In Friday's Americas papers

09 January 2009 11:03  [Source: ICIS news]

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

Front page

Wall Street is big donor to inauguration
President-elect Barack Obama has banned corporations and big donors from funding his 20 January inauguration. But 90% of donations received so far have been raised by well-heeled fund-raisers, including Wall Street executives whose companies have received billions of dollars in federal bailout money.

Panel steps up criticism of treasury over TARP
The US Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilising the financial system, not answered questions asked by a government watchdog and has done nothing to help struggling homeowners, a report being released Friday charges.

Florida tops Oklahoma to win national title
Tim Tebow gave Florida the jolt it needed, and the Gators toughed out a second BCS title in three years.

Money & Investing

Business warms to Obama, but frictions loom on climate
Rarely has a president - to say nothing of a Democratic president - been thrown into the arms of the business community on his way in the door as has Barack Obama.

Lehman spins out private-equity arm
Lehman's private-equity arm has reached a deal with its collapsed parent to spin out into an independent firm, while taking in a new investment from luxury-goods billionaire Johann Rupert.

Plan to cut foreclosure rate clears key hurdle
A Senate bill aimed at giving strapped homeowners more leverage in renegotiating their mortgages cleared a hurdle Thursday when Citigroup dropped its opposition.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Front page

The Krona may be down, but not spirits
Iceland’s financial collapse hasn’t dampened the capital city of its vibrancy.

Senate allies fault Obama on stimulus
The president-elect’s economic recovery plan ran into cross-fire from his own party, suggesting that it could take more time to pass than Democrats once hoped.

Business Day

Nationwide inquiry on bids for municipal bonds
The authorities have been investigating what appears to be collusion in the multibillion-dollar municipal bonds market.

Citi reaches deal with lawmakers on home loans
Under the plan, bankruptcy judges will be allowed to alter home loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures.

THE WASHINGTON POST

Front page

Geithner is preparing overhaul of bailout
Confronted by doubts on Capitol Hill over the $700bn financial rescue, the nominee for Treasury Secretary broadens its scope beyond Wall Street, sources say.

Gaza survivors are rescued
Workers pull 100 people from a shattered residential block that the Israeli military had kept off-limits.

Business

Lenders backlogged by refinancing rush
Borrowers are rushing to refinance their mortgages at record low interest rates but face unexpected delays as swamped lenders struggle to cope with the surge at a time when layoffs have sharply cut staffing.

Citigroup reaches deal with lawmakers on home loans
Citigroup, one of the nation's largest lenders, agreed to abandon its long-standing opposition to a plan to let bankruptcy judges modify the terms of mortgages, a move that could help millions of distressed borrowers stay in their homes, Senate Democratic leaders said.

GLOBE AND MAIL, Canada

Front page

Polygamist leader calls charges religious persecution
Winston Blackmore, one of two men charged with polygamy, says he is the victim of religious persecution by a government with an eye on the provincial election in May.

Pension plans suffer historic losses
Plunging stock markets have left the solvency of Canadian pension plans at historical lows, and that means some companies will have to raise contribution levels just when they can least afford it.

Business

Extremely influential, notoriously unreliable
Every month, a crew of 1,500 Statistics Canada interviewers calls 53,000 carefully culled households across Canada to quiz residents about the deepest details of their working lives.

Canada's oil sells for less
A supply glut has jammed up Canada's pipeline system, driving the price of Canadian crude below global benchmarks in an anomaly expected to cut into fourth-quarter profits in the oil patch.

BUENOS AIRES HERALD

Front page

UN missions in Gaza halted
The United Nations suspended missions in the Gaza Strip yesterday after an Israeli tank killed two Palestinians in a truck flying the blue UN flag, depriving hundreds of thousands of increasingly desperate residents of a main source of food and humanitarian aid.

Climber killed on Aconcagua
An Italian climber died and another three were rescued yesterday, along with their Argentine guide, after being trapped by a storm just below the summit of Mount Aconcagua, in Mendoza province.

Heat makes CFK unwell
President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner yesterday “was unwell” due to yesterday’s high temperatures and hence was unable to attend a rally in Florencio Varela, her husband Néstor Kirchner said.

By: Staff Reporter
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