Warren Buffett’s annual charity lunch auction raised a record $2.63 million on the final day of the weeklong contest after the bidder who’d already won offered more cash to set the mark. 　The revised winning bid for a steakhouse meal with the 80-year-old billionaire beat by $100 the record set last year by an unidentified donor. This year’s contest is the 12th benefiting San Francisco’s Glide cha

June 12, 2011

BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – An Argentine laboratory announced that it had created the world‘s first transgenic cow, using human genes that will allow the animal to produce the equivalent of mothers’ milk.“The cloned cow, named Rosita ISA, is the first bovine born in the world that incorporates human genes that contain the proteins present in human milk,” Argentina‘s National Institute of Agrobusiness Tec

TechnologyJune 12, 2011

The United States urged South Korea to press on Iran sanctions during a meeting of senior financial officials from the two countries Friday, a Seoul official said.Undersecretary David Cohen of the U.S. Treasury Department met Deputy Minister Choi Jong-ku of the South Korean Finance Ministry at the ministry building in Gwacheon, south of Seoul.The United States, along with the International Atomic

IndustryJune 10, 2011

The Fair Trade Commission plans to tighten its investigation of the country’s 56 largest companies to see whether they have engaged in anticompetitive practices, officials said Friday.The decision was made based on reports and tips the watchdog received on the conglomerates’ ongoing irregularities, such as forcing price cuts and signing unfair deals, they added.Subject to the government’s mutual g

IndustryJune 10, 2011

Finance minister urges all-out efforts to curb pricesThe government’s inflation fight appears to be losing its grip on energy, service and staple food prices set to rise further on uncertainties abroad.The inter-ministerial efforts to fight food inflation such as cutting food tariff and increasing crop supplies in the past few months have largely been offset by increase in import costs.Public util

IndustryJune 10, 2011

Seoul is the 5th most expensive city in Asia, according to a research “Cost of Living in Asia.”Conducted by ECA International, a global HR solution company, the data showed that the cost of living is highest in Tokyo. The other three cities pricier than Seoul were also in Japan -- Nagoya, Yokohama, and Kobe.The research is conducted twice a year, where the criteria are focused on consumer goods li

June 10, 2011

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Scientists say they have finally discovered why smokers tend to gain some weight when they kick the habit.It turns out that nicotine can rev up brain cells that normally signal people to stop eating when they are full, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.The weight connection is not huge: On average, quitters gain less than 10 pounds (5 kilograms). Still

TechnologyJune 10, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Apple has eased the subscription policies for its hot-selling iPad and iPhone in a move that should help newspaper and magazine publishers make more money from mobile devices.The change will make it easier for publishers to sell subscriptions for the devices outside Apple's online store.That's important to publishers because they have to give Apple 30 percent of the revenue f

TechnologyJune 10, 2011

NEW YORK (AP) -– About 200,000 Citibank credit card customers in North America have had their names, account numbers and email addresses stolen by hackers who broke into Citi's online account site.Citigroup Inc. said it discovered that account information for about 1 percent of its credit card customers had been viewed by hackers. Citi has more than 21 million credit card customers in North Americ

TechnologyJune 10, 2011

Korea's central bank raised the key interest rate by a quarter percentage point on Friday following a two-month freeze, resuming its monetary tightening to curb persistent inflationary pressure.Bank of Korea (BOK) Gov. Kim Choong-soo and his fellow policymakers hiked the benchmark seven-day repo rate, dubbed the base rate, to 3.25 for June.The June rate hike, which marked the third increase this y

June 10, 2011

A woman from the Netherlands has engraved 152 of her online friends on her arm.While some criticize that friendships within the world-famous social network are just temporary, the woman proved that they can be far more permanent.After the tattoos were done, she posted a video clip on YouTube. In the video’s description, she wrote: “These are not all my friends. Just the people I care most about. I

TechnologyJune 10, 2011

Hyundai Motor Co. was forced to halt output at one of its plants in South Korea Thursday after unionized workers talked off their job after one of their colleagues committed suicide, the company and union said.Assembly workers laid down tools at Hyundai's plant in Asan, about 100 kilometers southwest of Seoul, from 2:30 p.m., claiming that one of their leaders committed suicide earlier in the day

MobilityJune 9, 2011

The government will provide 150 billion won ($138 million) in support of developing the hydrogen reduction steel-making method, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy revealed Thursday.The funds, which the ministry estimates will cover 54 percent of development costs, will be provided from 2012 if the studies under way now show the project to be feasible, the ministry said. In hydrogen reduction steel

IndustryJune 9, 2011

Diageo Korea, the local unit of the U.K.-based drinks group, said it will hold the regional final of its international bartending competition in Seoul on June 21. Since January, about 200 Koreans have been vying for a ticket to the annual World Class 2011 slated for July 11-14 in New Delhi, India, the host said. The final will bring together 10 qualifiers from four heats. The local contestants wil

IndustryJune 9, 2011

Korea Electric Power Corp. said on Thursday it plans to award a prize to two Seoul National University scholars for their achievement in the local energy industry. Kim Tai-yoo and Park Jong-keun became the first winners for the KEPCO Research Grand Prix, which the state-run utility launched this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its foundation. Kim was selected for “his outstanding resea

IndustryJune 9, 2011