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A work of art? A scupture? A monument? Attraction? Orbit wants it all at once. Red steel tower rising slowly in the sky Olympic Park East London thanks to the play of the cranes that circumvent the laws of gravity and set pieces that weigh less than 2.5 tonnes each. The London Olympics, which begin July 27, 2012, wanted their icon. It is made of red steel. That's at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889 as the Eiffel Tower was built …

Nestled between the Olympic Stadium and the swimming pool, the work designed by Anish Kapoor, a British artist of Indian origin, will be the symbol of the London Games. The artist, whose recent work Monumenta at the Grand Palais in Paris, has conquered the public, could build this new project with Lakshmi Mittal, the chairman of ArcelorMittal.The steel giant from an original way and in the circle of second-tier sponsors of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cost of the adventure: 16 million pounds (about 18 million euros) for Arcelor Mittal, London, adding 3 million pounds.

A unique perspective

On site, a dozen people work to build, despite the often strong wind blowing from the Thames estuary, the giant Meccano imposes no engineer would have imagined. The sculpture, made of red tubular steel elements, already stands at over 80 meters high and it must reach 115 meters. It will weigh 1,400 tons. When everything is finished, an elevator will climb onto a platform boldly eccentric.The energetic can go down via a silver staircase winding around the tower.

The tower would house a restaurant and she will, when the Games are over, a unique perspective on the new district of east London that is emerging today. As the streets that Jack the Ripper haunted past are still among the poorest in London. The Olympics will enable a large-scale urban renewal. New life for London's East End which is the symbol of steel.

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While Apple has announced record results, its rival Nokia, struggling for three years, falls into the red for the second time in its history. The Finnish manufacturer has issued Thursday a net loss of 368 million euros for the second quarter 2011, against a profit of 227 million euros a year earlier. This is the second negative result after the historic loss for the third quarter of 2009.

Nokia, which has an alliance with the U.S. Microsoft to launch phones to counteract the rapid expansion of the Apple iPhone and Android smartphones system (Google), is in turmoil trying to trace the slope.The giant had announced in April the elimination of 4,000 jobs and the outsourcing of another 3,000 due to the phasing out of its own operating system Symbian for the benefit of the Microsoft Windows Phone.

"The difficulties we face in our strategic transformation have arisen more than we expected in the second quarter of 2011," said Nokia CEO Stephen Elop. "But I think our actions to limit the impact of these difficulties began to show positive effects on the health of our business.In addition, we make better progress than expected to achieve our strategic objectives, "he said payday advance low fees.

Job cuts

The Canadian leader, who came to Microsoft last September to address Nokia, however, indicates that "competitive pressure" that is currently experiencing will continue.

In the second quarter, Nokia posted a further decline in sales of 7% to 9.28 billion euros. If he remains world number one by volume, the number of phones it sold plunged 20% to 88.5 million units, against 111 million a year earlier.Its joint venture with Siemens, the supplier Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN), has negatively affected the result with an operating loss of 111 million euros.

In May, Nokia warned that its second quarter results were worse than expected and now that he would not give targets for the full year. The group, which employed the end of June 138,800 people (75,000 at Nokia Siemens), said yesterday that it will "accelerate" its savings plan through "several sources", including job losses and departures replaced.

Thursday late afternoon, the action gained 1.27% to 4.14 euros, but fell below the euro for four mid-July, it operates at its lowest level since 1997.

French hopes of a major Airbus order from American Airlines had started to be felt on June 30. An article in the Wall Street Journal announced an order in effect prior upcoming 250 aircraft from European aircraft manufacturer with the third largest global airline industry .*

These hopes were not disappointed. The official announcement has fallen American Airlines places order for 460 Airbus A320 aircraft with 260 and 200 Boeing 737. This is a record contract in the history of aviation from AMR. Even better, some 365 options on Airbus against Boeing's 100 for those raised. This is a turnaround in favor of Airbus fleet since the American company did not count any European aircraft since 2009."Airbus Boeing enters a pure client, there is a 'mix' Neo A320 and A320, which responds to the risk of cannibalization between the two devices," said Yan Derocles, an analyst at Oddo Securities.

The options are for delivery in 2025, while orders already confirmed will be made within two to eleven. So far, Airbus continues its momentum in the Paris Air Show. Indeed, in June, two historical controls had already been reached: the Malaysian company Air Asia going contract for 200 copies of the Neo-A320 for a total of $ 18.2 billion, while Indian IndiGo in seeking 150.

The A320 shares to glean Neo 737

Strategically, American Airlines hires a phase of renewal of its fleet and intends to reduce its fuel consumption.In fact, the company looks to new generation aircraft, whose engines are designed to consume a minimum of oil. Airbus, the A320 Neo meets this requirement and just walking on the toes of the Boeing 737 Next Generation, delivered since late 2010. Neo The A320 should be available by 2015. American Airlines will be the first U.S. company to deploy this aircraft.

However, the amount of the order was not disclosed, while the company saw the amount of its net loss increase during the second half of 2011, reaching $ 286 million more than estimated by analysts. In addition, the suspense continues as to the entire command must pass Air France KLM during the summer. She will choose only European aircraft? Stay tuned.

* Number of passengers / km, according to IATA.

Financial stocks were again at the forefront of the crisis of sovereign debt in the euro area. The financial sector index values ​​fell by almost 10% within a week, and most major French banks are publicly traded close to their lowest annual levels. The inability of Europeans to agree on the establishment of a second bailout of Greece concern the market, which now feared a contagion to other countries in the euro area.

With the fear of an incident on the Italian debt, the problem of sovereign debt in Europe is a very serious turn, as the Italian government debt-which amounted to 1.9 trillion euros is 5.5-fold to that of Greece. The banks are primarily affected through their exposure to traditional state claims.

Regarding the Italian sovereign risk, the exposure of the French banking system amount to 35 billion euros, which is quite colossal. Unlike debt Greek, Portuguese and Spanish, which are now mainly carried by hedge funds, the Italian debt was previously considered to be of good quality. It is still very much in the balance sheets of major financial institutions in Europe.

Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas in the red

The other concern is the amount of banks' liabilities to the private sector in Italy. And there, the amounts involved are more important because sometimes in the different estimates circulating on the market to nearly 300 billion euros. The two institutions most concerned are the BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole, which are present in Italy through subsidiaries.The markets fear that these institutions are forced to fund a portion of commitments to local borrowers Italian, especially a possible depreciation in the value of their subsidiaries in the accounts in any major difficulties in this country.

That's why the price of Crédit Agricole and BNP Paribas are approaching their lowest level this year. The insurance group Axa, very present in Italy and holds direct obligations of the Italian State, is also affected. The stock has lost more than 10% in just three days. It now processes at a level much lower than the amount of capital.

The New York Stock Exchange opened Friday at equilibrium in a market cautious before the release of economic indicators closely watched in the United States: the Dow Jones nibbled 0.02% and the Nasdaq 0.06%.

The day before, now, Wall Street had closed on an open rise, encouraged in this direction by the Chicago PMI – and the relief felt on both sides of the Atlantic after the second vote in Parliament in Greece. Voting allows the application of the austerity plan as expected, and the release of 12 billion euros in aid to Athens.However, the agreement of the Eurogroup surl second aid plan, expected this weekend, take a little longer than expected, according to diplomatic sources.

U.S. Policy and Debt

Another current, more American and more uncertain, however, could be followed by operators, mindful of the political context, while U.S. debt back on the front of the stage: the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States Timothy Geithner, in fact, consider soon resign from his post. Information reported yesterday by the Bloomberg financial news agency and other U.S. media, but qualified this morning.

Consumption, construction and industrial activity

In terms of macroeconomic indicators, the first session of July will be charged at least: from 3:55 p.m. will be provided the figures for consumer confidence, ahead of construction spending (16:00).At the same time will be announced on PMI manufacturing (ISM), and the indicator of prices paid. It will however wait until 23 hours to see the statistics of car sales unsecured personal loans.

$ 4.5 billion for Nortel patents

On the corporate side, the maker of BlackBerry phones Research In Motion (RIM), leaving 0.07% after the announcement yesterday of an agreement avoiding, at the General Meeting of July 12, the vote of a motion challenging the operation of its management. Turbulent in recent times, the action RIM has tumbled almost 41% in one year, closing at 28.85 dollars Thursday on the Nasdaq, while the S & P 500 gained at the same time 28.55%.

Apple, Research in Motion and Microsoft, however, are part of a group of six companies that got their hands on the latest patents of the telecoms equipment maker Nortel.The acquisition represents $ 4.5 billion (3.10 billion euros), after an auction that has ruled Google and Intel.

EMC Corp., and Sony Ericsson are the other members of the winning consortium, Nortel said in a statement released Thursday night. Telecommunications giant to the Internet bubble burst, Nortel filed for bankruptcy in January 2009 and has since liquidated most of its assets, raising about $ 3.2 billion.

In any other industry, General Mills (-0.83% to 139.42 dollars) announced Friday the completion of the acquisition of half of the yogurt maker Yoplait, which he was the franchise in the United States. General Mills bought for about $ 1.2 billion (830 million), with the investment fund PAI Partners and the cooperative Sodiaal, 51% stake in Yoplait SAS and 50% of the entity holding world Yoplait brands.

This is an internal document particularly embarrassing for PSA Peugeot Citroen has revealed to the press the CGT, Thursday morning. While the band prides itself on being the "good student" automakers, Renault face, producing more in France, this policy brief program does nothing less than the closure in 2014 the site of Aulnay-sous Bois, one of the largest employers in Seine-Saint-Denis with 3600 employees and is considering the site Sevelnord at Hourdain, North (2800 employees). Evidence that the government takes the matter seriously, Philippe Varin, the boss of the group, was convened Thursday night at Bercy by the Minister of Industry, Eric Besson, a head-to-head. "

The group is obviously not expected that this confidential document was made public.But unfortunately he found, after a bad manipulation, free access to a computer server manufacturer.

Click image for larger graphic.

The four-page report, called the "secret plan Philippe Varin" by the CGT, was written by two senior executive industrial August 23, 2010. Its purpose was to improve the competitiveness of European sites in 2020 and was to be presented to the general management committee (CDG) on September 8 and the strategic committee of the supervisory board on September 28.

In this note, PSA identifies several mechanisms to "drastically reduce" the "cost of manufacture" on small vehicles by 2020. And so the group plans to reorganize its industrial French.Stating that it is a "recall of decisions emanating from the steering committee group in January 2010," the authors point out that he was "determined an adjustment capability of 200,000 vehicles with an emphasis on site of Aulnay .

Not well seen by the Elysee

About this site, which manufactures the C3 – the best selling car by Citroen – the "social plan" is planned for 2013, and "stop", "Current 2014". "This schedule is consistent with the guidelines of the CDG in January 2010 placing the window listing possible, in the French electoral calendar, in the second half of 2012, the company said, aware that a plant closing announcement would not particularly well seen by the Elysee by the presidential election guaranteed online personal loans.The plant's production fell to 195,000 in 2010, against 418,000 vehicles in 2004 (and 6200 workers), according to the CGT.

Beyond the reductions of fixed costs, estimated at 68 million euros per year, the land transfer, "estimated at 300 million euros", "allows a return on investment of less than ten years." Meanwhile, the increase rates in Poissy, which has become "one major hub in the Paris region, and in Mulhouse, in order to increase the utilization rate of these plants.

About equally explosive, PSA is also considering writing the closure of the Sevelnord – where the partnership with Fiat will stop – in 2015. Under this scenario, the production of large MPV is tilted at the latest within four years, to a low-cost countries.The other option is to maintain the site in exchange for public subsidies.

Aulnay Sevelnord but Madrid are described as sites "away from the criteria of excellence" of the group in terms of logistics, "Urban Environment" and "social costs".

In his defense, the group said, speaking through its industrial manager, Denis Martin, note that the CGT was unveiled by a document "preparatory" now "obsolete" because it "corresponds to a situation of early 2010. The closure of Aulnay "is not relevant today," he stressed, adding that on all the sites he could not comment on the sustainability beyond the horizon " 12 to 18 months. " This does not exclude a close after this period.A central committee (IAC) will be held exceptionally in the coming days on this subject.

According to Jean-Pierre Mercier, Steward Aulnay CGT, the largest employer of the department, "that we live in the plant proves that management carries out its plan for several months with the arrest of a night shift at Aulnay and its inception in Poissy. "

After three potential scenarios developed by the working group of Bertrand Fragonard, president of the High Council for Family Affairs, it was the turn of the Economic Social and Environmental Committee (EESC) to make known its proposals to finance the old age dependency. The two rapporteurs of the text have sent the first draft to all members of the EESC. The final opinion must be considered and voted that the 14 and 15 June before being sent to the government that sought to prepare its reform this summer.

In his text, the Committee stresses the challenge "societal" dependency. Solutions "is to implement new (…) of solidarity, sustainable for families as the public finances over time," says the notice emphasizes that the financing of the loss of autonomy must be on a casting vote by the national solidarity.According to figures cited by the EESC, expenses associated with the dependence reached last year, 33 billion euros, 24 billion to the burden of the community. Population projections are also reported an increase of 25% of people aged over 75 by 2025.

1% on inheritances and donations

To ensure the extra spending, the Committee advocates the establishment of a 1% tax on inheritances and donations out of business transfers and professional tool. "This tax would apply to all products that are not taxed today," said Monique Weber (CFE-CGC), co-rapporteur of the draft opinion.Successions between married or civil unions would then be concerned, like those on certain real property (located mainly in Corsica and benefit from exemptions), works of art, or gifts and legacies made for the benefit of associations .

The Notice also contemplates "the alignment of the full rate of the CSG on pensions (6.6%) on the assets (7.5%). This option, proposed in particular by the MEDEF, Fragonard and the commission did not favor the government but in the EESC could bring 1.7 billion euro. The opinion, however, leaves open the debate and suggests that this increase in the CSG could be applied "beyond a certain threshold of income."Other lines of inquiry such as the introduction of a second day of solidarity, an increase of half a point in the premium pension scheme, a levy on the assets of the highest or the introduction of VAT name, have however been excluded.

The text also stresses that to the increasing share taken by private insurance contracts, several precautions must be met to avoid the rising cost of loss of autonomy in the home, including the poorest.The EESC therefore envisages the creation of "a label given to public contracts respecting the specifications, and introduce government subsidies to help households subscribe to these guarantees.

Finally, beyond the financial recommendations, the project would include a large number of practical recommendations for home support for older people or support for caregivers (family members caring for dependent persons), according Monique Weber. Trails explored by the commission as Bertrand Fragonard.

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Otis, Crossroads Market, Carrard Services … These three companies have one thing in common: they face these days in a strike of their employees who claim to be better working conditions or wage increases, sometimes both. How original you might say, to see employees' strike "because they are dissatisfied? Not much except that the term "strike" was historically a very different meaning.

The word "strike" originated on the "Place de Greve," the name given to the middle of the twelfth century to the scope in front of City Hall of Paris. It was a beach of sand and gravel which stows the goods (wood, wheat, hay, wine …) arrived by the Seine and ended up where, each morning at dawn, workers without work seeking employers for the day.This "Place de Grève" was then a scholarship to work and place of employment for the unemployed. In short, an employment center before time …

This concentration of workers who were not working but looking for a job … was called "strikers." Hence the emergence then of "strike" which means "look for a job." A sense diametrically opposite to that of today …

Despite his cheerful voice, that the bitterness that prevails. After 17 years of work to earn temporary caps in many societies, Sylvie Trouillet displays its ras-le-bol without wearing gloves. "The interim, it became a battle every day," she plague. The latest figures from job center, which show an improvement of temporary employment from 14% in one year, let this marble forties. His only concern: "The precarious status of the Interim," which in her opinion, rises to a crescendo.This observation led him to create the National Association of long-term acting (Anild), to defend the rights of these workers.

Unemployed since the beginning of the year except for a mission of "technical secretary" of three weeks in an estate agency that winter, the executive assistant training roundly on a sector that "has profoundly deteriorated over last twenty years. " After two CDI punctuated redundancies, first in a shoe wholesaler, then to a company renovating the building, she pushed for the first time the door of a temporary agency in 1994. She is 26 years."At the time, there was no support or unemployment benefits, it should work right away." In the process, she landed her first mission at France Telecom: a post of Assistant Director of site Val de Fontenay, near Paris.

From 1990 to 2001, "a blessed time of the gods"

Nestle to Air France, through the Savings Bank, EDF, the National Federation of jewelers, etc.. The missions are linked together, "often of long duration, three to six months." "The phone rang regularly," recalls she, calling the period from early 1990 until 2001, "blessed by the gods." Throughout the experiments, "I climbed the ladder from secretary to become commercial or sténodacylo framework," adds Sylvia proudly."With the interim, my salary has also increased from the minimum wage paid to 3,000 euros per month," connects the daughter of butchers, who then receives the temporary work as a springboard. Claiming a status of "interim career, by choice," she does not think in this context, to move towards a CDD or CDI.

But in 2001, the "gods" are less forgiving. The "changeover" to mark the beginning of a Sylvie "period of uncertainty" in the chain of missions pay day advance. "Suddenly, with this first crisis, the candidates have poured into the agencies," in which "human relations" were, she said, reduced to a trickle. "The agencies were no longer account for our luggage to our versatility and experience as before, she does most valued our résumé," Sylvie annoyed. "We proposed missions under-qualified, sometimes without regard to our training.And if they refused, we were told that there were thirty people behind. "Consequence of the crisis that followed the bursting of the dotcom bubble, pushing companies to drastically reduce their costs and staffing. For Sylvie, agencies, anxious to maintain their contracts with their corporate partners, then stopped "selling" their acting properly.

The Interim, "an unemployed sleep"

And according to him, the situation has further deteriorated since the last crisis. A real gap has widened particularly between "acting, which is not entitled to RTT, or tickets to restaurants" and "owner" analysis does."Once, a colleague told me anyway, an interim president, is an unemployed worker to sleep!" Without the assurance of finding work every time, like many self-employed Sylvie concedes that his private and social life has taken a hit: "I'm single, childless, and have not taken a vacation since 1982," she whispered.

In 2005, while unemployment and "free allocation", Sylvia suffers a period of great distress. "The phone rang again I was a nervous wreck.Sometimes I had to settle for a glass of milk and a biscuit a day. "It will take the opportunity of a mission at Carrefour to put an end to this rough patch and regain morale.

With Anild its association founded in January with a friend acting, Sylvie hopes to "raise awareness among agencies, public opinion and government" in the evolution of temporary work, especially for the 2012 presidential election. Only fifteen members have so far joined its ranks. Although many in comparison "of more than 800,000 temporary" that make up the market. But she said many people have already made contact. Besides his commitment, Sylvie is looking for work. Meanwhile, as always, that "the phone rings."

The shock wave continues to sweep Fukushima Europe's energy. While Switzerland has announced its nuclear phase-out, Germany specifies how the final cessation of its 17 reactors, her 7 oldest already being put off since the reversal of Angela Merkel.

On 6 June that the ruling coalition in Berlin to present its draft law on the date of the release of nuclear energy. The Ethics Commission was commissioned by the Chancellor gave his opinion: Germany should abandon nuclear power within ten years.A position to resume its behalf by the head of the Bavarian Christian Democrats, allies of the CDU Angela Merkel, during long and tough negotiations this weekend, amid new anti-nuclear demonstration.

Threat of blackout

Is that the pro-nuclear industry in mind, threatening the country with a blackout or an exorbitant cost in case of renunciation too fast for nuclear power plants. Energy-intensive factories will be in trouble, warns the Association of Industrial Energy. According to Bild, the government expects an output cost of an atom of 16 billion euros by 2015, while the overall figure of 40 billion euro circulates in the CDU documents cited by the Süddeutsche Zeitung .

In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi's government, which provided early in the year to revive the nuclear arrested in 1987, has also backtracked.He earned the confidence last Tuesday in Parliament on a gel for a year or two atomic projects.

In France, where nuclear has provided in 2010 about 74% of electricity, its place in the energy mix should be widely debated during the presidential campaign. In this context, the Government has entrusted to the Court of Auditors an audit on the cost of nuclear power, future decommissioning, waste management and additional costs of security including post-Fukushima.The Prime Minister asked to "gather the relevant questions of economists as associations of environmental protection, but they denounce expertise not pluralistic.

Completely new, reflecting the effect Fukushima in the country's most nuclear-armed world, the Directorate General for Energy and Climate (DGEC) asked its experts to calculate the impact on the electricity bill and releases CO2 down 5% from nuclear. Response in September.

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