The top news headlines

Release still stands. While the newspaper has recently published a full page to remember that it won 5.39% of distribution paid France last year, according to OJD, the best performance among the national dailies, all employees, together in civil society personnel Liberation (SCPL), Tuesday signed a letter of genuine grievances against their managing editor and publishing, Nicolas Demorand.

"One year after the arrival of Nicolas Demorand, the graft did not" attack the SCPL, including the editors of Liberation. "The list of grievances is long," continuing employees, evoking by turns being "dispossessed" of the newspaper not to identify with it. They blame their managing editor, former France Inter recruited by Edouard de Rothschild in early 2011 to revitalize the newspaper before the election, not to give clear direction, only to take "no account of what the drafters, they can learn according to their skills and ability to work together. " They say they are despised by a direction described as "authoritarian and arrogant." "Differences of view" would be the source of "confusion as editorial organizationally."

The SCPL editorial criticizes the current, that Nicolas Demorand prints for over a year, "one eye-catching," an "editorial treatment supporter" Libe … yet made the subject of regular times in the press reviews and in social networks for its one noticed, especially when the DSK affair last May or the beginning of the presidential campaign. This "policy Cover" has undoubtedly contributed last year to an increase in newsstand sales (individual sales) of over 10%, nearly 9,000 additional copies.

June 2011, a motion of no confidence was passed by the same SCPL, which already criticized Nicolas Demorand of being "out of step with the culture of the newspaper." The grievances were already numerous.

Nicolas Demorand has not yet responded to these attacks.

.

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.

ALSO READ:

"The employees of SeaFrance deplore the" CFDT system "

"Calais-Dover: instead of SeaFrance coveted

Air transportation emits about 3% carbon dioxide (CO2) released by humans into the atmosphere. But according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its emissions have almost doubled (+98%) between 1990 and 2006 and are expected to increase by 63% by 2020. This is due to the strong growth that the EU wished to include airlines in the industries subject to carbon allowances.

Decided in 2008, this "carbon tax air" has been applicable since 1 January to major airlines transiting through EU airports. According to official documents of the end of 2011, 4291 airlines must be submitted to CO2 quotas, including 28 Chinese companies. Brussels has set an emissions cap for each company, who must buy the equivalent of 15% of its emissions, as carbon credits.

This air tax should bring in 2012 256 million euros to the EU, the Commission said. A pittance compared to $ 3.8 billion represented the German Government, by controlling only Airbus Hong Kong Airlines, threatened. Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for the fight against climate change, repeated his refusal to yield to threats and to revisit the legislation.

The profession particularly hostile

From the earliest discussions on the implementation of these CO2 quotas on airlines, the profession has expressed very hostile. Last November, ICAO, the Organization of International Civil Aviation, adopted a resolution recommending to exempt non-European companies of the carbon tax. 26 of its 36 members including China, the United States and Russia, were signatories. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) and ICAO call for voluntary measures to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, implemented worldwide.

In a report published in early 2011, the rating agency Standard & Poor's estimated that the measure Brussels could cost 1.12 billion for airlines in 2012-2013. Since then, the price per tonne of CO2 collapsed on the European market which would reduce the cost to about 700 million euros. But it adds to the severe increase in fuel prices.

ALSO READ:

"Carbon Tax: Airbus warns

At a time when many manufacturers are seeking solutions to their difficulties in Europe, the alliance between PSA Peugeot Citroen and General Motors supplies all conversations at the Geneva show. The French on Tuesday launched a capital increase of one billion euros, after which GM will take 7% of the shares of PSA, the Peugeot family from 31 to 25.2% of the capital. This operation gives us "the ability to make the necessary expenditures to investments with GM on a number of projects," says Jean-Baptiste de Chatillon, the CFO. These are "projects we wanted to achieve, but we did not have the capacity to do so quickly," everything "with greater efficiency than if we were alone," he says. Ideas that focus on small cars, station wagons, "crossover" and minivans. The first vehicle will arrive in 2016

"We have identified the programs on which we want to work with PSA. Others could be added to as and when cooperation takes place in a climate of trust, "said his side Stephen Girsky, vice president of GM. Thanks also to the pooling of purchases, both grouped hope everyone save $ 1 billion per year from 2016.

"PSA needs cash"

The least we can say is that the two rival groups are skeptical. Renault, Nissan ally of Japan for thirteen years (which it owns 43.4%, while Japan has 15% of French), has been especially reserved. "In our design, an alliance must be based on cross-shareholdings. This way, everything a manufacturer implements to take his partner's expertise, he gets a real return, "financially, reacted Carlos Tavares. The COO of Renault also recalled that in his view, create a common purchasing structure, and especially the engineers to work together, "takes time". In short, the operation is over, he said, an "equity participation of GM" in a context where PSA is "in need of cash."

Daimler believes that the combination PSA-GM is not the same nature as its partnership with Renault (through cross-holdings of 3.1%). "As our cooperation with Renault is to add strength, especially this new alliance is trying to tackle challenges in Europe," said Dieter Zetche, the boss of the German specialist high end.

The site of Aulnay-sous-Bois threatened

All observers point out that this approximation leaves unresolved the issue of overcapacity of the two manufacturers on the Old Continent payday loans. "They have the same problem, I wonder how they will learn from each other to solve it," said Carlos Tavares. PSA and GM said they would address this issue separately. PSA has its problems of overcapacity in Europe "on 18 to 24 months" to come, has also said Denis Martin, director of industrial PSA. By the presidential election, an announcement seems impossible, but the site of Aulnay-sous-Bois, which will produce the Citroen C3 until 2014, seems particularly threatened after that horizon. The future sites Sevelnord, near Valenciennes, and Madrid, is also uncertain. Meanwhile, Opel could close two new plants in Europe, Germany and Britain, according to U.S. media.

For his part, Sergio Marchionne, the boss of Fiat-Chrysler, says it "would not like to be in the shoes of GM," because "a stake of 7%, which does not provide an integration of European , is not the right answer "immediately, even if beneficial effects will be to" medium and long term. " Fiat "remains open" to a merger with a third partner. "All" potentially of interest to manufacturers, including Renault, apart from the German Volkswagen and Daimler, which are not considered "technically compatible with Fiat."

The U.S. company invests 304 million

PSA announced details of its capital increase of one billion euros, intended both to seal an alliance with General Motors and give itself the means to continue investing. The price of the transaction, which runs from March 8 to 21, was set at 8.27 euros, reflecting a discount of 42% over the course of Monday. However, existing shareholders have preferential subscription rights (DPS), which have a value. For them, the discount is reduced to about 32%. General Motors has committed $ 304 million to acquire 7% stake. Of this amount, 80 million used to purchase approximately 55.6% of the DPS of the Peugeot family. This will subscribe the capital increase for the balance – representing an investment of around 150 million – and will see its stake reduced from 31% to 25.2% of the capital of the manufacturer.

ALSO READ:

"GM will pay 320 million for its stake in PSA

"The agreement Peugeot / GM does not convince the stock market

TF1 is not abandoning its status string of Formula 1. Monday morning, Laurent-Eric Le Lay, president of Eurosport and patron of sports rights acquisitions for the group TF1, wanted no misunderstanding: "The group intend to compete at the next tender" that launch the FOM (Formula One Management), he said in substance. "We will continue to treat an outstanding Formula 1 in 2012. And in view of the hearings, we will look very carefully the tender. It is true that today we believe that the price paid is very high, or too high fast cash now. " "Given the developments in television in clear, our means are more limited than before," he said.

Each year, the chain headed by Nonce Paolini does not less than 40 million euros to broadcast these competitions, more than two million per Grand Prix. An amount deemed too important by the group, although, on average, hearings Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon are in the chain, to 23.5%, about three million viewers.

On average, hearings Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon are in the chain.

Just arrived in Brussels Monday afternoon, Christine Lagarde has distributed the good report was expected of her: "Greece has clearly made major efforts … Now, we need others to do so efforts, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) is ready to work on these bases. "But the CEO was well refrained from giving any indication of the magnitude of the amounts that the Fund might have to put in the pot.

Curiously the German Jörg Asmussen, one of six board members of the European Central Bank (ECB), had announced yet for granted: "We Europeans are waiting (IMF) participate again in height third of the new program "(130 billion euros). This is totally excluded, it says in the entourage of the patron saint of the IMF.

Gone are the days when Dominique Strauss-Kahn had established de facto, in spring 2010, a totally new principle, that the IMF would participate in up to one third in terms of aid to Greece and Ireland and Portugal, the Europeans providing the other two thirds. This rule was applied to the latter two countries, but not quite to Greece where the IMF in assistance loans was only 27%.

And for good reason. It was noted in Washington that the loans in Athens have already exceeded the usual ratios: a country can not receive aid exceeding ten times its share capital to the IMF, according to an unwritten rule but was consistently observed for more sixty years. However, the facilities already enjoyed by Greece reach a multiple of 25.

Accountable

Second difficulty, according to the Wall Street Journal on Monday, the latest "Report on the debt sustainability" would show that by 2020 the ratio was 129% instead of 120% which are considered the maximum allowable. If teams Fund refuse to confirm the risk of skidding, the better to reaffirm that it is imperative that the limit of 120%.

Christine Lagarde, more than ever needs to be accountable to all its 187 shareholder countries, including the United States, which have veto power. While Tim Geithner, U.S. Treasury Secretary, said Sunday that "the United States encourage the IMF to support the agreement (European)". But this does not mean that his country is ready to increase the capacity of the Fund.

The Deputy Tim Geithner even said last Thursday before the Senate, he was no question that Washington is participating in the strengthening of the IMF, including Christine Lagarde has officially set the bar at $ 500 billion. Remember that this project all the countries of Southern Europe that the IMF might have to rescue them.

ALSO READ:

"Greece: the IMF recognizes pilot error

The report by the Center for Strategic Analysis in a housing report released Wednesday is brutal: while the subject of aid mobilizes huge (37 billion euros) from the State and local governments, households the less fortunate spend more on housing. In 2005, they spent at this position 41.4% of their income against 25% in 1988.

To improve the situation of more modest in this area, the Center for Strategic Analysis made several proposals, focused on social housing. "First, it should be that only those who earn more than five times the annual rent for a dwelling may be candidates for living," Chriqui advance Vincent, general manager of that agency of the Prime Minister. A measure of common sense would settle with the current situation today, up 64% of households are eligible for public housing.

To reserve social housing for disadvantaged populations, some only dream of being able to expel those whose income has become, over time, well above the maximum income. This would call into question the sacrosanct principle of the right to remain in public housing, one of the cornerstones of the world HLM. Cautiously, the Center for Strategic Analysis does not follow that direction.

However, he has worked on a system where the rent paid by tenants would be modulated according to their income. "In fact, rents are nominally higher and tenants would receive a grant that would cover some of this burden, says Vincent Chriqui. The premium will be lowered when the tenant would see its revenues increase. "To avoid creating too strong reactions in a world quite restive HLM changes of this kind, this system would first be tested by some social landlords . If the Center for Strategic Analysis recommends this solution is that the devices require tenants whose incomes exceed the ceilings to pay additional rent malfunctioning. Normally, a public housing tenant whose remuneration exceeds 20% of the maximum income to pay a surloyer. "But it is a cumbersome process that requires to initiate proceedings," said Vincent Chriqui. Soft law passed in 2009 plans to evict a tenant of public housing for two successive years if its resources are at least two times higher than the ceiling. But we must wait three years after this observation that the measure could be effective. Result: more than three years after its adoption, the text has yet to produce any effects.

Statistical tool

Last priority recommendation of the Center for Strategic Analysis: Building a statistical tool that emphasizes respect for each program HLM, level of public support and the "discount" rent in the social housing compared to private apartments around the park. "By learning about government subsidies and the results they deliver, this should help to refocus the production of social housing where the need is greatest," says Vincent Chriqui.

ALSO READ:

"The procedure to obtain an HLM

"A new formula to build more public housing

"The public housing where there is no need

Chroniclers weather will give heart to joy. Not only it is cold, but with the wind, "the temperatures experienced" are even lower. The fold is taken: we now no longer communicating indications of the thermometer observed "under cover". It highlights the feelings of bystanders facing the wind. This is obviously more spectacular when it's 0 degrees on the thermometer and the wind blows at 10 km / h, the wind chill is – and it falls 3 ° – 5 ° at a speed of 20 km / h.

This phenomenon that scientists call "wind chill" was discovered in 1940 during an expedition in Antarctica by Paul Siple. But it was popularized there about ten years, when the media, first in the U.S. and Canada, and Europe, have provided consistently figures in their weather reports. Note that this is a physical reality, and not merely a psychological representation: the protective layer of warm air generated by the human body itself at 37 °, must be renewed more frequently that the wind is strong. Perception of cold is very real.

In the economic field also, "feel" of households and between bosses increasingly into play. It even tends to become the main instrument for measuring the economic climate, for convenience of calculation. It is indeed much easier to ask a panel of business owners if their production increased last month to collect their sales activity. The latter procedure requires aggregate car sales, kilograms of tomatoes and air tickets, which is long and delicate.

The services of the European Commission and questioned each month 125,000 businesses and 40,000 consumers in 27 countries of the Union, both on past activity and prospects coming months. These results, expressing the sense of economic actors – soft data, in English – are obtained almost instantaneously. They are often considered more accurate than traditional statistical data on quantitative (hard data). In France, INSEE shows real-time views of households on the labor market, while the Ministry of Labour provides a month late with the number of job seekers.

The medal has its reverse, however. Discrepancies may arise between the vox populi and accounting realities. Upon the introduction of euro notes and coins, there are just ten years, European consumers have moved to a surge in consumer prices by 4% to 5%. The European Central Bank held instead that the drift did not exceed two or three tenths of a point of additional inflation. This discrepancy between official figures and their perception of "real people" led to a series of explanations: consumers are more price sensitive in their everyday purchases, such as baguette, which were most affected by the introduction of the euro, etc..

Policymakers are rightly concerned about how households perceive things. Like the eighteenth century Irish philosopher George Berkeley, they are led to believe that "only what is perceived to exist." When soliciting votes public, which is in the minds of voters has truth value.

The French "are tired of the growing gap between statistics that show continuous progress and growing difficulties they experience in their daily lives", had expressed concern in January 2008 Nicolas Sarkozy. And to bridge this gap between men of art and the general public, he asked Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, both Nobel Prize in economics, to think about other ways to measure economic wealth than in the sacrosanct GDP. Responding to this concern to "humanize" economic indicators, and other INSEE national institutes have set up a "personalized price index": everyone can calculate – on the website of INSEE – its own inflation rate based on its expenses.

This is laudable, but it is also paradoxical. "The statistics were invented to go beyond what people can see themselves and are now under attack because they do not reflect what people perceive of reality!" , according to former Chief Statistician of OECD Enrico Giovannini.

Worse, it became impossible to escape the image of ourselves, constantly updated, we see in the mirror figures. Its redundancy – just check out the long list of indicators days pending publication – main function to supply high-frequency stock markets, which are fond. For individuals we are, the velocity of circulation of this information produces exactly the same effect as the wind on our bodies. It forces us to constantly renew the idea that we have of our situation. This can only be rehashing debilitating. Feeling of resentment, there is one syllable, and not just any.

ALSO READ:

"What is wind chill?

New blow for the euro area. After Fitch, it was the turn of Standard & Poor's to break down a notch credit rating of Spain, which changes to "AA-". The rating agency also maintains a negative outlook on the country. In other words, a further downgrade of the country can not be excluded.

The agency believes that financial services' growth prospects are uncertain "because of" increasing risks "facing the economy. The agency referred in particular to "the incomplete reform of the labor market will continue to hinder economic recovery." In the view of S & P, Spain could fall into recession next year, with GDP expected down 0.5%.

The fragility of the financial system is also the Achilles heel of the fourth largest economy in the eurozone.S & P is concerned and "a probable further deterioration of asset quality of the Spanish financial system."

The agency also questioned the budgetary targets of the Zapatero government. The Spanish public deficit forecast at 6.2% of GDP for 2011 could be exceeded. As for reducing the deficit to 4.4% of GDP in 2012, it will not be possible without "additional measures".

ALSO READ:

"Fear of recession the country will fare

The Paris Bourse after opening down slightly, sailing around the equilibrium after a session that saw the CAC 40 fly over 2%. In the morning, the CAC 40 in advance symbolically from 0.14% to 3235 points in early trade. Investors do not follow the mood on Wall Street yesterday and Asian markets this morning. The latter found confidence to the rhythm of advertisements European leaders on a plan to end the crisis. They particularly appreciate the position of the European Commission yesterday called for an urgent recapitalization of the banks deal with the debt crisis. Remarks relayed by the Minister of Budget Précresse Valerie, who, like Berlin, says it is "a necessity". France is willing to inject even said herself of public money to support its banks if necessary.

This commitment reflects a shift in the euro area on the Greek case.The taboo of failure is no longer excluded. The Chairman of the Commission José Manuel Barroso, called for "decisive action on Greece" while German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said yesterday that the overall level of indebtedness of Greece should be reduced s' it reaches an unbearable level, "to provide better opportunities" in the country. The discount will have to accept that private investors in the second aid package to Greece adopted in July would be 39% if we used the current market prices to assess the risk profile of the country, instead of 21% estimated at the time, said yesterday an official of the Institute of International Finance (IIF).

New vote in Slovakia, the euro rises

Concerning the Relief Fund in the euro area (EFSF), which must be expanded to support the plan to end the crisis, Slovakia has promised another vote tonight or tomorrow.It should be positive this time because four opposition parties agreed to support the government in place, Maturity of early elections. These data give back to the euro insurance. The European currency found the threshold of $ 1.38 in morning trading.

Oil, however, is small decline: a barrel of "light sweet crude" for November delivery lost 86 cents to 84.71 dollars. Barrel of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery yielded nine cents to 111.27 dollars for the last trading day of the deadline. The operators claim to be concerned before the publication of figures on weekly petroleum reserves in the United States no fax pay day loans. Another indicator to the American agenda: the weekly jobless claims, trade balance and budget.

Values ​​to follow

Total (-0.98% to 36.20 euros)

The oil company has discovered gas and oil off the coast of Norway, announced this morning the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. According to preliminary estimates, this discovery is to be between 19 million and 101 million barrels. To dig the well that led to this discovery, Total was allied with Norway's Statoil, authorities said.

Carrefour plunged 4.16% to 17.17 euros

The group launched Thursday a new warning on its results in 2011, relying now on a decline in operating income between 15% and 20%, 15% instead of the planned end of August.

Lafarge (2.28% to 29.62 euros)

The French cement company announced an asset swap with the U.S. Martin Marietta, which he will sell the aggregates quarries and concrete plants ready and asphalt, in exchange for aggregate quarries and distribution sites .

Casino (1.98% to 62.71 euros)

The retailer saw its organic growth slowed in the third quarter with declining sales of its hypermarkets in France, but the group has confirmed its objectives for 2011 include the strengthening of its market share in the Hexagon and improving margins at Franprix-Leader Price.

Areva (0.72% 22.49 euros)

The consortium of the French group and Germany's Siemens called the Finnish operator Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) to engage in the path of cooperation with the approach the final stages of construction of the EPR reactor Olkiluoto 3 (OL3). The French nuclear group has also been licensed by the U.S. authorities allowing it to construct and operate an enrichment plant in Idaho.Finally, the boss of the group, Luc Oursel, raised the possibility "to smooth or to shift some investments to reduce risk and improve (the) financial situation"

ArcelorMittal (-0.38% to 14.47 euros)

The group decided to shut down two blast furnaces located near Liège in particular because of the deteriorating global economic situation, the financial daily reported on Wednesday Belgian L'Echo, information later confirmed by the unions.

ALSO READ: