The Korea Herald

Brokerages all-out to court the super-rich

Generous extra services and perks such as tax consultations spark disputesMajor brokerages are rushing to offer comprehensive asset management and generous complementary services to super-rich customers, but some argue that non-financial services such as free tax counseling might violate regulations.The underlying trend is for securities houses to court so-called “VVIP” customers in the top 0.1 percent in terms of annual income. For these super-rich customers, brokerages are currently offering n

Feb. 22, 2012

Brokerages all-out to court the super-rich

Ustream Korea hopes to overtake YouTube

New CEO pins high hopes on upcoming elections, K-pop sensationUstream Korea CEO Jimmy Kim arrived in Seoul last month to lead the Korean operation of the world’s No. 1 live video streaming platform Ustream. It has been almost a decade since he last worked in his home country, at Samsung Electronics from 2001-2003. The former vice president of Viacom International Media Networks has been in Singapore over the past eight years. “It’s good to come back. But I don’t hesitate to go anywhere in the wo

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Samsung’s Shin promoted as radio promotion group chief

Shin Jong-kyun, president of information technology and mobile communications at Samsung Electronics, was picked to head the Korea Radio Promotion Association earlier this week.Replacing Samsung vice chairman Choi Gee-sung, Shin will focus on supporting projects related to radio broadcast and nurturing field experts.“I will actively engage in meetings with the members and play the middleman role between the members and the government,” he said in his inaugural message on Monday.The association,

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

Samsung’s Shin promoted as radio promotion group chief

Going up: Japan builder eyes space elevator

(The International Space Elevator Consortium)(Obayashi Corp.)A Japanese construction firm claimed Wednesday it could execute an out-of-this-world plan to put tourists in space within 40 years by building an elevator that stretches a quarter of the way to the moon.Obayashi Corp claims it could use ca

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Going up: Japan builder eyes space elevator

Lin helping Knicks draw huge ratings on MSG

The New York Knicks` point guard Jeremy Lin (17) puts up a shot against the New Jersey Nets` Deron Williams (8) during a game on Monday at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP-Yonhaap News)Jeremy Lin has people watching the New York Knicks in record numbers. The Knicks said Tuesday that their

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Lin helping Knicks draw huge ratings on MSG

KT&G to launch new menthol cigarettes

KT&G plans to release a new brand of menthol cigarettes with capsule filter technology on Thursday, Korea’s top tobacco maker said Wednesday.The Bohem Mojito Double is a follow-up to the company’s other menthol product, the Bohem Mojito, which has been popular with young smokers since its launch in June, claiming a 2 percent share in the domestic market. The latest product will give an extra burst of lemon mint flavor when customers pop a small ball in the filter, KT&G said in a statement. The B

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

Dell misses estimates amid sluggish PC sales

Dell Inc. forecast fiscal first-quarter revenue that missed analysts’ estimates as lackluster demand from consumers and governments eroded growth at the world’s third-largest maker of personal computers. Revenue for the period ending in April will decrease 7 percent to $14.9 billion, Round Rock, Texas-based Dell said today in a statement. That missed the average $15.1 billion estimate of analysts, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The shares fell in late trading after the report was relea

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Dell misses estimates amid sluggish PC sales

Samsung, SAP to ally on corporate use of Android

SAP AG and Samsung Electronics Co. are teaming up to make mobile devices running Google Inc.’s Android operating system safer to use as corporate tools, according to people familiar with the matter. SAP, the largest maker of enterprise-management software, and Suwon, Korea-based Samsung will present

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Teen lifts car to save grandpa

A 15-year-old Michigan boy says he has no idea how he was able to lift a 900 kilogram Buick enough for his grandfather to escape from underneath.Austin Smith said he was working on the 1991 Buick with his grandfather, Ernest "Papa Ernie" Monhollen, at his grandparents' Ida Township home Saturday whe

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Ferragamo agrees to pay record rent for its store on London’s bond street

Salvatore Ferragamo Italia SpA (SFER), the Italian luxury shoemaker that sold shares in an initial public offering in June, agreed to pay a record rent as the company renewed its lease on the U.K.’s most expensive shopping strip. (Bloomberg)Ferragamo will to pay 1,000 pounds ($1,582) a square

IndustryFeb. 22, 2012

Ferragamo agrees to pay record rent for its store on London’s bond street

Radiation from disaster detected off Japan's coast

Radioactive contamination from the Fukushima power plant disaster has been detected as far as almost 400 miles (643 kilometers) off Japan in the Pacific Ocean, with water showing readings of up to 1,000 times more than prior levels, scientists reported Tuesday. Members of the media wearing protectiv

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Radiation from disaster detected off Japan's coast

U.S. scientists discover new ‘waterworld’ planet

(123rf image) Artist’s rendition of GJ1214b (AFP-Yonhap News)An astronaut attempting to visit recently discovered planet GJ1214b would land in hot water -- literally, U.S. scientists say.Researchers at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics said they have identified an entirely new k

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

U.S. scientists discover new ‘waterworld’ planet

Barnes & Noble unveils $199 Nook Tablet

US bookseller Barnes & Noble unveiled a new version of its Nook tablet computer Tuesday, a device with the same $199 price tag as Amazon's Kindle Fire.The seven-inch (17.78-centimeter) Nook Tablet also has eight gigabytes of memory like the tablet released by online retail giant Amazon in November.A

TechnologyFeb. 22, 2012

Chaebol firm on car imports despite Doosan pullout

Hyosung, Kolon to continue business; only LS Networks chewing over latest developmentsMost of the chaebol involved in import car sales said Tuesday they would not be affected by Doosan Group’s withdrawal from the business.Doosan’s DFMS decided to give up its dealerships of Honda, Jaguar and Land Rover amid public criticism that business moguls’ progeny were running after easy money through bakeries and foreign car sales.Doosan’s announcement came just weeks after several chaebol, including Samsu

IndustryFeb. 21, 2012

Listed firms’ net profit sinks 20.6% in 2011

Korean listed firms saw their net profit drop 20.6 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, as uncertainties in Europe and the United States affected the global economy, data showed Tuesday. The combined net profit of 325 firms listed on the Seoul main bourse reached 43.2 trillion won ($38.3 billion) as of end-2011, compared with 54.4 trillion won in the previous year, according to the data by the Korea Listed Companies Association. The 325 firms include those that close their books in December and

Feb. 21, 2012

Nokia, Qualcomm, Samsung own strongest LTE patent portfolios

A recent study found that Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics have secured the highest number of patents related to the fourth-generation communications network technology Long Term Evolution.In a study unveiled by global patent research community Article One Partners and Thomson Reuters, three technology firms ― Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung ― were equipped with the strongest LTE portfolio, taking leadership in future LTE technologies.Together, the top three firms owned more than 43 percent o

IndustryFeb. 21, 2012

NH financial group to debut in March

Nation’s No. 5 lender holds largest sales networksThe National Agricultural Cooperative Federation, or Nonghyup, will establish a financial group early next month, becoming the nation’s No. 5 lender in the financial industry.The new financial group’s debut reflects the government’s policy to separately operate the credit or financial sector and the economy or farm products marketing sector.The dividing of the business sector will mark the first time in 51 years since Agriculture Bank merged with

Feb. 21, 2012

Shares end flat on Greek rescue

Korean stocks finished almost unchanged on Tuesday, as a Greek rescue deal helped erase earlier losses, but profit-taking by institutional investors weighed down the bourse, analysts said. The local currency rose against the U.S. greenback. After a volatile trading, the benchmark KOSPI shed 0.03 percent, or 0.66 points, to 2,024.24.Trading volume was heavy at 699 million shares worth 5.56 trillion won ($4.95 billion) with losers leading gainers 441 to 377. “The KOSPI posted a seven straight week

Feb. 21, 2012

Hana Financial to relocate its headquarters

Hana Financial Group Inc., South Korea’s fourth-largest banking group, said Tuesday that it plans to relocate its headquarters as early as 2014 to Incheon city, west of Seoul. The scheduled move to the city, located 40 kilometers west of the Korean capital, is part of Hana’s push to raise its profile in the global market, following its acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank. “For the first time in the Korean financial industry, Hana will establish a strategic hub in Incheon,” Kim Seung-yu, the chair

Feb. 21, 2012

Hana Financial to relocate its headquarters

Private equity funds invest in Korean films, real estate

Private equity funds have increased their holdings in real estate assets and projects related to the boom of the Korean Wave data showed Tuesday. According to the Korea Financial Investment Association, the country’s entire fund market estimated at 311.1 trillion won ($276.9 billion), with the share of private equity funds rising fast. As of Feb. 17, general funds available for retail investors are valued at 201.3 trillion won, down 75 trillion won from April 2009. Private equity funds were wort

Feb. 21, 2012