In Tuesday's Europe papers

13 May 2008 06:00  [Source: ICIS news]

Westpac offers $17.6bn (€11.2bn) for St George
Westpac and St George early on Tuesday unveiled a deal to create Australia’s largest mortgage lender and its biggest bank by market value.

China quake death toll nears 10,000
China’s worst earthquake for 30 years killed nearly 10,000 people in Sichuan province on Monday, with more feared dead in mountainous areas cut off by landslides, power failures and the collapse of telephone networks.

HP close to $13bn deal for EDS
Hewlett-Packard on Monday was close to a deal worth up to $13bn (€8.3bn) to buy Electronic Data Systems, one of the the world’s biggest IT services companies.

Cut-price deal looms for Clear Channel
Clear Channel Communications, the radio station and outdoor advertising company, confirmed on Monday that it was in talks with the banks financing its leveraged buyout as speculation grew that an agreement on a lower-priced takeover was in sight.

'No hope' for children buried in China quake
The children who were considered fortunate escaped with a broken bone or a severed limb. The others, hundreds of them, were carried out to be buried, and their remaining classmates lay crushed beneath the rubble of the schoolhouse.

UN leader tells Myanmar to hurry on aid
As the authorities in Myanmar raised the cyclone death toll to nearly 32,000 and admitted one American military aircraft, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pressed the junta on Monday to accept international assistance.

Westpac and St George agree to create largest Australian bank
St George Bank of Australia has agreed to accept an Australian dollar (A$) 18.6bn ($17.7bn/€11.3bn), bid by Westpac Banking to create the largest Australian financial institution by market value.

Apple expands agreements to offer iPhones in Asia this year
Apple has signed deals to bring the iPhone to Singapore, India, Australia and the Philippines this year, which should help the company surpass its sales goal of 10m units by the end of 2008.

Front page

Putin appears to be the big winner
Occupying the Kremlin chair he sat in for eight years as president, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday gave a first clue of where power will lie during the presidency of his protege, Dmitry Medvedev.

Old faces follow Putin to new jobs
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled his Cabinet lineup on Monday, reappointing most key ministers and taking several powerful Kremlin allies with him to the White House.

After 9 years, reiman leaves mixed record
The appointment of Igor Shchyogolev, the Kremlin's polyglot protocol chief, to head the new hybrid Communications and Press Ministry brings an end to the tenure of one of the country's most controversial ministers, Leonid Reiman.

Usmanov ups MegaFon stake to 39%
Billionaire Alisher Usmanov is buying 58.9% in Telecominvest for an unspecified sum to increase his stake in MegaFon, the country’s third-largest mobile- phone company.

Thousands feared dead in Chinese earthquake
Thousands of people are believed to have died in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck southwestern China on Monday, according to Chinese authorities.

How Bangladesh is preparing for climate change
Fortunato Carvajal Monar is in the land-making business. And this Saturday morning is shaping up to be the beginning of a good workday. The sun strikes the dirty water of the Ganges River, causing it to sparkle in golden colors.

University as an entrepreneur
Anadolu University, which has transformed people's perception of the central Anatolian province of Eskisehir into one of a center for research and science, is constantly looking to create new avenues of revenue generation, leading the way in the "entrepreneurial university" model in the country.

Traveling across the peace bridges over closed borders
Despite sour relations between Ankara and Yerevan, a Turkish travel agency decided to organize a cultural tour to Armenia and mustered a group of 30 tourists for a 10-day trip to Turkey's neighbor to the east.

IMF approves loan, emphasizes restraint
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a $3.7bn (€2.3bn)loan to Turkey, the last under a three-year accord that ended Saturday, and urged the country to keep government spending under control.

Citigroup in reorganization
Citigroup, reeling from the subprime mortgage crisis, said Friday it plans to sell roughly $400bn (€2.5bn) in assets in a streamlining reorganization aimed at restoring the US banking giant to profit.

Front page

Kaczynski to meet US President while in Jerusalem
President Lech Kaczynski began his visit to Jerusalem yesterday to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel. It is not excluded that President Kaczyński will also meet with US President George Bush as, "This is one of the main aims of the visit," according to one of the employees of the Presidential Chancellery.

PM Tusks begins extended visit to Latin America
Prime Minister Donald Tusk yesterday commenced what is to be his longest diplomatic visit as the head of the government. His trip to Peru and Chile will last for eight days, and besides participating in the EU-Latin America summit, the PM plans to do some sightseeing.

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