In Friday's Europe papers

10 October 2008 06:30  [Source: ICIS news]

FINANCIAL TIMES

Front page

Wall Street in biggest fall since 1987 crash
The US stock market suffered its largest loss since the crash of 1987 amid panic over GM, Morgan Stanley and several big insurers, heightening speculation that the US would unveil a bank recapitalisation plan soon.

UK and Iceland clash on crisis
Britain was locked in an increasingly acrimonious dispute with Iceland on Thursday night after the nationalisation of the Nordic country’s largest banks put close to £800m of local authority money at risk and prompted Gordon Brown to threaten to seize the assets of Icelandic companies.

Companies and markets

Fed offers AIG fresh $37.8bn injection
The Federal Reserve threw another financial lifeline to AIG, agreeing to provide up to $37.8bn in additional liquidity to the stricken insurer.

Equities retreat amid volatile trading
Financial markets continued to be volatile as investors remained unconvinced by government and central bank efforts to get to grips with the credit crisis.

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE

Front page

Asian shares follow overnight rout on Wall Street
Stocks across the Asia-Pacific region were sharply lower, as investors reeled from the overnight developments on Wall Street.

Nations weighing global approach to financial crisis
The US and Britain appear to be converging toward a common solution for the financial chaos sweeping the world, one day before a crucial meeting of financial leaders begins in Washington.

Marketplace

Wells Fargo wins the war for Wachovia
Citigroup walked away from efforts to block a deal between Wachovia and Wells Fargo, but said it would continue to seek $60bn in legal damages.

Insurance industry joins banking giants on the hot seat
Insurance companies are now being battered like Wall Street banks were last month, suggesting a similar round of consolidation and recapitalisation.

THE MOSCOW TIMES

Front page

Investment banks struggle to adapt
After almost a decade of lightning-quick growth and skyrocketing salaries, Russia's investment banking sector has been brought down to earth with a thud by the global financial crisis.

Markets post gains after surprise opening
Trading on Moscow’s stock exchanges resumed unexpectedly on Thursday after the country’s market regulator went back on a decision from a day earlier to keep them closed until Friday, triggering confusion and complaints on the part of some investors.

Business

Severstal cuts back at two plants in US
Severstal is putting 800 workers on part-time shifts at two of its plants in Ohio until further notice due to the economic slowdown in the United States, a negotiator for the plant’s labour union said on Thursday.

Magnit share sale shelved after drop
Magnit said on Thursday that it was cancelling a planned sale of 3m shares after the food retailer’s London-listed shares plummeted 31% the day before.

DER SPIEGEL

Front page

The career of prisoner No 760
Mohamedou Ould Slahi is believed to have provided aid to the September 11 attackers, and he has pledged his loyalty to Osama bin Laden. But the Mauritanian suspect only began talking to investigators after he was tortured at Guantanamo, and the confessions extracted from him could collapse in court.

Berlusconi’s extended honeymoon
Polls show that most Italians are squarely behind Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. But since he retook the reins in Rome, Il Cavaliere has made few difficult decisions. That will soon change.

TURKISH DAILY

Front page

Rate cuts chase global meltdown
Central banks, led by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, cut their benchmark interest rates by 50 basis points in unprecedented coordination. But the move fails to calm jittery investors, as equity values continue to erode both in Turkey and abroad.

Six die in attack to police bus
Unidentified assailants on Wednesday killed five police and a civilian driver in an attack in southern province of Diyarbakir, hours before the Turkish Parliament approved the extension of the military’s mandate to conduct cross border operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, for a year.

Business and finance

Industrial output falls
Affected by the global financial crisis, Turkey’s August industrial production declines 4%. Economists say that the sharp fall in industrial production highlights the downside risks on growth and will support a Central Bank rate cut option this year.

British govt steps in to save banks
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government will invest about £50bn ($87bn) in an unprecedented step to prevent a collapse of the banking system.

WARSAW BUSINESS JOURNAL

Front page

Polish banks tighten loan policy
Polish banks are conducting tighter credit checks of potential clients, as the financial crisis unfolds.

Polish central bank holds interest rates unchanged
The Monetary Policy Council met in an emergency meeting as a response to a coordinated global move to lower interest rates, however, no motion was filed to cut rates in Poland.

ICIS Copyright © Reed Business Information 2009

Author: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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