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Light beverages will be taxed eventually. MEPs adopted on Friday the principle of a tax on soft drinks doubled and extended to beverages with artificial sweeteners. Two cents per can, this should bring 240 million euros instead of 120 million euros initially planned, at the announcement of the measure by François Fillon on August 24. If the government were in favor of doubling the tax to finance a reduction in the cost of agricultural labor, he was strongly opposed to its extension to drink with sweeteners.

Even today, the budget minister, Valérie Pécresse, had urged members to "not lose its coherence" to the measurement and not to "confuse" the public health message.In view of the fight against obesity, taxing drinks lights and soft drinks, "this is not the same thing," had earlier noted the Minister of Health Xavier Bertrand. But MPs were finally ignored the opposition and intense lobbying against the measure of industry.

Tax benefit of reduced fuel oil

In addition to the tax on sodas, parliamentarians got down to the vote of other anti-deficit. Several amendments adopted Thursday night or the night of Thursday to Friday eliminate or reduce existing tax benefits.

This applies to the tax benefit of heating oil used for professional use (in agriculture or construction), that members have reduced Thursday to complete the financing of the lower cost of agricultural labor.The domestic consumption tax applicable on this energy source was increased from 5.66 euros to 7.20 euros per hectolitre. It should bring 80 million euros.

MEPs also voted Thursday night a special tax applicable in 2012 on sales of duty free subject to industrial CO2 quotas. 200 companies overall are expected to be affected by this measure, which should yield about 200 million euros. "It is not an embryonic carbon tax," warned Valérie Pécresse, but "to generate CO2 allowances free to give new entrants."

Measuring more anecdotal in terms of expected revenues (2 million), the reduction of 15% per year of detention applicable to capital gains from the sale of a horse race or sport, has been deleted.The objective of this measure in the Chamber called "anti-Morin" or "anti-Bayrou," referring to the taste of these members for riding, is "to end a plus for horse owners" , explained Thursday the deputy PS Christian Eckert. The reduced VAT rate applied to the horse industry has been maintained, however, because the number of jobs at stake, valued at 6000.

(With AFP)

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Commitments at risk of Kweku Adoboli have increased to 10 billion dollars (7.2 billion euros) according to the Sunday Times. Arrested on the night of Wednesday to Thursday, the trader in London the Swiss bank UBS has been detained by a judge Friday. May request bail at a subsequent hearing Thursday.

UBS said Thursday an estimated loss of 1.5 billion euros due to fraudulent transactions of its employees. Since then, the bank did not provide details on the mechanisms in question. The extent of fraud appears, however, reach gigantic proportions: it would be spread over three years since October 2008, without apparently the slightest alarm it caused internally. UBS warned regulators Swiss and British have launched a joint investigation.The bank has set up a parallel internal investigation unit called "Project Bronze" and instructed one of his best traders in derivatives, Jason Barron, to unwind positions Kweku Adoboli. While the fraud would have been discovered in the day Wednesday, all commitments have been liquidated Adoboli Friday.

Supposedly low-risk operations

The trader, who was promoted to his post in 2008 from the back office services, was a member of a small team of five people at Delta One desk. Their mission: to invest large sums to the equity of the bank's alleged market changes, via financial instruments called ETF (exchange traded funds). Generally, low profits emerged from these supposedly low-risk operations at very high volumes.Adoboli of the fault could have come from a lack of coverage of his Paris, which would have resulted in a spiral of losses since the collapse of financial markets this summer.

New to fear layoffs

The extent of the scandal poses serious threats to the future of UBS. While the bank has launched a 3500 plan job cuts, new job cuts are feared. The approximately 6000 employees of the investment bank in London feared an outright shutdown of their business, which should show a loss on the year while UBS as a whole should remain the beneficiary. Despite calls for resignations in Switzerland, head of UBS, Gruebele Oswald replied that he did not intend. "If you ask me whether I feel guilty, I say no," he told the newspaper Der Sonntag.

Concerned about its reputation with its clients it manages fortunes, UBS wrote them a letter Saturday to try to reassure them. "We fully understand that this incident may worry, says the bank. We are very disappointed and we also assure you that UBS is taking the matter very seriously and makes every effort to resolve it quickly. Your assets are safe with us. "

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It was, we had warned at the Elysee, to "gather the international community behind the Libyan authorities to help them succeed in the reconstruction of a new Libya." Ambitious goal of the conference of "Friends of Libya," held Thursday, will have almost been reached, at least in terms of number of participants. Sixty delegations, countries or organizations have responded to the invitation launched by Nicolas Sarkozy, in tandem with David Cameron. An initiative no later than last week, so "with the desire to move quickly to engage the clutch in this critical transition period," noted one in the entourage of Nicolas Sarkozy. Implicitly, participation in the conference meant for those who came, a recognition of the new government of Libya.The step was taken, in extremis, by Russia on Thursday while Algeria, home to the family Gaddafi has promised to do. Alger, whose attitude was described Thursday as "ambiguous" by Alain Juppe, was represented by its Foreign Minister, Mourad Medelci. Going slightly, too, China has nevertheless sent a deputy minister Thursday at the Elysee. One notable absence, South Africa, dissatisfied with the intervention of Nato. The African Union, although represented, also known as not yet ready to recognize the CNT.

Stabilize the country and standardize its neighborly relations will not be any challenge for the new Libya. The fighting is still pending. "The fortunes of war can not be reversed, but the strength of pro-Gaddafi nuisance, including snipers, remains important," notes do you as president.NATO strikes will continue "as long as necessary," warned David Cameron.

Even before the reconstruction of the country, relief was on the menu of the Paris conference to try to overcome the lack of water, electricity and fuel. Immediate needs for which funding must be provided by the thaw immediate $ 15 billion of assets Gaddafi clan abroad, including $ 1 payday loan lenders.5 billion in France. The two main leaders of the CNT, Moustapha Abdeljalil and number two, Mahmoud Jibril, a French plane went for Thursday morning in Benghazi, presented their priorities for reconstruction.

Form an "effective policing" and "democratic"

The main challenge will be the establishment of democratic institutions.To the powers that "accompany" the renaissance, it will be mainly to avoid the excesses of a scenario in Iraq or, even more formidable, in Afghanistan. "Nothing can happen without forgiveness and reconciliation," warned Nicolas Sarkozy. The "road map" institutional CNT expects over eighteen months, the establishment of a provisional government, a Constituent Assembly and the adoption by referendum of a constitution, followed by general elections. But the project is far from being finalized. Already, the European Union was prepared to assist the new authorities to form an "effective policing" and "democratic", said Thursday its chief diplomat, Catherine Ashton. At the request of the CNT, Ban Ki-moon proposed sending a quick UN mission.A few dozen men, and even a few hundred, they could stabilize a country the size of France three times? The question will arise, as was the collection of weapons distributed in abundance and that of Islamism. Risk dismissed out of hand in Paris, where it is stated that "there may be small groups but that does not represent Islam in Libya or a sensitivity or a significant threat." The group of new friends in Libya will be judged on his next visit in late September in New York. Nicolas Sarkozy has finally provided to want to go to Tripoli with David Cameron when the CNT will be installed.

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After the storm that plunged all the stock exchanges, the European stock exchanges succeed they stay in the green on Thursday? In Paris, after opening up 2.96% to 3092.16 points, the CAC 40 went back down just before noon and sank below the threshold of 3000 points, already briefly reached Tuesday. At midday, the index yields 0.69% in Paris 2983.16 points. A drop accelerating since even at 14 hours, he drops 2.40%, weighed down again by the bank stocks. In Frankfurt, the Dax is in the green at 5688.28 points, up 1.33%. The FTSE-100 index of London Stock Exchange is reluctant, for his part. He found the balance to 5011.65 points after spending a few minutes in the red.

The concerns are far from being dissipated, particularly those relating to the slowdown in the global economy and the issue of sovereign debt on both sides of the Atlantic.The overwhelming investor nervousness could therefore persist while no major indicator is the program on Thursday.

Wednesday, the markets were shaken by rumors of a deterioration in the rating of France, immediately denied by the rating agencies and the French government, and concerns about the health of the bank Societe Generale. And the CAC 40 plunged 5.45%, narrowly escaping the psychological threshold of 3000 points to 3002.99 points. Other European markets have suffered the same drop Frankfurt dropped 5.13%, 3.05% London. Madrid and Milan 5.49% 6.65%. In New York, the Dow fell 4.62% and 4.09% for the Nasdaq. However, on Thursday, appeasement was back on the Asian stock markets that are returned to the green or showed moderate declines.

Societe Generale attacked again

Gold continues, meanwhile, fly from record to record.The precious metal has crossed the threshold of 1800 dollars. It is this Thursday morning in 1790 dollars, after hitting a new record of 1815.50 dollars. However, oil resumed its decline in Asia. Yet he had resisted the panic the day before with the announcement of a dramatic and unexpected decline in crude inventories in the United States. In morning trading, a barrel of "light sweet crude" lost 79 cents to 82.10 dollars and that of Brent North Sea fell by 1.10 dollars to 105.58 dollars.

Among the values ​​to be followed, the bank that have been heavily tested yesterday. The Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the stock market regulator, announced that it will monitor developments in the securities sector.Shortly before noon, BNP Paribas (-5.88% to 33.515 euros), and Credit Agricole (-1.51% to 5.981 euros) and plunged into the red after yet open on a rebound.

The title is particularly battered Societe Generale: having lost 14.74% Wednesday, it opened on a rebound of almost 9%. But again plunges 4.13% to 21.265 euros."The willingness of these attacks is to force the SG to a capital increase, which is the workhorse of some analysts and hedge funds in recent months," said an analyst based in Paris at the agency Reuters. "Their reasoning is that the group does not generate enough capital to cope with the capital ratio of over 9% in 2013." The bank, already shaken in 2008 by the Kerviel affair, only to find the investor confidence after several warnings about its results during the financial crisis.

For its part, the CEO of the bank, Frédéric Oudéa, denounced, in an interview with Le Figaro, "the series of attacks" against the French banking sector "sounds completely fantastic, I struggle with the utmost force, attacked Societe Generale, "he lamented. "We have no fear about our ability to raise capital," he added.SocGen has asked the AMF to investigate the origin of the rumors that have depressed its course Wednesday.

Veolia Environnement (4.61% to 10.55 euros) and STMicroelectronics (3.39% to 4.488 euros), especially titles attacked in recent days, return to the field.

In addition, EADS (1.66% to 20.24 euros), the parent company of Airbus, said Wednesday it will not achieve its objectives in the United States in 2020 without new acquisitions.

Title Alcatel-Lucent (2.11% to 2.324 euros) is expected to rise following the release of quarterly results from Cisco Systems, above the consensus of Wall Street.

L'Oreal (2.29% to 1.73 euros) should benefit from the decision by Goldman Sachs, which added its list of preferred European stocks to buy ("pan-Europe conviction buy list").

Saint-Gobain (1.11% to 31.775 euros) has announced the acquisition of Solar Gard, a subsidiary of Belgian group dedicated to Bekaert Specialty Films, as part of its strategy to accelerate its growth through acquisitions.

Maurel & Prom rose 4.22% to 12.35 euros after opening up over 8%. The oil company reported a surge of 123% of its revenue thanks to increased revenues in Gabon and Nigeria.

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Facebook announced Tuesday the acquisition of Push Pop Press, a publisher of books, multimedia touch pads co-founded by two former Apple Kimon Tsiteris and Mike Matas. Little known to the general public, the two men worked on the interface and software key on the iPhone and iPad.

Apple, Mike Matas has participated in the design of several interface elements of the iPhone, as the camera, the display of the battery and phone settings. Tsiteris with Kimon, he also worked on the mapping software for iPad."Mike Matas is responsible or has had responsibility for most of the best and most exuberant designs in recent times" at Apple, said the blogger John Gruber, familiar with the company.

Team Press Push Pop account other well-respected engineers in its ranks, as Austin Sarner, who worked for Sofa, publisher of software for Mac already bought in June by Facebook. On Twitter, the former head of the development of the implementation of Facebook for iPhone, Joe Hewitt, said he hoped "that the acquisitions of Pop Push Press and sofa style mean that Facebook is more like that of Apple that of Microsoft. "

An application for iPad

Facebook confirmed that some engineers Pop Push Press join its ranks, without specifying their assignment.Pop Push Press, who had noted earlier this year by publishing a book multimedia Al Gore for the iPad, will cease operations. "Facebook does not begin to publish electronic books, but the ideas and technology that are behind Push Pop Press will be integrated with Facebook," commented Mike Matas and Kimon Tsinteris. For example, to better present the interactive content, suggests the New York Times.

An image of the future application iPad Facebook.

Pressure is mounting on the management of Air France-KLM. 144 MPs from all sides have signed the petition launched by Bernard Carayon, UMP deputy from the Tarn, to encourage Air France Airbus to focus on as part of a mégacommande of long-haul aircraft. Tuesday, Pierre Lellouche, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, has announced its intention to meet with Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, the CEO of Air France-KLM to seek "explanations" about its intentions to purchase. The meeting should take place this afternoon.

For the government, bad foreign trade figures – which has grown to more than 7 billion euros in April – have sounded like a severe reprimand. Especially for companies with the state is a shareholder. Air France-KLM, it has "15%" of capital.Pierre Lellouche, but considers that the company can "pass the buck" in a state that has "greatly helped" the group "when he had problems with Brussels." A similar call to order the respondent last week at PSA Peugeot Citroën, after the revelation of its possible plans to close two plants in France. PSA is not a public company, but it has benefited from state funds during the crisis.

Strategic choice

Political pressure put on Air France is a measure of the challenge: a mégacommande – the first made jointly by Air France and KLM – a hundred long-haul aircraft. The project is described as historic by the leaders of Air France-KLM themselves: it should be in the tens of billions of dollars. The verdict of the direction the company should have to fall soon after the general meeting in early July.Now, executives of Air France-KLM believe that the announcement will probably be delayed for several weeks, "the time that the discussions become less passionate."

Internally, the political turn taken by the case shocks. Bernard Pedamon, the representative of the pilots on the board of directors of Air France said he was "surprised and displeased." "These are the strategic choices that can be for an airline. It is a commitment for twenty years which must respond to economic considerations, he says. Currently, we are witnessing the return of our old demons. The days when you could bring in managers office at the head of the company or impose choices of planes is a bygone era. "

At present, the weight of the two aircraft manufacturers in the fleet of the company is not the same lights.On all its long-haul aircraft, Air France Boeing totaled 63, 35 against Airbus. The company has indeed bought many Boeing 777-300 at a time when Airbus had no equivalent model. However, all of its medium-haul (ie 153 units) are Airbus.

The controversy of recent days is all the more surprising that for several months, officials of the fleet of Air France have expressed their intention to mix Airbus A350 and Boeing 787. "The case studied by our team for the purchase of these devices are not made on a corner table," said an executive of the company."We look at many criteria: the choice of engines, maintenance costs, the impact on our maintenance business …" considerations rather far from campaign issues.

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E3, the video game world exhibition which recently closed its doors, was very far from the trend of the moment: simple games for all ages, playing on the social network Facebook and mobile phones. The publisher Zynga Californian and Finnish Rovio were not present. In contrast, the traditional big players have submitted games often violent and very expensive to develop. The market has become considerably more than 50 billion euros. Each showed his big muscles. Modern Warfare 3, Activision, Mass Effect 3, Battlefield 3, Star Wars: the Old Republic and Need for Speed ​​at Electronic Arts, Driver San Francisco, Far Cry 3 and Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Ubisoft, Saint's Row the Third THQ. To promote this latest game, the publisher had hired two dozen young women, dressed in a simple purple swimsuit, who washed cars in front of the convention center.In addition, very violent games were introduced by Microsoft and Nintendo for its next console Wii Sony U and especially for its future mobile PS Vita.

The youngest was not quite forgotten. Nintendo has unveiled a series of concerts to celebrate the twenty-five years of The Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart and Kid Icarus 3D Uprising. Microsoft also KINECTS Disneyland Adventures, the second version of its sports game KINECTS Sports & Fun KINECTS labs to customize its programs.

After buying Playdom, Disney showed games for Facebook, which was an exception. For its part, Activision has presented his latest game Skylanders, Spyro'sAdventure for the very young to be launched mid-October guaranteed personal loan approval.This title utilisedes plastic figurines: the toys can come alive in a video game program on the screen of a mobile phone, PC or console, by placing them on a special tray.

A little poetry and freshness have been made by the French Ubisoft. In twenty-five years, the third world editor "sold a total of 500 million video games", said Yves Guillemot, president. He had in his wallet securities fun. The designer Michel Ancel has shown a new version of a leading figure Ubisoft Rayman Origins. A game full of references to his ancestors: Rayman, of course, and also the arcade game Space Invaders, Mario and Tetris also. The French publisher has released The Adventures of Tintin, the graphics a bit rude, and a new version of "Raving Rabbids" very funny.Four people have to twist together, facing the camera of an Xbox 360, to recreate the contours of a fantastic character, like a shadow.

The prize for poetry comes to Hye-Yeon Nam, a young Korean who has created a new kind of joystick video via French kiss, a kiss on the lips between two people. "Initially the idea was to have fun with my friend. The device is inexpensive, $ 50 in total. A person is a tiny magnet on her tongue and the other wears a special helmet. By kissing on the mouth, we control a bowling ball on a PC, "says doctoral student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. "It works. And she adds, smiling not so new, with KINECTS, the body serves as a controller. "

The day after a day of general rise in global markets, boosted by press reports on the refusal of Germany to reschedule debt Greek investors take a breather. Asian markets, the trend is illustrated by the Nikkei stock exchange who, having garnered an increase of nearly 2% Friday, appears on Wednesday in a small increase of 0.23% to 9716 points to 7 hours.

As for values, the day is marked by lower DoCoMo (-1.32%), whose debt is placed on negative watch by Moody's. Toyota also declined sharply from 1.03% despite announcing a 90% recovery of vehicle production in Japan in the month of June.

Sales of new vehicles in Japan, excluding mini-models, dropped 37.8% in May compared to the same month of 2010, 142,154 copies, recording their ninth consecutive decline, due to the effects of the earthquake of 11 March on production and morale of buyers.

Slowdown in China

The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong and Shanghai have more trouble finding momentum Wednesday. Both markets lose respectively 0.14% and 0.25%. Investor sentiment is at its lowest since the announcement of an increase in manufacturing activity in China in May slower than in April, according to two separate indices published by an organization close to the government and the bank HSBC.

PMI purchasing managers of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) fell last month to 52 cash advance loan.0, against 52.9 in April, the agency reported in a statement.For its part, HSBC has calculated a PMI to 51.6 for May, against 51.8 in April, and noted "a continued moderate growth in manufacturing output accompanied by an easing of inflationary pressures" on last month.

These indicators show that the anti-inflationary measures by the Chinese government began to produce results. The banking sector, for its part, does not welcome news: Industrial & Commercial Bank of China lost 0.15% while Poly Real Estate Group dropped 0.43%.

Furthermore, the reluctance dominates. The Korean Kospi lost 0.26%, while the Indian Sensex advance of 0.59%. For its part, the Australian S & P climbed 0.33% despite the announcement of a contraction in GDP of 1.2% in first quarter 2011 compared to the previous quarter due to a series of natural disasters.The markets finally react well because these figures are slightly better than forecasts which projected a contraction of 1.4%.

The increased gross

For their part, oil prices were on the upside Wednesday in electronic trading in Asia, facing the hopes of resolving the debt crisis in Greece, according to analysts.

In morning trading, a barrel of light sweet crude for July delivery took 30 cents to 103 dollars. That of Brent North Sea crude for delivery gained 31 cents to equal 117.04 dollars.

A video of Figaro.fr

European pressure mounts against Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Breaking the silence, several of his counterparts in the EU – starting with women – have suggested that the imprisoned boss of the IMF should abandon his duties to safeguard the interests of the Old Continent.

Austria led the most direct charge. Strauss-Kahn "itself should reflect the harm it causes to the institution," launched in Brussels Conservative Minister of Finance, Maria Fekter, questioned the wisdom of resignation. Berlin often inspires the positions of Vienna and the demand has not gone unnoticed after Chancellor Merkel implicitly opened the estate on Monday night.

For Spain, the Socialist minister Elena Salgado, also come for an appointment Financial, wanted to put the record straight: "The crimes that (Strauss-Kahn) is accused are of extraordinary gravity.Solidarity, mine anyway, is for the woman who has suffered an attack if it does. "

Too "premature"

The dropping is still far from unanimous in the EU. Most ministers believe the question "premature." From Washington, Strauss-Kahn had finally been accepted as an authority of the euro. Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the Eurogroup, has even won against "indecency" in a race to succeed while the IMF chief is, nominally, at his post.

But realism requires the Europeans to prepare the next move if they want to retain the IMF's management, which "no longer seems an absolute certainty", said a diplomat payday loan lenders. DSK official indictment Friday by the grand jury could say, kick-off.Prove guilt without the CEO, it would pave the way for the trial by preventing him from performing his duties permanently.

Christine Lagarde at the center of the game

Christine Lagarde, approached while Strauss-Kahn was considering a higher destiny, occurs naturally in the middle of the game asked about a possible candidacy, but she has not denied deemed "inappropriate to comment, since the director IMF Managing did not resign. " Personally, she finds the New York episode "both overwhelming and painful."

The French minister is far from alone on the track, despite discrete supports. Privately, European officials are concerned about its vulnerability in the case Tapie. The German press ahead with other names such as Peer Steinbrueck, former Social Democratic Minister of Finance, or the more unlikely of Axel Weber, former head of the Bundesbank.In all cases, the Europeans should agree without delay on a standard-bearer if they will not be capped at the post by emerging countries. The chair of the IMF promised them long ago. With the U.S. Treasury in the role of kingmaker, forfeiture of Strauss-Kahn could polish their weapons after 65 years of European management – including 36 French.