Greg Smith stormed out of Goldman Sachs and he indicated in a letter. As part of the bank has many grievances vis-à-vis his former employer. It considers in particular that the corporate culture built around teamwork, integrity and humility is not respected. Worse, he stressed that Goldman Sachs does not work for our clients but to boost its own profits. He said he heard company executives call their customers "puppets". He invited the leaders to challenge and to keep customers at the heart of their concerns. At last report, Greg Smith took care of products for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

For its part, the bank responded. "We disagree with the views expressed, this does not reflect how we manage our business," said a spokesman for the Wall Street Journal.  

Both say, this letter made the rounds of American media and social networks. SurTwitter, the reactions are numerous. Here is a selection of crispy from Internet users. First, that of comedian Seth Meyers who believes that reading the resignation letter is funny. Then, one of Heather K Mak who believes that this writing is a ray of sunshine. Finally, ironically, a Greek citizen said someone feels guilty, to Greg Smith my credit score.

This resignation letter Goldman Sachs is a fun read. nyti.ms/xt5H5D

– Seth Meyers (@ sethmeyers21) March 14, 2012

huge ray of sunshine Into the banking world from year former executive director at goldman sachs via @ @ and sustainnyc mchivot nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opi

. – Heather K Mak (@ heatherkmak) March 14, 2012

Finally, a Goldman Sachs Executive Speaks the Truth huff.to / zDVbAO via @ huffingtonpost Finally, somebody is feeling guilty!

– Vic Panagiotakopoulo (@ VPanagio) March 14, 2012

Other reactions go even further since a forged letter of response from the bank's president, Lloyd Blankfein, circulates:

http://www.borowitzreport.com/2012/03/14/a-response-from-goldman-sachs/

Not to mention the comments of a fellow Canadian and parody of the letter, entitled "Why I quit the empire," by Darth Vader.  

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The main presidential candidates did not wait for the election to take one of their promises. Determined to fight for the Made in France, they sent their activists dressed in Finistere. In January, the campaign manager Francois Bayrou has commanded Armor Lux 5000 T-shirts.

Since then, Young Pop, the UMP and, more recently, the PS bought at MSY Finisterian its famous knitwear knitted cotton. In total, 17,000 Armor Lux has sold T-shirts in the colors of political parties. "From the mesh knitting, dyeing, through cutting and making up the printing of the logo, everything is done here in Quimper," said Jean-Guy Le Floch, CEO of the SMEs of 550 employees, which distributes its products under the Armor Lux, Land and Sea and Bermuda.

Riding this wave of local purchasing, the leader readying ammunition for the coming weeks. He launched the production of gray fabric needed to manufacture 100,000 pieces. "Until the second round of the presidential election, our online t-shirt will turn right", says he. The price difference is however quite sensitive: depending on the model, Armor Lux sells between 7 and 5.50 euros each, while made in China is on the market at around € 1.20.

60% of production is delocalized

In 2011, the company achieved a turnover of 82 million euros, against 75 the previous year. "We develop our downtown retail network a hundred square meters, and around the stores between 700 and 1 000 m². Undoubtedly, consumers want authentic products, "said Jean-Guy Le Floch. On the first two months of the year, sales to the public increased by 12%. Armor Lux has forty outlets and will open in the second half of four new stores, including one of 1,500 m² in Plaisir (Yvelines). A test for the Breton brand, wishing, after creating three stores in Paris, make its products known to Parisians.

This growth in business volume also comes from major public commissions won by the manufacturer. After the Post Office in 2003 and Aéroports de Paris and SNCF, the national police, the Regional Council of Brittany and Truffault Armor Lux entrust today to achieve the work clothes of their employees. Result: this sector represents 40% of the activity. But the logic of increasing prices dragged down leads Jean-Guy Le Floch to outsource nearly 60% of production in Morocco, Tunisia, Romania and Bulgaria. The presidential candidates are notified.

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PSG collects records! The Parisian club has made the biggest transfer in buying Argentine Javier Pastore 42 million and the club was the biggest spender of all Ligue 1 last summer by investing over $ 80 million. This winter, PSG has hired three months ago the highest paid coach in France in the person of Carlo Ancelotti paid over $ 6 million per year then the club has spent the most money in Ligue 1 last winter (more than 18 million). Accordingly, in June, the capital club could show, according to Le Parisien, the highest deficit of all clubs of the elite of French football: € 100 million! For the 2011-2012 season, the direction of the PSG is expected to generate 100 million euros in revenue while its expenses are expected to reach 200 million. Half of which are transfers.  

The Parisian club had ancipité mid-season losses of 40 million-which, incidentally is also a record for the Ligue 1. But meanwhile, PSG sacked coach Antoine Kombouare to 4 million, hired a new coach and his staff of half a dozen people, recruited three new players and paid premiums of collective and individual matches.

Germany as a model

Anyway, it would be very bad news if it was confirmed that UEFA will then point at the end of the 2012-2013 season on the accounts of European football clubs. "Clubs must present a cumulative deficit of 45 million euros, said Andrea Traverso, director of financial fair play in UEFA." If this is not the case, the offending clubs face penalties ranging from simple financial penalties up to exclusion from European competitions.  

This perspective does not seem to scare the president of PSG, Nasser al-Kelaïfi, who plans to spend on transfers 100 million euros a year for "five or six years" in an interview with Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport. "I expect a restless summer transfer window next to PSG to do well in the European Cup, but for the transfer markets following the Parisian club will not need to spend much money, says Vincent Chaudel, sports specialist at Kurt Salmon. PSG also must have some stability also sports ". So why is this statement? "The club has an obligation imposed by the results of Qatari shareholders, given the amounts invested in moves, he says. Through this declaration, the President shows other European teams and players who could join him next summer he has the means of its ambitions. "

To offset these significant costs, the Qatari leader expects that the club improves "its revenue marketing, TV rights and ticket sales including" and thus make a profit "within five years." That only the German club Bayern Munich was able to achieve in 2010-2011 with a profit of 1.3 million. In football too, Germany is a model.

It is a repudiation for the Competition Authority. The institution, which had inflicted 385 million euro fine in September 2010 with the main banks operating in France on their pricing of check processing, has seen its decision questioned by the Court of Appeal of Paris. In a ruling Thursday, the latter took the view that in this case, "the grievances of Understanding (…) can not be accepted" and that the banks concerned "should therefore be exonerated ".

The case dates back to the early 2000s, when banks have embarked on the computerization of processing checks. They are then granted to establish interchange fees, naturally passed on to end customers.

Fines must be repaid to banks

Banks have justified the introduction of these fees, which were abolished in 2007, the cost that they accounted for the modernization effort of check processing. One argument considered to be unfounded by corporate treasurers, who saw the impact fees.

In September 2010, the Competition Authority found in favor of the latter, and denounced an agreement on final prices. A vision not shared by the Court of Appeal of Paris, sought by banks complained, BPCE, Post Bank, BNP-Paribas, the National Confederation of Credit Mutuel, Crédit Agricole, Crédit du Nord, CIC, LCL HSBC France, Societe Generale.

In its reasoning, it considers that the commissions were "directly related to the new system paperless exchange of checks, public interest project neutral in terms of competition law …". It also believes that the Bank Agreement does not constitute "an agreement on final prices."

The Competition Authority may lodge an appeal. When asked, a spokesman said the institution consider what action would give the matter. Fines paid to the Treasury must be repaid to the banks.  

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An annual net income of $ 41 billion, up 34% over one year for the staff of the majors. The American Exxon Mobil in 2011 remained the world's leading oil company. The results reflect an exceptional year for all of the hydrocarbon industry driven by a barrel of Brent posting a record annual average price of $ 112.

Altogether, the net results of the ten important are around $ 200 billion. These figures however do not prevent spectacular analysts point several concerns about "Big Oil", the nickname of Western majors. The first production. That of the leader Exxon declined 10% (400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day), that 3% of Chevron. "BP has also disappointed," said Luca Baccarini, an analyst with Energy Funds Advisors, an investment advisory firm specializing in the oil market. "The Western majors are struggling to renew their reserves and production, he says, and position themselves increasingly to natural gas."

These are national companies of producing countries that have the greatest potential for oil production, adds substantially Luca Baccarini. And example is the Brazilian Petrobras, Russian Rosneft or Colombian Ecopetrol, companies controlled by their respective states but publicly traded. Petrobras, including a woman, Maria das Graças Foster – unprecedented in this masculine world – just take the reins, saw its annual net profit to decline by 5%. At issue: the rising costs of exploration.

Chinese acquisitions

Chinese companies for their part, became for some years now the leading players, CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec continue to show strong growth primarily driven by acquisitions.

In addition to slower production of international companies, analysts point out the poor health that suffers refining in Europe and the United States of overcapacity and insufficient margins. "If you are in the upstream, to drill for oil, you make money, says James Williams, WTRG Economics quoted by the Los Angeles Times. But if you are in the downstream in refining, you lose. "

In 2012, the results of the oil companies should continue to be powered by a barrel high, around $ 100 (Brent crude exceeded $ 117 Friday), especially if tensions around Iran persist. And despite a forecast of weaker global demand anticipated, depending on the monthly report of the International Energy Agency on Friday. This should increase by 0.9% in 2012, of 800,000 barrels per day, 300,000 barrels less than in the projections published in January.

The absolute independence of the European Central Bank vis-à-vis the policy preventing him from speaking. Mario Draghi has openly acknowledged Thursday: "I received a few minutes ago a call from the Greek prime minister said an agreement had been reached and endorsed by the major parties," said President of the ECB at its monthly press conference in Frankfurt. Thus he was able to announce before everyone else – maybe a little too quickly, given the float that followed in Athens – the good news entrusted to him by Lucas Papademos, the former vice President of the ECB.

But, according to the principle that it is easier to comment on the affairs of others than on his own, he refused to say clearly that the ECB may decide to reduce the debt of Athens, parallel commercial banks: "We are not part of negotiations. But what we hear is that the parts are pretty close to agreement. "

"Prohibited by the European treaties"

Pressed with questions, the successor to Jean-Claude Trichet ended up giving the key to participation of the ECB program "voluntary" Burden Reduction. "If the ECB redistributes some of its profits to the Member States of the ECB … it's not on monetary financing (public debt, which is prohibited by the European treaties), "he dropped. Clearly, it confirms one of the options that have been circulating for a week: the ECB could leave the unrealized gains on its purchase of Greek bonds. Which is approximately 12 billion, knowing that the bonds were acquired on the market at a discount and would be repaid at their face value at maturity.

By hiding again behind the texts prohibiting the bailout States, Mario Draghi shows the difficulty of his task. "The time is long when monetary policy was limited to setting interest rates. Since the debt crisis, the ECB must navigate waters very political, "says economist of a major French bank.

Inflation above the 2%

Monetary field itself, new relaxations are in any case by no means excluded. "Inflation should remain above 2% during the next few months, before falling back below 2%," said Mario Draghi. He worries more than ever a dry supply of bank credit: "We are actually concerned about the slowdown in the credit."

This is why the Governing Council decided to relax the rules on eligibility of collateral (securities pledged as collateral) that commercial banks have to raise cash. These conditions are changed to "temporarily" for seven national central banks, including Bank of France. "Residential real estate loans to individuals are eligible," said a statement released Thursday afternoon in Paris, which lists the technical conditions.

On a neighbor, Mario Draghi provides that the next issue of liquidity to three years, to be held on February 29, could be done "over the range of the previous operation of this type." The banks had obtained, 22 December 2011, 489 billion and 1% over three years.

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The Korean Kospi loose 0.68% to 1782 points while the S & P Australian unscrews from 1.48% to 3984 points. The Indian Sensex drops 0.15% on its side at 15,864 points. The financial sector is under attack throughout the region. In Hong Kong, China Merchants Bank lost 2.57% and Bank of Communications was down 1.43. In Sydney, Macquarie Group was down 2.51% while in Tokyo, Shinsei Bank lost 5.20%.

In Japan, however, the Nikkei has tried the rebound during the session payday loans. He finished last in equilibrium, a small loss of 0.06% to 8160.01 points, supported by the securities industry exporters. The latter benefit from a surge in the dollar against the domestic currency, above the 77 yen. Nikon gained 2.84%, Mitsubishi 3.41% and 1.06% Fujifilm. The action Olympus continues to rise after having earned 17% yesterday. The title was up 5.69%. The broader Topix index has in turn taken up 0.07% to finish at 706.60 points.

Taking rang in Dubai, where the 2011 Air Show closes today. Contrary to the fears of some, Dubai 2011 has been a vintage correct with more than $ 40 billion of contracts (the rate catalog) reaped in four days by Airbus and Boeing. A good result after the fireworks of the Paris Air Show in June, which had resulted in some 100 billion dollars of contracts for only 72.2 billion Airbus.

Public debt crisis, threat of recession in western countries, job losses in banking, automobile … Nothing seems to affect Airbus and Boeing, who see a looming record year. Like ATR, the world leader in regional aircraft propeller, which flies from strength to strength.With three ATR 42-600 (50 seats) operated by the company in Dubai Siberian North Star, the manufacturer of Toulouse, a subsidiary of EADS and Finmeccanica, accumulated 148 orders since the beginning of the year. Historic levels for ATR and higher than the previous record of 2007 (113 orders). ATR now assumes 80% of the market for new aircraft from 40 to 90 seats, all confused engine (jet or turboprop).

With 221 orders and commitments announced in Dubai for $ 20.5 billion, Airbus also exceeded by mid-November 2011 its goal of 1,500 gross orders. "Our NEO A 320 was again the star of the show," welcomed John Leahy, Airbus chief executive, in charge of clients. Remotorisée version of best-selling Airbus to come into service in 2015, was commissioned to 130 copies in Dubai bringing its backlog to 1420 NEO.

The President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, on the road to Bordeaux, reaffirmed his loyalty to the social spirit of the National Council of Resistance and ran to secure a social model to which the French are "deeply attached". "The honor of France is to have built a democratic and social Republic on the ruins of World War II," he said. And specify that it "does not have it said that the legacy of the National Council of Resistance has been betrayed," but felt that these critics are the ones "who have protected the French credit by mortgaging the future of their children and grandchildren without telling them. " He explained that he wanted to open a debate "calm" on the financing of social protection, as it takes "to reform permanently" the system to "adapt" because "the status quo is a danger guaranteed online payday loans."

Rights and duties

"We can not, we can not afford to get into a spending strategy. The real answer requires a transformation of social policy, "said Nicolas Sarkozy. He wants to rights of insured persons are duties. He confirmed that the beneficiaries of the RSA (RSA) should now work seven hours to the community, as announced by the Minister of Solidarity and social cohesion Roselyne Bachelot, September 22. "It should not be a system but a worthy charity," he added.

He announced the creation of a High Council of the financing of social protection "will have to work before the end of the year," to think about solutions. "A third of our GDP is devoted to social protection.

Getting started in the world of work is ever more difficult task. To put it mildly. In its latest report on youth unemployment, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) provides an alarming. The generation of a "traumatized" by the tightness of the labor market.

At the height of the economic crisis between 2008 and 2009, the number of unemployed youth had increased in an unprecedented way: 4.5 million additional young people came to swell the numbers of job seekers, when the average change is usually the order of 100,000 people a year. Since then, youth unemployment has dropped. In 2010, he touched 75.1 million people, or an unemployment rate of 12.7%. In 2011, this trend will continue according to the ILO, and the number of unemployed youth as low as 74.6 million people, 12.6%.

But this is good news in appearance, the organization warns. These good figures actually underestimate the extent of a growing number of unemployed youth withdrawing from the labor market, discouraged. The rate of young workers fell from 49.4% in 2009 to 48.8% in 2010. In Ireland, the same phenomenon would reach dramatic proportions. By including the discouraged unemployed, the rate of youth unemployment, which rises already at 27.5% (against 9% in 2007), culminate in fact almost 47% payday loans with no fax. Similarly in China, Austria and Hong Kong, the real unemployment rate is double the official figure.

"More difficult years"

As for those who manage to integrate the labor market, what they find is often "less than ideal."Part-time, for example, rose sharply, by nearly 9 percentage points in Spain, 17 points in Ireland … "The magnitude of the peak recorded since the beginning of the economic crisis suggests that many young people have taken what they could find. This is confirmed by the increase in the rate of underemployment among young people, "the report said.

And the future painted by the ILO is not much brighter. "Uncertainty in the economic environment, coupled with the greater sensitivity of youth unemployment in the economy makes the recovery in employment for this category highly uncertain. This can announce several more difficult years, "says the ILO. The organization also warns governments continuing economic difficulties could generate a distrust of young people towards political and economic systems."This factor played an undeniable role in the Arab Spring," says the ILO.

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