The Korea Herald

Disaster-struck Japan set for record-high spending

TOKYO (AP) ― Disaster-struck Japan is headed to record-high budget spending of 96 trillion yen ($1.2 trillion) as the nation tackles the costs of recovery from the March earthquake and tsunami.The Cabinet approved the draft budget for the fiscal year starting April 2012 on Saturday, covering massive costs for disaster reconstruction in northeastern Japan as well as decontamination efforts for radiation leaked from a tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant.The government will rely on new debt for 49

Dec. 25, 2011

Fed: Rates could rise by end-2011

Dec. 25, 2011

Shell reports on oil spill in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ― An oil spill near the coast of Nigeria is likely the worst to hit those waters in a decade, a government official said Thursday, as slicks from the Royal Dutch Shell PLC spill approached the country’s southern shoreline.The slick from Shell’s Bonga field has affected 185 kilometers of ocean near Nigeria’s coast, Peter Idabor, who leads the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, told The Associated Press. Idabor said the slick continued to move toward the shore Th

Dec. 23, 2011

Fitch cuts Asia’s 2012 growth outlook

SINGAPORE (AFP) ― Global ratings agency Fitch on Friday cut its 2012 growth outlook for Asia to 6.8 percent from 7.4 percent previously, citing the weak global economy.For 2011, the region is seen growing at 7.1 percent, it said in a statement.The downgrade was also to reflect the impact of policy tightening measures in some of the region’s economies, notably China and India where taming high inflation has been a major government priority, Fitch said.It expects China’s economy, the world’s secon

Dec. 23, 2011

Toyota sales may rise 20% on recovery

Toyota Motor Corp. said its global vehicle sales may rise 20 percent next year as Asia’s biggest carmaker recovers from production disruptions caused by Japan’s March earthquake and Thailand’s record flooding. The maker of Prius hybrid cars may sell 8.48 million vehicles worldwide next year, compared with an estimated 7.05 million in 2011, it said in a statement Thursday. The forecast excludes Toyota’s Hino Motors Ltd. and Daihatsu Motor Co. units. Toyota aims to recover market share lost this y

Dec. 22, 2011

New Nokia phone fails to turn tide

Nokia’s long-awaited Windows phones may be too little, too late in the smartphone war dominated by Apple and Google, despite positive reviews by handset critics.Its first Windows model, the Lumia 800, has won little interest from consumers, with only 2 percent of Europeans in the market for a smartphone saying they would pick it, according to a survey by Exane BNP Paribas.Analysts said there was nothing particularly wrong with the sleek-looking handsets, other than a software glitch on some mode

Dec. 22, 2011

Yahoo exploring sale of Asian holdings

Firm examining complex $17 billion proposal to sell most holdings in China, Japan: reportsSAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Yahoo appears to be getting closer to giving its frustrated shareholders something they’ve long wanted: a sale of the Internet company’s holdings in China and Japan. The prospect of Yahoo Inc. finally consummating a deal with China’s Alibaba Group and Softbank Corp., the controlling owner of Yahoo Japan, emerged in online reports published Wednesday by The New York Times and The Wall St

Dec. 22, 2011

Hungary rating slashed by S&P to junk

BUDAPEST (AP) ― Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services on Wednesday downgraded Hungary’s credit rating to “junk” level because of worries about proposed policy changes regarding the country’s central bank. The S&P analysts lowered their ratings on Hungary’s debt to the non-investment grade with a “Negative” outlook. That means there is at least a 1-in-3 possibility of another downgrade over the next year if Hungary’s fiscal performance deteriorates. The lower rating could mean that Hungary has more

Dec. 22, 2011

EU chiefs wasted year not tackling crisis, IMF says

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The IMF’s chief economist said Wednesday that dithering EU policy makers had wasted a year and allowed their crisis to deteriorate, leaving Europe more exposed to “schizophrenic” investors.Olivier Blanchard described 2011 as a year of missed opportunities to reverse the economic crisis in Europe.The keys to resolving the crisis remain the same, he said: extra funds available for governments under stress and real implementation of coherent and cohesive solutions.“We started 201

Dec. 22, 2011

EU chiefs wasted year not tackling crisis, IMF says

ECB lends banks $639 billion over 3 years

Massive loans to 523 banks are biggest credit infusion in euro’s historyFRANKFURT (AP) ― Struggling banks snapped up 489 billion euros ($639 billion) in cheap loans from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, a sign of just how hard or expensive it has become to borrow from each other. The huge demand for newly available three-year loans comes as fears rise that heavily indebted European governments could default and force banks and other bond holders to take big losses. The loans to 523 banks

Dec. 22, 2011

ECB lends banks $639 billion over 3 years

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) _ Struggling banks snapped up (euro) 489 billion ($639 billion) in cheap loans from the European Central Bank on Wednesday, a sign of just how hard or expensive it has become to borrow from each other.The huge demand for newly available three-year loans comes as fears rise th

Dec. 22, 2011

Microsoft wins ruling over Android phones

Microsoft Corp. won a ruling that Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.’s Android phones violate one of its smartphone patents, while failing to convince a judge that six others are being infringed as well. Motorola Mobility, which is being acquired by Google Inc., violated a patent for generating meeting requests and group scheduling, U.S. International Trade Commission Judge Theodore Essex said in a notice Tuesday. The finding is the second in two days from the ITC that has determined that some feat

Dec. 21, 2011

BMW-Audi battle hinges on China market

Luxury cars sold in China may climb 39% to 939,000 in 2011China may overtake Germany as the world’s second-largest market for luxury cars behind the U.S. this year, fueled by demand for the two brands that are fighting for leadership in the category: BMW and Audi. The number of luxury cars sold in China may climb 39 percent to 939,000 in 2011, exceeding the 914,000 vehicles that will probably be delivered in Germany, Jenny Gu, a Shanghai- based analyst at research firm LMC Automotive, said in an

Dec. 21, 2011

BoJ cuts economic view for second month

Japan’s central bank has left key rate unchanged at zero to 0.1 percentJapan’s central bank lowered its assessment for the nation’s economy for a second straight month while refraining from boosting monetary stimulus, citing easy domestic financial conditions. Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa and his policy board kept the central bank’s asset-buying fund at 20 trillion yen ($257 billion), and its credit-lending program at 35 trillion yen, it said in a statement in Tokyo Wednesday. The be

Dec. 21, 2011

EU leaders to hold summit on Jan. 30 to discuss jobs, growth

European Union leaders will hold a summit on Jan. 30 to discuss jobs and economic growth, EU President Herman Van Rompuy said. “I’m preparing this meeting intensively,” Van Rompuy said in a video message posted on the EU’s website Tuesday. “It will be focused on jobs, and that’s a big challenge in a context where zero growth is expected in most of our economies. In some of them there will even be a recession.” Euro-area governments yesterday pledged to channel 150 billion euros ($196.2 billion)

Dec. 21, 2011

EU leaders to hold summit on Jan. 30 to discuss jobs, growth

Moody’s warns Britain on ‘AAA’ credit rating

LONDON (AFP) ― Moody’s on Tuesday warned Britain that its “AAA” credit rating may not survive future economic shocks, but the country’s structural strengths means its gold-standard rating is safe for now.In its annual update to the markets on Britain’s credit outlook, the U.S. ratings agency highlighted the ongoing euro crisis and rising public debt as potential triggers for a downgrade.The current rating is “predicated on the country’s significant structural strengths” but is threatened by the

Dec. 21, 2011

AT&T drops $39 billion bid to buy T-Mobile USA

Cellphone giant had faced fierce battle with federal regulators AT&T has dropped its controversial $39 billion bid for Deutsche Telekom‘s wireless U.S. unit, bowing to regulatory opposition over the deal that would have made it the largest cellphone operator in the country.AT&T had said it urgently needed to buy T-Mobile USA to help overcome a spectrum shortage, while Deutsche Telekom saw it as a way to exit the U.S. market to focus on its European operations. Once a cash cow, T-Mobile USA has b

Dec. 20, 2011

Saab files for bankruptcy after China deal fails

STOCKHOLM (AP) ― After six decades of building cars renowned for their teardrop designs and quirky features, cash-strapped Saab Automobile gave up its desperate struggle for a lifeline Monday and filed for bankruptcy.Saab CEO Victor Muller said “the last nail in the coffin’’ was previous owner General Motors Co.’s rejection of a Chinese company’s attempts to gain control of the ailing Swedish brand. Muller personally handed over the bankruptcy petition to a Swedish court, which approved it late

Dec. 20, 2011

EU fails to reach $260b IMF loan target

BRUSSELS (AP) ― European Union finance ministers have come up 50 billion euro ($65.19 billion) short of their goal of providing the International Monetary Fund with 200 billion euro ($260.78 billion) to help heavily indebted nations avoid default.The eurozone will provide an extra 150 billion euro to the IMF through bilateral loans, Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, who also chairs the meetings of the currency union’s finance ministers, said in a statement Monday.Greece, Ire

Dec. 20, 2011

AT&T agrees to drop bid for T-Mobile

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- AT&T Inc. is bowing out of its $39 billion bid to buy smaller wireless provider T-Mobile USA after the U.S. government tried to block the deal over concerns it would raise prices, reduce innovation and give customers fewer choices.Monday's announcement came as little surpris

Dec. 20, 2011