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Dominique Strauss-Kahn said goodbye as expected Monday afternoon in Washington with his colleagues in the IMF. Refusing to say more, the spokesman confirmed that DSK was also "briefly" met with Christine Lagarde before. It was "private meetings" held at the request of DSK and that the press was not invited.

The IMF staff was asked to say "goodbye" in a room usually devoted to the headquarters press conferences. Tea and coffee were served. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is mounted on the platform to speak for ten minutes. He wanted not only to greet his colleagues, but he also apologized twice "for the harm done" to the institution.

A lot of people to greet him was in a hurry. "Several hundred" witnesses said. "He was applauded.The atmosphere was warm, "commented one frame. Many, especially women, especially African, wanted to be photographed with him.

DSK told his audience of the importance of imagination in the IMF mission. He also said that if their recommendations had been followed eight months ago, Europe would not be where it is today.

A popular leader

The ousted boss of the IMF gave no indication of its political intentions or professional on his return to France. He however praised the speech made Saturday by Christine Lagarde warned that the G20 leaders risk of relapse into recession and the need to practice in the short term even the stimulus spending quick cash.

The former CEO had arrived with his wife Anne Sinclair to 3:30 p.m. at the wheel of his Audi.He chose to enter quietly through the underground garage and left the same way.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was popular with staff. He recognized great qualities to have changed the image and practices of the IMF during the financial crisis. The institution is now much more visible in debates on the reforms to be implemented to combat the crisis. It is emerging as a kind of secretarial and "think tank" of the G20, while providing enormous resources urgently to stabilize countries in crisis.

Critics of economic policies made by the IMF are more biting than in the past. The contribution of funds to support plans to indebted countries in the euro area is crucial, both in terms of funding and conditionality. Provided the results of these plans are not yet up to the expectations.And recommendations to the rich countries do not seem to be better monitored than before.

Employees recognize the IMF provided that their favorite patron has made huge mistakes personal trial and that the abandonment of criminal proceedings against him can not be the "whitening" or erase their mistakes.

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The people of the East Coast of the United States are preparing for a weekend out of the ordinary. In anticipation of Hurricane Irene, the authorities announced palsy or slowing of most means of transport that normally innervate New York Area. Once is not custom, the inhabitants of the Big Apple, including 250,000 living near the coast are being evacuated, will have to live in slow motion.

For security, the three New York airports – JFK, La Guardia and Newark – will be closed Saturday for aircraft arriving at noon (18 hours Paris time). The flights from these airports, however, may take off until further notice. This is an extraordinary disruption to an area that typically concentrates the air flow one of the densest in the world: each year, as many as 100 million passengers pass through this metropolis.This weekend, more than 8,000 flights should be canceled, according to the site FlightAware.com.

Like most of his counterparts, Air France announced Friday the cancellation of all flights to New York JFK on Saturday and Sunday, while disturbances are waiting on those provided to and from other cities the coast, like Washington, Philadelphia or Boston. The resumption of service, from Monday, could also be laborious and cause further disruption, have also warned the airlines.

Transport suspended

Measure more tangible for the people, public transport will be suspended in the Big Apple this Saturday from noon until probably Monday rush hour flexcheck cash advance. The subway, buses and railways do not circulate.Motorists have also been asked to leave their cars at home until the alert is lifted. If winds exceed this weekend 96 km / hour, the authorities of the State of New York have also warned they would close the main roads towards the city, and some bridges.

Given the restriction of transportation and possible damage caused by the passing of Irene, the inhabitants were ordered to stockpile water and food in preparation for the weekend. "Water is our product that sells best," noted the retailer Wal-Mart on Friday. Many are those who are armed with power generators in case of power failure.

To address these potential damages, the cost could rise to nearly $ 12 billion according to consulting firm Kinetic Analysis, U.S. authorities are preparing to deploy in new ways. 900 National Guardsmen and 2,500 workers in the electricity sector include ready to intervene in case of power failure. All these measures aim to avoid at all costs repeating a scenario to Katrina, the hurricane that was painfully struck New Orleans in 2005.

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New tough session in Paris. After opening close to balance (-0.11%), ACC widened its losses in the afternoon, in response to the speech from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke. The index rose from 3045 to 3015 points in minutes. But investors quickly resumed: a comprehensive plan was not finally ends probable.Le CAC down 1% to 3087.64 points.

Earlier, the index feature of the Paris market was disappointing not welcome the publication of the second estimate of U.S. GDP in the second quarter. It rose 1% annual rate over the previous three months, said the Commerce Department, revising and down 0.3 points his first estimate of growth in the spring published in late July.Analysts had forecast a less pronounced rate revision, to 1.1%, according to their median forecast.

In Frankfurt, the Dax-30, very bumpy this week limit case and ends with a drop of 0.84% ​​to 5584.14 points after losing more than 3% in séance.À the London Stock Exchange, the FTSE- 100 finished virtually unchanged: it loses 0.02% to 5129.92 points.

Fed pushes to place an ad in September

Highly anticipated speech of the President of the U.S. central bank, Ben Bernanke does not reassure investors. In fact, Bernanke has pushed the September announcement of concrete measures to support the U.S. economy. The central bank is expected to meet more fully next month, he indicated, to "discuss more fully" in the policy.Ben Bernanke also called on U.S. lawmakers to take fiscal stimulus, saying they have more flexibility than the institution.

As for currencies, the euro lost some ground against the dollar after the speech of Ben Bernanke. Around 16:30, the European currency was worth 1.4359 dollars against 1.4441 to 15 hours. As for the oil markets, I Brent North Sea for October delivery was trading at 110.25 dollars on the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in London, down 37 cents, while in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a barrel of "light sweet crude" (WTI) for the same maturity lost 35 cents to 84.95 dollars.

In the euro area, regardless of major macroeconomic news.This morning, the companies manufacturing have revised their forecasts down slightly investment for this year and expect a 14% increase (against 15% previously).

The bank's head Cac 40, Peugeot sinks

Essilor International: -0.30% to 52.97 euros

Essilor International in the first semester a turnover of 2.06 billion euros, up 6.9%, the band announced via a press release issued in the edition of Les Echos to appear Friday.

Financials

The ban on short selling financial stocks on Thursday was extended to France, like Italy, Spain and Belgium, and the Financial Markets Authority (AMF) said it would review its position by late September.

This decision only briefly managed to reassure investors.If this decision technique to limit selling pressure on the sector, it does not address the fears that persist on European banks and their exposure to countries in need. After posting the largest gains of the Paris stock in early trading, financial stocks are once again very attacked: Societe Generale lost 2.82% to 21.33 euros, BNP Paribas was down 2.33% at 33, 56 euros, Credit Agricole down 1.41% to 6.419 euros while Natixis closed the show the worst performance (-4.51% to 2.686 euros).

In an interview with Le Figaro, the CEO of Crédit Agricole (-1.41% to 6.419 euros) said the group had "significant cash reserves" and "has no difficulty in financing" .

Conversely, other cyclical stocks, car manufacturers, will gradually take after opening the largest declines in the Paris stock exchange.Peugeot (-0.62% to 19.36 euros) which bought between 12 and 22 August last, about 2% of its capital amounting to 92,010,000 euros, folds to 2.03 %, to 19.01 euros. Renault wins its 0.46% to 26.32 euros.

Total: -0.73% to 32.5 euros

Total expected to present a reorganization in the fall of scale of its operations downstream, with a planned merger of its refining and petrochemicals, according to Les Echos, citing union sources.

As for oil, prices were mixed Friday morning during electronic trading in Asia, in a sluggish market, before the highly anticipated speech of the head of the U.S. central bank (Fed).In morning trading, a barrel of "light sweet crude" for delivery in October gave 10 cents to 85.20 dollars per barrel of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery took 19 cents to 110.81 dollars.

Note that APRR and Bel Cheese (1.24%, to 163 euros) will publish their interim results after market close.

Households eligible for the allocation of the new school will have received today. The family allowance were announced in early August that this financial boost to low-income families would be paid to the beneficiary households between 19 and 21 August at the latest.

Last year, about 5 million children and 2.8 million households had received this benefit, an average of 300 euros per child. "We do not yet know the exact number of beneficiaries, because some families must provide proof that they will have to re-entry. But a year on year, this figure varies very little, "says one to the National Family Allowances Fund (CNAF). In 2010, the CNAF had counted only 600 beneficiaries over from the previous year. A few weeks ago, Roselyne Bachelot noted that it had mentioned the figure of 4.6 million recipients.

Increase of nearly 7% of the cost of school

In 2011, the allowance for school was revalued by 1.5% to reflect inflation. Depending on the age of the child eligible under 18 if in school, the aid received varied from 284.97 euros to 311.11 euros per year. But the annual increase covers only a small part of the rising cost of school.

According to the Association of Family France, it rose by almost 7% since last year. For a student of the sixth, the only school supplies back to around 187 euros. Involved, the general inflation of around 1.9% a year in France, and the sharp rise in prices of raw materials, pulp and paper in particular is currently selling at record prices.

The race against time for Christmas toys began. The year 2011 is not easy. In addition to the rising price of raw materials, manufacturers and distributors must manage an additional constraint: the implementation, since July 20, the new European directive on toy safety. This significantly strengthens the requirements. So, in laboratories and offices, the list of requests made to the standards continues to grow … "The timing is not ideal compared to year-end holidays," says Stéphane Azoulai , Vice President Lansay.

The new directive, which replaces a text dating from 1988, strengthens the regulation, including through improved product traceability. Each toy must now be accompanied by his "identity card".Which identifies the entire production chain, from raw material origin to the name of the toy factory where it was manufactured. As for the 'CE' (European Community), it must be printed directly on the product or its label and not only on its packaging.

"The goal is to enable consumers to find out where the toy," says Serge Milon, toy expert at SGS, the world leader in inspection and certification. Mistrust has indeed increased in recent years, the list of suspect products (cadmium, phthalates …) have ceased to grow.

The Directive also takes into account the changing attitudes of children. The markings were made more accessible by using shorter sentences and more punchy ("choking," for example).The new text drummed cards especially among manufacturers, distributors and importers in an area where more than three quarters of the products are manufactured in China. The responsibility for quality and safety, is now shared paydayloan. It no longer lies only to manufacturers.

An implementation guide accompanies the 150-page directive to allow decoding risk analysis, monitoring records … If some importers or distributors may prefer a blind eye to the origin of a particular toy, they could now show zeal. Some will have to conduct additional inspections. "This is monstrous files to provide our clients, Stéphane Azoulai sorry.Some signs are up again test the toys in the laboratory. "

Advantage given to European manufacturers

The cost of the new standards, up from 10% to 20%, also changes the game. It takes 1,000 to 4,000 euros per product, depending on its level of sophistication. Products stored for more than three years must also board safety tests. "When 150 references, it starts to do a lot!" Stéphane Azoulai plague. "These high costs lead us to limit the depth of our range, adds Thierry Bertoux, CEO of Jemini, the French soft toys and furniture for children. It is easier for a multinational company to amortize these costs over several million pieces. "

Some companies have chosen to transform their organization to adapt to the regulations.At Lansay, one person was previously in charge of standards and procurement. A team will soon be established.

If it is more restrictive, the new regulations, however, gives a competitive advantage to European companies, "insofar as it creates barriers to entry," said Thierry Bertoux. "Making cost could lead to compromise at the expense of safety, says Serge Milon. It is a way to make quality and safety of products up by applying best practices. "

Apple becomes the world's largest "portable" across all categories, ie, taking into account both PCs and tablets. The Apple brand has sold 13.6 million against 9.7 million laptops for HP, relegated to second position. Apple has a performance to 10.7 million iPads that have been sold worldwide in the second quarter. 65% of this market.

In the past three months, sales of tablets exploded 400% to $ 16.4 million, while those of notebooks have eaten 2% to 48 million copies. "The growth of the market shelves beginning to be at the expense of laptops," said Richard Shim, analyst at Display Search Senio, thus justifying the merger of these two product categories in the studies.

And behind the two market leaders, the battle continues.Acer has recorded the largest decline, with sales volumes plunged by 12% in one year. The Taiwanese are heavily penalized by the failure of his tablets. However, Samsung and Dell posted the best gains, with growth of 44% and 33%.

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Rain of bad news and stock prices in free fall: the equity markets reconnect with painful memories of that week. The day after a heavy fall session, the Paris Bourse continued to tumble Tuesday. The listing of the CAC 40, which was no longer available since 9:56, due to technical problems with NYSE Euronext seeks to determine the cause, took over around 1:35 p.m.. To 14h, the index was down 1.19% to 3762.10 points. The Paris index is so close to its lows of the year (3,696.56 points on March 16).

On other European markets, some markets reduced their losses: Milan fell by 0.50% in mid-session, Madrid from 1.47% and the London Stock Exchange fell back to 1.55% and Frankfurt 2.09 %.

On both sides of the Atlantic, countries are faced with concerns about the level of debt.In the eurozone, fears of contagion from the debt crisis, with Italy in its sights, spread. European finance ministers are trying to reassure the markets and say they want to "preserve the financial stability of the euro area" and "resist the risk of contagion" said the head of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Junker. But after a meeting that had at a crisis meeting, the central bankers do not scaffold new plan. A lack of concrete severely punished by the markets. I

They however expressed their readiness to increase the size of the Emergency Fund financial.They are also considering a "lengthening of maturities of loans" made to allow more time for countries struggling to pay to reduce the interest rates of loans to Greece.

Meanwhile, the Portuguese economy expected to contract by 2% in 2011 and 1.8% next year, partly because of the austerity program that the country has committed to implement in exchange for financial assistance international, according to new forecasts from the Bank of Portugal.

And the problem of sovereign debt is a concern across the Atlantic. The U.S. president, however, has indicated a willingness to compromise, particularly on reducing the budget deficit.

As a result, the euro accentuated its losses against the dollar Tuesday, falling to levels seen for four months.Around 11:00 in Paris, the single European currency was worth 1.3930 dollars against 1.4029 dollars the night before.

Inflation and rising Livret A

The consumer prices in France rose 0.1% in June as in May, according to the National Institute of Statistics, an increase that has immediately led to an increase of 2 to 2.25% rate remuneration of the Livret A. Prices over the year were up 2.1% (after + 2%). Excluding tobacco, the increase is the same.

Rising prices of consumer goods in supermarkets rose 0.4% in June, after rising more pronounced 0.7% in May, INSEE said on Tuesday in a statement. OPEC will release today the release of its monthly report.In the U.S., we know the trade in May (1430) and then comes the publication of the minutes of the last Fed meeting (20 hours).

Banks in trouble

The sharp fall of the European banking sector marked a break in the late morning Tuesday, but this improvement technique does not dispel investors' fears of contagion from the debt crisis in Italy or Spain. A Credit Agricole, which fell nearly 5% to 2.33% leaves the opening in mid-session, followed by BNP Paribas which yields 1.32% and Societe Generale was down 0.92%. For his part gleans Natixis 0.40%. The conclusion was the same in Europe with a major Stoxx European banking shares down 1.39% against 5% at the close Monday.

Carrefour lost 3.56%.The group met with a setback in Brazil: the government no longer supports the project Carrefour to approach the local distributor Pao de Acucar, while the Brazilian National Bank for Development has agreed to support the funding. The transaction is challenged by Casino, already a partner of Pao de Acucar, which opposes the merger of the latter with its rival.

The title of the French car rental company short Ucar evolved sharply down on Tuesday for his first day of trading on the Paris Bourse, in a context of very difficult market due to the crisis in the eurozone. At 12:00, Ucar lost 5.31% to 14.1 euros.

In addition, Christophe de Margerie, CEO of Total (-1.8%), was "summoned" to Bercy by the Minister of Economy, Baroin. The goal is to take stock of the evolution of fuel prices. "A study published by Le Parisien suggests that oil tankers are quick to pass on price increases at the pump, which is less true for the declines.

Vivendi (-1.35%) may waive the tax Consolidated Global Profit, writes Les Echos newspaper Tuesday.

Publicis (-1.25%) announced Monday the acquisition of a controlling interest in the advertising agency DPZ, based in Sao Paulo.

Bull after falling 1.52% expressed the signing of an agreement with Carmat, designer of artificial heart, for the development of equipment for carrying artificial heart. And that's the whole electronics sector that folds.

For its part, the title of his new partner earns 7.83%, to 183.10 euros, having announced Carmat a capital increase of EUR 25.5 million.The operation is primarily intended to fund clinical trials in humans and manufacture of prostheses, for a first commercialization in 2013. The total artificial heart specialist has also submitted its application for authorization of clinical trials with the French health authorities (AFSSAPS). If approved, Carmat realize the first implantation in humans before the end of the year.

A consortium of six companies led by EDF EN, a subsidiary of EDF (0.43%) Monday formalized his candidacy for the tender that the French government has launched for offshore windEEN has partnered with Dong Energy, Nass & Wind Offshore Poweo ENR, wpd Offshore and Alstom.

Icade announced the signing of a put option for the purchase of seven clinics belonging to the private hospital Medi-Partners for $ 233 million.

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While Christine Lagarde is the favorite to head the International Monetary Fund, his two rivals try to put a spoke in the wheels. The Governor of the Central Bank Israeli Stanley Fischer, freshly candidate initially put forward his training as an economist, which he said is "essential" to lead the organization in Washington during a crisis. The Minister of Economy and Finance has followed a career as a lawyer. "You need an intellectual framework," he said in an interview Monday in The Wall Street Journal. He added that there was "great in the past director of the IMF who were not politicians."

For his part, another rival of the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Governor of the Bank of Mexico, Agustin Cartsen, regrets the perpetuation of the domination of Europe on the position of boss of the IMF since 1946."There could be a conflict of interest between the IMF and the European Union if the French Minister of Economy Christine Lagarde was taking the head of the institution," he said business cards. We would have a situation where borrowers dominate a creditor institution. I think it's a problem that must be addressed. "

Carstens sees Christine Lagarde elected

This did not stop to see the Minister of Economy and Finance elected. "The chances for Christine Lagarde of getting elected are very high. I am sure she will make a good CEO, he told a conference at a research center on international economics from Washington, the Peterson Institute. This does not prevent him from criticizing a victory for Christine Lagarde he considers almost gained.

As for Christine Lagarde, she tries to gather as many supporters, including the United States that have not yet made their choice. They are however allowed to compliment Agustin Carstens, deeming it "highly competent". While the name of the future director of the IMF must be known by June 30, the fight promises to be full.

LVMH invited the General Assembly of Hermes and is a sensation. With its 20% stake acquired last fall, the group Bernard Arnault has publicly responded to very hostile statements by the family heirs of Hermes. Through the voice of his vice-president, Pierre Gode, the second largest shareholder of Hermes tried to convey a "message of peace" after six months of conflict.

The meeting was opened Monday afternoon at the Palais des Congres de Paris, in a further demonstration of muscle vis-à-vis this new shareholder. After his interview Monday in Le Figaro, Bertrand Puech, spokesman for the families Hermes, repeated his charges on "a series of aggressive moves against our house started to weaken and destabilize.""I want to say how pleased I am shocked at the methods used against our people and our families to invite them to join a company with which we are universally hostile." He once again reiterated the commitment of the family "who wants to keep control of the jewel."

At the opening session of questions, Pierre Gode has seized the opportunity to "denounce the trial of facts to LVMH for" with "force if not violence." The right arm of Bernard Arnault said LVMH's position in the capital of Hermes was "perfectly legitimate what anyone says," and that "in no case it can not be questioned." Bertrand Puech had asked the group Monday to sell half its stake. "LVMH has invested at Hermes for the long term and not meant to be a passive shareholder but not a shareholder activist and active but peaceful."As evidence, he pledged to vote on resolutions proposed at the meeting. He also assured that LVMH had never tried to destabilize Hermes, which would be "madness", "absurd" and put "anyone challenged to provide any evidence." "It is my hope that the bickering stop artificial, baseless and fruitless," he said.

The heirs of Hermes and officers have received more than freshly intervention. Ironically, Bertrand Puech has "taken note" of this "new era". Already tense, the atmosphere is therefore became somewhat rough. A small shareholder speaking then laid a new charge against LVMH and her boss, described as "predatory," "cynical" and "disingenuous." This has pushed back its representative, who asked officials at the meeting to maintain order and prevent about "defamatory".The meeting was also marked by the attempt of another individual shareholder, Patrick Repplinger, to deprive the family of Hermes voting rights because of its proposed holding heritage together a majority shareholding which, he said , amend the Control of Capital. This shareholder, whose application was rejected, is already causing an appeal against the decision of the AMF to authorize the project.

Ingenico is a giant step into the world of contactless payments. The world's leading payment solutions announced on Friday its participation in the Google Wallet, presented yesterday by the Internet giant. This mobile application allows mobile users to pay at once, by housing credit card information in their phone or powering a prepaid card, but also enjoy special offers from merchants, and validate cards fidelity.

"Our common payment solution will transform the traditional payment terminals to an outlet into a true point of care and thereby improve the purchasing for consumers," says Philippe Lazare, Ingenico's CEO in a statement."This new solution will allow consumers not only pay with the electronic purse but Google also benefit from a range of value-added services," he adds.

For Google, this partnership makes sense. With an installed base of more than 15 million handsets worldwide, Ingenico has a large strike force. The French group will therefore support its customers' in the implementation of the electronic wallet based on its new generation of terminals Telium secure. "

At the Paris Bourse, investors welcomed the news. Around 9:30, the track takes off from Ingenico 5.39% to 32.25 euros on a market up 1.28%. He signed the largest increase in the SBF 120.

Ensuring security

In addition, Ingenico, Google has partnered with Mastercard, the bank Citigroup and First Data encryption specialist.The application they offer is only for smartphone Android, including Nexus S designed by Google, equipped with an NFC chip, which transmits the data bank without contact. To finalize their purchases, customers will get their phone while in the merchant's payment terminal. Security level, the application will be locked by a code and the system will be disconnected whenever the screen is off. In case of loss, a call should be enough to disable all the payment function.

With geotagging, merchants partners will alert consumers bargain of the moment. These can be transferred with one click on their phone to benefit at the time of payment. Google will receive a commission on sales, as is already done community sites Facebook and Groupon.In contrast, the Internet giant would levy any commission on the payment themselves.

Google Wallet, currently in testing, should be accessible to mobile users in New York and San Francisco this summer, before an extension to the entire U.S., then Europe and Asia.

Welcome to the "era of Mo Lo

While the experiences of contactless payment multiply without achieving truly convincing, Google hopes to attract consumers and merchants to the technology. "This is a problem of the egg and the chicken. We plan to present convincing arguments that people are getting into, "said Osama Bedier, head of payments at the Internet giant. "We believe that 2011 and beyond will be the era of Mo Lo: Local trade with the Mobile Internet," says Stephanie Tilenius con side, Google sponsors activities related to trade.Google estimates that in 2014, less than half the mobile phones will be equipped with chips to transfer data without contact.

With this application, the Internet giant will gain valuable information on the consumption patterns of mobile users. Like the merchants who benefit from a powerful marketing. But fears about breaches of privacy might just be the main obstacle to the development of this technology.

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