The Korea Herald

Chipmakers lose as iPad challenges PCs

Nov 29, 2011

Apple Inc.’s iPad is the bane of computer-memory makers, worsening the industry’s losses as consumers choose the hand-held device that uses about 75 percent fewer of the chips than a typical laptop. Elpida Memory Inc., Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and other makers of dynamic random-access memory, the most common chip in computers, lost a combined $14 billion in the past three years, according to Bloomberg calculations. That comes after the $37 billion that researcher DRAMeXchange estimates they spen
Toyota introduces high-tech concept car ahead of show

Nov 29, 2011

TOKYO (AP) ― Toyota’s president unveiled a futuristic concept car resembling a giant smartphone to demonstrate how Japan’s top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology at the upcoming Tokyo auto show.Toyota Motor Corp. will also be showing an electric vehicle, set for launch next year, and a tiny version of the hit Prius gas-electric hybrid at the Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the public this weekend.But the automaker’s president, Akio Toyoda, chose to focus on the experimental Fun-
Facebook said to plan $10b IPO at $100b valuation

Nov 29, 2011

Facebook Inc. is considering raising about $10 billion in an initial public offering that would value the world’s largest social-networking site at more than $100 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said. The company may file for the IPO before the end of the year, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. Exact timing for the filing hasn’t been determined, the person said. Facebook’s $100 billion valuation would be twice as high as it was
Shoppers snap up Cyber Monday deals

Nov 29, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Shoppers seem to be just as enthusiastic about shopping on their computers and smartphones on Cyber Monday as they were about finding deals over the weekend.Online sales on Cyber Monday, which was started in 2005 by a retail trade group to encourage Americans to shop online on the Monday after Thanksgiving, were up mid-afternoon by 15 percent from a year ago, according to data from IBM Benchmark. Meanwhile, sales from mobile devices were up 7.4 percent. The group did not give dol
Moody’s to review 87 banks in 15 countries

Nov 29, 2011

Moody’s Investors Service said it’s considering lowering debt ratings for banks in 15 European nations to reflect the potential removal of government support. All subordinated, junior-subordinated and Tier 3 debt ratings of 87 banks in countries where the subordinated debt incorporates an assumption of government support were placed on review for downgrade, the ratings company said in a statement Tuesday. The subordinated debt may be cut on average by two levels, with the rest lowered by one gra
Fitch keeps AAA US credit rating but dims outlook

Nov 29, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Fitch said Monday that it will keep its rating for long-term U.S. debt at the top AAA level, despite a congressional panel's failure to agree on long-term deficit cuts. But it is lowering its outlook to negative.The rating agency said it has less confidence in the federal governmen
U.S. holiday weekend sales climb to record $52.4 billion: NRF

Nov 28, 2011

U.S. retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend climbed 16 percent to a record as shoppers flocked to stores earlier and spent more, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales totaled $52.4 billion, and the average shopper spent $398.62 during the holiday weekend, up from $365.34 a year earlier, the Washington-based trade group said in a statement Sunday, citing a survey conducted by BIGresearch. More than a third of that ― an average of $150.53 ― was spent online. “Consumers are clearly d
China keen to invest in West’s infrastructure

Nov 28, 2011

BEIJING (AP) ― China’s sovereign wealth fund wants to invest in improving neglected U.S. and European roads and other infrastructure to spur global growth, the fund’s chairman said in comments published Monday.The announcement reflects a shift in strategy for the $410 billion fund, which was created in 2007. Until now, it has limited its investments mostly to small stakes in publicly traded companies to avoid stirring political opposition overseas.China Investment Corp. wants to begin in Britain
S&P may downgrade Japan

Nov 24, 2011

Standard and Poor’s said Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s administration hasn’t made progress in tackling the public debt burden, an indication it may be preparing to lower the nation’s sovereign grade. “Japan’s finances are getting worse and worse every day, every second,” Takahira Ogawa, Singapore-based director of sovereign ratings at S&P, said in an interview Thursday. Asked if this means he’s closer to cutting Japan, he said it “may be right in saying that we’re closer to a downgrad
Two years on, Dubai steadies ship after debt crisis

Nov 24, 2011

DUBAI (AFP) -- Two years after its debt crisis rocked global markets, Dubai has emerged as a safe haven in a troubled region, reaping the benefits of building strong service and tourism sectors.But the Gulf emirate, which has so far succeeded in restructuring its mountain of debt, could face tougher conditions if it seeks refinancing in a sickly international market, while a global drop in demand could harm its core sector, analysts say.Before the global financial crisis struck in 2008, drying u
Sales of midsize cars shrink in U.S.

Nov 24, 2011

DETROIT (AP) ― You can’t drive far in the U.S. without seeing a Toyota Camry, Honda Accord or Ford Fusion.Midsize sedans have been America’s favorite cars for decades. That’s changing. More people are choosing small cars like the Chevrolet Cruze and even smaller ones like the Honda Fit because they’re worried about gas prices and car payments. There’s another reason, too: Small cars are no longer the cramped econoboxes of the 1980s and 1990s, and they have many of the same features as larger ca
Big stakes as shopping season arrives

Nov 24, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) ― Retailers awaiting the arrival of Black Friday are on the edge. How well they do during the biggest shopping season of the year will have lasting consequences not just on them, but the still-fragile economic recovery.This weekend, many stores will for the first time use midnight openings along with the usual bevy of deals as they try to lure consumers, whose appetite for good-buys has been increasing since the Great Recession.Economists and business executives will be watching cl
EU executive backs eurobonds

Nov 24, 2011

BRUSSELS (AP) ― The European Commission backed the introduction of jointly issued eurobonds, coupled with stricter budgetary discipline, as the best way out of a debt crisis that’s threatening the 17-country eurozone.EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Wednesday that the countries using the euro currency needed to work more closely together to dovetail their budgetary policies and avoid having one nation endanger all others by not living by its financial commitments. The crisis, whi
Greece’s largest labor union plans strike

Nov 23, 2011

ATHENS (AP) ― Greece’s largest trade union called Tuesday for a 24-hour general strike next week to protest austerity measures ― the first major walkout since the appointment of an interim coalition government earlier this month.The GSEE union, which represents mainly private sector workers, called for the strike on Dec. 1 to protest the 2012 austerity budget due to be voted on in Parliament later that month. A similar announcement was expected from the country’s civil servants’ union. Greece’s
Japan’s bourses to merge in 2013

Nov 23, 2011

Tokyo, Osaka bourses’ merger will create world’s No. 3 exchangeTOKYO (AFP) ― Japan’s two main bourses on Tuesday announced a plan to merge their operations in January 2013 as they look to overcome a slow Japanese market in a move that will create Asia’s biggest exchange.The Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and Osaka Securities Exchange issued a joint statement confirming plans for a “business combination” as they look to respond to strong overseas competition.The deal follows months of talks amid conc