(AOF) – 3M announces that it made a payment of $250 million on December 26 to the Fund established to compensate claimants seeking accelerated payments under the settlement agreement on the earplugs for combat weapons . The group welcomes an important milestone highlighting that it is expected that with this payment, between 25,000 and 30,000 claimants will reject any associated litigation. 3M announced at the end of August 2023 an amicable agreement in this matter which will see it pay a total amount of $6 billion between 2023 and 2029, including $5 billion in cash.
American soldiers accused the group of having provided them with defective earplugs via its subsidiary Aerao technologies, resulting in hearing loss.
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In France, financial aid aimed at encouraging consumers to repair rather than throw away objects now also applies to clothing and shoes.
The principle remains the same for clothing and shoes as for the selection of electronic products: the consumer must go to an approved repairer to benefit from assistance which cannot exceed 60% of the cost of the repair. The approved organization, “Refashion”, aims to increase the number of repairs by 35% by 2028. The Repair Fund, fueled by “eco-contributions” from brands, finances the operation. However, the question is whether this bonus will have to face the same difficulties as that for household appliances, which has not met with the expected success, in particular due to complex labeling procedures.
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Oncology, priority of pharmaceutical giants
Sanofi’s stock market disappointment recorded at the end of October 2023 underlines the new direction for the group, which has now set oncology as its number 1 priority. Efforts in this segment, where therapies are advancing the fastest, notably involve investments in R&D which weigh on profitability. Sanofi therefore announced a drop in its earnings per share in 2024 and the abandonment of its objective of an operating margin of 32% in 2025. Merck has just unveiled a new alliance. It will pay up to $22 billion to the Japanese group Daiichi Sankyo as part of a partnership on experimental cancer treatments. While some experts estimate that the United States represents nearly half of global oncology spending (drugs and treatments), or $196 billion in 2022, Chinese spending in this area has more than doubled in five years, going from 5 to 11.8 billion dollars.
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Rail investment plan
The French railway industry is in second place in Europe and third place worldwide. This industry displays a trade surplus, which generates more than 100,000 jobs in France. The announcement of the future plan for French rail transport provides in particular for the regeneration and modernization of the network, the average age of which is 30 years in our territory. This age is much higher than that of countries like Germany (17 years) and Switzerland (15 years). An annual investment increasing from 2.8 billion euros to nearly 4 billion euros should make it possible to maintain the entire network in good condition.