The Korea Herald

Stronger job market could boost U.S. economy further

Feb 17, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― The healthier job market that’s lifted the economy in recent months shows no signs of slowing.Applications for unemployment aid are near a four-year low, raising expectations of further hiring gains. The news Thursday helped catapult the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close since May 2008.More jobs and tame inflation are giving consumers more buying power. Their higher spending could further boost growth and lower the unemployment rate for February for a sixth stra
U.K. unemployment hits 8.4 percent in Q4

Feb 16, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Britain’s unemployment rate edged up to 8.4 percent in the last quarter of 2011, official figures showed Wednesday, as 48,000 people lost their jobs compared with the previous three-month period.The Office for National Statistics said the unemployment rate has not been higher since 1995. It rose from 8.3 percent in the three months through September and was unchanged from the three months through November.Wages excluding bonuses were up 2 percent, compared with 1.9 percent in the t
Oil prices climb as Iran stops some Europe exports

Feb 16, 2012

NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices climbed to the highest level in five weeks after Iran said it will cut off some crude exports to Europe in retaliation for a planned embargo later this year.　 Benchmark U.S. crude rose by $1.06 to end the day at $101.80 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil that‘s imported by refineries, rose by $1.58 to finish at $118.93 per barrel in London.　 Stopping Iranian shipments means European refineries will have to find new sources of oil s
Qantas to slash jobs, cut costs as first-half profit slumps

Feb 16, 2012

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Embattled Australian carrier Qantas said Thursday it will slash at least 500 jobs, cut costs and close two routes after posting an 83 percent slump in first half net profits.The airline’s result in the six months to December came in at Aus$42 million ($44.8 million), compared to Aus$241 million in the previous corresponding period, due to high fuel costs and the grounding of its fleet in October.Chief executive Alan Joyce pulled all the airline’s planes out of the skies for 48 hou
Olympus ex-chairman Kikukawa arrested over accounts: report

Feb 16, 2012

Former Olympus Corp. Chairman Tsuyoshi Kikukawa was arrested by Japanese prosecutors investigating his part in a $1.7 billion accounting fraud, Kyodo News reported, without citing anyone. The Japanese camera maker is facing shareholder lawsuits and may be subject to further criminal investigation after admitting to a 13-year cover-up. The company restated past securities reports and took a $1.3 billion reduction in net assets in December. Olympus’ Tokyo headquarters and its affiliated offices we
India, China attack EU on airline carbon tax

Feb 15, 2012

NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India and China joined forces on Tuesday in saying they firmly rejected the EU’s “unilateral” decision to impose a carbon tax on air travel.The European Union imposed the tax with effect from Jan. 1, but no airline will face a bill until 2013 after this year’s carbon emissions have been tallied.“We strongly oppose the EU’s unilateral trade measure in the name of climate change,” India’s environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters at the conclusion of the BASIC Minist
India’s Tata Motor profit up 41%

Feb 15, 2012

MUMBAI (AFP) ― India’s top vehicle maker Tata Motors posted a 41 percent jump in quarterly net profit on Tuesday, beating forecasts, thanks to strong sales of its British luxury icons, Jaguar and Land Rover.The company said its global operations, including Jaguar and Land Rover, showed a consolidated net profit of 34.06 billion rupees ($681 million) for the three months to the end of December, up from 24.2 billion rupees a year earlier.“Our sales in United States have increased and its economy h
Oil embargo on Iran will drive up prices: OPEC

Feb 15, 2012

TEHRAN (AFP) ― U.S. and EU sanctions on Iran’s oil exports will drive up oil prices globally because no viable alternative exists for the Islamic republic’s output, Iran’s envoy to OPEC was quoted as saying by the Mehr news agency on Tuesday.“If there were an assured substitute for a big oil exporter then the sanctions would not send a price shock to the market .... (But) conditions in different nations show that, in present circumstances, a substitute does not exist,” Mohammad Ali Khatibi said.
U.S. retail sales gain points to modest growth

Feb 15, 2012

Sales rose modest 0.4% as consumers rebound from weak holiday seasonWASHINGTON (AP) ― Americans rebounded from a weak holiday season and stepped up spending on retail goods in January. The latest government report on retail sales pointed to a slowly improving economy. Retail sales rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Consumers spent more on electronics, home and garden supplies, sporting goods, at department and general merchandise stores an
China says ready to help solve EU crisis

Feb 15, 2012

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s Premier Wen Jiabao said Tuesday his country was ready to increase its participation in efforts to resolve Europe’s debt crisis, after holding talks with EU leaders in Beijing.Wen said China wanted to see Europe ― its biggest trading partner ― “maintain stability and prosperity,” a day after ratings agency Moody’s downgraded Italy, Spain and Portugal.The two sides also agreed during the talks to give fresh impetus to Beijing’s efforts to attain full market economy status f
Angry Birds fly to Facebook

Feb 15, 2012

“Angry Bird,” the most-downloaded mobile app of 2011, was catapulted to the world of Facebook on Tuesday in a bid by its Finnish maker Rovio to get one billion people playing the addictive game.True to the game’s quirky theme, a bird flung at a pig on a giant screen marked its official Facebook laun
Yahoo’s talks to sell Asian assets unravel

Feb 15, 2012

Sources say company’s talks to sell stakes in Alibaba, Yahoo Japan break down; deal in limboSAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― As Yahoo tries to head in a new direction, the fate of the struggling Internet company’s Asian holdings remains in limbo. The negotiations to sell Yahoo’s stakes in China’s Alibaba Group and Yahoo Japan abruptly broke off in a disagreement over the sales price and the best way to get the complex deal done, according to a person familiar with the matter. Another person familiar with ta
McDonald’s asks suppliers to stop using hog crates

Feb 15, 2012

A Happy Meal is displayed for a photograph on a tray at a McDonald's Corp. restaurant in New Jersey, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. McDonald's Corp. said sales rose 6.7 percent globally last month. (Bloomberg)McDonald’s Corp. said Monday it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to provide plans
Obama sends $3.8 trillion budget to Congress

Feb 14, 2012

President Barack Obama sent Congress a $3.8 trillion budget plan Monday with stimulus spending and tax increases for the wealthiest Americans, spelling out election- year priorities that drew immediate Republican opposition. Obama is proposing more money for jobs, highways and bridges, schools, student aid and manufacturing research as well as higher taxes for corporations, banks and oil, natural gas and coal companies, even as the nation’s debt grows faster than the administration predicted in
Fitch, S&P downgrade Spanish banks

Feb 14, 2012

MADRID (AFP) ― Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s on Monday lowered their credit rating of Spanish banks, including the country’s four largest lenders, following their downgrade of Spain last month.Fitch cut its rating for Santander, the biggest eurozone bank by market capitalisation, by two notches to “A” and cut its ratings for BBVA, Bankia and CaixaBank by one notch.Standard & Poor’s cut its rating for the banks ― Spain’s four biggest ― as well as for 11 other Spanish lenders.The agency lowe