The Korea Herald

UAE opens world's largest solar power plant

Mar 17, 2013

MADINAT ZAYED, United Arab Emirates (AFP) -- Oil-rich Abu Dhabi on Sunday officially opened the world's largest Concentrated Solar Power plant, which cost $600 million to build and will provide electricity to 20,000 homes.The 100-megawatt Shams 1 is "the world's largest concentrated solar power plant in operation" said Sultan al-Jaber, the head of Abu Dhabi's Masdar, which oversees the emirate's plan to generate seven percent of its energy needs by 2020 from renewable sources."Today, Shams 1 is
Eurozone seeks to broker deal on Cyprus bailout

Mar 16, 2013

European finance ministers sought to hammer out a long-delayed bailout deal for Cyprus in a marathon negotiation early Saturday, in a bid to keep the island nation from a bankruptcy that could rekindle the region's debt crisis.If a rescue loan package is agreed on at the extraordinary meeting of the Eurogroup in Brussels, it's likely to come with tough conditions for Cyprus, including measures to shrink its troubled banking sector, raise taxes and privatize state assets. The bailout was initiall
New BOJ chief is advocate of strong monetary easing

Mar 15, 2013

TOKYO (AFP) ― Haruhiko Kuroda, confirmed Friday as the next Bank of Japan governor, is a finance veteran who has long pushed for the aggressive monetary easing demanded by Japan’s new government to stoke growth.The 68-year-old, who recently announced his decision to step down as the head of the Asian Development Bank, is known to be on close terms with key players in the world of global finance and central banking.He spent decades in the Japanese finance ministry and was responsible for internat
Pacific trade pact calls for tough Japan reforms

Mar 15, 2013

TOKYO (AP) ― Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is set to announce that Japan will join talks on a Pacific trade pact that would oblige the country to undertake major reforms, especially in farming.The expected announcement confirming plans to seek participation in the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, is raising protests from farmers opposed to opening protected home markets to foreign competition. Although rural voters are a traditional bastion of support for Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, m
EU leaders wrestle with austerity

Mar 15, 2013

BRUSSELS (AFP) ― European Union leaders wrestled with German demands for strict austerity and a French-Italian push for growth-friendly spending at a summit colored by fears that rampant unemployment is destroying the bloc, and clouded by a bailout for Cyprus.As thousands protested over European jobless lines stretching to 26 million, outgoing Italian premier Mario Monti o0n Thursday urged his peers to allow Italy, and other countries facing public finance pressures, to spend in order to create
EU lawmakers reject $1.3tr budget proposal

Mar 14, 2013

BRUSSELS (AP) ― The European Parliament overwhelmingly rejected a proposal for the European Union’s 960 billion euro ($1.3 trillion) budget Wednesday, in the latest example of the lawmakers’ newfound resolve to stand up to the bloc’s national leaders. “This is an important step for the European democracy,’’ said European Parliament President Martin Schulz. The seven-year plan ― brokered at a summit of the 27 heads of state and government last month after two days of nearly round-the-clock negoti
Google's top Android exec unexpectedly steps down

Mar 14, 2013

Andy Rubin has stepped down as the executive in charge of Google's Android operating system for smartphones and tablet computers, ending a seven-year reign that reshaped the technology industry.The unexpected change announced Wednesday may raise new questions about Android's direction as Google duels with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and a long list of other companies in the increasingly important mobile computing market.Google is replacing Rubin with Sundar Pichai, an executive in charge of the
Republicans sends mixed signals on Obama outreach

Mar 13, 2013

Republicans in the House of Representatives are sending mixed signals in agreeing to meet Wednesday with President Barack Obama for talks over the budget impasse.On the one hand, many Republicans who long have chided Obama for failing to engage their party on America's biggest problems are applauding his newfound outreach _ part of a concerted effort by the president to mend ties with Congress in hopes of reaching a grand compromise on fiscal issues. On the other hand, neither side is backing do
Egypt declines $750 million rescue loan from IMF

Mar 13, 2013

CAIRO (AP) ― Egypt’s finance minister says the government has rejected an offer of a $750 million rescue loan from the International Monetary Fund. The offer came after delays in finalizing a $4.8 billion loan to bolster Egypt’s battered economy.Finance Minister Mursi Saeed Hijazi says Egypt is working on an economic reform program and is focused on negotiations for the larger IMF loan, explaining why Egypt declined the $750 million IMF rescue. He said Tuesday that Egypt’s economy is on the path
Google pays $7m fine to settle Wi-Fi privacy case

Mar 13, 2013

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Google will pay a $7 million fine to settle a multistate investigation into a snoopy software program that enabled the Internet search leader to intercept emails, passwords and other sensitive information sent several years ago over unprotected wireless networks in neighborhoods across the world. The agreement announced Tuesday covers 38 states and the District of Columbia, part of the area where households and local merchants unwittingly had some of their communications on
U.S. approves Boeing’s 787 fix

Mar 13, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) ― A Boeing plan to redesign the 787 Dreamliner’s fire-plagued lithium-ion batteries won approval Tuesday from the Federal Aviation Administration, moving the cutting-edge planes a step closer to flying passengers again. The plan includes changes to the internal battery components to minimize the possibility of short-circuiting, which can lead to overheating and cause a fire. Among the changes are better insulation of the battery’s eight cells and the addition of a new containment
IMF’s Lipton urges officials to redouble bank oversight reform

Mar 13, 2013

The International Monetary Fund’s No. 2 official urged policy makers to clean up banks and strengthen oversight of their financial systems or risk stalling a recent rally in global markets. With the world economy still subdued, further repair of banks’ balance sheets is necessary, which may require more capital for some lenders and closure for others, David Lipton, the fund’s first deputy managing director, said in a speech in Washington Tuesday. He also called for unwinding of excessive public
Bank of Japan critic Iwata gains traction

Mar 13, 2013

Two opposition parties said they will support Kikuo Iwata for Bank of Japan deputy governor, reducing the risk that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will fail to win confirmation for all three of his central bank nominees. The endorsements put Iwata above the threshold needed to win confirmation in the upper house of parliament, provided lawmakers follow their party’s recommendations. The main opposition Democratic Party of Japan Tuesday said it would vote against Iwata while supporting Haruhiko Kuroda
Ryan plan kicks off U.S. budget fight

Mar 13, 2013

Ryan’s new budget, like the old, goes after Obama programs; he says it would lead to balance
U.K. industrial output drop fuels triple-dip concerns

Mar 12, 2013

U.K. industrial production unexpectedly fell in January as factory output slumped, fueling concerns that Britain may slip into a triple-dip recession.Production fell 1.2 percent from December, when it jumped 1.1 percent, the Office for National Statistics said today in London.The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 29 economists was for a 0.1 percent increase. Manufacturing also unexpectedly declined, by 1.5 percent. The pound fell.The U.K. economy shrank in the fourth quarter and the