Alstom! President Nicolas Sarkozy will never tire of telling Sarkozy the Minister of Finance in 2004. Whoever saved Alstom decommissioning by the German Siemens. He never ceased to recall this episode, during countless visits to factories. It is true that the rescue of Alstom was the founding act of Sarkozy statist. Finally, more along the lines of Napoleon III and Saint-Simonian as laissez-faire and ultraliberalism which accused his opponents.

During the 2007 campaign, the candidate Sarkozy has never released this theme. He was seen walking the plant “more than all the candidates from left, like he repeats, in criticizing the years Jospin, when the Socialists attempted to explain that” the State can not do everything ” . This direct contact, rough, with workers in their production sites became “the” visual signature of the candidate in 2007, and the new president.

So much for the rhetoric and symbols. Regarding acts, the Elysee said that the States General of the industry are a step in a long list of initiatives that have already been implemented. Since four billion research tax credit (CIR) voted in 2007, affecting 80% industry, until the reform of business tax – offset by the Parliament – through the great debt, and creation of a Strategic Investment Fund (ISF), excluding the merger of GDF with Suez. Sarkozy believes that it has twice as hard on the industry since his election. And if the results are awaited crisis requires, the Elysee said that “for the first time, the market share of French exporters in the euro area began to recover after more than ten years of decline” payday advance lenders .

This intervention, he claims, is intended to continue and even increase. Because, says the head of state is what the public expects of him. The closure of the plant Gandrange folder in which he pledged personally, was not well received, even if the workers have been reclassified. Result, he does not hesitate to push his Minister of Industry, Christian Estrosi, nothing to loose on sensitive issues such as Molex, Heuliez or Philips. A few days ago, he also lobbied for Christophe de Margerie as Total – a group 100% private – do not touch its French refineries, but overcapacity.

The new milestone was reached Thursday: the reorganization of the state shareholder. More questions to leave as much freedom as before to companies in which the state has an interest.In announcing that henceforth, a representative of the Ministry of Industry or ministry will be named “systematically” the board – next to the administrator of the Agency for State Participation (EPA) — the message is clear: the state will no longer have eyes only on its financial business, he also wants a say on strategy. The Elysee said that this concerns mainly La Poste, France Telecom and Renault …. What could prevent future, Carlos Ghosn is urgently summoned to the Elysee when the guidelines that the CEO wants to take his automotive group is not to the liking of its largest shareholder …

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“Sarkozy outlines its industrial policy

All the big names in the electronics world is found in Las Vegas. All except Apple, which looks January 27 to make a revolutionary new listing, which may take competitors by surprise.

Since late 2009, it seems clear that the firm will make an apple Internet Tablet to be called islation. The announcement will take place in late January, because Apple has rented a conference room in San Francisco. But the date of its Internet Tablet, which would have a multi-touch screen 25 to 28 centimeters diagonally, is only scheduled for the second quarter of 2010. Indeed, one of the subcontractors Taiwanese Apple said establishing a production of screens and aluminum chassis which should start next month. "It will not take long to assemble the different elements.But output in the second quarter is what we envision, "said an anonymous source to Reuters.

It seems that islation, including a video circulated on the Internet is the answer to Apple's digital media books. It is the first color. This could lead to the creation of a new department of sales on the iTunes website.

Competitors eclipsed

But it would be difficult to know now than to give this one new activity. The new product Apple should allow you to download applications, listening to music, watching movies, into a true entertainment product while traveling. It would be more appropriate than the iPod touch and iPhone, whose screen is too small (9 cm) to qualify for comfortable vision. Islation with the Cupertino company remains true to its business model winner.It sells very expensive and a revolutionary product takes the services market (music, video, books …) that are downloaded on this product. Exits to sell these services at very low prices. Consequently, when Apple makes money, the service providers do not share the crumbs.

This ad may overshadow those of its competitors have made in Las Vegas. Last week, new Internet Tablet, which is a kind of PC without a keyboard but with a multi-touch screen, were presented by almost all PC makers. Among them, the Chinese Lenovo freed from Intel and Microsoft opted for the chips Qualcomm U.S., of Britain's ARM and a Linux operating system. But these are, after all, only computers that are trying to rise from their ashes. Five years ago, a first wave of Tablet PCs had appeared before dying for lack of customers.

The carbon tax is passed to the door Tuesday censured by the Constitutional Council. The government promised to submit within three weeks, a new mechanism. Anyway, the series of texts budget voted in recent weeks Finance Act 2010, Act funding Social Security, supplementary budget for 2009 includes several other measures affecting the taxation of households this year. Here are the key.

• Ceiling overall tax loopholes

For income received in 2010, a taxpayer may not reduce their income tax using the tax loopholes (working from home, child care, grants to associations, Scellier …) beyond an amount equal 20 000 plus 8% of its taxable income. Introduced in late 2008, the overall ceiling was far more generous, to 25 000 plus 10% of income.Taxpayers who use the niches Dom-Tom, Scellier, or devices for tourist homes have a respite: they have signed an investment commitment before December 31, 2009, they escaped the drop in overall ceiling .

• Act Scellier

The reduction of income tax, taxpayers enjoyed buying a new home for rent under certain conditions, remains at the same level as in 2009 – representing 25% of the purchase price – for homes purchased in 2010 that they meet or not the standard "building low-power" (BBC). The "greening" starts from 2011 for non-BBC dwellings, the tax cut to 15% next year and 10% in 2012. For homes BBC, it remains at 25% in 2011 and then fell to 20% in 2012.The Scellier disappears at December 31, 2012.

For new housing, the loan rate zero (PTZ) was doubled in 2009 and will continue until June 30, 2009. Photo credits: Pascal SITTLER / REA

After the euphoria of recent days, the time for consolidation. U.S. markets were closed Tuesday in the red, ending a series of six consecutive sessions of gains. The rise in consumer confidence, the highest since December 2007, the figures and stable real estate did not convince investors. Results: From Tokyo to Paris, via London and Frankfurt, all exchanges are this Wednesday, in the red.

Thus, as expected, Wall Street began the session on a tentative note, but still negative. The Dow Jones dropped to 0.35% open and yielded almost 34 points, to 10,511.56 points.Same trend towards the S & P 500 has lost 0.31% at 1122.68 points while the Nasdaq Composite has dropped from 0.23% at 2283.07 points.

Just after the opening, the Chicago PMI index for the month of December has given a reason for clues to recover and move toward equilibrium, or even find the green. Economic activity in the Chicago area accelerated against all odds: the index rose by 3.9 percentage points to 60 points all round. This figure is considered a leading indicator of manufacturing activity at the national level.

Airlines monitor

According to information from The Wall Street Journal, the American GMAC Financial Services (0.75%, to 18.85 dollars) could benefit from additional public help than 3.5 billion dollars from U.S. authorities .It would occur in addition to $ 2.5 billion collected in December 2008.

The way Johnson & Johnson (-0.15% to 64.84 dollars) is being monitored. The FDA, U.S. health officials rejected a license application filed by the pharmaceutical group on ceftobiprole, treatment of skin infections of the skin structure. The Swiss Basilea Pharmaceutica had granted an exclusive worldwide license to the ceftobiprole Cilag, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.

Also in the same sector, Pfizer (-0.11% to 18.54 dollars) has announced its decision to terminate its phase 3 trials for the treatment of cancer, figitumumab.

A follow also the share prices of U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines (-0.79%, to 11.24 dollars) and American Airlines. Both eyeing the ailing Japanese company Japan Airlines (JAL).But rumors about a possible bankruptcy JAL has already had a falling action of the latter to the Tokyo Stock Exchange Wednesday.

Moreover, U.S. markets, airlines are also suffering: Index NYSE Arca Airline loose opening 1.06%, with 10 out of 13 companies listed in this index in the red.

Another repercussion of difficulties nippon, the dollar regained ground against the yen for the second consecutive session, reaching a recor of two months. Therefore, gold has dropped below the $ 1,100 an ounce. "Given the dollar's recovery, it is possible to see the yellow metal down to $ 1,050," analyzes James Moore of TheBullionDesk.com.

In a letter he sent to his employees, CEO of the U.S. bank Morgan Stanley, John Mack, said it will waive for the third consecutive year to its traditional premium end of the year. "At Morgan Stanley, we are aware of the context in which we operate and the economic difficulties faced by both countries. (…) I recommended to our remuneration committee last week not to grant me the premium end of the year. According to news channel CNBC, the management of Morgan Stanley's CEO wanted to receive this award.

John Mack will leave his post as CEO at the end of the year to become non-executive chairman of the board of directors. It's James Gorman to take over at the head of the U.S. bank.

Banks are currently in the sights of government and the American public, particularly incensed by the level of compensation of bankers, while the unemployment rate reached 10% in the country. In view of appeasement, many large institutions have decided to make efforts to pay. As such, the CEO of Citigroup, Vikram Pandit, will not touch a dollar of earnings this year and many executives of Goldman Sachs, another behemoth of American finance, agreed not to receive bonuses cash. Finally, Kenneth Lewis, boss of Bank of America at the outset, it has been pushed by the U.S. Treasury to waive any remuneration for his duties in 2009.

As expected, the government has again decided against increasing the minimum wage above the statutory minimum. According to the opinion of November 30 last by the group of experts chaired by Paul Champsaur, the minimum wage increase will be limited, given the low inflation observed on Tuesday by INSEE at a rate of 0 , 5%, raising the hourly minimum wage to € 8.86 gross instead of 8.82 or 1343.77 euros gross per month for full time.

Under the reform of the minimum wage passed in late 2008, the adjustment of the minimum wage will apply from 1 January rather than July 1, so as to precede the wage negotiations and corporate sector, which may well occur knowingly.This adjustment should cover some 1.6 million people according to a recent study by the Department of Labor, more than 10% of private sector employees.

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The National Association for Business Economics released its monthly survey on Monday on the state of the U.S. economy in 2010. The real GDP growth should reach them by 2.9% next year, compared with the 2.6% suggested in the previous survey.

"The real GDP growth should be sufficient to rebuild the lost ground during the recession and ensure that the production reaches a record high by the end of 2010," NABE said in a statement.

For the year, the group of economists expects a decline of 2.4% of GDP (against 2.5% previously) and an unemployment rate expected to remain above the 10 threshold % between the fourth quarter 2009 and second quarter 2010.

Since December 2007 and the beginning of the recession that the United States came out, the economy has destroyed 7.3 million jobs, the unemployment rate rising above the symbolic 10% (10.2% precisely) of the workforce in October, the highest since 26 years and a half.

"United States: economic indicators continue to improve

It only took five months to Daniel Button to return to the economic scene. After his resignation from his position as President of Societe Generale in late April in a particularly tense atmosphere marked by the Kerviel affair and the scandal of stock options, the former tax inspector has launched his own consulting firm based The newspaper Les Echos.

With a capital inmate in full by its founder, the consulting company "European vocation" has already concluded a first contract with the investment bank Rothschild & Cie in Europe, outside France, according to Les Echos.

This transaction has been facilitated by the proximity between Daniel Bouton and Francois Henrot, head of Rothschild, which had supported its counterpart particularly during periods of controversy as the former director of Societe Generale had been through.

The Industry Minister has detailed a series of measures that could change the face of French industry at the opening of the Estates General, which meet from today the industry representatives and social partners. He said hoped "that we study the financial and tax help for the relocation of production facilities and R & D". Christian Estrosi said that this "could take the form of premiums for relocation financed by the state variables at amounts of investment and number of jobs re-created. For example, the Minister cited the automotive supplier Ghent, which brought the activities of Romania to the Vosges.

However, Claude Miserey, Vice-President of the French Union of the Clothing Industry, said for his part that "it's not because we're going to reward our textile industries will begin to relocate, why should significantly reduce payroll taxes for production in France again become competitive. "

Aids for companies with fewer than 100 employees

Christian Estrosi has also proposed developing "a model of cooperative enterprise in which employees have majority ownership, a measure especially designed for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. In addition, the Minister mentioned the track "innovation tax credit, which would complement the existing research tax credit to help the innovative company after the filing of patent and until the launch of production.Other track: minister said he would "consider the implementation of green subsidized loans for the benefit of investment in industrial processes more environmentally friendly."

The estates will be developed around three pillars: a "national focus, with the establishment of a committee" called "CNEGI (National Committee of the General Industry), a" regional focus ", with the organization of workshops in the regions, and a "participatory axis, via a website. The themes will be related to innovation, the "policy networks", "employment and training", "competitiveness and green growth" and "access to finance.Up to € 15,000 per job in France repatriated Specifically, companies, small or large, can benefit from a support mechanism whose details remain to be determined but will take into account several factors including geographic location, the amount of investment and the number of jobs relocated. "It will be a variable premium and no tax credit. This will obviously give and take," said one expert dossier. The company wishing to relocate part of its activities will be most helped if she settled into a disadvantage. Experts estimate that the amount of aid will be between 10,000 and 15,000 euros per job. This amount will likely be added to other premiums. The number of jobs that companies with foreign parties could relocate in France is still difficult to assess.According to recent experiences, the Department estimates that on average a year, French companies could result in such incentives to repatriate a thousand jobs a month. Several companies have recently set the example, the company Vosges Ghent (Europe's leading metal mechanics and perforated fabric) has reported its machines from two sites in Romania. "We expect that the crisis subsides to make the hires," says a spokesman. In the world of optics, Atol relocated in 2005 a portion of its production previously done in China, for example, be more responsive to the request of its customers. Relocation may also have commercial benefits