Verizon reveals first 4G wireless gadgets

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― This year, the big national wireless carriers will be racing to stake their claims in the new frontier of service: ultra-fast data access ― for smart phones and laptops as well as for gadgets like tablets.The companies are boosting their wireless data speeds and revving up the marketing hype. They’re moving away from talking about call quality and coverage, and focusing on data sp

IndustryJan. 7, 2011

Mystery over dead birds in U.S. sparks wild speculations

Just a couple of days after the deaths of 5,000 birds in Arkansas on New Year’s Eve, about 500 birds were found dead in Louisiana on Monday. Thousands of dead red-winged blackbirds fell from the sky in an Arkansas town on New Year’s Eve after massive trauma, tests by Arkansas veterinary officials concluded Monday.Dead birds on a street of Lousiana, US (AP)“The birds suffered from acute physical tr

TechnologyJan. 7, 2011

LG Electronics showcases tablet PC

LAS VEGAS ― LG Electronics and German-based telecommunications firm T-Mobile on Wednesday (Las Vegas time) unveiled the G Slate, the first tablet PC manufactured by LG.The world’s third-largest handset manufacturer sought to re-enter the smart device race after it lost out in the smartphone battle last year. The G Slate underscores the company’s attempts to get back into the groove, industry watch

Jan. 7, 2011

Samsung Q4 profit misses market estimates

Samsung Electronics Co., the world's largest maker of memory chips and liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels, estimated Friday that its operating profit for the October-December period fell below market estimates, as prices of its mainstay memory chips and LCD panels plunged on sluggish demand.    Samsung put its fourth-quarter operating profit at 3 trillion won ($2.67 billion), down 12.8 percent fr

IndustryJan. 7, 2011

Samsung expects to raise $200 billion before 2015

Electronics firm to look overseas to help raise competenceLAS VEGAS ― Samsung Electronics expects up to $200 billion in sales by 2015, noting that it has recorded about 150 trillion won ($132 billion) this year.Samsung Electronics is scheduled to reveal its fourth quarter earnings on Friday in Korea. “I believe we were not wrong to believe that we can hit the $400 billion sales mark by 2020,” said

Jan. 7, 2011

Korea eyes emerging markets to boost trade

Korea must look for new opportunities in newly emerging markets, such as Africa and South America, to continue expanding its exports, while also seeking to establish a stronger presence in the $9 trillion global public procurement market, a local trade agency said Thursday.The announcement came as the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) launched a global market forum at a Seoul hotel,

Jan. 6, 2011

U.S. private-sector jobs boom stokes hope

Private-payroll report lifts hopes for more hiring despite skepticism over ADP's dataWASHINGTON (AP) ― Companies added nearly 300,000 jobs in December, according to an unofficial count by a private payroll firm ― more than in any month in the past decade. The news raised hopes that the government’s official report Friday on last month’s job creation could be a blockbuster.While there were reasons

IndustryJan. 6, 2011

Korea to spend W1tr on new, renewable energy sources

South Korea plans to inject 1 trillion won ($900 million) into developing new and renewable energy sources this year with a plan to achieve $40 billion in exports in the sector by 2015, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said Thursday.“The move came as we aim to nurture solar and wind power generation as the country’s next chip industry and shipbuilding industry, respectively,” ministry officials s

IndustryJan. 6, 2011

LG Display bets on new 3-D technology

Company resumes business with Sony after seven-year lull: CEOLAS VEGAS ― Leading LCD panel manufacturer LG Display on Wednesday (Las Vegas time) offered a sanguine business outlook for this year, predicting that its cheaper 3-D television panels that better protect the eyes would dominate the market with a 70 percent stake.The Seoul-based firm also said that, as of the end of last year, it has beg

Jan. 6, 2011

FSC, banks strive to rescue savings banks

Financial groups offer to take over troubled secondary institutionsThe government and large banking groups are coming to the rescue of the savings banks industry to prevent their debt crisis from harming the financial system. The extent of urgency in the secondary banking industry could be seen from the remarks of Financial Services Commission Chairman Kim Seok-dong and chiefs of major financial g

Jan. 6, 2011

Hyundai India posts record sales in 2010

Hyundai Motor Co. announced Thursday that its Indian operation’s sales and production figures came in at above 600,000 in 2010 for the first time since its first plant went online in 1998.The company’s Indian unit, Hyundai Motor India, began producing vehicles in 1998 with an annual production capacity of 300,000 units. Hyundai’s i20The company currently has two 300,000-unit plants in India.Accord

MobilityJan. 6, 2011

STX to build coal power stations

STX Energy signed an agreement to collaborate in building two coal-fired power plants with the Korea East-West Power Co. on Thursday.Under the agreement, the companies will build two 500 megawatt power plants in Donghae, Gangwon Province with an estimated cost of 2 trillion won ($1.78 billion). The first of the two plants is scheduled to go into operation in December 2014, while the second plant i

IndustryJan. 6, 2011