Korea’s jobless rate is expected to decline down the road, helped by a decrease in the number of job seekers, a report showed Tuesday.According to the report by the Korea Center for International Finance, Citigroup and Morgan Stanley said the country’s jobless rate surged in February as soon-to-be graduates started to search for work.The jobless rate in Asia’s fourth-largest economy stood at 4.2 percent last month, the highest level since March of 2011 when the rate reached 4.3 percent, as more

Seoul shares finished 0.24 percent lower on Tuesday as institutional investors locked in profits amid the absence of fresh upward momentum, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar. After briefly trading in positive territory, the benchmark KOSPI lost 4.85 points to 2,042.15. Trading volume was moderate at 533 million shares worth 5.33 trillion won ($4.75 billion) with losers leading gainers 521 to 302. “The market lacked new upward momentum ahead of the first-quarter earni

Citibank Korea has decided to shift its asset management business focus to the middle-income bracket, from its earlier target of wealthy customers.While the bank had mainly focused on private banking for customers with deposits of at least 100 million won ($87,700), its target will be expanded to those with financial assets of at least 20 million won.“Among total Korean adults, the proportion of them whose financial assets come to 20 million won is 35 percent,” Citibank Korea CEO Ha Yung-ku told

But earnings from charging service fees remain robust: FSS dataThe yearly earnings of credit card firms dropped in 2011 for the first time in three years amid financial regulators’ stricter policy on blocking reckless business expansion.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, six major credit card issuers saw their combined net profit stay at about 1.3 trillion won ($1.15 billion) in 2011, down 51 percent from 2.7 trillion won a year earlier.This was the first fall since their net profit

Korea’s financial watchdog said Monday that it will conduct stress tests on the country’s financial holding firms in a bid to shield the country from a potential financial crisis.The Financial Supervisory Service has been conducting stress tests on players in each financial sector on a quarterly basis, and pressing banks, insurers and securities firms to beef up their foreign currency liquidity and other financial health.Stress tests are usually conducted to measure how well lenders and other pl

Korean stocks closed 0.62 percent higher to a six-month high on Monday as encouraging signs in the U.S. economy and global economic optimism boosted large-cap exporters, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar. The benchmark KOSPI rose 2.56 points to 2,047, the highest close since Aug. 3, 2011. Trading volume was moderate at 541 million shares worth 4.74 trillion won ($4.22 billion) with losers leading gainers 434 to 385.“Foreign investors bought more local stocks in the l

Korean banks’ short-term foreign borrowing costs hit an over 3-year low in February amid eased concerns over the eurozone crisis, the financial watchdog said Monday.According to the Financial Supervisory Service, the spread on short-term foreign borrowing by 16 local lenders stood at 8.8 basis points, a drop of 23.9 basis points from January. A basis point is 0.01 percentage points.The February figure is the lowest since the watchdog began to compile related data in 2009.The spread on mid and lo

The correlation between the KOSPI and the global financial markets has been strengthening in a way that undermines overall market stability, a report has said. According to a report issued by the Korea Institute of Finance, a state-run think tank, the country’s main bourse moved increasingly in tandem with other major markets such as S&P500 and MSCI indexes. Based on an analysis of the daily and weekly changes at major indexes, the report said what is called “market synchronization” increased af

Consultation with foreign regulators emerges as key task for successKorean banks have been in competition to win eased regulations from overseas financial regulators as they tap emerging markets.Their main targets include East, Southeast and South Asian countries.“We are developing financial products which will come under deregulation from regulatory authorities in China, Vietnam and Brazil,” a senior executive at Korea Exchange Bank said.He said KEB is mapping out strategies to regain competiti

A recent surge in international crude prices and their high volatility are likely to make a dent in the economy of South Korea that relies entirely on imports for its oil needs, market sources said Sunday.With oil prices soaring due to heightened geopolitical risks stemming from the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, the ratio of South Korea’s oil imports bill to its gross domestic product is expected to hit a record high this year, having an immense negative impact on Asia’s fo

The Korean stock market is expected to attempt to grab fresh upward momentum based on strong U.S. economic data this week, but high oil prices could limit its rally, analysts said. The KOSPI closed down 0.5 percent at 2,034.44 points on Friday, but eked out a weekly gain of 0.8 percent. For the year, the main bourse rose 11.4 percent, helped by a broader rally in recent sessions together with other Asian markets. The tech-packed KOSDAQ closed up 0.27 percent at 539.78 points on Friday. Analysts

Korea’s banking sector is likely to see a continued upturn following a solid performance in the past week that outperformed the broader KOSPI, a brokerage said in a report. Kyobo Securities said the banking shares on the main bourse rose 6.4 percent in the past week, while the KOSPI rose 4.2 percent, largely because of a brightened outlook for Europe’s economic recovery and optimism about investors’ demand for the stocks. The rally came after shares in local lenders had weakened a bit following

Korean stocks ended 0.46 percent lower on Friday as investors opted to take profits from recent gains, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 9.32 points to close at 2,034.44. Trading volume was moderate at 441 million shares worth 5.1 trillion won ($4.53 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 451 to 363.“Market uncertainties abated, but there are no positive factors to help upward momentum continue at the moment