Korea’s competitiveness in the financial sector lags behind global leaders such as the United States and Britain, a poll indicated Thursday.The survey carried out on 158 chief executive officers from the country’s financial firms, assessed the local industry’s competitive rating at 67.6 of a possible 100 points, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.The possible 100 points is a benchmark set by the KCCI to reflect the perceived competitive level of leading U.S. and British financial in

March 1, 2012

Business sentiment among Korean builders made modest gains in February after plunging to a 17-month low the previous month, a report showed Thursday.The monthly construction business sentiment index gained 4.4 points from a month before to reach 66.7, according to the report by the Construction and Economy Research Institute of Korea.An index reading below 100 indicates pessimists outnumber optimists.“The figure represents an improvement compared to January’s tally, but still highlights the seri

March 1, 2012

Korean banking groups are pumping up efforts to boost their overseas profiles amid a rapidly saturating domestic market, but going global remains an elusive dream for them due to a litany of hurdles, market watchers say. Although there is an urgent need to nurture local banking groups into global players and further promote the competitive edge of the local financial sector, the task is riddled with challenges, both internal and external.The challenges include the fragile recovery of the global

March 1, 2012

Korean department stores did brisk business during a two-month-long Korea Grand Sale event designed to attract foreign shoppers, retail industry sources said Thursday.Sources said purchases made by foreigners at Shinsegae Department Store, one of the country’s leading luxury retailers, jumped 69 percent from Jan. 9 through Feb. 29 from a year earlier.Of those gains, 70 percent of Shinsegae’s sales at its main downtown outlet were to Chinese nationals who visited the country during the period.“Th

March 1, 2012

GlaxoSmithKline’s Infanrix IPV, a diphtheria, tetanus toxoids and acellular pertussis vaccine, has been added to the state’s compulsory vaccines for infant list, the vaccine maker said Wednesday. Therefore, infants will be able to get inoculations at the ages 2, 4 and 6 months and 4 years for 5,000 won a session at nearby public health care centers or designated clinics and hospitals. The vaccine requires four separate inoculations. This is half the previous number of injections, the vaccine mak

TechnologyMarch 1, 2012

The prices of 6,506 drugs given on the National Health Insurance scheme will fall by 14 percent on average from April 1, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said Tuesday. The number of the drugs accounts for a little less than half of 13,814 drugs covered by the state insurance program, the ministry said. Those exempt from the price cut have been patented, specialized for rare and hard-to-treat diseases, or are already cheap enough. The measures are expected to save about 700 billion won from the

TechnologyMarch 1, 2012

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has added five hospitals to the list of those that must be equipped with intensive care units for newborns. The selected hospitals are Bundang Seoul National University Hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Inha University Hospital in Incheon, Dankook University Hospital in Daejeon, Chosun University Hospital in Gwangju and Ulsan University Hospital in Ulsan. With the latest designation there are now 18 general hospitals that have or will have special units for infant

TechnologyMarch 1, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) ― For 60 years, doctors have believed women were born with all the eggs they’ll ever have. Now Harvard scientists are challenging that dogma, saying they’ve discovered the ovaries of young women harbor very rare stem cells capable of producing new eggs.If Sunday’s report is confirmed, harnessing those stem cells might one day lead to better treatments for women left infertile because of disease - or simply because they’re getting older.“Our current views of ovarian aging are inco

TechnologyMarch 1, 2012

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the Jurassic era, even the flea was a beast, compared to its minuscule modern descendants. These pesky bloodsuckers were nearly an inch (25 millimeters) long.New fossils found in China are evidence of the oldest fleas _ from 125 million to 165 million years ago, said Diying Hua

TechnologyMarch 1, 2012

Koreans’ overseas credit card spending climbed to a record high in 2011 as solid economic growth and the local currency’s ascent increased the number of outbound travelers, the central bank said Wednesday. Overseas credit card bills totaled $8.62 billion last year, up 18.5 percent from $7.27 billion the previous year, according to the Bank of Korea.Last year, the South Korean economy grew 3.6 percent on-year, but its growth slowed from the 6.1 percent gain the previous year.The Korean currency t

Feb. 29, 2012

South Korea will open more “bargain” gas stations in 2012 as part of efforts to ease the pain of ordinary citizens from heavy energy costs, the Finance Ministry said Wednesday.The bargain gas stations, which were launched in December, usually receive their fuel from state-run agencies at cheaper prices than other existing gas stations. The government plans to increase the number from 369 to 430 by the end of March.In a related move, the government will also unveil a comprehensive package of meas

Feb. 29, 2012

SAN JOSE, California ― Further demonstrating its resolve to expand beyond the personal computer market, Intel Corp. on Monday announced that three more new smartphones incorporating its microprocessors will be introduced in other countries this year.The smartphone makers are Orange, Lava International and ZTE. Intel CEO Paul Otellini, who made the announcement at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, said more smartphones containing Intel’s brainy chips will be unveiled in the next year

TechnologyFeb. 29, 2012