Most Popular
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Contentious grain bill put directly to plenary meeting for vote
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Yoon's approval rating plunges to all-time low
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Will tug-of-war between doctors, government end soon?
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Climate impacts set to cut 2050 global GDP by nearly a fifth
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Trilateral talks acknowledge ‘serious’ slumps of won, yen
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[KH Explains] Hyundai's full hybrid edge to pay off amid slow transition to pure EVs
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North Korea removes streetlights along cross-border roads with South
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Russia's denial of entry of S. Korean national unrelated to bilateral ties: Seoul official
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S. Korea votes in favor of Palestinian bid for UN membership
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Farming households dip below 1m for first time in 2023
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Abenomics losing global investors
Foreign investors have had just about enough of Abenomics. After pumping record amounts of cash into Japanese shares last year, they’ve hardly added to holdings in 2014. Inflows are down 94 percent this year to 898 billion yen ($7.5 billion), on pace for the smallest annual amount since the 2008 global financial crisis. The month of April 2013 alone registered almost three times as much foreign investment in the stock market as all of 2014. These figures provide the clearest look at how global i
Dec. 29, 2014
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Online holiday sales on pace to hit record on early deals
Amazon.com Inc. and other retailers are on pace to sell more products online than ever this holiday season, aided by early promotions and investments in delivery systems that helped avoid the widespread shipping delays of last year. Web sales rose 14 percent from Nov. 27 to Dec. 21, consulting firm ChannelAdvisor Corp. said in a statement earlier this week. That’s roughly in line with ComScore Inc.’s November forecast that online purchases would gain 16 percent to $61 billion during the three mo
Dec. 28, 2014
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China industrial profit hits two-year low
China’s industrial profits fell the most in two years last month, the latest data to show a deepening slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy as pressure grows on the nation’s central bank to ease monetary conditions. Total profits of China’s industrial enterprises in November dropped 4.2 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Saturday in Beijing. That followed October’s 2.1 percent decline and a 0.4 percent increase in September. It’s the biggest slide since
Dec. 28, 2014
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RBI chief: Uber broke Indian financial rules
NEW DELHI (AFP) ― India’s central bank chief lashed out at Uber, already under fire over the alleged rape of a passenger, saying the U.S. taxi-hailing firm violated the country’s financial regulations by using an overseas payment system.A row over the highly valued start-up’s financial transactions erupted in India earlier this year after domestic taxi firms complained Uber was not following the country’s two-step authentication system for e-commerce credit card payments.“They (Uber) were using
Dec. 28, 2014
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Japan unveils $29b stimulus package
TOKYO (AP) ― Japan’s Cabinet approved 3.5 trillion yen ($29 billion) in fresh stimulus Saturday for the ailing economy, pledging to get growth back on track and restore the country’s precarious public finances.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is wrapping up his second year in office hard-pressed to salvage a recovery that fizzled into recession after a sales tax hike in April.The stimulus plan endorsed by the Cabinet includes 600 billion yen earmarked for stagnant regional economies. It also lays out A
Dec. 28, 2014
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Visa, MasterCard halt Crimea service on tougher sanctions
Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc., the world’s biggest payments networks, halted services to Crimea after the U.S. escalated sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of the peninsula and its activities in Ukraine. The card firms are responding to an executive order from the Obama administration last week, according to emails Friday from the companies’ Russian press offices. “Visa is now prohibited from offering Visa-branded products and services to Crimea,” the company said. “This means that we
Dec. 28, 2014
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Takata shakes up management
Takata Corp. Chairman Shigehisa Takada will replace Swiss national Stefan Stocker as president, 18 months after appointing him to strengthen management amid a mounting recall crisis involving its faulty air bags. Takada, who with his mother controls the Tokyo-based auto-parts supplier through a family holding company, will also take a 50 percent pay cut for four months, the company said in a statement Wednesday. Stocker, who turns 61 Thursday, asked to step down from his position, said Hideyuki
Dec. 25, 2014
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Iraq says oil fair at $70-$80
OPEC will need to “step in” amid further declines in oil prices, which are fair at about $70 to $80 a barrel, according to the group’s second-biggest producer. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries could still hold back from intervening in the market for one or two years, Iraq’s Oil Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi said in an interview. Brent oil dropped about 20 percent since OPEC decided to maintain output at its November meeting in Vienna. Global oil supply is growing as the highest U.S.
Dec. 25, 2014
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Russia to help firms meet debts in initiative to shore up ruble
MOSCOW (AP) ― With inflation showing clear signs of picking up, Russia’s central bank on Wednesday launched another initiative to shore up the ruble, offering hard currency loans to help companies and banks service their debts. Stabilizing the ruble, which is one of the world’s worst-performing currencies this year following the slide in oil prices and the sanctions imposed on Russia for its involvement in Ukraine, is a priority for Russia’s monetary authorities. One key concern over the Russian
Dec. 25, 2014
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Data shows improving U.S. economy
WASHINGTON (AP) ― The U.S. economy grew at a sizzling 5 percent annual rate in the July-September period, the fastest in more than a decade, fueled by higher consumer spending and business investment.In another sign of an improving economy, the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits has reached its lowest level in seven weeks.In its report Tuesday, the Commerce Department sharply upgraded its estimate of third-quarter growth from its previous 3.9 percent figure. Much of the incre
Dec. 25, 2014
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Oil markets face uncertain future
ABU DHABI (AFP) ― The determination of powerful Gulf OPEC members to stifle competition from new oil producers has left the global energy market reeling and sparked unprecedented uncertainty, officials and experts say.Gathered in Abu Dhabi for a key conference, senior energy officials from Arab Gulf nations insisted they will not cut production despite the freefall in oil prices.A supply glut, lower demand and the stronger U.S. dollar have all contributed to pushing down oil prices, which have d
Dec. 23, 2014
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Alibaba millionaires fuel start-up boom to rival Silicon Valley
Last month, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Jack Ma invited 1,600 former employees to its home turf in Hangzhou, China. The company’s $25 billion initial public offering had made many of them wealthy and he urged them to start businesses that would be meaningful in the long term. “He knew a lot of us got rich and wanted to tell us not to waste our money,” said Sun Shuihua, who worked at Alibaba for a decade. “He told us to treat our wealth responsibly.” Sun, 36, has already started: She’s spending
Dec. 22, 2014
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Idemitsu in talks to buy Showa Shell
A tank truck driver pumps out gasoline into reserve tanks at an Idemitsu Kosan gas station in Tokyo. (Bloomberg)Japan’s refiners surged after two of the largest said they were discussing a tie-up, as falling demand for fuels spurs the industry to consider consolidation. Idemitsu Kosan Co., Japan’s third-biggest refiner by capacity, and Showa Shell Sekiyu KK, the fifth-ranked, are holding talks, the companies said in separate statements Dec. 20. The announcements followed a Nikkei newspaper repor
Dec. 22, 2014
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U.S. firms eager to embrace Cuban market face hurdles
WASHINGTON (AP) ― Cargill aims to sell more corn and soybeans. MasterCard covets another site for Americans to swipe credit cards. Marriott sees beachfront property that needs hotels.And outside Orlando, Florida, Danny Howell just knows there would be demand for his classic Chevrolet parts.American businesses have begun imagining ways to capitalize on last week’s announcement that the United States will restore diplomatic ties with Cuba and ease curbs on trade with one of the last surviving Comm
Dec. 22, 2014
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Abe victory means gain for big firms, pain for smaller ones
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s victory in elections this month, an endorsement of his economic policies, may help the nation’s biggest companies get richer while extending a surge in bankruptcies among smaller ones. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. are expected to post record profit this year after the policies known as “Abenomics” weakened the yen, boosting their earnings from overseas. Aggregate net income at 196 of the largest listed companies will rise to a record 18 trillion yen
Dec. 22, 2014
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EU’s tourism hubs brace for fewer Russian visits amid ruble, oil-price pain
PARIS (AP) ― Russia’s tensions with the West over Ukraine and the slump for the ruble are echoing through the French Alps ― and unfortunately for some businesses, just in time for ski season.Hoteliers, taxi drivers and ski stations in France’s wintertime hotspots and beyond say a tourism boom by big-spending Russians in recent years is about to melt away because of Russia’s economic crisis, Western sanctions and a drop in oil prices that is keeping both uber-rich and middle class Russians away a
Dec. 22, 2014
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Amid scrutiny, Uber says it will focus more on safety
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Uber promises to focus on rider safety amid increasing concerns that its drivers are not adequately screened for past criminal convictions. In a blog post Wednesday, Uber’s head of global safety defended the company’s safety record but also wrote that “as we look to 2015, we will build new safety programs and intensify others.”The taxi alternative, valued at $40 billion, lets passengers summon cars through an app in more than 250 cities around the world. It faces multiples leg
Dec. 18, 2014
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China’s Baidu invests in Uber
BEIJING (AFP) ― Chinese search engine Baidu, the country’s equivalent of Google, announced Wednesday it has bought a stake in Uber for an undisclosed sum, as the controversial U.S. web-based taxi app seeks to expand into an already crowded market.Baidu will also link users of its mapping and search functions with Uber drivers, the two companies announced at a ceremony in Beijing. The investment has previously been reported to be as much as $600 million, according to state-run China National Radi
Dec. 18, 2014
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BlackBerry Classic: Back to the basics
NEW YORK (AP) ― BlackBerry is returning to its roots with a new phone that features a traditional keyboard at a time when rival Apple and Android phones ― and most smartphone customers ― have embraced touch screens.With the Classic, BlackBerry is courting its core customer, the business user. The physical keyboard is something traditional BlackBerry users prefer because they find it easier than touch screens to type with. The company is also emphasizing battery life and security.“A lot of people
Dec. 18, 2014
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Saudi to continue ‘massive’ spending despite oil price fall
RIYADH (AFP) ― Saudi Arabia will continue massive public spending despite a 50 percent drop in the price of oil, which provides the bulk of its revenue, the finance minister said Wednesday.Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Assaf commented after completing the 2015 budget, which will be presented to cabinet “in the near future,” the official Saudi Press Agency said.Financial analysts expect the budget to be approved as early as Monday.The kingdom is the largest economy in the Arab world, and OPEC’s bigges
Dec. 18, 2014