* Independent panel is investigating fraud allegationsTORONTO, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Sino-Forest Corp said
on Friday it would ask the independent panel investigating
fraud allegations against it to consider a request that it take
legal action against some employees.The Chinese forestry company, which came under fire after a
short-seller said it misrepresented its assets, said the
request came from what it described as a “purported
shareholder.”“The request indicated that, if the company does not agree
to commence legal proceedings as demanded, the purported
shareholder may seek court approval to commence such
proceedings in the name of the Company,” the release said.The company did not name the employees, but said they are
subject to the Ontario Securities Commission’s August
cease-trade order.That order made specific allegations against then-Chief
Executive Officer Allen Chan, who resigned within days. It also
named several other officers that had been suspended by the
company.Sino-Forest’s shares collapsed in June, after short seller
Carson Block and his firm Muddy Waters accused the
Toronto-listed company of fraud.
* Euro set for biggest weekly gain in 9 monthsBy Dominic LauLONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - European shares and the euro held
roughly steady on Friday as hopes of progress towards a solution
to the euro zone’s debt crisis was tempered by a knee-jerk
reaction to a credit rating downgrade for Spain.G20 finance chiefs and central banks heads from the world’s
biggest economies meet in Paris on Friday in search for a
solution to a deepening crisis that has fanned fears of a global
recession.Financial markets have been more buoyant since a pledge by
French and German leaders to come up with a comprehensive plan
for ending two years of turmoil by an Oct. 23 summit.The euro dipped overnight on the move by Standard and Poor’s
to cut Spain by one notch, although that only brought its rating
into line with rival agency Fitch and the single
currency was still on track for its best weekly gain in nine
months.”We see a lot of optimism in the market, there are a lot of
promises to develop a global, sustainable solution to the
European debt crisis. We saw overnight when Spain was
downgraded, there was no lasting impact on euro/dollar,” said
Lutz Karpowitz, currency analyst at Commerzbank.Europe’s FTSEurofirst 300 dipped 0.1 percent,
though Spain’s benchmark underperformed, down 1 percent.World stocks measured by the MSCI All-Country World Index
slipped 0.1 percent. The index is up 3.9 percent
this week, heading for its best weekly gain in more than three
months though it is still down 10 percent this year.Copper rose 2.3 percent after tamer inflation
figures from top metal consumer China, while Brent crude
added 0.2 percent to trade above $111 a barrel and was set for
its best weekly rise since early July.Gold was also in demand, up 0.4 percent and heading
for its biggest weekly gain in more than a month.
