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The remuneration of the Livret A will increase from 1.75% to 2% on 1 February. Inflation reached 1.8% in 2010 according to INSEE.

The pay rate of the Livret A will drop to 2% effective February 1, due to the rising rate of inflation is now 1.7% on a year off tobacco, said Thursday the Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde interviewed on France Inter.

"The rate of the Livret A will be raised to 2%. He moves from 1.75% to 2% because the figure for inflation excluding tobacco was 1.7%. There is a mathematical formula simply," he announced the Minister. "I had promised that the remuneration of the Livret A may help maintain the purchasing power and there is therefore a close link with inflation," she said.

Rising consumer prices accelerated in France in December at 0.5% over the month and +1.8% YoY (+0.4% and +1.7% excluding tobacco) according to figures released Thursday by the INSEE.The jump recorded in the last months of 2010 due to "the surge in oil prices" and "the seasonal increase in prices of fresh products and services," notes the National Institute of Statistics.

Daimler has invested 271 million euros extra in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus (MFTB), bringing its share to 89.3% in the company of heavy vehicles formed with Mitsubishi.

The Japanese manufacturer, which now holds only 10.7% of MFTB, remains "a strong business partner in Japan and international markets," Daimler said Tuesday that so far had 85% of Fuso.

"The purpose of this additional investment is to support the growth and development activities, while the commercial vehicle market continues its recovery," Daimler said.

MFTB serves Asian branch of the subsidiary Daimler Trucks heavy. It focuses on the production of light vehicles and hybrid engines.It represents more than a third of Daimler's truck sales.

The Japanese joint venture has developed in Russia, India and China to enjoy strong growth in these markets. She now seeks it in Iran, South Korean and Vietnamese.

The current rumors that France and Germany would put pressure on Portugal for the country to request financial assistance were denied by Paris and Berlin. Brussels ensures that the subject is not relevant.

Europeans do not lead "no discussions" about possible financial aid for Portugal and such discussions "are not even considered," said Monday, Jan. 10 a spokesman of the European Commission, denying the rumors being .

"There is no discussion in this direction and they are not even considered at this stage (…) either in Portugal or in another Member State," said the spokesman of the executive European Economic Affairs, Amadeu Altafaj.

After Greece and Ireland, Portugal is considered to be the next country likely to resort to outside help, despite repeated denials of the government and the establishment of a strict austerity program to reduce the deficit public by 7.3% last year to 4.6% in late 2011.

According to the German weekly Der Spiegel on Monday, the German and French governments want to force Portugal to seek to turn financial assistance under the European rescue plan to prevent a contagion to Spain or Belgium. The German government denied on Sunday that information, and France said Monday did not "confirm anything."

Borrowing rates fragile countries of the euro area, particularly those of Spain and Portugal, continued to graze highs Monday morning.

Shanghai has surpassed Singapore last year as a leading world port for container traffic, the municipality said on Saturday.

The port of Shanghai, which is already the largest port in the world for total freight traffic – 650 million tons in 2010 – has recorded 29.05 million units TEUs (twenty foot equivalent unit), the unit of account for containers , against 28.4 million TEUs in Singapore.

This increase is explained by the economic boom and Expo that the city has hosted the last year, said the economic capital of China.

Philippe Askenazy, research director at CNRS and professor at the Paris School of Economics, analyzes in his new book "The Blind decades," the causes of economic stagnation hex. Interview. "France stands by a sustained poor performance on the job are" tied to "the inability to maintain its economy for over five years a strong growth," see you in your new book, "The decades blind ". Is there a "French disease", to quote the title of the bestseller by Alain Peyrefitte?

No, in fact, I endeavor to demonstrate in my book there is no "French disease" as stated in a variety of experts for forty years. Their theories, which are renewed shortly, stigmatize the French, resistant to change, and institutions, unable to adapt to globalization.This is totally false: the French company is as modern as that of its European neighbors, the French just as eager for new technologies that the Japanese and the Americans, the officials are not more numerous than in the United Kingdom .. . No, France does not suffer any specific evil and unacceptable. France is not condemned to a role of a mediocre student.

What causes so what ails the French economy?

If one looks back and analyzes the public policies implemented since the 1970s, there are major errors in diagnosis and remedies. These are economic policies behind the reality of the world without vision of future needs. History of employment policies and growth of our country is composed of an accumulation of these errors, which have encysted in time.The fact that the debate over the 35 hours back on the table today is symptomatic.

What are these errors?

One of the biggest mistakes on youth. It was Raymond Barre who committed to joining the government in 1976, directing the employment of young people into the industry when the economy was becoming a knowledge economy, and especially by subsidizing internships and temporary contracts. It was Raymond Barre who created the insecurity faced by young workers today. The other major mistake is not having invested in new technology in the 1990s.While Bill Clinton and Al Gore published in 1993 their doctrine of the new economy, and that most developed economies were investing heavily in R & D, the couple Sarkozy-Fillon [Nicolas Sarkozy was budget minister in the Balladur government in 1993, Francois Fillon Minister of Higher Education and Research, editor's note] has slashed public spending in this area. France has thus plunged from fifth to twelfth place ranking of the OECD on investment in R & D during the 90s. It took until 2007 for France to relaunch a broad program of investment in research and development.

Precisely, the policies of Nicolas Sarkozy also fit in this trajectory error or is it adapted to the economic reality?

The recent period is marked by an accumulation of reforms that go in all directions.For example, the law and its component Tepa tax exemption of overtime is an aberration in times of economic crisis. It should have been suspended. While unemployment has soared over the past two years, France has continued to encourage the use of overtime, while also strengthening the management of partial unemployment. Another example is the research tax credit (CIR), which was supposed to boost growth, has turned into a mere tool of tax exemption for businesses. The economic policy of Nicolas Sarkozy Lack of pragmatism. It is a visual navigation that goes in all directions and which lack, as in the past, projection into the future.

What is at stake for French growth in the next ten years?

To understand the issues, we must identify the needs of the coming decade. There are three: the ecology, higher education and health.Ecology, it is already too late for France: the leaders of the wind and green technologies already exist, and they are Chinese, German or Scandinavian. In contrast, France has a card to play in the health field, where the needs are going to grow. It starts today a single European market for health: the free movement of patients is already a reality. France, if it invests in its hospitals and its health personnel, may become market leader. For all other countries cut their massive spending in this area. This is particularly the case in Great Britain. The British are already in France to heal because their hospitals are not performing. Medical tourism has generated a stream of one billion euros in France in 2009.

The former budget minister says it is the firm Francois Fillon has decided to sell the asset to the Society of local races. The Court of Justice of the Republic must decide shortly whether to open an investigation into Eric Woerth in this case.

The former budget minister Eric Woerth provides, in an interview published Wednesday, January 5 in Le Figaro that "it Matignon who ruled in March 2010 during an informal meeting" on the sale by the State of Hippodrome de Compiègne (Oise) to the Company local races.

The Court of Justice of the Republic may rule Thursday, January 13 on whether to open an investigation concerning Mr. Woerth in this case. This issue, says former budget minister and Labour, "was handled internally by the administration and, of course, not by me. This file has occupied me six minutes, maybe seven."

"On March 12, 2010, he continues, it Matignon who ruled during an informal ministerial meeting. It was attended by representatives of Bercy and Agriculture. The cabinet of Prime Minister officiated in the direction of France Domaine "(State agency whose duties include the sale of state assets).

This summer, The Chained Duck accused Eric Woerth, Mayor of Chantilly (Oise), having sold off in March 2010 for 2.5 million euros a piece of the forest of Compiegne with a golf course and racecourse, where was budget minister. Mr. Woerth had strongly disputed the version of the weekly.

In late August 2010, the satirical newspaper published an embarrassing letter signed by the former Minister of Agriculture. In this letter of 2003 refused Herve Gaymard the sale of the racecourse Polecat, saying it was "not possible" from a legal standpoint.

Equity markets began 2011 on a positive note, supported by optimism that investors demonstrate against the continued stock market rally recorded in December and by favorable economic statistics.

The manufacturing activity hit its 17th month of growth in December in the U.S., further evidence of the strengthening economic recovery in the country, according to the index of industrial purchasing managers released Monday.

As for construction costs, they rose 0.4% in November to 810.2 billion dollars in annualized terms, according to statistics released by the Commerce Department.

"The year starts on a good note.Everybody comes back and suddenly everyone realizes that the economy is doing pretty well, "said Stephen Massocca, managing director at Wedbush Morgan.

"There are a lot of money in cash, a lot of money in bonds that would leave the bond market and it is natural that with economic improvements, the money takes the path of equity markets."

The Dow Jones closed up 0.81%, 93.24 points to 11,670.75, the S & P 500 gained 14.23 points, 1.13%, to 1271.87 and the Nasdaq took 38.65 points, 1.46%, to 2691.52.

As for the Nasdaq 100, it touched a session high of 2268.30, its highest for over ten years.

"January effect"

Marc Pado, market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald, he stressed the "January effect" that supported stock prices, fund managers focusing on titles that they find attractive, rather than the actions that have a good recent history .

"We meet on the first day of the new quarter, a new year.It is an opportunity to invest in names that do not manifest themselves long before the investors. "

The market optimism was also supported by the publication of the Chinese PMI fell more than expected in December, to 53.9 against 55.2 in November, a deceleration rather welcome because it makes it less urgent the need for the Chinese central bank to tighten monetary policy.

Values, Bank of America acquired 6.37% to 14.19 dollars after announcing Monday the $ 2.8 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to settle a dispute over the sale of mortgages " toxic "to both specialists refinancing.

Analysts said such mutual agreement removes the concerns of many investors to see the bank being forced to buy toxic loans sold to the highest peak of the housing bubble.

Alcoa has meanwhile closed up 2.66% to 15.80 dollars after Deutsche Bank was increased to keep the purchase cons, referring to the conditions surrounding the aluminum market.

Raising the price target on Apple Oppenheimer has meanwhile allowed under the Apple brand to close up 2.17% to 329.57 dollars. Oppenheimer speaks better iPad sales estimates and the likelihood that the iPhone sold this year by Verizon.