How worrisome are real estate bubbles for the banking system? Based upon the recent subprime and then global financial crisis, they are very worrisome indeed. For households, a house is likely to be the largest single investment for most families. For companies, real estate and fixed assets are often, other than inventory, the most important assets, especially as collateral for loans from banks. F

The fundamental problem with the current international monetary system is that the U.S. dollar is used as the key international reserve currency, which gives the U.S. central bank the “exorbitant privilege” of printing the United States’ way out of its economic difficulties.And that is exactly what it is doing. Its printing presses are running at full speed in a bid to boost the U.S. economy, rega

The outpouring of goodwill from Korea in the aftermath of the unprecedented tsunami was supposed to usher in a new era for Korea and Japan’s bilateral relationship. When the Japanese ambassador personally appeared in a live interview with an anchorman on KBS about two weeks ago, his fluency in Korean, understanding of Korean culture and sincere appreciation for the assistance from here endeared hi

Linguists assert that men and women talk differently and, as a result, run into communication problems. Their assertion may be true to some degree, but they are not always right. For example, some linguists contend that women are more garrulous than men. That is not true. For example, men tend to talk vociferously while conversing over drinks at a bar, and are usually more talkative than women whe