Fitch Ratings downgraded the sovereign ratings of Hungary (to BBB from BBB-plus), Bulgaria, Kazakhstan (by one notch to BBB-, the lowest investment-grade level) and Romania (by two notches to BB-plus from BBB) on Monday while warning that the ratings of South Korea, South Africa, Russia and Mexico are also in jeopardy.  European Union members Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and the Baltic states “may not be able to handle their large foreign debt burdens, which could spark financial crises,” Fitch said, adding that problems in advanced economies “triggered extreme volatility in emerging market asset prices” and prompted “liquidity strains”.

It lowered its outlook on South Korea, Mexico, Russia and South Africa to negative from stable, while that of Chile and Malaysia were cut to stable from positive.

I have been much more positive about the Japanese economy than most other analysts in recent months, largely because I believed that many of the problems from the Japanese recession of 1990-2003 were finally in the country’s rearview mirror. In particular, I believed that the Japanese budget deficit – which, by 2003, had become quite acute – was well on the way to being solved through public spending restraint. That, in turn, would allow Japan to pay down its excessive public debt, giving its private sector room to expand. But the surprise resignation of Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday suggests I may have been wrong about the country’s near-term prospects. Japan Gives Investors a Bubble Bath The Japanese stock market and real estate bubble of the 1980s is now the stuff of stock-market legend, for it sent that country into ...

Invest in a South Korea exchange traded fund (ETF) via MSCI South Korean Index Fund.

In addition, investors have high hopes for Motorola after the recent appointment of a new CEO for the failing mobile device division, but analysts remain skeptical.

Emerging market superstars like India and China are beginning to panic about domestic inflation. But Martin Hutchinson reveals that South Korea is most definitely worth investing in.

Where should you put your money in 2008? And more importantly, how can you make money in 2008? These are not easy questions to answer. With the credit crunch sending shock waves around the globe, and the Fed’s dismal attempts to solve the problem, these questions loom large … Fortunately, there are some good answers just waiting in the wings. One market in particular not only looks bulletproof, it is posting some of the fastest - and most consistent - productivity gains of all the Asian countries. In fact, this particular economy is one of the most competitive on the planet.  And get this: It’s dirt cheap, trading at a P/E of only 12. Many investors have shied away from this mega-growth market - but that ...

Is the huge BHP Billiton bid for rival Rio Tinto dead after the European Commission expressed ‘doubts’ about the transaction?

BHP doesn’t think so, Rio is staying mum (but chortling) and the steelmakers of China, Europe, South Korea and elsewhere are breathing more easily.

And shareholders in both Rio and BHP are now wondering what’s next now the delay (expected) has been confirmed.

While the extended probe was anticipated, what wasn’t expected was the strongly negative language in the statement.

Will BHP and Rio’s share price fall any further than the horror week both stocks endured last week?

BHP retreated 5% to $40.70 by the close Friday while Rio fell 4.8% to $125.70. The value of the BHP offer of 3.4 shares for every Rio unit was $138.38. Rio’s price is signalling very clearly the market reckons the bid is dead.

The Europeans are going to run an “in-depth” investigation into the …

Inflation in South Korea has had its biggest rise in 10 years as the country battles rapidly rising oil prices. That’s well above a forecast 4.8% annual rate from the country’s central bank, issued a few hours before the official government figure was released yesterday. The inflation figure is well above those in Europe (4% in the euro zone according to an early estimate released Monday night), the 4.2% rate in Australia and the US and the accelerating 4% plus rate in New Zealand. The South Korean official statistics office said the June consumer price index climbed 5.5% from June 2007, accelerating from May’s 4.9% figure. The figure was a touch above the estimates of economists surveyed by Bloomberg and Reuters. Prices in June jumped 0.6% from May. The central bank had earlier forecast that inflation this calendar year would quicken to a decade high as fuel and food costs surge. Like ...

There is no question in my mind that rising energy prices will work their way into the prices of all goods and services. Look at what is going to happen to the price of my favorite food --- sushi! The fuel costs for so-called long- range tuna ships have doubled in a year, the Financial Times quoted Japan Tuna, an industry group, as saying. A fifth of Japans 360 ships may suspend fishing for four months from July. A further 140 ships in Taiwan, the mainland and South Korea have already decided not to fish, according to the Organization for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries.

South Korean hopes for lower interest rates have been significantly reduced by the latest government figures showing that inflation surged to a seven-year-high last month on rising commodity prices and the weaker won.Consumer prices rose 4.9 per cent in May from a year earlier, after climbing 4.4 per cent in April, well above the Bank of Korea’s target range of between 2.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent.The weaker won – it has depreciated more than 10 per cent against the dollar this year – is adding to pressure on policymakers, who are struggling to tame inflation as record-high oil prices dent economic growth. South Korea is the world’s fifth-largest importer of crude oil. High inflation is dampening consumer spending in Asia’s fourth-largest economy, although the country is holding up relatively well due to robust exports. Exports were up ...

South Korea’s exports grew at their fastest pace in more than three years in April, as strong demand from emerging markets and a weaker local currency offset the impact of a US economic slowdown. Exports, which make up about 40 per cent of South Korea’s gross domestic product, shot up 27 per cent last month from a year earlier, exceeding March’s 18.6 per cent rise, according to figures released on Thursday.Diversified markets and export products helped Korea weather cooling demand from the US and Europe, according to the latest data.Exports to the Middle East jumped 43.9 per cent in the first 20 days of April and those to Latin America and China climbed by 28.5 per cent and 17.9 per cent respectively, while shipments to the US and Europe fell by 0.9 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.The strong rise in exports comes ...