The Korea Herald

Fitch cuts Nokia to junk

Jul 22, 2012

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
Draghi: Euro not in danger

Jul 22, 2012

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
Murdoch resigns from U.K. newspapers

Jul 22, 2012

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
Slower global growth reflects close economic links

Jul 22, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The global economy is in the worst shape since the dark days of 2009.Six of the 17 countries that use the euro currency are in recession. The U.S. economy is struggling again. And the economic superstars of the developing world _ China, India and Brazil _ are in no position to come to the rescue. They're slowing, too.The lengthening shadow over the world's economy illustrates on
Murdoch resigns from boards of U.K. newspapers

Jul 22, 2012

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
U.S. OKs trade relations with Russia

Jul 19, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― A Russia trade bill that could double U.S. exports to Russia but complicate already frosty relations with the former Communist superpower advanced in the Senate on Wednesday. Lawmakers rejected a provision that would have required the president to certify that Russia is no longer supplying arms to Syria. The Senate Finance Committee combined the trade measure with a bill to punish Russian human rights violators. The committee’s unanimous vote to lift Cold War trade restrictions
IBM’s Q2 earnings up 6 percent

Jul 19, 2012

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― IBM sustained its nearly decade-long streak of earnings growth as it shook off the economic jitters that have undercut several other technology companies.Earnings rose 6 percent in the April-June period, despite a 3 percent decline in revenue, to mark the 38th consecutive quarter that IBM’s net income has climbed from the previous year.The achievement comes after tech companies such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Informatica Corp. and Lexmark International Inc. have blamed
Deutsche Bank, HSBC traders investigated for collusion

Jul 19, 2012

Traders at Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Societe Generale SA and Credit Agricole SA are under investigation for interest-rate manipulation in a global probe that led to more than $450 million in fines for Barclays Plc last month, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Regulators are investigating the possible roles of Michael Zrihen at Credit Agricole, Didier Sander at HSBC and Christian Bittar at Deutsche Bank, the person said on condition of anonymity because the investigation is c
IMF: Eurozone in ‘critical’ danger

Jul 19, 2012

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
China doubles loans to Africa to $20 billion

Jul 19, 2012

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's President Hu Jintao said Thursday Beijing would offer $20 billion in new loans to Africa, underscoring the Asian powerhouse’s growing links with the resource-rich continent.The pledge, made at a Beijing forum on China-Africa cooperation, is double the amount Beijing agreed to lend to Africa at the last forum in 2009.Hu said the loans would focus on supporting infrastructure, manufacturing and the development of small businesses in Africa, although he did not specify what
Kim says no country immune from eurozone crisis

Jul 19, 2012

WASHINGTON -- Jim Yong Kim, the new head of the World Bank, warned Wednesday that almost all areas of the world will be affected by the ongoing European financial crisis."To put it starkly, what's happening in Europe today affects the fisherman in Senegal and the software programmer in India," Kim said in his speech at the Brookings Institution. "Therefore, it is urgent that European countries tak
Finland and Spain reach deal on EU bank aid collateral

Jul 18, 2012

HELSINKI (AFP) ― The Finnish finance ministry said Tuesday that Madrid had agreed to provide collateral to Finland in exchange for its participation in an European Union bailout for ailing Spanish banks.“In the collateral arrangement, the Spanish Deposit Guarantee Fund provides Finland with collateral, in order to limit the risks for Finnish taxpayers in the issuing of loans to the stabilization program” for Spanish banks, the ministry said in a statement.Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilaine
Slimmer screen for Apple’s next iPhone: report

Jul 18, 2012

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
HSBC apologizes over money laundering scandal

Jul 18, 2012

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― HSBC apologized Tuesday for failing to apply anti-laundering rules and one senior executive resigned, as lawmakers accused the global bank of giving Iran, terrorists and drug dealers access to the US financial system.With the banking sector already under fire for manipulating interest rates and reckless trading, HSBC said more should have been done to prevent years of abuse amounting to tens of billions of dollars of illicit transactions.“We deeply regret and apologize for the
U.S. recession likely if Congress doesn’t act

Jul 18, 2012

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