World Articles

A chaotic situation in the euro area, decorated with the prospect of a presidential election in France: the cocktail did not much attractive for foreign investors in 2011. In this context, the attractiveness of the Hexagon folded but did not break. The country remained in second place in Europe for the number of foreign investments in 2011, behind the United Kingdom. According to the annual balance sheet submitted by the French Agency for International Investment (AFII), France last year attracted 698 new foreign investment projects that create jobs. If Bercy wants to see "the second best result since more than ten years," it is nevertheless a figure down from the previous year, while the Hexagon had attracted 782 investment. In 2011, investments were divided between extensions of existing settlements (46% of total) and creative (46%). Other projects include the purchase of ailing companies or acquisitions. As usual, many of the investments (60% in 2011) is of European origin. Companies from North America account for 25% of the total-the United States last year have again become the first country-investor in France, and those in Asia for 11%. The emerging countries of taking off no teletrek payday advance.

Some 27,958 new jobs resulted from foreign investment. This figure, down 12% compared to 2010, confirms a basic trend: the size of investment projects knows "a steady decline for several years." The average number of jobs created or maintained by the project was 60 in 2006, 55 in 2007, 50 in 2008, 47 in 2009, 41 in 2010 and 40 in 2010. The Afii explains one side by the proliferation of projects with high added value, which by definition have less need for labor; another, it recognizes "the caution of some investors, which reduce the initial ambition of their projects in an economic recovery remains fragile, "says Afii. "The crisis in the eurozone could cause some wait, which is being squandered. It would also be a lie to say that the electoral event is not regarded in the world, "said Minister of Economy, Baroin.

The challenge for France is important: foreign companies employ more than two million employees in our country, realizing 20% ​​of R & D and entrepreneurship are the source of more than a third of French exports.

ALSO READ:

"Attractiveness: France wants to get rid of misconceptions

The Swiss are about to bolster their reputation for needy people. They will vote Sunday on whether to increase the minimum paid leave of four to six weeks per year. They should, if one believes an RTS survey released this week, overwhelmingly reject this offer, 30% of respondents only showing himself to be favorable.

In the employers and government, the vote on March 11, organized at the initiative of the union Travail.Suisse, unsurprisingly raises hostility. Swiss companies are concerned that this increase in leisure time would harm the competitiveness of a country where labor costs are already among the highest in the world. With the key, they are in custody, a rising unemployment. At 4.2% in 2010, the unemployment rate Helvetic is currently one of the lowest in the OECD.  

The French model which appears as a perfect example-cons. Since the law on the 35 hours they were "much more free time than the Swiss and it did not bring much," judge the employers' organization economiesuisse. "The unemployment rate is high, the economy has weakened and the French were wearing pale twice as often as the Swiss," says the organization.

The unions, meanwhile, argue that the productivity Swiss jumped 20% in 1992 and 2007, and it's fair that employees derive some benefits. According to them, two weeks extra vacation would also reduce the stress suffered by third asset.

Conquest of paid leave late

Within the Swiss population, the reluctance of employers to amend the social model seems widely shared. "These holidays that prevent work in peace" was the headline in mid-February the daily Le Temps. The RTS survey highlights that the Swiss Latin are more attracted by the proposal that the Swiss allémaniques, over 40% against 30% in the general population. But Le Matin claims that the work is valued highly consensual. And remember that for over half a century, all efforts to shorten the working week were unsuccessful.

The conquest of paid leave was made later in Switzerland than in France. It was not until 1964 has been entered in the 'Code of Obligations "to give the workers a minimum of two weeks paid vacation per year. The right to four weeks will be introduced 20 years later. Even if some collective agreements already provide a framework more favorable than the statutory minimum, "let it be said here, it is not in France, insists Time. 1936, paid holidays decreed by Leon Blum, the hordes of workers blissful hurling on the N7, it's not with us. "

ALSO READ:

"Working time in Europe

2011, bad year for the Japanese economy. But less bad than expected. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Japan fell 0.2% in the fourth quarter of last year, bringing the decline in growth throughout the year to -0.7%. The Japanese government initially expected a decline of 0.6% between October and December, which would have increased to 0.9% GDP growth over the twelve months.

Struck by an earthquake and tsunami March 11, 2011 which were 19,000 deaths, Japan saw its number of damaged plants and encountered severe disturbances on its electricity production. At this natural disaster were added the slowdown in global demand, a stronger yen and floods in Thailand where many Japanese companies are based, in particular the automobile.

Today, the Japanese economy remains fragile. The government and the central bank of Japan (BoJ) hope however dig us out of slump with a series of measures introduced to boost consumer spending, business spending on support by providing funding solutions, and contain the surge of the Japanese currency.

ALSO READ:

"One year after Fukushima, Japan forced to reinvent themselves

"A year later, returning to the central Fukushima

On February 20, during the auction of the hamlet of Courbefy, located 40 km southwest of Limoges, no buyer had appeared, despite a retail price of only 300,000 euros. With the effect of media coverage, between 150 and 200 buyers from around the world are scrambling to try to acquire this highly original property, offered for sale price of a two-room Paris.

Without buyers, the entire village, 19 rustic buildings in various states, the boxes for horses, pool, tennis court, culminating in nearly 557 meters high with a beautiful view of the mountains of Chalus in the Périgord Limousin regional park, should return to Credit Agricole, creditor's last owner who could not repay the loan. Its proposed resort, launched in 2003, has never worked and went bankrupt, causing the abandonment of the site in 2008.

The news of the sale of Courbefy was first taken up by the media in France, before being scattered by the whole world, fascinated by the idea that a whole village could be sold for a price as ridiculous . "Admittedly, this is an offer very original, very unique, because the entire village is sold at once," says Mr. Paul Le Figaro Gérardin, counsel for the Credit Agricole. "It's because someone has bought one by one all the houses after the abandonment of the hamlet."

After being abandoned by its last inhabitants in the 1970s due to rural exodus, the small village of Courbefy might find occupants with a last minute deal last Thursday filed with the court registry by Limoges an American company, AHAE Press, registered in the State of New York. This entity belongs to the Korean-born American photographer Ahae, artist specializing in landscape photography and wildlife, whose exhibition "Through my window" must be presented at the Louvre in Paris from June 26 to July 23.

With its 10% deposit of the purchase price, the sale process is restarted, and new auction will take place at court of Limoges on May 21. "I'm sure will be many bidders," suggests Paul Gérardin me. "We have already responded to 150 to 200 inquiries from around the world. Initial requests are first come from the Paris region, London, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and other European countries before coming the United Arab Emirates, China, U.S. and Russian. "

One potential buyers, a Dutchman, wants to use the hamlet for a reality TV show in which participants would call premises in shape.

ALSO READ:

"A deserted village sold for 330,000 euros

"The billions of real estate sales of the state

SERVICE:

"All ads in France and in your region

FOLLOW THE ESTATE OF FIGARO:

"Twitter: @ LeFigaro_Immo

Monitoring greenhouse tomatoes by computer processing of GPS fields, sales of wheat on the futures market … French farmers have nothing to do with their ancestors. Now they are showing their attachment to the land of a sudden high-tech.Plus question, for example, to sow the fly in vegetable and grain farms. The embedded software on tractors is more effective. Sebastien Objois, wheat producer in Evry, came to be convinced to stand agricultural equipment of the Exhibition of Agriculture. He witnessed a demonstration of interest Farmstar, which uses data from satellites SPOT 4 and SPOT 5. With this system, a digital pad and connected to the preprogrammed drill or spray can, depending on the characteristics of the field, sow more or less dense or spread more or less treatment.

"With board computerized equipment in the tractor plugged Spot 4 and Spot 5, you can sow your field with an accuracy of 2 centimeters," says Michel Fuga, who came to promote the Farmstar Porte de Versailles. Advantage for growers: Pesticide use is reduced by 5-15%. This saving can be amortized over three years the cost of equipment (about 15,000 euros).

More free time

Technological advances also benefit dairy farmers. With milking robots, the constraints of the morning and evening disappear. The cows go by themselves to trafficking. "The monitoring of the herd is behind the screen using a special software," says Eric Swartvagher, administrator ANEFA, National Association for the employment and training in agriculture.

Computers are also present in vegetable greenhouses. "Eating tomatoes above ground is now available from a computer, which controls the amount of water and air," says Angelique Delahaye, president of France and producer of vegetables in Touraine.

It is not enough to produce, we also sell the goods. The use of futures market or delayed deliveries, and a deadline for a given price, is becoming more common. "I practiced for several months to sell my pigs and to buy my food. But it took me to form, "says Philippe Upstream, pig farmer in Brittany.

"These new techniques not only meet the objective of increasing yields, and therefore income, but also a willingness of farmers to benefit from free time and family life close to those of society," said Christophe Malvezin, Agricultural Counselor, Embassy of France in Washington and former agricultural adviser of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Despite these advances, the French agriculture still has a wide margin for improvement. "While the United States, 80% of crops are produced by biotechnology, in France it is delayed, concludes Guy Vasseur, president of the Permanent Assembly of Chambers of Agriculture (APCA). France can not be a spectator in this area of ​​what is happening in the world. "

680,000 visitors to the agricultural show this year

Vintage 2012 International Exhibition of Agriculture (SIA) is very good. "We record 680,000 visitors, slightly more than last year," says Jean-Luc Poulain, president of SIA. This figure could be revised upwards as a computer bug has disrupted the counting inputs. "Merchants have never worked so hard that Wednesday, we recorded one of the lowest attendance days, with 55,000 entries," says Jean-Luc Poulain. The Friday night has been successful in statistics, with nearly 107,000 visitors for the biggest day of the show. Again this year, the SIA will remain the largest agricultural fair in the world with this feature: together in one place all the farm animals.

ALSO READ:

"The five major challenges of the next five-year farm

"An Exhibition of Agriculture policy very

As manufacturer of luxury, premium luxury. The German carmaker Porsche, fit, will pay a bonus of 7,600 euros to each of its 8,500 employees, under the year 2011.

The manufacturer has the means. Indeed, he beat last year a new record by selling 119,000 vehicles. The company's management intends to reward 'performance and commitment of the workforce. " All employees are concerned, "they work in the kitchen or as an engineer," summarized in a statement Uwe Hück, president of the council. Only downside: this egalitarian reward only applies to employees of Porsche, and not the interim.

Porsche, being acquired by Volkswagen Group, has often been generous with his troops, paying premiums almost every year in recent years. Crisis requires, however, that they were in 1100 euros in 2009, and 3800 euros a year earlier. For 2010, VW and Audi, the two main brands of the Volkswagen empire, as well as Daimler had also spoiled their staff.

The entire German automotive industry is booming. Volkswagen has released record results for 2011. Mercedes (Daimler) and BMW have also posted strong sales last year.

While wage increases are capped by a sector agreement since 2010, the premium German car groups to their employees are a valuable motivational tool. They are modest in relation to the financial health of insolent generous employers.

ALSO READ:

"SNCF: union battle around the annual premium

"Industrial Employment: when the government gets involved

SERVICE:

"All jobs in France and abroad with Cadremploi

FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON FIGARO:

"Twitter: @ LeFigaro_Emploi

In Frankfurt as in Hollywood, blockbusters at the box office still have a following. With its new Governor Mario Draghi at the wand, the European Central Bank (ECB) had a box in rooms (market) on December 21, proposing to banks in the euro area loans to three years paid at the rate of favorable 1%: some 523 banks had then drew 489 billion euros to the general treasurer. The central bank on Wednesday repeated with a second offer of funding under the same conditions.

As in December, the operation on tap the ECB had passed almost unnoticed, as this new album monopolizes attention. Meanwhile, in effect, operators have discovered the virtues of this infusion of cash, which "played a crucial stabilizing effect on financial markets in the euro area," said the rating agency Fitch.

How? By reversing the downward spiral that led states and banks in the southern countries of Europe towards the precipice. In addition to the invoice Greek tensions on sovereign debt Italy and Spain have indeed weakened the banks of these countries throughout 2011, boomerang-feeding fears about these states, leaving the specter of a rescue banking. The risk that France has to support its banking system has also weighed in the loss of AAA inflicted mid-January by the rating agency Standard & Poor's.

By flooding the banking system liquidity in the medium term, the ECB has caused a twofold benefit: one, the risk of going off the road an Italian or Spanish bank has moved away and two, these institutions are now able to support States by buying their sovereign debt. Hence the almost universal relief: relaxation rates on sovereign debt Italian or Spanish, rising stock markets, banks' resumption of emission payday advance… No wonder investors want more. How many banks ask they this time? Estimates vary between 200 billion and 1000 billion. With the idea that the higher the amount, the higher the markets will appreciate, because these are all new cash should get involved.

Virility contest

This vision reflects the optimism that blows from the beginning of the year. Not long ago, a massive use of banks to the ECB could have been perceived as a sign of weakness. Joseph Ackermann, head of Deutsche Bank, had also launched the controversy earlier this month stating that he had not presented to the Frankfurt office, wanting to avoid wearing the marks of a "subsidy". Mario Draghi had then replied that it was not "a contest of manhood." For his part, Stuart Gulliver, head of the rich British HSBC, said Monday that he had participated in "solidarity with the euro area". This positive attitude could help widen the circle. According to Oddo Asset Management, the euro zone banks must repay 813 billion worth of loans between 2012 and 2013, of which 270 billion solely for the German banks that had shunned the first wave.

Ultimately, the success of the program seems indisputable Draghi markets. This was an essential prerequisite to avoid chaos. The question is how these banks will inject money into the economy.

ALSO READ:

"Special Report – Crisis: the fear of debt

"The ECB is raising the price of banks in Europe

Barracks, land, old prisons, offices, mansions, forest houses, homes: the state gives each year hundreds of properties it no longer use. These sales it earned 590 million last year. This policy will continue. The State expects to sell 1,870 properties in 2012, 2013 and 2014, for 2.2 billion euros. And everywhere in France (see map).

If sales have accelerated since 2007 (2.8 billion in revenue since then, against 1.8 billion from 2002 to 2006), this is a result of the restructuring of the state initiated by Nicolas Sarkozy. Especially at regional and departmental services of various departments were grouped into two or three entities. Enough free space over the years. The merger of Taxation and Treasury Bercy has the same effect, as the consolidation of the judicial and military maps.

However, over 85% of the gains from these sales were used to renovate or construct public buildings. Only the balance, under 15, reduced the state debt. Playing rules will change, however. Starting this year, 20% of sales (excluding Ministry of Defence in particular) will go to debt reduction. The proportion will reach 30% in 2014.

Another downside: it is often other public, and especially the municipalities, who acquire the assets transferred by the State. Of Commons that value then the operation. Example: the city of Versailles, through the establishment of public land Yvelines, bought at the army barracks in 2011 Pawn in Versailles. The city will create on the site of activity areas and housing. The subject has also become political, presidential forces. Francois Hollande suggested that the state sells its land free of charge to municipalities so that they will develop social housing. Nicolas Sarkozy denies the charge assignment and advocates an acceleration of land sales.

Foreign investors

In Paris, foreign investors are also part. Thus, the former headquarters of Météo France, near the Eiffel Tower, was sold for sixty million to the Russian state, which will build an Orthodox cathedral. Yves Deniaud, UMP deputy chairman of the Real Estate Council of State, has openly on the Qataris, the Russians and Chinese to buy four mansions for sale in the seventh arrondissement. Individuals who are interested in goods, cheaper, in the province can learn about the site of France Field (www2.budget.gouv.fr/cessions) listing properties for sale.  

ALSO READ:

"To enter: state sells four mansions in the seventh

The virtues of rental real estate are well known. This is one of the only investments that can make on credit to build wealth. It is also a good way to prepare additional income for retirement. Finally, it is a way to accommodate her children or send them a valuable asset to start in life. However, the life of landlords is not a bed of roses! Some trace their route on this road winding and sometimes treacherous.

This is the case of Vivian B., 57, teacher. This Lyonnaise conducted between 1991 and 2010, three rental investments in his city. "I spaced each acquisition a decade, the time each time to pay off my credit. I always chose the studios in the IVth arrondissement of Lyon, an area popular.The lease payments used to pay me a portion of the loans, but each time I had to add 100 to 150 euros a month, "she says. Handyman, Viviane never hesitates to restore its apartments, it manages solo. Another "trick" by Viviane: the choice of holiday rental. "This formula provides short leases, or a year. Thus, it is easier to separate from a deadbeat tenant. "

1500 euros of additional income per month

For her, the acquisitions will stop, "because this investment is not worth the shot," given the rise in property prices in particular. "Every studio brings me 6%. But if I bought the same day, the yield would fall to 2.5 or 3%. "Soon to retire, Viviane Heritage is satisfied that it has formed. "My pension should be around 1.300euros month.

The effect of the crisis was immediate for the television market and particularly for TF1. The first French commercial channel just announced for the first nine months of the year, a decline of 1.6% of its advertising revenue to 1.054 billion euros. The decline is even more pronounced for the third quarter, which ends, as advertising revenue in the chain were down 3.2% to 296.6 million compared to last year at this time.

An equation that TF1 attributed to "a macroeconomic environment less favorable than expected, especially from September." This "economic uncertainty", leads the group also anticipated for the year 2011 "a withdrawal of consolidated turnover of about 1%."

However, if the proceeds of the TF1 channel degrades, the group announced a turnover in nine months, up 0 paydayloans.7% to 1.826 billion euros.Other activities of the group saw their income rise by 3.9% over the same period to 784.4 million euros, while in the third quarter of 2011, this position is up 12.6%, to 264, 6 million euros. This is due, according to the broadcasting group, "the increase in sales related to the acquisition of TMC and NT1 and the performance of subsidiaries of diversification." In fact, the first nine months of the year and all antennas together (TF1, TMC, NT1, pay channels), the advertising revenue rose 2% to 1.494 billion euros. In the third quarter, it rose from 424 million a year ago to 442.3 million in 2011.