For summer 2012, Greece seems any destination found. Each French, the centenary of the infant, does he not have a credit of just over 1000 euros? This is because the amount of debts of the French state vis-à-vis Athens. These figures naturally attain a new flavor since the output of the euro in Greece is no longer a taboo subject.

The amazing thing is that their magnitude and surprise us that the public do mine to discover. Certainly, the record may seem terribly technical. Quite wrongly. Because at the end for the aid to Greece, they pass through the ECB or the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) was created in 2010, is always reduced to public funds made by the States and their taxpayers.

Just before leaving his post as finance minister, Baroin said so too cursive that if Greece were to fail, there would be a "net" loss of 50 billion for our public finances. The potential risk actually rises to 66.4 billion euros if we take into consideration all the circuits in which the French state is involved. Nor our partners Euroland (each depending on the size of its population), but not less.

Three-stage rocket

We use here the estimate we have communicated Eric Dor, the research director of the IESEG School of Management in Lille, which has the merit of being comprehensive. You have to imagine a three-stage rocket. The first and simplest is direct bilateral aid, decided in May 2010, when it came to light that Athens could no longer finance its debts in the financial markets. The total program is 80 billion euros, 52.9 billion were actually loaned, the French share standing at 11.4 billion euros.

The second stage uses a more sophisticated financial techniques. The European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) borrow on the markets and relending to countries in need. But this is just a dummy account. If Greece should become defective, the EFSF would turn to the states that are the guarantor, and they should bail out pronto. French commitments in respect of Greece now total 22.5 billion euros.

The third floor, the tip of the rocket, is the Sioux and for the European Central Bank. Central banks are often presented, especially in France where we love to believe in miracles, as "deus ex machina." Do not they have the power to create money "from scratch" and fund banks, and why not states, as would today Francois Hollande? The ECB has paid with his person in two ways. First, she bought in the markets of Greece's debt to the tune of 45 billion euros. In case of default, such securities would lose much of their value if not all. The ECB would have to be recapitalized by its shareholders (Banque de France, Bundesbank …), their own properties States. Where a potential loss of 9.8 billion to French taxpayers.

Second channel used by the ECB, it helped Greece even more heavily in providing liquidity to commercial banks in Greece. This was done in exchange for securities that served as collateral (collateral in technical terms). In total, these contributions amounted officially to 104 billion at March 31, 2012. If Greece were to leave the euro and adopt the drachma, the collateral would be worth almost nothing. The potential risk for the French is estimated at 22.7 billion euros.

A "solidarity principle" sacrosanct

This is so schematic, the public debt of France. These elements of analysis are quite formal. One only wonders why the parliamentary assemblies have never produced a complete synthesis.

"It is our collective money is at stake. An attack on one country is an attack on the entire group, "explained Christine Lagarde, Minister of Finance, the National Assembly in spring 2010. This reminds the billboards to "sell" the Russian loans to investors of the Third Republic: "Lending to Russia is to pay to France."

In September 2011, the National Assembly voted as one man French participation in the second bailout in favor of Athens, on behalf of a "solidarity principle" sacrosanct. A senior ECB official told us recently his amazement, when he visited a prominent official of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly: it does not even remember the amount of commitments made by France EFSF!

This is "the unbearable lightness of being" French politician who reasons in terms of symbols always and forever depending on the nature of things. It is far from substantive discussions of the Bundestag and the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe, presented in France as troublemakers around in circles. While they are only defending the principles of law and fact, the German public was heard of the case. "Avalanche, would you take me in your fall?" Sighs one with us.

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One of the smartest ways in which you can search for low priced insurance covers for your vehicle is through online aggregator sites or independent sites for car insurance. In other words, the Internet is the best avenue for cheap price car insurance quotes.

 

The asparagus season, marketed fresh in between March and June, is in full swing right now. And nice surprise for consumers, prices are down sharply. At Rungis, for example, a kilo of white asparagus was worth Wednesday between 4.80 and 6.90 euros per kilo following categories. A decrease of about 70 cents on the wholesale market which is largely passed on to consumers. "Asparagus, which fell 3 euros, are selling like hotcakes, welcomes a saleswoman Hyper U at Mayenne. Customers expect it and the radius was robbed. "

The French are lovers of this ultra-fresh vegetables, many nutritional values. They consume an average of 400 grams per person per year. Overall, local shops (markets, greengrocers and convenience stores) represents more than half of the distribution channel of asparagus. Another third of the volume is up in supermarkets. The remainder is sold through direct sales, which has grown significantly.

Land formerly of Excellence asparagus in Europe, France has seen its market share erode over the years. "Germany has become the European leader since 2003, says Angelique Delahaye, president of Vegetables in France. Its production has doubled in ten years with over 90,000 tons. "And to the detriment of France, who is now the fourth largest in Europe, 18,200 tons, after Italy (44,000 tonnes) and Spain (50,400 tons). In ten years, France has seen its acreage decline of 43%, to 5,525 hectares, according to the parliamentary report coordinated by the Deputy Mayor of Agen Jean Dionis du Sejour. At the same time, the surfaces increased 64% across the Rhine, to 21,815 hectares.

Picking Sunday

This new hegemony of Germany in the production of asparagus owes nothing to chance. First, the Germans love it and there is an ancient food culture where the asparagus accommodates many meals. Then, the country is rich in deep sandy soil, very favorable for growing asparagus. Last but not least Germany, already unbeatable in the industry, is becoming the champion of competitiveness in agriculture all forms of production. "The workforce represents 70% of the cost of production of asparagus in France. Despite a recent decline in expenses, the cost of a seasonal schedule is almost twice as high at home in Germany ", says Angelique Delahaye. Currently, the hourly wage of a seasonal employer costs included, is around 10 euros. In Germany, according to the region, it varies between 4 and 6 euros an hour. Last detail, in France, "the seasonal can not pick the asparagus on Sunday, when he must harvest in high season vegetables every day," says Angelique Delahaye.

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Greece goes into its paradox. Historic cradle of democracy, she is passionate as always in politics, as evidenced by the good turnout in the general election on May 6 (65% of registered voters turned out to vote). But this passion produces no power capable of meeting the challenges of the country.

Alexis Tsipras, the local Mélenchon, which has tripled its electoral score compared to 2009, refused to support a national unity government with Evangelos Venizelos, the leader of PASOK (Socialist), respecting the commitments signed fiscal discipline there are three months. The country has not always of prime minister, while the urgency has never been greater.  

Who will represent Greece at meetings of the Eurogroup and Ecofin Monday, May 14 and Tuesday, May 15? He would need a strong personality to defend with the granting of European partners in June of a $ 8 billion of loans. Who sit behind the flag to cross and blue stripes at the NATO summit in Chicago on May 20? An eloquent negotiator would be welcome if Greece wants to avoid that Westerners endorse the requirement of the Skopje government to appoint his country "Macedonia", to which the Greeks are opposed to historical reasons.

Patronage system

"I am very concerned (…) I appeal to the sense of national responsibility of all political leaders to reach agreement respecting the commitments of the country," said Friday the EU president, Herman Van Rompuy. But, late afternoon, the Greek political class had still not given a name.

Lucas Papademos, the technocrat in charge of the country for three months, went to see the President Karolos Papoulias to ask him to speed up the process of appointing a new prime minister. The former vice president of the European Central Bank is very concerned about the possibility of excluding Greece from the euro area, corroborated by the statements in the press of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

Oddly enough, the Greek population, which according to all polls are still mostly gained against the euro, does not include the requirements of its creditors, or their impatience at the slow pace of structural reforms opaque. "I did not vote for PASOK, this time launching Michalis, independent taxi driver, because it does nothing for my daughter when she has an engineering degree!" ….. …

In the patronage system prevailing since the arrival of the Socialists to power in 1981, there was a right of activists to put their children in the administration. PASOK has fallen from 43% to 13% of the vote between elections of October 2009 and May 6.

"In a country where youth unemployment exceeds 50%, the little people have no sense or do not vote more rationally! Says a Greek financier. The Greeks have lost confidence. Only the Chinese are constantly telling us they believe in long-term potential of the country! "

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Halal or not halal. Since the controversy launched by Marine Le Pen, before the cuts of meat, the question arises. In response, Nicolas Sarkozy wants a clear distinction between the classical deduction, that is to say, after stunning the animal, and depression according to Muslim ritual or Jewish, is very funny. "We recognize everyone's right to know what he eats, halal or not. I therefore wish the labeling of meat according to the method of slaughter, "said the head of state on Saturday during his meeting in Bordeaux.

An announcement of the president candidate is a surprise: there is only one week, the government has withdrawn a bill (with a leader Françoise Hostalier, MP North UMP) up very precisely in this sense. Recently, also, the Agriculture Minister Bruno Le Maire recalled that it was not "stigmatize" the affected communities, bolstering the positions-very-powerful clerics and the food industry, which fears that such labels do disrupt the meat market. In 2010, another member Nicolas Dhuicq, the UMP too, suffered the same setbacks, still under government pressure.

Labeling unlikely

Today, the labeling of halal products is not mandatory. The "Halal" appears prominently on thousands of products, and proves to be an excellent marketing strategy. Nevertheless, it is nothing regulatory. In other words, you can eat a product marked "halal" is really without his. And you can also consume a product that is not stamped "halal", but he is yet.

Label products to better distinguish them, the solution seems simple. But only in theory because in practice the regulatory framework does not allow it. This would, in the same way as for the AB logo affixed to the products of organic farming, that Europe gives the green light. For labeling becomes mandatory, the proposal would have "obtain a qualified majority of the European Commission and Parliament," assures us there at the Ministry of Agriculture.

But Europe has already said no: in 2009, the debate on the conditions of slaughter was then opened, and in 2011, consumer information, "but this has not been retained, while several states EU did not see the need, "says one cabinet ministry, even if the pressure of industrialists and representatives of Jewish and Muslim communities is also denounced. If Spain and Lithuania have defended such a project, others are turned. Sweden and Austria, for example, the ritual slaughter as it is even forbidden, these important country all their halal or kosher.

A risk of rising prices

Thus, if the labeling became mandatory method of slaughter, an ox killed without stunning is cataloged "halal" or "kosher" from head to toe. Or for example, according to Jewish tradition, only the "top" of the beast can be consumed. The rest – the back – going on in the conventional circuit. Thus, a tab or a bib, that Jews do not eat, labeled "very funny" could remain on the shelves. The butchers are concerned about having to sell off the pieces. And these losses through higher prices elsewhere.

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This is a bad sign for the fledgling market for electric cars. The General Motors has decided to suspend production of its Volt plug-in hybrid for five weeks, the time to "align production with demand." This is an embarrassing decision for the manufacturer, which launched in late 2010 this car with a small engine used to recharge the battery of about 200 kg.

While rising fuel prices at the pump becomes a concern for motorists, the Volt should instead be of great interest. The high price of the vehicle with respect to its performance remains a problem. The sedan costs $ 41,000, not including a tax credit of $ 7500 awarded by the federal government, which wants to promote this technology in the name of reducing pollution. But GM has sold only 7,671 Volt last year in the United States, against 10,000 planned. Since the beginning of the year, just over 1,600 were purchased. The first deliveries of the European version, the Opel Ampera, should start soon.

Purchase long to return

The first American automaker plans to launch a national advertising campaign to boost sales of a vehicle denounced by some as an illustration of a public subsidy "politically correct", without consideration of market reality. GM, which the federal government is still the largest shareholder, was saved from bankruptcy in 2009 by an injection of public funds of $ 50 billion. Despite regular promotions elected by the Democratic Party, sales of electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. represent less than 3% of the market.

The main rival of the Volt is paradoxically the Cruze, another vehicle of the Chevrolet brand and look identical. With a conventional gasoline engine but more economical than previous generations of vehicles in this category, the Cruze costs almost twice as cheap. Consumer Reports, an independent private authority, believes it takes six years to the owner of the Volt to recover the sacrifice he had to agree in preferring the new technology rather than the Cruze. This period is far too long to allow the Volt to generate significant interest in the U.S. market.

The Volt was also hurt by a controversy. Protection of its large battery had to be reinforced after the discovery of spontaneous fires in cars immobilized for several days after a violent collision. Besides the surge in gasoline prices and the upcoming advertising campaign, two other factors are expected to boost sales of Volt in 2012: first orders of General Electric, which manufactures loading terminals for its fleet of company vehicles, and secondly the new California regulation: on motorways, expressways reserved for cars carrying more than one person at peak times will also be open to electric cars, even if they are occupied by only one person …

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This is the new sensation of the Web. Pinterest is a social network dedicated to the passions of its users. Launched just two years ago in California, the service meets today nearly 12 million unique visitors per month according to Comscore. He topped the 10 million users faster than any independent site before him. This performance earned him today to have the attention of technophiles warned, brands and websites.

Atypical among rising stars in the Web, they are housewives, brides and others have cross stitch who rushed on the first Pinterest. Its advantage: a simple and aesthetic. Its members "pin on" a click of fashion images, decorating and cooking, gleaned from the Web, on a "virtual corkboard". Clicking on the picture, the user is returned to the original site. These collections can be shared with other users who sign up as a Twitter following. In short, the Twitter blog simplified by reducing the notes to short messages of 140 characters and Twitter today Pinterest simplifies by replacing the text and images.

The founders of Pinterest, Ben Silberman, Evan Sharp and Paul Sciarra, is "to connect the world through the objects they find interesting." While services like Facebook play on social ties between people, the founders of Pinterest believe that "a book, a toy or a recipe may be a common bond between two people." The two services are complementary, Pinterest offering content to share with relations built on Facebook paydayloans. Since the launch of an application for Facebook in January, Pinterest saw its daily audience from Facebook to rise by 60%.

15.8 minutes per day

Above all, playing the card of interests, Pinterest wowed an audience engaged and quality. A study by the agency Modea, two thirds of users are women. 28% of members belong to a household whose annual income exceeds $ 100,000. They spend an average of 15.8 minutes per day on Pinterest, is already more than Facebook (12.1 minutes).

For brands, this is a gold mine. Overseas, more than a hundred have created a page on Pinterest. They will present fashion collections (Gap), recipe ideas depending on the season (Whole Foods) or albums more unexpected, like the collection of "literary tattoos" assembled by the publisher Random House. In referring to commercial sites, collected images generate sales and, potentially, affiliate income for Pinterest. This is the strategy already chosen by the competitor Pinterest, TheFancy.com.

Revenue side, there is no urgency for Pinterest which raised $ 27 million in October 2011, bringing to $ 37.5 million in funds raised since its inception. These rounds were an opportunity to enter the capital of eminent members of the "PayPal mafia" like Max Levchin, the cofounder of the online payment service, and Kevin Hartz, one of its investors.

 

Three major operators compete around the 4G brings the Internet broadband mobility to exchange emails in the blink of an eye, watching videos or surfing the Web at home. Verizon, AT & T Wireless emphasize that LTE (Long Term Evolution). In early summer, Sprint will join the battle overseas.

After saturation of services in New York and California, customers are opting for a more reliable service. U.S. operators had invested less than their European counterparts for the previous generation of mobile telephony. "There is a change in leadership. There are four or five years, European operators dominated the mobile technologies. Now, operators in the United States have adopted and deployed the LTE, "says Wim Sweldens, president of the mobile division of Alcatel-Lucent.

Of some 6.4 million users worldwide LTE end of 2011, 63% of Verizon customers in the U.S., notes the firm Informa. They should represent 428 million customers at end 2016, representing 6% of mobile users worldwide, said the company Juniper Research. 4G is a boon to increase average revenue per customer. AT & T and Verizon offer commercial offers between 40 and 50 dollars a month for data only, not to mention the basic subscription between 20 and 30 dollars. In France, "we want to be ahead of our competitors for the deployment of 4G," says Stéphane Richard, CEO of France Telecom, who refuses to indicate when it will launch its service for the benefit of surprise. Orange is expected no earlier than the end of the year and most likely in 2013.

Sign that the market takes off, the number of terminals available is increasing rapidly. Last year, the only facilities were proposed to connect the USB to connect a PC 4G, Huawei launched by the Chinese and the Taiwanese HTC. In January 2012, "48 for LTE smartphones are on the market, six times the number six months ago," says the GSA (Global Mobile Suppliers Association). Among them, all the major manufacturers have answered the call, with the notable exception of Apple. Catalogs are provided the most offered by Samsung (17 smartphones LTE), LG (10) and HTC (7).

As for equipment for 4G networks, the battle is very fierce between manufacturers to be selected for the 226 to build networks in 76 countries. In this market, European manufacturers are the strongest. Sweden's Ericsson and French Alcatel-Lucent selected by both the largest U.S. operators, reap the biggest contracts. They got respectively 36.7% and 21.1% of the world in 2011, says research firm In-Stat. Then come the duo Nokia Siemens (11.7%), in the lap of the Finnish group, China's Huawei (9.9%) and other actors such Samsung, NEC, Cisco and ZTE.

 

Olivia Derreumaux

Yesterday, Al Jazeera Sports has won another round in its development strategy in French football. The future French declension with the Qatari called to emerge by June, has indeed been assigned by the UEFA some of the TV rights for the Europa League, together with M6. This was announced yesterday that European football's governing body on its website, thus satisfying one of the objectives of management for future pay-sports channel.

DeuxPour rights multiplied by 16 million euros according to the Team, will share the two channels thus the spread of the second largest European club competition, over the period 2012-2015. Jackpot for UEFA, who sees and double the previous revenue received from Canal + and M6 for this competition (8 million). But bad news for the encrypted string, which is seen again reduce its offer football, in a leak of its journalists to Qatar chain (see below).

For football fans, this new distribution rights for the Europa League should not cause major upheaval. The best match of each day will be broadcast on free DTT subsidiary of M6: W9, and summaries after each match night. In the presence of French clubs, "the meetings of the semifinals and final will be broadcast on M6" said UEFA. For its part, the future chain headed by Charles Bietry obtains the rights to all games, "including the final." The latter, still officially called Al Jazeera Sport but that could take the "Be In Sports," will broadcast at least two live games, as well as summaries highlight each evening meeting.  

Construct the grid programmesPar this new blow, and Charles Bietry continues building the program schedule of Al Jazeera Sport, which will have not one but two stations, broadcast 24h/24 fast cash online. The acquisition of sports rights is a priority to fill the boxes of these new entrants in the audiovisual paying, created ex nihilo. Management has also not hidden his determination to focus also on other sports. In this war to sports rights in football, Canal +, however, can claim to have kept, with 13 choices of the Champions League and the top two of each day in the French league (L1), posters the most attractive.

Faced with the Champions League, bringing together the best European teams of clubs, the Europa League is indeed a second best competition at European level. Until the launch channels that will validate or not this quantitative strategy, the Qatari channel may soon increase his offer with obtaining rights much more attractive to the Euro 2012 football and 2016, which have not been assigned by UEFA.

The ranks are swelling of Canal + Al JeziraComme those rights for TVs, the battle intensifies between Al Jazeera Sport, Canal + on the front of journalists. In this game, Charles Bietry has a head start. Yesterday was Darren Tullett, the specialist in the Premier League (English Premiership), who announced his departure from the encrypted channel to join the Qatari. A third departure, after the journalist Christophe Josse, formalized the previous day and that of Julian Brown, also a specialist in English football. Of new hires reflect the interest of Charles Bietry for the English league. And thus a form of warning for the pay channel, which has made British football a strategic pillar of its offer.

 

SNCF will release on February 16 as "good" annual results, in the words of its leadership. Yet they will undergo a severe movement of the plane. On 14 February, the president of SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, unveiled to participants of a seminar on "business model TGV" that his group would carry out an impairment of € 700 million on its TGV . "The value of TGV, now in the books of the SNCF, amounts to nearly 4.5 billion euros," he said, according LaTribune.fr who reports his remarks. We will depreciate the 700 million euros because we have too many trains and they are mostly old. "

The fleet has 457 SNCF trains whose average age is 17 years. This decision comes as the SNCF profitability of the branch TGV group – very profitable long – has deteriorated in recent years. An evolution largely attributed by the public company to the concomitant increase in tolls which it must pay with Réseau Ferré de France (RFF), owner of the tract. Since late last week, SNCF and RFF have agreed on changes in rates of tolls until 2018. Guillaume Pepy was this medium-term visibility a prerequisite for engaging in orders for new trains. He said Tuesday that such investments would only be possible when the operating margin of the travel industry would reach 20%. Or it tops out at 14% today.

Until 2015, the fleet will continue to welcome new trains: 15 "Euro Duplex" will be delivered by Alstom in 2012, 11 in 2013, 11 in 2014 and seven in 2015. According to its chief financial officer, David Azema, who intervenaitle February 15 parliamentary days when the rail is in fact particularly after 2025 that the station should replace trains end of life.

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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.