IN BRIEF
Cadillac to be featured at Motor Trend show
The Cadillac CTS, Motor Trend magazine's 2008 car of the year, will be among hundreds of new models showcased at the eighth-annual Motor Trend International Auto Show in Las Vegas.
The Motor Trend show, sponsored partly by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Sunday at the Las Vegas Convention Center and is open to the public. Admission is $8, with discounts for seniors, military and children.
Consumers can check out the latest cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles without the pressure of being in a sales environment, publicist Lauren Holzman said.
The Ford Challenge Ride & Drive allows people to swap their vehicles for a test drive in the F-150, Mustang, Edge and Taurus on a street course in front of the convention center.
In addition to the Cadillac CTS, which has a base price of about $33,000, models on display include the Ford Taurus, Buick Enclave, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Eos, Chrysler Town & Country, Nissan Rogue, Saturn Vue and Jeep Liberty.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark
Denmark to set vote on adopting euro
Danes will get a new chance to adopt the euro in a referendum, the prime minister said Thursday.
Denmark opted out of the European Union's common currency as well as efforts to forge closer cooperation on defense policy and law enforcement in the early 1990s. Voters rejected the euro again in a 2000 referendum.
Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a staunch EU supporter, told a news conference that voters should reassess the exemptions in a referendum, saying "a lot has changed" since they were introduced in 1993.
The euro entered circulation in 12 EU countries in 2002. At the time, Denmark, Britain and Sweden were the only EU members to stay outside.
After the bloc expanded in 2004, Slovenia has adopted the currency, while Cyprus and Malta will start using the euro on Jan 1, 2008.
No date was set for a vote but it will be held during the next four years, said the prime minister, whose center-right government was re-elected last week.
BEIJING
China's central bank wants stronger dollar
The head of China's central bank says Beijing wants a strong dollar, a government news agency said Thursday.
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, made the comment to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson at a conference in South Africa, the Xinhua News Agency said.
"Zhou said he told Paulson China hopes to see a strong dollar," Xinhua reported. It said Zhou was responding to Paulson's prediction of a long-term recovery of the weakening dollar, which fell to another record low against the euro Thursday.
Zhou's comments put "weight behind the slumping currency," Xinhua said.
The U.S. dollar has been falling against the euro, yen and other major currencies amid fears for the health of the American economy, stoked by the subprime mortgage crisis. Concerns about the United States' huge trade deficit, which leaves more dollars in the hands of foreigners, also is weighing on the currency.
