The Korea Herald

Eurozone economic growth rate unexpectedly doubles

Apr 29, 2016

The eurozone economy has finally recouped all the ground lost in the recessions of the past eight years after official figures Friday showed that the 19-country single currency bloc expanded by a quarterly rate of 0.6 percent in the first three months of the year. The scale of the increase reported by Eurostat in a preliminary estimate was unexpected -- the consensus in the markets was for a more modest rise to 0.4 percent from the previous quarter's 0.3 percent. (AP Photo)Eurostat said the incr
BoJ surprises as it holds off stimulus, delays inflation target

Apr 28, 2016

BoJ surprises as it holds off stimulus, delays inflation targetThe Bank of Japan shocked markets Thursday as it held fire on a fresh round of widely expected stimulus measures, sparking questions about whether it had anything left in its arsenal to kickstart the stuttering economy.Dealers were caught off guard by the decision, especially after another set of weak economic data in the morning had turned up the heat on policymakers to help ignite growth.The yen soared on the decision -- the BoJ al
Saudi to sell less than 5% of Aramco, create $2 trillion fund

Apr 25, 2016

RIYADH (AFP) -- Saudi Arabia will sell shares in state oil giant Aramco and set up the world‘s largest wealth fund under a long-term economic reform plan, the deputy crown prince said Monday.　Prince Mohammed bin Salman said the plan, dubbed “Saudi Vision 2030”, aimed to end the country’s dependence on oil by 2020.　“We have all developed an oil addiction in Saudi Arabia and this is dangerous and has hampered development in many sectors during past years,” 　Prince Mohammed said in an interview wit
Japan's next generation of farmers could be robots

Apr 23, 2016

As the average age of farmers globally creeps higher and retirement looms, Japan has a solution: robots and driver-less tractors.The Group-of-Seven agriculture ministers meet in Japan’s northern prefecture of Niigata this weekend for the first time in seven years to discuss how to meet increasing food demand as aging farmers retire without successors. With the average age of Japanese farmers now 67, Agriculture Minister Hiroshi Moriyama will outline his idea of replacing retiring growers with Ja
China property boost to GDP risks fading after debt-fueled rise

Apr 18, 2016

China’s expansion may face stronger headwinds this year should the debt-fueled boost from real estate, a key driver of recent economic growth, prove unsustainable.The economy grew 1.1 percent in the first quarter from the prior quarter, the slowest quarter-to-quarter expansion in data since 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Housing demand helped boost growth, with output of real-estate services adding 9.1 percent from a year earlier while construction activities rose 7.8 percent, NBS
Oil meeting collapses without freeze

Apr 18, 2016

DOHA, Qatar (AP) -- A meeting of oil-rich countries in Qatar that had been expected to boost crude prices by freezing production fell apart Sunday as Iran stayed home and vowed to increase its output despite threats by Saudi Arabia.Oil prices, which hit a 12-year low in January by dipping under $30 a barrel, had risen above $40 in recent days, buoyed by the bullish talks surrounding the Doha summit.But instead of a quick approval of a production freeze, the meeting of 18 oil-producing nations sa
IMF sees $1.3 trillion in 'at-risk' Chinese company debt

Apr 14, 2016

The International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that corporate China's balance sheets have deteriorated to the point that some $1.3 trillion in borrowings is at risk of default.It said that the financial health of Chinese companies has declined as profitability has sunk amid slower economic growth, and there is clear evidence that more companies are not earning enough to cover the interest owed on borrowings.Such "debt at risk" has risen to 14 percent of all debt at listed Chinese companies, trip
China exports jump 11.5%

Apr 13, 2016

BEIJING (AFP) -- China's exports surged 11.5 percent year-on-year in March to $160.8 billion, authorities said Wednesday, in a positive sign for the world’s second-largest economy. Imports fell for the 17th consecutive month, dropping 7.6 percent on-year to $131 billion, Customs said, while the trade surplus leaped to $29.9 billion, nearly 10 times the dollar figure for the same month last year.The data beat expectations, with a Bloomberg poll of economists predicting a 10 percent increase in ex
Asian markets track global surge on oil deal hope

Apr 13, 2016

HONG KONG (AFP) -- Energy firms led an Asian stock market rally Wednesday as a strong trade report from China and news of a deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia to limit oil output injected traders with much-needed optimism.The renewed confidence also saw the safe-haven yen retreat against the dollar, having soared more than 5 percent since the start of the month.U.S. and European equities provided a perfect lead with healthy gains after Russian news agency Interfax said that Moscow and Riyadh h
Nomura to close Europe business, cut jobs

Apr 13, 2016

Nomura Holdings, Japan’s largest brokerage, said it will close certain businesses in Europe and “nationalize” parts of its operations in the Americas.Operations in Asia won’t be affected by the changes, the Tokyo-based securities firm said Tuesday in a statement. The firm will release a full strategic plan outlining the changes when it reports earnings on April 27, it said.Nomura will shutter equity research, sales, trading and underwriting for European stocks, a person with knowledge of the mat
World Bank: China’s growth to ease to 6.7% in 2016

Apr 11, 2016

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- China will remain the main driver of growth in Asia this year despite its prolonged slowdown, helped by sustained expansions in other developing countries in the region, the World Bank said Monday.The U.S.-led development bank forecasts that developing East Asia will grow at a still robust pace of 6.3 percent this year, down from 6.5 percent in 2015. It said the Philippines and Vietnam will lead growth, with economies expanding by more than 6 percent.Indonesia, the bi
Fed policymakers worried about slow global growth: minutes

Apr 7, 2016

Federal Reserve policymakers were broadly worried about the threat of slower global growth to the US economy, the minutes from their March 15-16 meeting showed Wednesday.As they decided against an interest rate hike at that meeting, several also cautioned against an increase in April, saying it would signal a sense of urgency over US monetary conditions that "they did not think appropriate," the minutes said.The minutes showed most of 17 participants in the Federal Open Market Committee policy r
New inversion rules will kill Pfizer-Allergan deal

Apr 6, 2016

Drugmakers Pfizer Inc. and Allergan Plc are scrambling to determine whether to proceed with their plan to merge and move Pfizer's address _ but not its operations or headquarters _ to lower-tax Ireland. They are taking another look after the U.S. Treasury Department issued new rules to make such ``tax inversion'' deals less profitable. Both companies were mum Tuesday on what they'll do, other than to swat swirling rumors that they're leaning toward dropping the inversion. But analysts and tax ex
Facebook programs computers to describe photos for the blind

Apr 5, 2016

MENLO PARK, Calif. (AP) -- Facebook is training its computers to become seeing-eye guides for blind and visually impaired people as they scroll through the pictures posted on the world‘s largest online social network.　　The feature rolling out Tuesday on Facebook’s iPhone app interprets what‘s in a picture using a form of artificial intelligence that recognizes faces and objects. The iPhone’s built-in screen reader, VoiceOver, must be turned on for Facebook‘s photo descriptions to be read. For n
'Panama Papers' revelations trigger global probes

Apr 5, 2016

Several countries have launched tax evasion probes after a massive leak of confidential documents lifted the lid on the murky offshore financial dealings of a slew of politicians and celebrities.The scandal erupted on Sunday when media groups began revealing the results of a year-long investigation into a trove of 11.5 million documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which specialises in creating offshore shell companies.Among those named in the "Panama Papers" are close associate