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The lake has almost caught fire Thursday in Zurich. The traditional meeting of the shareholders of UBS has turned into a quiet but determined fight. The shareholders of the largest financial institution Swiss have strongly criticized the remuneration policy of the group, before voting 36% against it.

Lengthy explanations of President Kaspar Villiger have done anything to calm the discontented. The welcome bonus of 2 million Swiss francs (1.66 million), booked his designated successor, former Bundesbank President Axel Weber, was singled out. After the trading loss of $ 2.2 billion last fall, bonuses for market operators and their representatives also shocked. The vote is only advisory, but Kaspar Villiger was assured that the bank "takes this result seriously."

Executive Officer of UBS expected to live a difficult meeting. After four years of crisis, which results in the lowest equity valuations, bank shareholders, the U.S. and Europe are growing impatient. Everywhere, the remuneration is in sight. And for the first time, the challenge of these salaries and bonuses to seven figures than the man in the street. Driven by consulting firms or foundations, as Ethos and Actares Switzerland, institutional shareholders, insurers and large pension funds amounted to turn the tone against these huge salaries.

Last week, Credit Suisse, 31.6% of shareholders voted against the plan and executive compensation. Only 23% opposed it a year earlier. Meanwhile, the wage paid to Brady Dougan, the chief American institution, had been halved, 5.8 million Swiss francs (4.8 million) in 2011 against 12.8 million a year earlier. Over the same period, the share value has fallen by 41%. The same day, at the Royal Festival Hall in London, Barclays faced a protest vote by 26.9%, still on the part of remuneration guaranteed pay day loans.

Opposition all the more remarkable that management hoped to have cleared the situation by announcing a week before the general meeting that the executive directors and financial, Bob Diamond and Chris Lucas, would submit half of their 2011 bonuses to performance targets . Originally, Bob Diamond would receive 17.7 million pounds (nearly 22 million euros). The bank chairman, Marcus Agius, has "apologized (to shareholders) and promised that we will move differently in the future."

No vote in France

At the Citigroup, the reaction was even more severe: 55% of shareholders refused to pay $ 15 million promised to the Director, Vikram Pandit, after two years paid a salary by a dollar. This vote was, once again, not binding, the subjects of remuneration remain the prerogative of the board. But the impact in terms of image is of course considerable. Executive Officer of Citigroup has promised to "take seriously the shareholder vote and to consider carefully their remarks."

These votes on compensation plans have gradually imposed from Britain to all OECD countries. Only France is still resistance. "While employers have everything to gain by legitimizing their remuneration, French companies are now the only ones in Europe not to submit payments of their leaders to a general vote of the shareholders," said Pierre-Henri Leroy and President Proxinvest, the French agency governance analysis. The subject was asked in the presidential campaign. Nicolas Sarkozy has declared in favor of a shareholder vote on pay. Francois Hollande has not explicitly expressed on the subject.

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It is a paradox. Michel Combes, the current CEO of Vodafone Europe will become CEO of SFR and board member of Vivendi from August 1, 2012. Jean-Bernard Lévy, Vivendi's chief executive who assumed the interim of Frank Esser arrived in late March, has finally chosen the man who best knows the file. And for good reason! It is precisely Michel Combes, who just last year, sold at high prices to the 44% Vivendi Vodafone's shareholding in SFR. Since 2008 and became head of European operations of British mobile giant, Michel Combes was also a director of SFR. He proceeded to examine every angle SFR.

Shortly after the departure of Frank Esser, Vivendi launched a search to find a replacement. And soon the name of Michel Combes has surfaced. It is a great French telecom specialist for the financial director of France Telecom in 2003 before becoming the right arm of Didier Lombard until 2006. But it is also a leader who has acquired an international dimension to the head of Vodafone Europe since 2008 low fee pay day loans. Meanwhile, the X Telecom 50 years, known for his enthusiasm and hyperactivity, led TDF, the technical broadcaster of television and radio and wireless mobile telecom. His brief tenure as head of TDF was marked by the construction of an ambitious business model that attracted the new shareholders of TDF, the TPG, Axa Private Equity and the CDC.

At the head of SFR, Michel Combes will have to implement the plan to win back customers attracted by offers Free Mobile. It will also improve profitability of the mobile operator heavily affected by the general decline in package prices. In 2012 and 2013, the EBITDA of SFR should decline by 15%. A challenge for Vivendi, who paid € 8 billion to acquire the entire share capital of SFR few months before the arrival of Free Mobile market. The destruction of value for Vivendi would be valued at nearly $ 2 billion.

 

LE FIGARO. – The Netherlands seems to suddenly become Eurosceptics. Why?

Luuk van Middelaar. – In reality, they have always been skeptical about some aspects of the European Union. The Netherlands were among the six founding countries, but their motivation was primarily economic, unlike France, which favored the political dimension. The Dutch have always fought for measures that represent an economic interest, such as the European patent. Then the country became a net contributor to EU budget around 2000, which is not conducive to enthusiasm! As for the current debate over the stability pact, we must not underestimate the impact of the crisis of 2003, when Paris and Berlin have violated common rules: it has reinforced the inferiority syndrome of small countries.

Failure in the referendum on the constitution has he not been exceeded?

France and the Netherlands voted no, but for very different reasons. The French were especially opposed to Europe "neoliberal" characterized by the Bolkestein directive on services, named after the Dutch commissioner … In the Netherlands, by contrast, we did not want an "other" Europe, but "less" Europe, if at all! The Dutch were not opposed to a political Europe.

The debate on the return to national currencies is more violent than elsewhere in the Netherlands. Why?

In the Netherlands, the euro has always inspired mistrust. These fears are now confirmed by the mismanagement of other member countries. Dutch MPs debated the creation of two variants of the euro, the "neuro" for the North and the "Zeuro" for the South. But this debate has remained economically, while the euro has a geopolitical origin: it is a concession of the Germans at the time of reunification.

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The export machine of South Korea is emerging. After suffering the brunt of the crisis of the euro, the Land of the Morning Calm-recorded in the first quarter its strongest growth last year, demonstrating its ability to rebound. Seoul announced Thursday a 0.9% growth, a significant increase compared to 0.3% the previous quarter, fueling hopes of an annual expansion of 3.5%, the OECD predicted.

"We're doing relatively well, given the weak global economy", says Kim Young-bae, director of the Bank of Korea. Relief is required by decision makers of the fourth largest economy in Asia, 46% of GDP depends on exports, particularly to Europe, its second largest trading partner after China. This slight increase is a lifeline ripped by large groups, such as Hyundai Motors, which recorded an increase of 31% of its revenue through increased sales in the U.S. and Europe.

But behind these numbers right, the clouds on the horizon. An OECD report, published Thursday in Seoul, tip the scale of the demographic challenge that awaits the young democracy of 50 million people and threatens its future development. With a fertility rate among the lowest in the world (1.05 children per woman), the country will suffer in the coming year accelerated aging which will impact negatively on growth.

"Marriage strike"

Followed by the specter of Japan, model and longtime rival, the path of decline. The OECD calls on Seoul to take the bull by the horns by implementing proactive measures to adapt to the demographic shock. First, by raising the birth rate by funding systems affordable child care, while most South Koreans are forced to choose between career and motherhood. If women entered heavily on the labor market, often times Stakhanovists companies make it difficult to balance work and motherhood. So, 40% in their thirties who are employed are single. This "marriage strike" is a major cause of the bust according to the Korea Development Institute (KDI).

The OECD also stresses the urgency of improving the productivity per hour, two times lower than that of advanced countries, reforming an education system where cramming is the key to success.

These measures are all the more necessary that the country is not ready for mass immigration, as evidenced by a recent survey that only 36% of South Koreans favor the coexistence of different cultures on their territories. On April 13, Jasmine Lee's election, the first member of foreign origin, has unleashed a slew of racial slurs online, highlighting the challenge.

Only a major geopolitical upheaval in Pyongyang leading to early reunification with North Korea seems able to thwart the predictions of the OECD.

 

In the daily press Lorraine, Nicolas Sarkozy stood this weekend against the attitude of union CFDT ArcelorMittal Florange. "As for the permanent of the CFDT, they betray the trust of employees, has accused President. They came to insult me ​​and try to break my campaign headquarters. Do not confuse the employees of ArcelorMittal, that I will not let go, and trade unionists who are misleading their members by making policy instead of defending the interests of employees. "

The position of the Inter, which includes the CFDT but also the CGT and FO, was clearly inflected in February, when ArcelorMittal's management confirmed that the blast furnaces would restart Florange does not in the second quarter. February 16, Edward Martin, representative of the CFDT in Florange, stated the following: "Florange be the nightmare of government." Similarly, the Inter visited March 15 at the headquarters of candidate Nicolas Sarkozy, although Edward Martin rejects absolutely any act of violence.

"Our members are worried"

Proof of this political positioning, "the CFE-CGC withdrew from the Inter Florange mid-March, because our union wants to totally apolitical," said Francois Pagano, CFE-CGC Section Florange. "Our members are also very concerned about this policy orientation," he says again.

Concern that does not detract from the representativeness of the CFDT and the Inter Florange. In the last elections, in January 2011, the CFDT has confirmed its position as the union on the site. And three members of the Inter unions represent no less than 75% of the vote with a turnout of over 90%!

"On Steel"

Their attitude now very policy may be explained partly by the proximity of the presidential election but also by the discouragement with the government of some trade unionists, still marked by the permanent closure of Gandhinagar in 2009 business card. Result: claims very close to the program of Francois Hollande: "We want the government to ban any dismantling of the site and seeks an industrial partner to take it back," he explains, while participating in a "march of steel ", which covers about twenty employees and must lead them in Paris on April 6.

Except that Lakshmi Mittal, chairman of the steel group, is not this in mind closing the entire site. If restarting the blast furnace is in no way guaranteed, ArcelorMittal announced, as reiterated Nicolas Sarkozy, 17 million euro investment in the coking plant, upstream of blast furnaces, and finishing, downstream. Ads that perpetuate these activities for several years.

The risk of claims is that they are too political cons-productive futures. The example of Liege, whose furnaces have permanently closed at the end of last year, is not reassuring. A report commissioned by the Walloon region and explained earlier this year that "unions have adopted an approach almost exclusively protest, based on the challenge of any permanent changes, the systematic use of the strike, protest against any change in method work (…) which discouraged all the intentions of successive shareholders. "

A risk which seem aware, however stakeholders Lorraine: "There were only four days of blocking the site, precise and Edward Martin. And the plant has resumed normal operations for several weeks. "An information confirmed by ArcelorMittal.

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Lefigaro.fr is the first news site in France in January. The study Médiamétrie / NetRatings, it was viewed by over 8.8 million unique visitors a month. A hearing is always the historic site of Figaro to a million users of the follower.

Development, the second place, occupied by Orange in December, was conquered by the Nouvel Observateur. High of 7.7 million unique monthly visitors, the site of the weekly benefits from the integration of "pure player" Rue89, bought in December.

Launched in late January, the site of the Huffington Post has also brought new visitors to the World, which brought together a total of 7.3 million Internet users in January. The web offers daily evening was nevertheless made the steal third place from the site of Le Parisien / Today in France, with nearly 7.5 million unique visitors.

January has generally drawn the hearings of the press line up. Portals and aggregators of articles edited by tech giants have, themselves, not take advantage of the French appetite for news. Orange News was relegated to sixth place in the ranking with 6.7 million unique visitors, Yahoo! News is eighth with 5.4 million visitors, MSN News and Google News are respectively the 11th and 13th.

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The knives are drawn between Casino and Galeries Lafayette, Monoprix owners. Both shareholders are certainly agree on one point: the Galeries Lafayette want to sell 50% of Monoprix, as they have indicated on December 7 at Casino, and it wants to redeem him. It will even soon have a war chest of 800 to 900 million euros, after its partial withdrawal of its subsidiary Mercialys. But both groups, associated for 15 years, do not agree on the valuation of Monoprix.

Casino, advised by Rothschild bank is willing to pay 700 million euros for 50% of Monoprix. Galeries Lafayette, advised by Societe Generale, in initially wanted $ 1.95 billion. The variance explained by the high volatility of the valuations of distribution groups, is such that JP Morgan, called to break the tie, threw in the towel.

Casino feels "taken hostage"

The conflict took a turn legal last week, when Galeries Lafayette Casino assigned to the Commercial Court of Paris to make their own estimate no fax payday loans. Meanwhile, Galeries Lafayette has made a new offer at $ 1.35 billion, still too far from the estimate of Casino.

Wednesday, a board of Monoprix, which was to convey, as of March 31, President of Monoprix to Jean-Charles Naouri, CEO of Casino, voted to maintain this position Philippe Houze, CEO of Galeries Lafayette … time an agreement is reached on the valuation.

The board is composed of three members appointed by Casino and three others by the Galeries Lafayette, but the chairman has the casting vote. Casino, who feels "taken hostage" will "seize the competent courts to uphold its commitments by Galeries Lafayette".

The debt crisis that shook the euro area, the French deep mine. This is for 79% of them, the crisis "the worst" in recent years, according to a poll Ifop for the Journal du Dimanche. Faced with the economic and social situation of France, 53% of respondents said they were "rebels," while 29% are "resigned." A resignation which probably explains why the movement of "outraged" that began in Spain last spring and has spread across Europe and to the United States, failed to France.

The French are indeed very pessimistic. Only 4% of them believe in a crisis within the next six months. Nearly a majority (46%), however, do not expect improvement until 2014. "This survey highlights the malaise of the French," said Frederic Dabi, director of the division of opinion Ifop."For them, this is a serious crisis which they do not see the exit and on which policies can not be weighed." However, they are preparing for 57% of the "painful and difficult measures." They are also willing to make sacrifices, including cutting costs in their "comfort" and in their holiday budget, the study said.

When asked about the causes of the crisis, 52% of French people point the finger at the role of financial markets. Far behind, the government (26%), banks (15%), EU (10%), the French as a whole (6%), emerging (5%) and businesses (1%) are also considered partially responsible for the current crisis. "Paradoxically, while their commitment to the EU is often tenuous, the French for more Europe," Frederic Dabi analysis.As proof, they say they support the creation of a European Ministry of Economy.

Theme of the presidential election

As European leaders gather in Brussels on Sunday for a coordinated response to the crisis, the French have already an idea of ​​what the state could do 63% of them believe the government should take an interest in banks, either by becoming the majority shareholder of the establishment or nationalization. Despite their concern, 23% of respondents would prefer the state to intervene simply abstain. Maybe they think that the French economy can only suffer, as the government prepares to revise downwards its growth forecast for 2012 still set at 1.75%."Part of the public continues to believe that when dealing with Greece, it does not deal with French," says Pierre Giacometti, advisor opinion of the President of the Republic, in the columns of world.

Yet a few months before the presidential election, the crisis in the euro area will be the theme of the campaign. Nicolas Sarkozy will speak on the subject on television next Thursday, the day after the second EU summit is to say, once firm decisions have been taken. A key event with the French, while the popularity of the president is at half mast. "Even if the credits of some courage, nothing will be counted as long as there is a lack of visibility on the crisis," Pierre Giacometti analysis in Le Monde.

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Future on major indices of the New York Stock Exchange indicate a slightly higher opening of U.S. markets on Wednesday. Like the European markets, Wall Street should not resist the Slovak Parliament on strengthening the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF). Tuesday, after four sessions of strong gains in a row, Wall Street ended in a disorganized. Investors chose to garner a share of profits.

On the front of the debt crisis in the eurozone, Slovakia, a second vote could be held with the support of the left opposition. "It's not good news but I trust the authorities of Slovakia to hold a second vote," said Wednesday morning the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Alain Juppé on radio France Info.For its part German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that strengthening the EFSF be ratified "in October." The Slovak Parliament was the last to vote on the strengthening of the European relief fund. Indeed, the unanimity of the country is essential to confirm the agreement reached by the Heads of State on July 21 dernier.Berlin and Paris commitments marchésLes reassure the weekend by Germany and France had restored a little hope of financial markets. Last Sunday, Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have in fact committed to respond "lasting and comprehensive peace" to the crisis in the euro area for the G20 summit in Cannes, 3 and 4 November. About the difficulties of the European banking sector, the two leaders said they were "determined to do whatever it takes to ensure the recapitalization of our banks."But again, the "details" to be specified later, and the EU summit scheduled for October 17 and 18 was postponed to October 23. After several missed appointments with the financial markets, Europe hopes this time strike a blow to stop the contagion of the crisis in the euro area.

The euro will always be a "hard currency", has also assured Angela Merkel, following Slovakia's rejection of strengthening financial relief funds in the euro area. On the foreign exchange market, the euro was virtually unchanged munching 0.05% against the greenback at 1.3658 dollars.

Alcoa opens the ball quarterly results

In the U.S., the season of quarterly results of large companies began Tuesday after the close of Wall Street. As usual, the aluminum giant Alcoa kicked-off for these publications.Including follow on Wednesday, PepsiCo, and Thursday, JPMorgan Chase and Google internet group and finally, Friday, Mattel. Analysts bet on an average increase of 13% earnings per share for the third quarter.

The group Alcoa reported, after market, a net quarterly profit of $ 172 million, an increase of 182% over a year and a decrease of 47% over the previous quarter. Revenues jumped 21% year on year to 6.4 billion. In 2011, Alcoa still expects growth of 12%.

For his part Infosys Technologies also announced after the market have achieved in the second quarter of fiscal year 2011-2012 (ending September 30) a net profit of 411 million dollars against 374 million last year while sales rose to 1.75 billion dollars against 1.5 billion a year earlier.For the full fiscal year 2011/12, the group expects a turnover of 7.08 to 7.2 billion dollars.

The Canadian Research In Motion listed on Wall Street, affected by major failures affecting the Blackberry, is facing a revolt by disgruntled shareholders calling for the sale or replacement of its executives while its action has already lost 60% since the beginning of the year.

For its part the world leader in lithography for semiconductor, ASML also listed on Wall Street believes that there will be a slowdown in growth in most segments of the semiconductor, with the exception of technologies related to tablets and smartphones. At the Amsterdam Stock Exchange gained 2.7% action to 27.25 euros in the morning.