Fitch cuts Nokia to junk

Nokia Oyj’s debt, already at junk status at the three biggest rating companies, was lowered further by two steps at Fitch Ratings after the Finnish mobile- phone maker’s second-quarter loss widened. The long-term rating was cut to “BB-” from “BB+” with a negative outlook, Fitch said in a statement Friday. Nokia Thursdayday reported an operating loss at its handset division equivalent to 9.1 percent of revenue adjusted for some items and forecast similar losses for the current period. “If these o

July 22, 2012

Draghi: Euro not in danger

ECB president says eurozone ‘explosion’ scenarios underestimate political effortsBERLIN (AP) ― The head of the European Central Bank said the euro is “absolutely not” in danger as the continent’s financial crisis simmers, and insisted in an interview published Saturday that the multi-nation currency is “irrevocable.”Worries about the 17-nation eurozone’s future health have been fueled lately by Greece’s persistent troubles and by the financial woes of Spain, the bloc’s fourth-biggest economy. Eu

July 22, 2012

Murdoch resigns from U.K. newspapers

LONDON (AP) ― Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has resigned as a director of a number of News Corp. boards overseeing his Britain newspapers, a spokeswoman confirmed Saturday. He also quit from some of the media company’s subsidiary boards in the United States. Murdoch stepped down this past week as a director of NI Group, Times Newspaper Holdings and News Corp. Investments in the U.K., said Daisy Dunlop, spokeswoman for News Corp.’s British arm, News International. The companies oversee The Sun, The

July 22, 2012

IMF: Eurozone in ‘critical’ danger

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― The eurozone is in “critical” danger but can restore credibility with speedy moves towards a banking union, some form of pooled debt and if the European Central Bank pumps in more cash, the IMF said on Wednesday.The European Central Bank should use more of its special measures to buy government debt and fund banks, the IMF said, all steps that EU paymaster Germany sees as major initiatives only possible in return for a much tighter political and fiscal union.In a hard-hitting re

July 19, 2012

Slimmer screen for Apple’s next iPhone: report

HONG KONG (AFP) ― Apple is expected to unveil a new iPhone later this year with a slimmer screen thanks to updated touch-screen technology, a report said Tuesday.The next generation iPhone, referred to by fans as the “iPhone 5,” is being manufactured by Asian component makers, Dow Jones Newswires quoted unnamed sources as saying.Its panels will use “in-cell technology” integrating touch sensors into the LCD, it said. That makes a separate touch-screen layer unnecessary and reduces the screen thi

July 18, 2012

U.S. recession likely if Congress doesn’t act

U.S. economy has lost strength, open to more steps if conditions don’t improve: BernankeWASHINGTON (AP) ― Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sketched a bleak picture of the U.S. economy Tuesday ― and warned it will darken further if Congress doesn’t reach agreement soon to avert a budget crisis.Without an agreement, tax increases and deep spending cuts would take effect at year’s end. Bernanke noted what the Congressional Budget Office has warned: A recession would occur, and 1.25 million fe

July 18, 2012

Libya election results put liberal alliance first

TRIPOLI (AP) ― Final results released Tuesday placed a liberal alliance ahead of other parties in Libya’s first free nationwide vote in half a century, leaving Islamists far behind, but each side is already trying to build a coalition with independents. It appeared to be a rare Arab Spring setback for Islamists, who won elections in Egypt and Tunisia ― but the structure of the parliament, heavy with independent members, left the final outcome uncertain. The election is a major step for a country

July 18, 2012

‘Chavez government intimidates critics’

CARACAS (AP) ― The concentration of power in the executive by President Hugo Chavez’s government and its removal of human rights safeguards have given Venezuelan officials free rein to intimidate, censor and prosecute critics and challengers, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.The independent advocacy group’s 134-page report, “Tightening the Grip: Concentration and Abuse of Power in Chavez’s Venezuela,” comes four years after its regional director and his deputy were forcibly expelled from Venezuel

July 18, 2012

Suu Kyi plans trip to U.S. in Sept.

NAYPYITAW (AP) ― Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says she will accept an award in the United States in September, setting up a new round of international accolades for the Nobel Peace laureate and former political prisoner who was unable to leave her home country for more than two decades.Suu Kyi was greeted enthusiastically by world leaders and human rights activists during her recent trips to Thailand and Europe, and the U.S. trip announced Tuesday likely will garner the same level

July 18, 2012

Romney hits Obama on big-government ideas

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney was in a fighting mood Tuesday after being on the defensive for days, declaring that President Barack Obama had insulted the business community. A key Romney supporter questioned Obama’s patriotism.The former Massachusetts governor was intensifying attacks to counter blazing political assaults on his history as the head of a private equity firm and his refusal to release more of his tax returns, as other presidential candidates tra

July 18, 2012