HONG KONG (Yonhap News) – China's manufacturing activity for August slowed for the fourth straight month amid global economic uncertainty, an industry group said Saturday.The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) of China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.2 last month, down from 50.1 in July, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).The index hit its worst level since Nove

TOKYO (AFP) -- Standard & Poor's on Friday cut its credit rating on Sharp Corp. to junk status, following huge losses at the struggling Japanese consumer electronics giant.The global ratings agency said it downgraded Sharp two notches to “BB+” and warned that the Osaka-based firm was beset by weak cash flow and “deteriorating” market conditions.“Sharp’s liquidity position has weakened, and the company is highly dependent on short-term borrowings in light of weak internal cash flow and a less fav

Severe droughts drive food prices higher, threatening the poor WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Global food prices soared 10 percent in July, increasing the threat to millions of the world’s poor especially in Africa and the Middle East, the World Bank said Thursday.Drought and soaring temperatures in the United States and Eastern Europe have savaged some of the key grain crops that feed much of the world, with prices for corn (maize) and soybeans hitting records.The Bank warned that a repeat of the price sur

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Citigroup said Wednesday it had agreed to pay $590 million to settle a suit by investors who accused the bank of misleading them on its subprime mortgage-based security losses in 2007-2008.The agreement settled the four-year-old class-action suit that arose from the collapse of the U.S. real estate market, which savaged the bank’s share price in part due to its heavy losses on collateralized debt obligations.Investors who bought Citigroup shares between February 2007 and April 2

BEIJING (AP) _ Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed alarm Thursday about Europe’s debt problems and called on Greece, Spain and Italy to embrace budget cuts and other reforms following a meeting with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Merkel was in Beijing for talks aimed at boosting trade amid slowing global growth and allaying fears about Europe‘s heavy government debts. China has a stake in a resolution not only because Europe is its biggest export market, but because Beijing holds bill

Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia, a hub of industry and business, said Tuesday it will seek (euro) 5.02 billion ($6.29 billion) in aid from the central government, adding to the country's financial troubles as it struggles to avoid needing a sovereign bailout.Catalonia, which has Barcelona as its capital, became the third region after Valencia and Murcia to officially solicit aid. Valencia

MADRID (AP) ― Spain’s financial worries increased Tuesday after another of its struggling regions asked for central government aid to stop it from defaulting on its debt, adding further pressure on the country as it tries to avoid an international bailout.The northeastern region of Catalonia said Tuesday it would seek 5.02 billion euros ($6.29 billion) in aid from the central government, adding to the country’s financial troubles as it also struggles to keep its banking industry from crumbling u

BERLIN (AFP) ― The European Central Bank will stay within its mandate and intervene on the secondary debt markets only in conjunction with European Union rescue funds, board member Joerg Asmussen said on Monday.“We will act within the framework of our mandate,” Asmussen said in a speech in Germany, while insisting on the “complete independence” of the ECB.Earlier this month, ECB chief Mario Draghi suggested the central bank could restart buying bonds of crisis-hit member states to drive down the

BEIJING (AP) ― Profits at China’s industrial companies tumbled in July for a fourth straight month, a sign of enduring economic weakness that adds to pressure on Beijing to drive a sluggish recovery. Total industrial profits declined 5.4 percent compared with a year earlier, accelerating from June’s 1.3 percent fall, government data showed Monday. That might hurt investment, a key part of Beijing’s recovery plan for China’s deepest slump since the 2008 global crisis. The decline follows July’s c

ROME (AFP) ― Italy’s police said Saturday they have seized so far this year 52 million counterfeit items, including train tickets, smartphones, condoms and detergents, with much of them coming from China.The financial police’s counter-fraud division said 97 members of organised criminal gangs, 41 percent of them Italian, were arrested during the same first seven months of 2012 in connection with the counterfeit goods.A statement said that 35 daily monitoring operations helped deprive the undergr