The Korea Herald

GS chairman pins hopes on smart grids

IndustryApr 8, 2012

GS Group chairman Huh Chang-soo on Friday stressed smart grids as key to the future growth and climate efforts of Korea’s fifth-largest industrial group.Huh called on company officials to develop new technologies and boost commercialization capabilities for the conglomerate’s signature energy business during his tour to smart grid test-bed facilities on Jeju Island.The nascent technology enables transferring electricity loads to off-peak hours via a two-way, real-time communication between power
CJ targets Vietnam for global expansion

IndustryApr 8, 2012

CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun emphasized the importance of the soaring Vietnamese market for the leading food and entertainment conglomerate to expand its global presence, group officials said Sunday. According to the group, executive officials including the chairman, his elder sister and vice chairman Lee Mi-kyung plus CEOs of affiliates, gathered last week in Ho Chi Minh to discuss strategies for Vietnam. During the three-day gathering April 3-5, the chairman picked Vietnam as one of the most
Q1 earnings, election to impact Seoul shares

Apr 8, 2012

South Korean stocks are likely to be influenced by first quarter earnings reports to be released this week, and the outcome of the parliamentary elections, local analysts said Saturday.The country’s key stock index, the KOSPI, closed at 2,029.03 on Friday, up 0.7 percent from a week earlier, and a 0.01 percent gain from the previous session. The bourse’s modest gains were fueled by improvements in U.S. consumer sentiment figures and Moody’s Investors Service decision to upgrade its outlook on So
Korea to tighten grip on public firms’ debts

Apr 8, 2012

The government will tighten its financial management of nearly 40 public corporations with large amounts of debt in a bid to keep them from placing a burden on the nation in the future, the Finance Ministry said Sunday.A total of 39 public companies with assets of 2 trillion won ($1.8 billion) or more, including Korea National Oil Corp. and Korea Asset Management Corp., will be required to submit plans to improve their balance sheets by the end of June, the ministry said.The ministry will then r
Korea calls for global efforts to prevent oil speculation

Apr 8, 2012

Korea will seek to gather international efforts to tighten rules on derivatives trading, the Finance Ministry said on Sunday, pledging to fight speculative investments in crude oil.“Korea, as a major importer of crude oil, will urge the international community to cooperate in stabilizing oil prices,” its report said. It assessed volatile crude prices as a major threat to global growth and called for concrete regulatory measures to tame the speculative forces in the next two Group of 20 meetings
Private think tank warns against optimism on inflation

Apr 8, 2012

The government should not loosen its anti-inflation efforts though consumer price growth declined to the 2-percent range in March, a private think tank warned Sunday.South Korea’s consumer price index rose 2.6 percent in March from a year earlier, slowing down from a 3.1 percent gain in February and marking the first time since August 2010 that inflation has fallen to the 2 percent range.“Last month’s slowdown was mainly helped by a low base of comparison and government efforts to clamp down on
Petroleum products lead Korea’s exports in Q1

Apr 8, 2012

Petroleum products led South Korea’s exports in the first quarter of this year mainly due to higher crude prices, a local industry organization said Sunday.The findings by the Korea Petroleum Association showed the country shipping out $13.67 billion worth of refined oil products in the first three months of this year, up a sharp 27.8 percent from a year earlier.The total is equivalent to 10.1 percent of the country’s exports in the January-March period that reached $134.95 billion, it said.Auto
Audit regulators to seek new standards

Apr 8, 2012

Forum in Busan to discuss how to supervise accounting firmsGlobal audit regulators are likely to map out new standards in oversight of accounting firms during their scheduled gathering in Korea this month.The 11th plenary meeting of the International Forum of Independent Audit Regulators is slated for April 16-18 in the nation’s second-largest city of Busan.For the local industry, the Financial Supervisory Service of Korea stressed the significance of the meeting in terms of advanced countries’
Is Italy’s Ducati an object of German desire?

TransportApr 8, 2012

Sporting the same flaming red racing colours, Ducati motorcycles are sometimes referred to as Ferraris on two wheels.The Italian brand has achieved success on the race track despite competition from much larger manufacturers including the likes of Japan’s Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki and Germany’s BMW.For years dominant in the Superbike World Championship, Ducati in 2007 clinched top honours in the premiere Moto GP category with rider Casey Stoner. The buzz around the team increased last year when i
Honda’s Acura goes hybrid in challenge to BMW, Mercedes

TransportApr 8, 2012

Honda Motor Co. wants to boost sales of its Acura premium brand with a new “flagship” sedan that uses two electric motors and a V-6 gasoline engine to generate V-8 luxury-car power and small-car fuel economy.The RLX, replacing the current RL sedan, goes on sale early next year, Honda said at the car’s debut Wednesday at the New York International Auto Show. The large hybrid sedan uses a new 3.5-liter gasoline engine which, in combination with the electric motors and lithium-ion battery pack, del
Toyota increases U.S. auto sales forecast

TransportApr 8, 2012

Toyota Motor Corp. raised its forecast for 2012 industrywide U.S. sales of cars and light trucks to the low- to mid-14 million unit range from 13.6 million, citing rising consumer confidence.“We’re starting to see improvement in consumer confidence and, combined with rising fuel prices and aging vehicles, the market is starting to move,” Bob Carter, Toyota’s group vice president for U.S. sales, told reporters Wednesday at the New York auto show. “It’s happening quicker than anyone thought.”U.S.
Hyundai, Kia seek sales bounce with new launches

TransportApr 8, 2012

Hyundai Motor Co. and affiliate Kia Motors Corp. have prepped with new models to take back the market share lost to foreign brands in the first quarter. Hyundai began taking sales orders for the third-generation Santa Fe SUV on March 21, with more than 10,000 ordered already for the mid-April launch. Kia plans to release the K9 premium sedan on May 2, promising the biggest, boldest Kia yet. The model is the creation of former Audi/Volkswagen designer Peter Schreyer. The two new models are the fi
Chinese teen sells kidney to buy iPhone, iPad

TechnologyApr 8, 2012

BEIJING (AP) -- Authorities have indicted five people in central China for involvement in illegal organ trading after a teenager sold one of his kidneys to buy an iPhone and an iPad.The case has prompted an outpouring of concern that not enough is being done to guard against the negative impact of increasing consumerism in Chinese society, particularly among young people who have grown up with mor
Some Alaska polar bears losing their fur

TechnologyApr 8, 2012

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Alaska polar bears are losing their fur and U.S. Geological Survey scientists don't know why.In the past two weeks, nine of 33 bears checked by scientists in the southern Beaufort Sea region near Barrow were found to have alopecia _ loss of fur _ and skin lesions, said Tony DeGange, chief of the biology office at the USGS Science Center in Anchorage.Three of four bears in
Samsung estimates record-high Q1 profit

IndustryApr 6, 2012

Samsung Electronics said Friday that it estimates it will post its highest-ever operating profit at 5.8 trillion won ($5.15 billion) for the first quarter.Analysts also gave rosy outlooks for the upcoming second quarter, expecting strong sales of the Galaxy S3 smartphones, which is planned to be released next month. In a regulatory filing, the world’s top television and memory chip maker said it is likely to mark a 96.6 percent rise in operating profit from a year earlier and an increase of 9.4