The Korea Herald

OECD urges G20 to seize ‘once in century’ chance to fight tax cheats

Sept 5, 2013

SAINT-PETERSBURG (AFP) ― The OECD on Wednesday urged G20 leaders meeting in Saint Petersburg to seize a “once in a century” chance to clamp down on tax cheats by agreeing on an automatic exchange of banking data.“Moments like these come once in a century,” Pascal Saint-Amans, who in charge of tax issues for the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, told AFP ahead of the summit Thursday.As many countries in the developed world are seeking ways to boost their state fin
U.S. growth still ‘modest to moderate’

Sept 5, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― U.S. economic growth has held firm at a “modest to moderate” pace since July, with activity steady or gaining in most sectors, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book review said Wednesday.In a report likely to support a move soon toward lower stimulus spending by the Fed, most of its 12 regions reported that consumer spending, travel, manufacturing and demand for services had risen since the previous survey.Job creation was also steady or improved, and inflation was under control ar
IMF warns G20 of slowing emerging economies

Sept 5, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund warned the Group of 20 Wednesday that emerging economies were slowing more than expected and under pressure from U.S. plans to slow its stimulus.In a report prepared for the two-day summit of the G20 major economies that opens Thursday in St. Petersburg, Russia, the IMF said that recent indicators pointed to stronger growth in several advanced countries, but key emerging economies have slowed.Since its July report on global developments and risk
iPhone expected to star at Apple event Sept. 10

Sept 4, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Apple on Tuesday fired off invitations to a Sept. 10 event at which it is expected to spice up its iPhone line and unveil a low-priced version.In true Apple style, the invitations revealed little. The message, “This should brighten everyone’s day” was below the company logo on a page dotted with brightly colored circles.The design seemed to lend credence to unconfirmed reports that Apple plans to release iPhones in a rainbow of colors, including gold.The special event will
New Kodak focusing on tech innovations

Sept 4, 2013

A newer, slimmer Kodak finally emerges from bankruptcy protection
S&P calls U.S. lawsuit ‘retaliation’ for downgrade

Sept 4, 2013

McGraw Hill Financial Inc.’s Standard & Poor’s unit called the $5 billion fraud lawsuit filed against it by the federal government “retaliation” for the ratings company’s downgrade of U.S. creditworthiness. S&P said the government brought “selective, punitive and meritless litigation” after the company exercised “free speech rights with respect to the creditworthiness of the United States of America,” according to a filing Tuesday in federal court in Santa Ana, California, responding to the gove
Germans hide cash in diapers

Sept 4, 2013

Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places. With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, the government wants the industry to stop managing undeclared funds. This requirement, combined with high-profile cases such as Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness, who is charged with using a Swiss account to evade paying taxes, and the purchase of client data by German officials, has frightened tax c
Xi: China chose slowdown to allow economic adjustment

Sept 4, 2013

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the government opted for slower growth this year to allow it to adjust the structure of the nation’s economy. China would “rather bring down the growth rate to a certain extent in order to solve the fundamental problems” hindering long-run development, Xi said in a written interview Tuesday with media outlets from Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, according to a transcript distributed by the official Xinhua News Agency. Xi and his lead
Australian holds rates at 2.5%

Sept 3, 2013

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Australia’s central bank on Tuesday left interest rates on hold at a historic low of 2.5 percent, in a widely expected move four days ahead of national elections.The Reserve Bank of Australia last month cut rates to their lowest level since it was established in 1959, underscoring fears of a slowdown as country’s the decade-long mining boom slows down.On Tuesday RBA governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement: “At its meeting today, the board decided to leave the cash rate unchange
Italy imposes tax on high-frequency trading

Sept 3, 2013

ROME (AFP) ― Italy implemented a new tax on high-frequency trading on Monday, becoming the first country to impose a levy on an opaque and little-regulated market.The 0.02-percent levy applies to derivatives deals lasting less than half a second and is the second part of new financial transaction taxes being imposed in Italy.It applies to transactions involving Italian stocks or indices and is calculated based on the product‘s overall value.A tax on all share transactions was installed in March.
Storm ending for Asia’s emerging markets

Sept 3, 2013

The worst may be over for Asian emerging markets, according to Nomura Holdings Inc., after investors pulled billions of dollars last month on concern the U.S. Federal Reserve will start cutting back bond purchases. “We’re through the worst of the crisis but it doesn’t mean individual countries won’t continue to suffer significant challenges,” Steve Ashley, London-based head of global markets at Nomura, said in an interview. “We remain relatively positive on the longer term performance of risk as
HTC employees detained amid trade secrets probe

Sept 2, 2013

HTC Corp. employees were detained by Taiwan authorities after the smartphone maker alleged that some of its trade secrets were breached. Five people, including four employees in research and development at HTC, were questioned after a complaint by the company, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Huang Mou-hsin said by phone. Two workers were detained while the others were released on bail, according to Huang. Shares fell as much as 5.1 percent in Taipei before trading 4.5 percent lower at NT$149.50 as of 10
Lenovo chief splits bonus with workers for second year

Sept 2, 2013

Lenovo Group Ltd., the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, said Chief Executive Officer Yang Yuanqing will share his bonus with employees for a second straight year after achieving record shipments and sales. A pool of 10,000 workers will get payments this month to recognize their contributions Gina Qiao, senior vice president of Human Resources, said in a memo to some workers. The memo was confirmed by spokesman Jeffrey Shafer, who said the total payment is about $3.25 million. Lenovo
Apple launches iPhone trade-in program in U.S.

Sept 1, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Apple on Friday began letting U.S. iPhone owners trade in their smartphones for credit toward buying new models.The California company’s trade-in program kicked off in the wake of unconfirmed reports of a Sept. 10 event at which Apple will unveil new iPhones, with rumors ranging from a gold handset to a low-price version aimed at emerging markets.“iPhones hold great value,” Apple spokeswoman Amy Bessette said in an email to AFP.“So Apple Retail Stores are launching a new pr
China factory activity rises in August

Sept 1, 2013

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s manufacturing activity strengthened in August, official figures showed Sunday, the latest data to suggest that the world’s second-largest economy is stabilising.The official purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.0 last month from 50.3 in July, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics.The index tracks manufacturing activity in China’s factories and workshops and is a closely watched gauge of the health of the economy. A reading below 50 indicates