South Korea is stepping up its own efforts to shore up domestic banks and keep its markets steady by saying that it will guarantee up to $100 billion in foreign debt, reports Choe Sang-Hun for the New York Times. This is in addition to another $30 billion it will pump into the banking sector.
Consumers continue to get a break with gas prices as they slip further below the $3 mark, reports Stevenson Jacobs for the Associated Press. Prices have fallen 29% since the July record of $4.114 a gallon, but they’re still 10 cents higher than one year ago.
Oil prices, meanwhile, are rising today. OPEC countries are alarmed by the falling prices and want a production cut.
The economy’s health has improved for the first time in five months in September on strengthening supplier deliveries and new orders, says the Associated Press. One economist says, though, that the trend is still down and that October will plunge.