Talking points

Our editors will be looking ahead today to these developing stories ...

State funeral for Crown Prince Sultan of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia conducts the funeral of Crown Prince Sultan, who died in New York on Saturday, as attention inside the kingdom and abroad turns to his successor and the likely appointment of a new defence minister. Sultan was heir to King Abdullah for six years and had served as defence and aviation minister since 1962. An influx of world leaders is expected for the funeral. Abdullah will probably choose to summon the Allegiance Council of the ruling al-Saud family, a body he created in 2006 but which will not technically assume its duties until after his death, to approve his choice of a new crown prince.

Baptist University to release HK pay, benefits data

Baptist University releases the results of its surveys on the pay and employee benefits at 192 businesses in Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland. The report contains analyses and information on such areas as the impact of the minimum wage in the city, regional differences on the mainland, and the pay level and benefits of Hong Kong and expatriate employees working across the border. The surveys were conducted by the university and the Hong Kong People Management Association.

Bangkok braces after new warnings on floodwaters

Millions of people in the Thai capital nervously await the unstoppable floodwaters after a fresh warning for residents to evacuate certain danger zones. The Metropolitan Authority said large volumes of water were closing in on six Bangkok districts, including areas just north of the city centre. The districts of pressing concern include Chatujak, home to a giant weekend market popular with tourists, and Don Mueang, where the city's second airport is doubling as a flood refuge centre. Other parts of the country have been plagued by three months of heavy monsoon rains, with more than 350 people killed and the homes and livelihoods of nine million damaged.

Ministry faces questions on social security tax

Concerns about the controversial new social security tax on foreign workers may be raised at the quarterly press conference of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The new measures were supposed to take effect across the country in mid-October, but have only come into force in the capital. Provinces and cities across the country are yet to introduce their localised versions of the measures.

European leaders meet on debt-crisis strategy

Investors hope a meeting of European leaders will finally agree on a comprehensive strategy for dealing with the debt crisis threatening to tip the world into recession. The new effort, which leaders hope to finalise this week, involves a sweeping recapitalisation of European banks, a restructuring of Greece's debts, a bigger bailout fund, and possibly new efforts to entice sovereign wealth funds in China and elsewhere to come to Europe's aid, the Wall Street Journal reported. Meanwhile, quarterly results from Switzerland's UBS and Germany's Deutsche Bank are out amid mounting fears about banks' exposure to Greece and about efforts by European banks to raise capital to meet tough new liquidity standards.