In Monday's Americas papers

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

A leader delaying Lisbon Treaty? Czech
Czech President Václav Klaus, a committed euroskeptic, takes another turn in the spotlight with his continued refusal to sign the EU’s Lisbon Treaty.

Tighter UK mortgage rules unveiled
The UK’s FSA set out proposals for reforms in the UK mortgage market, including oversight of mortgage advisers and a ban on "self-cert" mortgages.

Colleagues back billionaire probe
Ex-colleagues of hedge-fund titan Raj Rajaratnam secretly are bolstering the government’s investigation of an insider-trading ring.

Firms seek new compact with workers
The recession has accelerated changes that are eroding two pillars of the late-20th-century employment relationship: employer-subsidised retirement benefits and employer-paid health care.

CEOs tally health-bill score
The drug industry stands to gain in a health-care overhaul by getting tens of millions of newly insured customers, while insurance companies, especially those that cater to the individual market, look like they are in for a tougher time.

Vivendi in talks to unload NBC stake
GE and Vivendi are about $500m apart in talks that could clear the way for Comcast to take a controlling stake in NBC Universal.

A variety of sources feed into Taliban’s war chest
Despite efforts by the US and its allies to cripple the Taliban’s sophisticated financial network, American officials say they have barely made a dent.

Afghan troop decision may wait for election outcome
Officials said President Obama could postpone any decision on sending more troops until the disputed election has been settled.

Media giant wrestles with a shifting identity
Of the world’s biggest media companies, the one that might seem in the best position to ride out the recession is Vivendi, whose headquarters in the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe oversees a sprawling empire of music, pay television, video game and mobile phone businesses.

Twitter and a newspaper untie a gag order
The editor of The Guardian in London, Alan Rusbridger, and other Twitter users worked around a gag order that protected Trafigura, the shipping company.

Top aides to Obama upbraid Wall St.
Top Obama administration officials sharply criticised Wall Street firms planning to pay big bonuses, pointedly contrasting the soaring profits some financial companies have recorded in recent days with continuing high jobless rates across the country.

Flow of terrorist recruits increasing
Midway through a propaganda video released last month by a group calling itself the German Taliban, a surprise guest made an appearance: a cleanshaven, muscular gunman sporting the alias Abu Ibrahim the American.

Frugality falling out of fashion?
Malls and boutiques are filled with people such as Aba Kwawu these days, shoppers who have cut their spending - some drastically - during the downturn, are now suffering from what some call "frugal fatigue" and have begun thawing out their credit cards.

Web health sites harness power of social networks
In fall 2007, during her 12th week of pregnancy, Garance Genicot and her husband, Shub Debgupta, received worrisome news from the doctor: A preliminary test showed there was a strong possibility that she would deliver a baby with Down syndrome.

Swine flu vaccine expected to be approved this week
More than one million doses of the H1N1 pandemic vaccine have been shipped to provinces and territories, and Health Canada is expected to approve the drug as early as this week.

In Vancouver, dozens of boat migrants await their fate
The mysterious foreign migrants who sailed into Canadian waters off Vancouver Island on the weekend will appear at detention hearings as early as Tuesday where it is possible some could be released.

Commercial real estate bounces back
Canada’s commercial real estate market is on the mend, as an 18-month slump in Toronto has ended and other urban centres are showing signs of renewed activity that suggest the sector has de-coupled from its troubled US counterpart.

Debt-laden Yellow Pages searches for growth
Ask Marc Tellier for evidence that the Yellow Pages is moving into the future, and he will mention two words you will rarely hear in this order any more: carbon paper.