In Tuesday's Americas papers

13 May 2008 12:27  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

Rescuers search for survivors as quake death toll climbs
Rescuers dug through schools and homes turned into rubble by China's worst earthquake in three decades to reach victims trapped beneath slabs of concrete, as the death toll from the disaster rose Tuesday to nearly 12,000.

Brazil joins front rank of new economic powers
For much of the decade, slow-growing Brazil seemed out of its league lumped in with the dynamic emerging economies of Russia, India and China in the so-called BRIC group. Sceptics said that RIC was more like it.

H-P in talks to buy EDS, in challenge to rival IBM
Hewlett-Packard was close Monday to acquiring Electronic Data Systems for about $13bn, according to people familiar with the matter, setting the stage for a challenge to IBM's dominance in computer consulting and services.

Money & Investing

Credit Agricole may raise new funds
Credit Agricole said Tuesday it is considering launching a €5.9bn ($9.17bn) capital increase to plug mounting subprime losses at its Calyon investment bank.

Financial rebels with a cause: AIG
Maurice R "Hank" Greenberg, who built American International Group Inc into the world's largest insurer in his nearly 40 years as chief executive, upped the pressure on current management in a sharply worded letter that said "AIG is in crisis" and called on directors to postpone Wednesday's annual meeting.

Bye, St George, and buy St George
It looks like Gail Kelly couldn't leave St George Bank behind. A little more than three months ago the former chief executive of St George, Australia's fifth-largest bank by market capitalization, assumed the top job at Westpac Banking.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

‘No hope’ for children buried in earthquake
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.

Love on girls’ side of the Saudi divide
The dance party in Atheer Jassem al-Othman’s living room was in full swing. The guests - about two dozen girls in their late teens - had arrived, and Ms Othman and her mother were passing around cups of sweet tea and dishes of dates.

Business Day

Cigarette bill treats menthol with leniency
Some public health experts are questioning why menthol, the most widely used cigarette flavouring and the most popular cigarette choice of African-American smokers, is receiving special protection as Congress tries to regulate tobacco for the first time.

Bloomberg LP fills post, suggesting shift to news
The news business may be in the doldrums, but the competition over business news could be heating up. Bloomberg LP, the financial data and news giant founded by Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, said Monday that it had hired Norman Pearlstine, the former top editor of Time and The Wall Street Journal, to the new position of chief content officer.

WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

Quake in China kills thousands
A powerful earthquake hit central China on Monday, killing nearly 12,000 people, as schools and other buildings collapsed across eight provinces and tremors shook buildings as far away as Bangkok.

US outlook is worst since '92, poll finds
Americans are gloomier about the direction of the country than they have been at any point in 15 years, and Democrats hold their biggest advantage since early 1993 as the party better able to deal with the nation's main problems, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Business

Cause of jet crash remains elusive
As the hulking passenger jet approached London's busiest airport after a long flight from China, the inexplicable happened: Both of the plane's engines sputtered and essentially died.

A higher law for lending
The mortgage industry may be in meltdown, but at least one class of lender appears to be flourishing: Islamic finance companies that offer Muslim home buyers alternative arrangements such as lease-to-own deals so they can avoid making the sort of interest payments that many believe their religion forbids.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

China quake toll nears 12,000
Rescue workers dug through schools and homes turned into rubble by China's worst earthquake in three decades to reach thousands of victims trapped beneath slabs of concrete, as the death toll of 12,000 appeared certain to rise on Tuesday.

US paid bounty for Khadr arrest in Pakistan
A US intelligence agency paid a bounty of $500,000 to Pakistani military officials who arrested a Canadian citizen wanted for links to al-Qaeda, according to a new Federal Court ruling.

Business

Discount-hunting shoppers push Wal-Mart profit higher
Wal-Mart Stores, the world's largest retailer, reported higher quarterly profit Tuesday as discounts drew US shoppers looking for bargains on necessities like food and pharmacy items.

GM deals Windsor new blow
General Motors's decision to shutter a transmission plant in Windsor will push the tally of auto sector layoffs in Ontario's battered motor city beyond 4,000 in the past two years.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

Farmers cut roads in Gualeguaychu
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez yesterday accused Colombia of seeking to provoke war, renewing regional tensions after a recent Colombian attack on a rebel camp in Ecuador sparked the worst Andes diplomatic crisis in a decade. 

Chavez calls Colombia bellicose; tapes detailed
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez yesterday accused Colombia of seeking to provoke war, renewing regional tensions after a recent Colombian attack on a rebel camp in Ecuador sparked the worst Andes diplomatic crisis in a decade.

A pro-west victory in Serbia
A coalition of pro-western parties unexpectedly came first in Serbia’s parliamentary election yesterday but faced an immediate challenge from the nationalist runners-up who said they too could form a government.

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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