Herald staff
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s Daewoo Motor Co., teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, got a one-day reprieveTuesday as did creditors trying to negotiate the sale of the ailing carmaker to General Motors Corp.
Creditors said if Daewoo goes bankrupt, it is expected to be put under court receivership, a procedure that will install new management and freeze all debts. Daewoo’s 250 main subcontractors could collapse in a chain reaction. And the possible sell-off would likely be delayed.
Hacked again: Microsoft Corp. confirmed Monday that a Dutch hacker infiltrated one of the company’s backup Internet servers and posted the message "Hack the planet." The hacker, using the pseudonym "Dimitri," gained access last Friday, Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn said. The latest security breach was minor in comparison with an intrusion disclosed late last month, when a hacker had access for about 12 days to the source code, or blueprints, for software still in the early stages of development.
Borrowing falls: Americans reduced their borrowing in September as they cut back on the use of credit cards and auto loans amid a slowing economy. The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that consumer credit increased by a seasonally adjusted $6.5 billion in September, or 5.2 percent at an annual rate, the slowest pace since October 1999. Consumer credit in August grew by $12.3 billion, or at a 10.1 percent rate, according to revised figures. That was less than the $13.4 billion the central bank previously estimated.
Tuesday’s prices: Gold sold for $265.50 a troy ounce, silver sold for $4.75 and platinum sold for $592.70.
