SRI is an investment made in companies that meet the criteria of respect for people, environment, values ​​… Socially responsible investment thus favors companies actively engaged in an ecological approach and those who have good social and ethical practices.

Conversely, it excludes those:

-Of which the activity is considered dangerous, as the tobacco, alcohol or weapons,

Who does not respect the environment,

Who does not respect human rights,

Who give undue importance to performance, to the detriment of the overall balance of the company.

An investment in life insurance attached?

Solidarity investment is present in companies that develop an approach for assistance. This is, for example, companies that have employees in situations of exclusion or disability.

All these companies have not necessarily an activity-oriented integration and assistance to people in difficulties. Some are subject to competition, but are choosing to include these employees as part of their general social policy.

Note: These criteria also include the financial profitability.

An investment in life insurance attached?

It is twofold. On the one hand, the investor contributes to the development of an economic base more respectful of people and the environment low interest rate personal loans. Moreover, these areas are probably more long-term carriers.

Indeed, socially responsible companies or mutual aid are not looking for immediate profit. Their approach is a vision where a company is strong because its development is sustainable. In 2010, business leaders have used two times less energy than others and have created twice as many jobs.

Can we invest in these sectors through the life insurance?

Life insurance is particularly suited to this type of investment. In addition, these funds were not to be ashamed of their performances against the euro fund or stock standard. They are especially less sensitive to economic equity, many companies in which they invest are not listed.

As part of a diversified life insurance, investment responsibility and solidarity is one way to go. There are still few in the market, but the comparative life insurance contracts reported providing access thereto.

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SERVICE:

"You want to invest in savings responsibility and solidarity? Seek advice from a broker life insurance. It will select for you Companies that offer these funds.

Not a word has filtered out of the conversation between Nicolas Sarkozy and PSA boss Philippe Varin. For nearly an hour, the two men met at the Elysee about the factory in Aulnay-sous-Bois in Seine Saint-Denis. The future of this plant, which employs over 3,300 people, would be threatened, unions fear. The presidency as the automotive group has declined to comment on leaving the meeting.

Nicolas Sarkozy wanted to convince Philippe Varin to organize a roundtable discussion with unions and industry minister, Eric Besson, "next week" to discuss the future of the site. A request of the unions, the president-candidate met Thursday at his campaign headquarters.

"All done" to save the plant

Nicolas Sarkozy said on Friday, on the antenna of i-TV: he will "do anything to save this plant." For him, it must "ease the burden on the wages of employees and the contributions of the company." He recalled that the business tax that has weighed deleted "250 euro per car manufactured in France." "It's fine to say that the cars must be manufactured in France, but if you put on in France making more taxes than elsewhere, there is a relocation," he concluded.

The unions said they were somewhat reassured after their head to head with Nicolas Sarkozy. "The words we hear a lot, but the words fly away, we want it written guarantees, said Jean-Pierre Mercier, the CGT. We play our skin. "And not just employees of PSA 9000 with direct and indirect jobs, PSA Aulnay is one of the largest employers in Seine-Saint-Denis, according to the General Council.

The record of the Aulnay plant is back on center stage last weekend. The unions had then expressed their disappointment after a meeting between employee representatives and management organized by the prefect of Seine Saint-Denis. But the concern of unions as of June 2011 and the disclosure of internal working documents of the automaker speculating a closure of Aulnay. Unions fear that the decline in production will continue and lead eventually to a cessation of activity on this site.

"We want to continue working"

In recent months the government has stepped up operations in the industrial thorny issues. Latest success, the recovery of the carrier Sernam by Geodis. In the case of Peugeot, the unions are skeptical, as expressed by Jean-Pierre Mercier Thursday: "We all know that the management of Peugeot expects the presidential and legislative elections to officially announce the closure of this factory, we are unwilling not die, we want to continue working. "

The TGV will happen one day at Toulouse to Bilbao? The Pink City will she finally to 3 h 15 from Paris by train, against more than five hours today? The decision to build the new high speed lines (HSL) from Bordeaux will not be taken before long. But last Friday, a necessary step to making this project possible was reached: the Ministry of Transport has validated their route. By setting three new TGV stations at Agen (Lot-et-Garonne), Montauban (Tarn-et-Garonne) and Mont-de-Marsan (Landes).

If governments dither before launching the operation is that it will be very expensive. "At least 12 billion euros," said one expert. A huge sum when the coffers of the State and local governments are desperately empty because of the debt crisis. In February, the General Council of Lot-et-Garonne has already said he would not pay his bill for the Pharaonic site.

The hesitation is all the more palpable than funding another LGV, that between Tours and Bordeaux, was problematic. But this was "only" from one site to 7.8 billion. It was expected that 57 local authorities provide nearly $ 1.5 billion for this mega project won by Vinci in public-private partnership.

Finally, about twenty of these entities have defaulted. Foremost of these, the Regional Council of Poitou-Charentes led by Ségolène Royal, who refused to pay its contribution, fixed at 103 million euros. For this LGV can be built, the state decided to take the money for its support.

330 million accrued

It also will replace the General Council of Gers, who a month ago, is back on his promise to pay eight million for this line, as with other local authorities who have given up to get their hands in their pockets for this work. Of nudges that will not be pledged the state budget. The explanation? "Nearly 330 million had been provided by the State in 2011 to address a potential rise in interest rates which Vinci was exposed because the group had used bank loans to complete the operation, says an expert on the issue. But this rise in interest rates has not occurred. These sums have been used in part to address the failure of several local communities. "

Result, despite all these upheavals, the financing of the LGV Bordeaux-Tours is provided. And Lisea group, led by Vinci, can concentrate on the subject regardless of his income. Fortunately, as Europe's leading construction and concessions has not time to lose if he wants to meet the deadlines: the first trains will travel on this line as of July 2017 and will Bordeaux 2 hours from Paris against three today.

For now, Lisea, which was selected in March 2010 to complete this operation is on schedule. In February, the group obtained the approvals related to the protection of wildlife and waterways necessary to begin work. It also acquired 71% of the land where will this new line of 340 km. And if some owners may appeal to the justice of the decision on the expropriation, these procedures will not prevent the commencement of work. In addition, Vinci has completed all archaeological excavations on the route at the end of the year. Already, he started out small tasks related to land clearing or the connection of the new and the existing line.

But the real kickoff of the site will be given in a few weeks. "We will attack the earthworks in June, Tricot explains Hervé, President of Lisea. Four or five thousand people are at work in fifteen different places. This work will take three years, maybe less if the weather is good. "

]]> http://cw-white-gallery.com/the-route-of-the-tgv-bordeaux-toulouse-validated/feed/ 0 http://cw-white-gallery.com/rising-protectionism/ http://cw-white-gallery.com/rising-protectionism/#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:28:11 +0000 admin http://cw-white-gallery.com/rising-protectionism/  

The Chinese have hit hard. They decided to freeze orders 45 Airbus to protest against the carbon tax that the European Commission imposed from January 1 to all airlines flying over European airspace. Beijing remember vividly that he has very strong case when a trading partner dares challenge him. The Middle Kingdom also knows how to play the national preference. It requires six high-tech sectors to buy Chinese. China is not the only country to use every weapon at its disposal to defend its interests.

Other states willingly play the card of patriotism and protectionism. In the U.S., the Pentagon chose the U.S. in February 2011 at the expense of Airbus Boeing to equip 179 tanker aircraft. The battle, which has experienced tremendous twists, lasted ten years. In France, more than 180 MPs signed a petition in June 2011 calling Air France to equip Airbus, not Boeing.

Broader range of measures

A study by the consulting firm Roland Berger, the use of defensive protectionism is rising sharply. The G20 countries have taken defensive measures 122 between November 2010 and April 2011, against 54 between May 2010 and October 2010. The first concerned imports amounting to $ 77 billion. The second for $ 31 billion. They drew on a wide range of measures ranging from quotas to technical standards, sanitary and environmental, through administrative procedures, restricting access to public procurement, export restrictions. Countries can also go on the offensive by providing support to an industrial sector, export subsidies, antidumping action or increase tariffs.

Europe can be even more tempted to protect themselves, the trade deficit with China rose to 170 billion euros in 2010 and has lost 3.3 million manufacturing jobs between 2003 and 2009 when China created 56 million jobs in the industry during the same period.

Refusing the border closure, Roland Berger experts advocate that Europe plays the opening for several reasons. European countries can not ignore the markets of Brazil, India, China and Russia who represent 40% of global GDP in 2050. They have strong assets (qualified staff, quality of infrastructure) that enabled them to attract in 2009 twice as much foreign investment (216 billion euros) that the United States. Europe can count on champions entered in the top 3 worldwide in their sector, such as GDF Suez, LVMH, EADS, Bayer, Sanofi Aventis, Michelin, BASF, Volkswagen. But it must also be facilitated by the political will to resist threats. The standoff Airbus-carbon tax is a good test.

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The former stars of mobile phones, Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, RIM (BlackBerry) and even Microsoft have missed the turn of the smartphone. Can they still get back in the race? Their image is tarnished by this delay. BlackBerry and Nokia-Microsoft duo are the first victims. They are also penalized by the unattractiveness of their application stores. While Apple displays 550,000 applications in its App Store and Google 350,000, for its Android Market, RIM and Windows Phone as having between 10,000 and 50,000. In response, the Canadian has just effected a turnaround first. It is now possible to download applications on its Android tablet playbook. For its part, Microsoft relies on the arrival of its new Windows 8, dedicated to the convergence between tablet PC and smartphone finally manage to win in telephony. Telcos want the arrival of a third player to escape the duopoly Apple / Google. For now, these wishes are not sufficient to ensure a start to a fanfare Windows Phone. Specialists have to find many beautiful virtues, it has sold just over 1 million Lumia (the Windows Phone from Nokia) since their launch in mid-November no faxing payday loans. For Nokia, it's a matter of survival. For Microsoft, success becomes an obligation, in a world where smartphone sales surpassed those of PC.

Motorola bought by Google

"Ten years ago, consumers chose a terminal. Today, they opt first for an ecosystem, "said Pierre Peladeau, an analyst at Booz & Co. And for now, the choices are on Apple and Android. The brands of the 2000s fetish pay the price. Sony Ericsson, soon renamed Sony, seeking to revive the glory. The new product launches are expected to accelerate. For Motorola, the situation is more ambiguous. The former star of mobile telephony, inventor of the clamshell phone, was bought by Google in August. Motorola has released its new Razr Android without the benefit of exclusivity from Google. The latter should spare the susceptibility of its other clients, Samsung, LG and other HTC.

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Dispute between experts around the social VAT. Valérie Pécresse, the budget minister, expects the measure to create 75,000 to 120,000 jobs. Nicole Bricq, the rapporteur of the PS budget to the Senate, believes that the decline in employer contributions, coupled with recovery of 19.6% to 21.2% VAT and the rise of the CSG on savings, will at best 30,000 jobs. And, at worst, destroy 40,000. The Senator had to defend its position in the Senate Wednesday night, when reviewing the draft supplementary budget including introducing VAT and social tax on financial transactions. A review which promised rapid, left, majority, having decided to reject the text of a block rather than amend the clause by clause.

To achieve these numbers, Nicole Bricq reasoning in two steps. She said the VAT increase will cause a price increase of 0.5% to 0.7%. This additional inflation weigh on consumer spending, resulting in the destruction of 120,000 positions. Meanwhile, the decline in employer contributions will create between 80,000 and 150,000 jobs. Hence a total balance disappointing.

"The cuts decided by the Government target salaries between 1.6 and 2.1 minimum wage, so skilled workers. Companies hire these workers when they need their expertise. The issue of cost is secondary. As a result, reductions have little incentive effect on the hiring decision, "Nicole Bricq reasons. She said it was to hire unskilled workers that cuts costs may have a strong effect.

A Keynesian model dated

At Bercy, an estimated economic models selected in previous official reports, listed by Nicole Bricq, are based on reasoning "Keynesian" obsolete, making the consumer the only engine of growth possible. The government counters that it is precisely to encourage competitiveness and thus growth in exports.

The executive wanted to target anyway wages very practiced in the industry, in order to reduce labor costs. Nicole Bricq replied that the loss of competitiveness of French industry does not come from labor costs but an innovation problem. That's why she regrets that the capital budget for the future, focusing on research, has been punctured billion to mount the store industry.

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Kellogg's takes its revenge. After being out of the game last year, the world's leading cereal offers Pringles potato chips, for $ 2.7 billion. It takes advantage of misadventures of the seller, Procter & Gamble (P & G), which had entered into negotiations in April 2011 with fellow American Diamon Foods for the sale of Pringles.

These negotiations were unsuccessful, the purchaser being mired in a huge accounting scandal. Within months, the stock price Diamond Foods has lost half its value. But the company had committed to spend $ 2.4 billion, mainly in equities, to get their hands on Pringles. In early January, Diamond Foods announced it would need to reassess its accounts the past two years, following an internal investigation into its accounting practices. Hours later, P & G said look for an alternative.

Kellogg's and P & G should complete the operation by the summer. The withdrawal of Diamond Foods will not result in financial compensation for P & G.

By offering the brand of chips, which generates about $ 1.5 billion in sales and employs 1,700 people, Kellogg's is a giant step for the future. "Pringles has a global presence that propels to Kellogg's second in the world of crackers, helping us achieve our goal of becoming a real business of cereals and snacks," says John A. Bryant, CEO of Kellogg's, which topped last year's $ 13 billion in revenue.

PepsiCo, the leader

Sold in over 140 countries, produced in Belgium and the U.S., the Pringles potato chips become the second brand of Kellogg's Special K behind The U.S. giant has already Keebler cookies and crackers and Cheez-It Townhouse. The group also sells cereal bars and fruit snacks. But he has to go up a gear abroad.

"The acquisition of Pringles it provides a platform for international distribution of its products ready for snacking," analysts said BernsteinResearch. This should lead to synergies, particularly in Asia, where Kellogg's is still low.

Dominated by PepsiCo, the snack market, with sales approaching $ 65 billion, grew twice as fast in the last five years in emerging markets (+9.6% on average) than in mature markets. The sale of Pringles brand disengagement of P & G's food, a segment where the world's leading consumer products had tried to diversify in the 1990s. In 2004, he had already sold its Sunny Delight juice. It intends to focus on cosmetics, personal care and cleaning products.

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The current political developments in key countries of the South do not seem to reassure markets. The departure of Silvio Berlusconi and his replacement as head of government by Mario Monti has not calmed the markets doubt the ability of the new chief executive to impose Italian program of deficit reduction required by the European Commission .

"There is no question that I invest in this action. There is no visibility. They mastered neither the personnel nor the cost of oil prices. They face strong competition from other companies, "said one portfolio manager bad credit payday advance. This opinion, indeed radical, summarizes the weariness of many managers who do not want to invest in Air France KLM.

The numbers speak for themselves. Market capitalization is more than 1.67 billion euros, less than 7% of annual sales and less than 25% of equity. The group is in any case weighed down by a net debt of 6 billion euros.

Until then, Bercy expected a GDP growth of 1.75% in 2012. But since the beginning of summer, the situation has deteriorated considerably. "For the sake of seriousness, we decided to lower our forecast to 1% next year," said Nicolas Sarkozy, who is aligned and the assumption by our German neighbor.And, near the line thickness, on the average forecast of economists (0.9%).

To keep the deficit targets despite this deterioration – and this is the top priority – must be found "6-8000000000" euros in savings or additional tax revenue next year, said Chief of the state.

Nicolas Sarkozy has asked Prime Minister Francois Fillon, with Valérie Pécresse (Budget) and Baroin (Economics), floor of the copy. And this new austerity program will be announced "in ten days," just after the G20 which takes place in Cannes.

What is certain is that "we must spend less on operating and investment to support growth (…).But calling for a tax harmonization with Germany, the president did not rule out the idea of ​​raising the reduced rate (set at 7% across the Rhine at home against 5.5%) or the introduction of an intermediate VAT rate (between 5.5% and 19.6%) for products now subject to a reduced rate (catering, building …)

It announces clearly no "social VAT" – renamed "VAT antidélocalisation" to the UMP – hypothesis was raised in the procession of the tracks in the study. He implicitly endorsed the idea but has returned to the next presidential debate "in a few months."

However, companies should be tapped. Address the tax differential between multinationals and SMEs is a carrier. It is almost assumed that the new austerity plan will include a surcharge of corporate tax targeted at large enterprises.