29/04 – Today’s headlines from across the EU

EUROPEAN HEADLINES

FT – Beijing eyes push to boost credit as fears rise of regional debt crisis. Move to recapitalise local governments. Alarm over risks posed to banking system.

WSJE – SEC probes BofA over Merrill ploy. The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Bank of America Corp. broke rules designed to safeguard client accounts, potentially putting retail-brokerage funds at risk in order to generate more profits, according to people familiar with the inquiry.

INYT – Desperate treks to get home after quake. Thousands of Nepalese seek relatives as villages anxiously await relief.

FRANCE

Le Monde – In Nepal, the poor are forgotten by the rescue services. Staffs deployed to save foreign mountaineers have sparked indignation.

Les Echos – China’s new expansion strategy. Beijing considers a massive concentration of big state-owned groups. A strategic change for the country.

GERMANY

Frankfurter Allgemeine – Nepal’s earthquake death toll could reach 10,000. The government admits shortcomings in rescue operations.

Suddeutsche Zeitung – Schäuble lures Lander. The Federal Finance minister wants to promote the reform of fiscal equalisation between Federal states and offers Federal prime ministers seven billion euros as well as additional incentives.

ITALY

La Republica – Italicum, the vote of confidence splits the Democratic Party. Bersani, Letta and Speranza, some of the party’s leaders, claim they won’t vote the confidence on the electoral law reform. Matteo Renzi replies that paralysis is not an option. If they don’t agree with the PM, “They just have to send me back home,” he declared.

Il Sole 24 Ore – First auction for six-month zero-coupon treasury bonds. The Italian treasury sold €6.5 billion six-month BOT bills with a demand for €11.7 billion. This move is seen as a positive consequence of the ECB quantitative easing programme.

POLAND

Gazeta – Poles’ noisy housework. Women have been engaged in career much more commonly than they were 10 years ago. Parents have got more time for their children, but not for culture.

SPAIN

El Pais – Ciudadanos refuses to make government pact/deal after the general election. The party will not form coalition after the regional election in order to keep its independences from PP and PSOE.

Expansion – Santander earns 32% more. The company earned €1.71 billion in the first quarter and doubled its profit in Spain.

The Times – Labour chief given £1.5m shares from tax haven. Margaret Hodge attacked over “sheer hypocrisy.”

The Guardian – Miliband’s tactical gamble. “I’ll talk to anyone, anywhere,” he says, after interview with Brand.