MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia on Thursday angrily dismissed espionage accusations against a Russian cultural exchange official in Washington, saying the U.S. claims were unfounded.The FBI is looking into whether Yury Zaytsev, the head of a Russian government-run cultural exchange program, tried to recruit young Americans as intelligence assets, a U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the probe was still underway.The magazi

A group of overseas investors are likely to participate in the coming bidding for the public-funds-injected Woori Bank and Woori Finance Holdings, according to market insiders on Thursday.Financial market participants raised the possibility, noting that Kyobo Life Insurance is reportedly considering forming a consortium with global firms to bid for the largest financial group in Korea.Among the firms are investment banks such as Softbank, Macquarie Group and JPMorgan, according to the report.A s

The credit card industry was found to have taken profit by bullying its subcontractors over the past few years, a lawmaker said Wednesday, citing financial regulatory data.The card issuers involved in improprieties during their deals with suppliers were BC, Shinhan, KB Kookmin, Hyundai, Samsung, Lotte, Hana SK, Korea Exchange Bank and NongHyup Bank, according to Rep. Kim Young-joo of the main opposition Democratic Party.Her document, which was tendered by the Financial Supervisory Service, showe

Stock market insiders are focusing on the future moves of foreign investors, who have tended to dump Korean shares whenever the U.S. dollar trades below 1,060 won.Although foreigners have had a strong buying spree on the Korea Exchange over the past few weeks, research analysts point to the past when overseas investors based their decisions largely on Korean firms’ export price competitiveness.Since the 2008 global financial crisis, foreigners have net-sold 3.6 trillion won ($3.3 billion) worth

The chief financial regulator said Friday that four more local conglomerates had been involved in dubious funding schemes similar to embattled Tong Yang Group. “We have documents on cases (of irregular funding) at four local business groups,” said Financial Supervisory Service Gov. Choi Soo-hyun during the National Assembly’s audit of the regulatory agency.Choi, however, declined to reveal the names of the four. His remarks came after Rep. Kim Young-hwan of the main opposition Democratic Party a

South Korean conglomerates saw their earnings gain at a faster pace last year than smaller firms, data showed Wednesday, reigniting concerns over the prolonged inequality among industries. According to the compiled data by the parliament’s Trade, Industry and Energy Committee, the productivity index for South Korean conglomerates came to 164.9 points in 2012, while small and medium firms held a comparable figure of 125.8 points.The number tracks how a firm’s productivity has improved over previo

South Korea’s listed firms saw their debt ratios plunge last year from 15 years earlier, data showed Wednesday, indicating their significantly improved financial health since the Asian financial crisis.According to the data compiled by the Korea CXO Institute, a private research organization, local listed firms saw their average debt ratio reach 145 percent in 2012 on average, falling significantly from 451.2 percent tallied in 1997.Debt ratio refers to the portion of debts in comparison to a fi

The government’s growth outlook for next year is “neutral,” the finance minister said Wednesday, shrugging off criticism that the projection is too optimistic considering current economic conditions. “It is a neutral position to predict that the economy will grow 3.9 percent next year,” Finance Minister Hyun Oh-seok told lawmakers during a parliamentary audit session held here.The remarks came amid worries that the government’s growth forecast for next year might be too optimistic, compared with

Only one in every three chief executives in South Korea has extended his or her term in office, with their average term period turning out to be shorter at large enterprises, data showed Wednesday.The number of senior management-level officials at top 500 local firms who have been reappointed at least once came to 188, or 36.4 percent, out of 516 respondents, according to the data compiled by local corporate information provider CEO Score.Chances for executives at larger firms to renew their thr

Apple Inc. will update its lineup of iPads at an Oct. 22 event, a person with knowledge of the plans said, as the company works to remain ahead of rivals in the increasingly crowded tablet market.The Cupertino, California-based company will unveil a new version of the original 9.7-inch iPad as well as the smaller iPad mini, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been made official. Apple also will show its new Mac personal-computer operating system, called Mave

More companies are likely to have difficulty in raising funds by issuing commercial paper or bonds, as a huge portion of investors pull their investment out of the corporate bond market in the wake of a liquidity crisis among some conglomerates.Over the past year, business groups such as Tong Yang, STX and Woongjin undermined retail investors for an insolvent financial status.Investors for CPs and bonds issued by the three conglomerates are estimated to have faced collective losses of some trill

The liquidity crisis at Tong Yang Group has reignited the long-standing debate over the pros and cons of greater restrictions on conglomerates owning financial subsidiaries.The question of erecting a strict firewall between manufacturing capital and financial units has resurfaced amid mounting allegations that Tong Yang’s owners exploited the group’s financial units as behind-the-scenes funding sources for some of its distressed nonfinancial units.The nation’s top antitrust regulatory official,

AmorePacific Corp. said it would disclose its official position on allegations that one of its employees tried to blackmail a dealership of the nation’s largest cosmetics maker.According to an audio clip file released by a broadcaster on Sunday, the employee of AmorePacific verbally abused a middle-aged owner of the regional dealership.In the clip, the employee appears to be pressuring the middle-aged man to relinquish his retailer ownership, scolding him with curse words for the dealership’s re