AgroGeneration covers three continents

 

History does not put all your eggs in one basket, the agricultural subsidiary of Charles Beigbeder, AgroGeneration, just move up a gear in Argentina. The company created a joint venture with a local partner, the group La Suerte Agro, belonging to the family Lacau, whose roots lie in the Beam. It is present since 1880 in the agricultural sector in Argentina.

The partnership covers the operation of 14,000 hectares of GM crops: wheat, soybeans and corn. "The first risk is of a farmer's climatic hazard, said Charles Vilgrain, CEO of AgroGeneration. The best way to protect yourself is to be present in the northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere with a harvest every six months. Not to mention that it also divides the political risk. "

The partner brings AgroGeneration Argentine land, the French entrepreneur, his expertise in the development of farmland. Already present in Ukraine, the group, which cultivates 50,000 hectares, is located in the upper range of yields published by other international actors, for example with 4 tons per hectare for wheat and 1.8 tonnes for the rapeseed.

As in Argentina, the company does not own the land it operates in Ukraine. "This is a less capital-intensive investment," says Charles Vilgrain. Thus, to 2,000 euros on average per hectare of land quality in Ukraine, AgroGeneration should have spent 100 million euros to get their hands on the land he tills. The company preferred to hire them. Result, it quickly became profitable. In 2011 it produced nearly 164,000 tons of grain for a turnover of more than 23 million euros and a net profit of EUR 2 pay day loan lenders.3 million. But the adventure might not stop there way.

Strategic areas

"One day we will also be in Africa, there is much to do to meet the growing population and needs five times more important in agricultural commodities in the next fifty years, said Charles Vilgrain. There are three strategic agricultural areas in the globe where you must be: the Eastern Europe, Latin America but also Africa, the official added. International groupings have already taken place at the trading level of the meat but not at those specialized in field crops such as wheat. AgroGeneration wants to get the ball rolling. "

A vein that attracts the greed of investors. "The agricultural commodities sector is increasingly financialized," said Michel Portier, Agritel manager specializing in risk management on agricultural commodity prices. Other examples: the land of the management company Pergam Paris, Campos Orientales. "We have 30,000 hectares of farmland in Argentina and 25 000 hectares in Uruguay, explains Olivier Combastet, président.Notre its production is very diversified in rice farming, wheat, barley or soybeans. "Closer to home, Russia, Dreyfus, through its holding reset Agro, already controls 90,000 hectares of farmland and 150,000 hectares is the term.

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Real Estate: Know intelligently visit

 

"We must get prepared," says Sebastien de Lafond, Meilleursagents.com. First thing to check: consistency in the price of well visited. To form an opinion, we must investigate the prices in the sector. Review the ads of websites is a first approach, but the prices are often overstated. View estate agents in the area and ask them specific examples of recent trades made refines market research. Know when the property is exposed and there is a lot of the same type of homes for sale in the neighborhood can have arguments at the time of negotiation.

In general, buyers know quickly if they feel good about visiting the home. However, relying on first impressions is not enough. An apartment in disarray, a faded painting or a smell of smoke sometimes repel the visitor, but do not stop there. What counts are the qualities of housing. "We must keep in mind their priorities, says Philippe Conte, a member of the Institute of Chartered Fnaim, but few buyers who do not make concessions." In a condo, take the stairs instead of the elevator provides information on the status of common and how the ownership is held. The cellars and common premises speak volumes about the maintenance of the building.

Do not hesitate to revisit the well several times

In housing, we must inspect everything. To house, checking the roof and the attic is a priority. Broken tiles or mossy cause leaks inside. Get into the attic to check insulation. Many homes built before 1974 do not. Inside, the walls, floors must be watched closely. A crack is a defect common in the former. However traces of moisture on the ceiling indicate a leak or a leak from a neighbor. Same for the balcony or terrace. Also check the condition of pipes, electricity, windows … In home, you need to check with the town planning services to ensure that a building will not obstruct a nice view or generate nuisance.

To evaluate the condo fees, "we must also require the last minutes of the meeting, says Philippe Conte. If work were passed, they are charged to the seller. " Other Audits: diagnostics, energy consumption or age of the boiler. "Do not buy on the first visit, advises Sébastien de Lafond. It is necessary to look back two or three times, accompanied if possible. "

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Unemployment: Brussels launches stir

 

European capitals have asked the Commission to bone up on the fight against unemployment, but many probably not appreciate his advice: the lowering of wage costs to the free movement of labor across the EU through a minimum wage "modular", Brussels risk of setting fire to the powder to the left and right.

The document, which will be released Wednesday, could also ignite the French debate around employment and Europe, with five days of the first round of presidential elections. As Nicolas Sarkozy, Brussels appears for a lower wage cost burden on businesses. It is a "privileged instrument to strengthen the labor supply," says the latest version of the text obtained by Le Figaro. The Commission suggests alternative resources as VAT, taxes "green" and property taxes.

Another proposal leading risks in contrast to spark outcry among conservatives, echoing an old controversy about the "Polish plumber". This is to overcome the final obstacles to a single labor market in Europe, the U.S. model. "Labour mobility is not sufficient in the EU (…) In order to exploit all the possibilities, it is crucial to ensure a balance between demand and supply of jobs" at European level , the authors note.

Red cloth

On this front, the Commission advances two tracks dangerously undermined. The first is the end of restrictions on employment of Romanians and Bulgarians, programmed by treaty by the end of 2013 but refused by nine countries, including France. The second is the opening of national public employment to all EU nationals, except as validated by the sovereignty of Justice high risk personal loans.

Finally, Brussels waving a red rag in front of the entire European left: that of a national minimum wage that could be differentiated by industry professional, provides a way she, "to support the provision of employment ". The authors do not specify the model. But they ensure that wage floors should be discussed "in consultation with unions and depending on economic developments."

The contribution of the Commission is only prospective. It is unlikely that the communication "Towards an employment-intensive growth 'lead in the state. But it looks quite controversial for the twenty-seven Commissioners wish to review it one last time with the college in full force Wednesday in Strasbourg. Against the backdrop of elections in France and Greece, José Manuel Barroso will leave the public presentation in Hungarian Laszlo Andor, Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs.

For Brussels, it is clear that the challenge of unemployment requires bold solutions. Lagging behind the emerging powers but also the U.S., the EU has lost 4.5 million net new jobs since 2008. Since January, a second recession in three years has increased the average unemployment rate above 10%. And restarted at the same time a growth debate that nobody has yet really convincing answer

.

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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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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 subway project in the Channel

Do we take the subway to Calais soon the morning to work in 25 minutes on the other side of the Channel in Ashford, and go home at night by the same means? This is the project defended tooth and nail by an association of French entrepreneurs in southern England. The Union of French Citizens Abroad organized Thursday a day of employment and business in the region where the project was presented shuttle Channel.

Olivier Cadic, an entrepreneur of 49 years, Councillor elected to the Assembly of French abroad, moved to Ashford fifteen years ago "because it was the first stop on the Eurostar," to escape the French tax burden, creating a media outcry.It was followed by other entrepreneurs from ready to provide many jobs.

"It's hard to recruit because the high cost of real estate in Kent do not allow employees to set up small, explains Olivier Cadic. An electronics company came along with me, which now employs 1,500 people, would be willing to offer 100 jobs immediately. Or just on the other side of the Channel to Calais, there is 25% unemployment. The TER of the Pas de Calais stops at the entrance of the tunnel. It's absurd. "

For 2012 Olympics

For its proponents, the metro project under the English Channel would be easily achievable. Eight TER trains purchased by the Nord-Pas de Calais originally for a project linking Lille-Manchester, could very well use the tunnel to get to Ashford in less than half an hour cash advance now.Eurotunnel, used only 55% of its capacity, is all for this binding would increase its revenues. SNCF, partner Southeastern Railway on the other side of the Channel, did not object either.

Consul General of France in London, Edouard Braine, is optimistic. "It's a certainty it will happen. Just look at a map and see that there is full complementarity between the two regions. Cross-border workers are already doing this ride by carpooling Eurotunnel but that's not very practical. And this is not the business of Eurostar to the local service. "The high speed train between Paris and Ashford has phased out most of his stops at Calais and London to optimize speed between the two capitals.In addition, its prices are prohibitive for commuting.

The ball is in the camp of the Nord-Pas de Calais, which seems to drag to decide. One question: is there a sufficiently large market to recoup such an operation? The members of the association believe that the London Olympics in 2012 would be a great opportunity to launch the line.

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Tax: light drinks would not be spared

The fans thought they were lights beverage spared the tax on soft drinks made by the Government in late August. Did not count on a UMP Amendment / New Centre approved in committee Wednesday as part of the review of the draft budget 2012. While the amount of tax on sugary soft drinks is on track to be doubled, MPs are now looking to expand the scope of this tax on soda beverages containing sweeteners.

The government, which did not include this option in the first place, now says not to exclude the idea. "It is the wishes of the parliament, we will discuss," said the spokesman of the government, Valérie Pécresse, on the set of Canal + on Thursday.

The stakes are high for the government because the sugar-free drinks, but with sweeteners that give a sweet taste, is increasingly consumed.Today, they account for 17% of the soft drinks market with strong brands like Diet Coke or Coke Zero.

No figures have yet been provided about the extra tax revenue that would generate this new amendment, if adopted in plenary session. The previous amendment adopted by the Finance Committee of the National Assembly, to double the amount of tax, also remains to be validated by all the members. By itself, it could generate a windfall estimated at 250 million euros a year, instead of 120 million euros initially planned. The rate of contribution on the sodas would be increased to 6.22 euros per hectolitre in 2012.Then he would be raised from the beginning of 2013, to January 1 of each year, at a rate equal to inflation (excluding tobacco) in the penultimate year.

Support the agricultural sector

As announced in the Figaro, the objective of this expansion drinks with sweeteners is to finance the lower cost of agricultural labor "to allow our farmers to sell their products at the same price as Germany and Spain" explains Valérie Pécresse payday advances. The government has in fact reduced in 2012 from 210 million payroll taxes on permanent farms. The tax will be reviewed and corrected to about half.

The industrial problems digesting the news. "We said from the beginning that it was normal to participate, provided that everyone involved in the fight against deficits.Simply, we do not want to be the adjustment variable of all the deficits that pass and on which we have not much to see, "said Jean-Rene Buisson, president of the National Association of Food Industries (Ania ). The doubling of the tax sodas would, he said, an estimated increase "between 0.2 and 0.3 cents" per can.

No problem for Michel Diefenbacher UMP (UMP): "These drinks, which are not basic necessities, benefit from the reduced VAT rate.They must be able to withstand the additional load generated by this new contribution, "says he in a sub-amendment.

But for now, nothing is yet definitively confirmed nor on the doubling of the tax, nor about its extension to drink with sweeteners.

End of aspartame in system U

The distribution group Système U has chosen to abandon the use of aspartame in soft drinks sold under any brand, starting in January. For the first time a manufacturer makes such a decision. This choice responds to the concerns of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) on the effects of this artificial sweetener.

Système U has already banned the use of parabens in cosmetics and Teflon in cookware. Its chairman Serge Papin, expresses his desire to "become a leader in healthy products."

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Crisis: CEOs more pessimistic than in 2008

Worse than the fall of 2008, "58% of business leaders consider an inevitable deterioration in the economic situation," according to the survey conducted in 2011 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Paris (CCIP). This survey was conducted during September, with 5000 businesses with fewer than 500 employees, representing the economic fabric of Ile de France and the country as a whole. There were only 48% of patrons to express such a fear in September 2008, at the time of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which would trigger a few months later a global recession – in France, in particular, GDP declined by 2.5% in 2009.

A remake of 2008-2009 is in everyone's head. But comparison is not right."Companies now have to pay much less than in 2008 and stocks the contrary, they have much better treasuries, said Pierre-Antoine Gailly, President of the CCIP. For the whole of France, their current account deposits at banks now amount to 180 billion euros, 20 billion more than in 2008. "

The CCIP also notes that if the concern that banks limit access to credit are large, this fear has not yet materialized. Moreover, the dreaded cold snap on the situation at the moment is focused on Europe, while in 2008 it had distributed instantly worldwide. Clearly the multiplier effects that had abruptly fired three years ago now seem less formidable.The current crisis follows a phenomenon much more confidence that it reflects a mechanical depression guaranteed unsecured personal loan.

Bring to a faster response to the crisis in Greece

Thinning can therefore act only through a return of confidence, it says in the CCIP. First in Europe: it is faster to make a response to the crisis in Greece and more generally to uncertainties in the sovereign debt.

Second key point: the situation of banks and their ability to finance the economy. There also should clarify the situation, including the definition of the application of Basel III on capital requirements.

Third dimension, unique to France, the presidential campaign. She never held in such a climate of economic turmoil, with what is more significant questions about a possible alternate.Two factors, by definition, anxiety, do you recognize the CCIP where one refrains from taking sides of course on the merits. Much will depend on the conduct of the presidential campaign, knowing that in times of uncertainty the temptation of inaction is great for business.

Everything will be in the speech

The survey conducted last September marked a sharp decline in climate, especially in SMEs. The synthetic indicator currently stands at 91 down from 106 in September 2006, at the last presidential campaign for SMEs. For larger companies, this indicator is 96 against 104 five years ago. While governments have no fiscal space to influence the deal, everything will be in the speech. The power of words never been so great.

Your money is of interest to banks and the State

"Frankly speaking, I am interested in your money." All those who lived through the 1970s and 1980s remember the shock of the BNP slogan, which even then was nationalized. No bank would dare to go now so funny and cynical investors. Yet that is what is happening in practice. While the international financial markets flageolent, banks have flared up the race for deposits in the Hexagon.Are there in fact more convenient way to strengthen its balance sheet to use the savings of the French? Crédit Agricole and Crédit Mutuel, among others, have increased their advertising in favor of ELP, the savings plan housing new way: these deposits are considered by the now famous Basel Committee, responsible for defining prudential norms – as quasi-equity for financial institutions.

Banks are not the only ones eyeing the nest egg lights. The state is known, has an unquenchable thirst for money. The temptation is great to draw from as well. Jérôme Chartier, MP Val-d'Oise, has proposed that individuals have the opportunity to subscribe directly to the obligations of the State, Treasury bonds (OAT). "We could start with finance and 10% of total annual loan of 220 billion euros," he suggests.It envisages a system of subscription on the Internet to avoid the costs inherent in banking networks, including management fees may represent an additional 1% (plus interest).

The project is not entirely new. It was piloted in 1994 by the Balladur government: the Treasury reserving a specific tranche "OAT individual" in its broadcasts. This financial instrument was abandoned in 2006 due to attract customers. The "widow of Carpentras" (the small investor) preferred then feed the bubble stock exchanges, judging the performance of OAT profitable enough, recalls one at Bercy.For its part, the Treasury was less expensive to seek international investors.

In the red for nine years

Change of scenery in 2011: local savings find the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie when the foreign markets on which the Agency France Trésor is currently funding two-thirds of the debt of the State, may be closed like an oyster. "In Italy and Japan, the holding of public debt by individuals is important, between 10% and 15% of their financial wealth, whereas in France it is ridiculous," said Professor André Babeau, which publishes this week his new book (the financial behavior of the French by Editions Economica) business card.However, he rejects the proposal made by Edouard Balladur last spring to create a sinking fund debt based on perpetual bonds placed in the public and paid at the rate of A booklet with the same tax exemption. "Will he go to the forced loan, a formula that had not even been used in three major loans from the First World War?" He quips.

The French are often presented as a nation of ants with a sense of the economy, but it is largely an illusion. Their financial wealth is certainly valued by the Bank of France in 3643 billion (31 December 2010), more than twice the amount of the debt.Better last year households "putting money left" to the tune of 207 billion euros, according to the INSEE (the savings is the difference between disposable income, after tax, and what is spent on consumption).

The gross saving rate of individuals is thus one of the world's highest (15.1% of their income) while the State and other jurisdictions have charged at the same time an overall deficit of 136.5 billion francs (in 2010). The contrast is striking. The French seem virtuous individual, when it comes to managing their own money. But it is brought to vice, in any case the prodigal when he is in the community and the public finances are."The State, this great social fiction through which everyone endeavors to live at the expense of others," concluded the polemicist already Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850), apostle of liberalism.

Should be taken into account simultaneously all these elements to assess the situation. It appears that "France is not a global investor," says André Babeau. When calculating the surplus individuals, public sector deficits and financing needs of businesses, the House France has a deficit of 42 billion external euros (in 2010). And for nine years, the country continues to be in red.

The deposit within the French savings banks look at him with lust and the state could make a guarantee of national independence and the markets stateless. But clearly, the jackpot can not be used twice.Even banks and insurance companies are fighting to capture the windfall, where the ebb of life insurance in recent months. The State will be there the third robber in the story?