In Monday's Americas papers

07 April 2008 12:09  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

Novartis to buy Nestle's Alcon stake in two steps for around $39bn
Unveiling one of the biggest deals in Swiss corporate history, Novartis AG Monday said it plans to buy Nestle majority stake in US eye-care company Alcon in two steps for around $39bn, with the initial 25% stake changing hands in the second half of this year.

Washington mutual to get $5bn
Private-equity firm TPG and other investors are close to a deal to invest $5bn in Washington Mutual, people familiar with the matter said Sunday.

Clinton aide sacked over controversy on Colombia
Hillary Clinton replaced the long-time chief strategist of her struggling presidential campaign after the disclosure that he was working with Colombia's government to help win congressional approval of a trade pact that she opposes.

Money & Investing

Carlyle fund to target distressed assets
A month after suffering the biggest embarrassment in its 20-year history, Carlyle Group is seeking to take advantage of others' financial miscues.

Buffett pressed to dump chief of General Re
Federal prosecutors are pressuring Berkshire Hathaway to replace the chief executive of its reinsurance subsidiary, General Re, following criminal-fraud convictions of four former General Re executives earlier this year, according to people familiar with the situation.

Morgan Stanley board feels heat over loss
Three public pension funds said they oppose Morgan Stanley directors up for re-election, joining a growing list of pension funds angry about losses at the investment bank last year.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

Top Clinton aide leaving his post under pressure
Mark Penn, the pollster who has advised Bill and Hillary Clinton since 1996, stepped down under pressure on Sunday as the chief political strategist for Mrs Clinton’s struggling presidential campaign after his private business arrangements again clashed with her campaign positions.

US and Iraqis battle militias to end attacks
Sharp fighting broke out in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Sunday as American and Iraqi troops sought to control neighborhoods used by Shiite militias to fire rockets and mortars into the nearby Green Zone.

Business Day

When foreigners buy factories: 2 towns, 2 outcomes
Four years ago, a low-slung factory on the fringes of town here was stagnating and shedding workers. Then Siemens, the German industrial giant, bought the plant and folded it into a global enterprise. Today, the factory is shipping wastewater treatment equipment to Asia and the Middle East and employing twice as many workers.

Medicare finds how hard it is to save money
An ambitious three-year experiment to see whether the Medicare system could prevent expensive hospital visits for people with chronic conditions like congestive heart failure and diabetes has suggested that such an approach may cost more than it saves.

WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

The next campaign stop: Iraq hearings
When Army General David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker travel to Capitol Hill tomorrow, they might be the ones before the microphones, but the cameras will be trained on three of their inquisitors: Senators John McCain, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

Clinton's chief strategist steps down
Mark J Penn quit Sunday as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's chief strategist, the second shake-up in her campaign's top ranks since the onetime front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination began trailing Senator Barack Obama.

Business

Mass merchandising
If your teddy bear needs a shirt, you can get one with the pope's picture on it for $15.95. If Pope Benedict XVI is your man, you can feel close to him with Pope on a Rope soap for $9.99 or the Pope's Cologne for $25.95.

Credit crisis adds millions to DC's interest payments
Just as subprime mortgage borrowers were teased into taking out loans they later could not afford when the interest rates spiked, scores of municipalities, schools, hospitals and even museums are now facing soaring interest payments on unconventional bonds that proved too good to be true.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

Fall on sword or become 'roadkill', Mountie told
A high-ranking Mountie ensnared in the RCMP pension scandal said the House of Commons' top legal officer privately offered her a chance to avoid becoming “roadkill” in a campaign to have her cited for contempt of Parliament.

Three children slain in Merritt, BC
The mother of three children under age 10 who were found slain in Merritt, BC, appeared to go out Sunday afternoon to do some errands, says a neighbour.

Business

China allows banks' to invest in US stocks, mutual funds
Chinese banks may now invest their clients' money in US stocks and mutual funds, China's banking regulator said on Monday. The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission has already given the nod for banks to invest client money in Hong Kong, Britain, Japan and Singapore under the so-called Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor scheme.

CRTC battle over TV cable fees pits Rogers against networks
Federal hearings that will determine whether Canada's biggest television networks have the right to collect tens of millions of dollars a year from cable companies will begin this week - but the fight already appears destined for the courts regardless of the outcome.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

Sun sets on superpower twosome
US President George W Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin opened suspenseful farewell talks yesterday as the White House dropped hopes they would resolve differences on US missile defence plans, one of the most contentious in a long list of security disputes. 

President Paris-bound
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner headed out to France shortly before 5pm yesterday where she will be meeting tomorrow with her French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy. 

Correa: CIA controls part of spy network
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa yesterday accused the CIA of controlling many of his country’s spy agencies and said it had shared Ecuadorean intelligence with US ally Colombia during last month’s regional crisis. 

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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