One of Syria's most powerful military officers was killed in fighting with al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists in an oil-rich eastern province largely controlled by the rebels, Syrian state-run television said Thursday.The fighting came amid a new push to hold an elusive peace conference for Syria's civil war, with the government proposing the talks start late next month, though there was no sign the opposition would attend.Maj. Gen. Jameh Jameh was killed in the provincial capital of Deir el-Zou

The stock market hit an all-time high Thursday as Wall Street put the government shutdown and debt ceiling crisis behind it and focused on corporate earnings.The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.61 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 1,733.15 _ a record close. Nine of the 10 industry groups in the index finished higher, with technology the only group that fell.The market rose throughout the day as investors got back to focusing on corporate earnings and economic data. American Express and Ver

Hyundai Steel Co., the country's No. 2 steelmaker, said Thursday that it plans to merge with an auto steel sheet-making division of its affiliate, in order to cut costs and improve profitability.Hyundai Steel said its board of directors approved a merger with Hyundai Hysco Co.'s cold-rolled steel-making division on Dec. 31, the company said in a regulatory filing.Currently, Hyundai Steel, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, supplies steel sheets to Hyundai Hysco, which processes them into steel sheet

The government is considering giving more support to hard-pressed South Korean companies with factories in an inter-Korean factory park located in the North, an official said Thursday.The unification ministry source said that while Seoul does not plan to alter the contract regarding the return of insurance money given to companies prior to the reopening of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex on Sept. 16, it is nevertheless looking at ways to alleviate their financial plight."Discussions are underway

The financial regulator will ensure that the probe into the debt-saddled Tong Yang Group is done by principle to bring those responsible to account and minimize investor losses, its chief said Thursday, amid growing criticism that the regulator failed to prevent the crisis from occurring. "We won't allow any tolerance or hesitation whatsoever in executing the probe on Tong Yang Group. Everything will be done as a matter of principle," Shin Je-yoon, the chairman of the Financial Services Commissi

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Thursday, cheered by the last-minute progress in talks among U.S. lawmakers to avoid a default, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) jumped 13.07 points, or 0.64 percent, to 2,047.68 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Shares gathered ground across the board, with Samsung Electronics moving up 0.9 percent and Hyundai Mobis, a blue-chip auto parts maker, rising 1.2 percent. U.S. markets closed more than 1 percent high

Nuclear talks between Iran and six world powers ended on an upbeat note Wednesday, with top Western and Iranian negotiators announcing a follow-up round early next month while speaking of significant progress in efforts to reduce fears that Tehran may be seeking atomic arms.Despite abandoning the pessimistic tone of previous meetings, however, negotiators refused to reveal details on what _ if any _ concessions Iran offered. That gives potential traction to skeptics who can claim the conference

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay a $100 million penalty and admitted that its traders acted “recklessly” during a series of London trades that ultimately cost the bank $6 billion.The settlement announced Wednesday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes less than a month after JPMorgan, the nation's largest bank, agreed to pay $920 million and admit fault in a deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission and other U.S. and British regulators.The stunning trading losses that s

Adrian Gonzalez homered twice to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 6-4 victory over the Cardinals on Wednesday that trimmed St. Louis' lead to 3-2 in the National League championship series.Zack Greinke gave a stellar pitching performance while Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who rediscovered their power stroke just in time to save their season. They held in the ninth, when St. Louis scored twice off closer Kenley Jansen before he struck out pinch-hitter Adron Ch

The budget agreement Congress reached Wednesday cheered investors and removed the threat of a catastrophic debt default that could have triggered another recession.Yet the temporary nature of the deal means a cloud will remain over a sluggish U.S. economy that was further slowed by the government's partial shutdown.Political fights over taxing and spending will persist over the next few months. The risk of another government shutdown and doubts about the government's borrowing authority remain.

Congress raced Wednesday to approve a bipartisan deal to avert a U.S. default and reopen the federal government, a move intended to end a prolonged fiscal crisis that battered Republican approval ratings and threatened the global economy with a new recession. Republicans were left with little to show for their fight _ in political terms, the final agreement was almost entirely along lines President Barack Obama had set when the impasse began last month. It includes nothing for Republicans demand

South Korea's producer prices declined for the 12th straight month in September on falls in prices of oil and agricultural products and the local currency's gain against the U.S. dollar, the central bank said Thursday.The producer price index, a barometer of future consumer inflation, slid 1.8 percent in September from a year earlier, compared with a 1.3 percent on-year decline in August, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).The September data marked the sharpest on-year fall since a 2.6 percent

John Lackey edged Justin Verlander in the latest duel of these pitching-rich playoffs as the Boston Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers 1-0 Tuesday for a 2-1 lead in the American League championship series.Mike Napoli homered in the seventh inning off Verlander, and Detroit's attempt at a rally fell short in the eighth when Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder both struck out with runners on base.“The runs are pretty stingy,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “This is what it's about in postseason, is g