Analysts on Monday raised their target prices on shares of high-profile bid winners who will operate duty-free stores in downtown Seoul, citing that the retail giants secured a new growth engine amid sluggish domestic demand and rising competition.The upgrades in the target prices of the retail firms reflects expectations that the new stores will give a boost to the world‘s largest duty-free market, accounting for 13 percent of global revenues from duty-free shops in 2014. “The urban duty-free b

Major South Koreans retailers are making final pushes to win licenses to run duty-free shops in downtown Seoul ahead of the announcement of winners this week.The retail groups, which are on the hunt for the rare duty-free licenses, are making last-minute pitches on their plans for envisioned stores, including local development and inducement of Chinese tourists in a bid to obtain high scores for the bidding evaluation. The Korea Customs Service is scheduled to announce the two winners Friday, ba

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says demands by the country's rescue lenders to slash pensions are “incomprehensible” and warned that a failure in bailout talks would hurt all of Europe.His comments were made as the country's central bank warned of “dramatic” economic consequences of not reaching a deal this week, and a day before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers.Creditors had until last week pegged Thursday's meeting as a key date by which a breakthrough in the talks would have to be

European Union governments struck a preliminary accord to extend sanctions against Russia by six months to the end of January, to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin to bring peace to eastern Ukraine.Representatives of the 28 governments agreed on Wednesday in Brussels to prolong the trade and investment curbs, two EU officials said on condition of anonymity under EU media rules. Final confirmation of the move is due June 22, they said.The behind-the-scenes decision marks a victory for EU Presid

Global credit appraiser Standard & Poor's (S&P) said Wednesday it has revised up its credit outlook for South Korean steelmaker POSCO Co. to "stable" from "negative," citing the firm's recent efforts to improve cash flow. "We expect credit metrics for POSCO to improve this year, and for the company to start generating positive free operating cash flow for the first time since 2010 thanks to significant nondebt financing, declining capital investment, and stabilizing operating performance," said

A U.S. Navy admiral whose command is responsible for an advanced missile-defense system will visit South Korea next week, government sources said Wednesday, amid ongoing debates here over whether Seoul should adopt the U.S.-led system.Adm. Cecil Haney, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, will arrive in Seoul on Sunday for a four-day stay, to meet with key military officials in South Korea, including Defense Minister Han Min-koo, sources familiar with the matter said. Haney also plans to