French universities abroad misclassified

 

France is hardly served in international rankings in education. Only four of its representatives are emerging among the 100 institutions classified Thursday morning by the Times Higher Education (THE), a British weekly known for the seriousness of its rankings. France ranks as the seventh largest in the world.

The Paris-Sorbonne University is located between 71st and 80th place of the second international league based on "reputation". It occupied the 91st place last year. Then comes the Polytechnic, which ranks between 91st and 100th place. This year, two new institutions enter the prestigious list: the University Paris-Sud (Orsay) and the University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris VI), both beyond the 91st place.

"France is well represented in these tables, with four institutions in the top 100, more than Canada, and more than double the number of representatives of China. But the country's authorities should be concerned that such a system of higher education with a long tradition of excellence has its highest ranked institution beyond the 71st, well behind the leading institutions in England and Germany "by Phil Baty, the head of the ranking. And the specialist to wonder: "Maybe the current reforms in the French higher education will they do the difference in the longer term, but for now there is much uncertainty and confusion about the French system, which can affect the country's reputation among scholars throughout the world. "

A "business" full

The study measures the reputation of excellence in both teaching and in research by 117,554 educators from 137 countries. Given a choice between 6000 and institutions were asked what were the best institutions in their field of specialty. The issue of reputation is important in the era of the internationalization of education, as universities compete with each other to attract the best students. And they are buying more and more a "brand" when they enroll in an institution. It has become a "business" in its own right, according to THE.

The first six of the classification, called "super brands" in the study because they crush all others because of their notoriety, are again American universities Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the English university of Cambridge, two new American, Stanford and Berkeley, and Oxford. These universities' dominate the head and shoulders above the other institutions, "the study said.

The U.S. dominates with 44 institutions which are among the first hundred, ten are British, and five are Japanese. Five others were Dutch. Followed by Germany, Australia and France, each with four institutions.

The beef recipe is no longer in France

 

The livestock industries are less imitators. If the country has the first cattle in Europe with 21 million head of which 8 million cows, the trend is downward. Within a year, the number of cattle farms has declined by nearly 6% from 246,000 in 2009 to 232,000 in 2010.

For reasons of revenue and less arduous, farmers already settled prefer to shift to other crops. "It is easier to return a field to a culture of wheat and rapeseed that raising animals on the same surface, said Jean-Pierre Fleury, secretary general of the Federation Nationale Bovine. It's more profitable and it requires less work. "

Indeed, the average income of a farmer is three times lower than that of a grain. According to latest statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, the first earns 14,700 euros per year when the second receives over 47,000 euros. Those who want to settle as farmers think twice before so to do.

"These are big capital investments, EUR 1,500 for a cow on average, plus the cost of buildings and work constraints that are not up to the sums involved," says Marie-Therese Bonneau, a farmer in the Vendee .

New markets

At the head of a herd of 100 cattle, Maria Theresa Bonneau understands why the business is no longer recipe. "It makes money only when one retires, waiting must make ends meet and generate cash to pay bills," she says. The job of producer thus raises fewer vocations among young people. "The animal is too restrictive, I head for the forest," says Jonathan, a student at AgroTechParis.

The livestock sector as a whole suffer from other disabilities: the industry's first transformation only to renovate its facilities, the number of slaughterhouses is too important. In addition, this industry does not know the answer to market demand. "The French slaughterers are not able to meet the specifications of buyers, says Pascal Cousté, farm advisor throughout France. Particularly regarding the rate of fat from meat and health standards. "

In the case of pork French example, this translates into an additional cost in the industrial process by 5%. Result: supermarkets, but also the industrial processing, will source outside France, where competition is able to offer lower prices.  

However, the growth of world consumption of about 15% per year, providing a market for breeders. The increase in living standards in emerging countries like China and Brazil offset the decline in red meat consumption observed in developed countries. "New markets are opening to us, in the Mediterranean arc of the Maghreb, Turkey and also in Russia," said Peter Knight, President of the Federation Nationale Bovine. In the beef sector, the share of French production destined for export, now more than 5%, and falls on the rise in recent years.

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Dexia Bank Belgium becomes Belfius

 

Belgium Yellow laughs. Dexia Bank Belgium, one of its major financial institutions, has been renamed Belfius Thursday. After five months of study and a budget of 35 million euros, advertisers have defended their choice: "Bel" evokes the flat country, the 100% owner of the house, "fi" suggests the financial sphere, and "us "English in the text, adds a touch of both collective and international. A cocktail effective in erasing the past. "The most romantic of us can not help but associate" nice "to beautiful, while the technicians will instead link" fius "and English" fuse "," has swept the direction the bank. The response has exceeded his hopes payday loans. The new name stoked passions throughout the country. On Twitter, users will give heart to joy for its proximity to the mock-rays or frozen yogurt. "I resisted the bank run of 2008 … the losses of 2009, I accepted Zean-Luc, supported the division of Dexia Belfius … but it is too," sighed a client. A poll in the daily Le Soir, the name Bebank have collected all the votes, but it masked the insurance business. After four years of financial crisis, which grounded the champions of the country, the Belgians pulled out their best weapons to protest: black humor and taste for the absurd.

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Reunion: the measures announced

 

The price of gas and electricity for low incomes will fall in Reunion, and those of 40 essential commodities will be frozen at least from March 1 through the efforts of local communities, said Friday the prefect, Michel Lalande. A series of measures taken after a round table of five thirty gathering around him the chairmen of local councils, chambers, representatives of consumer associations, oil companies and professional drivers payday loans guaranteed no fax. All participants in the roundtable have finally launched a "solemn appeal" to calm the population.

Industrial jobs: when the government gets involved

 

The intervention of Nicolas Sarkozy to save Alstom in summer 2004, to his recent statements in favor of employees of ArcelorMittal Florange site, the head of state has been well arise in the opponent's famous statement Lionel Jospin: "The state can not do everything." At least when it comes to industrial employment. "We must at all costs strangle the flow of blood Industrial France," he repeated again in January. Since 2007, the government frequently intervened in several disputes, most often publicized in order to save jobs. A few weeks before the presidential election, the employees do not hesitate to use the campaign to make their demands heard. Overview of some government promises … and their future.

The success

• Photowatt. The resumption of French pioneer of photovoltaics by EDF no longer in doubt. Next Monday, the commercial court of Vienna should assign the assets of Photowatt to the public company called to the rescue by the Head of State at the end of January. Previously, STMicroelectronics, specialized microprocessors, had been approached. Without success. The next upturn of the SME Isère by EDF Energies Nouvelles is good news for employees: the subsidiary of the electrician has pledged to resume on 430 and 345 to reclassify within 60 km of the 85 remaining employees. "Everybody has a job, I do not see what you could get any better," responded Tuesday a Steward FW, while conceding that "the industrial project is to build". According to the UMP Bourgoin, Alain Moyne-Bressan, must already "put 50 million euros on the table for the coming months."

• Lejaby. Mid-January 2012, the Tribunal de Commerce de Lyon chose Alain Prost, former manager of La Perla and Chantelle, as the buyer of the manufacturer of linen placed in receivership. Only problem: the entrepreneur, who keeps only about 450 195 employees, wants to relocate the entire production in Tunisia. This is sign the death warrant of the factory Lejaby Yssingeaux, and the dismissal of his 93 employees. An announcement of the worst effect when the candidate Nicolas Sarkozy – not yet declared – boasts the "Made in France". "I will not let down the people of Lejaby," he warned on January 29. It is ultimately the luxury group LVMH, requested by the Elysee, which will come to the aid of the factory from Auvergne. The takeover bid, from a subcontractor for Louis Vuitton, the company Sofama, was filed on February 1. All staff should be re-employed on permanent contracts, and converted into luxury leather goods.  

Failures:

• Gandhinagar. February 4, 2008, the Head of State gives hope to the 595 employees of ArcelorMittal factory in Lorraine, then threatened with partial closure in the near future. "The State prefers to invest in modernizing the site rather than paying people to go with either early retirement or unemployed," he explained then. He continued: "I will myself announce it has found the solution." If, despite these promises, 595 jobs will actually be discontinued from 31 March 2009, the city of Gandhinagar, however, benefited from a state investment of 5 million for a learning center, and a contract worth 300 million euros between RFF and the steelmaker Corus. Objective: To produce the rails RFF within its Hayange plant, near the disaster site.

"Nicolas Sarkozy in Gandhinagar:

……

First historic loss for Credit Agricole

 

For the first time in its history, Crédit Agricole SA ended the year 2011 in the red. This loss of 1.47 billion euros is due to a double effort: trying to balance the Greek crisis and adaptation to the new world of banking.

"The Greek situation continued to deteriorate throughout the year. Emporiki, the local subsidiary of the group, saw its operating losses increase, "says the group in a statement. In total, the cost of the Greek crisis did go up in smoke 2.4 billion euros in 2011. It had already cost the green bank over two billion euros the previous two years. Positive, the group has managed to reduce by half the level in nine months of Emporiki refinancing by its parent.

The second part of the bill, presented to the regional, for adapting to the new world of banking. In this respect, John Paul Chifflet, the general manager, did not choose the half-measure. Its vast battle plan, unveiled last December, resulting in 2.5 billion euros in provisions and impairments on acquisitions too aggressive fast cash now. In parallel, the mutual bank will embark on a diet, mainly driven by the Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). For this subsidiary, lost $ 150 million over the years, adapting to post-crisis world through the sale of portfolios, the removal of 1750 positions and the withdrawal of twenty-six countries. The adaptation plan costs nearly 500 million euros in the bank.

Cumulative, Greece, impairment in the fourth quarter and the adaptation plan dug accounts of Crédit Agricole SA of 4.4 billion euros. These losses do not yet call into question the soundness of the Credit Agricole group, based on fieldwork of the regional banks. They have not fallen in 2011 with a cumulative profit up 3.6% to nearly 4 billion euros. The Crédit Agricole group as a whole shows and an annual profit of 812 million euros, against 3.6 billion in 2010. The group has a solvency ratio of the nails in the European requirements to 9.6%.

Ways to streamline housing assistance

 

The report by the Center for Strategic Analysis in a housing report released Wednesday is brutal: while the subject of aid mobilizes huge (37 billion euros) from the State and local governments, households the less fortunate spend more on housing. In 2005, they spent at this position 41.4% of their income against 25% in 1988.

To improve the situation of more modest in this area, the Center for Strategic Analysis made several proposals, focused on social housing. "First, it should be that only those who earn more than five times the annual rent for a dwelling may be candidates for living," Chriqui advance Vincent, general manager of that agency of the Prime Minister. A measure of common sense would settle with the current situation today, up 64% of households are eligible for public housing.

To reserve social housing for disadvantaged populations, some only dream of being able to expel those whose income has become, over time, well above the maximum income. This would call into question the sacrosanct principle of the right to remain in public housing, one of the cornerstones of the world HLM. Cautiously, the Center for Strategic Analysis does not follow that direction.

However, he has worked on a system where the rent paid by tenants would be modulated according to their income. "In fact, rents are nominally higher and tenants would receive a grant that would cover some of this burden, says Vincent Chriqui. The premium will be lowered when the tenant would see its revenues increase. "To avoid creating too strong reactions in a world quite restive HLM changes of this kind, this system would first be tested by some social landlords . If the Center for Strategic Analysis recommends this solution is that the devices require tenants whose incomes exceed the ceilings to pay additional rent malfunctioning. Normally, a public housing tenant whose remuneration exceeds 20% of the maximum income to pay a surloyer. "But it is a cumbersome process that requires to initiate proceedings," said Vincent Chriqui. Soft law passed in 2009 plans to evict a tenant of public housing for two successive years if its resources are at least two times higher than the ceiling. But we must wait three years after this observation that the measure could be effective. Result: more than three years after its adoption, the text has yet to produce any effects.

Statistical tool

Last priority recommendation of the Center for Strategic Analysis: Building a statistical tool that emphasizes respect for each program HLM, level of public support and the "discount" rent in the social housing compared to private apartments around the park. "By learning about government subsidies and the results they deliver, this should help to refocus the production of social housing where the need is greatest," says Vincent Chriqui.

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A few weeks before Christmas, a doll sold by the chain Toys "R" Us "wreaks havoc across the Atlantic to the point that offended parents rushed to the site of the company to request that it be removed at the earliest of the sale. For, they say, the doll that is part of a set of triplets do not babble as usual by spelling his name does not twitters saying hello, do not cry when she feels lonely. No, this doll … jure. And what rough way!

To listen go to a child who takes her in his arms, is believed to actually hear the words crazy bitch (bitch sort of) in his babbling. Enough to jump to the families who let go on the website of the company and called for a boycott!

"Do not buy!"

"Return the dolls, boycott Toys" R "Us, outraged Sue, of Tulsa (Oklahoma, south) on the website of the chain of toys under the picture of the doll."I'm outraged," exclaims also a grandmother of triplets from Boise (Idaho, north-west). "My girls were 2 and a half years, I do not want her to hear such language,".

"Do not buy," recommends his side Danyelle, Fayetteville (North Carolina, South East) who said he checked with six different people that the doll angelic promise indeed.

A spokeswoman for U.S. Toys "R" Us, said the doll is sold in the United States did not swear, and it was only a "babbling." "We will not sell obviously not a doll swear, "said Jennifer Albano, adding that the brand of toys did not intend to withdraw from the sale.

This is not the first time that toys are controversial within days of Christmas.

The virtues of rental real estate are well known. This is one of the only investments that can make on credit to build wealth. It is also a good way to prepare additional income for retirement. Finally, it is a way to accommodate her children or send them a valuable asset to start in life. However, the life of landlords is not a bed of roses! Some trace their route on this road winding and sometimes treacherous.

This is the case of Vivian B., 57, teacher. This Lyonnaise conducted between 1991 and 2010, three rental investments in his city. "I spaced each acquisition a decade, the time each time to pay off my credit. I always chose the studios in the IVth arrondissement of Lyon, an area popular.The lease payments used to pay me a portion of the loans, but each time I had to add 100 to 150 euros a month, "she says payday loans. Handyman, Viviane never hesitates to restore its apartments, it manages solo. Another "trick" by Viviane: the choice of holiday rental. "This formula provides short leases, or a year. Thus, it is easier to separate from a deadbeat tenant. "

1500 euros of additional income per month

For her, the acquisitions will stop, "because this investment is not worth the shot," given the rise in property prices in particular. "Every studio brings me 6%. But if I bought the same day, the yield would fall to 2.5 or 3%. "Soon to retire, Viviane Heritage is satisfied that it has formed. "My pension should be around 1.300euros month.

End of Mission Didier Quillot. The Chairman of Lagardère Active, the branch of Lagardère Media, is leaving the group he joined in 2006. It will be replaced by Denis Olivennes, who now heads the information hub of Lagardère Active (Europe 1, Le Journal du Dimanche, Paris Match and Newsweb). Arnaud Lagardère person has informed its employees on Monday at the headquarters of Lagardère Active, in Levallois-Perret.

Didier Quillot has carried out a dual mission: first sell the regional daily press (Provence and Nice Matin) Hersant Media Group, then the international press, including international editions of Elle magazine, to 651 million euros, the American Hearst. It also comes to sell the 34% that held in the Lagardere Interactive World, the Internet subsidiary of the group Le Monde. Only in control

Denis Olivennes, who continue to steer Europe1, takes over to a new stage.Upon his arrival in September 2006, Didier Quillot, former head of Orange, was primarily to Lagardère Active, ex-Hachette Filipacchi Media, "a leading international publisher of multimedia content in the markets and multigéographie" . The group was then "not good enough," the admission of the new boss. On a turnover estimated at 2.2 billion euros, Web activities weighed only a few percent. The other part of his mission was to change the group "a strategy of alliances and acquisitions in the digital."

This is the case with several operations "structuring" the redemption of the end of 2006 Newsweb (sports.fr, boursier.com, autonews.fr) for 75 million euros, then Jumpstart Automation, an online advertising in the U.S. United paid 60 to 80 million.