The Korea Herald

U.S. billionaire Buffett optimistic on stocks

May 6, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― Billionaire Warren Buffett is praising the policies of both President Barack Obama and his predecessor George W. Bush for moving the U.S. economy in the right direction.U.S. stocks soared to new closing records Friday after a strong U.S. jobs report that saw unemployment fall to 7.5 percent revived confidence in the economic recovery.The 82-year-old investor known as the “Oracle of Omaha” said he was optimistic that stock prices would continue to rise.“They don’t look overpric
Dell computers sold to Syria despite sanctions

May 5, 2013

Dell Inc., the world’s third-largest personal-computer maker, said it’s investigating allegations that one of its resellers was involved in a possible transaction with Syria. Computer equipment from Dell has been sold to the Syrian government through BDL Gulf, an authorized reseller for Dell in the Middle East and Africa, the New York Times reported Friday, citing emails, cash-transfer statements and other documents. “We have no details to provide on the investigation except that it is under way
Solar plane lands in Arizona, 1st leg of trip

May 5, 2013

PHOENIX (AP) ― Alone in the single-seat cockpit and high above the U.S. Southwest, pilot Bertrand Piccard could hear only his plane’s gear box and the quiet whine of four electric motors. No noisy jet engines.He was flying Solar Impulse, considered the world’s most advanced sun-powered plane.Piccard piloted the craft for 20 hours, first cruising along the California coast after taking off from Moffett Field in Mountain View near San Francisco just after dawn Friday. He passed over Edwards Air Fo
EU forecast says eurozone recession to continue in 2013

May 5, 2013

BRUSSELS (AP) ― Europe will take longer to recover from its economic crisis as it tackles a worse-than-expected recession in the eurozone and unemployment at record levels, the European Union warned Friday. In its spring economic forecast, the EU said that gross domestic product in the 17 member countries that use the euro will shrink by 0.4 percent this year, better than the 0.6 percent contraction in 2012 but 0.1 percentage points worse than the EU had forecast back in February.The report also
Obama ends Latin America trip with focus on boosting trade

May 5, 2013

SAN JOSE (AFP) ― U.S. President Barack Obama turned the spotlight on economic ties with Latin America on Saturday, as he concluded a three-day trip to a region roiled by drug violence.Obama sought to shift the narrative away from the drug war during visits to Mexico and Costa Rica this week, praising trade as a path to fighting poverty and creating jobs that turn young people away from a life of crime.“The United States recognizes that our fate is tied up with your success,” Obama told an econom
Mexico’s WTO candidate, a veteran trade negotiator

May 5, 2013

MEXICO CITY (AFP) ― Herminio Blanco, Mexico’s candidate to lead the World Trade Organization, is a seasoned trade negotiator between wealthy and developing nations who vows to bring credibility back to the global body.The 62-year-old is no stranger to hard bargaining, having been at the center of the North American Free Trade Agreement a historic pact that came into force in 1994, unleashing massive commerce between the three nations.For his candidacy to succeed Frenchman Pascal Lamy as WTO dire
U.S. employers add 165K jobs, rate falls to 7.5%

May 3, 2013

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated. The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6 percent to a four-year low of 7.5 percent.The report Friday from the Labor Department was a reassuring sign that the U.S. job market is improving despite higher taxes and government spending cuts that took effect this year.The only sectors of the economy that cut jobs last month were construction an
ECB cuts interest rate to 0.5%

May 3, 2013

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ― The European Central Bank cut its key interest rate to a record low 0.50 percent Thursday and announced other measures to spur lending and help lift the euro area out of a stubborn recession.ECB president Mario Draghi said the bank was prepared to flex its muscles further in the face of high and rising unemployment and growing evidence that Europe’s economy is getting weaker. He said the ECB stood “ready to act if needed,” but he also implored European governments ― whi
EU predicts Eurozone recession to continue in 2013

May 3, 2013

Europe will take longer to recover from its economic crisis as it tackles a worse-than-expected recession in the eurozone and unemployment at record levels, the European Union warned Friday. In its spring economic forecast, the EU said that gross domestic product in the 17 member countries that use the euro will shrink by 0.4 percent this year, better than the 0.6 percent contraction in 2012 but 0.1 percentage points worse than the EU had forecast back in February.The report also had bad news fo
Apple avoids $9.2 billion in taxes with debt deal

May 3, 2013

Apple Inc. avoided as much as $9.2 billion in taxes by financing part of a $55 billion stock buyback with debt rather than offshore cash that would have been billed by the U.S. government, Moody’s Investment Services estimates. Based on current rates, Apple will pay interest of about $308 million a year on the $17 billion bond offering, said Gerald Granovsky, a senior vice president at Moody’s. “From a pure corporate-finance theory perspective, this was a no-brainer,” Granovsky said. If the fund
Japan signs nuclear cooperation deal with UAE

May 3, 2013

Japan and the United Arab Emirates signed on Thursday a nuclear cooperation agreement during a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who stressed Tokyo's cooperation with its Middle East partners.Abe is on a regional tour he began in Saudi Arabia, in a push to sell Japanese nuclear technologies.The cooperation agreement over a peaceful use of nuclear energy was signed in Dubai, in the presence of Abe and UAE Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashif al-Maktoum, WAM state news agency said. The UAE a
Samsung and Apple develop smartwatches as Sony lags behind

May 2, 2013

Firms target gadget breakthrough as time runs out on another Sony device
Italy pushes for European banking union

May 2, 2013

PARIS (AP) ― Italy’s new premier pressed on Wednesday for the creation of a full-fledged European banking union and said he wants results before the EU summit next month. Enrico Letta said at a news conference Wednesday with French President Francois Hollande that “we mustn’t waste time on this.” “We have decided it. We have to do it,” he said, adding it’s a way to create jobs by helping companies get lower interest rates. Letta was in Paris a day after taking office. He visited Germany on Tuesd
Mobile ads help grow Facebook's 1Q revenue 38%

May 2, 2013

A year ago, Facebook was just testing the waters of mobile advertising, causing plenty of headaches for investors ahead of its massive initial public offering.It has since eased those worries.On Wednesday the world's biggest social networking company said nearly a third of its advertising revenue came from mobile in the first three months of the year, helping to push total revenue up 38 percent to surpass Wall Street's expectations.“They are making the transition to mobile faster than anyone ant
Fed keeps stimulus, says taxes and cuts have hurt

May 2, 2013

The Federal Reserve cautioned America's political leaders Wednesday that their policies are hurting the economy.The Fed stood by its aggressive efforts to stimulate the economy and reduce unemployment. But it sent its clearest signal to date that tax increases and spending cuts that kicked in this year are slowing the economy.“Fiscal policy is restraining economic growth,” the Fed said in a statement after a two-day policy meeting.The Fed maintained its plan to keep short-term interest rates at