In Tuesday's Americas papers

26 June 2007 13:25  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

 

Fleeing Chavez, oil workers flock to Alberta

The frigid Canadian province of Alberta has become one of the world's fastest growing enclaves of Venezuelans. Many of the expats, who say they were driven into exile by a hostile government, are oil field veterans working in Canada's refineries.

 

Behind buyout surge, a debt market booms

Concerns are growing about the market for collateralised loan obligations, which have supplied fuel for the buyout boom. If the economy weakens, those loans could sour and investors in the riskiest CLO slices could face large losses.

 

Accident sparks concern over Chinese tyres

Chinese-made tyres sold in the US may lack an important safety feature designed to make them more durable. US distributor FTS estimated the defect, which came to light after a fatal accident, could be present in as many as 450,000 tyres that it sold.

 

Money & Investing

 

Bear's stock feels sub prime chill

Bear Stearns shares fell to their lowest level in nearly a year, on concern about the firm's hedge fund woes and vulnerability to further sub prime-market declines.

 

Italy's move targets tax-driven trades

Italian authorities have cracked down on lucrative tax-related trades by Citigroup, Goldman, JP Morgan and Lehman.

 

Tyson's plan: capitalise on new tastes

Tyson Foods is introducing higher-priced, antibiotic-free chicken, among other initiatives, that could result in stronger earnings and a higher stock valuation.

 

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

 

Justices loosen ad restrictions in campaign law

The Supreme Court on Monday took a sharp turn away from campaign finance regulation, opening a wide exception to the advertising restrictions that it upheld when the McCain-Feingold law first came before it four years ago.

 

Attacker kills four Sunni shaikhs who aided US

A suicide bomber on Monday assassinated four Sunni shaikhs who were cooperating with Americans to fight Al-Qaeda in Anbar Province. Witnesses said the bomber sneaked through security checkpoints, strode into a large Baghdad hotel and detonated an explosive belt just before lunchtime, killing 12 people including the shaikhs.

 

Business Day

 

No takeoff, but two visits by the police

For nearly four hours last Thursday night, Flight 5637, a 50-seat regional jet, was stuck on the ground by bad weather at Kennedy International Airport. The air-conditioning wasn’t working, and no-one seemed to have a clue about when the plane would take off.

 

Billionaire thinks in trillions for his computer designs

Twenty-six years ago as a Stanford University graduate student and a co-founder of Sun Microsystems, Andreas Bechtolsheim designed a simple but powerful personal computer workstation that would help define the modern technology era.

 

THE WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

 

Supreme Court 5-4 weakens curbs on pre-election TV ads

The Supreme Court yesterday substantially weakened restrictions on the kinds of television ads that corporations and unions can finance in the days before an election, providing special interest groups with the opportunity for a far more expansive role in the 2008 elections.

 

A strong push from backstage

Air Force Two touched down at Greenbrier Valley Airport in West Virginia on Feb 6, 2003, carrying Vice President Cheney to the annual retreat of Republican House and Senate leaders. He had come to sell them the economic centerpiece of President Bush's first term: a $674bn (€500bn) tax cut.

 

Business

 

A guest-worker programme that does well by migrants

If a quarry needs a migrant worker who can haul 50-pound loads of rock out of a mine, or a big landscaper wants to hire a man who'll mow grass from sunup to sundown for $8 (€5.60) an hour without overstaying his visa, Jeffrey West scrolls through his computer, clicks the mouse and fills the order.

 

Dow Jones, Murdoch near agreement on journal board

An announcement could come as early as today that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and the Dow Jones board of directors have agreed on editorial protections for the Wall Street Journal, allowing the two sides to start discussing Murdoch's bid for the company and its high-profile newspaper.

 

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

 

Oil rises, Canada's take doesn't

In the past five years, Canada is the only significant oil and gas producing country to actually reduce its share of oil revenues, the British consulting firm Wood Mackenzie says in a new study.

 

Judge in Black case to charge jury today

The judge overseeing the Conrad Black trial hopes to charge the jury later today when the trial resumes. Judge Amy St Eve told jurors yesterday that she plans to instruct them this afternoon. However, before that occurs, two more lawyers have to finish closing arguments.

 

Business

 

Takeovers will face national security test

The Harper government is considering giving Ottawa more explicit authority to screen - and block - foreign takeovers on grounds of "national security".

 

Caisse, Onex pull out of bid for BCE

A bidding group led by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has lost a pair of key domestic backers, throwing into question its ability to muster an offer for BCE Inc by this morning's deadline.

 

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

 

Chemical Ali to die

Saddam Hussein’s Cousin Ali Hassan al-Majeed, widely known as “Chemical Ali”, and two other former regime officials were sentenced yesterday to hang for masterminding a genocidal military campaign that used poison gas against Iraq’s Kurds in the 1980s.

 

ARI’s Ríos takes Tierra del Fuego

The centre-left ARI’s Fabiana Rios yesterday became the first woman ever elected to govern an Argentine province when she ousted incumbent Peronist Governor Hugo Coccaro in Tierra del Fuego’s runoff.

 

Spaniards, Colombians killed in Lebanon attack

A car bomb, “most likely” driven by a suicide bomber and possibly sent by Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants, killed six UN peacekeepers in south Lebanon yesterday, a police source said.

 

($1 = €0.74)

 

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly