Sundial of world news

"How to achieve its goal three months of sales? By becoming a vendor at Renault Samsung, "The joke circulating these days at the dealership in Seoul, during the lunch break. Their enthusiasm was due to booming sales of Korean-French manufacturer since early 2010.

A surge of 74.6% on the South Korean market in January (compared to last year), while exports registered a strong increase of 43.6%. This spectacular start due to the immediate success by winning the new SM5, the car manufacturer's flagship, launched last month. The third version of the sedan, developed from the chassis of the Laguna 3 sells like hotcakes and allows Renault Samsung to face the future with serenity.

"This is a key operation, the SM5 must ensure the future of the brand for five years," said CEO Jean-Marie Hurtig.

Image quality

Things seem to parties because these excellent figures confirm the good results registered by the manufacturer in 2009, world in crisis. Defying the pessimistic prognoses of its own troops, the Korean branch of Renault reported a 31% increase in sales last year, thanks to a South Korean market remained buoyant despite the international situation. Based on image quality, still up in surveys of consumers, the manufacturer has strengthened its position as the second group of Korea, at GM Daewoo. In the land of morning calm, Renault Samsung is the manufacturer that goes against the behemoth Hyundai-Kia, which controls nearly 80% market share.The success of the SM3 but also export the Koleos, an SUV of the year in China, enable the brand to address the global recovery with optimism.

Performance that also strengthen the position of the manufacturer within the Renault group. In 2009, South Korea became the third largest market for Renault (except Nissan) behind France and Germany. A spectacular leap from 9th place, a year earlier, made possible by the lowered sales in major markets like Turkey, Italy or Brazil.A breakthrough that allows the manufacturer to get rid of its image of Tom Thumb the group, which sticks to the skin from its takeover in 2000, on the verge of bankruptcy.

Logistically, Renault Samsung has also taken advantage of the crisis to increase its role in the alliance: taking advantage of the fall of the Korean won against the yen, the Pusan plant provides more and more parts to workshops Nissan, on the island of Kyushu. "Korea becomes competitive with China," said Jean-Marie Hurtig, who can also rely on the quality of South Korean engineers and a social climate less tense than in Hyundai and Ssangyong.

Only downside, the rise steeply from the Korean currency against the dollar and the euro, which threatens the competitive edge of exports.

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After three failed meetings, the representatives of EADS and the seven countries customers transport plane A400M military find themselves again next February 4th, in principle in Berlin.

They will try to find a compromise on sharing the additional costs – 5.2 billion – of the program whose final score jumped more than 50% to around 30 billion euros. EADS has rejected the proposal of the States to take over 2 billion instant payday loans .

This meeting will be held the same day as the Franco-German summit held in Paris. Optimists are betting on an agreement in principle to that Chancellor Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy announce all the rescue program.Otherwise, they should show their political support and call for a quick solution.

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Globally, the hierarchy for guidance in mergers and acquisitions is respected. In 2009, the U.S. Jones Day has recorded the highest number of cases, according to news site finanacières Wansquare. The British Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Linklaters are close behind in second and third.

In Europe, Freshfields took the lead law firms, both in amount and number of deals advised. The former leader Linklaters earned second place in both categories.

For the French market, Cocorico! The French Gide Loyrette Nouel is spawning the second place, behind the British Linklaters and the U.S. to Jones Day.

Proponents maintain flirtation with the mystery on its exact size, but with over 800 meters high, the Burj Dubai will have no trouble to climb to the summit since it exceeds by at least 300 meters above the current building in the world, Taipei 101 Taiwan (508 meters). The question is whether this will be the last great Pharaonic site long before the emirate in the Middle East crisis.

The story goes that the emir of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, had returned to its initial project promoters with poor 90 floors. "We thought little of beating the record held by the Taipei 101 tower. But the client asked us each to go higher, but we set limits, "says architect Bill Baker, the firm Skidmore, Owings and Merrill of Chicago, developer of the skyscraper.

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After Fitch and Standard & Poor's, Moody's has in turn lowered the debt rating of Greece on Tuesday. The bonds are so degraded by one notch from A2 to A1 with negative outlook.

"The repositioning of Greece at A2 level reflects both the very limited risk of a liquidity crisis in the short term and other credit risk in the medium and long term," Moody's justified. Indeed, "risk long term has been partially offset by the government's announcement" last week on the austerity budget.

Reviews of Moody's moderates have tended to reassure markets that apparently he had built a stronger degradation of the Greek notes. The Athens Stock Exchange returning 2.96% in early morning.The interest rate on bonds over 10 years of Greek Treasury bills were even lower, at 5.734% against 5.955%.

Following the announcement by Moody's notes on the Greek, Tuesday morning, the euro hovered around $ 1.43. "The euro is being undermined by the widening spreads (difference between interest rates, Ed) on yields of government bonds in the euro area," observed Friday in a note economists at BNP Paribas.

The difference between the interest rate applied to Greek government bonds to ten years and the German Bund, benchmark euro area widened to 250 basis points, or 2.5 percentage points, recent weeks.

Plan rigor

The Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, presented last week a fiscal austerity plan to leave public finances slump. The stated objective is to reduce the deficit to 4%.Greece is facing a deficit estimated for 2009 to 12.7% and a debt that represents 113% of GDP.

Moody's remains reserved about the effects of the government plan. "The long term rating of Greece will depend on how the public will accept these measures and the government's ability to implement them vigorously," the agency analysis. However, "neither of these points can not be taken for granted."

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The Committee approved the December 8 and 9 "advisory for a package of proposals to strengthen regulation of capital and liquidity with the objective of strengthening the banking sector," he said in a statement.

These measures will "respond to the lessons of the crisis in the regulation, supervision and risk management of banks," said the committee.

The proposals for capital and liquidity will strengthen the banks and create a financial banking system and healthier, "said the chairman, Nout Wellink, who is also president of the Dutch Central Bank.

It is, however, that a "consultation document" and not a final text, recalled Wednesday a spokesman of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in Basel, including hosting meetings.

The 27 "wise men" had already announced in early July an increase of Basel II, introduced in 2004 and requiring banks with a capital ratio weighted overall risk incurred by financial institutions.

Avoiding a new "Lehman Brothers"

To avoid the disastrous consequences of a new financial crisis including the collapse of financial institutions of systemic importance, as the bankruptcy of U.S. bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the Basel Committee grilled for several months on a building rules governing the banking sector.

In his new proposals, the committee wants to strengthen the quality and transparency of the core capital Tier 1 (core capital of a bank), allowing institutions to better absorb potential losses.

He also wants to improve the level of capital to protect facilities including activities on derivatives and repos (repos).

Debt ratio

Banks should also establish a ratio of debt to contain their debt, financial buffers to cope with difficult situations and a minimum level of liquidity.

The impact of these measures on the sector should be analyzed in the first half of 2010 with the aim to introduce by the end of 2012.

The committee, founded in 1974 and composed of the governors of 27 central banks worldwide, "will ensure that the implementation of new standards is consistent with the financial market stability and sustainable economic growth," assured Nout Wellink.

Central bankers also want to introduce a period of tolerance and accompanying measures "for a period sufficiently long to allow a smooth transition to new standards.

This year, 43% of the French plan to reduce their Christmas spending, according to an Ipsos poll conducted for France Bleu.

45% of respondents reported crop priority in their budget gifts while the proportion remained unchanged at meals. 37% of respondents also believe in spending less on decor, followed by clothing (36%) and holidays (35%).

You intend to reduce your spending Christmas, how will you compensate for the reduction in your budget? Purchases in advance or last minute offers flash web, used goods, what are your tricks to keep from spoiling your loved ones?

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Around 9:05, the CAC 40 rose 0.33% to 3812 points. The remarks of President of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis supports the market. James Bullard said on Sunday that the U.S. economy has resumed growth. He said the gross domestic product (GDP) could be between 2.5% and 3% in 2010, with possible further significant growth in the first half.

Values follow

The Russian manufacturer Avtovaz and Renault-Nissan alliance could make all the cars on the same assembly line in 2012, said boss Avtovaz, Igor Komarov.

According to the newspaper Liberation, a part of nuclear waste produced by nuclear plants of EDF is not recycled but stored in Russia. "13% of French radioactive waste produced by EDF are found outdoors in Siberia in a city forbidden to access," the paper said.The investigation by the newspaper should be broadcast Tuesday on Arte.

Carrefour sees no real signs of improving global economic conditions.

EDF would have received authorization of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to purchase 49.99% of the nuclear activities of Constellation Energy Group. This operation will enable it to strengthen the U.S. market. Local authorities in Maryland (USA) have not yet given their opinion.

Airbus, a subsidiary of EADS, is confident about the possibility of its A400M fly by the end of the year. This program already suffered a delay of four years.