In Monday's Americas papers

31 March 2008 12:07  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

HUD secretary expected to quit
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson is expected to announce his resignation on Monday, according to people familiar with the matter, a decision that will deal a blow to the Bush administration's efforts to tackle the housing crisis.

Paulson plan begins battle over how to police market
The Bush administration's plan to remodel the patchwork system of US financial regulation, built piecemeal since the Civil War, is the biggest salvo in what will be a long-running debate about the role of government in financial markets.

British Air's bag chaos may delay move to new terminal
British Airways' flight schedule at Heathrow Airport is gradually returning to normal, but days of cancellations and lost luggage because of a breakdown in the bag-handling system at the airline's new terminal could plague BA's reputation for months.

Money and investing

A merger of regulators would hit exchanges in the biggest way
The Treasury Department's blueprint for overhauling the regulation of financial markets would significantly alter the landscape for exchanges where stocks, investment funds and derivative products trade.

Lehman sues Japan firm, claiming $350m fraud
Lehman Brothers Holdings has gone to court in Tokyo in an effort to recover $350m it says it was bilked out of through an elaborate scheme in which employees of a big Japanese trading company allegedly used forged documents and an imposter to raise cash.

Deal to sell Yellowstone Club falls apart
An agreement to sell the Yellowstone Club for about $450m has fallen apart, highlighting the increasing pressures on the high-end real-estate market.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

Cleric suspends battle in Basra by Shiite militia
The Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr on Sunday called for his followers to stop fighting in Basra and in turn demanded concessions from Iraq’s government, after six days in which his Mahdi Army militia has held off an American-supported Iraqi assault on the southern port city.

McCain faces test in wooing elite donors
With attention focused on the Democrats’ infighting for the presidential nomination, Senator John McCain is pressing ahead to the general election but has yet to sign up one critical constituency: The big-money people who powered the Bush fund-raising machine.

Who are we? New dialogue on mixed race
Jenifer Bratter once wore a T-shirt in college that read “100% black woman”. Her African-American friends would not have it.

Business

French company is said to buy maker of Absolut Vodka
Pernod Ricard, the French liquor company, agreed on Sunday night to acquire the parent of Absolut vodka, people involved in the deal said.

Doubt cast on 2 drugs used to lower cholesterol
The drugs Vytorin and Zetia may not work and should be used only as a last resort, The New England Journal of Medicine and a panel of cardiologists at a major cardiology conference said on Sunday.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

States are hit hard by economic downturn
In Illinois' Cook County, women in poor neighborhoods no longer have access to free mammograms from two mobile vans testing for breast cancer.

A wolf saved from extinction but snared in politics
Ten years ago, almost to the day, Jamie Rappaport Clark walked through the snow in Arizona's Apache National Forest to release 11 Mexican wolves into the wilderness.

Business

Union reaches deal with Safeway, Giant
The union representing workers at Giant Food and Safeway said yesterday that it has reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract after more than a month of bargaining.

Gore launches ambitious advocacy campaign on climate
Former vice president Al Gore will launch a three-year, $300m campaign Wednesday aimed at mobilising Americans to push for aggressive reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, a move that ranks as one of the most ambitious and costly public advocacy campaigns in US history.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

Delayed election results fuel suspicion in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's justice minister lost his seat on Monday and first election results showed the opposition level with President Robert Mugabe's party, but delays to most results fuelled opposition suspicions of rigging.

RCMP probe Coast Guard's actions
The Canadian Coast Guard was at the centre of a federal investigation yesterday after a routine towing of a disabled fishing trawler ended in tragedy early Saturday, sending six seal hunters into the icy waters off Cape Breton where three died and one is missing but presumed dead.

Business

As clouds gather, optimism persists
It's hard to predict Xantrex Technology future. The Vancouver-based company is an exporting manufacturer, so Canada's strong dollar and the downturn in the US economy are bad news.

Ottawa looks at putting HBO, ESPN on cable
A controversial plan that would let top-rated US cable networks such as HBO, ESPN and Nickelodeon into the Canadian market, ending decades of protectionism for domestic television channels, will be considered by broadcast regulators next week.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

Lockout resumes, talks tomorrow
Farmers yesterday resumed a lock-out - launched on March 13 against higher soy export taxes - after failing to reach a deal with the government. They had lifted the protest on Friday allowing trucks with food to circulate, and sat down for talks with Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez, who proposed measures to protect small-scale farmers and promised to lift a months-long ban on wheat exports.

Switch off, save the planet
People switched off lights around the world yesterday, dimming buildings, hotels, restaurants and bars to show concern with global warming.

By: Staff Reporter
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