South Korean stocks edged down 0.17 percent on Wednesday as investors remained jittery over a global economic slowdown, analysts said. The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 3.06 points to finish at 1,826.39. Trading volume was light at 329.9 million shares worth 3.24 trillion won ($2.84 billion), with losers just outpacing gainers 393

South Korean stocks started lower on Wednesday following overnight losses on Wall Street, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 11.03 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,818.42 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Large-cap shares lost ground, with Samsung Electronics slipping 0.27 percent and Hyundai Motor falling 1.54 percent.U.S. stocks fell for a fourth session on T

South Korea's jobless rate inched up in June from a month earlier amid worries that businesses are holding back hiring due to lingering market uncertainty caused by the eurozone debt problems, a report showed Wednesday.The jobless rate stood at 3.2 percent last month, up from 3.1 percent in May, according to the report by Statistics Korea. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 3

Unionized workers at local automotive companies are gearing up for a massive general strike in the coming weeks, with the largest Hyundai Motor Union expected to join the plan, the first in four years. The Korean Metal Workers Union, which includes the car industry, started a two-day vote on Tuesday to ask the approval of their 150,000 members on a four-hour walkout plan on July 13 and 20. The 45,000-member Hyundai Motor Union, which makes up about 70 percent of the total metal union members, al

South Korean workers’ wages surged in the first four months of this year, sparking concerns that inflation expectations could build down the road, data showed Tuesday.South Korean workers’ real wage grew an average of 3.83 percent in the January-April period from a year earlier, larger than an average 2.9 percent growth in consumer prices, according to calculation based data from the labor ministry and the state-run statistics agency.Last year, the country’s real wage declined 2.74 percent on-ye

Samsung Electronics Co. on Monday won a design patent suit in the United Kingdom against Apple Inc., scoring a legal victory in the midst of a spate of ongoing patent lawsuits with its global rival, industry sources said. The British High Court of Justice ruled in favor of the South Korean tech giant, saying the Galaxy Tab, its tablet PC, does not infringe Apple’s registered design and that consumers are not likely to be confused, according to the sources. The ruling came after Samsung filed a s

LG Electronics said Tuesday that its refrigerator was strong enough to survive a tornado in Deneysville, South Africa, last month.With the tornado causing one death and 14 injuries, local resident Mark Louw was devastated to see his roof less house and highly damaged car but was surprised to find out his LG-made refrigerator working as usual, said LG officials. He later sent an email to the Korean firm with a picture of the refrigerator attached to the message and applauded the company’s manufac

Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S3 smartphone has been chosen as the best smartphone by a well-known U.S. magazine in its latest handset survey, industry sources said Tuesday.Consumer Reports recommended the Galaxy sequel as the best smartphone pick for subscribers of three major mobile carriers in the United States. The smartphone received the top scores in the categories of voice calls, usability, messaging and others.The Galaxy S3 rolled out by AT&T Inc. received the highest score among smar

Korea’s Mirae Asset Financial Group Co. said Tuesday it has launched a joint venture with two Chinese counterparts as part of an effort to expand its asset management business in Asia. Mirae Asset owns 25 percent of Mirae Asset Huachen Fund Management Co. with Chinese Huachen Trust Co. and Tiantu Capital Co. owning 40 percent and 35 percent, respectively.The joint venture was established with an initial capital of 200 million yuan ($31.4 million).The joint firm will offer various mutual funds to

HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Korea’s central bank is facing mounting pressure to ease its monetary policy as the global economy continues to struggle, several investment banks said Tuesday.“A potential downward revision to growth forecasts by the Bank of Korea would strengthen the case for monetary easing,” said Ronald Man, economist at HSBC. To sustain the country’s growth, Seoul policymakers must do more to support domestic demand, since international trade, which has traditionally fueled the eco

Korean securities firms saw losses at their foreign operations widen in fiscal 2011 from a year earlier, due mainly to increased deficits in their Hong Kong businesses amid worsening offshore market conditions, the financial regulator said Tuesday. The 93 foreign units of 19 local brokerages saw their combined net loss reach $93.8 million during the year that ends on March 31 2012, compared with a loss of $62.6 million a year earlier, according to the Financial Supervisory Service. The firms clo

Korea’s exports of information technology products sank 5.2 percent on-year during the first half of the year, mainly due to weak demand from European consumers gripped by protracted eurozone debt problems, data showed Tuesday.The country shipped $73.27 billion worth of IT products during the January-June period, down from $77.32 billion a year earlier, according to the data released by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.During the same period, South Korea also saw its IT imports drop 6.5 percent

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced Tuesday that industrial conditions will worsen in the latter half of this year due to the economic crisis occurring in the eurozone.In research conducted with 11 different organizations, the second-half forecast for the information and telecommunications and machinery sectors is on the bright side with a slightly mixed outlook for semiconductor, automobile and petrochemical businesses.But outlooks for the steel, oil refinery, clothing and cons