The Korea Herald

Automobile output jumps 10.3% in Sept.

Oct 11, 2011

South Korea’s automobile production increased 10.3 percent on-year in September on strong demand from both domestic and overseas markets, the government said Tuesday.The country’s five carmakers produced 374,014 vehicles last month, compared with 339,077 in the same period last year, according to th
Producer inflation falls to 9-month low in Sept.

Oct 11, 2011

South Korea’s producer prices grew at the slowest pace in nine months in September as prices of agricultural products fell, the central bank said Tuesday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, rose 5.7 percent in September from a year earlier, slowing from a 6.6 percent
Korean financial firms set to pay hefty bonuses

Oct 11, 2011

South Korean financial companies are expected to dole out massive amounts of bonuses to their employees on the back of their robust profits, market watchers said Tuesday, raising concerns the move may spark similar anger here that is fueling protests on Wall Street.Local banks and brokerages racked
Lone Star unlikely to appeal court ruling

Oct 10, 2011

Bankers say delay in KEB sales will further reduce U.S. buyout fund’s profitsChances are slim that Lone Star Funds will appeal to the Supreme Court for the Seoul High Court’s Oct. 6 verdict that the U.S.-based fund manipulated Korean stocks in 2003, said sources within the financial industry.Lone St
Regulator considering limiting micro credit card payment

Oct 10, 2011

The Financial Services Commission said Monday that it is considering allowing businesses to refuse credit card payments for “micro amounts.”The potential upper limit would be 10,000 won ($8.55) considering similar cases in the United States and Canada, which impose a $10 cap, the nation’s top financ
Caution advised on surging software, entertainment shares

Oct 10, 2011

Despite gloom in the broader stock market, software and entertainment shares outperformed at a steady pace this year, suggesting that investors have yet to discover value in select stocks on the Seoul bourse. Price-to-earnings ratios, a key yardstick for measuring stock’s valuation, reached 26 for s
Pension agency’s investment in foreign property jumps

Oct 10, 2011

Investment by South Korea’s state-run pension fund in overseas properties jumped almost nine times this year, compared with that of the 2008 global financial crisis, according to data Monday, showing its effort to diversify its asset portfolio.The investment in overseas real estate by the National P
KDB in talks with HSBC to take over Seoul branch: report

Oct 9, 2011

KDB Financial Group has been in talks with HSBC to take over the foreign bank’s Seoul branch, according to a news report on Sunday.The KDB refused to reveal details. “It is true that we are moving to acquire a bank. But it is uncertain at the current stage as to whether it (M&A target) will be HSBC,
Korean stock market expected to outperform Asian peers

Oct 9, 2011

South Korea‘s stock market is expected to outperform other Asian markets thanks to its strong manufacturing sector amid growing uncertainties over the global economy, an expert said Friday.South Korea’s equity market has been volatile in recent sessions amid lingering woes over the debt crisis in Eu
Banks face fines for irregular lending cases

Oct 9, 2011

Customers pressed to buy financial products in return for loansThe Financial Supervisory Service is set to levy penalties on several banks for habitual irregular loan issuances which burdened borrowers.The banks to face sanctions will likely include Industrial Bank of Korea, according to recent rema
Zions Bank sued in Utah over ‘unconscionable’ fees

Oct 9, 2011

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A customer who says Zions Bank makes it difficult -- if not impossible -- to avoid overdraft fees has filed a lawsuit in federal court, making the Utah bank one of dozens whose extra charges have triggered lawsuits from angry consumers.The lawsuit, which seeks class-action sta
Fitch downgrades Italian, Spanish debt ratings

Oct 9, 2011

ROME (AP) — The Fitch agency downgraded its sovereign credit rating for Italy and Spain on Friday and said its long-term outlook for both countries was negative, citing high debt and poor prospects for growth.Separately, Fitch also said it was keeping Portugal‘s debt rating on watch for a poss
Economy adds 103,000 jobs, but it’s not enough

Oct 9, 2011

Hiring improves in September as nation adds 103,000 jobs, but it will take more to end crisis WASHINGTON (AP) -- The jobs crisis isn’t getting worse. But it isn’t getting much better, either.The economy added just enough jobs last month to ease fears of a new recession. But hiring is still too weak
GM streamlines Volt plant, delays 2nd shift

Oct 9, 2011

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Co. is delaying plans to add a second shift at the factory that makes Chevrolet Volt electric cars.The company said Friday it has found ways to make one shift more efficient, so it can produce the same number of cars as two shifts.Spokesman Chris Lee says GM still will
Consumer borrowing dropped $9.5 billion in August

Oct 9, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers slashed their borrowing in August by the most in 16 months. The drop suggests many worried about taking on new debt while the economy slumped and the stock market fluctuated wildly.Fewer people used their credit cards. And a measure of demand for auto and student loans f