The European Central Bank on Thursday said it expected key interest rates to remain at their current historic lows "at least through the summer of 2019."The Frankfurt institution's main refinancing rate currently stands at zero percent, the rate on the marginal lending facility at 0.25 percent, and the rate on deposits at -0.4 percent, meaning banks pay to park money with the ECB. (AFP)

Seoul troubled by rate hike pressure, slow growth dilemma

South Korean banks have stepped up preparations for a possible resumption of economic projects in North Korea, as a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un raised hopes of more reconciliation between Seoul and Pyongyang.After about five hours of talks in Singapore on Tuesday, Trump and Kim signed a joint statement committing to the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." But the statement fell short on details of how the North'

President Moon Jae-in's "new economic road map" for the Korean Peninsula may get its needed momentum once North Korea's denuclearization gets on track, with details getting added to the unified market and economic cooperation belts that he envisioned, according to watchers here Thursday.Prospects of improved and even new economic tieups with the North brightened after the historic North Korea-US summit in Singapore on Tuesday. The premise is that the international sanctions imposed on

With the prospects for Korea’s exports in the coming years dimming, there is increased pressure to expand domestic demand, particularly by promoting service industries through drastic deregulation.A downturn in exports, which have shored up Asia’s fourth-largest economy in recent years amid sluggish domestic demand, could rattle it unless offset by an increase in local consumption and investment, experts say.According to recent data from the Bank of Korea, exports made a 1.8 percenta

Think tanks expand NK economy research teams, ministries name senior experts as inter-Korean team chiefs

Korea is lagging behind in global competition to enhance the productivity and employment of manufacturing industries, experts here say.Asia’s fourth-largest economy saw its manufacturing sector’s proportion of gross domestic product shrink from 31.36 percent in 2011 to 29.33 percent in 2016, according to data from the World Bank. The corresponding figure for member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development rose by 1.1 percentage points on average over the ci

Experts warn against hasty anticipations, call caution on US, EU monetary policy changes

The earnings growth rate for South Korea's self-employed businesses fell to a six-year low in 2017 amid social and economic changes under way in Asia's fourth-largest market, official data showed Sunday.Profit growth by relatively small, self-employed businesses reached 1 percent last year compared with 2016, information provided by Statistics Korea showed. This is the worst showing after a 0.7 percent increase tallied in 2011.Industry watchers said the falling off of workplace-related eating an

South Korea's leading business groups scaled back the number of employees on their payrolls in 2017 amid challenging market conditions and restructuring efforts undertaken by some industries, a report by a corporate information provider said Sunday.According to the data compiled by Chaebol.com., 10 out of the 30 largest conglomerates in terms of assets, had fewer workers last year than in 2016, with four cutting their workforces by more than 1,000.Of the groups that cut workers, Kumho Asiana, wh

HANAM -- South Korea's top economic policymaker on Friday asked companies to do more to create jobs and spearhead innovative growth in the latest appeal to the business community to join the government's efforts to push for a more balanced and sustainable economy.In a meeting with Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin and top executives of affiliates of the business group in Hanam, just southeast of Seoul, Finance Minister Kim Dong-yeon stressed the importance of cooperation between the private

Kim tries to win back policy leadership amid recent ‘wage impact’ feud with Blue House

A tectonic shift is unraveling in and around the Korean Peninsula, especially in the wake of rapprochement mood and signs of denuclearization in North Korea, as well as trade war threats in East Asia. But to businessmen here, the looming transformation in the world‘s most secluded state could translate into a change in environment to which they would be forced to adapt. Experts and veterans in economic fields in South Korea discussed ways to address the transformation, to some 200-strong a

Investors are keeping close tabs on various scenarios that could potentially lead to a "June crisis" amid key global market-moving and political events, observers here said Thursday.Increased volatility caused by rate hikes in the United States and eurozone risks, among other things, and the subsequent market adjustment are all likely, but it seems far-fetched to translate this as something that could lead to a financial meltdown, they pointed out.In May alone, the benchmark Korean Sto

The amount of private tuition spent by the highest income group in South Korea is 27 times larger than those spent by the lowest income households, latest data by Statistics Korea showed.Private tuition spending by the fifth income quintile was 242,600 won on monthly average, compared to 8,925 won spent by the first quintile.An income quintile divides the population into five equal income groups. The first quintile refers to those with the lowest income, and the fifth, the highest.The agency poi