velcorin

Thank you Baypond, I work in trade finance in Europe and was going to keep my head well below the parapet, but now at least there's 2 of us to be shot at[:-))] From my little part of the world I don't absolve anyone from complicity in the meltdown going on across the globe. The German, British, Spanish and Scandanavian housing markets. The French and Italian unsecured lending on multiple open ended store credit cards (I know French acquittances on SMIC who owe in excess of EUR 150K). The German and French corporate sector takeover binges. Etc, etc, etc..... Cheap money, lead to bigger and bigger risks, by individuals and corporations. I, and all of you, either directly, or indirectly, benefitted from the asset gains, equity gains, capital gains, etc, admittedly less than, but not just, the Masters of Universe in the XVIth, Frankfurt and Mayfair. The party's over. Vive la revolution and the politics of envy[:)]

My wife's family are currently researching this problem. What you have been told is correct, in France you are responsible for the care home costs, when your funds are totally depleted, the burden falls on the children. However State contributions are available if the childrens' income is below certain levels, or there are no children.  The MiL is wealthy enough, but my wife is the youngest of 6, and due to my ex-pat salary, we are, by French standards well-off, so no help for us, therefore we are already setting aside funds. The position vis-a-vis UK family responsibility is something of which I have no knowledge. Assurance is availably seperately, you could enquire with any agency. Costs of care homes vary, but we are looking at EUR 2050 per month, I can't remember if that was net or brute.

Ermmmm. Maybe a bit of "creative" Devis production is required, if you want to go the Tribunal route, you WILL need all the correct paperwork! Is this a case of can't pay, or won't pay? Are there any parts of the "work" you can remove? You would have to be able to prove that you purchased and installed them, if you could steer clear of any gendarme involvement, his only recourse would be to use a Tribunal. Can you think of any way of shaming or humiliating him to pay you? Or...

The relevant Court information is here http://droit-finances.commentcamarche.net/faq/sujet-192-justice-et-litiges-a-quel-tribunal-s-adresser#la-juridiction-de-proximite It's not like the UK or German system. Stamina and patience are needed. A lot of non-recoverable expenses. It may be worth talking to this lot first www.clcv.org, also check if your insurence policies cover "protection juridique", maybe worth taliking to them.

Hi Odile We had a great weekend. We stayed in Annecy, Gex, and drove around a lot. Herladyship liked the area aroung Thonen les Bains. A pity it wasn't summer, but she's happy, it helps that she's got a sister just south of Lyon, so not too far away. So, far so good. Early next month I will meet my future PdG, if that goes well, I'll say yes to the transfer. Sensibly I will be aiming to start in June/July. Still living in France is the clincher, (but she hates Paris) I'm sure Switzerland is wonderful, but once it used to be fun moving countries, now it is tedious, we simply getting a bit irritated constantly learning new bureaucracies, etc, the other option of Fribourg is therefore a definite NO. One further question, herladyship loves EastEnders (she thinks it teaches her about the British way of life[:D]), can you get sat-Freeview that far south?

You are correct Clair, that is the arguement they have used, legally there is nothing wrong with what they have done. However, if you take it to it's illogical conclusion why not use Romanian workers, or Bulgarians, the EU just becomes a marketplace for the lowest waged group. The validity of Total's whining is not the point IMO, the issue is their total (pun intended) lack of joined up thinking in the awarding of the contract. Our contracts stipulate that we have the right to vet all workers employed by contractors, Total's will be the same. Thus Total have agreed that a totally foreign work force is acceptable to them. What corporate message does that send out? I work for a major German multinational in France, and worked for major British multinational in Spain, UK and US. One of the first considerations in ANY decision is the public image of the company, so how on earth did Total get themselves into this position? Sometimes you get it wrong, but getting it this wrong is absurd Mr Total: There's a global recession, local people losing their jobs-----I know let's recruit only foreigner workers Mr Union Man: Err, excuse me, can't some of our lads at least apply? Mr Total: No, go away you horrid little oik. Mr Union Man:  OK, ALL OUT LADS.

Wooly takes 2 minutes, but get's it first time.[:D] The right to free movement of labour is one of the founding principles of the EU, and one from which a good number of people on this site benefitted. However, if employers like Total don't consider their actions, then they will bring the EU into disrepute. And, I for one wholeheartedly back what the EU stands for, even if the rightwing, rabidly anti-EU UK media doesn't. I stick to the German or French media[:)]  

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the protest I find it incredible that Total was so insensitive to public opinion that they didn't insert clauses into the original contract to prevent this abuse occurring. Maybe not a surprise as French companies are amazing insentive to public opinion compared to German, British or Japanese companies, up there alongside the Chinese!. I'll give you 1 second to guess what the French unions' response would be if ALL the jobs on a local contract went to foreigners, but the senior management either didn't understand, or didn't care. Either way they were bang out of order.  I've never been a member of a union, I'm the post miner's strike generation, unions are an anthema to me, but thank dog someone stood up to Total.

Anyone ever been there when someone is awarded this? Without being too brutal about it, is it a big deal? Will I get away with a bog standard business suit and tie? How long does it take. It's a family member (wife's side), but I can't take much time away from desk on that day. When I try to discuss it in the office, they just start winding me up, so no joy there, and no joy with SWMBO (You're going FULLSTOP). Help!!!!!!!!

Wondered if fact that the 2 main manufacturers of these products are a German and a Dutch multinational has any bearing on the change of EU law? The incadescant bulbs are made mainly in the Taiwan. Just a thought...................I'm not suggested they lobbied to change EU law in their favour  

It'd last about 30 seconds round here.  A gang smashed 60 car windows at Meaux railway station, while holding securite at gun point, just before Christmas. They took everything removable. Middle of the day, all commutor's cars, it was raining. I had a very wet b*m by the time I got home.

Hi Many thanks everyone. Very useful info. I've commuted into London, Paris, Barcelona and Cologne they are all as bad as each other, I suppose I shouldn't expect Geneva to be any easier. We are going to drive down and spend the weekend looking around, and now we've got some starting points. Then I just need to to convince herladyship that snow is not actually harmful to human health.

Hi, We currently live in Paris, but I've been offered a job in Geneva. Before I say yes, obviously I want to do some research. Ideally we'd like to live on French side of the border, cheaper property, french wife, culure we understand, etc. Is it practical to commute? Anyone got any experience, or information they can pass on? Is the Jura or Haute Savoie commutable? 

In most other countries what Porsche did is illegal. In Germany it is not. Does that say anything about BaFin? An investor can have a holding + options on 74% of a company, 20% is non-trading stock, and this is not public knowledge! In France the public has a right to know who owns a company. In German it's a secret. Since this happened the DAX is down 21% as against the Footsie 13%, and the Dow 14%. Coincidence?, or have investors lost confidence in BaFin? I would also wonder if VW having a parent with such low Equity, relative to the size of the subsiduary, is a good thing. Certainly I would be wondering about VW's Cashflow and debt obligations, did they tried to tap up the ECB for loans to cover their auto-loans because no German bank would cover them? The market always wins in the end, and revenge is a dish best served cold, so let's wait a year or 2 and see what happens.

SD I'm sure we don't pay CSG to the bank. I can't check easily as my wife's family use an ex-employee of theirs, who is an accountant for all their tax declarations. We don't have the dossier. Cannot CSG be declared on a 2042?

I reckon it's CSG(Contributions Sociales Generale). The bank are deducting at source a tax on unearned income' here or' elsewhere in the world. No idea how you go about getting it cancelled as all our income is in France, and we pay on on our annual declaration. Hopefully, someone with a UK pension or investment income, will come along and explain what you should do to cancel this deduction due the reciprical tax agreement. Any other explanations from anyone?

I haven't checked the values given, but someone sent me this.................   1 year ago the Royal Bank of Scotland paid $100bn for ABN Amro.  On today's valuations the amount they paid could now buy:            Citibank $22.5bn            Morgan Stanley $10.5bn            Goldman Sachs $21bn            Merrill Lynch $12.3bn            Deutsche Bank $13bn            Barclays $12.7bn            And with the change $8bn .....they would be able to pick up            GM, Ford, Chrysler and the Honda F1 Team.   How the world has changed. At the time Santander, Fortis and RBS thought they'd got a fair deal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It could be Catalan. Is Huit pronounced with a pronounced b sound, like Buit?

Forget what I wrote about VAT. Just been speaking to our Tax Specialist, the rules have changed. The UK company can supply the goods VAT-free in the EU if you prove you are TVA registered, apparently the admin is a pain so some companies can't justify the expense, and prefer not to have the business, as it costs too much. Try a bigger company.

If you purchase goods from outside the EU, you will not pay sales tax (VAT/TVA/GST/whatever). However the carrier will pay import duty, which you will have to reimburse to them before they will allow you possession of the goods. Import duties vary depending on the type of goods. Check with one of the big carriers like UPS, to confirm what the local duty would be if you don't want a nasty surprise. Even things like DVDs and CDs from the US should attract import duty, if the goods are spotted for what they are. Within the EU there is a system called IntraStat which large companies use to reconcile their intra-EU sales taxes (to which think Albert is referring), this doesn't apply in the case of your supplier. If you want to recover EU VAT, speak to your accountant, or a specialist VAT recovery company. It will require a claim to be submitted to the country in question, there are minimum claim levels, forms to be completed and proofs to be supplied. Different EU countries have different rules, I understand the UK is one of the simpler systems. Things change regularly in the wacky world of sales taxes, so get some professional advise if you want the latest position, I'm at least 12 months out of date.

They do salt in some Depts, certainly in Creuse, but not around Paris. I was bought up on top of a hill near Buxton. I thought I was pretty good at driving in snow. The missus is Breton, she's brilliant in snow and ice, I reckon it's because the roads were never touched there. She has a 3 litre, manual, rear wheel drive sports car, drifting it around corners is a breeze for her.

Definitely not thick! You are correct, cash savings would actually increase in value. I certainly could have been clearer, I was referring to Pension Funds companies. You correctly make the point about illiquid assets depreciating in value, what happens in the longer term to Pension Funds? The Japanese had the carry trade to offset their local deflation problem, but if it is a global problem? Nobody borrows money (even at 0%) as the repayment cost increases by the rate of deflation, and the asset increases it's rate of depreciation, less security and benefit. Nobody buys anything because tomorrow they know it will be cheaper, unemployment goes up to Great Depression standards, higher government borrowing and taxes. A wonderful deflationary spiral, global commerce grinds to a halt.

Zero Interest on savings has 2 benefits for the general global economy.  1. the BoE/ECB/Fed will avoid deflation. 2 They can print money at will without causing inflation. Now I'm going to put my tin-'at on coz. If 1. happens all you pensions/savings/assets are worth diddlysquat as they will only be worth what someone thinks they are worth in 6 months+ time, ie a LOT less than you think they are worth now. Think, deflation means everything is worth less month on month. If 2 the general global economy keeps functioning, and fingers crossed in 6 months+ time, things get back to what you would consider normal. On the postive side, despite the UK media coverage, my company (which is at the bottom level of the economic cycle) has had it's best Q4 2008, pre-orders for Q1 2009, on record. As against the worst ever Q4 and Q1 in France and Germany. Sometimes I look at the financial numbers on my desk and wonder where the UK media gets it's stories. Presumeably they've never heard of TMD Friction going bust in Germany (50,000 jobs), SEAT shutting from January to July 2009, Sealdyne in France bust (15,000 jobs), Renault shutting the Sandouville Laguna plant for 4 months, CAMIF, etc. I see the UK stories, and think, SO WHAT, look around you, my job is to avoid losing the company's money, and at the moment I have sleepless nights over France and Germany. Bear in mind Retail is the last to suffer in an economic down turn, so big stories like Woolworth's is the sign of the upturn coming. Pity the poor b*****rs in Germany and France who rely on other countries buying stuff off them, rather than domestic consumers, just who is going to buy the stuff they make. Anyone want to buy a BMW at the moment? Anything that kickstarts the global economy is good for me, and my company, and it's 150,000 employees. Let's try 0% interest, I don't care if I've got to pay for it for the rest of my life (I'm 38). Right now, we are looking at global economic melt down. Anyone want Hitler and his ilk back? Wake up and smell the coffee, it really is serious. And I wish you all a wonderful 2009.

Although we live in Paris we have have a holiday home in Creuse about 8Km from Tarnac, which around there means the next Commune. It's been interesting following the local discussion on http://www.millevaches.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190 Terrorists? Mmmm! Not exactly Al-Qaeda. My wife was picked up a couple of times by the CRS on anti-nuclear marches in the 80s does that make her a terrorist? I'll wait for the trial before I make any judgement, but I have my doubts about Tarnac and terrorists!  

Flanked by officials from the United Elf Toytinkerers union, SantaCorp CEO Kris Kringle today told the House Ways and Means Committee that without immediate government financial help, his firm would be forced to declare bankruptcy, lay off thousands of elves and reindeer, and potentially cancel its annual worldwide Christmas Eve toy delivery. "These are grim economic times for everyone, but even more so for non-profit toy manufacturers in the Snow Belt," said Kringle. "Our accountants have indicated that we are on track to exhaust our reserves of cash and magical pixie fairydust by December 23. Oh deary me." Kringle and UET union president Binky McGiggles presented a draft emergency bailout plan to the committee calling for US $18 trillion in federal grants, loan guarantees, and sugarplum gumdrops that they said would keep the company solvent through December 26. "We believe this proposal shows that management and labor can work together to craft a reasonable, financially responsible short-term survival plan," said McGiggles. "After the new Congress is seated in January, we would be happy to return to present a long-term package to get us through April." Kringle warned that failure to approve the plan would have dire global economic consequences. "Oh goodness," said an emotional Kringle, fumbling with his glasses, "think of all the children who will wake up sad and angry and confused on Christmas morning, with nothing in their stockings. Let's just say I wouldn't want to be their parents. Or a someone answering your switchboards on December 26." SantaCorp, which lost over $2 trillion in FY 2007, has seen a steady erosion in market share and profitability over the last five years. Industry analysts say that its precarious position is due to a number of factors. "You might say it's a perfect snowstorm," said Merrill Lynch analyst Jennifer Rothstein. "The youth consumer market is demanding more for less, at a time when the government and courts have forced SantaCorp to lower its 'good list' credit rating standards. They face increased non-union competition from the East Pole, and huge increases in fuel prices for magical reindeer flying hay. It's a hard sell for the investment community." Veteran market watcher Charles Kessler of ToyWeek said SantaCorp's labor cost structure was a significant factor in its recent struggles. "After the 1982 strike SantaCorp offered the UET a generous pension plan promising free lifetime candy canes and unicorns," explained Kessler. "It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the company accountants forgot to factor in elf immortality." Despite the dire picture painted by Kringle and union officials, they encountered skeptical questioning from some committee members. Several members slammed the SantaCorp officials for flying to the hearing on a private luxury sleigh, while others openly questioned the company's business model. "Almost every business in my district has had to adjust to the new economic climate, but SantaCorp seems to believe it can continue with the same old profligate giveaway business-as-usual," said Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin). "I'm sorry for your situation, but it is difficult to justify giving trillions of US taxpayer dollars to a private company that is outmoded, headquartered offshore, and, frankly, imaginary." Kringle defended the company's business practices and his reported 4 billion cookie annual salary, saying that the company was "doing the best we can under trying circumstances." He also blamed the company's struggles in part on federal environmental and safety regulations. "Frankly the amount of paperwork you require is astronomical," said Kringle. "OSHA inspections and reporting requirements have doubled our factory production cycle, and every time I tramp a little fireplace soot into a living room I have to fill out three separate EPA environmental impact reports." Kringle also urged the committee to enact industry tort protections, saying that the company remained saddled with crushing legal and insurance bills following the landmark 1974 class action liability case Nader v. Jarts, Clackers, SantaCorp, et al. UET President McGiggles warned that failure to pass a bailout package would have dire social consequences. "All of you have seen the bleak pictures of how plant layoffs have already effected ToyTown -- the boarded-up gingerbread houses covered in frosting grafitti, the abandoned sleighs up on blocks, the widespread crime and sucrose abuse, the antler-wielding gangs of unemployed reindeer yearlings," said McGiggles. "That is only a hint of what is to come if the plant shuts down. If you think an industry bailout is expensive, well, just consider the cost of a full-scale violent rioting by millions of desperate unemployed elves, with warehouses full of surplus BB guns." House Ways and Means committee chairman Charles Rangel (D-New York) motioned to end the hearings, saying that with only 7 bailout shopping days before Christmas the committee needed to move on to other industries facing emergency financial crises. "The American economy and Christmas itself stand on the edge of disaster, It's time for my colleagues show we are good boys and girls," said Rangel, who is reported to have received over $6 million in campaign contributions from SantaCorp and the UET over the last two years. A full House vote on the SantaCorp is scheduled Friday morning, where it is expected to pass by a comfortable margin. President Bush has pledged to sign any and all bailout request from Congress until the end of his term, "no queshnions ast." "I want to insurer the American People and the evil doers that I and the Crongress and the Hankster [Treasury Sec. Paulsen] and Big Ben [possibly Fed Chair Bernanke] and [unintelligible] and me are unineted together to approve the financial aid and regulations and federal takeovers to get our American free ennerpise system back on track," said the President, speaking from inside his new shoe-proof plexiglas enclosure. In concluding the hearings, Rangel gave the SantaCorp officials a personal vote of confidence. "We believe in you, Santa," said Rangel, handing Kringle what appeared to be a list. "As long as you continue to believe in us."