In Tuesday's Americas papers

06 May 2008 12:13  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

UBS to sell mortage assets, cut jobs as Q1 loss nearly $11bn
UBS said Tuesday it would sell $15bn in mortgage assets to BlackRock and slash 5,500 jobs by the middle of next year, moves meant to restructure the Swiss giant's troubled investment bank.

Sprint mulls shedding Nextel unit
Wireless provider Sprint Nextel is considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit, people familiar with the situation say. The move would be a dramatic acknowledgment that Sprint's $35bn acquisition of Nextel Communications in 2005 has been a failure.

Finding parallels to Obama's rise
Democrats are about to determine whether Barack Obama is another Bobby Kennedy - or another Gary Hart. Those two figures seem to offer the best parallels to the compelling Obama story, which continues to unfold, its final chapters still unwritten.

Money & Investing

French firm scrutinised in global bribe probe
French and Swiss authorities are investigating whether Alstom SA, a Paris-based engineering giant, paid hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to win contracts in Asia and South America between 1995 and 2003, people involved in the matter say.

Citigroup's Pandit faces test as pressure on bank grows
Four months into his tenure as Citigroup's chief executive, Vikram Pandit faces mounting pressure to show that a detail-obsessed ex-professor can turn around one of the world's largest and most troubled banks.

Oil futures near $121/bbl on supply worries, weak dollar
Oil futures rose to an all-time high near $121/bbl Tuesday in Asia, fueled by worries about threats to supply and a weakening of the US dollar.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

In a faded city, plans to build a hotel build hope
The old Plaza Hotel downtown is a tomb, sealed shut for more than 20 years now, its windows shattered and its green marquee worn and stripped of letters.

For two primaries, several scenarios
It’s almost over. Well, not quite. But the Democratic presidential primaries taking place on Tuesday in North Carolina and Indiana have more delegates up for grabs than any of the remaining contests.

Business Day

Google ends Microsoft’s Yahoo search
Microsoft and Yahoo were pushed to the brink of a multibillion-dollar marriage and then to a sudden breakup this weekend by the same player.

Yahoo chief says Microsoft was the stubborn one
People involved in relationships that end abruptly often have grossly conflicting accounts of what went wrong. On Monday, Jerry Yang gave his version.

WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

Who's more red, white and blue-collar?
If he weren't so busy waiting tables at O'Charley's or scanning Wal-Mart for discount meat to feed his four kids, Scott Winschief thinks he might make a pretty good candidate for president of the US.

Burma says storm killed 15,000
The death toll from a 120-mph cyclone that tore through Burma last weekend has reached 15,000, with 10,000 killed in just one town, a top official told the nation Tuesday.

Business

'Say-on-pay' movement loses steam
The movement to give shareholders greater say on executive compensation marked a watershed Monday. At its annual shareholder meeting, Aflac, the large insurer, became the first major American company to give investors a vote on how senior managers are paid. Pay packages for the top five executives passed resoundingly.

Disruptions in oil supply may extend price rise
Here's how a small group of militants in West Africa can help keep an issue alive in presidential politics in Indiana and Washington.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

Tamil Tigers using electoral list, RCMP say
Tens of thousands of Sri Lankans living in Canada have been funding the Tamil Tigers' terrorism campaign through a secret strategy of profiling carried out using Canada's electoral database, the RCMP allege.

Private-air watchdog falls short, audit says
The organization that regulates and licences privately operated business planes in Canada is not collecting basic safety data and is too overloaded with work to oversee the industry properly, according to an audit conducted by Transport Canada and obtained under the Access to Information Act.

Business

Court deals broadcasters costly ruling
Canada's broadcasters are scrambling to appeal a federal court ruling that may cost the industry more than $100-million a year if the decision is not overturned.

UBS to cut 5,500 jobs in subprime wake
Swiss bank UBS said it would cut 5,500 jobs or almost 7% of its work force through layoffs and attrition in the wake of the subprime credit crisis as it reverses a rapid expansion into investment banking.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

Agreement unlikely, say farmers
Farm leaders yesterday expressed doubts over the possibility of an agreement being reached during the meeting with Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez scheduled to take place tomorrow. The main issue on the agenda will, of course, be the export duties hike. 

Burma cyclone toll 350 plus
More than 350 people have died in Burma in a powerful cyclone that knocked out power in the impoverished country’s commercial capital and destroyed thousands of homes, state-run media said yesterday.

Yes in Santa Cruz means no in La Paz
Bolivia’s richest region, Santa Cruz, voted overwhelmingly for autonomy yesterday in a vote widely seen as a rejection of President Evo Morales’ leftist reforms, exit polls showed.


By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214



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