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Ft.com
US benchmark borrowing costs plunged to levels last seen in 1946 and those for Germany and the UK hit all-time lows as investors took fright at what they see as a disjointed policy response to the debt crisis in Spain and Italy. In a striking sign of the flight to haven assets, German two-year bond yields fell to zero for the first time, below the equivalent rate for Japan, meaning investors are willing to lend to Berlin for no return. US 10-year yields fell as low as 1.62 per cent, a level last reached in March 1946, according to Global Financial Data. German benchmark yields reached 1.26 per cent while Denmark’s came close to breaching the 1 per cent level, hitting 1.09 per cent. UK rates fell to 1.64 per cent, the lowest since records for benchmark borrowing costs began in 1703.http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7fc8b916-aa7d-11e1-899d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

Brazil’s central bank has cut its benchmark lending rate to an historic low as part of efforts to revive growth in Latin America’s largest economy. The central bank reduced its Selic interest rate by 50 basis points to 8.5 per cent, undercutting the previous mark of 8.75 per cent reached during the 2009 financial crisis. Explaining its decision in a brief statement, the monetary policy committee of the central bank said: “At present, there remain limited risks to the trajectory of inflation. The committee further notes that given the fragility of the global economy, the contribution from the external sector is disinflationary.”http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c3243fb0-aaae-11e1-9331-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

The Spanish government is under mounting pressure to open an investigation into the collapse of Bankia amid public anger at the salaries of its directors and the losses of savers who bought the rescued bank’s shares.  Luis de Guindos, Spain’s finance minister, described €20m of severance pay for two directors of the bank as “unacceptable”, calling for an investigation by the Bank of Spain, at the same time as the central bank’s outgoing governor hit back at a “smear campaign” against him in the wake of the Bankia rescue. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d8b1b710-aa7a-11e1-9331-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

Two of the world’s biggest trade credit insurers have stopped providing cover for exporters to Greece in highly unusual moves reflecting their concern the country might leave the eurozone. Brokers said the decisions by Euler Hermes and Coface were the only instances they could recall of trade credit insurers pulling out altogether from a European country. The insurers cover the risk to companies that their clients will run into such serious financial difficulties that they will be unable to pay their bills. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d4d17e82-aa57-11e1-899d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

France’s new socialist government has launched a crackdown on excessive corporate pay by promising to slash the wages of chief executives at companies in which it owns a controlling stake, includingEDF, the nuclear power group. In a departure from the more boardroom-friendly approach of the previous right-of-centre administration, newly elected president François Hollande wants to cap the salary of company leaders at 20 times that of their lowest-paid worker. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/0e1b6b50-aa79-11e1-9331-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

JPMorgan Chase is spinning out the “special investments group” from its troubled chief investment office as executives clean up the division that caused $2bn trading losses, say people familiar with the matter. The unit, whose investments include LightSquared, the wireless internet provider, will be moved to the bank’s corporate division and prevented from seeking fresh investment opportunities, bankers were told on Wednesday. http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/857bd254-aa81-11e1-899d-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wQ4tZnA1

Wsj.com
Investors rushed to safety in Asia as concerns grew over the health of the Spanish banking system, pushing Hong Kong’s index down and erasing all of its 2012 gains, while the yen jumped to its highest since February. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, down 1.4%, reached an intraday low of 18378.14, wiping out the index’s gains for 2012. Japan’s Nikkei was also hit, down 1.9%. At 8470.25, the Japanese benchmark is floating just 0.2% above its 2011 close, threatening to give up all the gains it made so far this year. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 fell 1.3% and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1.5%, the China Shanghai Composite dropped 0.6%, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index declined 0.7%. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303640104577437132075330966.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

Irish government data released Wednesday that showed a stubbornly high jobless rate provided fire to opponents of the new European Union fiscal treaty ahead of a referendum on the compact Thursday. At the end of a month-long campaign, the issue of Irish jobs, household debt and the austerity imposed by the country’s international creditors have sharply divided debate in Ireland over the merits of an EU treaty that demands stricter government budget rules as the best path to solve the continent’s debt crisis. The Irish are the only one of the 25 nations eligible to participate in the new fiscal union whose constitution demands their voters must first endorse it by a public vote. An Irish rejection of the treaty in Thursday’s referendum—which polls say is unlikely—wouldn’t derail the pact, as it must only be approved by 12 of the 17 euro-zone countries. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303552104577436443784143380.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

The world economy will face risks for years because of persistent troubles in Europe and broader uncertainty, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said in an interview Wednesday. Mr. Zoellick said euro-zone nations need to take larger leaps in policy, such as issuing some version of euro bonds, to support larger European countries such as Italy and Spain whose soaring borrowing costs have raised doubts about their abilities to overhaul their economies. The World Bank is urging advanced and developing nations to consider longer-run measures, beyond traditional budget and central bank programs aimed at spurring growth, to support their economies amid an increasingly cloudy outlook. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577436730936926056.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Regulators probing Facebook Inc.’s listing on the Nasdaq Stock Market haven’t found any evidence of industry rule violations and view the botched offering as a technical failure, according to a person familiar with the matter. Members of Congress, regulators and state officials are looking for foul play nearly two weeks after one of the largest initial public offerings fizzled during its first day on Nasdaq, leading to an estimated $100 million in initial trading losses. Yet so far, federal regulators have found no clear-cut signs that securities laws or industry rules were broken, at least http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303552104577436660626480008.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

When the Greek government surprised homeowners in September by imposing a new national property tax, the mayor of this down-at-the-heels suburb on the western fringe of Athens sprung into action—mobilizing against it. Stavros Kasimatis opened his office to poor residents who refused to pay the tax, which had been added to electricity bills in an effort to boost Greece’s woeful rate of revenue collection. Municipal workers told the residents to pay only for power, then helped them fill out legal paperwork asking a judge to prevent the electric company from shutting off the lights. Mr. Kasimatis brought 1,165 of the petitions to a local district court. In February, he won. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304821304577436203481721964.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Marketwatch.com
Japanese utility stocks rose Thursday despite a broad market sell-off, after Kyodo News reported late Wednesday that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is likely close to a decision on whether to restart two nuclear power plants in Fukui prefecture. All of Japan’s nuclear plants are currently offline, but the report cited Noda as saying he has won a “certain level” of local consent for reactivation. Governors in western Japan had said they would accept Noda’s decision on restarting reactors at the Oi nuclear plant operated by Kansai Electric Power Co, according to the report.http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-power-firms-rise-on-possible-nuke-restart-2012-05-30

While India’s economy is expected to have grown 6.1% in the final quarter of the nation’s fiscal year, matching the previous quarter’s growth, some economists think the number could come in below that mark, given recent industrial weakness. The government will release the official figures later Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, expect India’s gross domestic product to be up 6.1% year on year in the quarter ended in March. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/india-gdp-growth-could-dip-below-6-2012-05-30

Reuters.com
Underscoring the divide at the U.S. Federal Reserve over its next move, Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren on Wednesday called further policy easing to bring down high unemployment even as two other top Fed officials said no further action was now needed. “I believe further monetary policy accommodation is both appropriate and necessary,” Rosengren told the Worcester Regional Research Bureau’s annual meeting. His full-throated call for more monetary easing came on the heels of more sanguine remarks from New York Fed chief William Dudley and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher earlier in the day, both of whom were cool to further Fed easing. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-usa-fed-idUSBRE84T1DE20120531

Gold traded little changed on Thursday, after bouncing from a key support level at $1,530 an ounce in the previous session, as investors remained focused on Spain’s struggle with its finances and frail banking sector. Bullion broke ranks with riskier assets in the previous session, after bargain hunters entered the market as prices failed to break the $1,530 level for the third time this month. Gold’s performance in the previous session could be partly attributed to safe haven flows that spilled out of Treasuries and currency markets, some traders said, but whether such flows would be sustained to push up bullion prices was questionable. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-markets-precious-idUSBRE8390RW20120531

Brent crude dropped below $103 per barrel on Thursday and prices were headed for their biggest monthly percentage drop in two years, as investors made a beeline for the exits with the euro zone debt crisis grinding on. Surging borrowing costs for Spain and Italy and signs that Greece’s anti-austerity parties were gaining in opinion polls ahead of elections in June muddied the demand outlook for commodities, forcing investors to cash out. http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/31/us-markets-oil-idUSBRE83H17O20120531

Bloomberg.com
The U.S. Commerce Department told Daewoo Electronics Corp. to pay a 71 percent import duty on large, residential washing machines made in South Korea, after the company didn’t respond to a probe of government subsidies.  The agency announced a preliminary finding yesterday after Whirlpool Corp. (WHR) of Benton Harbor, Michigan, said in a Dec. 30 complaint that Seoul-based Daewoo, LG Electronics Inc. (066570) and Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) of Suwon, South Korea, sell washers in the U.S. for less than production costs. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-30/korean-washer-exporters-to-pay-u-s-duties-as-high-as-71-1-.html

While the Chinese government is vowing not to spend as it did during the 2008 global financial crisis, the most accurate analysts say the benchmark index for the nation’s stocks will keep rising. TheShanghai Composite Index is poised to gain 15 percent from yesterday’s close to 2,750 by year-end as slowing inflation allows the government to loosen monetary policy and banks to lend more to companies, according to Beijing Gao Hua Securities Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s partner in China and the firm with the most correct predictions for yuan-denominated A shares in the two years to January 2012, based on Bloomberg Rankings. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-30/china-stocks-seen-rising-15-by-goldman-partner-on-loans.html

Australia’s drop in household wealth since 2007 is to blame for weak consumer sentiment, said Richard Goyder, managing director of Wesfarmers Ltd. (WES), the nation’s biggest private employer. The decline in Australian house prices and retirement funds in the past five years, as well as economic turmoil in the U.S. and Europe, had given households a “window on a more uncertain world” and made them more reluctant to spend money, he said in an interview in Sydney yesterday. “There’s been a really big destruction of wealth since 2007,” Goyder said. “If they’ve got an opportunity, people are saving more money.” http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-30/wealth-destruction-hurting-australian-consumer-spending.html

Cnbc.com
Jobs-related data Thursday serves as a warm-up for Friday’s important May employment report. First, ADP’s private-sector report at 8:15 a.m. ET is expected to show 150,000 private sector jobs were added in May, up from April’s 119,000. While not viewed as a reliable guide for the government jobs report, it does give guidance on private-sector hiring. Economists expect to see a total 150,000 nonfarm payrolls were added in May, when the government’s number is released Friday. http://www.cnbc.com/id/47621983

Weak gold prices, softening oil prices and a lackluster stock market while the euro zone crisis could increase demand for U.S. dollars — but is deflation the next stop? “It’s an extreme risk, though I don’t think it’s an inevitable outcome,” David Goldman of financial research firm Macrostrategy said Wednesday on CNBC’s “The Kudlow Report.”  Goldman, the former global head of fixed income research for Bank of America, pointed to substantial risk — and a possible domino effect across the Atlantic. http://www.cnbc.com/id/47623254

Cnn.com
With Greece probably heading for an exit from the euro, the European and global economies may be facing disaster. However, there is still time for European leaders to reverse this destructive dynamic with one simple, outside-the-box solution: Instead of pushing Greece out of the eurozone, Germany should voluntarily withdraw and reissue its beloved deutsche mark. The analysis of the problems of the euro and the European Union has long been upside down, focused on the debt and competitive weaknesses of the so-called peripheral countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland) and especially of Greece. But issues of debt and competitiveness existed and were dealt with rather easily long before the euro arrived, through periodic devaluation of the currencies of the less-competitive countries against those of the more competitive countries, and especially against the deutsche mark. http://edition.cnn.com/2012/05/30/opinion/prestowitz-prout-germany-eurozone/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Foxbusiness.com
Greenlight Capital, managed by David Einhorn, expects the Bank of Japan to increasingly heed demands for a weaker yen from politicians as the currency trades at levels where Japanese companies are unable to compete. “The Bank of Japan has largely dragged its feet, but now it might have to capitulate. The mood at the BOJ is changing,” said Greenlight in an investor letter obtained by MarketWatch on Wednesday. Greenlight noted that within the next year, five of the nine governors on the BOJ board will be replaced, including the chairman. http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2012/05/30/einhorn-greenlight-sees-boj-capitulating-on-yen/#ixzz1wQAHjfKn

USAtoday.com
A gauge of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell in April from nearly a two-year high in the previous month. The decline was the biggest in a year. Still, sales are well ahead of last year’s level for the same month, suggesting the housing market is improving slowly. The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that its index of sales agreements dropped to 95.5, down from March’s reading of 101.1. A reading of 100 is considered healthy. One year ago, the level was 83.5. Contract signings typically indicate where the housing market is headed. There’s a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed deal. http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/story/2012-05-30/pending-home-sales-april/55280660/1

BBC.co.uk
The proportion of income that Premier League clubs spend on wages hit a new high in the 2010-11 season, says a Deloitte report into football finance. Clubs in England’s top football league paid some 70% of their income on salaries for the first time. Manchester United, who won the league that year, spent 46% of revenue on pay, but Manchester City spent 114%. The Deloitte report says that control of wages “continues to be football’s greatest commercial challenge”. Its 21st Annual Review of Football Finance also says that pay discipline is needed “in order to deliver robust and sustainable businesses”.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18248540

Japan’s factory output was weaker than expected in April because of slower demand for electronics goods, especially in China.  Output was 0.2% higher in April from March, the Trade and Industry Ministry said. Analysts had forecast a figure of 0.5%.  The ministry said it expects output to fall in May, before rebounding in June. Analysts cited China’s slowdown and a rising yen for the expected fall.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18275584

The European Central Bank (ECB) has said that none of the eight countries that are supposed to join the euro are ready yet.  The verdict comes amid growing fears over the future of the currency itself amid the worst crisis it has faced.It said Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden are not yet ready to join the 17 nations that use the euro. The ECB is obliged to report on their progress at least once every two years. Of the 10 countries in the European Union that are not in the eurozone, only the UK and Denmark have opt-outs from joining the currency. The rest are supposed to join at some point. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18268062

Telegraph.co.uk
Spain is facing the gravest danger since the end of the Franco dictatorship as the country is frozen out of global capital markets and slides towards an epic showdown with Europe.  We’re in a situation of total emergency, the worst crisis we have ever lived through” said ex-premier Felipe Gonzalez, the country’s elder statesman. The warning came as the yields on Spanish 10-year bonds spiked to 6.7pc, pushing the “risk premium” over German Bunds to a post-euro high of 540 basis points. The IBEX index of stocks in Madrid fell 2.6pc, the lowest since the dotcom bust in 2003. Chaos over the €23.5bn rescue of crippled lender Bankia has led to the abrupt resignation of central bank governor Miguel Ángel Fernández Ordóñez, who testified to the senate that he had been muzzled to avoid enflaming events as confidence in the country drains away. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9301270/Spain-faces-total-emergency-as-fear-grips-markets.html

Ireland’s government is confident of victory in Thursday’s eurozone fiscal pact referendum as secret official polling forecasts that over 60pc of Irish voters will tick the Yes box. Polling stations will close at 10pm on Thursday after the only popular vote to be held in the 25 European Union countries that have signed up to a treaty that enshrines eurozone austerity rules into national law. After a quiet but bad-tempered campaign government and EU officials are betting that widespread Irish fears of tougher times ahead if voters say No will beat popular anger over austerity measures demanded in return for EU loans. Confidential government polling puts the Yes side at “somewhere over 60 per cent and No camp at under 40pc”, said an official source last night.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9301109/Dublin-forecasts-60pc-of-voters-will-back-EU-fiskalpakt.html

Greece was dealt a further blow when Euler Hermes, the world’s biggest trade credit insurer, suspended cover for exporters shipping goods to the country. Euler Hermes, which is majority owned by the German insurer Allianz, is acting on fears that the stricken eurozone member may be forced out of the single currency, limiting the ability of Greek importers to pay their bills. “Euler Hermes has decided no longer to cover deliveries to Greece for the foreseeable future,” a spokesman said.  The company said existing contracts would be honoured but no new Greek business would be underwritten. The insurer said it would reconsider its decision “as soon as the situation improves.” http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9300880/Insurer-Euler-Hermes-suspends-cover-on-exports-to-Greece.html

Independent.co.uk
Britain must prioritise “growth-enhancing” public expenditure in order to support the weak economy, the European Commission said yesterday. The Commission said that it expects the UK economy to grow by 0.5 per cent in 2012, less than the 0.8 forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. It added that, due to this lower growth, the Government will not reduce its budget deficit below 3 per cent by 2014-15. The IMF has recommended that the Government should be prepared to slow down its deficit reduction schedule – effectively adopting an economic Plan B – if growth does not pick up in due course. But the Commission insisted yesterday that the UK should “fully implement the budgetary strategy for the financial year 2012-13 and reinforce the budgetary strategy for 2013-14 and beyond”.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/uk-growth-to-remain-weak-says-eu-body-7805082.html

Guardian.co.uk
House prices in London‘s glitziest districts will drop by up to 50% over the next five years if the eurozone collapses, according to research by City consultancy Fathom. Wealthy European citizens have been pouring their money into Georgian townhouses and swish penthouses in the smartest parts of the capital, seeing London as a less risky place to keep their assets than Spain or Greece. Fathom’s report, In a Class of its Own?, says these “safe haven flows” have been “by far the most important driver” of the rise in prime London property prices since the mid-1990s – first in 1997-99, when the euro was founded and investors were uncertain whether it would succeed; and then since 2010, with the euro sovereign debt crisis http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/may/30/london-house-prices-eurozone-collapse

Xinhuanet.com
A large package of stimulus policies to simply promote investment projects would be “dangerous” for the weakening Chinese economy as the excess production capacity may result in more serious economic fluctuations, economists warned. Beijing’s recent new set of demand-boosting policies has raised economists’ worries about a repeat of the side-effects brought by the 4 trillion yuan ($630 billion) stimulus package launched in 2008. “The key problem for Chinese companies is the overly competitive environment thanks to excess production capacity, rather than a lack of capital,” said Pan Jiancheng, deputy director-general of the China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center of the National Bureau of Statistics. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2012-05/31/c_131622339.htm

A Chinese electric locomotive manufacturer has delivered the electric traction system, the network control system and traction motor of electric bullet trains to Georgia, it was announced on Wednesday. The delivery signaled that China has become an exporter of such core technology for the first time, according to a statement issued by the Zhuzhou Institute of China South Locomotive and Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd.. The company designed and produced the exported traction transmission system and the network control system, regarded as the “heart and brain” of electric multiple units (EMUs), or multi-car electric bullet trains. The locomotives will be used in bullet trains travelling at a speed of 120 km per hour between Georgian cities in the mountainous Caucasus region, according to the statement.http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2012-05/30/c_131621373.htm

The Philippine economy expands by a better than expected rate of 6.4 percent in the first quarter, the government reported Thursday. The actual GDP growth is higher than the official 4.9 percent forecast. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) said in a press briefing that the growth was supported by a revitalized services sector and recovery in the manufacturing and export sector.  Increased household spending also contributed to the growth of the consumption-based economy. The Philippine government is targeting a 5 to 6 percent growth for 2012.

Thehindu.com
India has said that there is an attempt to paint it in negative colour on the issue of importing oil from Iran, arguing that it needs enormous energy for its 1.2 billion people. “Somehow there has been, sorry to say this, some attempt, I don’t know for whatever reasons, to paint India in very negative colours,” Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao told a select audience here at the Atlantic Council — a think-tank — while responding to questions on importing Iranian oil. Ms. Rao asserted that India has been transparent on this issue with international partners given its enormous energy security needs. There is no attempt by India, as is being alleged in certain quarters, to “camouflage payment” of its oil imports from Iran, she argued. http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3475885.ece

A multi-nation transport corridor that would radically reduce cargo transportation time between India on one side and Central Asia and Russia on the other with Iran being the pivot could see dry runs beginning next year. A three-day meeting of experts from 16 countries discussed ways to smoothen the way for the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and at least six supplementary routes despite the U.S. pushing its Silk Road proposal in which its bete noire Iran has been excluded. In stark contrast, Iran plays a crucial role in the multi-modal North-South Corridor as its port Bandar Abbas will be the hub of all activity. Experts proposed the setting up of two four-nation groups to resolve many of the ssues. Iran along with Russia and India (all three initiators of the project) will be in both groups. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3473943.ece?homepage=true

Economictimes.com
India stands in the same league as developed economies like Republic of Korea and Japan on implementation of public-private-partnership (PPP) projects, says a report, giving a thumbs up to the country’s efforts to involve private sector in infrastructure development.  A study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows India, even with its bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles, outscoring China and Japan to rank third on PPP project performance chart among the Asia-Pacific nations. Only the ‘mature’ economies of Australia and Korea are ahead of India.
“PPP development in India has been driven by strong political will and advancement in public capacity and processes,” said the 2011 Infrascope report, which was prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/political-will-sound-norms-make-india-front-runner-in-ppp-race/articleshow/13680730.cms
Fin24.com
Apple chief Tim Cook on Tuesday vowed that creativity would remain in the company’s DNA and hinted that products on the horizon could come in the area of television. Cook was the star opening guest at a prestigious All Things Digital conference hosted by the Rupert Murdoch-owned technology news website at a resort in the Southern California town of Palos Verdes. “We’re going to introduce some great stuff,” Cook said. “I think you are going to love it.” Cook declined to reveal details of products set for release by the Cupertino, California-based maker of iPads, iPhones, iPods, Macintosh computers, and Apple TV devices. The first unveiling could take place as soon as June 11, when Apple kicks off its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.http://www.fin24.com/Companies/ICT/Apple-chief-vows-innovation-in-TV-20120530

Tehrantimes.com
The United States will give South Korea a waiver and allow it to continue importing crude oil from Iran, without being subject to sanctions, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. A ministry official said a formal announcement will be made later this week.  He said Korea and the U.S. completed their consultations and are now fine-tuning the details. Korea is the fourth largest Iranian oil importer.  It accounts for around 10 percent of Korea’s crude imports. http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/98391-koreas-iranian-oil-imports-to-continue

arely a month before U.S. and EU sanctions against Tehran become operational, Iran will hold talks with India Thursday in a bid to expand economic ties and to seek New Delhi’s support for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit it will host in August. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi touches down here on a two-day visit with a personal invitation from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Tehran for the NAM summit. External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will meet Salehi and discuss a host of bilateral and global issues.  Salehi is expected to pitch for stronger economic and energy ties with India amid growing Western pressure on New Delhi to scale down its oil imports from Iran. India currently imports around 10-11 percent of its oil requirements from Iran and has reduced this marginally as it seeks to diversify its energy sources. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is understood to have taken up the issue of Iranian oil imports with Krishna during her visit to New Delhi May 8. http://www.tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/98387-iran-india-to-expand-trade-ties

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