PRESS DIGEST-Financial Times, Wall St Journal Asia editions
SINGAPORE, Aug 6 (Reuters) - The Financial Times and the Wall Street Journal carried the following stories in their Asia print and/or Web site editions on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
FINANCIAL TIMES (www.ft.com)
-- Sony Corp (6758.T) has agreed to buy Bertelsmann [BERT.UL] out of Sony BMG, giving the Japanese electronics group control of the world's second-largest record company for an initial $600 million while allowing the German media group to claim proceeds of $1.5 billion.
-- Standard Chartered (STAN.L) pledged to carry on expanding in emerging markets, even as the banking group acknowledged that economic growth in Asia was likely to slow.
-- Toyota Motor Kyushu, a wholly owned unit of Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), eliminated 800 jobs at a factory in southern Japan that makes Lexus sport-utility vehicles and luxury saloons for export, as the deep downturn in the American market hits its premium brand.
-- Softbank Corp (9984.T) said it would more than halve its monthly fees for the iPhone, less than a month after the much-hyped handset was introduced to the Japanese market.
WALL STREET JOURNAL (www.wsj.com)
-- The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged, and suggested it continues to balance the risks of rising prices and slower growth.
-- Toyota Motor Corp. (7203.T) said it will set aside major reserves for its first quarter to cover losses from vehicle leases in the United States, making it the latest global auto maker to be hit by the plummeting value of used cars as gas prices rise.
-- Citigroup Inc. (C.N) has added eight prime-brokerage positions in Asia in an effort to win hedge-fund business when the current downturn in that niche eases.
-- Leasing company Orix Corp (8591.T) and credit-card provider Credit Saison (8253.T) are discussing a possible tie-up that could create a Japanese financial services company worth close to $18.5 billion, a person familiar with the situation said.
-- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's (8306.T) consolidated net profit tumbled 66 percent in the fiscal first quarter, hit by the slump in global financial markets and deteriorating business conditions among its borrowers.
-- Google Inc. has launched a free music-search service in China.
