■COMPUTERS
IBM seeks to buy Sun
International Business Machines Corp (IBM) is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc for at least US$6.5 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The offer would value Sun’s stock at more than double the closing price of US$4.97 in the US on Tuesday, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the plan. An agreement may not be reached, the newspaper said. An acquisition of Sun Microsystems would bolster IBM’s Internet, data storage, government and telecommunications business, the newspaper said, citing the sources.
■ECONOMY
Sovereign debt beneficial
Countries with highly rated sovereign debt can withstand the worst effects of the financial crisis, ratings agency Fitch said on Tuesday, citing the US and some western European countries. “High-grade sovereigns can absorb the near-term economic and fiscal costs of the financial crisis and respond to the current extreme shock, whilst still maintaining very strong credit quality over the medium to long term,” Fitch said in a report. “The US, Germany, France and the UK have an exceptionally high degree of fiscal financing and balance sheet flexibility,” it said, citing these as the biggest countries with the top “AAA” rating.
■ECONOMY
Next year better: Trichet
European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet said yesterday that next year “could be the year of a moderate recovery” if confidence returns to markets and the economy. “Like my colleague Ben Bernanke, I think 2009 will be very difficult” and “we are in a period that remains very uncertain,” Trichet said in an interview on France’s Europe 1 radio. Bernanke is the head of the US Federal Reserve. Trichet added that “there is a fairly general consensus in public and private institutions that next year could be the year of a moderate recovery in growth. “But this is not guaranteed. It depends on how the authorities, as well as citizens and companies, regain confidence,” he said.
■AUTOMOBILES
GM, Opel seek solutions
Struggling General Motors (GM) is prepared to only have a minority stake in its German subsidiary Opel, German Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg said on Tuesday. Guttenberg told German public television ARD that a meeting with GM directors in the US had resulted in “an important step” ahead and that GM “supports a European structure for Opel.” The troubled US giant “is prepared to find solutions that would also authorize a minority participation by GM,” which has asked European states to stump up 3.3 billion euros (US$4.3 billion) to help the auto manufacturer and its 50,000 European workers. Guttenberg said both sides had stopped blaming each other for GM’s and Opel’s financial problems and had instead shown a willingness to find a lasting solution for Opel’s future.
■SOUTH KOREA
Unemployment rises
South Korea’s unemployment rate rose to 3.9 percent last month — its highest in almost four years — as companies cut back on recruitment amid the economic downturn, data showed yesterday. The rate, up from 3.6 percent the previous month, was the highest since March 2005 when it stood at 4.1 percent, the National Statistical Office said. Younger people were hardest hit, with the unemployment rate among those aged between 15 and 29 rising to 8.7 percent.
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