In Friday's Europe papers

01 August 2008 06:00  [Source: ICIS news]

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

Moscow to seize grain export controls
Russia plans to form a state grain trading company to control up to half of the country’s cereal exports, intensifying fears that Moscow wants to use food exports as a diplomatic weapon in the same way as Gazprom has manipulated natural gas sales.

South Korean export jumps to four-year high
South Korea’s export growth in July hit its highest in over four years on strong demand from emerging countries, data showed on Friday, easing concerns over a slowdown of overseas sales in a sluggish global economy.

Companies and markets

Weak US growth adds to gloom
The US economy grew at an annualised rate of 1.9% in the second quarter, faster than earlier in the year but slower than economists were expecting, the commerce department said on Thursday.

Oil group ends Iran investments
StatoilHydro, the Norwegian national oil company, has become the latest big western energy group to commit not to invest in Iran, following pressure from the US.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

Pakistanis aided attack in Kabul, US officials say
American intelligence agencies have concluded that members of Pakistan's powerful spy service helped plan the deadly 7 July bombing of India's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to US government officials.

Fate of Sudan's president snarls UN vote on Darfur
As the final hours of the Security Council mandate supporting the peacekeeping troops in Darfur ticked away late Thursday, the usually automatic vote on a year-long extension got snagged in the protracted fight over how to refer to the possible indictment of Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

Marketplace

In China, low-end industries give way to high-tech
Few people have heard of the BYD Corporation--BYD for Build Your Dream--but this little-known company has grown into the world's second-largest battery producer in less than a decade of existence.

China pledges economic reforms after the Olympics
China's priority is to maintain steady, fast growth while containing price pressures, President Hu Jintao said on Friday, vowing "comprehensive" political and economic reforms in the wake of the Beijing Olympics.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Lots of work but too few workers
Railway boss Vyacheslav Steklyevich had just seen the first train roll over a new bridge he oversaw being built, a 10-meter stretch of iron and concrete that was only the beginning of the hundreds of kilometers of train track still needed around the island.

Medvedev sticks up for private business
In a second attempt this week to calm investors worried about the Mechel affair, President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday called on authorities to stop harassing businesses and private companies to start paying taxes in full.

Business

LUKoil release eases Libyan talks
Libya released a LUKoil executive from prison on Thursday, paving the way for smooth talks between Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his visiting counterpart on booming trade ties.

Antitrust penalties could rise to 10 years
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service said Thursday it would soon propose amendments to the Criminal Code that would introduce criminal liability for company executives responsible for price collusion and monopolistic activities in key sectors of the economy. 

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

Bayern Munich's path to enlightenment
Championship-winning Bayern Munich has hired Jürgen Klinsmann to help it rejoin the ranks of the top European football clubs. Klinsmann is intent on getting into the heads of his players to improve their performance -- with the help of Buddha, yoga and a holistic philosophy.

Hitler's private collection goes virtual
A musuem in Berlin has put the legendary Linz Collection, Hitler's private collection of art, online. It may be the first time since World War II that the all the pieces have been assembled in one place.

TURKISH DAILY

Front page

AKP survives as high court splits
Turkey's top court yesterday issued its verdict over the fate of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and dismissed the chief prosecutor's demand to disband it with six to five votes on the third day of deliberations. The party closure requires at least seven votes in favor.

President visits scene of Istanbul bombings
The culprits of Sunday's deadly explosions in Istanbul's Gungoren neighborhood will be found soon, said President Abdullah Gul yesterday during a visit to the scene of the attack with his wife, Hayrunisa.

Business and finance

Israel's expertise paying off
At the end of a road winding through Israel's Negev desert, the entrance to Kibbutz Hatzerim is flanked by jojoba shrubs jutting from the arid earth.

Arabs snap up trophy buildings, but overall sales start to wane
Armed with oil profits, two Middle Eastern buyers recently snapped up New York's Chrysler Building and General Motors Building for an estimated $3.7bn (€2.4bn). But their acquisitions of the two trophy offices belies their waning interest in US commercial real estate this year as the US economy stumbles and property prices dip.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Treasury wants to sell 60% of WSE
The Polish Treasury Ministry announced on Thursday that 60% of Warsaw Stock Exchange in an initial public offering will be slated for the fourth quarter, but the Treasury will remain elements of control by selling non-voting shares, Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad said in a press conference.

The rebound continues aided by banking sector results
The Warsaw Stock Exchange was further supported by better than expected financial results of BZ WBK and Telekomunikacja Polska, the share prices of which jumped yesterday by 11.6% and 6.5% respectively.

By: Staff Reporter
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