S.Korea's fin min admits depth of downturn

South Korea's new finance minister gave up his predecessor's rosy economic targets soon after taking office on Tuesday and pledged to try hard to recover confidence from investors toward the country's economic policy.Yoon Jeung-hyun, 62, a former financial regulator, said he felt uneasy to admit that Asia's fourth-largest economy will contract this year for the first time in 11 years but added winning investors' confidence was more important.

RBS to pay staff £1 billion in bonuses

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is proposing to pay close to £1 billion in bonuses to its staff, just months after it was rescued by a £20 billion taxpayer bail-out,. RBS, which has a new chairman and chief executive in place of their sacked predecessors, is sensitive to accusations that it is paying “rewards for failure”. Stephen Hester, the new boss, will give evidence to the Commons Treasury select committee on Wednesday, when he is likely to be questioned about the bonuses.