Laughing gasreturning as option for laboring moms

CONCORD, New Hampshire (AP) ― Labor pain is nothing to laugh at.Yet.The use of nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, during childbirth fell out of favor in the United States decades ago, and just two hospitals ― one in San Francisco and one in Seattle ― still offer it. But interest in returning the dentist office staple to the delivery room is growing: respected hospitals including Dartmouth-Hitchcock M

TechnologyFeb. 14, 2011

Korea Resources, Daewoo submit bid for Australian coal miner

Daewoo International Corp., the trading company controlled by Posco, and Korea Resources Corp. made an initial bid for Whitehaven Coal Ltd., an Australian producer with a market value of A$3.6 billion ($3.6 billion).State-run Korea Resources is leading the bid, Kim Beom-suk, a spokesman for Daewoo International said Monday by phone. The offer was confirmed by Kang Shin Young, a spokesman for Seoul

IndustryFeb. 14, 2011

LG to help nurture bilingual specialists

LG Group said Monday that it would provide bilingual education to 400 children from multicultural backgrounds.In a joint effort with Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, the country’s fourth-largest conglomerate said that it would offer online bilingual education programs to 300 Chinese and 100 Vietnamese elementary school students this year.The group supported about 70 children from multicultura

IndustryFeb. 14, 2011

Hanjin Heavy to close over labor dispute

Shares in Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction tumbled on Monday after the Korean shipbuilder said it decided to shut down three operations in Korea due to labor strife. Hanjin said in a statement that it had submitted reports to local governments that it would close one shipyard and two plants, saying ongoing strike activity since 2009 had hampered its production.Hanjin, the only unprofitable s

IndustryFeb. 14, 2011

Kolon to merge with subsidiary

Kolon Industries Co., a Korean textile maker, plans to buy the shares in subsidiary Cambridge Kolon Co. on the market that it doesn’t own.Cambridge Kolon owners will get 782,580 shares of the merged company, or 0.16 share for every one of the existing securities, on May 16, Kolon said in a regulatory filing on Monday. (Bloomberg)

IndustryFeb. 14, 2011

Milk shortage from FMD affecting local industries

A nationwide milk shortage caused by the severest foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Korea’s history is affecting local confectionery and dairy industries, corporate sources said Sunday.Sources from Seoul Milk, Namyang Dairy Product Co. and the Korea Bakers Association said that as of December, the reserves of powdered skim milk stood at just 938 tons or a 77.3 percent drop from 4,137 tons reporte

IndustryFeb. 13, 2011

Underground economy shrinks to 17% of GDP

The size of the so-called underground economy in Korea has been shrinking steadily since the early 1990s due to increased transparency of financial transactions, a report showed.According to the report by the Korea Institute of Public Finance, the size of the untaxed portion of the Korean economy was estimated at 17.1 percent of the gross domestic product in 2008, lower than 28.7 percent in the 19

Feb. 13, 2011

Larger, faster, smarter devices to steal show

BARCELONA, Spain (Yonhap News) ― Larger, faster and smarter smartphones and tablets are expected to steal the show this week at the wireless industry’s biggest trade show in Spain, signaling a new round of competition among vendors in the sector’s fastest growing and the most vibrant segments. Among the mobile devices and wireless technologies that will be on display by some 1,360 companies at thi

TechnologyFeb. 13, 2011

Household debt rises in 2010

Korea’s household debt, a major economic risk factor, rose sharply last year, raising concerns about an increase in defaults, a private credit appraiser reported Sunday.At the end of December, financial institutions had 722.8 trillion won ($642 billion) in outstanding loans to the household sector, up 6.9 percent from a year earlier, according to the Korea Credit Bureau.Of the total, unsecured hou

Feb. 13, 2011

Hyundai Motor recruits ...overseas talent

Hyundai Motor Group’s overseas recruitment drive will begin Monday, the company announced Sunday. The group’s three main automotive businesses ― Hyundai Motor Co., Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Mobis Co. ― will receive applications from overseas-educated individuals with master’s or Ph.D. degrees with two or more years of work experience.The selection process will be conducted from Feb. 14 through

MobilityFeb. 13, 2011

BOK may raise rates in March over price pressures

The Bank of Korea may raise borrowing costs again as early as March to counter inflation pressures after unexpectedly leaving policy unchanged Friday. Governor Kim Choong-soo and his officials held the seven- day repurchase rate at 2.75 percent in a split decision, after economists had forecast a quarter-point increase. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and HSBC Holdings Plc say the next move will be next

Feb. 13, 2011

Foreigners turn net sellers of local shares

After spearheading last year’s bull run of the Korean market, foreigners have shifted to big net sellers of local shares this year due to concern over global inflation and other negative factors, industry sources said Sunday.As of Friday, foreign investors sold a net 2.06 trillion won ($1.83 billion) worth of Korean stocks, according to the Korea Financial Investment Association and Hana Daetoo Se

Feb. 13, 2011

Baby Audi SUV to debut at Frankfurt

INGOLSTADT, Germany (DPA) ― Audi’s new baby sports utility vehicle, the Q3, is expected to debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, adding spice to the small compact SUV sector in competing against the BMW X1 and the upcoming Mercedes BLK.Spy shots reveal design details from the A1 and Q5 with the technical platform coming from the VW Golf and VW Tiguan.The engine range is also likely to co

MobilityFeb. 13, 2011