Some case reports suggest sexual activity during a migraine or cluster headache may relieve the pain in at least some patients, researchers in Germany say.Anke Hambach, Stefan Evers, Oliver Summ and Ingo W. Husstedt of the University of Munster in Germany and colleagues performed an observational study among patients of a tertiary headache clinic. A questionnaire was sent to 800 migraine patients and 200 cluster headache patients.“We asked for experience with sexual activity during a headache at

TechnologyMarch 5, 2013

Samsung’s next smartphone will include a feature to track a user‘s eye movements to automatically scroll pages, The New York Times reported.The Galaxy S IV, to be introduced this month, will track a user’s eyes to determine when and how to scroll images on its display, a Samsung employee who spoke on condition of anonymity told the Times.For example, when a user‘s eyes reach the bottom of a page of an article, the display will automatically scroll down to reveal the next page of text.Samsung has

TechnologyMarch 5, 2013

South Korean stocks traded 0.54 percent higher late Tuesday morning, led by gains in large-cap tech and utility firms, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) advanced 10.93 points to 2,024.08 as of 11:20 a.m.Chipmaker SK hynix surged 3.5 percent, with state-run electricity provider Korea Electric Power Corp. jumping 2.2 percent. In contrast, steelmakers and oil refiners lapsed into negative territory, with No. 1 player POSCO sliding 0.7 percent and leading oil ref

March 5, 2013

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start Tuesday, cheered by remarks from a U.S. Federal Reserve official supporting the bond-buying program amid speculations the Fed may put an end to it, analysts said. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) gained12.22 points, or 0.61 percent to 2,025.37 in the first 15 minutes of trading. Most shares trended upward, with large-cap exporters fueling the main index. Market behemoth Samsung Electronics rose 1.2 percent, with No. 1 carmaker

March 5, 2013

Shinsegae E-mart said Monday it will grant regular staff status to some 10,000 employees of its subcontractors who display products at its stores.The measure comes after the Labor Ministry ruled that these workers were illegally dispatched and instructed E-mart to directly employ them last week.Directly employed staff are guaranteed employment until the legal retirement age and receive bonuses and incentives just like regular staff, which means a 27 percent raise in income.They also receive welf

IndustryMarch 4, 2013

Korea became the eighth-largest trading country last year, but exports by small and medium-sized companies are on the decline, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The country’s imports and exports amounted to $1.07 trillion last year and were ranked eighth in the world, the ministry said Monday, citing a report by the World Trade Organization.Though the figure was a 1.1 percent fall from the previous year, it surpassed that of Italy for the first time, the report showed.Also, Korea’s

March 4, 2013

Korean carmakers led by Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors saw their car sales slow in February as holidays, the removal of tax breaks and the prolonged economic slowdown sapped new car demand here. Hyundai, the nation’s largest carmaker, said Monday it sold 318,957 vehicles last month globally, up 1.5 percent from a year ago. In its home turf alone, however, the company said its car sales fell 11.5 percent to 47,489 in February. “Reduced working days during the New Year holidays led to a sales decrea

IndustryMarch 4, 2013

NongHyup Financial Group Inc. aims to post more than 1 trillion won ($916.5 million) in profits this year, but a potential rise in loan-loss reserves and bad debt may squeeze the group’s bottom line, its chief said Monday.“The group plans to spend this year beefing up its competitiveness in a bid to prepare for a ‘take-off’ in 2014,” Shin Dong-kyu, the president of the group, told a press conference marking the one-year anniversary of the group’s establishment.NongHyup Financial Group was launch

March 4, 2013

Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. agreed Monday to initiate a debt-restructuring program for the troubled builder to rescue the company from a cash crunch, bank officials said. Creditor banks of Ssangyong E&C, including Woori Bank and Shinhan Bank, put the matter to a vote at a meeting, with those holding credit worth 95 percent of the total debt agreeing to the plan, according to the officials. According to local law, a corporate workout program must be approved by creditor

March 4, 2013

Nongshim Co., South Korea’s leading instant noodle maker, said Monday that it will expand its instant noodle plant in Los Angeles to meet growing demand there. The expansion will increase the plant’s daily production capacity to 1.5 million units and its annual production capacity to 550 million units from the current 440 million, the company said. The expansion, to be completed at the end of this month, will likely raise sales of Nongshim America Inc., Nongshim’s U.S. subsidiary, to $200 millio

IndustryMarch 4, 2013

SEJONG (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s consumer prices increased at a slower pace in February, with the growth rate staying in the 1-percent range for the fourth straight month, a government report showed Monday.The country’s consumer prices index rose 1.4 percent on-year in February, compared with a 1.5 percent on-year advance in the previous month, according to the report by Statistics Korea. From a month earlier, it grew 0.3 percent.The on-year figure marked the fourth straight month that the p

IndustryMarch 4, 2013

British American Tobacco Korea said Monday that it would apply a 200 won price cut to three types of its 2,500 won ($2.30) ultra-slim cigarette Vogue, starting March 14. The company said it decided to adjust the price of Vogue 1 mg, Vogue Blue and Vogue 0.3 mg to better compete against the 2,300 won rival products. Now 2,300 won a pack, “(Vogue) will be armed with stronger competitiveness in the (tobacco) market,” BAT Korea chief executive Guy Meldrum said in a statement. Previously, the tobacco

IndustryMarch 4, 2013

Profit growth of domestic-oriented companies in South Korea has far outpaced that of exporters, as a strong local currency helped them reduce costs and gave them an advantage in price-setting, data showed Monday. The combined net profit of 25 major domestic-focused firms here is estimated at 1.81 trillion won ($1.67 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2012, up 104.3 percent from 888.5 billion a year earlier, according to the data by local financial information provider FnGuide Inc. The correspondi

March 4, 2013