The Korea Herald

U.S. economy accelerates 2.5% in Q1

Apr 28, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Americans shrugged off higher taxes to lift the U.S. economy at the start of the year. Government spending fell, though, and the impact of the tax increases along with federal budget cuts could slow growth later this year. Economic growth accelerated to a 2.5 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That was up from an anemic 0.4 percent annual growth rate in the October-December quarter. Consumer spending surged at an annual rate o
Spain begs time to fix finances, eyes growth

Apr 28, 2013

MADRID (AFP) ― Spain forecast Friday it would climb out of its bitter recession in 2014 but needed two extra years to meet the European Union’s target for reining in its public deficit.It announced its latest gloomy growth forecast for the current year along with a “stability plan” that aims to spur economic growth after more than a year of harsh cutbacks.The government said Spain’s economy, the eurozone’s fourth-biggest, would shrink by 1.3 percent in 2013 and timidly return to growth of 0.5 pe
Air traffic returning to normal

Apr 28, 2013

FAA suspends furloughs, says air traffic system to resume normal operations
Honda's quarterly profit rises despite China woes

Apr 26, 2013

Honda's fiscal fourth quarter profit rose nearly 6 percent as the Japanese automaker's recovery from floods in Thailand the previous year offset recent sales losses in China. Honda Motor Co. reported Friday a quarterly profit of 75.7 billion yen ($765 million), up from 71.5 billion yen the same period the previous year. Quarterly sales jumped 14 percent to 2.74 trillion yen ($27.7 billion).Also coming as good news for Japanese exporters like Honda is the weak yen, as it raises the value of overs
Below-par U.S. growth keeps the pressure on markets

Apr 26, 2013

The mood in financial markets remained subdued Friday after a surprisingly big fall in Japanese consumer prices and lower than expected first-quarter U.S. economic growth.The news that the U.S. economy grew by only 2.5 percent on an annualized basis during the first three months of the year was a disappointment as the consensus in the markets was for a rise of around 3 percent compared with the previous quarter's 0.4 percent. After a run of disappointing U.S. economic news, the smaller than expe
Bank of Japan boosts economy, inflation view

Apr 26, 2013

TOKYO (AFP) ― The Bank of Japan on Friday boosted its inflation and economic growth projections for the world’s third-largest economy as it eyes an end to years of deflation.The semi-annual report, which came as the BOJ stood pat on new policy measures, estimated 2.9 percent growth in the economy for the fiscal year to March, up from an earlier 2.3 percent projection made in January. It also tipped inflation to hit 0.7 percent, also up from an earlier 0.4 percent projection.“Japan’s economy has
FAA says Boeing 787 can fly

Apr 26, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued formal approval of Boeing’s 787 battery fix that will clear the way for the troubled aircraft to fly again after a three-month grounding.The move was quickly followed by regulators in Japan who said they would also allow the resumption of flights by the grounded aircraft following the FAA order, which they said would come into effect Friday.Japan Airlines and domestic rival All Nippon Airways account for half the Dreamliners in s
Japan’s Nakao elected ADB president

Apr 26, 2013

MANILA (AFP) ― Takehiko Nakao, a former Japan vice minister for finance, has been elected president of Asian Development Bank, the Philippines-based lender announced Friday.Nakao, 57, replaces compatriot Haruhiko Kuroda, who stepped down last month to become governor of Japan’s central bank.Nakao, a former vice minister of finance for international affairs, will assume office as ADB’s ninth president on Sunday, P. Chidambaram, chairman of the ADB board of governors, said in a statement.“His exte
Boeing: Cause of 787 battery fires remains mystery

Apr 26, 2013

A Boeing engineer said Thursday that the cause of the battery problems that have grounded the company's 787 Dreamliners may never be known.The engineering leader for the 787, Richard J. Horigan, said the root cause of smoldering batteries experienced by the two different 787s may never be known because the evidence was destroyed by heat. “When we say a root-cause we want to know exactly what happened, what size particles caused the cell to vent ... and we may never get there because the evidence
European recession hits carmakers

Apr 25, 2013

Recession a drag on earnings for VW, Ford, other big car makers; no recovery in sight
RBA to invest foreign currency reserves in China

Apr 25, 2013

Australia’s central bank plans to invest about 5 percent of its foreign currency reserves in China as it deepens ties with the world’s second-largest economy, Deputy Governor Philip Lowe said. The decision “represents the first time that the RBA will have invested directly in a sovereign bond market of an Asian country other than Japan,” Lowe said in a speech Wednesday in Shanghai. “It reflects the broader economic relationship between China and Australia and our increasing financial ties.” The
Redesigned $100 bill ready by October: Fed

Apr 25, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that it will begin circulating a redesigned $100 bill this fall, more than two years after its initial target. The Fed has set a new target date of Oct. 8. The redesigned note incorporates added security features, such as a blue, 3-D security ribbon and a disappearing Liberty Bell in an inkwell. The features are designed to thwart counterfeiters. The revamped bill had been expected to go into circulation in February 2011. But in December
White House open to flexibility in FAA cuts

Apr 25, 2013

Pressured by Senate Democrats, White House says it’s open to fix on FAA furloughs
Predictions of ECB rate cut grow

Apr 25, 2013

Doubts about Europe’s chance for recovery drive investors to price in ECB interest rate cut
Boeing sees early-May restart of 787 deliveries

Apr 25, 2013

Boeing reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit even as it scrambled to fix its grounded 787.The company said on Wednesday that deliveries of the 787 should resume in early May. Most of the 50 planes that have been delivered to airlines will be fixed by the middle of the month, Chairman and CEO Jim McNerney said on the company's quarterly earnings conference call.Resuming deliveries and passenger flights would cap a notable turnaround for Boeing. The three-month grounding over batter