In Monday's Europe papers

24 November 2008 05:30  [Source: ICIS news]

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

Darling to raise taxes for wealthy
Alistair Darling, the chancellor, is to target the wealthy with a new top rate of tax to help pay down soaring government borrowing, as he prepares to unveil a £12.5bn VAT cut to encourage Britain to shop its way out of recession.

Hint of hold on taxes as Obama plans stimulus
Democratic officials made clear on Sunday that the cost of Barack Obama’s economic rescue plan would run into hundreds of billions of dollars and hinted he was prepared to hold off introducing new taxes for his first two years as president.

Companies and markets

Economic outlook: stimulus to stop slump
Alistair Darling faces a daunting challenge on Monday as the UK chancellor’s pre-Budget report presents radical changes in government policy that will affect the country’s public finances for many years to come.

Citi crisis deepens as shares fall further
Citigroup’s shares lost nearly a fifth of their value on Friday as its board met in an attempt to halt a crisis of confidence in the troubled financial services group.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

Thai protesters surround parliament
Anti-government demonstrators spread across Bangkok on Monday, surrounding the Parliament building and advancing on the police headquarters in what they described as a final push to unseat the government.

Rubinomics recalculated
It is testament to former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's star power among many Democrats that as President-elect Barack Obama fills out his economic team, a virtual Rubin constellation is taking shape.

Marketplace

US plan to prop up Citigroup said to be near approval
US government regulators were nearing approval of a radical plan to stabilise Citigroup on Sunday in which the government would soak up tens of billions of dollars in losses at the struggling bank, according to people briefed on the discussions.

US auto industry's troubles may touch the financial sector
To the long list of troubles plaguing the financial industry, add three big ones: make that Big Three ones.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Gazprom says Kiev must sign contract
The risk that Ukraine might see its gas supplies cut off next year re-emerged on Saturday as Gazprom warned that time was running out for a bilateral gas contract to be signed.

Medvedev, Bush say goodbye in Lima
President Dmitry Medvedev on Saturday held the last meeting for a Russian leader with US President George W Bush, who is to leave office in January, with Bush telling Medvedev that he had worked hard to make it a "cordial relationship" despite difficult disagreements.

Business

Generators said to renege on building
The country's biggest engineering companies said on Friday that power producers were backing out of talks to build new generating capacity through 2010 even at the relatively modest price of $5bn. 

Platinum prices sink on auto industry woes
The US and European automobile industries are screeching to a halt, and they're leaving behind a string of casualties not all of which are obvious.

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

'There is no such thing as absolute evil'
He has met Mao Zedong, Pol Pot and Che Guevara. He defended 'Carlos the Jackal' and Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie. Jacques Vergès, 83, is probably the world's most notorious attorney.

An infinite loop in the brain
Wouldn't it be great to be able to remember everything? To see all our most important moments, all the priceless encounters, adventures and triumphs? What if memory never faded, but instead could be retrieved at any time, as reliably as films in a video store?

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Front page

Armenian FM in call for solidarity
The normalisation of relations between Armenia and Turkey means the establishment of diplomatic relations and opening a common border without any precondition, says Armenian Foreign Minister Nalbandian, who adds, ''None of us does a favour to the other by establishing diplomatic relations.''

Martyrs’ families furious over İmralı
The decision to end the isolation of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan upsets the martrys’ families, who plan to take the issue to the European Court of Human Rights

Business and finance

Germany eyes Islamic finance
Despite a huge potential client base, Germany has proven reluctant to adapt its legal and tax systems to attract Islamic finance, which has enjoyed stellar success in Britain.

Turkey fragile due to IMF, claims economist 
Despite contrary claims from top government officials, Turkey will be deeply affected from the global financial crisis, according to Korkut Boratav, a socialist economist.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Shots fired at President Kaczyński's motorcade in Georgia
The Interior Ministry of Georgia has confirmed that a motorcade carrying both President of Poland Lech Kaczyński and President of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili was fired upon Sunday in Georgia as it passed a checkpoint near the flashpoint South Ossetia region.

Modernizing Sheraton
Sheraton hotels will undergo a facelift in Poland, as the owner plans to spend €4m (zł.15) till the end of this year. The company also plans to launch a spa in Sopot, which will be the biggest in the region.

By: Staff Reporter
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