The Korea Herald

U.S. retail sales jumped 1.1% in Sept.

Oct 16, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Americans stepped up their spending at retail businesses in September, reflecting higher consumer confidence. The increase was driven by another strong month of auto sales and the release of the iPhone5.Retail sales rose 1.1 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted $412.9 billion, the Commerce Department said Monday. That followed a 1.2 percent increase in August, which was revised slightly higher. Both were the largest gains since October 2010.Sales rose last month in most
Global economy distress looms as emerging markets falter

Oct 15, 2012

The global economy is facing its third major brake on expansion in five years as emerging markets slow from China to Brazil, provoking debate about how much policy makers should respond. Three years after industrializing nations led the world out of the U.S. mortgage meltdown-induced recession, the reliability of the power source is waning as Europe’s debt crisis persists. The International Monetary Fund sees them growing an average 5.8 percent in the half-decade through 2016, almost two percent
Softbank close to Sprint takeover bid: report

Oct 15, 2012

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Japanese mobile carrier Softbank could announce as early as Monday a $20 billion deal for a 70 percent stake in U.S. competitor Sprint Nextel, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.The newspaper, citing informed sources, said Softbank would buy $8 billion of shares directly from Sprint and another $12 billion of shares in the market. The deal could vault Softbank among the top three mobile firms in the world.The agreement would provide heavily indebted Sprint with liquidity to
Fischer backs Fed’s QE3

Oct 15, 2012

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said the world is “awfully close” to a recession, and backed the Federal Reserve’s increase in quantitative easing as strengthening its policy credibility. While there has been “a lot of progress made” to improve the global economy, its impact hasn’t materialized, Fischer said in an interview in Tokyo with Bloomberg Television airing Sunday. He signaled that by deciding not to set an end date or total amount to its third program of bond buying, the Fed is
Apple said to plan Oct. 23 debut for smaller iPad tablet

Oct 14, 2012

Apple Inc. may unveil a smaller version of the iPad at an event on Oct. 23, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the plans aren’t public. The new model will have a screen that’s 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally, less than the current 9.7-inch version, people familiar with the designs said in July. A smaller, less expensive iPad could undercut the tablet ambitions of Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc., according to Shaw Wu, an analyst at St
China exports jump but weakness seen ahead

Oct 14, 2012

BEIJING (AFP) ― Chinese exports rose 9.9 percent in September year-on-year to a record monthly high, the government said on Saturday, but analysts warned the performance was unsustainable given the weak global outlook.The national customs bureau also said the trade surplus of the world’s second-biggest economy, a source of friction with China’s trading partners, widened to $27.7 billion for the month, up from $26.7 billion in August.Global concern has mounted over a weakening trend in the Chines
Japan Inc. to spend $2.5b to save Renesas

Oct 14, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s state-backed turnaround fund and leading domestic manufacturers will invest 200 billion yen ($2.55 billion) in troubled chipmaker Renesas Electronics, a business daily reported Saturday.The government-backed Innovation Network Corp. of Japan will invest 150 billion yen to acquire two-thirds of Renesas shares, in a plan likely to be agreed next month, the Nikkei daily said.About 10 leading Japanese companies ― including Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Panasonic, Canon and Nikon ― are
Thousands protest in Spain, Portugal against austerity cuts

Oct 14, 2012

LISBON (AFP) ― Thousands of protesters in Portugal and Spain marched Saturday in fresh protests against the austerity measures their governments have imposed to tackle their debt crisis.Portuguese demonstrators staged marches that took on a festive air in the capital Lisbon and a number of other cities.In Lisbon, actors, singers, singers and dancers took center-stage on a special podium set in one of the city’s main squares.“Culture is resistance, the artists are in the street,” was the slogan f
Greece will leave euro within 6 months: Borg

Oct 14, 2012

As European Union leaders prepare for a summit next week devoted to saving the euro, Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg said Greece may quit the common currency within the next six months. “It’s most probable that they will leave,” Borg said Saturday on a conference call from Tokyo, where global finance officials have gathered for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund. “We shouldn’t rule out this happening in the next half-year.” Borg’s warning comes a day after the EU was awa
Monetary easing may cause developing world asset bubbles: IMF

Oct 14, 2012

Monetary easing in the developed world could cause overheating and asset bubbles in emerging economies, the International Monetary Fund's managing director said in Tokyo on Sunday."Accommodative monetary policies... could strain the capacity of those economies to absorb the potentially large flows and could lead to overheating asset price bubbles," Christine Lagarde said.Critics in emerging nation
US deficit tops $1 trillion for fourth year

Oct 13, 2012

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. budget deficit has topped $1 trillion for a fourth straight year, but a modest improvement in economic growth helped narrow the gap by $207 billion compared with last year.The Treasury Department said Friday the deficit for the 2012 budget year totaled $1.1 trillion. Tax revenue rose 6.4 percent from last year to more than $2.4 trillion, helping contain the deficit.The gover
Greece’s biggest firm quits country

Oct 12, 2012

ATHENS (AFP) ― Coca-Cola’s second biggest bottler worldwide said on Thursday it was moving its headquarters from Greece to Switzerland and looking to establish a listing on the London stock exchange.With the move, the company joins other businesses based in Greece that have chosen other shores after five years of recession and amid fears that Athens could leave the eurozone.“Having a new headquarters in Switzerland will provide stability that will be evaluated by credit agencies,” Chief Executiv
Softbank eyes monster Sprint takeover

Oct 12, 2012

TOKYO (AFP) ― Japanese mobile carrier Softbank is eyeing a monster $25 billion buy-in to the U.S. telecom market including the takeover of Sprint Nextel in what could be among Japan Inc.’s biggest-ever overseas deals.But investors threw cold water on the potential marriage as shares of Softbank, Japan’s third-biggest carrier, plunged 16 percent to 2,420 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange by the morning close.Sprint Nextel confirmed Thursday it was talking with Softbank about a takeover, which could
IMF, WB urge focus on fair growth

Oct 12, 2012

Chiefs urge work on fair, sustainable growth; medium-term reduction in debtTOKYO (AP) ― Sacrificing growth for the sake of austerity could put the entire world economy in jeopardy, the head of the International Monetary Fund told global financial leaders Friday, calling for medium-term work to bring down debt levels and urgent action to get the unemployed back to work.In a forward-looking speech to fellow financial leaders at the IMF and World Bank annual meeting in Tokyo, IMF chief Christine La
EADS and BAE merger collapses

Oct 11, 2012

PARIS (AFP) ― A merger to create the biggest aerospace and defense group in the world from EADS and BAE Systems collapsed on Wednesday, brought down by unexpectedly strong opposition from Germany.The two groups issued a statement announcing the failure, and quickly reticence from Berlin was seen as the deciding factor.“I’m ready to admit that we never expected to face such opposition against the deal, in particular not in Berlin,” EADS chief executive Tom Enders said in a letter to employees.End