In Thursday's Europe papers

18 June 2009 05:30  [Source: ICIS news]

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

King tells City change is necessary
Mervyn King last night rebuked the City as he insisted that much tighter regulations were needed to prevent a recurrence of the financial crisis and regain the trust of the population.

Brown at bay over claims on spending
Gordon Brown’s general election strategy of contrasting Labour "investment" with Tory "cuts" came badly unstuck on Wednesday, as his claims on spending left him vulnerable to charges of dishonesty from the Conservatives.

Companies and markets

China hits at BHP-Rio iron ore deal
A senior Chinese official on Wednesday attacked the planned iron ore joint venture between Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton, raising expectations that Beijing may use its antitrust law to try to scupper the "monopolistic" deal.

Overview: Caution and risk aversion hover over equities
The backdrop for global equities was eroded further on Wednesday as bearish signals from technical indicators highlighted growing caution about the economic outlook and increasing risk aversion.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

Face of Iran’s opposition: An insider turned agitator
His followers have begun calling him "the Gandhi of Iran." His image is carried aloft in the vast opposition demonstrations that have shaken Iran in recent days, his name chanted in rhyming verses that invoke Islam’s most sacred martyrs.

Penned-in Egyptians find peace in city’s din
After a long, tough day at the office, Ahmed Nady and his cousin Ahmed Magdy leaned over the guardrail and stared off into the dark, restless waters of the Nile River, breathed in the brisk wind, smiled – at the boys selling bags of pink cotton candy, the young man serving tea on a silver platter, the children bicycling back and forth, the lovers leaning into each other.

Business

Some lawmakers question expanded reach for the fed
No sooner had President Obama proposed a new regulatory road map for the country’s financial system on Wednesday than senior lawmakers expressed reservations about one of the plan’s central elements – to broadly expand the reach of the Federal Reserve to regulate financial risk across the entire system.

Banks brace for fight over an agency meant to bolster consumer protection
When the economy was booming, banks doled out credit to consumers like candy. People who could never afford to live their dream found pay option adjustable rate mortgages and other easy-access loans just a signature away.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Medvedev, Hu to speed up gas talks
President Dmitry Medvedev and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao agreed on Wednesday to revitalise gas-trade talks between the giant neighbours in a step that may lead to Gazprom taking out a loan from China to deliver the fuel.

Pikalyovo wants Putin to throw pen again
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is revered as a hero by many residents of this small town after he forced tycoon Oleg Deripaska to pay their back wages. Now, some of Pikalyovo’s other crisis-hit businesses wish that Putin would intervene on their behalf.

Business

Ministry may hike gas extraction tax
Businesses who thought that they were in for a tax break next year will be out of luck, and the government will try to fill other budgetary holes through tax hikes on gas extraction, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Shatalov said on Wednesday.

Milk shipments allowed to resume
The Federal Consumer Protection Service said on Wednesday evening that it would allow Belarus to resume sending its milk and dairy products across the border to Russia following another round of talks with a new delegation of officials from Minsk.

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

Why Washington is playing it safe
Barack Obama is taking a cautious approach to the disputed Iranian elections and has even said there is little difference between the candidates.

Communist Party goes after China’s fat cats
China’s Communist Party is cracking down on corruption. Wealthy businessmen and party officials are being targeted, and even the country’s richest man is being held by authorities in an undisclosed location.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Front page

He who clears the mines, tills land
After months of political wrangling within the government, President Gül approves controversial legislation allowing foreign companies to participate in a tender to clear mines in exchange for rights to use the land.

Govt goes to court over anti-AKP ‘plan’
A few days after an alleged military plan to dismantle the current government was made public by a daily, the ruling party filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors, and the prime minister declared the party would not remain silent.

Business and finance

Central Bank cuts key rate, urges discipline
Exceeding market expectations, the Central Bank cuts its overnight borrowing rate to 8.75%, a record low.

Obama criticises finance mentality
Prior to announcing plans of regulatory overhaul, US President Barack Obama answers critics of the government’s rising clout in the economy, saying Wall Street ‘has a shorter memory about how close we were to the abyss’.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Fuel stations hit hard by downturn
The number of fuel stations in Poland is significantly declining with up to 200 stations closing in the first three months of 2009 alone.

Alma slashes its investment budget by 80%
The poor economic situation is halting the expansion plans of delicatessen network Alma Market which initially planned to spend zł.102m this year on development. This figure has now been cut to around zł.18m.

By: Staff Reporter
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