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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Economic Meeting Friday and Saturday in the Canadian North, while financial markets were concerned, particularly in Europe, the drift of their deficits, major fundraisers of the G7 (U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Italy and United Kingdom) maintain the cap. They pledge to continue their respective recovery plans. For its part, Europe will address itself the Greek case without recourse to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Furthermore, a tentative agreement in sight to introduce taxation of international banks.

These are the three conclusions of the meeting of the G7 major fundraisers – Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors – Iqaluit. A place almost inaccessible, forcing many ministers to use private jets.The Government of Canada wanted to reaffirm its sovereignty over the Arctic region.

An international taxation

As the host, Jim Flaherty, Canadian Finance Minister, was particularly prescriptive. The problem of Greece should be "managed by the European Union, not by the G7," he insisted to reporters while their European colleagues were reluctant to speak. As chairman of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker has formally denied the idea that Greece might need money from the International Monetary Fund. As for Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, he again expressed his confidence in Greece "to take all actions necessary" in order to reduce its deficit to 3% in 2012 . The President of the modem, François Bayrou, has raised an "affront to the principles of our Republic". In November, Christine Lagarde had said before the Senate Henri Proglio not touch two salaries. The UMP MP Valérie Rosso-Debord, close to François Fillon, acted "very shocked" by this combination. Asked in the National Assembly by the Socialist deputy Christian Eckert, Christine Lagarde said in the heckling of opposition. "The president of EDF is not paid more than when he was boss of Veolia.He must face reality: there is a market, competitors, a world that has changed, "said the minister, who recalled that" the conditions in which Henri Proglio has agreed to join the group EDF were twofold: to retain non-operational role at Veolia and devote his full time to EDF.

According to the firm Proxinvest in 2008, an Executive Chairman of the CAC 40 gained 3.6 million euros. A non-executive chairman who presides over a board, 864 225 euros.

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.

The French game publisher Ubisoft video Wednesday revised downward its financial targets for its fiscal year 2009/2010 lagged, partly because of disappointing sales of some games and the postponement of several launches.

The number three European industry now expects sales for the third quarter of 495 million euros against 540 expected before, and 860 million euros for the full year, against 1.04 billion expected before.

Furthermore, the group, who expected a positive result of at least 70 million euros over the year, now provides a loss of about 50 million. Its business casual "(games for the family) loses a year to the next almost 160 million euros, a drop of almost 50%."Despite successes like Assassin's Creed 2, which is expected to reach 9 million units through March, or Just Dance, our very successful Christmas on the Wii, Ubisoft has not met its financial goals," says CEO Yves Guillemot , quoted in a statement.

Ubisoft announced it will refocus on its core franchises and games consoles Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. It promises to last two outings a catalog of "very substantial", which should enable it, on the period 2010-2011, "to gain market share and improve (its) profitability."

Ubisoft lost over 9% in one week

The market, worried about developments in the industry have fully incorporated this announcement. At the Paris Bourse, the stock has indeed closed down 1.95% to 10.07 euros in a market almost stable (+0.02%). In five days, the stock has lost 9.12%.Its competitor, Electronic Arts, anticipated loss from 1.94 to $ 2.24 per share (cons – 1.2A $ 2.05 per share on the previous forecast) in its fiscal quarter ending March 30, for a turnover between $ 3.6 billion rather than $ 3.9 billion for its fiscal year.

Ubisoft is also penalized by the decision of the firm Sterne Agee analyst lowered his rating to "neutral" cons "buy" before. For the moment, "there is no reason to confirm a recommendation to buy, analysts say. The analyst firm also shown Aurel disappointed by sales of "Avatar: The Game", "well below" their expectations.They recommend to "sell" in their notes.

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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.

Click on thumbnail for larger graphic

Coup de théâtre to the Constitutional Council. Tuesday night is no less a pillar of the 2010 budget that the Sages retoque in deciding to cancel the carbon tax in its entirety. In their decision, the constitutional judges – seized last week by the Parliamentary Socialists – have ruled that the law created too many exemptions, which is "contrary to the objective of fighting against global warming" and creates an inequality in tax."Less than half the emissions of greenhouse gas emissions would have been subject to contributions to carbon, because many of these exemptions, they argued.

In detail, the Constitutional Council has stressed that "were totally exempt contribution of carbon emissions from power plants generating electricity, emissions from industrial sites in 1018 the most polluting (refineries, cement, coke …) "emissions from aviation" or "those of the public transport of passengers by road. "These exemptions have led to only 93% of emissions from industrial sources, excluding fuel, are exempt from carbon contribution," according to the text.The tax would have "focused on fuel and heating products that are only one source of emission of carbon dioxide.

An alternative is proposed by Fillon January 20

Shortly after the publication of the decision of the Elders, Matignon has announced that Francois Fillon presented January 20 in Council of Ministers a new scheme taking "full account of the observations of the Constitutional Council. The prime minister maintains, however, that this contribution is needed to guide the behavior of firms and households in terms of energy consumption and reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions. "The cabinet of Jean-Louis Borloo for its part indicated that the Minister of Ecology and Sustainable Development Wednesday react to this defeat.

For its part, the Socialist Party – through its National Secretary for the Environment, Laurence Rossignol – did not expect to qualify the decision of the constitutional judges of "heavy defeat for the president. It is both the sanction of a working method that is to do everything in a hurry and a series of announcement effects. For the federation France Nature Environment (FNE), a cancellation is "catastrophic." "The carbon tax is clearly in agony.Copenhagen has shown that political will was not enough in the fight against climate change and today is the leverage that tax is lowered, "lamented spokesman FNE, Arnaud Gosse.

A measure dear to the Head of State

Wanted by Nicolas Sarkozy, the tax, renamed "carbon contribution" by the Senate, was a key measure of the proposed 2010 budget. In total, it would have resulted in 4.1 billion euros in tax revenue next year, including 2.2 billion paid by households. The Head of State himself had described as a "revolutionary tax" and a "major shift" to "lasting change" behavior of the French. The tax was aimed at encouraging individuals to reduce their CO2 emissions by applying the energy consumption of households and businesses, with compensation to individuals.For businesses, the carbon tax would replace the business tax, which was abandoned, however, been validated by the Constitutional Council.

According to calculations by INSEE, the entry into force – scheduled for 1 January – would be to effect a general price increase of 0.3% in first quarter 2010, an increase of about 4 cents per liter gasoline pump. Set at 17 euros per tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2), but she had raised important challenges left, but right where some denounced the introduction of a new tax.

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Christmas may be a small taste of social conflict to European officials. The EU countries have decided to increase by only 1.85% next year, instead of the 3.7% originally planned. Amputation justified by the economic crisis, but returns to divide by two indexing legally provided for in contracts. And that, therefore, more than likely be retoquée by the European Court of Justice.

The payslip of some 45 000 employees and contractors in Europe is automatically in effect revalued each year, according to a complex formula incorporating the wage of public service in eight Member States and the cost of living in Brussels.The calculation ended this year with an increase of 3.7% … which caused a surge in countries obliged to freeze or even reduce the salaries of their own officials.

As the Twenty-Seven have they endorsed this Wednesday, after weeks of procrastination, a halving of the annual adjustment. This sudden attack of virtue going very badly in Brussels – even if they, with their comfortable salaries, have trouble finding a sympathetic ear: the grid of monthly payments of civil servants will in effect from 2 600 euros gross, for a beginner bottom of the scale, 18 000, for a general manager at the end of career …

A strike in mid-January

The unions argue that if indexing payroll is divided by two, the samples increase as expected, reduces to only 2.3% higher net wages.Above all, they denounce the illegality of the decision, while the agreement on wage adjustments until near 2012. Several officials of the Parliament considered that a revision of the calculation could be considered later, but by 2012, the rules must be respected.

The case is far from over, because the unions are eager to assert their rights. The conflict could escalate if the Commission officials put their threat into execution and a strike vote in mid-January. Their colleagues in Parliament could decide to disrupt the hearings of the future European Commissioners, also planned in January.

But the most effective lever will probably come from the Commission itself, which is preparing to attack the EU countries before the European Court of Justice in early January.With a realistic chance of success: in 1972, the judges had given him reason in a similar situation.