S&P 500 Slides as AI Chip Stocks Tumble, Cooling Tech Rally 
Global Markets Slide as Tech Stocks Sink, Yields Rise, and AI Concerns Deepen 
Asian Stocks Slip as Oracle Earnings Miss Sparks AI Profitability Concerns 
Indonesia–U.S. Tariff Talks Near Completion as Both Sides Push for Year-End Deal 
Wall Street Futures Slip as Oracle Earnings Miss Reignites AI Spending Concerns 
Wall Street Futures Dip as Broadcom Slides, Tech Weighed Down Despite Dovish Fed Signals 
BOJ Expected to Deliver December Rate Hike as Economists See Borrowing Costs Rising Through 2025 
Russia Stocks End Flat as Energy and Retail Shares Show Mixed Performance 
Fed Rate Cut Signals Balance Between Inflation and Jobs, Says Mary Daly 
Asian Currencies Hold Steady as Indian Rupee Slides to Record Low on Fed Outlook 
Japan Weighs New Tax Breaks to Boost Corporate Investment Amid Spending Debate 
ASX Shares Slide After ASIC Imposes A$150 Million Capital Requirement 
Japan Business Sentiment Hits Four-Year High, Boosting Expectations of BOJ Rate Hike 
Asian Stocks Rally as Tech Rebounds, China Lags on Nvidia Competition Concerns 
U.S. Dollar Slides for Third Straight Week as Rate Cut Expectations Boost Euro and Pound 
South Korea's liabilities reached 1,985.3 trillion won in 2020, up 241.6 trillion won, or 13.8 percent, from a year earlier, surpassing the country's estimated gross domestic product of 1,924 trillion won.
It was the first time total national liabilities last year exceeded the country’s gross domestic product, the Finance Ministry said.
The national debt reached a record 846.9 trillion won as of end-December, up 123.7 trillion won from 2019. The amount translates to about 16.34 million won in debt per capita for a country with a 51.8 million population.
The ministry noted that the national debt to GDP ratio was 44 percent, increasing 6.3 percent from a year ago.
The increase is mainly due to state debt raised by treasury bonds to support fiscal spending including four rounds of relief handouts to contain the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The consolidated fiscal account registered a 71.2 trillion won deficit, increasing by 59.2 trillion won from the previous year as the government increased spending to revitalize the economy amid a falling tax revenue.
According to Kang Seung-joon, head of the Fiscal Management Bureau of the Finance Ministry, South Korea's fiscal health is in relatively good shape as major economies also suffer large deficits due to the pandemic-triggered expansionary spending.
In January, the IMF projected the average overall deficits for advanced economies as a share of GDP in 2020 at -13.3 percent. The figure for South Korea is at -3.1 percent.
