OPEC is under pressure from consumers to boost supply as most of the world’s benchmark crudes surpass $100 a barrel amid political unrest in North Africa and the Middle East.Oil prices are high enough to “derail” the global economic recovery, Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency said this week. Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said last week prices nearer $75 would be “appropriate

Korea's three financial services companies, including industry leader Woori Finance Holdings Co., have launched a due diligence on an ailing savings bank, industry sources said Friday. Mid-sized Samhwa Mutual Savings Bank has been suspended by thefinancial regulator as it failed to meet regulatory capital requirements. The government is seeking to sell the embattled savings bank unless it normaliz

South Korea's food prices climbed the second most on-year among the organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members in December, data showed Thursday.Food prices in South Korea jumped 10.6 percent in December from a year earlier, higher than the OECD average of 2.6 percent, according to the data by the OECD.Among the 33 tallied countries, Estonia topped the list at 12.2 percen

LG Electronics Inc., the world's third-largest mobile phone maker, said Wednesday that it will release its first tablet PC in March in the U.S. market, as it tries to take its share in the booming market.The upcoming product, dubbed "G-slate," is among the first tablet models to run on the "Honeycomb" operating system, which is Google Inc.'s latest generation of Android platforms designed for mobi

South Korea's industrial production growth index for the manufacturing and mining sector grew for the third straight month in December despite concerns of general economic slowdown, a government report showed Wednesday.The report by Statistics Korea said index numbers reached 63.6 in the cited month, which is also the second month in a row that figures topped the "break-even" 50 mark.A index readi

South Korea's state-run expressway corporation said Wednesday that a local company won a contract to build and operate a highway rest area in Uzbekistan.Korea Expressway Corp. said the rest area will be built on the 300-kilometer-long highway connecting Tashkent and Samarkand. The unidentified Korean company will build the 99,000-square-meter rest area and retain operational rights over the facili

South Korea's trade volume expanded three-fold in the last 10 years, helping the country become the seventh-largest exporter in the world, a government report showed Wednesday.The findings by the Korea Customs Service said the country's export and import volume that stood at just $291.5 billion in 2001 moved up steadily to $545.7 billion in 2005 and hit a record $891.6 billion last year.For 2011,

The average exchange rate of the Korean won is expected to hover at 1,093 won to the dollar this year, a report by a state-run think tank showed Wednesday.The Korea Development Institute (KDI) report said that the local currency should gain in value vis-a-vis the greenback on the strength of such developments as steady economic growth and favorable trade balance.In 2010, the Korean legal tender tr

Korean banks saw their earnings surge 35.6 percent last year from a year earlier thanks to increased interest income and profits from sales of stock holdings, the financial regulator said Tuesday.Net income by 18 local banks, including top lender Kookmin Bank and Woori Bank, came to 9.4 trillion won ($8.4 billion) in 2010, compared with 6.9 trillion won in 2009, according to a report by the Financ

Korean brokerages saw their foreign operations turn to net losses in the fiscal first half of 2010 from a year earlier due to increased sales and maintenance costs, the financial regulator said Tuesday.The 47 foreign units of 19 local securities companies posted a combined net loss of $16.6 million in the April-September period, compared with a profit of $23.1 million a year earlier, according to

Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Korea’s largest builder, said Tuesday that it has posted record high sales last year of over 10 trillion won ($ 8.6 billion), up 7.8 percent from 2009, on strong overseas orders.Earnings rose 19 percent on-year to 544.8 billion won in 2010, the firm said, thanks to gains from equity investments. Operating profit surged 39.5 percent to 584.3 billion won.“Hyun

All five local carmakers saw January sales increase from a year earlier on the back of strong demand from overseas markets, industry data showed Tuesday.Their total sales came to 626,806 vehicles, up 21.9 percent from 514,094 units sold in the same period last year.Their domestic sales grew 1.4 percent to 120,577 units and overseas sales, including exports, jumped 28.1 percent to 506,229 units.Kia