World and National News

Henri Proglio and Anne Lauvergeon, who lead respectively EDF and Areva, are called in on Wednesday afternoon at Matignon. The Prime Minister has every intention of putting an end to bitter arguments currently taking place between the two main leaders of the French nuclear industry.

Since late December, the two groups, which have the state as shareholder ultramajoritaire, to blame for the failure of the bidding in Abu Dhabi. And in January, has expanded their quarrel: Areva has just suspended the transportation of spent fuel – from EDF's power – to its reprocessing plant at La Hague. In the entourage of Francois Fillon, it stresses that both companies are forced to work together.The prime minister wants to put an end to these incessant disputes and public.

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The Appeal of Ban Ki-Moon has been heard. "There is no doubt that we are facing a major humanitarian emergency and an equivalent effort in disaster relief is needed. I urge all members of the international community to assist Haiti in this hour of great need, "stated the secretary general of the United Nations (UN), after the violent earthquake that devastated the capital Port -au-Prince Tuesday. Since then, pledges poured in from around the world.

The United Nations said on Friday he had received 268.5 million dollars in aid pledges from many governments and businesses. To this sum, plus the $ 100 million that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has put on the table.At a press conference in Washington yesterday evening, its managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said this aid, which will be released "very soon" by the board of the IMF, would come from an extension of a existing loan to Haiti. The day before, the World Bank had pledged aid for the same amount.

Governments at the rendezvous

Among the twenty donors reported by the UN include Belgium (0.65 million), Sweden (0.85 million), China (1 million), Italy (1.46 million), Finland (1.8 million), Denmark (1.9 million), Switzerland (1.9 million), Germany (2.17 million), Netherlands (2.91 million), Spain ( 4.37 million), EU (4.37 million), Canada (4.8 million), Brazil (5 million), Australia (9.3 million), the United Kingdom (10 million ) and the United States (100 million).

In France, the Economy Minister Christine Lagarde has benefited from the presentation of his vows to the press this morning to ask the creditor countries of the Paris Club to cancel the entire debt of Haiti. The country still has 54 million euros to France, for example. Paris had already canceled unilaterally and unconditionally 4 million euros of debt, December 11 last. Christine Lagarde also appealed to Venezuela and Taiwan, two major creditors of Haiti who do not belong to this group.

Solidarity initiatives of companies

But generosity is not the sole preserve of large institutions and governments. NGOs and associations are at the forefront, both on the field and at the collection of donations. Calls for assistance have increased over the past three days.In addition to individuals, many companies have personally responded to these appeals, as after the tsunami that hit Asia in late 2004. Numerous initiatives have been announced, including France.

The Post, for example, will publish in the coming days, a tone of solidarity with the victims of the earthquake. The price of 1 euro includes a donation of 44 cents to the Red Cross. EADS and its subsidiary Airbus has decided to lend the association Action against hunger a jumbo A 340 to help the Haitians. The aircraft must take off from Lyon on Friday afternoon, with on board 150 cubic meters of material health and telecommunications, as well as pockets of water. Following the call of Industry Minister Christian Estrosi Wednesday, the French pharmaceutical industry donated 56,000 emergency treatment for relief teams visiting Haiti.Finally, the French airline Air Caribbean said this morning that it would introduce flights at special rates for Port-au-Prince, from the airport in the Haitian capital will be reopened to commercial flights.

The challenge of rebuilding

Such generosity is not without challenges. This effort requires international coordination, said Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Start quack, the EU acknowledged on Friday having been informed "by the press" of the international conference for reconstruction and development of Haiti, announced yesterday by France. "I am not aware" of the conference, said the spokesman of the High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs, Catherine Ashton, during a press briefing in Brussels.

Yet, as Bernard Kouchner, the appointment is already taken.The conference, which would join the United States, Brazil, Canada and other countries, could be held in March, said the Foreign Minister this morning.

Haiti, a country to its knees

• Population: 9.8 million (UN estimates 2008)

• Gross national income (GNI) per capita: $ 560

• Poverty: 78% of the population lives on less than $ 2 per day and over 50% with less than $ 1 a day

• United Nations Development Program (UNDP): 146th rank among 177 countries worldwide

• Life expectancy: 59 years for men, 63 for women

• Infant mortality rate: 60 per 1,000 births

• Aid for Development: The World Bank has granted 273 million dollars in financial assistance to Haiti since 2005, through the International Development Association (IDA).

(Source: World Bank)

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The blame for the situation that threatens the morale of households and owners who do not sell. Despite lower prices by 4.9% in 2009 and interest rates lower, the French believe that this is not the right time to buy. According to the Ifop survey presented Tuesday by the National Federation of Real Estate (FNAIM), 76% of potential buyers find that prices are too high and 51% it is difficult to obtain credit.

At these fears including rising unemployment, compounded by the lack of property: 60% of potential purchasers can not find property they like. "Many owners receive their property from the market because falling prices have made conditions unfavorable to sellers," admits the Fnaim comprising 13,000 agencies. Only 11% of owners consider that the time is ripe to sell.

600,000 sales in 2010

Despite these very encouraging indicators, Rene Pallincourt, President Fnaim wants to believe. "The crisis is behind us, we are in the period of crisis," says he, adding that this period would be "more or less long. Counting on the sustainability of the tremor recorded in December 2009, he believes in a modest recovery in 2010 which confirmed in 2011.

"There will be no sharp rebound but with low interest rates, purchase conditions improved particularly for households with incomes of about 3,000 euros. More buyers have incorporated that prices will fall more and the period of speculation on the price decline is over, "explains Fnaim. For her, the prices will undergo changes from -3% to +3%, while the value of property in the affected employment areas or remote areas may still fall.

Rene Pallincourt remains optimistic and expects a global increase in sales in 2010. If estimated at 550,000 the total number of transactions in France in 2009, he expects 600,000 in 2010. Estimates superior to those of notaries and the branch network Century 21.

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Born in the urgency of the crisis, the idea of an "economic government" back in force at the time construction begins the following: provide sustainable Europe on track towards growth and employment . Herman Van Rompuy, EU president, described the emergency Friday as "a matter of survival" for the continent. In response, the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero suggests a tighter coordination of national economic policies, with the possibility of sanctions against the recalcitrant.

For his baptism of fire in Madrid, the first president of the European Council has sounded the alarm. Europe out of the crisis weakened and "defensive," said Herman Van Rompuy. She has no choice. After the test, "the growth potential of the EU has fallen to just over 1% per year. It will not be sufficient to fund our social model (…) and the so-called European way of life. "It is time to speak truth to reforms and "the collective effort."

Europe out of the crisis and palliative care, but diagnosis remains gloomy backdrop of sluggish growth and industrial decline facing Asia and America. Unemployment rose for the first time in over 10% in the euro area, adds gloom. The first test of a burst is due February 11 in Brussels at an extraordinary economic summit with President Van Rompuy himself summoned.

Risk for sovereignty

Spain Jose Luis Zapatero, who holds the presidency of the EU, expresses its readiness to help."We must absolutely take another strategy (growth), binding, with the 2020," said Spanish Prime Minister told reporters.

For Madrid, the collective rules that already apply to the euro, government deficits or the competition on the market provide a unique model of governance. It should be expanded to a European recovery in the medium term. The idea remains controversial. If France pushes for eighteen months a "greater coordination" industrial policies, Germany is notoriously reticent. As for Britain, it opposes the front to European encroachment on its sovereignty.

Spain wants to raise – and more muscular – the idea of an investment plan in ten years. Already proposed in the late 1990s, the Lisbon Strategy was to make Europe the area's most competitive. In 2010, she finds herself far short.Now Madrid wants to go further by requiring states to targets and deadlines in areas deemed critical: energy, education, the digital economy or vocational training. The scoreboard would be monitored by Brussels. "Incentives and corrective measures will complement the device, said Jose Luis Zapatero. This time, it is to ensure that the objectives will be achieved. "

Madrid launches the debate with a hint of provocation. Herman Van Rompuy has not taken over the idea of a constraint. The crisis has restored the fortunes of interventionism. But the Spanish recipe may strike the interests of States.The Capitals would not see a good eye, the EU invested a right to control their expenditure budget, or even any power to sanction.

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The "Teorem" Thales is not a math problem. The Telephone Network Cryptography for state and military, made by Thales, is exclusively for heads of state and military, for its qualities in terms of security of confidentiality. RTL radio this morning reminded the many business-related policies tapping conversations with enemy states as well as by allies. With encryption, the conversations transmitted by Teorem can escape from such plays.

In moving in Cholet, Maine-et-Loire, to present his greetings to economic forces, the President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy will go through the factory, where 850 employees are working on making this phone. The terminals will exchange sensitive information secrecy protection.Only two companies in the world are able to produce such a device.

In 2010, the Head of State, representatives of ministries and military staffs will have the 14,000 copies ordered by France in March (price not known at this time).

To ensure the security of sensitive communications that must relay any lost or stolen device will be excluded from the network.

The crisis has backfired in China. With more than 8% growth in 2009, Beijing table already on a growth of 9.5% for 2010, relegating the slowdown of the first and second quarters to the level of vague memory. In any case the forecast of the State Council Development Research Center, near the Chinese government, which estimates that investment driven by the market will gradually take over from the recovery plan launched by the Chinese state during the coming year.

The property "become the main source of investment growth," said Zhang Liqun, an economist with the think-tank, in a report published Friday in the China Economic Times, a newspaper that publishes all research center. Investments in this sector are expected to jump 30% to 40%. Inflation, which feeds a lot of concern among analysts, should be contained below 3%.

Mr.Zhang also provides for a resumption of exports, which depends on the Chinese economy, which had declined in 2009. For his part, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming, recalled earlier in the week a foreign trade up 10% to 15% in 2010.

These estimates are supported by the leading indicators of economic conditions, past the green for several months already. The index of purchasing managers has reached 56.6 in December, registering its highest level in twenty-two months. Above 50, the index indicates an expansion of production.

Concerns about credit

In the third quarter of last year, China's economy recorded 8.9% growth. Even in 2008, which saw the economic slowdown begin has not broken a positive revision of growth figures – like previous years.The National Bureau of Statistics announced a correction of + 0.6% of the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008 to 9.6% after a reassessment of the place of service sector growth.

For 2010, the Chinese machine should not make a break. President Hu Jintao called for continued rapid economic development and stable, when television delivered his vows December 31. Most analysts expect growth to exceed that of 2009. The Asian Development Bank on a table and GDP growth of 8.9%, against 9% for the International Monetary Fund and 9.3% for the Economist Intelligence Unit.

But challenges remain unchanged. Faced with the explosion of credit in 2009, which helped finance the generous recovery plan, the Chinese Premier did not hide some concerns."It is good that our bank loans are more balanced, better structured and to a lesser extent," confided Wen Jiabao to the official news agency Xinhua last weekend. He asserted, however, want to maintain the stimulus to avoid the risk of jeopardizing the country's development. In 2010, Beijing will need more than ever think about a way of sustainable growth for the drafting of the new five-year plan, covering the period 2011-2015.

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