PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times, Wall St Journal Asia editions
Source: Reuters
SINGAPORE, Aug 10 (Reuters) - The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal carried the following stories in their Asia print and Web site editions on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. FINANCIAL TIMES (www.ft.com) - The European Central Bank scrambled to head off a potential financial crisis by making an emergency injection of 94.8 billion euros worth of funds into the region's money markets, after signs liquidity was drying up. - The World Bank faces "an uphill task" persuading donor countries to meet its fundraising target of $39 billion euros for the International Development Association, the bank's concessionary lending arm that provides funds to the world's poorest countries, Robert Zoellick, president, said. - President George W. Bush called for measures to increase financial literacy among Americans, acknowledging that many US homeowners had signed up for mortgages they did not fully understand. - Thailand has been warned by the European Commission against moves to force drugmakers to drop prices for poor patients or lose sales, adding to US pressure over patent protection. - China charged on Thursday that imported gas turbines made by General Electric <GE.N>, the U.S. industrial institution known for its exacting manufacturing standards, had "big safety and quality problems". - Pakistan's General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday steered away from a state of emergency in Pakistan after an early morning conversation with Washington, but appeared to be flailing in efforts to tackle the crisis engulfing his presidency. WALL STREET JOURNAL (www.wsj.com) - Countrywide Financial Corp <CFC.N> faces "unprecedented disruptions" in the mortgage market that could damage its earnings and the company's financial condition, it said in a regulatory filing. - The European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve added extra cash to money markets as renewed fears of credit-related losses sent short-term rates above central-bank targets. - Turmoil in credit markets will have just a minor impact on growth, most economists say. But they cut their economic forecasts and nearly a third expect higher borrowing costs to be a significant contributor to a slowdown, in the latest WSJ.com survey. - Refiners' profits are being squeezed as gasoline prices ease amid increased supplies and crude-oil prices remain high. - A second Goldman Sachs <GS.N> hedge fund hit a rocky patch and has sold down some of its investment positions. Hedge fund Tykhe Capital also is moving to trim its positions after steep losses. - A U.S. effort to pursue cyber-crime figures has led to the arrest in Turkey of a man ranked among the largest distributors of stolen bank-card data. - Chinese President Hu Jintao's administration, suffering from a string of embarrassing scandals, is moving to take authority away from China's powerful local governments. - HSBC <HSBA.L> plans to open a bank in a Chinese rural area, the first foreign institution to do so as Beijing pushes to develop services in the hinterland.- Bridgestone <5108.T> reported its first-half net jumped 61 percent, helped by the yen's weakness, and the tire maker raised its outlook. - The U.S. distributor at the center of a dispute over imports of Chinese-made tires said it's recalling about 255,000 tires, a far smaller number than it originally said pose a safety risk.
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