The Korea Herald

Australian mogul Packer donates $188m

Jul 22, 2014

SYDNEY (AFP) ― Billionaire James Packer, one of Australia’s richest men, on Tuesday announced he was setting up a philanthropic foundation to give away A$200 million ($188 million).The casino tycoon, who runs worldwide gambling empire Crown, said the cash would go to charities promoting the arts and those supporting the broader community, particularly indigenous education.Half of the money, to be donated in A$20 million installments for the next 10 years, will come from Crown Resorts, and the re
German retail tycoon Albrecht dies aged 94

Jul 22, 2014

BERLIN (AP) ― Karl Albrecht, cofounder of the Aldi grocery store empire and one of the world’s richest people, has died in the western German city of Essen. He was 94.Essen’s city hall told The Associated Press that Albrecht was buried Monday in a family plot in a small ceremony in the city’s Bredeney district where he lived. Aldi’s press office said Albrecht died July 16.“He created a corporate culture of mutual respect, he trusted his employees and their talents, and he gave them a chance to u
Toyota Motor plans to hold U.S. Hispanic market lead

Jul 21, 2014

Toyota Motor Corp. plans to remain the top-selling auto brand among U.S. Hispanic customers as competing automakers boost efforts to win a bigger share of business from the nation’s largest ethnic minority group. Toyota has been the top brand for Hispanic buyers for 10 consecutive years, Bill Fay, group vice president for U.S. sales, said Sunday at a conference for the National Council of La Raza, the largest U.S. Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group. Nissan Motor Co. and Ford Motor Co. are
McDonald’s, KFC in China face food scandal

Jul 21, 2014

BEIJING (AP) ― McDonald’s and KFC in China faced a new food safety scare Monday after a Shanghai television station reported a supplier sold them expired beef and chicken.The companies said they immediately stopped using meat from the company, Husi Food Co., Ltd. The official Xinhua News Agency said authorities had ordered the supplier to suspend operations and were investigating.Dragon TV said on Sunday that Husi, owned by OSI Group of Aurora, Illinois, repackaged stale beef and chicken and put
Russia trade halt to deepen Ukrainian recession, P.M. says

Jul 21, 2014

Ukraine, already facing recession, may see its economy shrinking by as much as 2 percentage points more should Russia halt trade as a conflict widens between the two ex-Soviet partners, Premier Arseniy Yatsenyuk said. The trade relationship between Ukraine and Russia is “getting worse,” Yatsenyuk said in an interview on Bloomberg Television. “We do not have any kind of real relationship. We have the war. It will severely hamper Ukrainian gross domestic product.” Ukraines’s economy has been batte
British retailer Tesco says CEO to step down

Jul 21, 2014

LONDON (AFP) ― Britain’s biggest retailer Tesco said Monday that chief executive Philip Clarke will step down in October, as the troubled supermarket giant warned that first-half sales and profits would miss expectations.Clarke, who has been at the helm for three years, will be replaced by Unilever executive and turnaround specialist Dave Lewis, Tesco said in a statement, as the group struggles with what it described as “challenging” trade.“Tesco plc announces that Dave Lewis will join the board
China’s Xi seeks energy deals in Venezuela

Jul 21, 2014

CARACAS (AFP) ― Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived Sunday in Venezuela, the third leg of a Latin American tour aimed at bolstering trade with the region and sealing energy deals.The Chinese leader’s charm offensive, which has already taken him to Brazil and Argentina and will next bring him to Cuba, seeks to secure new bilateral trade deals, particularly for coveted raw materials.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro greeted Xi as he landed at the Maiquetia airport that serves Caracas, with doze
Really smart cars are ready to take the wheel

Jul 21, 2014

PARIS (AFP) ― Why waste your time looking for a place to park when your car can do it for you? An idea that was pure science fiction only a few years ago is becoming reality thanks to automatic robot cars.A car with no one on board drives into a car park at walking pace, lets a pedestrian pass, and then backs into a narrow parking space without the merest bump or scrape.The technology that makes this possible has been developed by the Swedish car company Volvo and the French parts maker Valeo. I
AbbVie buys Shire for $55b

Jul 20, 2014

The drugmaker AbbVie has reached a deal worth roughly $55 billion to combine with British counterpart Shire and become the latest U.S. company to seek an overseas haven from tax rates back home.The companies said Friday they will create a new company that is incorporated on the British island of Jersey, where Shire currently is incorporated. But the new company will be controlled by shareholders of North Chicago, Illinois-based AbbVie, who will own about 75 percent of the new company‘s stock.Shi
Amazon launches unlimited e-book plan

Jul 20, 2014

NEW YORK (AFP) ― U.S. online giant Amazon unveiled a Netflix-style subscription plan Friday for unlimited access to e-books, a move which could shake up the world of publishing.The $9.99 per month Kindle Unlimited program offers access to some 600,000 titles in the Amazon Kindle format.Subscribers will be able to access the books on Amazon’s Kindle tablets, as well as other devices with a Kindle app, including iPads and iPhones, Windows devices and Android-powered mobile gadgets.Amazon is using
BBC News to cut 400 jobs in austerity drive

Jul 20, 2014

LONDON (AFP) ― The BBC said on Thursday that it will cut 415 jobs from its news department in the latest cost-cutting measures by the world’s largest public broadcaster.Director of news James Harding said the cuts were part of savings needed as a result of a freeze in the license fee, which all British households with a television must pay.The cuts will save 48 million pounds ($82 million) a year over the next two years and are part of a total of 800 million pounds in savings that began in 2010.
BES holding firm seeks creditor protection

Jul 20, 2014

LISBON (AFP) ― The troubled holding company of Portugal’s largest listed bank on Friday said it had filed for creditor protection as it struggles to pay a “material” amount of maturing debt.Espirital Santo International said it has applied to be placed under management by Luxembourg authorities in a move that would be “more adequate than a rapid and massive liquidation.” “The controlled management regime will allow the company to defend the interests of its creditors in a transparent and orderly
Xi hails ‘new horizons’ in ties with Argentina

Jul 20, 2014

China, Argentina sign more than 20 trade deals in power and rail
IMF chief says low inflation can hit European growth

Jul 20, 2014

PARIS (AFP) ― IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned on Friday that low inflation could damage growth in Europe and urged the European Central Bank to maintain a flexible policy.The former French economy minister also urged caution over asset prices, which she said could be too high in relation to fundamentals. “Obstinately low inflation can seriously undermine growth,” said Lagarde, who recently hinted that the 3.6 percent global growth forecast for 2014 might have to be trimmed.The “good news,” La
West escalates Russia sanctions

Jul 17, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) ― Both the U.S. and European Union imposed new economic sanctions on Russia Wednesday, with President Barack Obama declaring that Russian leaders must see that their actions supporting Ukraine’s rebels “have consequences.”Though the American and European sanctions were coordinated, they nonetheless exposed fissures in what the West has tried to project as a united front in its months-long effort to isolate Russian President Vladimir Putin.Ukraine and the West have accused Russia