Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz (center) takes part in the opening ceremony of the first Starbucks in Colombia on Wednesday. (AP-Yonhap)BOGOTA (AFP) ― U.S. chain Starbucks on Wednesday opened its first cafe in Colombia ― a world famous coffee exporter ― apparently unafraid it will be like selling sand at the beach.To gear up for a soft landing, the U.S. company teamed up with local company Nutresa, and picked a location in Bogota’s exclusive Parque de la 93 for upscale appeal.Starbucks “is looking

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ― Apple will refund up to $400 million to consumers ensnared in a plot to raise the prices of digital books unless the company gets a court to overturn a decision affirming its pivotal role in the collusion.The settlement bill emerged in a Wednesday court filing made a month after attorneys suing Apple notified U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in New York that an agreement had been reached to avoid a trial over the issue.Lawsuits filed on behalf of digital book buyers had origi

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ― International investors are regaining their appetite for euros as the shared currency recovers from a debt crisis that threatened to break it up. But the euro, which is shared by 18 countries, fell further behind the U.S. dollar last year in another key measure of importance and prestige: its use as a reserve currency by the world’s central banks. The European Central Bank said Wednesday that foreign demand for stocks, bonds and other portfolio investments in euros rose

FORTALEZA, Brazil (AFP) ― The BRICS group of emerging powers on Tuesday created a Shanghai-based development bank and a reserve fund seen as alternatives to Western-led institutions.The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa agreed to launch the institutions to finance infrastructure projects and head off future economic crises.“We took the historic decision to create the BRICS bank and the reserve agreement ― an important contribution to reconfigure the system of international

The leaders of five emerging market powers said at a summit Tuesday that they gave final agreement to creating their own development bank worth $100 billion that will have its headquarters in China.The first president of the New Development Bank will be from India and the position will rotate every five years among Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ― the so-called BRICS nations ― a joint statement from the leaders said.The capital for the bank will be split equally among the five par

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Apple and IBM unveiled a “landmark” partnership Tuesday to win over business customers by offering iPhones and iPads that are specially tailored to the enterprise users. The tie-up, which aims to boost Apple’s share of the market for mobile devices for businesses, will offer custom-made apps which bring the power of IBM’s supercomputing analytics to a mobile workforce, a joint statement said.“The landmark partnership aims to redefine the way work will get done, address key indus

Fed Chair Yellen warns of overvalued social media and biotech stocks

The Obama administration called for immediate congressional action to stop U.S. companies from using cross-border mergers to escape the country’s tax system, the latest trend in corporate deal-making. In a letter calling for a “new sense of economic patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said Congress should approve tax changes retroactive to May. “We should prevent companies from effectively renouncing their citizenship to get out of paying taxes,” Lew wrote in the letter to top congressiona

BEIJING (AFP) ― China’s economic growth hit 7.5 percent year-on-year in April-June, official data showed Wednesday, ahead of expectations as the world’s second-largest economy was boosted by government stimulus.The second-quarter figure announced by the National Bureau of Statistics compared with 7.4 percent in the previous three months and exceeded the median forecast of 7.4 percent in a survey of 17 economists by AFP.“Generally speaking, China’s economy showed good momentum of stable and moder