The new Italian Prime Minister presented his austerity plan to rescue the country from the grip of the market. Mario Monti – who is also Minister of Economy – promised to keep the accounts of Italy, while stimulating growth for the time being very sluggish. Mario Monti.
The new Prime Minister Mario Monti on Thursday presented a very ambitious program of austerity and recovery to restore "credibility" of Italy and help save the euro in a European Union through its worst crisis of the post the war. "Discipline, Growth and Equity" are the great watchwords of Mr Monti, which was the first speech programs before the Upper House of Parliament before it obtains in the late evening with confidence 281 votes support of 307. The vote of confidence of the members are expected Friday and should get on this occasion also an overwhelming majority.
The revolt of the Greek people is all governments in Europe under pressure "and" this is only the beginning of a process, "he hoped.
François Bernacchi, vice president of Attac Country of Avignon, estimated that Mr. Papandreou shows "the example it is possible to have a democratic consultation." This event marked the beginning of a "people's summit" because of panel discussions and organized until Thursday in Nice, in response to the G20 Summit this weekend in Cannes, whose center is completed by strict safety device, 30 miles away.
Five arrests
In the morning, three Spaniards claiming a movement "anarcho-punk" and in possession of axes, and two Belgians equipped with steel balls, were arrested in Nice. The first three appear in court Wednesday, the two Belgians were released.
The French Economic Observatory forecasts growth of 0.8% in France in 2012. Pink is the scenario. The black scenario, if the rigor is increasing: a decline in GDP of 0.5%. View the Ministry of Economy and Finance at Bercy.
Three years after the start of the global crisis, the potential for economic recovery of France will be constrained by budgetary savings plans in the country and its European partners, provides for the French Observatory of Economic Conditions (OFCE). Research Center of Sciences-Po expects growth of 1.6% in 2011 and 0.8% in 2012, while the government expects 1.75% per year.
"This performance is particulièrment poor and far from the normal path of an economy in crisis," said the OFCE in a study released Friday.The rebound potential perceived by the OFCE correspond to a growth rate of 3.8% per annum in 2011 and 2012, which would make up for five years after the crisis began accumulating the output gap. France, then regain its unemployment rate in 2007.
But two external shocks will affect such a scenario. The first, soaring commodity prices, will result in a resurgence of inflation in France and limit spending. It will cause a slowdown in its trading partners, reducing their demand for French products. This shock will reduce growth by 1.3 percentage points over the period 2011-2012. The second shock is linked to policies of fiscal restraint led by European countries.
A recession is not excluded
"In trying to reduce their deficits early, too quickly and synchronously, the governments of European countries run the risk of a new downturn," said the OFCE. The unemployment rate in France is expected to increase steadily to 9.3% and 9.7% end 2011 end 2012, according to the institute. "The low cost of capital discourages businesses not yet set up costly and risky projects", the study also points out, "the investment should not be in 2011 and 2012 an efficient link to make permanent the rebound in growth. "
The OFCE is also considering "a darker scenario" if the government would take "whatever the cost to meet its budget commitments' (deficit down to 4.5% of GDP in 2012 and 3% in 2013), with a decline of 0.5% of GDP in 2012.If the other major European countries were to adopt the same strategy, the activity would fall by 1.7% and unemployment was close 11%, according to the OFCE.
Scavengers and transport agents have been on strike for eight days in Athens. They protest against wage cuts under the new austerity plan. Their movement caused the accumulation of tons of garbage in the city. Thousands of "outrage" expressed Sunday, June 19 against the austerity of Syntagma Square in Athens.
Athens was again denied Monday transport due to a 24-hour strike, while tons of garbage piled in the streets after more than a week of mobilization scavengers against wage cuts. No subway, bus, trolley and tram, with only the train interbanlieue running, the main lines of the Greek capital was delivered to huge traffic jams, as on several occasions in recent weeks.
Employees of organizations from the metro and buses, which are manifest in the early afternoon in the center of the capital, protesting against investment in short-cuts and new salary, recently announced by the government, under pressure from country's creditors, the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In turn, municipal employees responsible for waste removal began their eighth day of the strike, while the only landfill in the city remained closed. Torrential rains in the morning had drained the garbage on the roads, aggravating the condition of the streets.
Several government agencies, such as the National Agency for Medicines (EOF), the National Laboratory of Chemistry and the Society of IT Management of Social Security (Idika) were also occupied by their staff.To protest against new measures to cut public sector officials have observed a 24-hour strike Wednesday, the day some 30,000 employees of government departments and public bodies demonstrated in Athens and Thessaloniki (north).
A general strike in the public and private sectors is also scheduled for Oct. 19. The representatives of the troika of the country's creditors (Commission and European Central Bank, IMF) Monday also continued their audit of the Greeks, for the discount provided by 24 October of a report based on which area euro to decide the payment of a portion of eight billion euros, vital to the country always on the verge of bankruptcy.
Google announced Monday the acquisition of Motorola Mobility for approximately $ 12.5 billion (8.7 billion euros) in cash to strengthen the market share of its operating system for mobile phones Android.
The internet giant will pay $ 40 per share, a premium of 63% over the course of its target at the close Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.This is the largest acquisition ever by the group of Mountain View.
In pre-market transactions, the title Mobility Motorola jumped from 59% in pre-market, that of Google fell by 2.8%.
Google has built a special place in the smartphone market with Android, that team almost 50% of the combined media around the world, but the group suffers from a lack of intellectual property in the wireless telephone to deal the Apple iPhone.
"Google wants to provide a total experience with hardware and software (like Apple)," notes Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Partners.
Google says to expect the transaction to be completed by late 2011 or early 2012.The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of the two groups.
The economic advisers of President of the Republic are working on an increase in VAT and a reduction in social contributions on labor. Other anti-relocation and a minimum tax would be considered. The economic advisors of the Head of State proposes to reduce social contributions on labor in exchange for a VAT increase.
Nicolas Sarkozy has been a few months of working groups to the floor on his big campaign issues, according to Le Figaro, which has obtained the proposals for the economy and taxation.Led by Emmanuel Moulin, the chief economic adviser of the State, the text suggests to reduce payroll taxes on labor, social kind of VAT would lower premiums by employers accompanied by an increase in VAT, or lower employee contributions.
The text also suggests the increase of VAT on certain luxury goods such as cars high-end, jewelry, tobacco and horses, and the introduction of a minimum tax. Other measures antidélocalisations and a rebalancing of the corporate tax among large and small companies are also studied.
Proposals should be submitted before the holidays to Bruno Le Maire, who compile those that constitute the campaign project of Nicolas Sarkozy.
EDF said on Wednesday its final decision to invest in the LNG terminal in Dunkirk, along with Belgian Fluxys and Total, for a total of one billion euros.
The electrician public said in a statement that Fluxys and Total have confirmed their stake to 25% and 10% stake in Dunkerque LNG, the company responsible for the industrial plant of liquefied natural gas terminal.
Total reserved to Dunkerque LNG up to 2 billion cubic meters per year (Gm3/year) of storage capacity and regasification, EDF retaining capacity of up to 8 Gm3/year.
"Dunkerque LNG reserves the right to host other future financial or business partners on this project," said EDF.
The LNG terminal in Dunkirk, whose commissioning is scheduled for late 2015, will have a regasification capacity of 13 billion m3 and increase of about 20% capacity to import natural gas on French territory.
The total project cost 1.5 billion euros, including investments in the port of Dunkirk and GRTgaz, the structure that manages the pipeline of GDF Suez in France, said a spokesman for EDF .
The terminal was the subject of an agreement between the utility and Total in March 2010 as the largest oil refinery in Dunkirk was being closed.This agreement provided for a particular part of the employees of the Total refinery at Dunkirk would be employed on the new site.
The project will include EDF to secure supplies for its power plants from gas.
The group should in fact put into operation three combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) in 2012 in France for a total production capacity of 1,360 megawatts (MW) and a 1300 MW CCGT in the UK.
The action took EDF 0.5% to 26.45 euros in early trading on the Paris Bourse, in a market up 0.8%. GDF Suez also gained 0.5% to 24.245 euros, 0.7% and Total 38.675 euros.
The Prada IPO in Hong Kong, which should earn $ 2.6 billion in Italian luxury group, has been oversubscribed five times, told Reuters on Sunday a source familiar with the matter.
A Prada spokesman declined to comment on information.
Prada has set a target price last week from 36.5 to 48 dollars in Hong Kong for its IPO in Hong Kong, valuing the group at between 11.4 and 14.6 billion dollars (7.8 and 9.9 billion euros).
The IPO must be for 423.3 million shares, or 16.5% of the enlarged share capital of Prada, valuing the transaction at 2.6 billion dollars, which would put Prada on top of its European peers .
By taking the highest price as a basis, the Italian luxury group to deal with a multiple of 27 times its projected earnings for 2011.
Prada, who made the Asian market 40% of its turnover of two billion euros in 2010, will be the first Italian group quoted on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
The proceeds from this transaction will allow it to expand in Asia but also to absorb a debt of around one billion euros.
Prada is betting on such an explosion in consumption of luxury goods in China to attract investors to its IPO.
Southern Europeans work much harder and sometimes longer than the Germans, according to a study of Natixis dispelling of recent remarks by Angela Merkel castigating social laxity of Greece, Spain and Portugal. The average annual hours of work of a German is much lower than that of a Greek
Southern Europeans work much harder and sometimes longer than the Germans, according to a study, supported by statistics, flies in the face of recent remarks by Angela Merkel in the middle of castigating the debt crisis of social laxity Greece Spain and Portugal.
"The Germans work less (over the year in their lifetime) than Southern Europeans. They do not work more intensely," writes Patrick Artus, chief economist at French bank Natixis and editor of the study based on figures include OECD and Eurostat.
The average annual hours of work of a German (1390 hours) and is much lower than that of a Greek (2119 hours), an Italian (1773 hours), a Portuguese (1719 hours) of a Spaniard (1654 hours) or French (1,554 hours), show figures released by the OECD in 2010.
"The performance of productivity per head of Germany is in the middle of the South, that hourly productivity is above average, but not better than that of France or Greece," said Natixis also .
If the legal age of retirement is later in Germany (65 years now, 67 years in the future), the Portuguese and Spanish de facto working longer, with an average effective age of retirement of 62 , 6 and 62.3 years against 62.2 years for Germans.
The Greeks are not far behind (61.5 years) and the pension reform adopted in spring 2010 by Athens, which brought the statutory retirement age from 60 to 65, aims to increase the average age to 63 , 5 years by 2015.
Only the French (60) and Italy (60.1 years) leave now retired two years earlier on average than the Germans, he stresses the study, dated May 30
Mid-May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel slammed vacation and pension systems in the countries of southern Europe, it considers far too generous.
"We need that in countries like Greece, Spain, Portugal, we do not start to retire earlier than in Germany, they are all doing just the same effort is important," said Ms. Merkel.
"Angela Merkel does not show the real problems of the southern countries of the euro area," said the chief economist at Natixis.
The economic performance of Germany is due, according to Mr. Arthur, with its innovation and industry specialization in high-end, high savings of its private sector and its highly skilled workforce compared to its southern neighbors.
Berlin spends more such as Spain and Portugal met in research: 2.82% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), against 1.38% and 1.38% in Madrid to Lisbon. The results are also not immediate: Germany laid 70 times more patents than Spain, Portugal and Greece together.
Businesses and households in Germany also save more than those of southern countries of the euro area, which explains the surplus outside of Berlin, also observed the investigation of Natixis.
For thirty years, paintings, sculptures and other works centenarians are excluded from the base of the tax on capital. Members of the majority want to end that exemption. But the government is opposed. Employees of the house Christies Workers move the table "Order" of the French artist Nicolas Poussin, painted around 1630.
Under the tax reform of heritage, the Finance Committee of the National Assembly adopted on Wednesday 1 June, an amendment to the UMP Marc Le Fur integrating art into the tax base Solidarity on wealth (ISF). The subject is controversial and divides the majority. Explanations.
Why art they escape to the ISF?
It is an issue that should be asked to Francois Mitterrand, or failing to Laurent Fabius, Minister of Economy in 1981 when the TFR was created.From the start, works of art were excluded from the tax base, probably for the sake of preserving the art market. The day after the adoption of this amendment, industry professionals have also not failed to respond, pointing out the risks of relocation of artworks and asphyxiation of the French art market. Attempts to integrate art into the base of the WHI have thus far failed. In 1998, the left has tried to end that exemption. But the Jospin government forced to relinquish his majority. Ironically, thanks to the Socialist deputies of the Finance Committee that the amendment was adopted Le Fur Wednesday.
Why tax them now?
Marc Le Fur believes that "absolutely link the reform of the ISF a message of justice." "These properties belong, by definition, wealthy.These are non-productive investments that have an economic impact nearly zero. Finally, investment in art is sometimes a way to escape the tax, "said the member of the Cotes d'Armor. In fact, paintings, carpets, sculptures and furniture, jewelry and more hundred years does not produce income. And they are often an opportunity for the wealthy, to optimize their wealth tax.
How much it would bring-it?
Impossible to know. No figures exist on the value of works of art held by French households. Firstly because we do not know exactly their cultural heritage. For example, nobody knows precisely how many works by famous painters (Picasso, Matisse, Fernand Leger, etc.) Anne Sinclair has inherited from his grandfather, the famous art dealer Paul Rosenberg.Then, because it is difficult to assess the price of a cultural kept by a family for decades … even centuries. When the market for contemporary art, it is highly speculative and volatile.
The amendment he a chance to be voted?
No, the amendment will not withstand examination in open session that begins Monday, June 6 The government has the opposite effect, and most members of the majority. Failure to reopen the debate on the attitude of the ISF, other elements of the taxation of works of art, however, could be adopted. Jean-Louis Borloo, who signed the amendment Le Fur, proposes to raise the taxation of capital gains, currently limited to 5%.