In Thursday's Europe papers

14 August 2008 06:30  [Source: ICIS news]

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

Bush sends US forces on Georgia aid mission
George W Bush ordered US military forces on Wednesday to lead a “vigorous” humanitarian mission to Georgia and raised doubts over Russia’s commitment to the French-brokered ceasefire agreed on Tuesday.

Russia leaves clear message in Gori ruins
Russia made clear on Wednesday that despite a ceasefire agreement with Georgia it will do whatever it pleases in the defeated country. Russian infantry units rolled into the Georgian town of Gori, 30km from South Ossetia where they were supposed to remain, and demolished an abandoned Georgian military base.

Companies and markets

Tom Cruise’s production partner to quit MGM
Paula Wagner is in talks to leave Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s United Artists label after falling out with the Hollywood studio over the financing and independence of the company.

Subprime rescue hit by second mortgages
Efforts to avert foreclosures are being complicated by the large number of subprime borrowers who took out second mortgages so they could afford the downpayments on their homes, industry executives say.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

French swimmer wins gold, closing out Australian world-record holder
Despondent in Lane 5 after swimming 100 meters on Monday morning, Alain Bernard was overjoyed in Lane 5 after swimming the same distance on Thursday.

Peace plan offers Russia a rationale to advance
It was nearly 2 am on Wednesday when President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced he had accomplished what seemed virtually impossible: Persuading the leaders of Georgia and Russia to agree to a set of principles that would stop the war.

Marketplace

Around the world, pessimism about the economy
More signs of the economic slowdown appeared on two continents, Asia and Europe. In Europe, the Bank of England offered on Wednesday a pessimistic outlook for the rest of the year, saying that it expected inflation to hit 5% because of energy and food prices and the economy to stagnate.

As early as 2005, UBS executives were told of possible offshore violations
Senior executives at the Swiss bank UBS were alerted at least three years ago to possible violations of US securities laws in dealings with American clients of its private bank, according to internal letters.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Charges fly as Georgia, Russia mourn
Georgia and Russia angrily accused each other of breaching a truce as they mourned for their dead Wednesday.

1998 default changed some lives forever
In mid-August 1998, Julia Levit was taking time off her job to bask in the Crimean sun in Feodossia. What saved her from making that vacation an extended one was a television set in her hotel room.

Business

Mechel could slash prices in probe
The Federal Anti-Monopoly Service will ask Mechel to slash 30% from the prices it charges domestic steelmakers for its coal, a newspaper reported on Wednesday, in a move analysts say could cost the company $540m (€361.8m).

Business in brief
Dudley Probe Goes OnHousing Fund AuctionRZD Backs Unit Stake SaleRaw Sugar Imports Fall 24%Transneft Quits SberbankSberbank Seeks $1bn (€670m) Antanta in Sale Talks 

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

Russian army clears out Georgian army bases
The war is over but Russia continued operations in Georgia on Wednesday. Moscow has confirmed that it has been transporting military material out of Georgian army bases. Russia's military has also closed the Georgian port of Poti.

Olympic sprint overshadowed by doping past
More than one billion people will tune in to see the 100-meter dash in Beijing on Saturday. There is no greater event at the Olympics, and yet there is no race with a worse reputation. Since 1988, the sprint has been dominated by dopers.

TURKISH DAILY

Front page

3' human sandbags' die in Tuzla
The use of workers rather than sandbags for a test run of the lifeboat of a ship was the cause of three deaths and 12 injuries in Istanbul's Tuzla shipyards late Monday, reports said yesterday.

Government working on its' immune system'
Prompted by the Constitutional Court's decision in the closure case, the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, is now preparing to lift the political immunity of parliamentary deputies.

Business and finance

Gold and platinum lead commodities into bear market on growth risk
Gold, platinum and silver plunged to their lowest in more than seven months, leading commodities into a deeper bear market, on concern that a spreading global economic slowdown will reduce demand for raw materials.

Complaints seen as 'tender' way to profit
Turkey has the highest number of complaints about public tenders, pointing to problems with the abuse of its current complaint mechanism, said the head of the country's public procurement authority.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Anti missile shield deal expected to be signed tomorrow
Prime Minister Donald Tusk yesterday confirmed that the US party has agreed to one of the most important conditions of the agreement, which was the constant stationing of the Patriot missile batteries in Poland. Tusk also confirmed that the negotiations are on the right path.

Poland can wait with another rate hike
Poland's central bank can hold off on future interest rate hikes over the summer, said Monetary Policy Council member Jan Czekaj on Wednesday.

By: Staff Reporter
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