In Friday's Americas papers

28 March 2008 11:00  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

Lhasa riots expose Tibet's split society
The bloody protests that have roiled Tibet expose more than this society's resentment toward the Chinese government: The rioting also reveals a deep split between everyday Tibetans and the Tibetan elite who cooperate with the Chinese state to rule the region.

Citi continues leadership overhaul
Citigroupis hiring an outsider to take over its beleaguered US consumer business, as Chief Executive Vikram Pandit continues to overhaul Citigroup's senior leadership, according to people familiar with the matter.

Street takes Fed loans in stride
Wall Street firms are tapping the Federal Reserve for direct loans, but the level of demand so far suggests they aren't desperate for funds.

Money & Investing

Memory-chip recovery could help lift Samsung Electronics
The run-up in South Korean share prices last year was a bust for Samsung Electronics. Concerns about the company's memory-chip business, traditionally its biggest source of revenue and profits, held back the electronics giant's stock, leaving it in a narrow trading range.

Stocks slide as Oracle's report raises worry about investment
The technology and financial sectors led a stock-market decline Thursday following worrisome developments at Oracle and Google, raising concerns about the broader economy that outweighed generally benign government data on gross domestic product and jobless claims.

Harvard endowment selects CEO
Harvard University has picked Jane Mendillo, chief investment officer of Wellesley College, to run the nation's largest college endowment.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

Barred from main road, Palestinians fear two-tiered system
Ali Abu Safia, mayor of this Palestinian village, steers his car up one potholed road, then another, finding each exit blocked by huge concrete chunks placed there by the Israeli Army. On a sleek highway 100 yards away, Israeli cars whiz by.

Tapes’ destruction hovers over detainee cases
When officers from the Central Intelligence Agency destroyed hundreds of hours of videotapes documenting harsh interrogations in 2005, they may have believed they were freeing the government and themselves from potentially serious legal trouble.

Business Day

Parties differ on whom economic aid should help
When an election campaign coincides with both a crisis on Wall Street and soaring home foreclosures across the country, the traditional ideological battles over “more government” or “less government” become blurred.

Obama casts wide blame for financial crisis, proposes homeowner aid
Senator Barack Obama called Thursday for tighter regulation of mortgage lenders, banks and financial houses, even as he spoke of pumping $30bn into the economy to shield homeowners and local governments from the worst effects of the collapse of the housing bubble.

WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

US armor forces join offensive in Baghdad against Sadr militia
US forces in armored vehicles battled Mahdi Army fighters Thursday in Sadr City, the vast Shiite stronghold in eastern Baghdad, as an offensive to quell party-backed militias entered its third day. Iraqi army and police units appeared to be largely holding to the outskirts of the area as American troops took the lead in the fighting.

Fallout from Tibet is test for China's rulers
The riots in Tibet two weeks ago have turned into a major challenge to China's leaders, whose decision to use military force and restrict media access has cast a shadow over hopes for an unblemished Olympics this summer.

Business

Fed leaders ponder an expanded mission
In the past two weeks, the Federal Reserve, long the guardian of the nation's banks, has redefined its role to also become protector and overseer of Wall Street.

Hundreds more flights cancelled
American Airlines and Delta Air Lines cancelled hundreds of additional flights yesterday to continue inspecting wiring on selected planes. American canceled 132 flights, or 6 percent of its total schedule. Delta announced it would call off about 275 flights through early Friday, cutting 3% of its flight schedule.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

Clinton ready to walk away from NAFTA, adviser warns
Hillary Clinton's threat to pull the US out of NAFTA is a negotiating tactic to extract changes in the trade deal, but is a threat she'll make good on if she doesn't get her way, her top economic adviser says.

Industry v birds: a battle hatches
The great blue heron is a majestic, quiet bird that rarely attracts much attention. But the heron is at the centre of a court case in New Brunswick that could change how Canada protects migratory birds and affect the operations of almost every forest products, energy and mining company in the country.

Business

Alberta's energy crown threatened
British Columbia and Saskatchewan are on the verge of a huge oil and natural gas exploration boom as companies pour hundreds of millions of dollars into land rights, shifting their focus away from the established energy capital of Alberta.

GE unit shops credit assets
General Electric is shopping Canadian assets of GE Money, which includes its near-prime alternative mortgage lending business, as it restructures its global retail, banking and consumer financing business, according to sources.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

Government threatens to jail pickets
After the government of Nestor Kirchner tolerated and even justified road blockades by pickets, environmentalists and even masked, club-wielding demonstrators during his tenure, the administration of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner yesterday warned that, in order to clear the roads and restore normal food supplies, protesting farmers would be incarcerated. 

Tata buys Jag & Land Rover
India’s Tata Motors Ltd yesterday announced a $2.3bn deal to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor, in a transaction that gives the emerging Indian automaker a model line-up ranging from ultra-cheap to high-end luxury.

‘A new era of friendship’
Heralded as a “new era of friendship,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his supermodel wife sweep into Britain for the start of a rare state visit, mixing elaborate pomp with an impassioned warning that the West must beat the Taliban in Afghanistan--no matter what the cost. 

By: Staff Reporter
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