"Am I therefore become your enemy,because I TELL YOU THE TRUTH...?"
(Galatians 4:16)

Urging Europe to Stay European

PARIS-With shares of some prominent companies trading at beaten-down prices, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France suggested on Tuesday that European leaders set up sovereign wealth funds to buy stakes in crucial industries to shield them from foreign raiders.The differing reactions to the proposal refocused attention on the tug of war between European governments eager to take a more active and expansive role in responding to the financial turmoil and those intent on keeping state intervention to a minimum.Germany, which fought longest and hardest against the idea of Europe-wide bank bailouts, immediately criticized Mr. Sarkozy’s latest idea. But Italy is already considering legislation to limit investments from foreign state funds, while Spain is actively courting such investments from oil-rich Arab countries.Mr. Sarkozy, who has never made a secret of his penchant for an activist industrial policy, said that joint action by state investment funds would keep prominent European companies from falling into the hands of foreign investors.“I don’t want European citizens to wake up in several months’ time and find that European companies belong to non-European capital, which bought at the share price’s lowest point,” Mr. Sarkozy told the European Parliament in Strasbourg.“This might be an opportunity to create our own sovereign wealth funds,” he said. “And maybe these national sovereign wealth funds could eventually coordinate to form a business response to the crisis.”On Monday, the French government injected 10.5 billion euros, or $13.75 billion, into six large banks, spurring a rebound in their long-battered share prices.Sovereign wealth funds, with an estimated $2.5 trillion in assets, have proved a particular headache for Western governments. Critics fear that the funds-mainly run by Middle Eastern and Asian countries rich in currency reserves-could seek to exert political power through stakes in strategic sectors like military contractors, energy or banking.
By KATRIN BENNHOLD
To read more go to:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/business/worldbusiness/22funds.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin


As in the days of Noah....