Total's CEO responds to criticism of the super

Auto Date Saturday, February 11th, 2012

Christophe de Margerie, Total's CEO, believes that the quality of petrol must be paid in response to criticism of the super oil group, said Friday that more than 12 billion euros bé ; néfices.

These results raised a barrage of criticism, officials blaming Total left to accumulate this money on the backs of the French who see gasoline prices soar.

The former industry minister and UMP Estrosi regretted his part that the group in France that pays 2.5% tax on companies .

"We are conducting a policy of quality and hence prices rather expensive (…) But I'm still surprised that we are being pressured prices. If everyone was the same price, there would be more competition, "replied Christophe de Margerie Saturday in Le Parisien

……. .. It also emphasizes that the company's profits come not from the fuel distribution but "90% of oil production."

On France

FYI, the CEO said that Total has only 20% of the market in France. "This is not Total all by himself that can bring down prices at the pump," he said.

For Chistophe de Margerie "is the wrong debate" and "we must look at the problem of people who have problems short of living standards and treat it as such".

About the weakness of the tax in France, in Le Parisien it ensures that Total has always paid "substantial taxes" in France, although in recent years the group has not paid the corporation tax "because there was total loss."

"This year I have good news, we will pay 300 million corporate taxes with a further 800 million in other taxes," he says.

He added on France Info that the imposition of the group is low because there is "zero percent result in France". 

"Our business in France is mainly refining and refining loses money (…) We can not pay taxes on results that do not exist," he said.

"Annoyed" by the image of his group, Christophe de Margerie would like to correct: "Total is a myth, we must break it," he said before concluding: "To earn money, not born ; NEGATIVE, especially in times of crisis. This is an opportunity for our country ".

Total said Friday it would continue its efforts for investment to grow its production.

The third European oil company by market capitalization for 2012 foresees investments excluding acquisitions of approximately $ 24 billion (18 billion euros) against 20.6 billion in in 2011.

An American accused of selling fake shares Facebook

Auto Date Friday, February 3rd, 2012

An American from Wisconsin was charged Thursday for selling fake Facebook actions by taking advantage of impatience about the upcoming IPO of the first global network community.

According to the complaint filed Thursday, Marianne Oleson would have claimed one million dollars in Facebook stock and have convinced several people to become the purchaser.

She was accused of 31 charges, including theft, forgery and misrepresentation.

Facebook announced Wednesday, almost eight years to the day after it was created by Mark Zuckerberg, its proposed IPO with the intention to raise $ 5 billion.

Marianne Oleson, according to the complaint, explaining that her daughter was linked to Mark Zuckerberg and had had access to titles Facebook. 

She would have paid in false actions including a contractor who performed for nearly 14,000 dollars of work on his house. The man would have also paid 10,000 dollars to buy other securities fictitious.

Another of his alleged victims, a sexagenarian, he would have four checks totaling about $ 40,000.

The IPO of Facebook, expected in May, should be the operation of this type the most anticipated of the year, and set a passing record for a spin start-up Internet.

At its IPO in 2004, Google had sold nearly two billion dollars of securities.

Teachers start at 2000 euros gross in 2012

Auto Date Thursday, November 24th, 2011

The Education Minister Luc Chatel announced that from February 2012, teachers begin their careers at the minimum wage of 2000 euros gross. About 100 euros per month. Insufficient effort according to FSU. The Education Minister Luc Chatel

Beginning teachers will start their career with a salary in excess of 2000 euros gross in February 2012, which is a "symbolic" of crossed, said Thursday the Minister of Education, Luc Chatel. "The symbolic threshold of 2,000 euros early career will be taken from 1 February 2012," said the minister during a speech at the end of his visit to the Education Fair in Paris. Beginning teachers had already received a gesture of Mr. Chatel in March 2010, so compared to "1690 euros in 2007," the rise of their gross salary is "18% in five years," the Minister added.

Auto Date Saturday, November 5th, 2011

Alstom said on Friday plan to establish up to two production sites offshore wind in France if the consortium to which it belongs is held in satisfactory conditions at the end of the call for tenders launched in July by the government.

These two production of components and assembly of offshore wind turbines six megawatts – one in Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) and one in Cherbourg (Manche) – could generate up to 1,000 direct jobs and 4,000 indirect jobs, the group argues in a statement.

The specialist in energy infrastructure and transport is part of a consortium of six companies led by EDF Energies Nouvelles, which also includes Dong Energy Nass & Wind Offshore, Offshore wpd Poweo and ENR.

Alstom is prepared to invest up to 100 million euros in these two sites "if the consortium is selected at a level that ensures a critical industrial scale."

The project, covering a total capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW) in five areas, corresponding to half the target set by the government to install 6,000 MW offshore by 2020, equivalent to almost four times the power of a nuclear reactor EPR.

GDF Suez, together with Vinci and Areva, are part of a rival consortium.

Candidates have until January 11, 2012 to submit their bids. They will be screened in April 2012 and retained permanently in 2013.

Auto Date Monday, October 31st, 2011

Wall Street finished sharply lower Monday, the initial enthusiasm born of the EU summit last week's fading from investors who question now no longer on how to resolve the debt crisis in the euro area but their use.

Still Wall Street has done its best month since 1991 and many analysts believe that the worst case scenario is ruled out at this time in Europe, the stock market is ripe for a further rise, investors are turning their attention to Chinese statistics and the U.S. better than expected.

The values ​​of natural resources have suffered from the fact that the dollar reached a peak three months against the yen as a result of intervention by the Bank of Japan to roll back the domestic currency.The Nasdaq Composite yield 52.74 points (1.93%) to 2684.41.

Of the month, the Dow shows a gain of 9.5%, the S & P by 10.8% and the Nasdaq 11.1%.

The new concerns generated by the European debt situation are what feed the bankrupt broker MF Global Holdings derivatives, an event that affected financial stocks in particular.

The latter, who had engaged in heavy positions on European sovereign debt, filed for bankruptcy after the breakdown of negotiations to sell assets to Interactive Brokers Group.

MF Global transactions have been suspended. Interactive Brokers has closed up 1.05%.

Values, the S & P Natural Resources lost 4.2%.

Schneider lowers its 2011 margin target

Auto Date Thursday, October 20th, 2011

Schneider said Thursday lowered its forecast for 2011 operating margin mainly because of a mix more negative than expected in terms of activity and contribution of geographic areas.

The French specialist of electrical equipment said in a statement that it now expects an EBIT margin (earnings before acquisition costs and impact of integration and consolidation of acquisitions in the year 2011) of 14% instead 15% previously forecast.

However, the Group confirms its forecast for organic growth of between 6% and 9% for the year.

"We expect, however, that profitability is impacted beyond the forecast, the combined effect of a mix more negative, due to growth of solutions greater than that of products and geographic mix less favorable, and a stronger inflationary pressures in emerging economies, "said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chief executive, said in the statement.

The turnover of the group reached 5.697 million euros in the third quarter, representing organic growth of 7.7%.

At 9 months, organic growth reached 9.3%, faster than the annual target.

The activity "Power" (38% of sales in Q3) recorded organic growth of 7.6%, "Energy" (21% of sales) increased by 7.3%, "Industry" (19% of sales ) 6.6%, "IT" (15% of sales) of 12.6% and the activity "Buildings" (7% of sales) 3.0%.

The activity remained stable in Western Europe, the main market of the group (31% of sales), while Asia organic growth of 15% and North America 9%.

Emerging markets, which posted growth of 14%, now represent over 40% of the total turnover of Schneider.

Why the movement does not outraged France

Auto Date Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

The global gathering of outraged this weekend has not gathered the crowds in France. The political context partly explains this failure. The "outraged" Place de la Bastille, May 10, 2011.

The numbers speak for themselves: 50,000 outraged gathered this weekend in Lisbon, 6000 in Frankfurt, 5000 in New York and … no more than a thousand in Paris. The movement which started on the Puerta del Sol square in Madrid to extend to many countries never really took off in the hexagon.But why mobilization is struggling to develop in France, whereas it is a French, Stéphane Hessel, who inspired the movement with his book "Unworthy you"? Several answers.

France is less badly off than its neighbors

"Here we do not have a gun to his head like the Greeks may have with their crisis and the Spanish with their real estate market," said Julien Bayou, co-founder of the collective generation and precarious present in the meetings of the "outraged" French held each week. He said the crisis is felt in France, but not the same as in some countries. It is also the opinion of Robi Morder, Chairman of the studies and research on student movements (germ). "Many young people, especially graduates can expect to enter the world of work without going through the uncertainty," said he in the daily La Croix."It is more complicated in southern Europe, where unemployment is higher among graduates than non-graduates," says researcher Monique Dagnaud to Liberation. The rate of youth unemployment to 45% in Spain when he was 23% in France.

Unfavorable political context

The arrival of the next presidential captures media attention for weeks, and the recent Socialist primary did not help. This reduces the echo can have the movement in France. In addition, it is optimistic about the possible alternatives that demobilizing troops, said Julien Bayou. "In Spain, Greece or even the United States, we have leaders that could be called the left in power. And we know that at the polls, the alternation will not work. So it is mobilized in the streets" , said he."While in France we have a right to be making a right-wing politics, and people in the head the next election." It is against this background that would explain the very high participation in the Socialist primary according to Julien Bayou. "We have seen other profiles went to move to vote in the second round of elections, especially young people," he adds.

The refusal of the "recovery"

In France, social movements are generally handled by the unions and some political parties. But the outraged French refused this form of "recovery", preferring a spontaneous movement. They realized soon and should change their modes of action. "It is true that initially we were quite aggressive vis-à-vis the associations and parties," recognized Delia Fernandez, the collective indignation, of Liberation."This has slowed the mobilization and preventing challenges to reach the street. For their part, they did not understand that we act in a pattern different from theirs. We will now try to cut corners."

The movement is ever convicted?

Not yet. The recent history of France showed that some mobilizations, it took several weeks before the mayonnaise takes. "For us, the mobilizations take time, it took two months for the movement against the First Job Contract off", said Robi Morder. To this researcher, do not bury a mobilization that may, one day to another, take a lot more important. "Be careful because there are embers, it would spark an escalation of the crisis or a big scandal for example, it really starts," said he.

Auto Date Friday, October 7th, 2011

Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, the chairman of Nestlé, is sounding the alarm over soaring food prices. It could mean new revolts in poor countries. An Indonesian dried corn grows, without benefit of the inflation of commodity prices. Indonesia is now the largest importer of maize. REUTERS / Sigit Pamungkas (INDONESIA – Tags: BUSINESS FOOD) AGRICULTURE)

The food prices are expected to remain high, which could lead to new hunger riots in developing countries, said President of the Swiss group Nestle in an interview published Friday.

"We have reached a level of food prices substantially higher than we had before. They are expected to stabilize at this level," said Peter Brabeck-Letmathe in this interview with the daily Salzburger Nachrichten.

"When you live in a developing country and we spend 80% of its income on food, we feel bound to it differently from us," where such expenses are around 8%, he argued.

For him, new hunger riots like those that had rocked Africa, Haiti or Indonesia in 2008 are likely to recur. "The situation is similar, it has become the new reality," he said.

Soaring food prices this year is considered one of the reasons that contributed to the "Arab Spring" in North Africa and the Middle East.

The price increase is attributed both to speculation, climate change, increasing population, or to changes in dietary habits in some emerging countries like India, where the middle classes have significantly increased their consumption meat.

For M.Brabeck-Letmathe, the issue of water is also crucial. "We already consume today" too much water, he said, encouraging businesses and consumers to waste less.

The Italian Acea EDF will continue to court about Edipower

Auto Date Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Italian energy company Acea said Wednesday its intention to take legal action against EDF regarding the acquisition by the French in 2005, through its affiliate Edison, a majority stake in Edipower.

Acea believes that EDF has acquired illegally participation in conjunction with Aem Milano, now part of the company A2A.

Angela Merkel sees 2011 growth closer to 3% 2.5%

Auto Date Friday, September 16th, 2011

Economic growth in Germany this year will be closer to 3% to 2.5%, on Friday said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The statement came after the German banking association BdB on Wednesday cut its forecast 2.8% growth in the country for 2011, while the RWI Institute said that the risk of a recession had increased.

While the EU finance ministers meet Friday in Poland to discuss among others the debt crisis, Merkel reiterated her opposition to Eurobonds and felt that Europe should consider the possibility of intervening in the medium term to States that fail to meet their duty of fiscal consolidation.