The government has rolled up its sleeves to foster the domestic software industry. On Thursday, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy unveiled a package of measures that called for, among other things, banning large system-integrating companies affiliated with chaebol groups from participating in public-sector information system projects.The ministry’s plan caused an immediate uproar in the system-integration industry as it would prohibit starting next year the 65 SI units of the nation’s 55 largest

Considering how Illinois lawmakers tend to vote first and ask questions later, it’s good to see the so-called smart-grid bill getting put through the wringer.This legislation would clear the way for Commonwealth Edison and Ameren to make high-tech upgrades in the electricity network that will more than pay for themselves in coming years. It would streamline an inefficient regulatory process and encourage investment in an aging infrastructure that is acutely vulnerable to outages ― as many Illino

The Republican presidential debates have been replete with discussions about our economic future, but to listen to the candidates you’d think that the biggest problem is an onerous U.S. tax code. I’m all for sensible tax reform, but prosperity depends far more on our skill base than on cutting tax rates that are already low by international standards. If the Republicans want to battle for a more prosperous, and stronger, country, they must start spending a lot more time fighting the failures of

There are tantalizing signs that the worst of the disastrous credit crunch may be over. The most tangible evidence can be found in the latest earnings reports from some of the U.S.’s largest banks. With a few exceptions, financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. reported increases in lending to big businesses and, to a lesser extent, to consumers. Since consumers power growth, making up about two-thirds of the U.S. economy, their ability to get credit may determin

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s parliament passed legislation Saturday beefing up the nation’s counter-terrorism laws, while also ordering fingerprints to be added to all national identity cards.The two bills passed Saturday by the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, were aimed at safeguarding social stability, legislators told journalists.The bill laying out the nation’s legal definition of terrorism clarifies when China’s anti-terrorism forces should act and agai

KABUL (AP) ― A Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus Saturday on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul, killing 17 people, including a dozen Americans, in the deadliest strike against the U.S.-led coalition in the Afghan capital since the war began.The blast occurred on the same day that a man wearing an Afghan army uniform killed three Australian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter in the south ― attacks that show the resiliency of the insurgency and are

Poet-human rights activist becomes new leader of struggling stateDUBLIN (AP) ― Michael D. Higgins, a veteran left-wing politician, poet and human rights activist, was declared the winner Saturday of Ireland’s presidential election with nearly 57 percent of votes, and pledged to lift the spirits of a struggling nation.Higgins said he wanted to help revive the public’s faith in politicians at a time when Ireland faces record debts, a property market collapse, 15 percent unemployment and a fourth s

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) ― Branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim art museums being built as part of an ambitious cultural district in Abu Dhabi could now open at least a year later than planned, the developer and an official with knowledge of the projects said Saturday.Questions about the future of the Saadiyat Island cultural district have swirled among contractors in the Gulf for months. They came into sharper focus this week when the project’s government-backed developer disclosed tha

NEW YORK (AP) ― A suicide machine belonging to Dr. Jack Kevorkian was withdrawn Friday from an auction of the assisted-suicide advocate’s possessions after failing to draw a high enough bid, while 17 of his paintings tied up in a legal dispute with a suburban Boston museum found no takers.The paintings, including one Kevorkian did with a pint of his blood, and about 100 other personal items went on sale at the New York Institute of Technology. The estate had estimated the value of the 17 paintin