Nicolas Sarkozy wants to regulate rents

 

Nicolas Sarkozy Knights principle of rent. Asked about the German model in this regard, the president candidate is that this is "a good idea." "I take it back. It does not block the rent but a framework. This is why it is interesting. I will apply, "he vowed in an interview published Monday in Current Woman.

In the mouth of the president candidate, unless the idea is new in that it looks. On 2 February, he said already "think" in a measure inspired by the German model. Across the Rhine, a tenant can attack the homeowner if the rent is 20% higher than the market price. The entourage of Nicolas Sarkozy said he had not yet decided the question whether, in France, the initiative would be left to the tenant as in Germany or if the 20% ceiling would be required automatically to owners.

At the campaign headquarters of Nicolas Sarkozy, it ensures that the President-candidate has not changed sides. Is depressed and the socialist proposal: "This is a measure similar to the 1948 Act (the rent freeze) and it is not the German system," argued an associate of the president candidate quoted by Reuters. "What is a priority for us is not to discourage the development of housing supply, that would surely cause a rent freeze," he added.

"Everything and its opposite"

Francois Hollande camp was quick to qualify this statement of complete reversal low interest personal loan. "On housing, Nicolas Sarkozy has said anything and everything in five years. After the 'all owners' roadmap of its policy since 2007, he rediscovered that there are tenants in France, they pay rents too expensive and they live badly, "reacted Repentin Thierry, head of the pole housing and urban policy team of the socialist candidate.

The program promises Francois Hollande "by law to oversee the amounts of rent for the first rental or relocation" in areas where prices are "excessive." But little else. Prices are set by local observatories rents and leases new concern. Especially, the measure would be "transitory", until the market relaxes, explains Thierry Repentin in the newspaper Le Monde on Saturday.

Friday, the benchmark rents (IRL) has increased by 2.24% yoy in the first quarter 2012, slightly less than inflation (2.3% yoy in March). Homeowners can increase to the same extent the rents of their tenants during the lease. However, the Observatory Clamor noted a slight drop in rents charged to new tenants (-0.1%).

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Housing for employees, companies growing problem

 

The housing problems of the French population in turn affect businesses. According to a study commissioned by Crédoc MEDEF, 40% of companies say they are generally affected by the housing problems of their employees.

To cope with rising property prices, more and more assets are forced to live away from their work. According to a previous study of the research center on living conditions, the time to commute from 20 minutes in 1999 to 24 minutes in 2010. A negative distance felt by companies for several reasons.

For nearly a quarter of them, it complicates the recruitment of new employees, the distance from residential areas reducing the pool of candidates. For employees already hired, 18% of companies believe that the time spent commuting affects their productivity. A study by the consulting firm Technologia, published in 2010, emphasized that "the delay, fatigue, stress accumulated (while driving) weaken the employees before they even get to work."

Lack of mobility

19% of companies also complain that their employees are not mobile enough. This mobility has declined steadily since 1998: all costs related to a change of address (agency fees and transfer costs) and especially the fear of finding housing more affordable than they have to move to discourage employees. Assets are being penalized and captives of their housing for employees, this lack of mobility limits the promotions, while it clamps the job search of unemployed. Businesses complain about it that this phenomenon is generating internally, rigidities.  

Large companies are particularly affected by these externalities. 43% of them find that their employees are engaged with housing problems and 55% complain that they bear the travel time too long. This is especially true of companies in the Paris and Mediterranean, where the housing crisis is particularly acute.

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The FSI invests in Twitter

 

The business social network Viadeo French decided to move up a gear. And he found in the Strategic Investment Fund (the ISP) support weight. The ISP provides 10 million euros in connection with a fund raising 24 million euros, the largest financing transaction of a French start-up in recent years. Viadeo has also expanded its round to international investors: Allianz, the U.S. investment bank Jefferies and funds from the Middle East. "After validating the past three years the success of our business model in France, Europe and in emerging countries, it is time to accelerate our growth," said Dan Serfaty, co-founder and CEO of Viadeo. It's the LinkedIn IPO, the world leader in May 2011 that his challenger decided to change gears. LinkedIn, which is currently worth $ 4 billion in stock, displays 150 million members and an income of $ 522 million in 2011.

Therefore, the question of an IPO of Viadeo arose. "End of 2011, we decided to stay a private company. So far we have funded our development on our own resources. We decided to have new shareholders could provide the necessary financial resources to accelerate growth, "said Dan Serfaty. He came into contact with the ISP. "Twitter fits perfectly into the ISP's investment strategy. It is both a French champion with innovative technology and jobs in France but also with international exposure, "explains Jean Arthuys, director and executive committee member of the ISP.

100 million members

With 45 million members worldwide, Viadeo has twice as many members as LinkedIn in France (5 million against 2.5 million). "Twitter does not attack frontally LinkedIn, it deploys a clever strategy to challenge with strategic positioning, geographical and an innovative business model," Jean D'Arthuys analysis. In two years, Twitter has taken strong positions in emerging markets in China with the acquisition of industry leader, Tianji, a strong presence in Latin America with the acquisition and purchase of Unyk in India Apna Circle . It has just opened in Russia in partnership with media group Sanoma. Today, Twitter has a balanced portfolio of 10 million members in Europe, 10 million in China, fifteen Latin America and the rest in Africa and India.

Despite its internationalization and installation of Dan Serfaty in Beijing, the center of gravity remains of Viadeo in France with 300 employees on the 400 Group. "The money raised will enable us to complete three projects growth: the increased presence of Twitter on mobile, increased partnerships with groups such as Salesforce, Cisco and Orange to develop professional applications essential to our members. Finally, we will strengthen the teams who market our solutions recruiters from companies. "

Viadeo has based its business model on several sources of income. Half of sales come from online subscriptions from individuals wanting to change their careers. 30% come from human resources departments of companies who see this platform the best way to recruit employees. Finally 20% comes from advertising. "Our goal for 2015 is to double the number of members to 90 or 100 million and tripled our turnover," said Dan Serfaty. Not revealed, the turnover in 2011 is estimated at more than 50 million euros, up almost 80%.

2.5 billion in digital

"Digital technology is the engine of French growth, the most promising sector in terms of jobs and added value. It is therefore fully in the mission of the ISP, "says Jean Arthuys. Since the creation of ISPs two years ago, the subsidiary of the Caisse des Depots carries a portion of state ownership in large companies like France Telecom, but has also invested 2.5 billion French companies in the digital age. And he did the entire value chain. So the ISP is in both networks (TDF, Eutelsat …), in electronic components (Soitec, Gemalto, 3S Photonics, Inside Contactless …), the software industry and services (Bull, Avanquest, Cylande, Qosmos … ) or even the contents with the input of capital and Skyrock blogs or video portal Dailymotion.

Sernam will learn his fate Friday

 

A few days before the presidential election, the suspense is over for 1441 employees Sernam. This afternoon, the commercial court of Nanterre (Hauts de Seine) has decided to deliberate the decision on the takeover offer Sernam by Geodis. The carrier's employees have expressed their concern. "We have mixed feelings, we have always said that the offer was a minimum of Geodis and not at all sufficient, told the press Thierry Bresson, secretary of the company. Our fight now is to save the jobs of those who are not included. " For its part, the government was pleased with the continued availability of Geodis. "This is great news for the maintenance of this offer was not insured," responded the Minister of Transport, Thierry Mariani.

The logistics subsidiary of SNCF introduced on Tuesday a revised offer from the carrier recovery Sernam, in receivership, the commercial court of Nanterre, said Tuesday the CEO of Geodis. "We confirmed the offer that we had filed in March by bringing facilities," said Pierre Blayau. Geodis has proposed to include a court takeover of the company as of May 7 and safeguard 826 jobs in 1600. "If the offer is accepted by the court Friday, we can offer solutions for all the employees because, immediately after the court decision, we will do a roundtable discussion with all stakeholders in the mail to see how other companies people can take, "said Minister of Transport, Thierrt Mariani.

Blayau says Geodis increased its offer

If the court gave the green light Friday, the recovery would be effective three weeks later. Initially, the CEO of the group had called for "taking enjoyment shifted" Sernam, or 28 to 45 days after the court decision. "We wanted to leave it to the director to engage socially and manage the distribution of those times," explains Pierre Blayau. Reportedly, Sernam funds would allow it to take two months at the current rate.

Pierre Blayau further indicated that he had offered 500,000 euros for the resumption of the business, against 50,000 provided in the original offer, denying a report in the Figaro, which reported a EUR 96, and the maintains. He also assured that he had never thought to withdraw its offer. "If we drew attention to the state treasury, it was neither to withdraw nor to recede. There was no procrastination, "he has said.

The CEO of Geodis has finally rejected any political pressure would have been to maintain its offer, while recognizing that the government was following "closely" folder.

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Auto Insurance: What to do in case of sale

The suspension of auto insurance

If the insured decides to sell his car, he must inform his insurance company. The latter then proceeds to the suspension of auto insurance. This suspension occurs rapidly (in most cases, the day after the sale at midnight). When the insurance company suspends the auto insurance policy, all the underwritten guarantees are no longer effective.

Following the suspension, if the insured wishes to permanently terminate his car insurance, it must send a registered letter with acknowledgment to his insurance company. This letter must provide all information necessary to enable the insurance company to identify the insured, his vehicle and the contract. The insurance company has a period of ten days after receipt of the request to proceed with termination.

Namely: following the request for suspension of auto insurance policy, the cancellation occurs automatically within six months.

Upon termination, it is important to take stock of the sums paid (or collected), especially if they have been after the termination. Indeed, unless specified in the auto insurance policy, the insurance company can not claim compensation for termination.

Note: Some auto insurance policies may result in the payment of compensation up to six months of premium.

Buying a new car

If the sale of the vehicle is followed by the purchase of another vehicle, it is possible to ask the insurance company to postpone the auto insurance suspended on the new vehicle. However, according to the specifications of the new vehicle, the conditions of auto insurance may vary.

Namely: in France it is necessary to be assured at least a third to move legally.

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A fire stop a nuclear reactor in Penly

 

The early afternoon was stirred in the Penly nuclear power station, in Seine-Maritime. Around 12:20 on Thursday, a fire alarm went off after a smoke in a room located in the reactor building of the production unit # 2 no fax cash advance. Security systems were then engaged, causing the reactor trip. According to a statement from EDF, "there were no injuries and the facilities are safe. The event has no effect on the environment. "

Find products "Made in France"

 

It is defined as a 'detective' Made in France '. " Sylvain Lescot, 33 years and commercial training, launched in December the site-Référence.fr France, with the ambition to "establish the habit of buying citizen." Specifically, this merchant, whose product catalog spans four themes (home, toys and entertainment, multimedia and gastronomy), offers users to compare one product with its foreign equivalent, manufactured in France. Thus, facing the mixer "Soup Maker" Cuisinart product in the U.S. and priced at 199.50 euros, it suggests to the consumer to buy the "Soup & Co" Moulinex to 229.90 euros. Salt and pepper to the duo Automatic One Touch range (29.90 euros), made in China, he opposes the salt mill Peugeot "Bistro natural" (16.50 euros).  

The concept is in tune with the times: 42.3% of French people think that promoting products "Made in France" should be a priority in the presidential campaign, according to a study site Testntrust. Or, buy French is often an obstacle course. Mentions on the origin of components and place of manufacture on the labels abound, sometimes inducing the consumer. "The offer on the shelves is a jungle," said Sylvain Lescot, that "the French do not know in general that there are local equivalents to foreign products the best known." With the exception of certain areas, such as multimedia or television, in which there is almost no offer purely French. To select products, France-Référence.fr is based on criteria adopted by the association Pro France, which manages the label "Origin France Guarantee ', the main requirement being that at least 50% of the value added product is produced in the Hexagon Business Card Holders.

90% of products are purchased French

While websites offering a selection of products "Made in France" multiply, France-Référence.fr claims its status online retailers. "The consumer is free to choose the foreign product, we also have in stock," says Sylvain Lescot. "We respect the individual tastes and budgets." If the French massively plébiscitent local products, the price point is important in these times of crisis. Only 49% of them are willing to pay more, the last notes of the brand Observatory France. A concern that shade Sylvain Lescot. "While some French products can be twice as expensive than their foreign counterparts, others have a price lower than 20%."

Still, with this system of comparison, the offer tricolor appears to be doing on the game-Référence.fr France, 90% of the products purchased are French, welcomes its founder. "The 'Made in France' is not a utopia, but a way of future consumption," wants to believe. Therefore, after investing nearly 60,000 euros in building his company, the latter provides a second phase investment of 100,000 euros in the next three months to boost its offer of 300 references to over 1000. France-Référence.fr be able to respond to a request which, according to forecasts by Sylvain Lescot, should quickly jump from 5 to 50 orders per day.

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Burger King renewed the offensive

 

Burger King goes on the offensive to win back customers less and less convinced. Director North America of fast food chain, Steve Wiborg, detailed this weekend at USA Today's battle plan. It comes in three areas: promoting healthier recipes to the menu (chicken, fruit smoothies …), new decoration of restaurants and extensive advertising campaign. 2500 U.S. restaurants and should be renovated in the next three years, while celebrities such as footballer David Beckham will be mobilized for the campaign.

Miami-based chain, bought in 2010 for $ 3.9 billion by the fund 3G Capital, had to react. Last year, it lost its traditional position as the second largest seller of hamburgers in the U.S., restaurant owners and franchisees alike. According to research firm Technomic, Wendy's has topped the pole with $ 8.5 billion hamburgers sold, 100 million more than Burger King, but still far behind the 34.2 billion King McDonald's.

The growing strength of Wendy's has been attributed to its new range of sandwiches more upscale and upgrade its stores, operated in 2011.

The snub did not extend to the international market, where Burger King is an undisputed number two small personal loans. The chain is present in 81 countries through 12,500 of which only 1,300 are restaurants owned.

By expanding the franchise

Both franchises expected to widen again over its international expansion. In late 2011, Burger King realized indeed still two thirds of its revenue – $ 2.3 billion versus 2.5 billion for fiscal year 2010-2011 – North America.

The new shareholder intends to continue its growth in emerging countries and Europe, where Germany, Spain and Great Britain predominate. An upcoming opening in France, which would pass through a franchise with Autogrill's partner Burger King in Italy, is expected.

The choice of an expansion franchise by offering the chain, heavily in debt since it was bought by leveraged capital 3G, greater financial flexibility. Negative, it restricts its ability to control the implementation of its campaigns, often very expensive renovation in restaurants. In the U.S., the owner of a fast food must put on the table between $ 300,000 and $ 1.5 million, as merely a lick of paint or he rebuilt his building for s adapt to new standards group.

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Banks regaining their image

 

It's not a coincidence. BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole, or savings bank: French banks step up efforts to try to improve their image whether from customers or the general public. A difficult task at the heart of an election campaign where the "finance" has been targeted. "Wrongly or rightly, the global banking industry has been much maligned since 2008," says John Lawrence Bonnafé, CEO of BNP Paribas. A poisonous atmosphere which has also surfed the Credit Mutuel in a commercial where a father learns to his horror that his son is "banker".

"Some criticisms are deserved. Conversely, banks that offer is not always valued, "says John Lawrence Bonnafé.

This is why the executive committee of the first French bank floored last few weeks on an "accountability charter" which was presented Friday at the convention of 2000 senior executives of the group. "Some of the content of the charter is the result of specific commitments to BNP Paribas and one part is common to the entire profession," recalls Jean-Laurent Bonnafe, who took the reins of the group on 1 December.

Different time, different arguments. In 1986, the French to dream when it was privatized, Paribas had zoomed in on the gilding of his mansion at 3 rue d'Antin, Paris. In 2012, the bank opens the door on its manufacturing facility, namely the risk control. Because, remember the charter, "to finance the economy, support projects, helping clients manage their exposure to foreign exchange or interest rates, it is willing to take risks." It is also necessary to control them, both in the interest of the bank, customers and taxpayers, the United States or Great Britain, paid the bill for mismanagement of Citigroup or RBS.

Thirty days to say no

The charter explains how the risk control. "It's unusual, but it seemed important to understand that we are making a real service by relieving clients of their risks and managing them in their place," said Jean-Laurent Bonnafé.

Another part of the charter, business ethics. "An employee does not offer any transaction which he knows will not be in the interest of the client" insists BNP Paribas.

The field of relational, all banks are seeking to improve and know. Credit Agricole and starts an advertising campaign around three commitments to its customers. Among them, the promise that business are not financial incentive to recommend one solution over another. Or the ability to retract thirty days after the purchase of a product. Savings Banks, for their part, have also highlighted last week of nine commitments from direct contact information for customer advisors to obtain an answer in principle within 24 hours any credit. "These commitments are not made in a snap. It takes a lot of work of preparation beforehand, training or redesign computer chains, "recalls one banker.

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The cold forced the French to consume

 

Electricity bills and fuel have been salted for the month of February. According to INSEE, household consumption has jumped from 3% in February as a result largely of the "sharp increase" of 11.7% in energy costs over the month. Moreover, "the cold snap would boosted purchases of winter clothing," notes INSEE, which noted a 5.7% rebound in apparel purchases, after a fall on the last two months .

This unexpected buoyancy (the market had forecast a rise in consumption of 0.2%) is unlikely to last. For starters, "we expect a drop in energy consumption in March, the weather being much milder than usual," Analysis Dominique Barbet, an economist at BNP Paribas. Spending on "durable goods" (household goods, autos) fell slightly in February (-0.7%).

Especially, the prospects are not good. According to the latest survey of consumer sentiment, they do not plan to make major purchases, likely to support consumption, and therefore French growth. Finally, "stagnating incomes suggests that households will not increase their spending significantly," anticipates Alain Carbon, an economist at Natixis.

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»Gas and Electric: unpaid bills for after the cold