"Do you accept the initiative for the right to a minimum wage?" This is the question that will meet future inhabitants of the cantons of Geneva and Neuchâtel. These referendums initiated by the formation of Solidarity and the left supported by the unions and the Socialist Party, are the subject of vigorous debate for several months. If the yes vote, it would be the first time that the Swiss cantons would establish a minimum wage equivalent.
The initiative does not specify the amount. But his supporters agreed on 22 francs an hour, … 4 000 francs per month (3,263 euros) for a full-time or 42 hours per week."It sounds a lot, but the cost of living is very high in Switzerland," says Jean-Christophe Schwaab, secretary of the central Swiss Trade Union (ASU).
According to the Federal Office of Statistics, more than 4% of assets, or 150,000 people, are "working poor" and make less than 2,200 francs (1,800 euros) per month. No, Switzerland, floor wage applying to all. Some minima are defined in sectoral collective agreements but all trades do not have such agreements.
Orphans ten years, Parisians are delighted to over 80% (according to a survey of figaro.fr) back on the Champs-Élysées of teaching English, founded 127 years ago. Although the 1400 m2 on three floors above are devoted to fashion, small radius supply more than a delight.
The strategy's return
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"The Great Recession does not amount to a great vacation," says Professor Erik Hurst, University of Chicago, who with two other economists Mark Aguiar and Loukas Karabarbounis, conducted a study on "the use of time during recessions "(Time use DURING recessions, NBER).
Of the 260 million hours a week lost in the labor market between January 2007 and December 2010, some 92 million, over a third were employed in domestic work and child care. These figures come from the annual survey of the Federal Administration (Bureau of Labor) on how Americans spend their days.
Place electrical cables lines high and very high voltage, from the soil or water into the air and ask, carry baskets … Perform all aerial work construction and maintenance of the network, that in the safest conditions. A highly specialized expertise and not without risk when French industry stands in the world thanks to the skills of RTE, the electricity grid operator, and its teams.
The RTE has decided to move to the next level. He announced today the creation of a new subsidiary Airtel whose mission is to build and sell these services abroad based on a new fleet of heavy helicopters. The objective is to assign a machine more powerful and secure work risky for humans pay day loans.
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Airtel takes delivery today in Marignane, Eurocopter's headquarters, the first of the EC 225 ordered. The new company becomes the first operator of such a machine in France after the Navy. The EC 225 belongs to the class of heavy helicopters of 11 tonnes and the Super Puma family of which it is derived in civilian version.
This device is unique because of its equipment developed for two years by a joint team involving Eurocopter and the RTE. The two companies know each other well. Since its inception, the RTE 100% pilot a fleet consisting of Eurocopter far as light aircraft or EC 135 Ecureuil.
From our correspondent in Beijing
It became the big hot topic on the Chinese Internet to the desktop as local leaders. The distress of Chinese SMEs in need of cash is in China proportions "hysterical", according to press reports in Hong Kong. To the point that the government has announced a package of measures to help them and calm the unrest.
The crisis of Chinese SMEs is symbolized by the incredible epidemic of bankruptcies in the city of Wenzhou, in the heart of the exporting province of Zhejiang. The Chinese press said Thursday that since the beginning of the year, more than 200 patrons had fled or hid after their coffers have dried up. Others have committed suicide. Some 20% of the 360,000 SMEs in the region have already had to close shop for lack of money.And the situation will get worse in January, when the Chinese New Year, traditionally the time when patrons enjoy a vacation to disappear without paying their employees. According to the New China News Agency, SMEs create around 80% of jobs in the country.
The State Council (Chinese government) has subsequently announced Tuesday a series of measures, financial and tax to help small and medium enterprises. The first is to facilitate access to credit. To do so, against the current of their policy, the authorities will allow the minimum reserve ratios "comparatively low" for local banks lending to SMEs, while this ratio was usually around 21% for large banks. Moreover, these small businesses can more easily borrow by issuing bonds. The other part is to exempt SMEs from a battery of taxes and charges.Banks are also prohibited from charging their services at prices "unreasonable."
"Informal Credit"
Wenzhou has become a symbol for it is the Chinese capital of the "informal credit". Private reserves by banks, which prefer to grant loans to large corporations, small businesses are strangled. They have no recourse but to turn to private security companies that have developed lending. The rates are incredibly high, ranging from 20% to over 100% … Some analysts believe that the share of informal loans may exceed 25% of total credit in the country. Credit Suisse has estimated that black market credit of 456 billion euros, with an increase of 50% per year.
Chief economist at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, Zhang Wenkui believes that the latest measures only bring temporary relief.And nothing will change until the banking sector do not be reformed, by offering different services to different types of customers. He has a vivid picture to describe the current situation: "It's like an irrigation system with water that would go to large trees and ignore all the shrubs." The problem is that in the short Beijing term can not open the floodgates too, failing to challenge its efforts to the credit crunch.
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DSK The case began on Twitter, May 14, fed news headlines, news sites, televisions and radios throughout the summer and peaked at 20 hours of TF1 in the DSK interview by Claire Chazal, September 18. More than 12 million viewers were then followed this high mass. On this new chronology of the information examined Observatory Orange Terrafemina, which reveals the results of his study Tuesday morning.
Based on quantitative data from the CSA institute and a panel composed of eight women TreizearticlesWebLab, the Observatory has dissected the new report passionate and uninhibited qu'entretiennent now the French with the information.
Optimism has no place in French industry and households. According to the monthly survey published Friday by INSEE, the synthetic indicator of business climate in manufacturing industry fell by six points to 99 points in September, passing below the 100 that corresponds to the average long period for this indicator. "He finds his level of August 2010," INSEE said in a statement.
As for the index of business climate as a whole (including services, construction, wholesale and retail trade), it falls along eight points to 97 points. Clearly, "the economic climate deteriorated in all sectors except construction," says INSEE.
Even pessimistic side of French households, whose confidence index has lost five points to 80 points in September, according to data from the institute free business cards.This is its lowest level since February 2009. This indicator had a slight gain in July (three points) after months of stability. But in September, households appear significantly higher than in July to anticipate an increase in unemployment (23 points).
To this must be added the concerns of their income: between July and September, the opinion of households on their personal financial situation has deteriorated further, the balance corresponding dropping six points. Thus, the French are less numerous than in July to consider appropriate to make major purchases (-5 points). About their nest egg, they also feel that the time is not conducive to spare that the balance corresponding losing 8 points in its long-term average.
The Taiwanese HTC opens new front in the war of patents that Apple opposes including the system developed by Google Android. The number two mobile phone in Asia filed a complaint against Apple in the U.S. yesterday, before a court of Delaware, and is putting together a file with the U.S. International Trade Commission. HTC believes that the iPhone, iPod and Mac computers violent nine patents that Google has given use to its partner in Taiwan last week. "HTC will continue to protect their patented inventions against counterfeit Apple," warned Grace Lei, the legal adviser to HTC.
The Cupertino company immediately responded: "We think competition is healthy, but competitors must create their own original technology, rather than stealing ours," said Kristin Huguet, spokeswoman for Apple.Apple has already launched similar legal offensive to defend its patents, accusing the manufacturers of phones running Android, including HTC and Samsung, have copied its iPhone.
This new legal battle occurs in the middle of dispute between Apple and Samsung in several courts around the world. The South Korean giant has had to suspend sales of its new Galaxy Tab tablet in Australia and Germany following a complaint filed by Apple that accuses him of having copied the design for the iPad. Samsung also attacked Apple patent on the use of telecommunications. According to local press, the South Korean was about to launch a tablet on Windows, the operating system from Microsoft, to reduce its dependence vis-à-vis the Android system.
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LE FIGARO. -The markets are highly concerned in recent weeks of debt crises. In this context, the economy has not she also helped to disrupt?
Jean-Michel SIX. -If, of course. And we must start by saying that in times of summer holidays, the markets, which were then much lower volumes, overreact to any new economic situation. The lower the index is up or dive in a much more important than what happens in winter.
Right now, they are rather dive …
For several months, both sides of the Atlantic, the signals on growth are not good. United States, including employment prospects are very disappointing. In fact, employment is not really left since the 2008 financial crisis.Labor mobility is limited due to the housing crisis: moving to take a new position, which is much the United States, is difficult because it becomes difficult to sell his house. As for household consumption, it is significantly weakened by the debt levels of Americans. A total of 2011 should result in a 2% growth, which is very disappointing for the U.S., where the pace of activity is generally much higher than in Europe.
Europe, precisely, is it in a perilous situation?
The problem of Europe is the growing divergence between North and South. This is something that worries the markets, which are asking what does that mean in terms of consistency of the euro area.Then, after a strong first quarter, it was believed that the air hole is the second passenger (once the effects of the earthquake in Japan absorbed and oil back to lower levels). But we realize that the sequence is also likely to be poor.
Markets can they regain composure?
It is quite possible to restore calm in September thanks to coordinated action. What happened in July is that we have simultaneously witnessed a loss of U.S. leadership, unable to break the deadlock of debt and a crisis of leadership in Europe in a context crisis on public finances. This is exactly the opposite which would have required!
So how about it?
First, we must continue the work on European Governance. This is critical. Second, the timing of implementation of the second plan is important for Greece.The European Financial Stability Fund will be endowed with significant firepower, which is to say the least-welcome, but there is some impatience markets. It is important not to drag the national parliaments to adopt the device. The political signal must come quickly. Finally, the ECB has played its role, it must continue to appear reassuring.
That's what she tried to Thursday …
The measures announced by President Trichet, in particular the resumption of purchases by the ECB on secondary markets, are extremely positive.
Investors do they always trust in the euro area?
Yes. Investor confidence, especially in emerging countries has not disappeared. She even remained strong, as evidenced by the excellent performance of the euro since the beginning of the crisis.The euro zone faces a crisis of governance, not a crisis of its currency.
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On the front of the consumer, the month of June was not enough to save a lackluster quarter. Household spending rose 1.2% in June, the INSEE report, after declining 0.3% in May The quarter (April to June), the index of consumption fell 1.8%. This figure could have been worse: INSEE revised sharply upward the month of May, where consumption fell by only 0.3% instead of 0.8% as previously estimated.
If in June, the index of consumption has recovered, it is "largely by the increase in durable goods and textile and leather," says INSEE. The first of these two categories, rising 2.5% over the month, thanks to automobile purchases, which rose by 2.2%. But this increase does not offset the decline from 11.2% over the entire quarter.A figure beating down all durable goods, down 6 guaranteed approval cash advance loans.3% over this period, after rising 2.2% earlier this year.
The timing of sales, which began very early, has also supported consumption in June. Textiles and leather saw its sales jump by 4.3% over the month. Throughout the second quarter, this item was down 0.3%. Moreover, "the rebound in spending on household equipment (3.8%) bodes well for the construction Stirrers, even if denrier remains depressed," says Camille Williencourt, economist at Natixis.
Traditional engine of French growth, consumption at half-mast over the quarter bodes well for slower growth over this period, after the strong rebound early in the year (+0.9%). Societe Generale table for his part in an inert quarterly growth of 0.1%.