The Korea Herald

Moody’s downgrades Nokia to junk status

HELSINKI (AP) ― Moody’s ratings agency on Friday downgraded Nokia’s debt grade to junk status, citing greater than anticipated pressure on the struggling cellphone maker’s earnings after it announced plans for major cuts and global layoffs. It kept the outlook negative, meaning it could downgrade it again.The agency lowered the Finnish company’s long-term senior unsecured ratings to “Ba1” from “Baa3,” saying that Nokia’s restructuring plan involved “drastically downsizing its infrastructure,” an

June 17, 2012

Microsoft planning tablet launch: report

Company said to debut its own-brand Windows tablet this weekMicrosoft Corp. will announce plans to sell a tablet running the next version of the Windows operating system under its own brand, a major departure from its strategy of partnering with computer makers, according to a person familiar with the plans. The Redmond, Washington-based company may demonstrate the device at an event in Los Angeles on Monday, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made pub

June 17, 2012

Microsoft planning tablet launch: report

Greek, Spanish savings flee eurozone crisis

Bank deposits slide in troubled countries; money winds up in real estate, foreign banksATHENS (AP) ― In Europe’s most economically stricken countries, people are taking their money out of banks as a way to protect their savings from the growing financial storm.People are worried that their savings could be devalued if their country stops using the euro, or that banks are on the verge of collapse and that governments cannot make good on deposit insurance. So in Greece, Spain and beyond they are w

June 17, 2012

Ratings agency downgrades France

NEW YORK (AP) ― France’s credit rating was downgraded Thursday by Egan-Jones Ratings, which said the new government’s proposed policies could weaken the country’s finances and that French banks could need help. The agency lowered France to “BBB+” from “A-” and assigned a negative outlook, which could foreshadow future downgrades. Egan-Jones is smaller than the three main firms that issue ratings on companies and countries ― Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch ― all of which have ratings on Fran

June 15, 2012

Banks call for G20 help

The global banking lobby IIF on Thursday called on G20 leaders to act decisively and jointly at their summit next week to avert the risk of another worldwide recession.The head of the Institute of International Finance, Charles Dallara, said the G20 summit in Mexico on Monday and Tuesday is a “potential decisive point.”“The risk of a global recession again, for the second time in four years, is very real,” Dallara warned at a news conference in Washington.The IIF managing director, who negotiate

June 15, 2012

OPEC leaves oil output ceiling unchanged

OPEC announced Thursday it was keeping its oil output ceiling unchanged but vowed to eliminate overproduction as it sought to halt falling oil prices amid a weak global economy and eurozone debt crisis.“Member countries should adhere to the production ceiling of 30 mbpd (million barrels per day),” agreed in December, the cartel said in a statement read out at a press conference following the meeting.“They know they are producing 31.6 mbpd and they have been asked to reduce the 1.6,” Abdullah El-

June 15, 2012

Spanish debt climbs to 72.1% of GDP: central bank

Spain's public debt rose to 72.1 percent of gross domestic product in the first quarter of 2012 from 63.6 percent in the same period a year earlier, the Bank of Spain said Friday.The government expects the public debt to reach 79.8 percent of GDP by the end of the year, a figure that does not include the impact of a eurozone loan of up to 100 billion euros ($126 billion) to ailing Spanish banks.Th

June 15, 2012

Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs globally by end-2013

HELSINKI (AFP) -- Finland's Nokia, one of the world’s biggest mobile phone makers, announced Thursday that it planned to cut up to 10,000 jobs by the end of next year due to massive additional cost-savings measures.“These planned reductions are a difficult consequence of the intended actions we believe we must take to ensure Nokia's long-term competitive strength,” company chief executive Stephen Elop said in a statement.Nokia was earlier this year bumped from the world’s biggest mobile phone ma

June 14, 2012

Nokia to cut up to 10,000 jobs globally by end-2013

Air France to cut 5,000 jobs

PARIS (AFP) ― French airline Air France is set to cut about 5,000 jobs by 2015, the CFE-CGC trade union said Wednesday as it pushed for a social plan that did not include outright firing.The figure of 5,000 jobs has been reported by several French media and it was “not far from the truth,” GFE-CGC representative Ronald Noiret told AFP, before adding: “It will be around 5,000 posts according to our estimations.”Air France management declined to comment on the number, and a works committee meeting

June 14, 2012

OPEC chief says 100% against Iran embargo

VIENNA (AFP) ― OPEC chief Abdullah El-Badri spoke out against looming new sanctions against cartel member Iran on Wednesday at the start of a two-day oil conference in Vienna. “I don’t want to see any of my member countries under embargo,” El-Badri told oil representatives and ministers, as the European Union prepares to impose a July 1 oil embargo on Iran over its controversial nuclear drive. “I am really against this 100 percent,” he added. “Iran is a founder member, it has a great ability to

June 14, 2012

OPEC chief says 100% against Iran embargo

Asian investors buy Saab to make electric cars

STOCKHOLM (AFP) ― Bankrupt Swedish carmaker Saab received a new lease on life on Wednesday, with Asian investors aiming to revive the iconic brand to make electric cars for the Chinese market.National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, a new company created by two firms in Hong Kong and Japan just a few months ago and registered in Sweden with the express purpose of buying Saab, said it would buy the ill-fated automaker for an undisclosed sum.“I am delighted that we can build on Saab Automobile’s skill

June 14, 2012

Asian investors buy Saab to make electric cars

Greece running out of cash for pensions

ATHENS (AFP) ― Greece should have enough cash to pay pensions at least for July, the labor minister said on Wednesday after a report that the state only had enough money to pay salaries and pensions until July 20.“Pension payments for July should not be a problem,” Antonis Roupakiotis told a press conference ahead of critical elections on Sunday, adding he could not comment on any payment after that as it was beyond his government’s mandate.The minister, who is a member of a cabinet appointed on

June 14, 2012

Moody’s slashes Spain’s credit rating

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ― Moody’s Investor Service cut the Spanish government’s credit rating Wednesday, a direct result of the rescue package lined up by European leaders over the weekend. The rating lowered Spain’s rating from “A3” to “Baa3,” which leaves it in investment-grade status but just one notch above junk. The downgrade comes after European leaders announced a 100 billion euros ($125 billion) loan to Spain on Sunday. The loan is meant to help Spain shore up its hobbled banking system. Bu

June 14, 2012

Moody's slashes Spain credit rating by three notches

Moody's slashed Spain's credit rating by three notches Wednesday, days after the government set a deal to borrow 100 billion euros ($125 billion) to shore up its banks.“This will further increase the country's debt burden, which has risen dramatically since the onset of the financial crisis,” Moody's said.The rating was dropped three levels from A3 to Baa3, the lowest level of “investment grade” o

June 14, 2012

'No danger’ for Italy if Monti stays on track: Schaeuble

P.M. insists Italy ‘will not need a bailout now or in future’MILAN (AFP) -- There will be no danger of Italy succumbing to the debt crisis if it continues to implement structural reforms and growth measures, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said.“If Italy continues on the path Monti has set out on it will not be in danger,” Schaeuble said in an interview published by La Stampa newspaper on Wednesday.“Italy has progressed greatly under Monti's government. That is acknowledged throughout

June 13, 2012

Developing world needs bigger buffers, World Bank says

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The World Bank on Tuesday warned developing countries to boost their defenses against Europe’s debt crisis, predicting years of volatility in a flailing global economy.In its semiannual report on worldwide economic conditions, the World Bank forecast the global economy would have “weak growth” of 2.5 percent in 2012, while developing countries’ pace would slow to 5.3 percent, the most sluggish rate in the past 10 years.High-income countries should see a feeble 1.4 percent grow

June 13, 2012

Developing world needs bigger buffers, World Bank says

Fitch cuts ratings on 18 Spanish banks

MADRID (AFP) ― Fitch Ratings downgraded 18 Spanish banks on Tuesday, twisting the knife on a country being pummelled on the financial markets despite a massive banking bailout.Fitch, which slashed Spain’s sovereign debt rating by three notches last week to “BBB” and downgraded the two biggest banks Santander and BBVA on Monday, warned that some banks’ loan books could weaken.“This is particularly true for those banks whose loan books are heavily exposed to the construction and real estate sector

June 13, 2012

German leader urges more Europe reform

Merkel: ‘Disastrous’ to stop Europe’s structural reform pathBERLIN (AFP) ― German Chancellor Angela Merkel Tuesday hailed Spain’s request for a banking bailout but stressed it would come with strings attached, as she warned Europe that halting reforms would be “disastrous.”In a speech to members of her conservative CDU party, Merkel also said Europe was at a crossroads and reaffirmed her opposition to eurobonds as well as to taking on more debt as a response to the crippling eurozone crisis.“The

June 13, 2012

Tokyo overtakes Luanda as most expensive city

Tokyo advanced past the Angolan capital Luanda to become the world’s most expensive city for expatriates of 214 ranked by Mercer, while Moscow remains the most costly place to live in Europe. “Recent world events, including economic and political upheavals, have affected the rankings for many regions through currency fluctuations, inflation, and volatility in accommodation prices,” Mercer said Tuesday in its annual Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. The analysis uses New York as a base city and me

June 12, 2012

Tokyo overtakes Luanda as most expensive city

Air industry head asks EU to postpone carbon tax

BEIJING (AFP) -- The head of airline industry group IATA on Tuesday urged the European Union to postpone its controversial carbon tax scheme, amid warnings it could spark a trade war that would penalize Europe.The scheme -- under which airlines flying to, from or in the EU must pay a tax if they exceed their carbon allowance -- has caused a major outcry among carriers, which say they are already struggling due to global economic woes.Already, EU authorities have had to push back a deadline for a

June 12, 2012