Early Edition July 21 2008 at 05:34 AM Edited by Chi-Chu Tschang and Harry Maurer
Leaders Open World Trade Talks
Trade officials from the world's leading economies gathered in Geneva on July 21 for a make-or-break session of world trade talks. After nearly seven years of fruitless haggling, ministers will try to bridge gaps on trade-opening measures under the Doha Development Agenda, which was launched in the Qatari capital in 2001. The goals of the discussions are to cut farm subsidies and tariffs, as well as to help developing countries prosper through trade.
The talks also cover manufactured goods and services -- areas in which rich countries like the U.S. and the members of the European Union hope to make gains in order to sell politically painful farm trade reforms at home.
Source: Financial Times, Agence France-Presse
HSBC courts Chinese investment
HSBC Holdings, Europe's largest bank, has reportedly held talks with the China Investment Corporation (CIC) in a bid to attract investment from the Chinese sovereign wealth fund. According to Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper, HSBC Chairman Stephen Green met officials from CIC several times in recent months for discussions that included the possibility of CIC buying HSBC shares in the open market. An HSBC spokesperson said the bank doesn't comment on specific meetings.
Source: Bloomberg
Roche offers $43.7 to buy Genentech
Swiss drugmaker Roche on July 21 offered to buy all outstanding shares in its U.S. partner Genentech for $43.7 billion in cash to reinforce its position in cancer medicines. Roche, which already owns 55.9% of Genentech, said it would offer $89 per share to acquire the remaining stake, a 9% premium to the biotech company's closing share price on July 18. Basel-based Roche also announced first-half net profits of $5.62 billion, a 2% drop from the same period last year.
Source: Reuters
Credit crunch enters second year
With the credit crunch on Wall Street entering its second year, a widening array of businesses are finding it tough to get credit. That's combined with the fallout from mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which has made it harder for individuals to get a loan.
Source: Wall Street Journal
U.S. consumers face soaring food prices
U.S. food companies are preparing another round of price increases as rising commodity costs force them to pass the increases on to consumers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, domestic food prices have jumped 5.3% for the year ending in June, adding to the pressures on Americans from rising unemployment, a slumping housing market, and higher gas prices. Food prices rose 0.8% in June compared to 0.3% in May.
Source: Financial Times
Food shortages take toll on Middle East, North Africa
Global food shortages have forced countries in the Middle East and North Africa to choose between growing more crops to feed expanding populations or preserving their limited supply of water. The region's population has more than quadrupled since 1950 to 364 million and is expected to reach nearly 600 million by 2050. By then, the amount of fresh water available for each person will be cut in half and declining resources could further inflame political tensions.
Source: New York Times
U.S. looks to cash in on India's nuclear industry
For the past three years, executives from U.S.-based producers of nuclear power plants have been making a beeline for New Delhi. Under an agreement between the two countries, India -- which has been subject to sanctions since testing a nuclear weapon 10 years ago -- will be able to buy and sell nuclear technology in the international marketplace in exchange for opening its civilian reactors to inspections.
Source: BusinessWeek
Shareholders call for Citigroup break-up
U.S. financial giant Citigroup has come under pressure from activist union shareholders who want the financial conglomerate to break itself up. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (Afscme), one of the biggest U.S. unions with more than 1.4 million members, has called for the break-up, which is certain to be rejected by Citi. Yet, the move shows that unions with large pension funds are increasingly targeting Wall Street groups that have suffered big losses in the financial crisis.
Source: Financial Times
Britain's HBOS falls flat on $8 billion rights issue
Investors in Britain's biggest home lender HBOS subscribed to just 8.3% of shares in its $8 billion rights issue, leaving underwriters Morgan Stanley and Dresdner Kleinwort to try to sell almost $7.6 billion of stock.
Source: Reuters
Fall-out from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac hits foreign investors
About one-fifth of securities issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and a handful of much smaller quasi-governmental organizations -- valued around $1.5 trillion -- are held by foreign investors. Now that the two companies are at risk, how their rescue is handled will ultimately test the world's faith in American markets. Analysts reckon it also could influence the level of interest rates and weigh on the strength of the dollar for years to come.
Source: New York Times
Batman breaks box office record
According to early estimates, the new Batman movie sold $155.3 million tickets between July 18 and July 20, setting a record for the biggest three-day take ever for a Hollywood movie.
Source: Los Angeles Times
Conversation of the Day: The Alternative Energy Puzzle
Reader Charles Cresson Wood Writes: "Many alternative fuels are now cost competitive with gasoline and petro-diesel. Beyond ethanol and hydrogen, organizations should be looking into other commercially available fuels."
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