Reader's Digest eyes bankruptcy

The US publisher of Reader's Digest magazines has said it will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it looks to get rid of up to 75% of its debts.

The arrangement, which has been agreed with lenders, comes as it struggles in a weak advertising market.

The move will apply only at its US businesses. Operations elsewhere will not be affected, while the US edition will continue to be published.

Chapter 11 gives firms time to juggle their finances while continuing trade.

'Hammered out'

Reader's Digest has been trying to cut costs since it was bought in 2007 by a group led by Ripplewood Holdings.

If approved by a bankruptcy court, Reader's Digest will see its debt cut to $550m from $2.2bn.

Annual interest payments on remaining debt will also be reduced to less than $80m, from about $145m.

"Our deal has already been negotiated and hammered out with a majority of our creditors," said chief executive Mary Berner.

"It doesn't affect our employees, it doesn't affect the vast majority of vendors, it doesn't mean we'll do mass layoffs, it doesn't mean we're going to be selling off assets. It's business as usual."

The company says Reader's Digest is the largest-selling magazine in the world.

It also sells books, other magazines, recorded music and home videos.

Pakistan militants planning new attacks: Manmohan

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Monday that militants in Pakistan were plotting new attacks in India as he urged security forces to stay on high alert.

‘There is credible information of ongoing plans of terrorist groups in Pakistan to carry out fresh attacks,’ Singh told a summit on internal security attended by the chief ministers from India’s states.

‘After the Mumbai attacks, we have put in place additional measures. There is need for continued utmost vigilance,’ Singh added.

There was no immediate comment from Pakistani officials.

India has boosted its security to prevent assaults after the attacks in the country’s financial capital Mumbai last November, in which gunmen killed 166 people.

‘All states need to actively share intelligence information to avert any terror attack,’ he said.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training cross-border militants in Muslim-majorityKashmir — a charge Islamabad vehemently denies.

Singh said cross-border terrorism remained a ‘most pervasive’ threat.

‘In dealing with the terrorist challenge, we need to be prepared for encountering more sophisticated technologies and enhanced capabilities. We also need to guard our sea frontier as vigilantly as our land border,’ he said.

The two nuclear-armed countries have fought three wars since independence in 1947 and came dangerously close to a fourth following an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001 by militants New Delhi said came from Pakistan. — AFP

Moody's ups Pakistan rating from negative to stable

LONDON: Moody's Investors Service said on Monday it has raised its rating outlook for Pakistan to stable from negative after the country received a bigger loan from the International Monetary Fund. "The stable outlook was prompted by the recent augmentation of Pakistan's IMF program by $3.2 billion to more than $11 billion, and several ongoing policy and structural reforms" said Aninda Mitra, Moody's analyst for Pakistan, in a statement. Moody's has a B3 rating on Pakistan's foreign and local currency debt.

N Korea eases South border rules

North Korea has agreed to reopen its border with South Korea and allow tourism and family reunions to resume, the North's KCNA news agency said.

But at the same time KCNA reported that the entire country had been ordered on to special alert over joint US-South Korea military exercises.

The border easing followed talks between the North's leader Kim Jong-il and the head of the Hyundai group.

Hyundai chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun also won the release of a detained worker.

The man had been held since March for allegedly criticising Pyongyang's regime.

North Korea also recently pardoned two jailed US journalists.

'Prompt annihilating strike'

Hyundai heads up tourism to the North and operates a joint factory just south of the border that is a key source of revenue for the impoverished regime.

There was no word on whether Hyundai had agreed to the North's demands for large wage increases for workers at the Kaesong industrial park.

But the KCNA statement said South Korean tourists and business people would soon be allowed to cross freely.

It also said it would allow more reunions of Korean families - separated since the 1950-1953 war - starting around Korean Thanksgiving Day, which falls on 3 October.

The meeting between Kim Jong-il and the Hyundai officials came a week after Pyongyang released the two US journalists following an unexpected visit by former US President Bill Clinton.

However, in keeping with its usual response to South Korea's military exercises, the North vowed to retaliate for any breach of its sovereignty with a nuclear attack.

It threatened a "merciless and prompt annihilating strike at the aggressors", saying the drills south of the border were a "grave threat" to peace and a prelude to an invasion.

SPORTS: MURRAY bows down DEL POTRO

Britain's Andy Murray completed a superb week by fighting back to beat Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the Montreal Masters.

The 22-year-old Scot defeated the world number six from Argentina 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 for his 13th career title, and fourth at the elite Masters level.

By reaching the final, Murray had guaranteed that he will move to second in the new world rankings on Monday.

He heads to Cincinnati next week to defend the title he won last year.

Del Potro was playing in his first Masters 1000 final and for much of the second set looked like taking the title, but Murray's superior fitness played a huge part as he outlasted the 20-year-old in the hot conditions.

After a cagey start that yielded no break points in the opening 12 games, Murray appeared to just have the edge going into the tie-break, but Del Potro made the breakthrough with a surprise chip-and-charge return to lead 5-4 and two good serves gave him the set.

Murray then won a gripping game at the start of the second by converting his fourth break point when Del Potro put a backhand wide, but he let a 30-0 lead slip in the following game to hand his hard-earned advantage straight back.

Del Potro had beaten Murray for the first time in four meetings on clay in Madrid last time out and has been in tremendous form, winning in Washington last week and extending his unbeaten run to 10 matches in Montreal.

The momentum was certainly with him as the second set progressed and when Murray missed two more break points in game nine, the Argentine was on the brink at just a game away from the title.

Finally, and with perfect timing, the Murray serve began to click into gear and he held his nerve superbly to force a second tie-break, despite clearly being unhappy when Del Potro called an injury time-out for treatment to his shoulder.

Some brilliant scrambling from the Briton earned him the crucial break for 5-3 in the tie-break and he quickly levelled the match from there.

That effectively ended the Del Potro challenge and, as Murray's game went from strength to strength, the Argentine's legs appeared to have gone beneath him.

Murray swept into a 4-0 lead and, despite losing one of the breaks when a now free-swinging Del Potro connected with a few returns, the new world number two sealed victory with an ace after two hours and 42 minutes.

Among his many recent achievements, Murray also becomes the first Briton in 128 years to lift the Canadian title.