The Korea Herald

Golfer K.J. Choi wins award for charity work

Feb 7, 2013

South Korean PGA Tour veteran Choi Kyung-ju on Thursday was named a recipient of an award for his extensive charity work off the field.The Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) said Choi, affectionately called K.J. Choi outside of Korea, is the 2013 winner of its Charlie Bartlett Award. Named after the first secretary of the GWAA, the award recognizes professional golfers for their “contributions to the betterment of society.” Choi, 42, was acknowledged for his support for relief efforts an
China promises action on income gap

Feb 6, 2013

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s government has issued a sweeping pledge to narrow the politically volatile gulf between its rich and poor with measures including requiring state companies to turn over more profits to pay for social programs.The pledge Tuesday promised more spending on health, education and job training but gave few details and no sign of how Beijing will enforce changes that might hurt state industry and other politically influential factions.Communist leaders have promised repeatedly to
Dell buyout highlights PC sector woes

Feb 6, 2013

Dell and the investment firm Silver Lake have struck a $24.4 billion deal
Hollande sees tough EU summit ahead

Feb 6, 2013

STRASBOURG, France (AP) ― French President Francois Hollande on Tuesday warned British Prime Minister David Cameron not to hijack this week’s European Union summit with excessive demands on cuts in the European Union budget while refusing to make concessions themselves. In his address to the European Parliament, Hollande said the 2014-2020 EU budget of some 1 trillion euros ($1.35 trillion) was open to some savings but insisted the leaders at Thursday’s summit should not compromise innovation an
Shirakawa accelerates BOJ exit

Feb 6, 2013

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa will step down on March 19, almost three weeks before his term was due, accelerating a leadership transition that may aid Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign for aggressive easing. Shirakawa, 63, will exit the same day as two deputy governors, he told reporters in Tokyo Tuesday. He was scheduled to leave on April 8. Japan’s currency slid, adding to losses against the dollar since Abe’s administration took office in December on a platform of greater monet
‘U.S. deficit cuts will slow growth’

Feb 6, 2013

Congressional Budget Office says budget deficit estimated at $845 billion
New BlackBerry to be released in U.S. in mid-March

Feb 5, 2013

TORONTO (AP) ― The chief executive of Research In Motion said he’s disappointed the new BlackBerry won’t be released in the United States until mid-March, but he said early data suggests sales in the U.K. are above expectations.Thorsten Heins said in an interview Monday with the Associated Press that he was disappointed in the mid-March U.S. release date. But he said the U.S. and its phone carriers have a rigid testing system. “We need to respect that. Am I a bit disappointed? Yeah, I would be l
Boeing seeks test flights for 787

Feb 5, 2013

Boeing Co. asked the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration for approval to resume test flights with the 787 Dreamliner while the plane remains grounded during an investigation of battery faults. The FAA is still considering that request, according to an agency official, who asked not to be identified because the details aren’t yet public. The planemaker would operate any such flights with existing test aircraft, Marc Birtel, a company spokesman, said Monday in a telephone interview. “Boeing has s
UBS posts loss on LIBOR fine

Feb 5, 2013

ZURICH (AFP) ― Swiss banking giant UBS announced on Tuesday a net loss of 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.7 billion) as fines from the LIBOR rate-fixing scandal weighed on results.In the final quarter of last year UBS suffered a net loss of 1.8 billion francs when it booked provisions for the combined fines of 1.4 billion francs from regulators as well as restructuring costs.The full-year net loss was higher than expectations, with analysts surveyed by the Swiss financial news agency AWP foreseeing
Spain bank cleanup at ‘advanced stage’: IMF

Feb 5, 2013

WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The International Monetary Fund said Monday that Spain’s reforms under its financial-sector support program are close to being complete and that the cleanup of its weakest banks is well-advanced.“The program remains on track: the clean-up of undercapitalized banks has reached an advanced stage, and key reforms of Spain’s financial sector framework have been either adopted or designed,” the IMF said.In a monitoring mission report, the IMF said that most of the measures required
Obama’s spending plan said to be delayed until March

Feb 5, 2013

President Barack Obama probably won’t send his fiscal 2014 budget to Congress until sometime in March, according to a defense official with knowledge of the budget process. The delay of the president’s spending blueprint, which the law says is supposed to be delivered to lawmakers Monday, drew immediate criticism from Republicans, who have been battling Obama over tax and spending issues. “For the fourth time in five years this White House has proven it does not take trillion-dollar deficits ser
U.S. set to sue S&P over ratings

Feb 5, 2013

S&P says it expects to be sued by Justice Department over its ratings of mortgage-backed bonds
Celebs, babies, beer: It’s Super Bowl ad time

Feb 4, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) ― Sex sells. Babies sell even more. And advertisers are hoping animals will make you laugh all the way to their stores.While the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens battle on the field during Super Bowl XLVII, marketers from Best Buy to M&M to Toyota are competing against each other on advertising’s biggest stage. And they’re doing so by pulling out the most persuasive tools of their trade.The stakes are high, with 30-second spots going for as much as $4 million this year.
Barclays announces departure of bank staff

Feb 4, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― Barclays on Monday said that its finance director and top legal expert had decided to leave the bank, as the British lender undergoes a shake-up in the wake of the Libor rate-rigging scandal.“Barclays has today announced that the Group Finance Director Chris Lucas, and the Group General Counsel Mark Harding, have decided to retire from the company,” the bank said in a statement.The pair would remain in their roles until the appointment of successors ― a process expected “to take a
‘British banks face break-up if fail to ring-fence’

Feb 4, 2013

LONDON (AFP) ― Britain’s biggest banks will face being broken up if they fail to ring-fence their retail and investment arms, under draft legislation set to be announced by finance minister George Osborne on Monday.The new law will empower the government and a new banking watchdog to “electrify the ring-fence” if banks refuse to separate high-risk operations from savers’ deposits.Launching the Banking Reform Bill, Chancellor of the Exchequer Osborne was due to say that banks will no longer be ab