The Korea Herald

Financial market recovering: Bahk

Aug 17, 2011

Seoul shares extend run of gainsFinance Minister Bahk Jae-wan Wednesday vowed to closely monitor the market as it stabilizes on improved prospects.“Financial markets at home and abroad are stabilizing ... but concerns over possibly drawn-out fiscal woes in Europe and an economic slowdown in the U.S.
Uniqlo’s biggest Asian flagship store in Seoul

IndustryAug 17, 2011

Uniqlo, a global casual wear brand run by Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., said Wednesday that it will open Asia’s biggest flagship store in downtown Seoul later this year to strengthen its presence here.The store, to be located in Myeongdong, one of the main shopping districts in Seoul, will be Uniqlo’s
HTC sues Apple in new patent dispute

World BusinessAug 17, 2011

WILMINGTON, Delaware (AP) ― Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp. is accusing Apple Inc. of violating three patents covering smartphones and other technologies, the latest round in an ongoing dispute between the two companies.HTC filed the latest lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, D
Tobacco firms sue FDA over new labeling rule

World BusinessAug 17, 2011

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) ― Four of the five largest U.S. tobacco companies sued the federal government Tuesday over new graphic cigarette labels that include the sewn-up corpse of a smoker and a picture of diseased lungs, saying the warnings violate their free speech rights and will cost millio
‘Youth, It’s Painful’ offers hope to young Koreans

PeopleAug 17, 2011

Seoul National University professor Kim Rando advises Korea’s youth to face up to reality and believe in the possibilities of their future in his 42 short essays for the younger generation.Rando gives advice to those feeling lonely and uneasy about their future and urges them to make a miracle in th
[Herald Interview] Mentor’s advice: Invest time, money, effort in self

PeopleAug 17, 2011

Professor Kim Rando stresses discovering true potential and pursuing dreamsKim Rando, professor of consumer studies at Seoul National University, calls himself a consumer scientist.His current research focus is on the Chinese consumers, and he plans to publish a book on the subject next year. But Ki
[Nouriel Roubini] Market-oriented economy doomed?

ViewpointsAug 17, 2011

NEW YORK ― The massive volatility and sharp equity-price correction now hitting global financial markets signal that most advanced economies are on the brink of a double-dip recession. A financial and economic crisis caused by too much private-sector debt and leverage led to a massive re-leveraging
[William Pesek] Economic suicide is only a scandal or two away

ViewpointsAug 17, 2011

The Philippines can be a scandalmonger’s paradise. At this very moment, editors are pressed to decide which controversy goes on the front page: the suicide story, the car scam, Chopper-gate or the asylum follies. Each of them sells newspapers and each is linked to a central figure: Gloria Arroyo, wh
[Editorial] New charity foundation

EditorialAug 17, 2011

Rep. Chung Mong-joon, his relatives and their Hyundai companies are contributing 500 billion won to inaugurate a charity ― the Asan Sharing Foundation ― in memory of his deceased father, Chung Ju-yung.The Asan Sharing Foundation sets itself apart from many charity foundations established by other bu
[Editorial] Cost of unification

EditorialAug 17, 2011

All swans were perceived to be white in the West. But what stood this perception on its head was the discovery by a Dutch expedition that found black swans in Australia in 1697. A black swan was no longer an oxymoron.Based on this episode, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, the author of “The Black Swan,” build
[Nina Khrushcheva] Democracy and walls of August

ViewpointsAug 17, 2011

MOSCOW ― History’s milestones are rarely so neatly arrayed as they are this summer. Fifty years ago this month, the Berlin Wall was born. After some hesitation, Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Union’s leader, allowed his East German counterpart, Walter Ulbricht, to erect a barrier between East and Wes
[Simon Johnson] The real U.S. crisis is not the debt downgrade

ViewpointsAug 17, 2011

The U.S. has a fiscal crisis, but not the one that everyone is talking about. Standard and Poor’s proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the U.S. still has the world’s preeminent reserve currency. When shocks hit ― and investors have no idea who or what might be next in line for a downgrade ― they bu
[William D. Cohan] Ending the moral rot on Wall Street (Part 2)

ViewpointsAug 17, 2011

The following is the second installment of a three-part article on Wall Street corruption and remedies for it. ― Ed.Was all of this immoral, unethical and illegal behavior a mere aberration, brought on in the years leading up to the financial crisis by an atypical combination of greed and hubris? Sa
Indian premier lashes out at fasting protest leader

World NewsAug 17, 2011

NEW DELHI (AP) -- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh lashed out at India’s most prominent anti-corruption crusader Wednesday, accusing the fasting activist of trying to circumvent democracy by demanding Parliament pass a reform bill he supports.Thousands of demonstrators chanting “down with corruption” a
Saleh: See you soon in Sanaa

World NewsAug 17, 2011

SANAA (AP) ― Embattled Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh vowed Tuesday to return home from Saudi Arabia, a move which could set off a violent new phase in the impoverished country’s six-month uprising seeking to topple his regime.Security across Yemen has collapsed during the revolt, with al-Qaida