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Bad timing for Facebook. After the first listing of the giant online social networks, which received a mixed reception in the market, the site is subject to a complaint partnership or "class action". Filed in San Jose, California, the "class action" includes 21 cases of U.S. Internet users complaining of an invasion of their privacy. They blame Facebook for continuing to collect data on their online browsing after they leave the site.

The Wiretap Act, the U.S. law on eavesdropping, provides for "damages up to $ 100 per person per day and up to 10,000 dollars a Facebook user," says the complaint. At a rate of 800 million Internet users concerned, the amount required to Facebook miliards reached 15 dollars, or more than 11 billion euros.  

The plaintiffs wish to raise in their "class action" all Americans who have opened a Facebook account between May 2010 and September 2011, reports Bloomberg. They also seek to find ways to involve Internet users living outside the U.S..

Regular controversies on confidentiality rules

Because the class action brought hope to have a copy guaranteed cash advance. "It is not only an action for damages, but a trial on the rules of online privacy that should be a landmark," said David Straite, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs in Bloomberg.  

A spokesman for Facebook, meanwhile, responded that the allegations of the plaintiffs were unfounded and that the company would contest them.

Facebook is regularly the subject of controversy over its confidentiality rules change often and easily mastered by its undefined users. In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg apologized for airing personal network users to advertising agencies. Last year, the group was forced to accept a confidentiality imposed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). But in February, Facebook was accused of spying on its users SMS Android application.

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SFR on Monday launched an aggressive promotional campaign. Its triple play offer, including the high speed internet, HD television and unlimited fixed telephony is available from 14.90 euros per month for a year, instead of 31.90 euros. The price is EUR 19.90 instead of 37.90 euros, with unlimited mobile telephony. SFR mobile subscribers receive an additional 5 euros, bringing access to triple play 9.90 or 14.90 euros a month, according to the chosen tender. These rates also apply for a subscription fiber.

The promotion of SFR, which formalized the replacement of its CEO last week, is limited to first 5000 subscribers and will end this Friday. It recalls the operations performed by Free site in partnership with the Sales-privees.com, who proposed in 2010 a triple play to 10 euros per month, then to 1.99 euro next year. It also places the price of the subscription neufbox at Alice's, offer low cost Free. This package, just highlighted to Free, includes the Internet, fixed telephony and television from 11.98 euros per month.

The offer is part of SFR in a particular context, however, since the arrival of Free in the mobile sector. In 2011, its competitor has maintained a very high margin of 39.3%, thanks to its activity in ADSL, which allowed him to expand into the mobile. Free on the fixed address could be a way to respond to its new mobile offerings. Meanwhile, SFR also seeks to support its recruitment in the fixed. In 2011, its subscriber base grew by only 3.2% (5 million customers), two times less than the growth of Free (4.8 million subscribers).

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"SPECIAL – War of operators

What companies are doing to manage the "assholes" rotting the lives of other employees? They have their eyes on their economic performance, they advocate the dynamism and innovation to develop, but they show very little "attentive to these toxic personalities", who happen to be an unnecessary cost but very real for their s Finance boxes?

Deliberately provocative, "Target Zero asshole," the book by Robert Sutton, professor of management at Stanford, in any case a fixed cap at which leaders would be wise to look at things in front. "The assholes are costs that do not appear in cost accounting, but take stock of their damage is not so difficult," he says.

Robert Sutton, it is urgent to act because "they swarm." "All companies should adopt the Target Zero asshole because these people inflict considerable damage to their direct victims, organizational performance, but also to themselves." Increased stress and risk of heart attack among those who are victims, increased absenteeism and surge in turnover. Professor Stanford has even delivered a calculation of what costs such as employees at a company: it comes to adding a "for asshole" of $ 160,000 per year!

But what to do to achieve this "Goal Zero asshole"? Here are five recipes by Robert Sutton.

• Choose the right people. Assuming that "hire other assholes assholes," Robert Sutron, suggests that they deviate from the recruitment process or to involve also "civilized people".

• Identify employees pourrisseurs room and spend their time bully and harass others. To achieve Robert Sutton has listed what he called "their twelve nasties" daily. There are pell-mell "personal insults", "threats or intimidation," "humiliation or public reprimands," "hypocritical attacks" ….

• Limit their power to harm. For example by reducing the hierarchical boundaries or too large wage differentials that give them a sense of power and feel like superstars.

• Protect yourself. "The best and safest way is to keep you as far as possible from people and places contaminated by the virus," writes Robert Sutton. If this is impossible, since it's boss that he is only one solution: change the box.

• Be careful not to become "asshole" self. Robert Sutton, we are all "assholes" in power. Then you try not to treat colleagues as competitors and build instead a "win-win exchanges at work."

Obviously the method advocated by Robert Sutton has found its audience. Published for the first time in the United States in 2007, he has sold over 475,000 copies (all languages). It has just been reissued, proof that there is still work to overcome the assholes at the office.

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Friday, teams of Deutsche Bahn and SNCF, already associated with the Paris-Frankfurt, will celebrate the opening of a common line between Frankfurt and Marseille – bypassing Paris – via the new Rhine-Rhone. An opportunity to show the harmony that exists today between the two companies.

Because the prospect of greater competition in Europe has clearly brought the views of the two incumbents, long time rivals. Rüdiger Grube, CEO of the German group, pointed out Tuesday in Paris to a gathering of journalists. "There are still a year I would not have thought that we would Guillaume Pepy (SNCF's CEO, Ed) and I agree on all issues!" "We support all the necessary standardization of equipment, the market opening, the creation of a European regulator's rail …, "he says.  

An ally against Brussels

What has happened, then that could heal the scratches between the two competitors? One and one can actually help in their fight on the organization of competition in their respective markets. In France, Guillaume Pepy wants to emulate the French system of railways on that of the Rhine. And what better lawyer than Rüdiger Grube, CEO of Deutsche Bahn up as a model, could he find to plead this cause? SNCF had the starring role: it umbrella in a joint holding company, the infrastructure manager – in this case Réseau Ferré de France which is among other guarantor of opening the network to new entrants – and the commercial exploitation . The French government, following the Focus on the railway have explored ways to put right a French model of breath last November, expects copies of various stakeholders at the end of this month payday loan lenders.

And on the other side of the Rhine, Rüdiger Grube has also found an ally in France to defend his case in Brussels. For the German model does not satisfy the European Commission. It believes that a pooling group manager of infrastructure and operational activities does not guarantee a fair treatment in respect of competing rail companies of the DB. Last year, the Commission has even raided the headquarters of the DB to investigate possible abuse of dominant position in the supply of electricity to private operators.

Views on Thalys

The discussion between SNCF and DB go beyond the single issue of governance of the rail. For Rüdiger Grube, they could also be extended on the ground and running. Deutsche Bahn admitted and have designs on Thalys, TGV serving Belgium, Holland and Germany, which he holds 10% interest alongside the SNCF (62%) and Belgian railways (28%). "Staying at 10% does not suit us. We're in discussions internally about whether we should go out or go for a 50/50, "said Grube. And beyond in coming decades, the CEO of DB, well imagine a merger of the two groups. "Right now, it's too early but when liberalization has advanced. In twenty or thirty years … "

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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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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.

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"The diamond market does not know the crisis

In this year financially troubled employees rely on corporate savings to rebuild their nest eggs. This is apparent from a study conducted by the CSA institute for the Club of employee savings.

Over the last twelve months, more than half of the beneficiaries of employee savings invested 12% of their pay. A percentage much higher than previous years.

"Employees are concerned about the consequences of the financial crisis. 40% of them plan to evolve their total savings, "says Henry Alline, president of the Club of employee savings. More than half (55%) of respondents in this study say they are satisfied for the moment the financial performance of their business investment. But they were 59% a year ago flexcheck cash advance.

As is the case for several years, employees save for retirement.Over the last twelve months, two thirds of employees and supports a PEE (company savings plan). This device, like Perco Plan (retirement savings plan), allows to build a long-term savings. It is powered by matching contributions from the employer or employee payments can spend up to a quarter of his annual salary.

Provided they meet the minimum capital funds (5 years for the EEP and until retirement for Perco), the yields of these products (dividends, capital gains) are exempt from tax income. This explains the growing success of these formulas, still reserved for the privileged. For 70% of employees do not have access to employee savings plan.

After still closed down Thursday night, the U.S. stock markets could take a break this Friday. Shortly before the opening of Wall Street index futures Standard & Poor's 500 and Nasdaq 100, respectively, yielded 0.38% at 1199.60 points, 0.31% to 2277 points. The Dow Jones was meanwhile expected on an initial decline of 0.32% at 11,339 points.

The previous day, U.S. markets had progressed further in spite of macroeconomic indicators, however misguided, both on the employment front, and that of manufacturing.

But investors have ignored, preferring to focus on reassuring news from Europe, as the announcement of a new agreement between central banks to provide dollar liquidity to European banks and Japanese. "This program already exists, say the analysts at Aurel BGC.The ECB offered this week, two European banks to dollar liquidity in 7 days "

Suddenly, the "four witches" today is to say the expiration of four types of futures contracts on indices and stocks, "will be addressed, according to Aurel BGC in a more serene. Recent events have reassured investors and market expectations about European officials said after the meeting of the Ecofin support actions ".

U.S. consumer debt and European

At the macroeconomic agenda of the day, the index of consumer sentiment for the month of September is expected this afternoon, 12:00 to 3:55 p.m..But such macroeconomic indicators may well be once again overshadowed by political events related to the debt crisis and European banks.

Indeed, this Friday as European finance ministers and the U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, this exceptional, try to resolve their differences at a meeting of high voltage in Poland. This is to complete a second plan of aid to Greece, imperative to save the country and the euro area, whose failing health is in turmoil the entire planet.Timothy Geithner has already openly believed that Europeans should inject more funds to avoid a major crisis.

On the corporate side, the rating agency Moody's said Thursday it placed under surveillance notes of the bank UBS (-10% yesterday at the close of Wall Street) with for a potential degradation due to " weaknesses in risk management group. "

At the heart of the news, Google has purchased 1023 additional patents in the computer company IBM to consolidate its portfolio and to attempt to dissuade trial for violation of intellectual property.Google expects the other hand that the number of Internet users in India to be tripled in three years through improved access to wireless internet and at prices more affordable smartphone, reported on Friday Wall Street Journal.

Boeing could finally respond to the order by Air France-KLM of 110 long-haul aircraft, including 50 firm orders, builders Boeing and European Airbus to ensure fleet renewal.

The salvation of the euro area could come from China. Forced to borrow at prohibitive rates Monday morning, Rome had in fact asked Beijing to make significant repurchases of its sovereign debt, reports the Financial Times. A member of the Italian government confirmed on Monday the existence of discussions with the Middle Kingdom on potential investments in Beijing in the third largest economy in the euro area. The latter emphasizes, however, that the purchase of debt as of the Italian state was not central to the negotiations which took place several weeks ago, the agency Bloomberg.

The Financial Times for its part indicated that Lou Jiwei, the chairman of China Investment Corp (CIC), accompanied by a delegation, arrived in Rome last week to meet with Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti, and officials the Cassa despositi e Prestiti.

Relief markets

In any case, the information had an immediate impact on equity markets and bonds. The news triggered a rapid rise of U.S. indexes, which ended the session up when they were, like all European markets, a sharp decline shortly before the information.L all the indices of world is indeed suspended at the least information related to the status of sovereign debt in the euro area. In fact, the fear of contagion shook the Greek market.

In addition, the bond market has also relaxed.Good news for countries forced to place their debt securities, especially Italy. Interest rates have soared Monday in an issuance of public debt in Italy. Rome has indeed placed a total of 11.5 billion euros of shares, including 7.5 billion of bonds a year at a rate of 4.153% against 2.959% in the previous similar exercise conducted on August 10.

Foreign exchange markets also reacted. The information has strengthened the euro, trading at 1.3678 dollar this morning.

China has pledged to support the euro area

The assumption of support from China bound for the euro area is particularly taken seriously by the markets as the Central Bank of China recently said it was ready to support countries in difficulty to repay their debt.

Moreover, China has already come to the rescue of countries in the euro area in difficulties in recent months.In late May, Beijing had expressed its intention to purchase debt securities issued by the European Stability for Portugal. In January, China had purchased European titles for bail Ireland. And from the beginning of the crisis, China had come to the aid of Europe's sick of his debts. Earlier this year, the country had bought the Spanish government bonds for a hundred million. The Middle Kingdom is also committed to acquire Greek bonds

By helping the EU now, China is diversifying its investments in debt securities. In addition, the country is gaining leeway in future negotiations.

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The whole world is seeking to reassure the world's largest investor, China. And France is no exception. On the way to New Caledonia where it is present at the opening of the Pacific Games, Nicolas Sarkozy made a stop today in Beijing. Announced only last Sunday – but planned for a month, provides the Elysee – the four-hour whirlwind tour of the French president is primarily to provide assurance to the leaders of the second world economy, while Europe and the United States face a debt crisis without precedent. The head of state is dinner tonight with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, in Beijing. "In the current context and a little over two months of the G20 summit in Cannes in November, it is not difficult to guess the subjects they will address," said one diplomatic source. Clearly, it will issue debt and G20.

Signs of nervousness

Beijing, which has invested since last year in debt Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Hungarian, in general, shows a certain confidence in its accounts receivable. But this week, several signs of nervousness sweating in the corridors of power. "The debt crisis has slowly spread, like the black plague in the fourteenth century, from Greece to the peripheral countries of the European Union such as Ireland and Italy," wrote the beginning and Zhang Zhixiang week and Zhang Chao, two economists recognized, in an editorial in the very official People's Daily paydayloans.

The next day, a long interview with German magazine Der Spiegel gave the floor to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fu Ying, who did not hesitate to scold Europe "vain.""If you do not gather to solve these problems, the euro could collapse," and estimated the diplomat, who acknowledged that China also suffers financial crisis.

Nicolas Sarkozy's visit comes two days after the departure of Joe Biden, U.S. Vice President, came in person to allay Chinese concerns about the devaluation of U.S. assets. "We need to address our deficit and we will address this," said the American number two on the last day of his visit.

Nicolas Sarkozy, who chairs the G20 this year, should also benefit from meeting with Chinese President to push the issues close to his heart, such as reducing trade imbalances and the controversial idea, defended by the Franco- German, a tax on financial transactions.The Minister of Economy and Finance, Baroin, must also be part of travel and extend the discussions preparatory to the G20 in the day tomorrow.

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