The German economy is in a remarkably rosy phase. According to data published Monday by the Ifo Institute, business confidence is at a record high since 1991. The Bundesbank has raised its growth forecasts through 2019. One of the reasons for this surge of optimism is that the German labor market is performing well. At 3.9 percent, the unemployment rate is lower than it has been since the country’s reunification.It‘s often said that to achieve the same kind of economic buoyancy, France needs to

Expanding mass transit systems is a pillar of green and “new urbanist” thinking, but with few exceptions, the idea of ever-larger numbers of people commuting into an urban core ignores a major shift in the labor economy: More people are working from home.True, in a handful of large metropolitan regions — what we might call “legacy cities” — trains and buses remain essential. This is particularly true of New York, which accounts for a remarkable 43 percent of the US’ mass transit commuters, and o

The rising level of internal reserves at Korea’s large corporations is drawing attention again, as the new administration is moving to levy heavier taxes on them.According to Chaebul.com, an online corporate tracker, total internal reserves held by 178 listed companies affiliated with the country’s 30 largest conglomerates stood at a record high of 691.5 trillion won ($606.5 billion) as of the end of March.Internal reserves include profit reserves and capital surpluses. A high level

Hyosung Group thanked US veterans who fought in the 1951-53 Korean War for their sacrifice and courage at an event held in Huntsville, Alabama, officials said Wednesday.The South Korean conglomerate invited 65 veterans and their families in Alabama, where the head office of its US operation is located. Hyosung USA manufactures auto materials including tire cords and in-vehicle carpets for global carmakers and tiremakers that also operate plants in Alabama. “We express gratitude and pay respects

Hyundai Motor’s US office said Wednesday that it would provide a $15 million fund this year for 68 research projects that aim to find a cure for pediatric cancer.At a presentation held in Washington, the carmaker donated $1 million to five medical institutions and six project managers leading pediatric cancer research in the capital city, Virginia and Maryland. The event was attended by lawmakers from South Korea and the US, as well as Hyundai Motor President Chung Jin-haeng. It was also held to

US President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to expand public investment on infrastructure could be seen as only benefitting local companies there. But for LS Group, a South Korean conglomerate that runs power and cable businesses, Trump’s pledge on the public sector appears to be a golden opportunity.Such confidence comes from its 2008 acquisition of a US cable maker, Superior Essex (SPSX), which is the No. 1 maker of winding wire products and communication cables in North America.The deal made

BARCELONA, Spain - Pilar Abel, the woman claiming to be Salvador Dali’s daughter, said Tuesday she wanted to recover her identity more than anything else, a day after the artist’s exhumation was ordered.For a decade, the 62-year-old who long worked as a psychic in the northeastern region of Catalonia where Dali was born, has tried to prove she is the painter’s child.Her paternity claim, however, has raised skepticism, with Dali biographer Ian Gibson writing in El Pais that he had doubts, saying

PYEONGTAEK, Gyeonggi Province -- SsangYong Motor, the South Korean unit of India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., will release a new fourth-generation pickup truck codenamed Q200 at the beginning of next year, an official said Wednesday. 　“The Q200 is not a follow-up model to the Korando Sports pickup truck. It is a separate model that is similar in size with the G4 Rexton,” Song Seung-ki, head of Production HQ, SsangYong Motor, told reporters after a tour of the company’s production plant in Pyeongt

The new Guri-Pocheon Expressway is slated to open to drivers starting from Friday midnight.According to Daewoo Engineering & Construction, the new 50.6-kilometer stretch of highway will shorten the driving distance from the Seoul Gangdong region to Pocheon by 7 kilometers, condensing the drive from the current 70- to 90-minute trek to 30 minutes.  A view of the new Guri-Pocheon Expressway (Daewoo E&C)“As it is the first highway constructed in the northeastern part of Seoul, it is expected to con

Amid worries over rifts in the South Korea-US alliance and strategy for North Korea, President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday embarked on a five-day trip to the US, which includes his first summit talks with US President Donald Trump. The Korean leader left for Washington at around 2 p.m. from Seoul Air Base, south of Seoul. He arrived at 3 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, eastern US time, and began his official schedule by paying a visit to a monument dedicated to the Battle of Chosin Reservoir of the 19

South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s first summit meeting with US President Donald Trump, scheduled for Friday, comes at a time laden with difficult issues. To name a few, North Korea continues to defy the international community by forging ahead with nuclear and missile programs, which some experts say could soon pose a threat to the continental US. There is also Trump’s “America First” drive, which would bring a host of issues into question, ranging from the Korea-US FTA to the US’ defense exp

President Moon Jae-in will be the first South Korean president to stay three consecutive nights at the US government’s VIP guesthouse, according to diplomatic sources.During his four-day official visit in Washington, starting from Wednesday, Moon will stay at the Blair House, the official guesthouse of his US counterpart Donald Trump.President Moon Jae-in (Yonhap)The premium guesthouse, located across the White House, is primarily used to host foreign dignitaries. The first-ever South Korean sta

The state-run Korea Development Bank said Tuesday its KDB Foundation has begun its annual art education project for elementary school children in low-income households, as part of its long-term social corporate responsibility activities.Initiated in 2014, the annual program invites scores of elementary school students in the third to sixth grades in low-income households and offers them 18 rounds of integrated art education in cooperation with Dongdeok Women’s University’s art educat

Despite the slowing sales and heated competition in the US auto market, Hyundai Motor plans to increase its investment there in the next five years, with its expanding operations forecast to impact the local economy.Chung Jin-haeng, CEO of the South Korean carmaker, said in January that the company would invest $3.1 billion in the US by 2021, 30 percent more than the $2.1 billion it has poured into America since 2012 when the bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries went into eff