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Fukushima: Tokyo was almost evacuated

Wednesday Feb 29, 2012

 

The government of Naoto Kan had indeed lost control of the situation in Fukushima, in full crisis following the tsunami of March 11, 2011. According to the independent commission of inquiry Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation (RJIF), a copy of a 400-page report was leaked to the press on Tuesday in a few days before its publication, Japanese authorities have considered a time a "worst case scenario "that would have led to an outright removal of Tokyo. Or 35 million people including the town, which lies 220 kilometers southwest of the damaged power plant. This report is based mainly on the testimony of Yukio Edano, spokesman for the government of the day, who says he worked on the assumption of a "chain reaction diabolical" if the nuclear reactor site would have exploded one after the other. "If this had happened, it was quite logical to conclude that we also lost Tokyo," he told investigators, according to The New York Times.

In lack of information on the extent of the disaster Fukushime, but anxious to avoid a general panic, the government has attempted to distill reassuring messages to the population. "We really just brushed against the worst case scenario, but the public did not know at this point," says Yoichi Funabashi, former editor of Asahi Shimbun and founder of the inquiry. This secret project evacuation of the Japanese capital, which Reuters obtained a copy, was presented to Prime Minister Naoto Kan – who resigned last August – by Shunsuke Kondo, Chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission, two weeks after the tsunami. He did not finally been unsheathed. "It was a crucial time during which I was not even sure that Japan could still function as a state," Naoto Kan admitted in an interview with the Japanese agency Kyodo News, last September.

Tepco wants to "abandon the central"

Far from overwhelming the only Japanese government, the pin also RJIF Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the plant in Fukushima, whose lack of transparency during the crisis has already been highlighted in numerous reports. Its leaders have also refused to cooperate with investigators RJIF. According to their study, TEPCO sought, the worst of the crisis, to evacuate the atomic site where employees were trying to control the disaster. This is Naoto Kan himself that would have forced the utility to continue its work maintaining on-site employees. For experts, without the insistence of Prime Minister, the accident would still Fukushima degenerate, causing even more catastrophic consequences. Thus concludes Yoichi Funabashi, "Naoto Kan has had its flaws and moments of absence, but his decision to go into force at Tepco and insist that the company does not abandon the plant has saved Japan." .. ……

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Monoprix casino decided to buy at the right price

Monday Feb 27, 2012

 

The riposte was swift. Hours after the publication Saturday in Le Figaro in an interview with Philippe Houze, the boss of the Galeries Lafayette, a 50% shareholder of Monoprix, Casino has been keen to dot the "i". "We have never been and we are not our vendor 50% stake in Monoprix," says a spokesman for the group Saint Etienne.

Monday afternoon, the Board should reject the casino proposal Galeries Lafayette to sell half of Monoprix to 1.35 billion euros. And refuse to buy back that share the same amount.

"If the Galeries Lafayette wish to sell their interest, as seems to be the case, the Casino is ready to buy, says the spokesperson, but at a fair price based on realistic financial assumptions taking into account economic conditions and recovery current distribution undertakings. "

Last week, the co-shareholders have made public their disagreement over the valuation of the interest in Monoprix and Galeries Lafayette: 1.95 billion euros according to the group of department stores, 700 million according to Casino. This gap abyssal puzzles many observers. "Most analysts believe that the participation of Galeries Lafayette is 1.1 to 1.2 billion euros", says one expert dossier.

The two shareholders have adopted diametrically opposed calculation bases. The Galeries Lafayette is part of the business plan for three years conducted in the fall through the management Monoprix, which provides a 40% increase in EBITDA (EBITDA) of society. Casino side, it is estimated that this plan can be the basis for an assessment and it is emphasized that the Ebitda Monoprix stagnant since 2008, a sharp increase in the coming years is not credible. With McKinsey, Casino has worked on more conservative assumptions.

"Violation of agreements"

These persistent differences complicate the work of JPMorgan, the bank chosen for the tie. According to the Galeries Lafayette, Casino would like the bank is working solely on the basis of the McKinsey report. That refutes the group St Etienne, where it is said that the Galeries Lafayette want to limit access to the leaders of JPMorgan Monoprix. Conservative, the bank does not seem ready to make its own forecasts on the evolution of the activity of Monoprix no fax payday loans.

Pointing to Pessimism, McKinsey, Philippe Houze, also president of Monoprix, Casino accused of "not believing in the future" of the sign. Reaction was seen as insulting. "It's as if we accuse of having raised prices to inflate the results of Monoprix," protested there be at Casino. The group "rejects these false accusations, confirms its commitment to Monoprix and reiterates its confidence in the management and employees of the company."

A spokesman for Casino also ensures that the decision of the Galeries Lafayette to extend by one year the mandate of Philippe Houze as head of Monoprix is ​​"a frontal violation of agreements." In the entourage of the group St Etienne, it ensures that the owners of the Galeries Lafayette, Monoprix very attached to, have long sought to Casino to abandon its purchase option, before changing his opinion in December, faced with its commitment to take control of the sign. "Then they considered they had an incentive to sell quickly, Monoprix likely to be challenged by the arrival of other signs in the city center and the site-private sale of its textile department," says a close case.

Casino, which publishes its results Tuesday 2011, should recall at this juncture that the partial withdrawal of its subsidiary Mercialys should bring him 800 to 900 million euros in the coming months. Funding for a possible takeover of 50% of Monoprix would be no impact on its debt. Such an operation could easily be done in parallel with the takeover of Pao de Acucar, the Brazilian subsidiary of Casino, on 22 June. The group will then only pay $ 10 million. Finally, if the status quo were to continue on the control of Monoprix, unable to consolidate this subsidiary in Casino's accounts in 2013 "would have only a limited impact on operating profit of the group and would not change the net minority interests, "argues an expert in Casino.

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The Germans rebelled against fuel prices

Saturday Feb 25, 2012

 

Andy Adam, by creating the page "No refueling on March 1 in Germany!" Was a huge blip on the canvas, quickly picked up by media across the Rhine. With an average price of 1.70 euro per liter of super (against 1.55 in France), gasoline saw its flaming course in Europe since January 1. Claim of individuals joined those associations, as ADAC, powerful organization that unites over 17 million motorists across the Rhine.

Rising prices is certainly caused primarily by rising oil prices and problems in the Middle East, but the spokesman ADAC also shows the finger of responsibility oil majors: the rising price of a liter "is a matter for enterprises, which make huge profits with. The market is monopolized by five major companies, which are not competitive, "she told the daily Rheinische Post.  

A signal to policy

Calling on Facebook, even if it materializes Thursday, March 1, will not change the policies of the major oil companies: "This will have no effect," says a manager of Esso the region of Ulm in Bavaria, interviewed by Südwest Presse newspaper. "It does not annoy anyone. Right now there are even more and more people are filling up for fear that prices will rise again tomorrow. " The fuel will not be purchased on the first will be taken the next day, betting professionals.

This action and its resonance is still a strong signal to motorists to the German government, in a time when state coffers are full. The German tax authorities because it may alter several devices to reduce the cost of transportation. In addition to VAT and taxes that affect the fuel, the Ministry of Finance has the ability to play on the tax relief enjoyed by motorists. The ADAC claimed that assistance to motorists who use their cars to get to work from 30 to 40 cents per kilometer. The ministry declined for now to make a move. These are the neighboring countries who benefit: the Polish and Czech gas stations are under attack on the eve of the weekend.

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HP is about to face several difficult years

Friday Feb 24, 2012

 

"It took us a while to get to the current situation. We will need some time to get out, "said Meg Whitman, arrived at the helm of HP five months ago. She spoke Wednesday night to mark the publication of first quarter results (ended Jan. 31) group.

Quarterly net income fell 44% to $ 1.5 billion, for a turnover down 7%, to $ 30 billion. The group anticipates a further decline in sales for the current quarter, weighed down by falling sales of PCs and printers. These divisions are still suffering the consequences of statements by the former CEO, Leo Apotheker, who suggested last August that HP would stop producing PC. To this were added the shortage of hard drives, a result of floods in Thailand, and the economic downturn. Finally, the PC division and tablets (PSG) has seen its sales drop by 15% in value and 18% by volume. This decline is likely to cost in addition to HP's leading position worldwide PC. The U.S. could be dethroned in the coming months by China's Lenovo. The direction of HP also noted the weak consumer demand for printers and evoked a reorganization of this division that has long been the cash cow of the group. For the current year, Meg Whitman still expects a profit of $ 6.3 billion.

Reduce expenses

"We must invest to save, save to grow," said Meg Whitman, without even specifying the amounts listed online cash advance. "We must optimize our supply chain and reduce the number of our references," she added. "The electronics industry is interested in the effect of increasing production methods introduced in the automobile: a common platform from which several models are broken," says one industry expert. For example, a frame may be common to one or two PCs, a tablet and a hybrid product. One way to significantly reduce development costs and production. This mode of industrial production would respond perfectly to the deployment of Windows 8, scheduled for the end of the year. The new version of the operating system from Microsoft is designed to promote convergence between PCs, tablets and smartphones.

Moreover, the allusions to Meg Whitman to the need to develop a simpler system ("one HP"), more integrated, suggest that job cuts are not ruled out. "Our big customers want to deal with a single point of contact when speaking to HP," she said. A way as to emphasize the importance of a presence in both the hardware (PC) and services. Meg Whitman also took care to reaffirm its confidence in the future of the company, its ability to adapt to changing conditions.

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A rare pink diamond discovered in Australia

Thursday Feb 23, 2012

 

There is one who has been lucky. Mining giant Rio Tinto said it had discovered a pink diamond of 12.76 carats in a mine in Western Australia. This is, to date, the largest diamond discovered in the country. "A diamond of this size is unprecedented, says Josephine Johnson, Manager of Argyle Pink Diamonds division. It took 26 years of operation to retrieve the stone and it is possible that we find in no other like this. "

The valuable discovery was named Argyle Pink Jubilee in reference to the name of the mine (Argyle) and the sixty-year reign, says, "Diamond Jubilee", which is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II.

Next step: cut and polish the stone, a delicate task that should take ten days. How Richard Kim Kam, in charge of the operation, already trembling, "I'll take care of it. I know that the world will look. "The diamond is then evaluated by a team of international experts and exposed before being sold.

Pink, more valued than white

Rio Tinto is kept for the moment any estimate on the price of wonder, but said in a statement that the high quality pink diamonds could exceed $ 1 million per carat. More than $ 10 million (7.6 million) for it.

It must be said that the diamond market is resisting rather well and that it is a pink diamond, which can be up to ten times more valued than white. In November 2010, a 24.78 carat diamond Pink has been awarded to more than $ 46 million. An unprecedented amount for a diamond and jewelry and is far ahead the previous record of $ 10 million for another pink diamond.  

Nearly 90% of pink diamonds discovered in the world come from the Argyle mine in the Kimberley region, says Rio Tinto. Stones the size of Argyle Pink Jubilee usually go to museums, the royal family or are auctioned in houses like Christie's. The latter has in fact sold only 18 pink diamonds over 10 carats in its 244 year history, said Rio Tinto.

The discovery of the pink diamond on Australian television:

VIDEO: Rio's biggest pink diamond gets the cut

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Entrepreneurship, a national cause

Tuesday Feb 21, 2012

 

Youth is condemned to the worst? Some suggest that argue indignation as the value of life. Philippe Hayat, founder of 100,000 Entrepreneurs Association, believes him, that high school and college students can take their future. "Let us turn to young people differently, according to another dynamic, and they say: to indignation or resignation, prefer action, the real, which contradicts the fatality. Since life seems so difficult to track, anticipate it, take it in hand and only count on you, "he writes in the book" Tackle! With indignation, prefer action, "published by Editions de l'Archipel.

Far made ideas that serve as ready-to-think, the treaty of good manners at the new generations is rooted in life to show that anything is possible. Philippe Hayat tells the story of his grandfather, Leon. Born in Tunisia in the late nineteenth century, Leo must make a living from the age of 14 when his parents disappear. Raising only his little sister, as between the adolescent boy to do everything in a bank. He climbs the ladder and managed to pay his three son studying in Paris. He settled in later years in the capital tricolor. "The example of young Leo would have blown that fate is made to be contradicted," says the author.

Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and his father, Philippe Hayat chose to shape his life. He became an entrepreneur in the early 1990s and decided to share his passion for the business. He founded the association 100,000 Contractors' initiates action contractors volunteers in colleges, high schools and higher education payday loan lenders. " His ambition is just "a few years, one hundred thousand entrepreneurs can restore confidence to a whole generation." His conclusion is simple: "France is a country of entrepreneurs who should no longer ignore." The million responsible associations, the willingness of young people from difficult to get by, employees who invent new projects in the administration or large groups reflect the dynamism of the country.

But the willingness of teachers and business is not enough that attitudes are changing. "The electoral programs generally evoke entrepreneurship lip service – and then only when … social policies seem less eager to support entrepreneurs seeking growth," says Philippe Hayat, which advocates that " Political leaders of youth entrepreneurship a national cause. More optimistic than words of caution and rigor on the one hand, compassion and grant the other hand, such an approach would be an early response to many evils. " This would require that this wish is that the state abandons some of its powers and leaves the field open to individual energies.

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Online advertising: Google gets caught at Apple

Sunday Feb 19, 2012

 

Apple promises to all iPhone users: using its Safari browser, they will escape hyperciblées advertisements on the Internet. The firm at the apple has, indeed, with his navigator, also available on Mac computers, an automatic locking mechanism that prevents the specialists in online advertising to place cookies on websites and thereby to determine an Internet user who accesses a merchant site is also a frequent visitor to a site about golf.

But a computer science researcher at Stanford University, California, has just discovered that Google has bypassed this protection system and collected data on the browsing habits of users who use Safari. The Wall Street Journal, which revealed the findings of this research, the Internet giant has "used a special computer program that leads the Safari browser software to allow tracing of many users."

"The Wall Street Journal distorts what happened, was immediately defended by the voice of Google's director of public affairs, Rachel Whetstone. We used a technical device known Safari to provide functionality that Google users logged into their accounts were activated. "It allows, for example, to store the click of a surfer on the button" 1 "or Google the "Like" Facebook as a Web content. This data is stored within a day on Google's servers payday loan.

Involuntary collection

But by putting a temporary marker to operate the "a" in Safari, Google has also opened a breach through which have slipped a variety of other markers that sought, them, to collect information on what users were on the Internet. These data are valuable to Google then to offer targeted advertising to users. Google defends itself by providing not have intended to collect these data.

From the revelation of the findings of this study, the giant search engine has disabled the technical device that has "opened the door" to the navigation information of Safari users. The group also noted that no personal data (identity of persons in particular) has been captured in this case. Apple, for its part, says "work to end" to this flaw.

But this incident is indicative of two forces that traverse the Web today: on the one hand, the giants of the Web, always seeking to target users more precisely, increasing the risks to the data they handle. The other, players such as Apple took the opportunity to surround their consumers ever higher walls.

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After the wings, the nose of the A380 fails

Friday Feb 17, 2012

 

Hard times for the 380. After the case of microcracks detected in the wing of the superjumbo, Airbus will he deplore a new problem, this time in the "nose" of the device? The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is interested in any case the rivets of radom, that is to say the cover that protects the radar of the aircraft.

The authority may decide to issue in the coming weeks an airworthiness directive (AD) requiring the change of six rivets aluminum rivets titanium stronger. The 19 airlines that operate the world's fleet of 69 A380, eight months have to do this for an average of 3:30. Clearly, they would have time to schedule it as part of their regular maintenance schedule.

After the decision to order the Efsa a general inspection of the planes of A 380 in service and production, totaling one hundred aircraft, the image of the A380 takes another blow. However, this type of airworthiness directive is very common in aviation. All aircraft receive throughout their careers.

Two types of directives

"The FAA, U.S. aviation safety authority, has issued more than 830 airworthiness directives for Boeing B 747 in forty years," says one at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse. "For an airplane, receiving such a directive is as ordinary as to think about changing the wiper blades on your car or an oil change," says one.

The Aesa issues two types of directives: the current, AD, and urgent, called "emergency AD." In the case of microcracks, the two directives were common. The agency goes up a notch when it considers that the subject can affect flight safety. In this case, companies have little time to react, sometimes not even 24 hours.

In the case of rivets, flight safety is affected in any part, Airbus insists. The manufacturer points out that these are not structural elements. Six rivets 40 to 50 by radom "are not likely to blow up" the unit cover.

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A law will limit the absurd standards of the State

Thursday Feb 16, 2012

 

This is a recurring complaint of local elected officials: the proliferation of standards on the environment, urban planning, accessibility of the disabled, or food in school canteens, leaden local finances. The bill would be about 600 million euros a year, according to the advisory panel for assessment of standards (NECC). The moratorium on standards established by the government since July 2010 has been ineffective, he had to find new weapons. Among them is the proposed law (PPL) of UMP senator Eric Doligé, a proposal that was discussed Wednesday in the Senate. The text can not pass the Assembly before the legislative elections of June 2012. But at the very least, the process is launched.

The main idea of ​​the PPL is that standards may vary depending on community size. "It is absurd that the buildings of kindergartens in Paris, located on several floors in a building, have the same standards as local nursery in a small town, which are on one level," says Eric Doligé. The text also proposes to address the 400,000 current standards. The NECC would consider this stock, including devices older than five years and propose simplifications or deletions. The government would be required to indicate, within six months, the follow-up.

Step

The PPL also creates an instance of mediation departmental standards and simplifies certain procedures, particularly in the field of urban planning.

For Eric Doligé, this text is a first step. Once the elections are over, the senator wants to put on the table the 2005 law on disability law that forced utilities to make all buildings accessible to disabled people in 2015. "The cost of work – 17 billion – is too high to communities," said Eric Doligé.

His solution? Make the service, not local, necessarily accessible. "The employee asked the public service would come down on the ground floor to meet the disabled person. City Hall would no longer need to install a lift or other special equipment, "says the senator. Still, this subject is highly sensitive, both politically and humanly. Another idea, often mentioned, would increase the powers of the NEAC, to give this advisory body veto power. Gilles Carrez, Rapporteur UMP budget to the Assembly, is favorable.

The NECC could finally block orders it considers absurd. Such as the recent decree stipulating that social and medico-social will offer four to five dishes for each lunch or dinner to their residents, dishes that need to be tailored to their tastes and habits!

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Air France: controversy about the benefits of leaders

Wednesday Feb 15, 2012

 

The scandal could not have been worse. While Air France is embarking on an extensive and highly unpopular savings plan, the unions of the company revealed Monday that their former boss Pierre-Henri Gourgeon was preparing to travel to destination in Mauritius with its Women in business class for 24 euros.

This trip was to take place almost free along with two relatives also enjoy preferential rates. These tickets are embargoed during the school holidays, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon had to obtain special approval of the new CEO of Air France, Alexander Juniac, to lift the embargo and travel to this destination.

"It's scary to work in this context, a sorry part of the company. Our company is mired in research and maintenance of personal advantages. How do you get the support of employees and pass a savings plan? ". Given the excitement that the information generated internally, the former boss has finally given up the tickets at unbeatable price and opted for traditional GP tickets entitlements in the company's employees and retirees.

The ex-boss will have to pay 745 euros to get to Mauritius in business class or about 1500 euros for a round trip ticket worth from 3000 to 6000 euro at full price. "When traveling in GP, ​​the former executives often take tickets in economy class, or 400 euros round trip to Mauritius, calculates an employee of the company paperless payday loans. Once on the plane, they do outperform if space is available at the front of the camera. "

"A trip to the Air France lounge"

Like many companies, employees of Air France benefit from preferential rates on their business activity. Like the employees of the car who pay their car cheaper, the Air France employees benefit from GP notes (Free partial), a valid right to life from 15 years of seniority. "I travel regularly to New York, welcomes a former executive of the company. It cost me about 200 euros in economy class, but in general I do upgrade and I manage to go on a trip to the Air France lounge. "

As a former senior executive, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon does not need to go through the system of GP tickets. Like other executives recently departed from the leadership, the former boss has negotiated a confidential volume of ticket prices almost free.

These benefits may soon be challenged. Juniac Alexander, the new leader of the company, has announced an overhaul of the benefits enjoyed by current and former executives of Air France. "Such benefits are not unique to Air France, says aviation expert. All major companies are considering a historic reform of the preferential fare tickets costing them too much. " And have less and less supported by employees who request efforts increasingly harsh.


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