The Korea Herald

China’s consumer inflation stays subdued

Sept 9, 2013

China’s consumer inflation stayed below target for an eighth month while factory-gate prices fell by the least in six months, reflecting an economic pickup that leaves room for officials to add stimulus if needed. The consumer-price index rose 2.6 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement Monday in Beijing, matching the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. The producer-price index dropped 1.6 percent in August, the 18th straight decline, after July’s 2.3 percent decre
Microsoft launches Xbox Music on Web for free

Sept 9, 2013

Microsoft is making its Xbox Music streaming service available for free on the Web _ even to those who don't use Windows 8.The expansion beyond Windows 8 devices and Xbox game consoles starting Monday is intended to bring new customers into the software giant's ecosystem of devices and services and could help it compete with other digital music offerings like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes. It's also an acknowledgement that the music service hasn't done much to drive sales of the Windows 8 operatin
Yahoo receives 29,000 government data requests

Sept 8, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Yahoo received some 29,000 government requests for data on its users this year, with almost half coming from the United States, according to the company’s global transparency report released Friday.Yahoo said in the report, covering the first six months of 2013, that 12,444 of the requests from worldwide governments came from the United States.“At Yahoo, we take the privacy of our users seriously,” general counsel Ron Bell said in a blog post.“We also recognize our role as
Greek P.M. promises recovery from 2014

Sept 8, 2013

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece’s economy will start to recover next year and by 2020 will reach pre-crisis, and probably higher, levels of prosperity after six years of deep recession, the prime minister said Saturday. Antonis Samaras said most of the efforts to get the country out of the crisis have been completed and that revenue will exceed spending in 2013, excluding debt repayment. “Greece has turned the corner ... After the end of the year, we will achieve a new lightening of the debt burden, which
Yen not weak compared with pre-crisis rate of 108 per dollar, Aso says

Sept 8, 2013

Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said that the yen isn’t weak compared with the level before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008. The Japanese currency was at 108 per dollar before Lehman went bankrupt, Aso said at a press briefing Friday evening in St. Petersburg, Russia, after a Group of 20 nations summit. The yen gained 1 percent to 99.11 per dollar Friday. The finance minister reiterated that the Japanese government will decide by early October on whether to press ahead i
China’s trade rebounds in sign economy stabilizing

Sept 8, 2013

China’s exports and imports rebounded by more than estimated last month, adding to signs that the economy is stabilizing following a two-quarter slowdown. Shipments abroad rose 5.1 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said in Beijing Sunday. The median estimate was for a 2 percent increase in a Bloomberg News survey, after June’s 3.1 percent drop. Imports gained 10.9 percent, leaving a trade surplus of $17.8 billion. Exports to the U.S. and European Union, China’s b
Russia, China close in on mega gas deal

Sept 6, 2013

Russia and China on Thursday said that they had made progress towards agreeing a mega deal for the delivery of Russian gas to its energy-hungry eastern neighbor.Russian gas giant Gazprom and China’s state energy firm signed an agreement after a meeting between Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin ahead of the G20 summit in St. Petersburg on the “fundamental conditions” for the gas delivery.Gazprom’s chief executive Alexei Miller said he hoped the final deal ― which has been negotiated for se
U.S. service firms expand at fastest pace in 8 years

Sept 6, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Companies in the U.S. service sector expanded at their fastest pace in nearly 8 years last month as sales and orders grew and employers ramped up hiring.The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its service-sector index rose to 58.6 in August from 56 in July. It’s the highest point since December 2005. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.A measure of hiring rose to 57, the most in six months. That’s an encouraging sign for the job market because the service se
IMF warns Nordic countries of surging house prices

Sept 6, 2013

STOCKHOLM (AP) ― The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that the Nordic countries’ large, shared banking sector, high household debt and property prices pose a financial risk for the region. The Nordic countries’ “robust social institutions” and sound macroeconomic policies helped them recover more quickly than others from the global financial crisis, the IMF said, though it warned the banking sector is heavily reliant on wholesale funding. Household debt in parts of the area is among t
World leaders push big companies to pay more taxes

Sept 6, 2013

It's time to make Google, Apple and other multinational companies pay more taxes. That's the message from President Barack Obama and the leaders of the world's leading economies at a summit ending Friday.The head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development told The Associated Press that the leaders have signed up to an ambitious new taxes plan at the Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia.The new rules, unveiled by the OECD and debated by G-20 finance ministers in July, wo
ECB keeps rates unchanged at 0.5 percent

Sept 6, 2013

European Central Bank head Mario Draghi says the eurozone's economic recovery remains fragile and has a long way to go before the bank raises interest rates from their current record low. The ECB Thursday kept its main interest rate unchanged at the record low of 0.5 percent. Recent figures show the 17 European Union member countries that use the euro are only slowly recovering from an 18-month recession. Draghi told reporters Thursday after the monthly meeting of the ECB's governing council tha
Global smartphone sales to hit 1 billion: survey

Sept 5, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Global smartphone sales are expected to top 1 billion in 2013, driven by low-cost handsets and gains in emerging markets, a research firm said Wednesday.International Data Corp. said it sees the smartphone market growing 40 percent this year, and will likely grow to 1.7 billion annually by 2017.Overall mobile phone sales will grow 7.4 percent, rebounding from a nearly flat year in 2012, IDC said. Total mobile handset sales are expected to be some 1.8 billion, with more than ha
MS’ Xbox One to launch in 13 markets on Nov. 22

Sept 5, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Microsoft’s new Xbox One console will go on sale Nov. 22 in 13 launch countries, the U.S. tech giant said Wednesday.The company had previously said the entertainment and gaming console would be available sometime in November.In June, Microsoft said the launch would be in 21 countries, but last month cut that back to 13, saying the plan had been too ambitious.“We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere,” said Microsoft vice
Yahoo finally unveils new logo

Sept 5, 2013

SUNNYVALE (AP) ― Yahoo has adopted a new logo for the first time since shortly after the Internet company’s founding 18 years ago.The redesigned look unveiled late Wednesday is part of a makeover that Yahoo Inc. has been undergoing since the Sunnyvale, California, company hired Google executive Marissa Mayer to become Yahoo’s CEO 14 months ago.Mayer has already spruced up Yahoo’s front page, email and Flickr photo-sharing service, as well as engineered a series of acquisitions aimed at attractin
Auto sales rebound to pre-recession levels

Sept 5, 2013

General Motors, Ford, Chrysler sales rise by double digits in August