Bayrou dans le Pas-de-Calais pour les 50 ans de la catastrophe minière de Liévin

Le Premier ministre François Bayrou est venu vendredi par surprise dans le Pas-de-Calais pour assister à la célébration des 50 ans de la catastrophe minière de Liévin, un coup de grisou qui avait fait 42 morts.Liévin a été la catastrophe minière la plus meurtrière de l’après-guerre en France, le 27 décembre 1974.”Quelques jours auparavant, mon père s’était tué dans un accident de travail, en cette année 1974″, a raconté François Bayrou dans un bref discours tandis que des cloches sonnaient à la volée.”Et je sais donc exactement ce que c’est que les visages que l’on n’aperçoit plus, ce que c’est que le couvert qu’on ne met plus à table, et ce qu’est l’absence des bras solides dans lesquels se réfugiaient les enfants”, a ajouté le Premier ministre.C’étaient “42 victimes tombées au champ d’honneur du travail, c’est l’expression que François Mitterrand avait utilisée, et que je fais mienne”, a-t-il poursuivi.”La nation n’oubliera pas le bassin minier, la nation n’oubliera pas ces vies données pour le travail et pour la construction du pays”, a-t-il insisté, en faisant aussi référence à d’autres catastrophes minières et aux innombrables victimes de la silicose.”Travail, courage, résilience, c’est une leçon que nous partageons au moment où nous sommes tous appelés à une oeuvre de construction et à une oeuvre d’unité”, a continué M. Bayrou. C’était sa volonté de ne pas prévenir la presse de ce déplacement, a confié à l’AFP la communication du Premier ministre.M. Bayrou n’a pas parlé aux médias et a quitté les lieux vers 12H50, a constaté une journaliste de l’AFP.A ses côtés durant la cérémonie, se tenaient notamment la ministre de la Transition écologique Agnès Pannier-Runacher ainsi que le président des Hauts-de-France Xavier Bertrand.Ce dernier avait estimé lundi avoir été exclu du gouvernement Bayrou “en raison de l’opposition du Rassemblement national” et avait dénoncé dans un communiqué un gouvernement “formé avec l’aval de Marine Le Pen”. M. Bayrou avait dû démentir la rumeur d’un échange téléphonique avec Mme Le Pen dans les derniers réglages de la composition de son gouvernement.”Cinquante ans après, la France se souvient de la catastrophe de Liévin qui a marqué notre mémoire collective”, a aussi souligné vendredi Emmanuel Macron sur X.”Je salue le souvenir des quarante-deux mineurs disparus, dont le courage demeure une leçon pour nous tous, et le combat de leurs familles pour la mémoire et la dignité”, a ajouté le président de la République.Pour les 40 ans de la catastrophe en 2014, Manuel Valls, alors Premier ministre, avait aussi fait le déplacement dans ce bastion socialiste au milieu d’un département où le RN est très implanté, pour rendre hommage au “monde ouvrier”.

Global stocks rise as Japan led Asia gains on a weaker yen

Global stocks mostly rose on Friday, as European markets returned from the Christmas break tracking Asia gains after a weaker yen lifted Japanese equities.Seoul was an outlier in Asia with shares plunging as South Korea’s political crisis deepened with a second impeachment vote.In Europe, Frankfurt’s DAX index rose after German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier dissolved parliament on Friday and confirmed the expected date for the early general election, emphasising the need for “political stability” in Europe’s largest economy.London was flat and Paris gained.Japan’s Nikkei index closed up nearly two percent, with the yen’s recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening — its lowest in almost six months — following comments made by Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda that failed to give a clear signal on a possible interest rate hike next month.The BoJ left borrowing costs unchanged last week and warned of uncertainty over the economic policies of US president-elect Donald Trump.”Today, the yen looks stronger on the back of a freshly released set of stronger-than-expected data,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote Bank.Recent data has showed Japan’s inflation rose for a second month in December, while industrial production declined less than expected in November and retail sales came in higher than estimated last month.Japan’s government also on Friday approved a record budget for the next fiscal year, ramping up sending on social welfare for its ageing population and defence to tackle regional threats.In Seoul, the stock market closed down one percent after the won plunged to a near-16-year low of 1,487.03 against the US dollar on Friday morning.South Korea is struggling to emerge from political turbulence in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration this month, which prompted his impeachment.Acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached Friday in a vote that prompted ruling party lawmakers to protest with angry chants and raised fists.South Korea’s business outlook for January fell in the Bank of Korea’s composite sentiment index, the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data based on almost 3,300 firms released Friday.Elsewhere Asia, Shanghai and Hong Kong edged up.- Key figures around 1100 GMT -London – FTSE 100: FLAT at 8,138.29Paris – CAC 40: UP 0.6 percent at 7,328.79 Frankfurt – DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 19,932.52Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 40,281.16 points (close)Seoul – Kospi: DOWN 1.0 percent at 2,404.77 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.1 percent at 20,116.93 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,400.14 (close)New York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 43,325.80 (close)Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0427 from $1.0424 on ThursdayPound/dollar: UP at $1.2536 from $1.2526Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.72 yen from 158.00 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 83.15 pence from 83.19 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $70.23 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $73.86 per barrel

Osamu Suzuki, longtime chair of Japan’s Suzuki, dies aged 94

Osamu Suzuki, who grew small-car specialist Suzuki Motor into an international brand with huge successes in India, died Wednesday at age 94 after bouts with cancer, the company said Friday.Under the charismatic businessman’s four-decade leadership through 2021, the firm’s sales grew more than 10-fold.Born on January 30, 1930, in the central Japanese region of Gifu, he married into the firm’s founding family and later became its president in 1978.Calling himself an “old man at a small business,” he focused on building light-weight “kei” vehicles, many of which became big hits for their fuel efficiency and easy-to-handle quality.He also actively sought international partners and opportunities overseas to expand his business.The carmaker once tied up with General Motors and Volkswagen and also forged a capital alliance with Toyota in 2019.He expanded in India, where the company’s subsidiary now occupies the top market position.When he retired as the firm’s chairman in 2021, the company’s sales stood at 3.18 trillion yen ($20 billion). When he took over the company in 1978, the firm’s sales stood at 323 billion yen, according to the Nikkei Shimbun business daily.

Asian markets mostly rise but political turmoil holds Seoul back

Asian markets mostly rose on Friday, with Japanese shares gaining on a weaker yen, although Seoul shares plunged as South Korea’s political crisis deepened with a second impeachment vote.Japan’s Nikkei index closed up 1.8 percent, with the yen’s recent weakness proving a boon for major exporters. The yen hit 158.08 per US dollar on Thursday evening — its lowest in almost six months — before rebounding somewhat on Friday.In Seoul, the market closed down by 1.02 percent after the won plunged to a 16-year low of 1,480.20 per US dollar on Friday morning.South Korea is struggling to emerge from political turbulence in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration this month, which prompted his impeachment.Acting President Han Duck-soo was also impeached Friday in a vote that prompted ruling party lawmakers to protest with angry chants and raised fists.South Korea’s business outlook for January fell 7.3 points to 82.4 in the Bank of Korea’s composite sentiment index, marking the biggest month-on-month slide since April 2020, according to data released Friday. The survey of almost 3,300 firms was conducted between December 11 and 18.In Japan, the yen was “marginally stronger” on Friday, Bloomberg reported, after data showed inflation in Tokyo rose for a second month in December.Other positive figures from Japan showed industrial production declined less than expected in November, while retail sales came in higher than estimated last month.With the country’s unemployment rate holding at 2.5 percent in November — low by international standards but slightly above Japan’s pre-Covid 19 pandemic average — Moody’s Analytics said on Friday that the data confirmed their view that “employment conditions are wobbly”.Investor attention is now focused “on whether the Nikkei average will expand its rise to recover to the 40,000 points range by the end of the year”, said Kosuke Oka, an analyst at Monex Securities.Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda bewildered observers last week by suggesting a prolonged pause in the institution’s monetary policy tightening, in the face of domestic and international economic uncertainties, which had sent the Japanese currency tumbling.Ueda said on Wednesday rates would be “adjusted” if the situation continued to improve on the economic and price fronts, leaving investors without a clear signal on a possible interest rate hike and contributing to the yen’s slide.”With the calendar year winding down and little in the way of tier-one economic data, the market is content mainly to drift until something shakes it from its slumber — likely a late-year squeeze or perhaps a Trump-driven shift in global economic sentiment,” said Stephen Innes from SPI Asset Management, ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump retaking the White House in January.In Asia, Shanghai, Mumbai, Malaysia, Taipei, Singapore, Sydney and Bangkok were all in the green. Hong Kong was flat, while Manila was down.London was down while Frankfurt and Paris were both up in early European trade.- Key figures around 0800 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 1.8 percent at 40,281.16 pointsHang Seng: UP 0.1 percent at 20,116.93Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,400.14Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0419 from $1.0409Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2532 from $1.2521Dollar/yen: UP at 157.80 yen from 157.59 yenEuro/pound: FLAT at 83.14 pence from 83.14 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP at $69.80 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP at $73.40 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 43,325.80 (close)