In Thursday's Americas papers

21 August 2008 12:00  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front Page

McCain closes gap on Obama in poll as conventions loom
Sen John McCain has all but closed the gap with Sen Barack Obama, underscoring how international crises and some well placed negative ads have boosted the prospects of the Republican presidential candidate.

Fed acted on Lehman rumour
In an apparent attempt to prevent a repeat of the cascading rumours that helped sink Bear Stearns Cos, the Federal Reserve last month quietly called one major bank to see if it had pulled a credit line from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, people familiar with the matter said.

US, Iraq are said to have set withdrawal timetable
US and Iraqi negotiators reached agreement on a security deal that calls for American military forces to leave Iraq's cities by next summer as a prelude to a full withdrawal of combat troops from the country, according to senior American officials.

Money & Investing

Developed economies' growth slows amid credit crunch, inflation
Developed economies grew at the slowest rate in almost seven years during the second quarter, figures released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showed Wednesday.

BoE cuts growth outlook amid bleak data
Britain's economic outlook has grown increasingly bleak, and neither the Bank of England nor the government is in a position to do much about it.

Iran buys wheat from US for first time in 27 years
Iran this summer resumed buying US wheat after a 27 year hiatus, a sign of the limited options for importers seeking large quantities of high-quality grain.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front Page

Inquiry lays out chain of failures in high-rise fire
Contractors tearing down the contaminated former Deutsche Bank building in Lower Manhattan never had a formal demolition permit, even though they were undertaking one of the most complicated efforts ever to dismantle a skyscraper.

Rice travels to Iraq to push for deal on US forces
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here Thursday to try to iron out the last remaining differences on a long-awaited security agreement to govern the presence of American troops in Iraq

Business Day

Report rejects Medicare boast of paring fraud
Medicare officials’ 2006 statements that they had reduced the number of fraudulent and improper claims were misleading, a draft report says.

Prescriptions for Fannie and Freddie
As policy makers work to ease the strain on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a consensus is emerging that the two companies will have to look substantially different in the long term.

WASHINGTON POST

Front Page

Giuliani, Lieberman will speak at GOP convention
Socially moderate former New York mayor Rudolph W Giuliani and former Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joseph I Lieberman will have featured speaking roles at next month's Republican National Convention, party officials announced yesterday.

Rice discusses troop withdrawals with Iraqis
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived for a high level push to overcome remaining differences with the Iraqi government over an agreement on the future presence of US forces in Iraq.

Business

A few speculators dominate vast market for oil trading
Regulators had long classified a private Swiss energy conglomerate called Vitol as a trader that primarily helped industrial firms that needed oil to run their businesses.

Conflicting views of the civil service
That's almost the only point the presidential candidates had in common in separate comments the Federal Diary printed yesterday and Tuesday.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front Page

Nationwide outbreak spurs massive meat recall
One person is dead and at least 16 more have been sickened by a nationwide outbreak of listeria infection that may have originated in a Toronto meat-processing plant.

Study finds codeine harmful to some breast-fed babies
Nearly one-quarter of babies whose mothers took codeine while breastfeeding showed signs of central nervous system depression, according to a new study, suggesting the drug can transform mother's milk into a troubling brew.

Business

Bitove faces backer's exit on wireless
When US billionaire and Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen emerged this spring as a key partner in a cellphone company being launched by satellite radio and fast food executive John Bitove, it sent ripples throughout the industry.

After the binge, the purge
For the past five years, the US restaurant industry has been on an expansion tear. Now, high fuel prices, a shaky economy and rising food inflation are keeping customers at home, sending four major chains running for bankruptcy protection so far this year

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front Page

153 dead in Madrid airport tragedy
“The fuselage is destroyed,” said Pablo Albella, an emergency rescue worker. “The plane burned. I have seen a kilometre of charred land and few whole pieces of the fuselage. It is all destruction.” 

Olympic cheers and tears
Argentina nip Greece 80-78, to face US “Redeem Team” in semis. Holland maul Las Leonas 5-2 , Bolt’s 200m gold in WR 19:30.

Government gives drought aid to farmers
Agriculture Secretary Carlos Cheppi responded to the talk of renewed protests by farmers saying: “It would seem to be rather hasty to threaten new strikes when we are doing good work, trying to draw up a proposal that we can achieve consensus on.”

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

< previous article(VIDEO - ICIS news Asia Lunchtime Bulletin 16 October 2009)

For the latest chemical news, data and analysis that directly impacts your business sign up for a free trial to ICIS news - the breaking online news service for the global chemical industry.

Get the facts and analysis behind the headlines from our market leading weekly magazine: sign up to a free trial to ICIS Chemical Business.

Printer Friendly