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BHP agrees on a price with steelmakers

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Mining giant BHP Billiton ADR agreed with its main customers in Europe, China, India and Japan on short-term sales of coking coal. This agreement puts an end to traditional trading system prices this year among major mining companies and steelmakers.

BHP proposes three options to its customers for contracts on coking coal: an annual listing and every two months for half of the offers, the possibility of reducing tender contracts between quarterly and half, and finally, publication of prices every three months.

According to Macquarie Group, is the first time an agreement on a three-month contract is signed in the steel sector.

Without any contact number, the group said it sold a "significant portion of its volume of coking coal for 2010.JFE Holdings, the second largest Japanese steelmaker, had said last Friday it had agreed to pay $ 200 per tonne over three months. For Jim Lennon, analyst at Macquarie, specialist materials, "the Japanese will prove more flexible on prices." Flexibility which could benefit BHP, Teck Resources, Xstrata, Mechel OAO, Rio Tinto Group, Alpha Natural Resources and Massey Energy.

The new contract for three months, for which Morgan Stanley anticipates a course at $ 222 per ton, beginning 1 April next year, according JFE. One that expires next March 31, is listed at $ 129 per tonne.

On February 26, Energy Publishing, which reports the data supply and demand in the major coal producing countries, has published three price indexes for coking coal."The pricing in the short term will be difficult to manage without a reliable index of the prices of coking coal, which is why the publication of these indexes comes at the right time for the coal markets," said Forrest Hill, President Energy Publishing.

Hartz IV: "Germany must reduce its spending"

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

LE FIGARO. – Ruling of the Court puts it into question the whole system "Hartz IV"?

Niels Diederich. – No. The decision of the Court concerns only the welfare of minors. In the system of "Hartz IV", children whose parents are unemployed or who are raised in single-parent families, indirectly affect the state aid. However, they receive only 70 to 80% of the amount awarded to an adult. In 2005, the legislature had found that children have lower needs than adults and had applied a standard reduction. The judges felt that we can not calculate the social benefits attributed to children on the same basis as for adults. They require the development of a new scale of separate calculation, so that their needs are taken into account.The government will soon review the text to make its corrections.

The competitiveness of German companies is in danger?

Not because this decision they will not carry more loads, it does not hurt German exports. The companies co-finance the system of unemployment insurance by 50%. But it is a separate mechanism. The system "Hartz IV" is funded through taxes. But the state has pledged not to raise taxes. It will therefore reduce expenditure to finance the surcoût.La Court is often accused of conservatism.

That shutdown threat does not modernization of Germany?

Politicians always moan against the Constitutional Court. Created after the Nazi era to serve as a safeguard against the state, it has, indeed, enormous powers. But judges do not prevent the country's modernization.On the contrary. In 1949, when the conservative party (CDU) had held that in cases of dispute over the education of children, the man still had the last word on the woman, the Court ruled that the law contradicted the principle of equality between citizens. Since the 1950s, it required that disputes be settled by a judge, thus laying the foundations of the principle of equality between men and women in the country.

Proglio would have no mandate at Natixis

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

New twist in the "case" Proglio. According to the financial information site, Wansquare, president of EDF has decided to abandon his post as director of Natixis. At the last general meeting of Natixis in May 2009, Henri Proglio was reelected to this position until 2014. The announcement of his departure should be formalized in the coming days. "It's a good thing, said Pierre-Henri Leroy, president of Proxinvest. This is a logical decision for limiterles conflicts of interest, which in the banking sector, are more abusive than elsewhere. However, this is not good news for Natixis.

He added: "But the priority is giving up the chairmanship of the board of directors of Veolia. This is far from done. "In an interview with Parisien on Monday, the new CEO of Veolia Environment, Antoine Frerot, said the transition would last "as long as this transfer takes place seamlessly and smoothly. The handover between the old and the new boss is essential in the interests of Veolia.

His new duties as head of EDF seems to be incompatible with too many mandates. During a television show on TF1, the President of the Republic, Nicolas Sarkozy, said Henri Proglio "will devote 100% to EDF. However, it is still "a few months," Chairman of the Board of Directors of Veolia.

More than twenty terms in France and abroad

The president of EDF is a director of five companies in France – that is to say, the statutory maximum online payday advance .Natixis addition, it is present at Lagardere, EDF, CNP Assurances and Dassault Aviation. It is also censor the supervisory board of Caisse Nationale des Caisses d'Epargne. "We always set for a maximum of one external mandate," said Pierre-Henri Leroy.

He holds several mandates within the group Veolia in France (Veolia Water, Veolia, Veolia Transport, Dalkia, Veolia Water, SARP Industries, Dalkia International, Société des Eaux de Marseille, Campus Veolia Environment) and abroad (Veolia Environment North America Operations, Veolia Environmental Services Australia, Australasia Veolia Transport, Veolia Transport Northern Europe, Veolia Environmental Services UK Siram Veolia envy UK, Veolia Environmental Services North America).

Finally, former president of Veolia is a member of the Remuneration Committee of Natixis.In 2008, due to his role at Natixis and Caisse d'Epargne, he received a little over 30,000 euros in fees.

The announcement of his departure would be primarily due to the sharp controversy over the pay double the one hand and combining work with pension enjoyed by Henri Proglio other.

Management Communication Natixis declined any comment.

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Soon a collective bonus for staff

Monday, February 8th, 2010

This is the latest fashion at Bercy: invoke the former communist ministers of the Public! After recalling qu'Anicet Le Pors was established in 1984 the possibility of dismissing a government official denied a position, the enclosure Eric Woerth said that Thorez had included the idea of "collective performance bonuses in the general status of civil service in 1946, which are both unions.

The idea is tantamount. The government will send in the coming days with officials from unions the final version of its draft "collective bonus, negotiated for several months. A framework agreement will be declined by the department and implemented in public functions and territorial hospital.It provides for the payment of a premium service that is most evidence of "effort" or "collective performance.

On what criteria? At each terminal to determine its unions, but they will involve improving service to users, cost control, improvement of working conditions (decline in the number of accidents …) or environmental (savings water, energy …).

Outside agents whose "incompetence" has been pinned and will be deprived of premium, all agents of service – or contract holders, bottom or top of the scale – will receive the same amount. But no question that all services receive a government allowance each year. Only those who have reached goals or made significant progress will be rewarded."The idea is to create emulation, no dusting," says a close associate of Minister of Budget and Public Administration, Éric Woerth.

"The degree to functional access"

The government had already launched in late 2008 the prime function and results ", she rewards individual merit. It applies to much of the category A agents (managers) and is being extended to categories B.

"We are opposed to this project, because all that will be consistent with payroll, those premiums will therefore replace collectively increasing fears Jean-Marc Canon (CGT). We are also suspicious of the criteria. Where such mechanisms already exist, we saw they were in doubt: the number of PV in the police, for example, payday loans guaranteed no fax