Vast asteroid impact zone found in Australia

Scientists have discovered a 200-kilometer-wide impact zone in the Australian outback they believe was caused by a massive asteroid smashing into Earth more than 300 million years ago.Andrew Glikson, a visiting fellow at the Australian National University, said the asteroid measuring 10 to 20 kilometers in diameter was a giant compared to the plunging meteor that exploded above Russia a week ago.While that event set off a shockwave that shattered windows and hurt almost 1,000 people in the Urals

TechnologyFeb. 20, 2013

Seoul shares jump 1.95 pct on exporters

South Korean stocks ended 1.95 percent higher on Wednesday as a rosy outlook on the global economy prompted investors to pick up blue-chip exporters, analysts said.The local currency gained against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) climbed38.81 points to 2,024.64. Trading volume was moderate at 401.6 million shares worth 4.8 trillion won (US$4.5 billion), with gainers far outnumbering decliners 559 to 233.Foreigners and institutions snapped up shares, but re

Feb. 20, 2013

Seoul shares up 1.16 pct in late-morning trade

South Korean stocks traded 1.16 percent higher late Wednesday morning, fueled by gains in blue chip exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) moved up 23.09 points to 2,008.92 as of 11:20 a.m. Shares gathered ground across the board, with market bellwether Samsung Electronics advancing 1.94 percent and top chipmaker SK hynix adding 2.13 percent. Hyundai Engineering & Construction moved up 1.63 percent.Carmakers also traded higher, with No. 1 industry player

Feb. 20, 2013

Seoul shares open higher on exporters

South Korean stocks got off to a strong start on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in key exporters, analysts said.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 10.61 points, or 0.53 percent, to 1,996.44 in the first 15 minutes of trading.Market bellwether Samsung Electronics gained 0.6 percent and No. 2 memory chip maker SK hynix climbed 2.32 percent.In contrast, defensive shares were trading in negative territory, with discount chain operator E-mart falling 1.76 percent. The local curr

Feb. 20, 2013

Apple hit by hackers, no data stolen

Apple on Tuesday said it was hit by hackers who wormed their way into the California company's system but evidently failed to steal any data.The maker of iPhones, iPads, iPods, and Macintosh computers said it is working with law enforcement officials to hunt down the hackers, who appeared tied to a series of recent cyber attacks on U.S. technology firms."The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers," Apple said

TechnologyFeb. 20, 2013

S. Korea's external debt hits record high in 2012

South Korea's external debt hit a record high in 2012 as foreigners snapped up local bonds amid powerful monetary easing by advanced economies and credit rating upgrades for Korea, the central bank said Wednesday.The country's external debt totaled US$413.4 billion as of the end of December, up $14.7 billion from a year earlier, according to the Bank of Korea (BOK).It marked the first time that the country's yearly foreign debt surpassed the $400 billion mark.But in the fourth quarter, Korea's f

Feb. 20, 2013

Japan’s NEC to use same English test as Samsung

Japan’s NEC, an IT services and products provider, is looking to adopt an English testing system for employees used by Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, according to Japanese and local media.NEC, a former semiconductor rival of Samsung Electronics, plans to test some 100,000 of its employees and recruits at its headquarters and subsidiaries over the next three years using the Oral Proficiency Interview-computer, developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages.Samsung

IndustryFeb. 19, 2013

‘Phishing’ warning issued to 17m consumers

The nation’s leading cyber-settlement provider recently informed its some 17 million customers of the growing risk of their accredited certificates being stolen for financial fraud.The figure accounts for around 75 percent of Korea’s financial consumers who hold Internet banking accounts.In an email to consumers, the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute said that Internet banking users should be particularly cautious about a “new type of phishing” scam.KFTC said the practice

Feb. 19, 2013

Taxi operators to strike to pressure Assembly

More than 160,000 taxis across the country will halt operations Wednesday and launch a sit-in protest in Seoul in the afternoon to urge lawmakers to re-approve the pending taxi bill, taxi operators said Tuesday.The four major labor unions for taxi operators said about 160,000 out of 250,000 taxis will suspend services for 24 hours starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday to participate in a massive protest in Yeouido, the Seoul district where the National Assembly is located. The Assembly is currently holdi

Feb. 19, 2013

Watchdog launches probe into foreign car importers

South Korea’s antitrust watchdog has dispatched its officials to four major foreign car importers as part of its latest investigation into their alleged unfair practices, industry officials said Tuesday.The four importers are BMW Group Korea, the local importer and distributor of German automaker BMW AG, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Audi Korea and Toyota Motor Korea Co., the local unit of Toyota Motor Corp., they said.Officials at the Fair Trade Commission were looking into suspicions that the local dis

IndustryFeb. 19, 2013

IMF revises down Korea’s economic growth forecast

The International Monetary Fund has lowered Korea’s economic growth forecast to 3.2 percent this year, down from its initial forecast of 3.6 percent.The revision was disclosed to financial policymakers at the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors’ meeting in Moscow last week.The IMF also predicted that Korea would grow 3.9 percent in 2014.The global financial organization initially had a GDP outlook of 3.6 percent in October 2011 in its report.However, the drop came as the IMF

Feb. 19, 2013

Food firms slammed for raising prices

Behind the rising food prices in Korea are major processed food companies that have continued to raise prices of their monopolistic or oligopolistic products such as soy sauce and red pepper paste.These companies with overwhelming market shares are facing mounting public backlash for driving up food prices despite increased earnings, with many calling for stronger government efforts to stabilize prices.“The government should come up with tougher penalties against companies caught for price riggi

IndustryFeb. 19, 2013

Samsung Electronics to continue to record strong earnings: investment bank

HONG KONG (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. will continue to record strong earnings this year, largely thanks to its robust sales of smartphones, an investment bank said Tuesday.Barclays raised its forecast for Samsung Electronics' 2013 operating profit by 5 percent to 39.9 trillion won (US$36.9 billion).It also raised its estimate of Samsung Electronics' first quarter operating profit to 8.55 trillion won from 8.18 trillion won, reflecting stronger-than-expected smartphone shipments and solid

Feb. 19, 2013