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Dubai seeks debt payment deal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- A major government-owned investment company in Dubai, with total debts of $59 billion, has asked creditors for a 6-month payment delay, officials say.

Dubai World, hit hard by the global credit crunch and recession, also has appointed an accountancy group to help with financial restructuring, the BBC said Thursday.

A payment of $3.5 billion was due next month.

The request for a delay until next May led to immediate downgrading of all six state-backed corporations in the oil-rich emirate by credit rating agencies Standard & Poor's and Moodys.

The Dubai economy, after six years of rapid growth, has slumped since the second half of 2008.

Dubai is one of the seven self-governing emirates or states that make up the United Arab Emirates.

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Fannie Mae to tighten lending standards

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Fannie Mae, the giant mortgage finance company that helps shape lending guidelines, plans more crackdowns next month to further tighten lending practices.

U.S. officials say the plan includes the raising of minimum credit score requirements and limiting the amount of overall debt that can be carried related to income.

There is concern, however, that the mortgage industry may become too restrictive and impede an economic recovery in its attempts to roll back loose lending standards that led to the current crisis, The Washington Post says.

Lending by U.S. banks plunged by 2.8 percent in the third quarter, the largest drop since at least 1984, federal data released this week indicates.

Some of that problem is said to be fostered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which refuse to buy loans that do not meet their rules.

Starting Dec. 12, the automated system that Fannie Mae uses to approve loans will reject certain borrowers at a higher cutoff point. These borrowers would have at least a 20 percent down payment but whose credit scores fall below 620 out of 850. Previously, the cut-off was 580.

Also, for borrowers with a 20 percent down payment, no more than 45 percent of their gross monthly income can go toward paying debts.

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South Korea to raise tariff-free quota

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- South Korea says it will raise its tariff-free import quotas on products made in developing countries next year to help economically hard-pressed areas.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said the current 80 percent of products now imported duty-free would be raised to 85 percent in 2010, Yonhap News Agency reported Thursday.

That means an additional 251 different products made by the world's 49 poorest countries will be able to enter South Korea without paying duties.

The ministry said the percentage would be raised another 5 points to 90 percent in 2011 and to 95 the following year.

The ministry, meanwhile, said that the country will increase its contributions to assist poor nations from $13.3 million to $43.6 million in 2010.

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Canadian gold miners fight foreign bill

OTTAWA, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Three Canadian gold mining companies are battling a parliamentary bill that would restrict work in countries with poor environmental or human rights records.

Bill C-300, sponsored by a Liberal Member of Parliament, would give the government the right to withhold taxpayer-funded financing to companies doing business in, or exporting to countries with questionable rights and environmental practices, the Globe and Mail reported Thursday.

Various interest groups allege mining activities in such countries as Guatemala, Honduras and Argentina created and support corruption, bribery and physical intimidation, the report said.

Barrick Gold Corp., Goldcorp Inc., and Kinross Gold Corp. submitted a joint statement to Parliament calling the allegations "frivolous and vexatious," and warned there would be an exodus of international mining companies from Canada if the bill were enacted.

If passed, the bill would deny federal financing to offshore projects by Export Development Canada and ban investment by the Canada Pension Plan in companies involved in the suspect countries, the report said.