Panamanian company, Leinad to help manage and advise an investment fund of one billion dollars in 2008. If the exact mission of Leinad is not yet clear, its role has at least been criticized by members of the Libyan sovereign fund, before the start of the Libyan revolt, the newspaper said cash till payday advance.

For now, the bank declined to comment on its relations with the sovereign fund Leinad or Libya, says the Wall Street Journal. Societe Generale however, that it has "worked occasionally with financial intermediaries in countries where it is not directly present."And these consultants are "fully selected and monitored in accordance with our procedures and ethics with the law and in full transparency with the customer," said the group, some have "acted in full accordance with the laws and regulations the sovereign ".

Throughout the reign of Colonel Gaddafi, it was indeed common for large groups pay foreign intermediaries, advisors and consultants to do business with Libya.

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European stock exchanges succeed they continue their rebound started the day before? Nothing is less certain on Friday morning, when the index in Paris fell into the red immediately after opening up 0.17%. Ten minutes after the opening, the Paris index yields 1.59% to 3040.59 points. This movement of yoyo ends around noon, while the Paris index posting a gain of 2.64% to 3170 points. For the week, the CAC is still lost 3.6%.

Elsewhere, Frankfurt and London markets opened in the red. But as in Paris, they found the colors in the late morning. Frankfurt gained 1.63%, 0.95% London, Madrid and Milan 2.30% 1.63%. For its part, the Swiss progressed from 3.61%.

Thursday, ACC closed up 2.59% to 3089.66 points, after falling in mid-session. The day before, he had plunged more than 5%.The same volatility dominates in Frankfurt the Dax closed Thursday up 3.28% and in London where the FTSE-100 index gained 3.11%.

Investors should prove once again nervous at the end of a week marked by extreme market volatility, which saw the CAC 40 push the psychological threshold of 3000 points during trading Thursday before returning to the colors. Investors were reassured by the announcement of a meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 16 to issue joint proposals on the governance of the euro area. In addition, U.S. markets were supported by two good indicators of the jobless and real estate. Wall Street has ended sharply higher: the Dow Jones has gained 4% and the Nasdaq 4.69%.

Despite the ban on short selling in the securities of eleven banks and insurance companies to counter the extreme volatility of the stock market values. Still, banking stocks are still abused in the image of BNP Paribas, which issued a statement Thursday night to reaffirm the strength of its capital, Societe Generale and Credit Agricole fast cash loans.

No growth in the second quarter

On the macroeconomic front, INSEE reported this morning from zero growth in the second quarter in France (0.0%), against an increase of 0.9% in the first quarter. Inflation also slowed: the consumer prices fell by 0.4% in July, resulting in an increase of 1.9% over the year (against 2.1% from June 2010 to June 2011 ).

Oil is, meanwhile, resumed its decline in trade in Asia, having recovered Thursday in the United States.In morning trading, a barrel of "light sweet crude" lost 47 cents to 85.25 dollars and that of Brent North Sea fell by 57 cents to 107.45 dollars.

Other values ​​to follow, Carrefour pulls out of the game: the title ahead of 3.32% to 18.53 euros. U.S. giant Wal-Mart have mandated UBS to investigate the acquisition of the Brazilian subsidiary of French retailer, according to Reuters citing a source familiar with the matter.

Goldman Sachs lowered its recommendation on Lafarge (-0.62% to 28,835 euros) and withdrew the title from its list of recommended values ​​in priority to the purchase.The intermediary has instead built his list to Saint-Gobain (0.55% to 32.975 euros) and Vinci (-0.30% to 34.36 euros).

Europacorp (0.63% to 3.22 euros), the production company of Luc Besson, Thursday reaffirmed its goal of a return to balance for the current year, despite a sharp decline its turnover in the first quarter.

Derichebourg (-1.05% to 3.489 euros) Thursday confirmed its target of improving its annual net income, after recording a sharp increase in sales over the first nine months of the year.

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And if the economy plunged again? That fear surfaced today. Known for his pessimistic views on the global economy, economist Nouriel Roubini estimates that 40% the risk of "double dip", that is to say a return to recession. If this scenario, already mentioned last year, did not materialize, the current situation shows signs of concern. The effects of stimulus faded, and the engine of the U.S. as European economies seem to have trouble turning on its own. The failure of growth is emerging as a threat even bigger than the Western states can no longer afford indebted to put out the fires with new stimulus packages in case of an attack.

A series of statistical alarmantesL'alerte has been given in recent weeks with the publication of leading indicators sharply lower.These statistics take the pulse of the economy before the publication of official statistics, always at the wrong time. Most of these indices is followed by the "PMI", which measures the purchasing managers' sentiment. Specifically, investigators asked each month to businesses if they have more or less bought industrial supplies, for example, the previous month.

The PMI U.S. and euro area are on the verge of decline (50.9 points in July to the first, 51.1 for the second in June). Also very disturbing, the same indicator for China reflects a decline in activity, below 50 at 49.3 points. HSBC, which makes this index, however, relativize the seriousness of the situation: if an indicator below 50 reveals a contraction of a month to month, production is up 11% to 13% on a year China.

Still, the euro area is expected in the coming months to join the Asian giant below that fateful 50-point, fears BNP Paribas. Business in France and Germany, the main drivers of European growth has indeed slowed, while in the peripheral countries (Greece, Portugal ,…), indicators already show signs of a recession.

"The deterioration results from several factors: a weakened global growth, an environment full of uncertainty and, above all, renewed tensions in the markets, analyzing Ken Wattret, economist at BNP Paribas. Past crises teach us here that periods of great uncertainty and market pressures are accompanied by very low investment by business. "

ECB optimistic, but not market

Jean-Claude Trichet was still wanted optimistic Thursday.He believes that "we could see very strong growth in the fourth quarter" in the eurozone. And even if "the second quarter, of course, much less supported than the first, was amazing," he added. Economists are however a lot more gray horizon. In the eurozone, BNP Paribas expects growth halved in the third quarter to 0.4%, and a "modest rebound" to 0.4% by year end.

The latest statistics released on Friday in the euro zone are showing signs contradictory. German industrial production fell 1.1% in June. In Italy, activity, sluggish early this year, has picked up modestly in the second quarter to 0.3%. However, the Spanish growth slowed from 0.3% in the first quarter to 0.2% in the second.

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