In Monday's Europe papers

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

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

West in united front over Georgia
Western leaders formed a united front on Sunday as they increased pressure on Russia to live up to its pledge to withdraw from Georgian territory in accordance with a ceasefire signed at the weekend.

More retirees look to equity release
Older homeowners are stepping up their interest in unlocking equity built up in their homes as the credit crunch and falling property prices reduce their potential income in retirement.

Companies and markets

Morgan Stanley updates lending systems
Morgan Stanley is responding to the credit crisis with a system that uses the market’s view of its own creditworthiness as a basis for lending decisions, according to people familiar with the matter.

Gloom to increase fears of global recession
Mounting fears about the likelihood of a global recession will be fuelled by this week’s data, which promise further bad news from the US housing market, disappointing inflation data and more evidence that industrial activity is weakening.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

Kremlin says troops will begin Georgia withdrawal
Even as Russia pledged to begin withdrawing its forces from neighbouring Georgia on Monday, American officials said that the Russian military has been moving launchers for short-range ballistic missiles into South Ossetia, a step that appears intended to tighten its hold on the breakaway territory.

Musharraf still defiant on threat of impeachment
President Pervez Musharraf showed continued defiance on Sunday to threats of impeachment, saying through aides that he wanted to see the formal charges before making any decision to leave office.

Marketplace

US export boom helps farms, not factories
Exports are the bright spot this year in an otherwise bleak American economy. But the world is not suddenly snapping up made-in-America goods like aircraft, machinery and staplers. The great attraction is decidedly low-luster commodities like corn, wheat, ore and scrap metal.

In the Olympics, TV still reigns
Chris Reitermann, a German advertising executive working in Beijing, saw the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in person. He has watched the Games online at sina.com from his office. He checks the mobile Web site of Spiegel, the German news magazine, for results. He is using Twitter to update friends around the world.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Kremlin agrees to troop withdrawal
Amid doubts over whether Russia would honour a peace deal it had signed a day earlier, President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday that Russian troops would start to pull out of Georgia proper on Monday.

Western leaders pump up rhetoric
Western diplomatic efforts to resolve a crisis between Russia and Georgia took on a sharper edge over the weekend, as Russian soldiers remained deployed in Georgia despite the signing of a truce.

Business

Kudrin proposes tax hike, funds reform
The Finance Ministry on Sunday unveiled a draft fiscal strategy to 2023, proposing to raise social security taxes from 2010 and reform the $162bn (€110bn) oil wealth funds to back up the pension system.

Markets endure trio of troubling events
Russian markets endured a turbulent week, as stocks of major companies faced a triple assault amid worries over fighting in Georgia, anti-monopoly measures against Mechel and the seemingly never-ending TNK-BP saga.

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

'Moscow sees no need to give an inch'
After promising to leave, Russian troops haven't budged from Georgia in the wake of a surprising flare-up of violence in the Caucasus. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also wouldn't budge in his posture toward Angela Merkel during a mini-summit on Friday.

Penguin granted Norwegian knighthood
He's been an honorary member of Norway's elite King's Guard since 1972. And on Friday, Nils Olav, a penguin, was knighted in a special ceremony at the Edinburgh Zoo.

TURKISH DAILY

Front page

The rise of Turkish universities Inc
Only one-third of Turkey's foundation universities balance tuition and expenditures per student. Meanwhile, rectors continue to debate the financial structure for Turkey's version of the private university.

Roll of Ian dice yields 'hep yek'
Risks taken by the Turkish leadership in hosting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who the West is trying to isolate for pursuing a nuclear program, do not seem to have paid off, with the diplomatic roll of the dice yielding "hep yek," a Persian word for rolling two ones -- the lowest dice in backgammon.

Business and finance

Central Bank leaves benchmark rate unchanged at 16.75%
Turkey's Central Bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged, halting three months of increases, as slower economic growth and falling oil prices eased pressure on inflation.

The prices of buildings in Istanbul to reach the levels in Tokyo
With the construction of a number of high-quality residential projects over the past three years, experts say building prices in Istanbul have reached similar levels to those in other metropolitan cities like Athens, Brussels, Munich and Moscow.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Russian army moves further into Georgia
Russian tanks have rolled into the Georgian town of Poti and witnesses report the army moving further into the country.

New IDs and medical services registry delayed
The construction of the most important IT systems in Poland might once again be delayed, as the government's IT strategy will be published at the earliest in October.

($1 = €0.68)

By: Staff Reporter
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