Most Popular
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Hyundai Motor eyes 80,000 jobs, W68tr investment at home by 2026
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Seoul bus drivers go on general strike, cause morning rush hour delays
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Official campaigning kicks off for April 10 elections
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Dialogue hopes fade as doctors pick hard-liner as new head
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Korea enters full election mode
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Coupang pledges W3tr to expand Rocket Delivery nationwide by 2027
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[Election Battlefield] Political novice to face off star politician in ‘swing district’
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[Kim Seong-kon] The April 2024 election will decide our future
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Seoul’s bus union prepares for strike
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[Hello India] Corporate Korea sees new growth drivers in India
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Vatican foiled over bid to hide Swiss bank data
A Swiss court rejected Monday an appeal by the Vatican’s bank to keep secret information from one of its Swiss bank accounts suspected of being used for fraud.Judges at Switzerland’s federal criminal court allowed the transfer of most information sought by prosecutors in Italy from the account held by the Vatican bank, officially known as the Institute for Religious Works, the daily Le Temps reported.Italian prosecutors suspect the account was used in 2007 and 2008 by third parties to launder as
Jan. 28, 2015
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U.N. report says poverty rises in Venezuela
A new report says that poverty is on the rise in Venezuela and efforts across Latin America to boost incomes are stalling.The report by the United Nations’ regional economic office in Chile says that in Venezuela poverty rose from 25 percent in 2012, to 32 percent in 2013. Paraguay, El Salvador and Colombia saw the biggest declines in poverty but overall the region showed little progress as economies slowed in the wake of the global financial crisis. The U.N. estimates that 28 percent of Latin A
Jan. 28, 2015
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China’s industrial profits fall most since 2011
Chinese industrial companies’ profits fell the most in at least three years last month, underscoring the challenge facing the nation’s former growth drivers as the economy slows and commodity prices slump.Industrial profits declined 8 percent in December from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing on Tuesday. That’s the biggest drop since at least October 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.China’s old growth drivers are faltering, weighed by overcapacity and
Jan. 28, 2015
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‘BOJ may have leeway in meeting inflation target’
Japanese Economics Minister Akira Amari said on Tuesday that the Bank of Japan could have some leeway in meeting its 2 percent inflation target, given declines in oil prices.Amari, speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, also said neither the government nor the central bank has been committed to a rigid timeframe in achieving the price goal.Cheap oil compounds the challenge for the BOJ’s aim of hitting its 2 percent inflation goal around the coming fiscal year that starts in April, which
Jan. 28, 2015
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S&P cuts Russia rating to ‘junk’
MOSCOW (AFP) ― Standard and Poor’s stripped Russia of its investment-grade rating on Monday, cutting it to “junk” status with a warning of weak growth.“The downgrade reflects our view that Russia’s monetary policy flexibility has become more limited and its economic growth prospects have weakened,” the ratings agency said in a statement announcing the one-notch cut to a “BB+” rating.The plunge in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine war have pummelled the Russian ec
Jan. 27, 2015
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OPEC chief: Oil at $200 possible
OPEC’s secretary-general said oil prices as high as $200 a barrel are possible if producers fail to invest in new supply. Crude futures erased losses in New York. “If you don’t invest in oil and gas, you will see more than $200,” Abdalla El-Badri said in an interview in London on Monday, without giving a timeframe. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. crude benchmark, erased a decline of as much as 2.7 percent. Crude prices tumbled 46 percent last year as Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organ
Jan. 27, 2015
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Microsoft profit dips as revenue rises
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) ― Microsoft on Monday reported that its quarterly profit dipped as revenue increased with help from sales of Surface tablets, Xbox One consoles and cloud services.Profit fell 10 percent from a year ago to $5.9 billion while revenue hit $26.5 billion in the quarter ended on Dec. 31, and chief executive Satya Nadella said the company’s transformation is on target.“We are taking bold steps forward across our business, and specifically with Windows 10, to deliver new experiences,
Jan. 27, 2015
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Low inflation likely to keep Fed ‘patient’ about a rate hike
WASHINGTON (AP) ― The Federal Reserve ended 2014 with a pledge to be “patient” in raising interest rates from record lows. The way things are going, its patience may endure for a long while.Though the U.S. economy has steadily improved, inflation has dipped further below the Fed’s target rate. Chalk it up to plunging oil prices and a surging dollar, which makes foreign goods cheaper in the United States.Complicating the Fed’s timetable is the European Central Bank’s just-announced plan to pump 1
Jan. 27, 2015
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U.S. deficit to shrink to lowest level of Obama presidency
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Solid economic growth will help the U.S. budget deficit shrink this year to its lowest level since President Barack Obama took office, according to congressional estimates released Monday.The Congressional Budget Office says the deficit will be $468 billion for the budget year that ends in September. That’s slightly less than last year’s $483 billion deficit.As a share of the economy, CBO says this year’s deficit will be slightly below the historical average of the past 50 year
Jan. 27, 2015
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Wary Brussels to seek middle ground with Greece’s Tsipras
BRUSSELS (AFP) ― Greek anti-austerity party Syriza’s resounding election win on Sunday leaves the European Union caught between finding a compromise with its leader Alexis Tsipras and making concessions that will be hard to swallow for countries like Germany, analysts said.Having won over a frustrated Greek public with fighting talk of renegotiating the country’s 240 billion euro ($269 billion) rescue package and leaving behind years of painful spending cuts, Tsipras has put himself firmly on a
Jan. 26, 2015
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Death of Saudi king unsettles oil market
NEW YORK (AP) ― Oil prices rose initially on news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s powerful King Abdullah, but the increase was moderate and short-lived. The king’s death is unlikely to lead to a change in the kingdom’s immense crude production or change the course of oil prices in the coming months, analysts say. The benchmark U.S. crude futures contract rose more than $2 a barrel in the hours after the king’s death was announced Thursday evening in New York. But by the time commodity markets ope
Jan. 25, 2015
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Google boss Schmidt: Internet will ‘disappear’
DAVOS (AFP) ― Google boss Eric Schmidt predicted that the Internet will soon be so pervasive in every facet of our lives that it will effectively “disappear” into the background.Speaking to the business and political elite at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Schmidt said: “There will be so many sensors, so many devices, that you won’t even sense it, it will be all around you.”“It will be part of your presence all the time. Imagine you walk into a room and ... you are interacting with all the t
Jan. 25, 2015
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Thousands march in Venezuela over economic crisis, shortages
CARACAS (AFP) ― Demonstrators against Venezuela’s economic crisis ― facing sky-high inflation and shortages of food and consumer goods ― took to the streets in their thousands Saturday, banging pots and demanding an end to President Nicolas Maduro’s term.Opposition leaders, fed up with shortages of milk, coffee, sugar, meat, toilet paper, diapers, deodorant and corn meal, and with Maduro’s refusal to overhaul the increasingly state-managed economy, say the elected socialist should go.Ex-lawmaker
Jan. 25, 2015
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German central bank chief ‘skeptical’ of stimulus move
BERLIN (AFP) ― The head of Germany’s central bank on Saturday voiced his “skepticism” about the ECB’s decision to launch a trillion-euro bond-buying program in a bid to ward off deflation and boost the eurozone economy.“I regard this decision with skepticism,” the Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann told the German daily Bild.Weidmann is a member of the the European Central Bank’s council of governors that approved of the stimulus plan known as quantitative easing but he did not agree with the de
Jan. 25, 2015
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Oil market upheaval looms over Saudi succession
RIYADH (AFP) -- King Abdullah's death could not have come at a worse time for Saudi Arabia's vital oil sector as the absolute monarchy seeks to reassert its leadership in a fast-changing industry.After an exceptional decade that saw it build up production capacity and huge financial reserves, Saudi Arabia is facing a major challenge from new market players -- in particular North American shale oil producers.The Gulf powerhouse now finds itself locked in a battle for market share against unconve
Jan. 23, 2015
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ECB rings in new year with QE fireworks
The European Central Bank began 2015 with a bang Thursday, launching a massive trillion-euro bond purchase programme to ward off deflation and end stagnation in the eurozone economy.After holding interest rates at their all-time low once again at its first policy meeting of the year, the bank said it would buy 60 billion euros ($69 billion) in private and public sector bonds per month.Bank chief Mario Draghi explained that the aim was to stimulate the economy enough to drive eurozone inflation,
Jan. 23, 2015
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Reforms 'essential' after ECB stimulus: IMF's Lagarde
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday hailed the European Central Bank's decision to launch a massive stimulus program, but urged eurozone authorities to undertake needed economic reforms."The planned expansion of the ECB's balance sheet will help lower borrowing cost across the euro area, raise inflation expectations and reduce the risk of a protracted period of low inflation," the IMF managing director said in a statement."These measures will also strongly increase th
Jan. 23, 2015
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eBay to cut thousands of jobs
The Ebay logo and website in Tiskilwa, Illinois. (Bloomberg)NEW YORK (AFP) ― Online retail giant eBay will slash 2,400 jobs ― seven percent of its workforce ― in the current quarter as it restructures and prepares to spin off its PayPal finance unit, it said Wednesday.California-based eBay unveiled the move as it announced its profit in the fourth quarter rose to $936 million on $4.9 billion in revenue. The job cuts will be across eBay’s three divisions: Marketplaces, Enterprise and PayPal.The r
Jan. 22, 2015
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Obama launches Democrats’ middle class push in 2016
WASHINGTON (AFP) ― The economic successes U.S. President Barack Obama touted in his speech to Congress Tuesday were not just taunts to Republicans; he was helping Democrats build an early strategy for keeping the White House in 2016.With the clock winding down on his two-term presidency, Obama proclaimed America’s economy to be back on steady footing after years of post-recession malaise, and he unveiled a plan to help the middle class that he clearly hopes will carry on into another Democratic
Jan. 22, 2015
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Chinese premier says economy not headed for ‘hard landing’
DAVOS (AFP) ― China’s Premier Li Keqiang sought Wednesday to allay fears over the Asian giant’s growth outlook, telling business and government elites gathered in Davos that the economy is not heading for a sharp slowdown.A day after China posted the weakest growth in almost a quarter of a decade, Li vowed to push on with structural reforms which he said would deliver “quality growth” rather than just a high top-line figure.“What I want to emphasize is that regional or systemic financial crises
Jan. 22, 2015