The Korea Herald

Spanish banks will have to wait for direct euro aid: source

BRUSSELS (AFP) -- Struggling Spanish banks will not get much needed cash directly from Europe‘s new bailout fund until next year, a senior European official said Friday.A European Union summit last month agreed that the European Stability Mechanism would recapitalize banks directly, rather than give funds to the government concerned and so weigh down the state accounts with new debt.Spain, under pressure on financial markets as its borrowing costs reach dangerously high levels, had held out for

July 8, 2012

Russia mulls $6.2b Cyprus loan request

MOSCOW (AFP) ― Russia said Friday it was studying a new 5 billion euros ($6.2 billion) loan request from Cyprus needed to shore up struggling Cypriot banks from financial turmoil rocking nearby Greece.Finance Minister Anton Siluanov confirmed that the assistance package was separate from one he said the Mediterranean island nation had sought from the European Union in hopes of injecting its financial system with cash.“We have received the request,” news agencies quoted Siluanov as saying. “The E

July 8, 2012

Finland refuses to pay for other countries’ debt

HELSINKI (AFP) ― Finland has no intention of footing the bill to cover the debt of other countries in the eurozone, Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen said in a newspaper interview Friday.“Collective responsibility for other countries’ debt, economics and risks; this is not what we should be prepared for,” Urpilainen told financial daily Kauppalehti.The newspaper interpreted her comments as an indication that Finland would consider leaving the eurozone instead of agreeing to pay down the

July 8, 2012

Finland refuses to pay for other countries’ debt

Yahoo, Facebook settle patent dispute, form ad alliance

Facebook and Yahoo have agreed to settle a patent dispute, averting a potentially lengthy battle over the technology running two of the Internet's most popular destinations.In dropping the lawsuits, the companies agreed to license their patents to each other. They are also agreeing to an advertising alliance that expands their existing partnership. Friday's settlement involves no exchange of money

July 7, 2012

U.S. goes to WTO over China duties

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The United States said Thursday it had lodged a complaint with the World Trade Organization over “unfair” Chinese duties on cars from the U.S., adding fresh fuel to bilateral trade tensions.U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration has asked the WTO for “dispute settlement consultations” in the case, the first step in a trade grievance, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.The action seeks to halt China’s imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on more than $

July 6, 2012

IMF to cut global growth outlook

The International Monetary Fund will reduce its estimate for global growth this year on weakness in investment, jobs and manufacturing in Europe, the U.S., Brazil, India and China, Managing Director Christine Lagarde said. “The global growth outlook will be somewhat less than we anticipated just three months ago,” Lagarde said in a speech in Tokyo Friday. “And even that lower projection will depend on the right policy actions being taken.” The new outlook will be announced in 10 days, after an A

July 6, 2012

Italy to cut spending by $32b over three years

ROME (AFP) ― The Italian government agreed overnight Thursday on a series of measures to slash public spending by 26 billion euros ($32 billion) over three years, including major payroll cuts.“The economies in this measure will be 4.5 billion euros in 2012, 10.5 billion in 2013 and 11 billion in 2014,” said Prime Minister Mario Monti.Much of the savings will be found in the health and public administration budgets, said Monti.Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli said the planned measures woul

July 6, 2012

ECB cuts rates to historic low

The European Central Bank cut its key rates to a new all-time low Thursday in a bid to keep up the positive momentum after EU leaders made some progress in solving the crisis at a summit last week.The ECB's policy-setting governing council voted, as expected, to lower the rate for its main refinancing operations by a quarter of a percentage point to 0.75 percent at the regular monthly meeting here

July 5, 2012

China cuts interest rates

China announced Thursday it was cutting interest rates for the second time in a month, the latest effort to boost growth in the world's second-biggest economy.The changes, which take effect from Friday, will see the benchmark one-year lending rate drop by 0.31 percentage points and the deposit rate fall by 0.25 percentage points, the central bank said in a statement on its website.All correspondin

July 5, 2012

China starts stockpiling rare earths as strategic reserves

SHANGHAI (AFP) ― China has started stockpiling rare earths for strategic reserves, a state-backed newspaper said Thursday, in a move which may raise more worries over Beijing’s control of the coveted resources.China has already started the purchase ― using state funds ― and storage of rare earths for strategic reserves, the China Securities Journal said, but did not say exactly when the initiative was launched.The country produces more than 90 percent of the world’s rare earths, which are used i

July 5, 2012

VW to pay $5.6b for rest of Porsche

Volkswagen AG agreed to buy the 50.1 percent stake in Porsche SE’s automotive business that it doesn’t already own for 4.46 billion euros ($5.6 billion), ending a seven-year takeover saga that divided two of Germany’s most powerful families. VW was able to proceed with the transaction after reaching an agreement with German tax authorities, it said in an emailed statement late Wednesday. The cash deal is based on an equity value of 3.88 billion euros and also includes what the Porsche holding co

July 5, 2012

Russia offers Cyprus better bailout conditions: president

STRASBOURG (AFP) -- Russia is offering Cyprus more favorable conditions than the EU and IMF as the Meditarranean island seeks aid to shore up its banks, Cypriot President Demetris Christofias said Wednesday."The conditions offered by Russia are more favorable" because it does not "impose any conditions" and offers "a lower interest rate," Christofias, a communist, told the European Parliament.Cyprus currently holds the rotating European Union presidency.Aid from the EU and International Monetary

July 5, 2012

Moody's cuts Barclays outlook to ’Negative'

Former Barclays head Diamond admits 'reprehensible’ behavior over the rate-fixing scandalLONDON (AFP) -- Moody’s on Thursday cut its outlook on Barclays' financial strength rating to “negative” from “stable” after the bank’s top executives resigned this week over an interest rate rigging scandal.“Moody's Investors Service has today changed the outlook on the “C-/baa2” standalone bank financial strength rating of Barclays Bank Plc to negative from stable,” the ratings agency said in a statement.T

July 5, 2012

Battle for Japan’s e-book market to commence

TOKYO (AFP) ― In highly-literate and gadget-loving Japan, e-books are curiously rare ― but battle for the largely-untapped and potentially hugely lucrative market is about to commence.When e-commerce giant Rakuten unleashes its Kobo e-reader onto Japan later this month, it will fire the opening shots in the scrap for literary territory, hoping for a slice of the $23.5 billion Japanese spend on books annually.The Kobo is set to be joined later this year by a Japanese version of the Kindle, Amazon

July 4, 2012

Battle for Japan’s e-book market to commence

China slowdown cuts luxury retail in Hong Kong

China’s slowdown dragged Hong Kong’s retail-sales growth to the weakest pace since 2009 as shoppers visiting from the mainland cut back on purchases of luxury goods such as jewelry and watches. Sales increased 8.8 percent in May from a year earlier to HK$36 billion ($4.6 billion), the government said on its website Tuesday. That was the smallest gain since September 2009, excluding seasonal distortions each January and February. The deceleration of Asia’s biggest economy is rippling through Hong

July 4, 2012

China slowdown cuts luxury retail in Hong Kong

ECB to trim interest rates, but no more

Central bank holds off on emergency measures to keep pressure on governmentsFRANKFURT (AP) ― Europe’s sinking economy and wobbly banks could get modest help Thursday from an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank.Economists think the ECB will cut its benchmark refinancing rate by at least a quarter point to 0.75 percent, a record low. On Tuesday, the rising expectation of a rate cut helped lift stock markets in Europe, which have been rallying since European leaders last week announced n

July 4, 2012

IMF cuts U.S. 2012 growth forecast to 2%

IMF calls U.S. recovery tepid, warns of ‘fiscal cliff’ aheadThe U.S. economy will grow by 2 percent this year and about 2.25 percent in 2013 amid a “tepid” recovery and the European debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said, lowering its previous projections. The U.S. remains “subject to elevated downside risks, in light of financial strains in the euro area and uncertainty over domestic fiscal plans,” the IMF said in a statement Tuesday. In an April report, the IMF forecast U.S. growth

July 4, 2012

IMF cuts U.S. 2012 growth forecast to 2%

U.K. fraud office considers Barclays prosecutions

LONDON (AP) ― British prosecutors said Monday they are examining whether they can bring criminal charges on top of the massi ve fines imposed on Barclays bank for a financial market manipulation scandal. The announcement followed hours after Barclays’ chairman, Marcus Agius, resigned and accepted ultimate responsibility for the misbehavior between 2005 and 2009 which cost the company $453 million in fines by U.S. and British agencies. Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said it hopes to decide whethe

July 4, 2012

U.K. fraud office considers Barclays prosecutions

Euro weak in Asia ahead of ECB meeting

TOKYO (AFP) ― The euro was weak in Asian trade on Tuesday, after the common currency rallied sharply late last week with traders now focusing on a European Central Bank rate-setting meeting.The common currency was quoted at $1.2585 and 100.09 yen in Tokyo morning trade, little changed from $1.2582 and 100.05 yen in New York late Monday.The dollar was also little changed at 79.53 yen, from 79.50 yen in the previous day’s trade, ahead of key U.S. jobs data later in the week as markets remain cauti

July 4, 2012

Japan gives $32 million to IMF for assistance

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Japan is contributing more than $32 million to the International Monetary Fund to help finance the global lender’s technical assistance and training work this year, the IMF said Monday.The money will be used for IMF support in low- and lower middle-income member countries, especially in Asia, during the fund’s 2013 financial year that began on May 1.Since 1990 Japan has provided financial support for the program, and has contributed more than $465 million to date, benefiting c

July 4, 2012